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GoutPatrol posted:This explains why I thought the derby party was Roger and Jane's wedding for so long. Don't worry, everyone made that mistake the first time
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Apr 13, 2021 12:43
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Or their fifth.
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Apr 13, 2021 16:44
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GoutPatrol posted:Even then, the show at the end also shows you were the conservative movement in the United States is going with the Carnation meeting in California. When the guy is banging on the table saying Nixon is weak and we need a real leader like Reagan to clean up this place (much like our instant breakfast is clean and pure) and Don and Roger both kinda give each other a side eye. There is a difference to their "just count the money and go with the flow" Northeast, Rockefeller Republicans, and the people that will take over the party by 1980. You see this with Connie in season 3 as well. Real conservative America is Bottom with a donkey head, and they're getting tired of the Northeast elites making fun of them. And they'll show 'em. This is a fair response that I had not considered. I suppose the ethos of the show is that ideologues in general are idiots or frauds, the only thing that matters is turning yourself into the perfect career-climbing, money-making neoliberal subject.
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Apr 13, 2021 17:01
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ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:This is a fair response that I had not considered. I suppose the ethos of the show is that ideologues in general are idiots or frauds, the only thing that matters is turning yourself into the perfect career-climbing, money-making neoliberal subject. If that’s the message you’re taking from freaking Mad Men then I have no idea what to say.
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Apr 13, 2021 17:06
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Is there any decent free video editing software out there? I have a running list of stupid mad men meme ideas that don't already exist, but I can't actually make any of them because the native windows 10 video editor sucks rear end.
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Apr 13, 2021 17:42
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S7: God, Lou Avery is such an rear end in a top hat.
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Apr 13, 2021 21:33
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JethroMcB posted:S7: God, Lou Avery is such an rear end in a top hat. It’s been long enough since I watched this show that I’ve forgotten major plot points and episodes that you folk have been talking about in spoilers, but somehow accutron is accurate has lived in my head rent-free since I first heard it
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Apr 13, 2021 21:53
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Lou is a stable reliable non-genius, his days at SC&P were always numbered. That being said, I really want to see the Scout's Honor anime.
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Apr 13, 2021 22:07
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The Klowner posted:Lou is a stable reliable non-genius, his days at SC&P were always numbered. That being said, I really want to see the Scout's Honor anime. Oh god I forgot about scouts honor until you mentioned it. What a dickhead Lou was
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Apr 13, 2021 22:08
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ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:This is a fair response that I had not considered. I suppose the ethos of the show is that ideologues in general are idiots or frauds, the only thing that matters is turning yourself into the perfect career-climbing, money-making neoliberal subject. [Ending spoilers] I guess it all lands on whether or not you think the show was celebrating those character choices. Don's ending leaves that thesis intentionally ambiguous IMO. He leaves Esalen to distill his experience there into a Coke ad, but the show doesn't really editorialize on whether that's a good thing. If you're inclined to view the show as a pro-capitalist ode to the neoliberal middle, then sure: Don's ending is a happy one. He turns his existential crisis into career gold, the synthesis of old Don and new Don, now better than ever! But you could easily view his ending as a tragedy, where Don sells his enlightenment to McCann and winds up right back where he started. If I was going to identify a central "moral argument" for the show, it wouldn't be a political one. It'd essentially be Peggy's pitch for Burger Chef: find the connection you're hungry for. The root cause of most character's unhappiness in the show comes from feelings of isolation, being misunderstood or undervalued or neglected. Feeling alone. The decay at Don's center is the belief that "the real him" is so odious and unlovable that without his outward success he'd be alone forever, but you could say similar things about Pete or Peggy or even Roger. They all try to fill some inner void with shallow, superficial things (money, sex, liquor, a Jaguar...the very products they advertise as solutions), but those things never actually work for them or for anybody. "A temporary bandage on a permanent wound," etc. What DOES work is valuing their relationships, having genuine and honest connections, seeing and respecting the people in their lives. Every major character's ending in the finale speaks to that idea, in some way or another. As does the "Buy the World a Coke" ad, whether you choose to view its message as cynical corporate pandering or a genuine statement of belief. Prince Myshkin posted:Don't forget Megan's father, who was made the most absurd caricature of a Marxist possible. [S5] He is a bit of a caricature, but much like Abe he isn't there purely to get dunked on. The "Codfish Ball" episode gives him a moment with Megan where his politics actually do speak to the truth. "I see you gave up the struggle and skipped right to the end. Is this what you truly want?" He's an arrogant, out-of-touch intellectual who's a bit of a joke in his marriage and his career. But he wasn't wrong about Megan, who genuinely does take his words to heart...she didn't really want to be in advertising, doesn't truly respect the work she was doing there, and actually did want to be an actress out of love for the craft. That is to say, even Emile has some kind of dimensional perspective, and the show doesn't necessarily reject it out of hand as some stab at Leftists.
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Apr 13, 2021 22:25
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JethroMcB posted:S7: God, Lou Avery is such an rear end in a top hat. He has no redeeming qualities. He even fails to use soap when washing his hands after taking a dump in the episode where the copywriters find out about Scout's Honor. Not cool, Lou. Not cool.
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Apr 13, 2021 22:51
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he went to japan and invented anime
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Apr 13, 2021 22:56
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Gaius Marius posted:he went to japan and invented anime An indefensible crime.
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Apr 14, 2021 00:30
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ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:This is a fair response that I had not considered. I suppose the ethos of the show is that ideologues in general are idiots or frauds, the only thing that matters is turning yourself into the perfect career-climbing, money-making neoliberal subject. Reagan made his bones doing work for the Goldwater campaign, nearly ran in 68. Cutting things into just Left Vs. Right never works, Nixon tried decently hard to get a form of universal healthcare passed, influenced by his rather rough childhood and upbringing. Nixon in general is absolutely fascinating, Nixonland is a must for anyone watching the show. Also to know one in particular, some of you guys have the most depressing views of the ending I've ever seen. I'm gonna actually have to sit and analyze it when we get there, In my opinion it's one of the most uplifting and liberating moments in TV history and what Sets Mad Men ahead of the Likes of Sopranos and Breaking Bad.
