Mad Men on AMC (1 Viewer)

[prefontaine]

Thought the finger tap on the nose for wiseguys was from the movie The Sting which didn't come out til 1973. Was this derivative and I didn't know it or was this a slip up by the writers?

 

[Elbow Truck Driver]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

 

[The_Hunchback]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

I sound like a girl writing down what I did today.

 

[badmojo1006]

Thought the finger tap on the nose for wiseguys was from the movie The Sting which didn't come out til 1973. Was this derivative and I didn't know it or was this a slip up by the writers?

That has been around forever. I remember doing it as a kid back in the 60's. And the thing on the nose with The Sting was a hook on the nose, signifying you are in on the con.

 

[scoobygang]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

Yeah, it bugged me too. The entire episode was a bit too on the nose for me, particularly after the last few excellent weeks. Still, a subpar episode of Mad Men is still a pretty good hour of television.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Wow. Joan was really harsh to Peggy. Those guys are practically daring someone to fire them, Peggy does it, then Joan just roasts Peggy.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

Interesting. The reason it worked for me: Don is normally emotionally absent - both through his alcoholism and his massive wall he's erected to keep people out of his life. So it seems like he's becoming a bit more self-aware, and revealing that inner dialogue seemed to make sense.

 

[badmojo1006]

Wow. Joan was really harsh to Peggy. Those guys are practically daring someone to fire them, Peggy does it, then Joan just roasts Peggy.

I think Joan's outburst was a combination of jealousy (because she is starting to feel passed by by Peggy), upset her husband is leaving and trying to show Peggy the reality of the business world.

 

[McJose]

Thought the finger tap on the nose for wiseguys was from the movie The Sting which didn't come out til 1973. Was this derivative and I didn't know it or was this a slip up by the writers?

That has been around forever. I remember doing it as a kid back in the 60's. And the thing on the nose with The Sting was a hook on the nose, signifying you are in on the con.

I'm a West Coast guy and we don't allow Italians out here so when you do the 'finger+nose = mafia thing' aren't you supposed to bend your nose a little like it's been broken?

 

[scoobygang]

I did enjoy Peggy's line. "You need three ingredients for a cocktail. Vodka and Mountain Dew is an emergency."

Vodka and Dew was the first drink I shared with my college roommate as a freshman. It was worse than an emergency.

 

[scoobygang]

Interestingly, I think Sepinwall seriously misreads the Joan / Peggy subplot in his latest review. While it is true that Peggy's plan "backfires" to the extent that it fails to establish a sisterly/feminist connection of Joan, I think Alan is completely wrong in assuming that Joan's reading of the situation is the correct one.

The entire episode has shown that Joan's mastery of a game that was played five years ago is beginning to lose it's appeal. Peggy demands respect. If she's viewed as a humorless prig, there's no suggestion that this will hurt her standing in creative. And Don implicitly backs her authority to fire the guy.

I do have to wonder whether we'll ever re-visit the decision to put Harry in the position that Joan essentially created. Past seasons have shown Harry as a bit of an oaf, but this season has taken pains to show him as kind of odious with the incessant gossip, casual anti-Semitism, and the vacuous name-dropping. He doesn't appear to be all that good at his job.

 

[Sam Quentin]

Another quality episode. Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts....Also good to know Bethany Van Nuys is not afraid of happiness in a cab

1965: The year the was invented.

big fan of good emoticon schtick

I prefer myself...

 

[badmojo1006]

Interestingly, I think Sepinwall seriously misreads the Joan / Peggy subplot in his latest review. While it is true that Peggy's plan "backfires" to the extent that it fails to establish a sisterly/feminist connection of Joan, I think Alan is completely wrong in assuming that Joan's reading of the situation is the correct one.

The entire episode has shown that Joan's mastery of a game that was played five years ago is beginning to lose it's appeal. Peggy demands respect. If she's viewed as a humorless prig, there's no suggestion that this will hurt her standing in creative. And Don implicitly backs her authority to fire the guy.

