Mad Men

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-01 22:36

The second hand embarrassment this season is almost too much for me:

Spoiler: show

Another odd episode, but not necessarily bad. The season's theme really seems like it's going to be shifting power and pretty much everyone has a stake. Peggy is trying to garner some real respect for herself in the industry while fighting sexism, Megan continues to use her youth and charm to get Don Draper out of his comfort zone, Pete is showing that he can play hard ball with the big boys, and Betty has an odd power struggle with herself going on. All the while Don was powerless and just kind of along for the ride the whole episode (even in terms of hiring Mike).

I'm curious to see where the story is going with Peggy, but I'm not really sure that this episode really revealed to us anything new outside of planting the idea into her head that she could be hiring her own boss. That small amount of insecurity could really manifest itself into something bigger and I'm eager to see where it's going, but for now it seems like a lot of the same from her (with her pushing back a lot harder).

Megan and Don are a hot mess, but they continue to keep me intrigued. The effect she has on him, the way she can disarm him, are new facets that we've never seen from Don. Megan is using her youth and sexuality to maintain her dominance over Don and it seems like that's the path they're going down this season. Megan was shooting down every chance Don took to use Betty as an excuse for some independence including the suggestion that she just wants Don's attention. The preview of next week seems to suggest that we might see the first look at a young woman coming on to Don in his fledgling marriage which should be interesting.

And what about Betty? At first I couldn't tell if she was in a fat suit or just seeing the effects of her recent pregnancy. That character is a hot mess. The cancer scare was an interesting was to make Don feel powerless (and ultimately vulnerable to Megan), but it's almost passing effect on Betty said a lot about her character's vanity. She's far more concerned with feeling attractive than how Henry perceives her and I think she'll end up acting out more than usual. A lot was made about her being a fat girl and now, in a short time, she's gained a lot of that weight back. I was kind of hoping that the marriage would have her go down a more positive path of self discovery. At the very least I would have thought a body image storyline would have been better with Sally as the young girl in a changing era and Betty as the domineering, controlling, mother. Maybe we'll get the opposite and find Sally to be very critical and manipulative.

And I love that Pete's really busting Roger down a few pegs this season. I love Roger, but he hasn't done much of anything in quite a while and is always just kind of there. I like that Pete might actually light a spark under his ass to do his job (especially since it's never clear he's actually managed any big accounts other than Lucky Strike which he inherited from his father). Roger once made a big stink about Don wanting to be an ad man, well, how about him?

Still too young of a season to really know anything, but I'm into it.

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-02 15:52

I'm debating with myself if the ice cream scene was intentional on Sally's behalf or not. I'd like to see her get into a manipulative role with Betty.

**aru** · 2012-04-02 16:24

It must have been. Didn't Betty make some comments about Sally getting fat in the past? I saw it as a dig against Betty: 'I'm not going to eat all of this and get fat like you, mom' and it just wooshed right over Betty's head.

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-02 18:38

Well it is Betty.

**Laugana** · 2012-04-03 10:49

I wondered why they didn't show Betty in last week's preview of this week's episode. I thought maybe she had a new hairdo, not that she was fat.

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-08 21:59

For a second there I thought Mad Men had jumped the shark. My hopes of Greg dying a terrible death aren't dashed just yet!

Spoiler: show

**Drunkenmonk** · 2012-04-08 22:32

is don draper gonna have to choke a bitch?!

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-09 02:57

Damn, I thought Don went legit Patrick Bateman on that ass lol.

**Fiddle Sticks** · 2012-04-09 12:56

Loved how he just half ass pushes a dead body under his bed and says fuck it and goes back to sleep, ha, fucking classic!!!

Originally Posted by Drunkenmonk

is don draper gonna have to choke a bitch?!

I just had to quote that, amazing...

**Laugana** · 2012-04-10 10:27

I was hoping and praying that that scene was a dream. Thank god it was.

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-15 22:09

I just knew...

Spoiler: show

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-16 01:27

Think this might have been the best Pete centric episode ever.

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-22 22:16

I really admire some of the narrative risks that the show takes, but this whole season has just been very odd. I feel like some of these characters are suddenly strangers. I did like that the episode sort of followed the night of three couples, but I don't know that we learned anything new (unless you want to talk about Ginsberg's startling revelation), just moved the plot forward a bit. It was a good episode, but it weird. I wonder if the parental advisory was for the drug use? I was expecting somebody to at least lose a foot.

**grantlogan** · 2012-04-23 00:33

I thought it was a genius episode for the 3 part narrative. The last scene with Don in the conference room was great, it showed the characters going in different directions in front of Don, which I think represented their lives.

Since this is the first I've posted this season, I wanted to react to some past eps. Fat Betty? Gross! Don killing a woman and kicking her under his bed only to climb into said bed and go back to sleep? WTF.

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-23 02:54

This episode felt like it was directed by Tarantino.

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-23 05:07

I didn't realize that it was doing a split narrative until the start of the Don story and was kind of confused considering the Roger adventure that just happened. I wasn't paying close enough attention.

Celeste · 2012-04-23 05:43

Originally Posted by Trichocyst

I really admire some of the narrative risks that the show takes, but this whole season has just been very odd. I feel like some of these characters are suddenly strangers.

Yes, I am feeling this way too. I don't get where some of the shit is coming from. It's been interesting, yes. However, there is a huge difference from last season and this season. It's almost as though they don't know where to go with the narrative anymore.

**Trichocyst** · 2012-04-29 22:27

Another good, bold, awkward as hell episode.

Spoiler: show

It's all going somewhere, but I'll be damned if I can quite figure out where.

**Rhyis.** · 2012-04-30 01:35

-How's the city?
-Dirty.

Lol, fantastic.

**aru** · 2012-05-01 09:10

Did anyone else notice the (irl) Clorox commercial? I wonder if it was tailor made for the show or was just a coincidence that it had the same theme as the beans proposal.

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