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Apr 14, 2021 01:44
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Last post about the ending on my part, since I don't want to fill the thread with black bars and I appreciate Jerusalem's analysis so there's value on keeping focus on wherever they're at.Gaius Marius posted:Also to know one in particular, some of you guys have the most depressing views of the ending I've ever seen. I'm gonna actually have to sit and analyze it when we get there, In my opinion it's one of the most uplifting and liberating moments in TV history and what Sets Mad Men ahead of the Likes of Sopranos and Breaking Bad. I want to say that I love Mad Men, it is one of my all-time favorite shows. The tension between the genuine personal progression for Don and the ultimate fate of what that will be used for is an unwitting statement on the prison we're all trapped in. Matthew Weiner definitely saw the ending as hopeful and has described the Coke as genuinely uplifting. As I've mentioned before, to me Mad Men perfectly encapsulates the Bush to Obama transitory era in which it was made where the hope was that America and the people (but mostly men) who run it could become better - more sensitive, kinder to women, more accepting of minorities. Whether you still believe those things: a Coke ad can be an artistic expression of hope and American can be made good will affect your read on the ending. Funny thought: Don Draper pitches the BLM Pepsi ad from a few years back.
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Apr 14, 2021 02:58
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Nixon was an opportunistic narcissist desperate for power and was willing to sometimes do good things in that effort. I don’t personally believe that he particularly gave a poo poo about the early wave of the New Right that brought him into power in terms of ideology. Reagan on the other hand was an absolute true believer and willing sock puppet for everything that the conservative establishment had been working toward for decades.
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Apr 14, 2021 03:09
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Shimrra Jamaane posted:Nixon was an opportunistic narcissist desperate for power and was willing to sometimes do good things in that effort. I don’t personally believe that he particularly gave a poo poo about the early wave of the New Right that brought him into power in terms of ideology. Reagan on the other hand was an absolute true believer and willing sock puppet for everything that the conservative establishment had been working toward for decades. self-serving amoral narcissists who will do or say anything for power, and gullible ideologues who follow them. It's a depressingly familiar dichotomy throughout history.
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Apr 14, 2021 04:12
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anyway,quote:Connie has no issue with making it clear what that is too, noting that despite his talk about Communists, Khrushchev and Disneyland, he doesn't want politics in his campaign... but he does want something "good". Don nods his agreement, and then business takes a backseat for a moment when Connie, feeling "lonesome" and particularly vulnerable, thanks Don sincerely for listening to him and tells him that he is like a son to him. More than a son, in fact, because Don has what Conrad's sons didn't, and as a result he understands Connie in a way they never can. This analysis has been sticking in my mind a little. I remember originally suspecting Don's response was insincere. He's certainly taken aback initially but his reaction that followed, I felt, was nothing more but a facade to assuage a client. Going back to rewatch the scene, it's pretty clear that he is in fact overcome, fighting even to keep himself from appearing too weak. I think my idea of Don in first viewing was a lot more skewed towards the sociopathic and performative, because that's the kind of person he would have to be to be able to do what he's done. And he is these things, but with J's writing to fill in the gaps, you can see the moments where the vulnerable human being frequently comes through as though there were klaxons attached to his face. Side note, that scene is intoxicating. Chelcie Ross is great but he kills it in that one in particular.
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Apr 14, 2021 04:30
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! https://i.imgur.com/8e9k1oy.mp4 I was screaming at the television during this entire scene. Oh my God 
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Apr 14, 2021 10:58
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Season 3, Episode 10 - The Color Blue Written by Kater Gordon & Matthew Weiner, Directed by Michael Uppendahl Paul Kinsey posted:I had something, something incredible. But I lost it. Carla is preparing dinner at the Draper Residence, Betty sitting at the table with the children as she and Carla break down how to divide up who picks up the groceries from where. Carla mentions she can stop by Rodney Farms for apples on her way back from Church on Sunday, which causes Sally to ask the kind of straightforward questions that kids often ask parents who really don't want to answer: why don't they go to Church? Betty responds that they do but with that same bluntness Sally points out they only go on special occasions, while Carla goes every Sunday.... why? Betty is saved from having to answer that by Don's arrival home, while Carla bites her tongue about what is clearly a mixture of disapproval about the Drapers' lack of religious observance and anxiousness about Sally's blunt questions putting Carla herself at risk of being an annoyance to her employer. Betty offers Don a drink which he gratefully accepts, while asking Sally how school was and pointing out to a protesting Bobby that he asked her first because her answers are always - mercifully - shorter than Bobby's. Bobby has already moved on from being offended though to ask when Halloween is, because he's a kid and a month probably feels like an agonizing eternity that will never end. That causes Betty to bring up that Francine and Carlton have invited them to a Halloween party but she'd like to spend it at her father's old home one last time before the place gets sold. That's a reasonable enough suggestion, and one that wouldn't hurt Don in the slightest to entertain, but he frowns and simply quietly sips his drink rather than answer, clearly dreading the idea and hoping that just ignoring it will make the problem go away, because that's a sensible and mature way to deal with things. He can't ignore the next question though, Betty asks if he'll be sleeping at home tonight and after a moment he says he won't be. She frowns and says he works too much, but as he starts to quietly protest this with a reminder that he doesn't really have a choice, she cuts him off to assure him that she's not having a go at him. Rather with clear affection and pride she tells him she is acknowledging what a hard worker he is, leaving unspoken that she values that he is doing it for them and their future. He smiles at this, grateful for her gratitude. The piece of poo poo then goes two miles down the road to bang his daughter's former schoolteacher and spend the night there instead. In season 1, Don wouldn't even bother to let Betty know he was spending overnight in the city and she just accepted it naively as the hard work of a devoted husband. Those days are long gone, but now that she believes she is aware of the work he is doing (answering Connie's endless demands) she seems to appreciate that he still makes the "effort" to come home and have dinner with the family and get the kids to bed before going back to "work". Suzanne lets him in with a broad smile, a star on one cheek which Don grasps means she has been grading schoolwork... the work of children the same age as his own, at the school his children go to. Somehow making things even worse is that this clearly isn't "only" a sexual affair either, she has been taking calls for him (he set up his service so now Connie's missed calls go to her place instead of his home), she made him date-nut bread, and there is an emotional connection between them in addition to the obvious physical attraction. While Betty Draper, loving and devoted wife and mother of his children, sits in a bath reading The Group (a novel about educated, intelligent women suffering thanks to the men in their lives), Don doesn't just have sex with Suzanne Farrell, he makes love to her. They lie in bed embracing, happy and content as could be, Don getting an emotional intimacy from her what he doesn't get from Betty because he doesn't allow their relationship to be that way in the first place.   