I do have to wonder whether we'll ever re-visit the decision to put Harry in the position that Joan essentially created. Past seasons have shown Harry as a bit of an oaf, but this season has taken pains to show him as kind of odious with the incessant gossip, casual anti-Semitism, and the vacuous name-dropping. He doesn't appear to be all that good at his job.

 

[Major]

Another quality episode. Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts....Also good to know Bethany Van Nuys is not afraid of happiness in a cab

1965: The year the was invented.

big fan of good emoticon schtick

I prefer myself...

 

[Major]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

Interesting. The reason it worked for me: Don is normally emotionally absent - both through his alcoholism and his massive wall he's erected to keep people out of his life. So it seems like he's becoming a bit more self-aware, and revealing that inner dialogue seemed to make sense.

:cosign: with Jdogg....when I gave up booze and smoke for a year, I went through a similar finding myself period like Don. I felt like a girl at times but definitely have led a better life b/c of it.

 

[Sam Quentin]

I may be in the minority, but I liked hearing Whitman's thoughts (I'm assuming this is a one-time thing). DD seems to be getting his groove back. I think he's serious about the Dr. girl. I also think he sees Van Nuys as just another vacuous narcisistic bimbo, much like Betty. He's moved beyond that.

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

 

[The_Hunchback]

I may be in the minority, but I liked hearing Whitman's thoughts (I'm assuming this is a one-time thing). DD seems to be getting his groove back. I think he's serious about the Dr. girl. I also think he sees Van Nuys as just another vacuous narcisistic bimbo, much like Betty. He's moved beyond that.Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

Henry is just pissed off that he is being forced to live in that house by the crazy. I also liked the thoughts as it shows what's going on in his head but he still doesn't want anyone to know about him changing to some degree. Liked how he was the same ol guy while getting the bj yet a changed man not taking the other one back to his place when it seemed like she wanted it.

 

[McJose]

Interestingly, I think Sepinwall seriously misreads the Joan / Peggy subplot in his latest review...

Get out of this thread right now, heretic.

 

[Barry]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

 

[Major]

Interestingly, I think Sepinwall seriously misreads the Joan / Peggy subplot in his latest review...

Get out of this thread right now, heretic.

Have a nice vacation Scooby

 

[jdoggydogg]

Wow. Joan was really harsh to Peggy. Those guys are practically daring someone to fire them, Peggy does it, then Joan just roasts Peggy.

I think Joan's outburst was a combination of jealousy (because she is starting to feel passed by by Peggy), upset her husband is leaving and trying to show Peggy the reality of the business world.

Definitely. Just felt bad for Peggy since she stuck her neck out to avenge Joan.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Loved hearing Don's inner thoughts...

For some reason I hated this. Didn't seem consistent with the character.

Interesting. The reason it worked for me: Don is normally emotionally absent - both through his alcoholism and his massive wall he's erected to keep people out of his life. So it seems like he's becoming a bit more self-aware, and revealing that inner dialogue seemed to make sense.

:cosign: with Jdogg....when I gave up booze and smoke for a year, I went through a similar finding myself period like Don. I felt like a girl at times but definitely have led a better life b/c of it.

On one hand, I can see why people wouldn't like this version of Draper. We've come to know him as a stoic, aloof guy. But how many seasons could that continue before it becomes a cliche? I think this storyline brings up a lot of potentially interesting plot elements.

 

[Sam Quentin]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

 

[jwb]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

 

[McJose]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

I agree with this to a certain extent. My take is that he figures if he can get Don totally out of the picture Betty won't act like a spoiled 13 year old and things will be better.

 

[badmojo1006]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

I agree with this to a certain extent. My take is that he figures if he can get Don totally out of the picture Betty won't act like a spoiled 13 year old and things will be better.

Betty took a big step forward last night by accepting Don into her house, giving Don the baby and not throwing a fit. But it seems to be too little too late for Henry.

 

[Christo]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

 

[jdoggydogg]

Henry is a jackass - living in the guys house and putting he stuff at the curb is a bit much.

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

This is spot on accurate. I think their marriage is over.