As they lie in bed, Suzanne ruminates on her day, amused by an 8-year-old boy who suddenly up and asked her out of nowhere if everybody else in the world sees the color blue the same way he does and if not, how would anybody ever know? She was tickled pink by the idea, not because it's a unique concept (it's not) but because the innocence of a question not bound by preconceived "truth" allowed her to momentarily consider things from a different perspective. Don is amused, and actively participates in the pillow talk (we never see him do with this Betty), pointing out part of his job is about nailing down how people perceive things. He offers (gently, without malice) a more cynical counter to the idea that people may see things differently.... they might, but they don't really want to. In other words, people want to belong, they don't want to stand out, they don't want to be perceived as different. This gives Miss Farrell pause for a moment, it is a mindset she doesn't want to encourage in her students after all, and she asks Don a pertinent question: does he ever feel bad about what he does for a living? Don's answer is diplomatic and disarming without actually answering (so more akin to how he treats Betty), simply saying that nobody feels as good about their work as SHE does. She's flattered, of course, and jokes about what he must have been like as an 8-year-old. Don doesn't tell her, again deflecting to talk about her, saying 8-year-old him would have loved her and her curly hair, remarking that nobody has hair like that anymore. They kiss, two lovers enjoying just being in each other's presence. It would be endearing and sweet if he wasn't actively cheating on his wife who has done absolutely nothing to warrant his contempt, his disregard, and his endless infidelities. Infidelities which are made only worse by the fact they aren't even based on raw physical attraction, but women he pursues because he finds them interesting or who challenge him intellectually and philosophically. Don's affairs are a betrayal of a worse kind, he looks for a connection that he should have - and actively fights against having - with the woman he vowed to spend the rest of his life with. The next morning at Sterling Cooper, Harry, Paul, Ken and Marty wait outside of Don's office, where the subject of Ken's date - of lack of one - has come up. The Sterling Cooper 40th Anniversary is coming up, and they're all much amused at the fact Allison shot down his offer to go with him. As she points out - diplomatically avoiding telling him that she doesn't want to date him - it would be a bad look for HIM to show up to the party with the Creative Director's secretary. Don arrives and Allison greets him and asks if he'd like coffee (he takes his own coat and hat into the office! Progress!) and goes to grab Peggy at Paul's request.... once again, despite being literally in the office next door, Peggy has been excluded from the group until it is time for the work to be done. The meeting is regarding Aqua Net, and Paul Kinsey has an idea he wants to present. Not pitch.... present. Because he's Paul Kinsey and that means everything has to be a giant production. He directs everybody into their spots, setting up chairs to emulate a car and going into an incredibly lengthy explanation of his idea for a TV commercial. Don takes his coffee from Allison and considers a slice of the date nut bread Suzanne gave him (he's bringing snacks to work that she made him now!) as Paul goes on and on about his double date idea. When he finally gets to the slogan "Aqua Net. Arrive in Style", Paul leans back for the applause and admiration he knows is coming... and doesn't get it. The problem is it is TOO much story. Paul keeps having different things happen, Don complains, leaving too much room for the housewives watching at home to get confused or think things are going in a different direction. Paul is at a loss, but Peggy considers for a moment and then offers an incredibly slimmed down version of the same thing that far more effectively conveys what Paul was going for. Leaning back in his chair, a little sullen, Paul agrees his "Arrive in Style" slogan still fits, and then listens in horror as inspiration suddenly hits Peggy and she offers one last little visual flourish that Don beams approval over: revealing the Aqua Net logo by repeating the motif of a kerchief being blown away in the wind. Technically speaking, Paul's idea has been given the green light, just in a vastly cut down fashion that Don is going to (rightly) credit Peggy for. Don is already moving on to the next business though, surprising them by asking what they have in store for the Western Union campaign. They remind him the meeting for that isn't due until the following week, but he reminds them that with Hilton taking up so much time, he wants to have something ready to go at the drop of a hat for Western Union. Ken unhelpfully chimes in to note that he loves getting telegrams but never sends any, and with a grimace Don asks him exactly how that is supposed to help anybody (much like taking Allison to the party wouldn't help anyone!). They all begin packing up, Lane Pryce stepping into the office and remarking happily (and as always with an undercurrent of pleasant but passive disapproval) that now he knows where everybody is. He asks Allison gently to leave him and Don alone, before presenting Don with a very welcome bit of news for a change: his signing bonus has finally arrived. Don is handed an envelope and can't help but smile to see $5000 inside (more than Peggy was making in an entire year when she first started), but does offer a mild critique that it took two months for it to come through. Pryce ignores that, first asking if Connie will be attending the 40th Anniversary party (he will be) before letting Don know that they have chosen him to give the keynote speech of the evening... a tremendous vote of confidence and further reminder that more than ever he has become the face of the company over its founders. Allison returns, apologizing but explaining that Mrs. Pryce has shown up to Lane's office and insisted on seeing him. Pryce is almost immediately out the door, not exactly running but clearly alarmed . It's clear his wife is not the visiting type normally, for her to be here must mean something is going on. Curious, Don asks Allison what it's all about and she says she can find out, but he waves that off: he's curious but not enough to send his secretary out snooping. In Peggy's office, she barely has time to register an alarmed Olive buzzing in that Paul Kinsey is here before Paul bursts into the room demanding to know what the hell THAT was about? Peggy is bewildered, having no idea what he is talking about, and Paul complains bitterly about her putting her "little twirl" on his Aqua Net idea and stealing the glory. Peggy scoffs at the notion, saying nobody is keeping score (which is a little naive) and Paul snaps back that HE is keeping score (which is a lot egotistical). He complains that every-time they work together she comes out looking like she did all the work, and it's because she's a girl and she's spontaneous and she's his favorite AND she uses Aqua Net etc etc. Ironically he's doing the same thing that Don complained about, throwing too much out too quickly instead of focusing on one thing. Peggy sure as hell picked up on one thing though, the idea that she is Don's favorite. She is quick to discount that, saying that Don hates her. That is ridiculous of course but you can easily see why she thinks that, a lot of their recent interactions have involved Don complaining, insulting or accusing her of various things. But Paul has to take it to the next level, somehow getting SMUG as if she's some giant fraud that is about to be exposed by the heroic Paul Kinsey who isn't going to let her get away with stealing his thunder anymore. He proclaims that wearing a skirt won't help her with Western Union, he wants them to both work on ideas independent of the other and "let the chips fall where they may". He leaves in triumph, leaving behind an utterly confused Peggy who has no idea what the gently caress he is trying to say beyond the kind of sexist bullshit idiots fall back on as an excuse for why they failed to achieve something.   In Pryce's office, an unctuous Hooker brings a clearly upset Mrs. Pryce a glass of water and then hovers beside her and Lane, asking if there is anything else. He's dismissed, and Rebecca waits for him to be gone before grimacing that he is such a toad. Pryce has no trouble with throwing his dogsbody under the bus, agreeing that Hooker is before having her sit down and asking what has her so upset. What follows is a scene remarkable for the portrayal of the richness and depth (and complexity) of a long-established marriage... between two characters and two actors we have only ever seen share a single scene together before. Equal parts loathing and affection, bitter recriminations that come from shared experience accompanied almost immediately by regret and a soothing of ego or hurt feelings only made possible by long-standing familiarity with the other. It is far, far, far from a healthy marriage but it is an incredible believable one, not just for the time it is set in but for the cutural background of both characters. Because Lane and Rebecca are English with a Capital and Bolded E. Simultaneously repressed and prone to bitter emotional outbursts they are as equally quick to brush over or ignore. Rebecca insists that Lane bullies her into doing whatever he wants, while Lane complains that she makes mountains out of molehills and tries his patience with nonsense. She accuses him of having no personality of his own and simply being happy because a superior ordered him to do so, while he demands she at least try to make a go of things in America before apologizing for his harshness and trying to calm her and point out all the reasons they should absolutely be happy. At the heart of it all is that she isn't fitting in, or perhaps won't. She hates New York, hates America, sees criminals everywhere (she's English in the sense that anybody below a certain social standing is a "criminal" to her, particularly if they have the wrong color skin), finds American women crass, and can't put up with it any longer. I wonder if she knows how close they came to being shipped to Bombay, and if she would have ironically preferred that since at least there'd be an Ex-Pat community of well-off English people there to spend time with looking down on and exploiting the locals. She wants to return to London (or at the very least England), and it appalls her that not only does Lane not share this desire but she suspects he actually genuinely likes being here. On that last point he can agree: he is paid a good salary, the business he runs is flourishing, and he can afford to buy his wife nice things (with the simplistic viewpoint that this alone should make HER happy too). But there's something beyond that, there's something about America that appeals to him in the same way it disgusts her. What is it? Class perhaps, or the lack of it. Anybody who says America is a classless society is a fool, but by comparison to England? I mean... goddamn. Here in America, the likes of Pete Campbell consider themselves from good families but probably would exist completely beneath the notice of the English upper-class. That's the appeal for Lane, he openly marvels over the fact that after 10 months in America not once has anybody asked him what school he went to. That's unthinkable in England, where he'd proudly display a school tie that announced his social standing wherever he went and people would ask that question to ensure they could know exactly how to place him in relationship to themselves. Here in America at least, though it is far from perfect, the "American Dream" is absolutely possible for him - a wealthy white guy - in a way it never would be in England. He can make something of himself here. He can be somebody.  Don spends another night with Suzanne, making love in her bed as she whispers that she wants to scream (don't, he tells her) and then tells him to roll over (he doesn't mind her taking the lead here). Before things can continue though they hear a knock at the door, and before she can even think she automatically calls out to them to wait a minute. Don frowns, why did she respond? Now she has to answer the door and he has to hide in the bedroom. She shrugs, she just did it without thinking, but she leaves the bedroom while he quickly dresses, hearing her chatting with another man at the door who sounds apologetic. She returns and explains it is her brother, which is a relief since Don probably feared it was the owners who are technically his neighbors. He tells her to get rid of him for 15 minutes so he can escape, and is confused when she asks him to just come out now. He complains that while they can't hide that she had a man in her room, her brother doesn't need to know it was him, but Suzanne looks determined, telling him that she wants the two to meet. Against his better judgement, to keep her happy Don complies, though he warns her that he doesn't want to ruin this thing they've got going. She leads him out where he finds her brother Danny waiting, sitting at the table with a bandage on his head, unkempt hair and a sheen on sweat. He smiles knowingly when he sees Don, apologizing for wrecking their good time which gets him an admonishment from his sister. Don greets him politely and then tells Suzanne he has to go, but before he does Danny speaks up. He's aware of how he looks, and though he doesn't seem the type to really care how others think, perhaps for his sister's benefit he wants Don to know he isn't a junkie. That sounds like the kind of thing that a junkie would say, but with a smile that belies his bitterness Danny jokes that he's too dangerous to push a cart in a public library and Suzanne ties everything together with her explanation that he suffers from "fits". Danny finally drops the easygoing facade and apologizes for ruining this nice evening, saying he'll find someplace else to stay tonight. Suzanne stops him from going though, and Don decides to meet him halfway at least and offers the same handshake he forewent earlier. Unfortunately he "ruins" it by telling Danny he wishes him the best, and Danny offers back with some underlying hostility that Don doesn't even know him. Don doesn't have an