 

[scoobygang]

I'm not sure I see Henry as perpetually angry so much as human. He has, largely, behaved like an adult. So when he found a chance to passive agressively get in a **** measuring contest with Don, he took it. I don't think he's so much dissatisfied with Betty as afraid. He senses her dissatisfaction. He expresses it in terms of a fear that Betty isn't over Don, which I think misreads Betty. Because what he should be worried about is that Don was never the problem for Betty. Betty chose a life that doesn't satisfy her, and upgrading to a more attentive husband doesn't fix that.

 

[Sam Quentin]

A part of me thinks, too, that Betty is damaged by her upbringing. I think that because of this, she has a hard time relating to Henry's "niceness." He's too "soft." I think that she thinks that she wants somebody like Henry, that she's supposed to want somebody with all of his attributes, but deep down, that's not what she really wants. I don't think she knows what she wants. I think one of the few glimpses we've seen of who Betty really is, was her with a shotgun, cigarette hanging out, shooting at the neighbor's birds.

 

[McJose]

A part of me thinks, too, that Betty is damaged by her upbringing. I think that because of this, she has a hard time relating to Henry's "niceness." He's too "soft." I think that she thinks that she wants somebody like Henry, that she's supposed to want somebody with all of his attributes, but deep down, that's not what she really wants. I don't think she knows what she wants. I think one of the few glimpses we've seen of who Betty really is, was her with a shotgun, cigarette hanging out, shooting at the neighbor's birds.

I like this. Betty was at once both spoiled rotten and emotionally neglected. About the only thing her mother taught her was to look nice and act like a lady.She operates on the same level as your typical 16 year old girl. She's shallow, vain, and immature. I loved Henry's line in the car about "I'm an adult".

 

[jdoggydogg]

I'm not sure I see Henry as perpetually angry so much as human. He has, largely, behaved like an adult. So when he found a chance to passive agressively get in a **** measuring contest with Don, he took it. I don't think he's so much dissatisfied with Betty as afraid. He senses her dissatisfaction. He expresses it in terms of a fear that Betty isn't over Don, which I think misreads Betty. Because what he should be worried about is that Don was never the problem for Betty. Betty chose a life that doesn't satisfy her, and upgrading to a more attentive husband doesn't fix that.

Excellent points.

 

[jdoggydogg]

A part of me thinks, too, that Betty is damaged by her upbringing. I think that because of this, she has a hard time relating to Henry's "niceness." He's too "soft." I think that she thinks that she wants somebody like Henry, that she's supposed to want somebody with all of his attributes, but deep down, that's not what she really wants. I don't think she knows what she wants. I think one of the few glimpses we've seen of who Betty really is, was her with a shotgun, cigarette hanging out, shooting at the neighbor's birds.

 

[Raider Nation]

YOU KNOW WHO...

"People tell you who they are, but we ignore it, because we want them to be who we want them to be." -Don

Time and again in "The Summer Man," characters make mistakes based on who they want other people to be versus who they are. And the only man clearly seeing the people around him is Don, making an effort to be (mostly) sober and open to possibilities after the long night's journey into day he spent with Peggy in "The Suitcase."

Betty needs Don to be the villain in her life to justify the way she still feels miserable even after kicking him to the curb and replacing him with the more doting Henry. Joey needs Joan to be a clone of his mother, and for Peggy to be another humorless #####, to justify the way he behaves around both. And Peggy needs Joan to be someone she can rescue, when we know that outside of one night that the episode alludes to, Joan can damn well take care of herself.

There's this running idea throughout the hour of people who appear to have everything but actually have nothing. Obviously, Betty sees Don as a winner when we know (and Francine can tell) how utterly lost he's been since the divorce. This is an episode in which Don slowly begins to reclaim his mojo, telling himself, "I want to wake up. I don't want to be that man." He starts the episode unable to swim a lap without coughing, and ends it outracing the younger guy next to him for half a lap, and in between has a pair of mostly successful dates with both Bethany and Dr. Faye. And yet the only time he seems truly happy (and that includes what Bethany does in the back of the cab) is when he's holding Gene in his arms at the birthday party (and after Betty has happily brought the boy to his daddy without the usual drama that comes between them).

We're used to the idea of Joan as the uber-woman, but what does she really have? She finally got her own office, but it doubles as a viewing room, and as a shortcut from one end of SCDP to the other. She's used to ruling through a combination of fear and sex appeal, but there's a new generation of men like Joey who aren't attracted to or scared of her. (And the sexual revolution has given them an excuse to be even bigger pigs in a way than, say, Paul and Ken were back in 1960.) With Greg preparing to go off to basic training, he comforts her with the idea that she can spend more time with her friends at work, but of course there's no such thing for our Joan. (And our hopes that Peggy's actions might finally tear down the wall between them are dashed when Joan explains the real implications of what Peggy did.) Joey wounds Joan by suggesting that she walks around the office "like you're trying to get raped," and where's the only place she can go for comfort? Her apartment, containing the soon-to-depart husband who once raped her at her work.(*)

(*) There aren't many storytelling accidents on "Mad Men," and I can't imagine that Lisa Albert, Janet Leahy and Matthew Weiner chose the rape insult, leading into a Joan/Greg scene, without wanting us to draw a line from one to the other, and then to compare that night on the floor of Don's office to Greg more tenderly and convincingly asking Joan to have sex with him when she's not in the mood. He's a self-involved putz, and I'll never get that image of Joan's glassy-eyed stare out of my head when I watch scenes with him, but Greg is sadly all Joan has, and he's leaving.

Peggy respects Joan, and has always wanted Joan to like her, and in telling off and then firing Joey, she's doing what she thinks is right, but clearly also something that she thinks might please Joan. But here's a rare instance where having a male mentor in Don(**) backfires. Yes, she gets rid of Joey, but does it in a way that only confirms the sexist assumptions of guys like him and Stan, and that further marginalizes Joan. Had she gone to Joan instead of Don (or gone to both), Joan would have shut it down. It's interesting, though, to see how Joan carries herself while she explains her reasoning in the elevator, because I do think Joan has come to both like and respect Peggy, even if their approaches and goals are different. The season one version of that lecture would have been cruel; here it was blunt but polite, and Joan's not insincere when she wishes Peggy a good weekend. Even though Peggy's star has risen, and even though Joan has come to appreciate what it is Peggy wants, there are still aspects of this world that she will always understand better than Peggy, and here she shares a bit of that wisdom without losing her temper the way she did with the boys earlier in the show.

(**) And though they didn't interact much in this episode, it was nice to see Don continuing to be on good terms with Peggy, rather than retreating after revealing so much of himself to her.

So Peggy's power move backfires to an extent, and Henry's own move with the lawnmower and the boxes - a sweaty, obvious piece of theater designed to make it clear to Don whose home this is now, regardless of whose name is on the deed - doesn't quite work out, because Faye convinces Don to go the party, and because Francine's words have convinced Betty to stop hating Don so much. (Because Betty's an overgrown child, she needs to feel like she's won before she can let go of a grudge, and Francine makes her realize that she has.) If Betty still can't see Don as exactly the man he is, she's close enough to the real picture to let a father enjoy some time with his son (and vice versa) on his birthday. (And as she watches him play with Gene, does the expression on her face suggest Henry was right to worry she still loves the guy on some level?)

"The Summer Man" is an episode I expect I'm going to need to revisit a time or 20 before I decide how I ultimately feel about some of its stylistic departures from the "Mad Men" norm - not just Don's film noir voiceover narration from his sobriety journal entries, but other moments like the use of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" on the soundtrack in mid-episode, or the camera showing Don's world suddenly feeling very far away after he has a drink in the office.