answer for that, so goes to the door where Suzanne promises him they can see each other again tomorrow. She tries to kiss him goodnight but he doesn't allow it, uncomfortable doing this with her brother in the room, Danny watching him knowingly. He leaves, and now he's gone Danny has no problem offering his read on Don's character from their brief interaction: he's arrogant. Part of that is his own (understandable) distaste for strangers and their pity when they discover his condition, but when Suzanne complains that Danny doesn't know Don at all, she's the one being blind. Danny might have only just met Don but he nailed it in one: Don IS arrogant, and clearly not in a good mood over HIS plans for the evening being ruined. He also likens Don to their mother in the way he "knows how to leave a room" and I love that line, it is just tossed in there but it hints at the tip of an iceberg of the shared lives of this brother and sister who existed before they first showed up on screen. Suzanne lets Danny's complaints pass, instead promising Danny that she'll find him another job, somewhere that is safe. Danny, arrogant in his own way, laughs bitterly that the problem is other people and not him, so where is he gonna find a job that doesn't have other people in it? His attitude is understandable, apart from his seizures he is exactly the same as everybody else, but people treat him as lesser than because of his condition, and he carries a bit of a chip on his shoulder as a result (and a defense mechanism). At Sterling Cooper the next day, Cooper and Roger marvel over an old framed photo from the first day of the company's existence, almost 40-years-ago to the day. It was 1923, and the group of suited men in the photo were "giddy" according to Cooper, despite the fact almost all of them have flat, grim expressions on their faces. It was 1923, and they were only a few years away from the Great Depression, none of them know how hard things were going to be, but they made it through... they survived and thrived. Well, kind of, as Roger points out that apart from Cooper everybody else in the photo is dead now. Well, everybody but Doug Thompson - a man with a long face even taking into account the stern expressions of the photography of the time - who even now Roger resents for letting him eat an entire roll of Bolls Laxatives when he was a child, thinking they were candy. Roger being Roger, even adulthood and enormous success haven't cured him of bitterness to those he percieves as having wronged him, and he comments that he'd like Thompson to show up just so Roger can watch him keel over dead. That elicits a despairing response from Cooper that catches Roger off-guard. He doesn't want to go to ANOTHER funeral, and bemoans that a 40th Anniversary for a business is insignificant except for one thing: 40 years is also the average expected lifespan for somebody to be in the advertising business. He doesn't want to go, doesn't want to be reminded that his own time in business is due or perhaps overdue to end. A surprised Roger agrees that if he doesn't want to go he doesn't have to, before admitting that he'd rather not go too. Why? Because of Don Draper, of course. It is the 40th Anniversary of THEIR company, but it isn't their company anymore. Both of them are increasingly becoming irrelevant to the day-to-day concerns of the company, and Roger has seen the writing on the wall ever since Guy pulled out that organizational chart and they "forgot" to put Roger on it. Since then, he's seen clients bypass him to go to Harry, seen Don refuse him access to a giant new client in Conrad Hilton, and increasingly seen Don being presented as the face of the company. Don, a man that Roger discovered working a fur company and going to night school. Don, who his ex-wife Mona used to joke was - along with Betty - like the model of a bride and groom found on a wedding cake: plastic perfection. That is the Don who will be giving the keynote speech. The Don who will be getting an award for his "humanity". Don Don, Don Don Don. No, he doesn't want to attend either, and has no objections to Cooper not going. Roger laughs to see an old glamor photo of a secretary from the early days of the company, he and Roger wincing at the memory of her. So it goes, two old men (and yes, Roger is old, whether he wants to admit it or not) sit safely ensconced in their memories of a time when they were more important and vital to a company that is running just fine without them... perhaps better than ever, in fact.   That evening at the Draper Residence, Don is making the enormous sacrifice of having a night in rather than being down the road banging the young schoolteacher. Bobby is watching TV, Polly resting beside him, while Sally does her homework at the kitchen table where Betty is also seated reading her book. This cozy domestic scene is intruded on by the blaring of the telephone, and a hopeful Sally asks Betty if she can be the one to answer it. Betty tells her to make sure she does it right, and Sally does: answering with a hello and identifying the caller has reached the Draper Residence. But nobody answers, and a confused Sally tells her parents that they "hanged" up without speaking. It was probably just a wrong number, they assure her, but she doesn't get why they didn't tell her that, after all she could hear them breathing so they must have heard her too, right? Sally snaps at her only half-jokingly not to take things so personally, and Sally goes back to doing her homework, though not before letting out a tiny little "Jeez Louise" under her breath that is just loud enough to be heard, testing her boundaries a little. Don and Betty don't notice or aren't bothered by this though. Rather, they just keep on reading the newspaper and book respectively, going out of their way to present a front of normalcy. Because all throughout that scene, each kept casting little looks the other's way when they knew the other wasn't looking. Why? Because Don of course suspects it might have been Suzanne calling and is checking out of guilt to see if Betty suspects, while Betty is probably worried it was Henry Francis and is checking to see if HE suspects. Why either would suspect anything is ludicrous, but hey, that's what a guilty conscience will do to you! Far from home and far from domestic is Paul Kinsey. Having talked a big game he's now remembering an unpleasant truth about being a copywriter: coming up with ideas is hard! The best he has managed so far is a rough sketch of a Mr. Magoo looking old man with an ear trumpet, which is unlikely to be eagerly seized upon by Western Union as a new mascot. To help lubricate the gears in his mind, he's pouring himself drink after drink, which is probably going to have the same creative impact that smoking weed gave him on the Bacardi campaign (i.e, none). Perhaps to remind himself that he is actually capable of good ideas, he pulls out an old mock-up of the Playtex campaign he spearheaded which was unfortunately shut down before they could ever use it, showing off a "Marilyn" and a "Jackie" in form-fitting underwear. Peggy is also working alone in her office, and having about the same level of success as Paul. She is at least putting in the effort, dictating into a machine for Olive her thoughts in hopes of mining them for gold once they're typed up the next day. Like Paul she is drinking, except it is soda for her, and as she runs through the benefits of Western Union over the telephone (like Paul she can only think of old, but she does at least frame that as "traditional") a little burp escapes her mouth. Mortified, she records a quick apology to Olive who is going to have to hear this. Also thinking of others is Paul, who drags his couch in front of the door so nobody can burst in. He puts on music to act as a noise shield, then takes a seat back at his desk. Why does he want privacy? Because the next thing he does is pull a rag out of his draw and start unbuckling his pants. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he's going to masturbate to that Playtex campaign, and if that doesn't sum Paul Kinsey up to a tee. Because of course, it's not just that it is a couple of beautiful women in their underwear... he's literally jerking off to his own idea, his ego really is that out of control. Peggy finishes up for the evening while Paul is finishing up, leaving the dictation machine on Olive's desk and making her exit, noting from the music that Paul is also working late, though whether she's impressed or concerned about him demonstrating a (perceived) work ethic for a change is unclear. With everybody else in the house asleep, Don moves into his study to transfer his signing bonus to his locked drawer. Does he think about the fact his 5k signing bonus roughly equals the money he gave to Adam? Or has that money long since left his thoughts? He pulls the key that Betty has long sought for from his case, unlocks the drawer and slides the money away. Hearing Gene start to cry, he locks the drawer back up and then without thinking pops the key into his robe's pocket before going to check on his son. Paul emerges from his office, drink in hand, no less stressed despite whatever release he got from "Marilyn" and "Jackie". He bellows out Peggy's name into the empty office, perhaps to see if she is there, perhaps with plans to admit failure... or more likely to hide his own frustration by lambasting her some more or somehow being to blame for his creative dry spell. A voice calls back, but it isn't Peggy's. He enters the break room where he finds an old maintenance man (played by Hal Landon Jr!) switching out the overhead fluorescent lights. This is Achilles, he introduces himself when he accepts Paul's handshake (grossss) after Paul gives his own name. Paul is amused by the name, asking if Achilles is Greek ("I'm an American citizen!" Achilles insists, mistaking Paul's intent at first) and how he got the name... even as he goes to the fridge and just blatantly takes the lunch from a bag clearly marked as belonging to somebody called Sarah, because of course he does. Achilles starts to chat happily about how Achilles is a family name, but as he talks Paul is suddenly hit by a bolt of lightning. He hushes Achilles, even now unable to resist theatrics as he takes a moment to let a broad smile cross his face, then declares with exhilaration to Achilles (who is at best a prop in his mind) that he has thought of something very, very good. Declaring he shall sleep soundly tonight and he hopes Achilles does the same, he strides merrily out of the break-room and straight back to his office. Once there, he immediately.... pours himself a drink. Oh God no. No Paul. Write it down, Paul. He then of course.... drops happily down onto his couch. Paul! Write it down! He realizes he has actually brought the bottle rather than the glass and laughs to himself, then just takes a generous swig directly from the bottle. PAUL! WRITE IT DOWN! He sits there on the couch, beaming with happiness, and actually does a little dance/stomp with his feet because like a toddler he can't quite contain his excitement. WRITE THE loving THING DOWN PAUL! https://i.imgur.com/8e9k1oy.mp4 Paul..... The next morning, Betty collects the laundry, including Don's robe, and piles it into the basket to be washed. Oh poo poo. On the train, Don is asked by a woman if she can take a seat beside him... and of course it's Miss Farrell. Oh poo poo. He allows her to seat but alarm bells are blaring in her head as she happily (but at least quietly) explains that she is making sure she'll only be on for a stop, and she had tried to "bump" into him on the platform to avoid even needing to do that. Don passes her a section of his paper as if she'd asked for one, giving them an excuse to be talking as well as a shield to continue. He asks what has been on his mind, did she call his house last night? She's offended he would ask, and actually makes to leave until he stops her and, wonder of wonders, actually apologizes. However a line she offers next does raise some questions, as she reminds him HE said he would call her. Maybe she wasn't the person who rang the house, but something about that line... almost as if she was punishing him for not following through? If Don thinks of that he gives no sign, just reminds her that with his brother at her house he doesn't want to call: theirs is a private affair, the presence of her brother takes that away. Staring intently at him, she tells him that she doesn't care about his marriage of his job, all she cares about is being with him. That should also be setting off alarm bells in Don's mind, because somebody with that level of commitment is also likely to be somebody who burns it all down when they realize the best they can hope for is whatever they have right now, and the worst is being discarded once the fun is over. But maybe that's being unfair, because Don responds by holding her hand, hidden away beneath the paper, offering her not just a physical connection but again that sense of something deeper and more intimate. She informs him she was able to get Danny a job at the VA Hospital in Bedford. It isn't fancy, all he'll be doing is pushing a broom, but it has nice grounds and it will be "safe". That means he'll be gone by tonight, so Don can come around again. He asks if she is sure, not meaning sure he can come around but sure her brother will be gone, making it clear that as long as he's around Don won't be: he wants her all to himself or not at all. They reach the next stop which marks an end to the conversation, so Miss Farrell stands, tells Mr. Draper it was nice to meet him and then makes her exit. As she goes, Don turns to look after her, and she looks back and sees exactly what she wanted to see, which was him looking after her. Betty loads the laundry, including Don's robe, into the washing machine. Oh poo poo. Paul Kinsey is passed out on his couch and finally awoken by his secretary putting subtlety aside and just screaming his name. It's 9am and she has let him sleep as long as she could, but now he has to be up. Who is his secretary? Well against all reason somehow it is still Lois. Yes, somehow she avoided being fired after the debacle with Guy and the lawnmower, and for once she is not the most inept person in the room as she tries to get Paul to grasp what is going on: the working day has begun, he has to get up! Struggling up, he still has a smile on his face because despite the heavy drinking he remembers that he came up with genius last night. He informs her he needs her to type it up, and goes to collect what he wrote last night from his desk... at which point he discovers nothing. Positive he wrote it down, remembering clear as day that he wrote it down (he did not write it down) he demands to know if she came in and removed something before he woke up? Becoming more frantic, he looks through pads, the trash, his drawers (there's a cum rag in there, but that probably doesn't help!) while a confused Lois tries to help by offering vague assurances that it is always in the last place you look and maybe he should retrace his steps. He groans for her to shut up, then launches himself out of the office towards the break room. Maybe he is retracing his steps, maybe he half-believes he wrote it down in there with Achilles before leaving? All he knows is that he had a million dollar idea last night, but he can't remember what it was and he can't find any evidence he wrote it down anywhere. Because he didn't. Goddammit, Paul.