Part of the core of Don, and his allure is a character, is how he tries to keep himself as a closed book. That quality makes moments of candor with Rachel Menken, or Anna, or Peggy, stand out more, but it also means we often have to wait long periods before Don will admit to anyone how he's feeling. In this episode, Don isn't exactly living a solitary or monastic existence - he's going to work, going on dates, even drinking in moderation (and seemingly doing okay so long as he avoids doing it at work) - but he's being introspective and trying to change without resorting to therapy or AA or special lunches with Peggy, or any other circumstance where he'd be talking about his feelings throughout the hour. (He does talk to Faye about the Gene situation, and it's notable that we don't need the voiceover for those last few scenes.) So I can see the value in letting us into Don's head at this crucial juncture in his life - and, in the drinking at work scene, showing us the world from his perspective - but it was such a deviation from the show's usual style that it was distracting and/or clunky at times.

(On the plus side, I appreciated that the voiceover brought up the parallel between Don and Gene - "conceived in a moment of desperation and born into a mess" - without having to underline it.)

But however the show chose to convey it, I'm pleased to see Don making this effort, and starting to pull himself out of the pit he was in for most of the season's first half. And now there are interesting possibilities for him. The recharging of his batteries neatly coincides with Dr. Faye loudly breaking up with her boyfriend (a more profane sequel to last week's argument between Peggy and Mark in the same phone booth), and now he has both Bethany and Faye available and interested. Bethany would be another mistake like Betty: a pretty trophy with whom Don has nothing in common and no way to feel comfortable. (They're even similar physical types with similar names.) Faye, on the other hand? There's something there: an honesty and a connection akin to what we saw with Midge or Rachel or Sally's cuckoo-bananas teacher.

When we first met Dr. Faye, she promised Don he'd be remarried within a year. If she's right, and that new wife is Bethany, then Don hasn't necessarily learned anything, and will go back to repeating his old mistakes. But if Faye's right and she's the new wife? Well, then we have a Don who may have finally realized how to not be that man - having accepted who he is rather than trying to transform himself into who he wants to be.

Some other thoughts:

• Take a character from the mid-'60s undergoing an identity crisis and put him into a swimming pool, and you're automatically going to evoke "The Graduate," but there was also a sense of "The Swimmer," a John Cheever short story from this period (adapted a few years later into a Burt Lancaster film) about a man who seems to have it all but is gradually revealed to have lost his job, his family, home, etc.

• Still not entirely on board the Blankenship, but I'm getting used to her, much as Don is, and here I got a kick out of Don referring to her as "Ray Charles" to Peggy, and then to Stan casually wearing her special cataract sunglasses around the office.

• Joey assumes Harry is hitting on him with the "Peyton Place" offer - again, a character trying to get the world to fit his preconceptions of it - but we know Harry enough to understand this is just part of his continued campaign to seem impressive to everyone through all his TV connections. (See also the signed Buddy Ebsen picture next to the couch in his office.)

• Pete's barely in this one as we focus on a pair of Ken clients in Mountain Dew and Fillmore Auto Parts, but he does have one very funny moment where, after getting upset about the racket Joey and Stan were creating, he pauses to ask, "When did we get a vending machine?"

• Henry's hope of riding John Lindsay to the White House in '72 won't work out any better than Nelson Rockefeller's did in '64. (And by that point, Lindsay will have left the Republican Party to become a Democrat, while Rocky will a few years later be appointed Gerald Ford's vice-president.) • Note that Henry is, in fact, paying rent to Don on the house on Bullet Park Road. And Betty's comment about where Henry was living before suggests that her new husband is at times just as capable of keeping secrets as her old one.

• At one point, Joey refers to Joan as "The Big Ragu," a nickname I've only ever heard of in the context of "Laverne & Shirley," where it was Shirley's ex-boyfriend Carmine's nickname. Though that show was set in this period, it aired more than a decade later. Google hasn't been helpful; did the phrase exist in the '60s?

• Also, say this for Joey: he's a smug, sexist ###, but he also is on to something when he zings Stan for loving Peggy.

• When Betty tells Henry that Don was the only man she'd ever been with, all I could think of was Captain Awesome sitting at home going, "Hey, what about me?"

• Is Sally so low-key in greeting Don at the party because she's getting older, or because she's learned by now the folly of seeming noticeably happy about her father while in the presence of her mother?

 

[Premier]

I like Sepinwall, but quite frankly, Gekko's reviews are better.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Interestingly, I think Sepinwall seriously misreads the Joan / Peggy subplot in his latest review. While it is true that Peggy's plan "backfires" to the extent that it fails to establish a sisterly/feminist connection of Joan, I think Alan is completely wrong in assuming that Joan's reading of the situation is the correct one.The entire episode has shown that Joan's mastery of a game that was played five years ago is beginning to lose it's appeal. Peggy demands respect. If she's viewed as a humorless prig, there's no suggestion that this will hurt her standing in creative. And Don implicitly backs her authority to fire the guy.

I agree with this. Peggy witnessed the situation and should take action. The kid's behavior was certainly unacceptable. To Peggy, as an aspiring leader, it shouldn't matter if it were directed at Joan or someone else.It's also interesting to note that Pete's only appearance in this episode (IIRC) was to complain about the noise the boys were creating by the vending machine. Pete and Peggy are separating themselves from the more childish antics of the "boys".

 

[badmojo1006]

I like Sepinwall, but quite frankly, Gekko's reviews are better.

I agree, with the exception that I don't think Peggy was "horribly" abused as a child. I think Don was physically and emotionally abused. Peggy on the other hand, came from a "normal" home and probably received some emotional abuse (to the extend we all have)

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

Compared to other episodes this season, I didn't like this one as much. Some of the writing was off, forced, it just didn't feel like a normal Mad Men script to me. I still found it entertaining enough but it was sort of a letdown coming off such a strong episode the week before.

Joan was really annoying this week, I don't like the way her character has been lately. Peggy and Joan are definately swapping some identities as Peggy is much more confident and Joan is not feeling all that good about herself.

 

[Sammy3469]

Compared to other episodes this season, I didn't like this one as much. Some of the writing was off, forced, it just didn't feel like a normal Mad Men script to me. I still found it entertaining enough but it was sort of a letdown coming off such a strong episode the week before.

Joan was really annoying this week, I don't like the way her character has been lately. Peggy and Joan are definately swapping some identities as Peggy is much more confident and Joan is not feeling all that good about herself.

I wonder if some of that was intentional since this was the first time we've really seen Don sober.

 

[Christo]

I liked that scene. Henry didn't even acknowledge him. Just continued mowing Don's lawn.

The guy hit on Don's pregnant wife...and now he's treasting Don like crap. He seems like a nice guy, otherwise, but he really seems to resnt Draper a lot and when it comes out in these instances, it makes him seem like a bitter, insecure jerk.

I look at him as a guy who's angry because he's starting to realize that he's made a HUGE mistake.

This is spot on accurate. I think their marriage is over.

You just know that Henry had his perfect life and that he thought he was going to rescue Betty and make her an accessory in his life. Instead, he has become an accessory in hers. There he was being asked to come do pretty much his dream job and she didn't give a ####. In a few days, he went from being asked to run a Congressional campaign to mowing some other man's lawn.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

That scene with Henry and Betty in the restaurant was weird. Why did Henry go up and say hello to Don in the first place? That seemed pretty awkward and out of place to me. If anyone would have approached Don it would have been Betty, not Henry. Henry approaching him was out of character.

That was one of those scenes where I thought the writing was forced, there were a couple of scenes like that.

Even the mowing the lawn thing didn't really resonate with me even though I kind of understand what they were trying to say. If Henry doesn't like mowing another man's lawn than he shouldn't be reaping the benefits of living in his house. Seems to me like mowing the lawn is just a small concession that any tenant may have to make.

 

[Christo]

That scene with Henry and Betty in the restaurant was weird. Why did Henry go up and say hello to Don in the first place? That seemed pretty awkward and out of place to me. If anyone would have approached Don it would have been Betty, not Henry. Henry approaching him was out of character.That was one of those scenes where I thought the writing was forced, there were a couple of scenes like that.Even the mowing the lawn thing didn't really resonate with me even though I kind of understand what they were trying to say. If Henry doesn't like mowing another man's lawn than he shouldn't be reaping the benefits of living in his house. Seems to me like mowing the lawn is just a small concession that any tenant may have to make.