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Apr 14, 2021 11:44
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Lane Pryce writes things down of course, he's British! In his office he completes reading out a rather uninspired "inspirational" speech for the 40th Anniversary, listened to by Hooker who of course declares that it was very rousing. It wasn't, but the word rousing does concern Pryce... was it Churchill rousing or Hitler rousing!?! Hooker is saved from having to answer that by the ringing of the phone, and is happy to answer that instead. It's Harold Ford calling from London, and Hooker passes the phone to Pryce who assures him that all the plans for the party are going well, though in a late change Bert Cooper will no longer be attending. Ford immediately declares that this won't do, PPL are flying over for the party and they want "all the flowers in the vase". Pryce is confused, whatever for? After all, Cooper and Roger were right: Don is the future and they're the past. Maddeningly, as if Pryce should have known information that he is only just now being given, Ford explains that as there is interest in purchasing Sterling Cooper they want a big party to attract a second suitor to help up the asking price. Pryce is stunned.... PPL is going to sell Sterling Cooper? Why!?! Ford passes the phone to Saint John Powell, who with his usual charm points out that Lane is answering his own question when he points out staff has been reduced and revenue increased by 22%. For Pryce, that meant Sterling Cooper was a moneymaker and therefore an asset to be treasured... but for Saint John Powell, it just makes it an attractive asset to sell for a lot of money and make a profit on their original purchase without having to continue to pay salaries or overheads. Saint John Powell repeats Ford's earlier statement: they need the party to be a success to encourage more interest in the purchase. With a dismissive,"Do your best, lad," he ends the call, and Lane is left sitting pondering the unthinkable: no more Sterling Cooper, which means no more Managing Partner Lane Pryce, which means no more New York or America. The new life he has been building (and appreciating) is going to be taken away, after he only so recently got a reprieve thanks to Lois and the lawnmower (is HE the reason she kept her job?). Hooker, clearly knowing everything isn't fine, asks if everything is fine. Pryce, of course, insists everything is and dismisses Hooker, so he can go back to staring at nothing, thinking and dreading a return to a London that might not have fog but is - for him - dismal, grey and full of people who are only interested in what school you went to.   A nervous Betty Draper puts through a call to Henry Francis' office via his secretary. Henry takes the call gladly, dismissing his aides, telling Betty is is a pleasant surprise. What isn't pleasant is Betty, who has screwed up the courage to make this call against her better judgement, asking if he called her house last night. Confused, he is quick to promise her that no he did not, and at a loss how to proceed Betty explains they had a hang-up and she thought it might be him. Both offended and amused, Henry asks if she WANTED him to be the one who made the call, and she quickly declares that no she didn't. But he doesn't buy it, declaring that he didn't call and he isn't going to because he's not playing games.... and if she wants to call HIM, she should just do so rather than making up excuses. Mortified, Betty says goodbye and Henry returns it, and she hangs up. She's left sitting in front of the now silent phone, not quite able to believe what she's done. When she walked out of his office, she did so in a dignified manner that allowed her to feel good about herself: she was tempted and she resisted, she kept her head and control of herself and didn't submit to her base desires. She was the clear "winner" of their last encounter, and could have gone the rest of her life knows that she handled things in the best way possible. Now all that is out the window, whether she wanted an excuse to call him or not, by doing so she has opened up even the thinnest possibility in both their minds that she might be open to rekindling the affair they never consummated. She has put the power back in his hands, now he is the guy who got to tell HER what was what, to have the high ground in their parting. Now she either has to live with that, or court disaster again if she tries to explain herself or prove something to either of them. Pryce visits Cooper in his office where the latter is watching television, asking him if he can turn it off so they can have a serious discussion. He brings up that he has learned Cooper will not attend the 40th Anniversary, face in serious School Headmaster mode though he allows a smile when Cooper points out that if he wanted that to be a secret he wouldn't have told Roger in the first place. Taking a seat, he points out that in Britain there are endless testimonials happening and the senior members are never enthusiastic about them, as he imagines reminder of the the passage of time is unwelcome. Cooper bristles a little at that, even though it is accurate, stating that he didn't get where he is by dwelling on the past (he is dedicated to keeping his dead partner's son Roger in business to fulfill a vow, and just this episode was poring over all photographs). Pryce tries a different tack then, think of Sterling Cooper's future: all the clients, the press, trade publications, his underlings etc will all be there and he should be seen to be a part of that. This amuses Cooper, who declares that Pryce pours on the honey and then licks it off: in other words, he is buttering Cooper up to get what HE wants out of it. So Pryce takes a different tack, and a very successful one. If Cooper isn't at the party, given his age people will assume he COULDN'T be there and is ill. Cooper is stunned by this, and then laughs, recognizing the clumsy but effective technique for what it is, asking Pryce who let him know that he (Cooper) was vain? Pryce laughs back and proclaims it is obvious for all to see, knowing from Cooper's reaction that he has succeeded. Cooper sits chuckling, enjoying very much having been (crudely, but successfully) manipulated, and Pryce chuckles along with him, a seemingly genuine affection for the eccentric. He is also fully aware that he has been forced to use Cooper in order to sell the man's life work for the SECOND time in less than two years. Betty continues reading The Group when she hears a familiar and unwelcome clanking noise coming from the laundry room. Oh poo poo. She goes to investigate and, of course, finds the keys. Immediately suspecting what they might be, all thoughts of Henry Francis are banished now as she moves to Don's study and tries the key. Of course it fits, and FINALLY she has access to her husband's mysterious locked drawer. She opens it and there's all that