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.I think it was very well written. The "change" in Don's character reflected the radical changes in this country in the 60s. And so did the power shift between Joan and Peggy.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.

The most likely scenario in the restaurant is that they both ignore Don and go and take their seat at their table. Henry approaching Don seemed really weird to me in that case but they wrote it in because it would be good theatre.

 

[The_Hunchback]

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.

The most likely scenario in the restaurant is that they both ignore Don and go and take their seat at their table. Henry approaching Don seemed really weird to me in that case but they wrote it in because it would be good theatre.

I think it helped done get some lovin.

 

[Jefferson the Caregiver]

I think it was very well written. The "change" in Don's character reflected the radical changes in this country in the 60s. And so did the power shift between Joan and Peggy.

I don't disagree with you about the Joan Peggy scene. I actually think that was one of the stronger parts of the show, that was indeed well written. All I stated is that I becoming a bit annoyed with Joan's character right now.

 

[badmojo1006]

I think it was very well written. The "change" in Don's character reflected the radical changes in this country in the 60s. And so did the power shift between Joan and Peggy.

I don't disagree with you about the Joan Peggy scene. I actually think that was one of the stronger parts of the show, that was indeed well written. All I stated is that I becoming a bit annoyed with Joan's character right now.

I am wondering if Joan is seeing her possible future in Miss Blankenship. She has the brains and the will to change. Will she be more like Peggy?

 

[Juxtatarot]

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.

The most likely scenario in the restaurant is that they both ignore Don and go and take their seat at their table. Henry approaching Don seemed really weird to me in that case but they wrote it in because it would be good theatre.

I disagree. This is the father of his step kids. He should go out of his way to be cordial. I think this should be true then and now.

 

[Sammy3469]

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.

The most likely scenario in the restaurant is that they both ignore Don and go and take their seat at their table. Henry approaching Don seemed really weird to me in that case but they wrote it in because it would be good theatre.

I disagree. This is the father of his step kids. He should go out of his way to be cordial. I think this should be true then and now.

He also loves to show Don he has power in the relationship whenever he can even though he's controlled by Betty (through her desire to stay in the house) and Don (because he doesn't care about Henry). Both the lawn mowing with Don's stuff on the curb and going up to him in the restaurant to try to make him feel uncomfortable. It only really works when he can restrict Don's access to his kids which totally backfired on Henry with Don showing up at the party and Betty coming to terms with it.

 

[McJose]

YOU KNOW WHO...

• Take a character from the mid-'60s undergoing an identity crisis and put him into a swimming pool, and you're automatically going to evoke "The Graduate," but there was also a sense of "The Swimmer," a John Cheever short story from this period (adapted a few years later into a Burt Lancaster film) about a man who seems to have it all but is gradually revealed to have lost his job, his family, home, etc.

• At one point, Joey refers to Joan as "The Big Ragu," a nickname I've only ever heard of in the context of "Laverne & Shirley," where it was Shirley's ex-boyfriend Carmine's nickname. Though that show was set in this period, it aired more than a decade later. Google hasn't been helpful; did the phrase exist in the '60s?

Probably my favorite modern short story (terrible movie though). I don't agree 100% that this is where they were going with the whole thing but it's good.I always thought "The Big Ragu" was something that pre-dated Laverne and Shirley. I thought it meant "big taste" or something. Off course it was always hilarious when Squiggy called Carmine Ragusa "the Big Raccoon".

 

[McJose]

I think you're missing the mark with your thoughts on this episode. Henry approaching Don was completely in character. I'm sure Betty would have not gone up to him. The mowing the lawn and ignoring Don was also in character.

The most likely scenario in the restaurant is that they both ignore Don and go and take their seat at their table. Henry approaching Don seemed really weird to me in that case but they wrote it in because it would be good theatre.

I disagree. This is the father of his step kids. He should go out of his way to be cordial. I think this should be true then and now.

And Henry will always have or at least thinks he will always have one up on Don since he now has his wife. Whether or not he's trying to be the "bigger man" I'm sure he takes some smug satisfaction that he has what Don lost.