money sitting piled up. She has a little smile at that, but she's also not concerned or tempted by the stacks, after all she comes from money and Don has never been anything but a generous provider for the family. No what interests her is what he deems worthy of keeping secret, an initial interest born out of her (correct) belief that he was cheating on her and has grown into something more as she has grown more resentful of how closely he guards himself from her. There are papers in that drawer, pads and writings that might tell her things but may also simply be musings on various accounts he needed to keep secure. But what she pulls out first is the shoe-box, recognizing it as a universal indicator as a storage box for treasured things. She flips the lid off and immediately freezes. She didn't know exactly what she might find, but what she did was the last thing she could have ever expected: photos. Family photos. Photos of Don as a child. This is it, this is look into a massive hole in her knowledge of Don's life, and it has just been sitting here - as far as she knows - in his drawer all this time. But there's something... not right. The photos clearly show Don, even as a teenager there is no mistaking his face, but who is the young boy with him... and why does the back of the photo say,"Dick and Adam" rather than "Don and Adam" or "Dick and Don"? Here is a photo of what can only be Don's parents, people she has never met, her only knowledge of Don's father being that he beat Don who dreamed of murdering him. Looking through the rest of the box offers no answers, only more questions. There are two sets of dog tags, one for Don Draper which makes sense... but one for somebody called Richard Whitman? Dick? Don's Honorable Discharge from the Army is inside, but that makes sense, she knew that he was a decorated war hero. But why is there a deed to a house in California there too? Who is this Anna Draper listed on the deed? And then the coup-de-grace, the revelation that shakes her to her core: a certificate of divorce between one Donald and Ann Draper. Don has been married before, and never once mentioned it or this Anna to her. Ever. With a stumble she falls back into Don's seat, a yawning chasm opened in her heart, her soul, and the pit of her stomach. Like Bluebeard's wife she has gotten past the lock only to discover something beyond her deepest and darkest fears. Not evidence of affairs, but evidence of enormous holes far beyond even the ones she knew in her knowledge of a man who is supposed to be her soulmate. She hears a door close and the voice of Carla and her children. Frantic, she tries to grab at the shoe-box to put it away, but it and the contents crash to the floor. Standing, she moves to the doorway as Carla passes by and calls out to her, Carla immediately grasping that something is wrong. Struggling to keep composed, Betty claims she is fine but she wants Carla to take the children back out and not bring them back... not till dinnertime at least. Rather than questioning it, Carla simply nods and does as she is told. She's no fool, something is up, but the best thing for her and the children is just to give Betty her space to sort through whatever needs to be sorted. Of course, she has no idea just how much there is to be sorted.   With no idea of what is waiting for him at home, Don of course has gone to Miss Farrell's straight from work, not even bothering to do the token dinner with his actual wife and children this time. She greets him happily, and shares a kiss with him.... before Danny apologetically reveals that he is still here. She could have told him this, she knew he didn't want to be there at the same time and wasn't comfortable with physical displays of affection in front of him, but she got what she wanted first before the reveal came. She didn't do it maliciously, but it's a reminder if one was needed that SHE has her own desires and wants and doesn't necessarily think Don's get to come first. Even taking every other factor out of the equation, that would be sure to cause tension between them sooner or later. Still, what's done is done, so Don just chuckles at Danny's apology before Suzanne explains she had intended to have dropped him off by now and be back to greet him, and asks him if he'd like to wait here while she drives him up there now. Don has a couple of choices here. One of them, the obvious one, is to use this time to go home and be with his family before returning to indulge in his affair. Instead, Don decides to do her a favor and offers to drive Danny himself, claiming he doesn't want Suzanne to make that long drive home alone after dropping Danny off. Danny agrees, saying he'd rather say goodbye here now than up there, because up there he knows it will sound ungrateful. Pleased by Don's offer and Danny's agreement, relieved without wanting to admit it about not having to make the drive, she passes her brother an envelope stuffed with what cash she could manage to scrounge up - $375 - and embraces him. His thanks comes by way of commenting/questioning how many times she has done this for him, making his gratitude clear. Don watches, and thoughts of sending his own brother away must be on his mind: he gave him a lot more money but sent him away without anything close to the same level of love. Speaking of love (and tangentially, Adam), Betty sits on the couch in the dark, the television on but only having eyes for the shoe-box she has placed prominently on the edge of the kitchen table. She is waiting for Don's return, ready to surprise and confront him with all the questions the box has given rise to, unaware that he's off making even more secrets to keep from her. Don drives Danny through the night, curious why he is insistent they stop for gas since the tank is fine. Does he NEED to stop? It isn't taking a piss on Danny's mind though, and he's not the type to beat around the bush if it was: no, he is going to be honest with Don... he's not going to Bedford. He admits he did have a "movie in my head" about giving Don the slip, but it's easier just to tell him the truth. Don doesn't express surprise, but he does express determination: Danny might not be going but Don is, which means he's along for the ride. He is less than impressed when Danny complains that Don shouldn't care since he's just gonna get to go back and screw Suzanne anyway. He starts to offer a speech, about how Danny needs to understand the job is important etc, but Danny cuts that off by pointing out that Don didn't get him the job so he can shut up about how important it is. This is not the first time somebody has tried to "explain" things to him, and he's had enough of it: he isn't retarded, he has epilepsy.... hell so did Julius Caesar, and he ran Rome! "Things didn't turn out so well for him," notes Don, which is a fantastic retort even if he has nothing to do with Danny's actual point. But Danny isn't going to be moved, and the argument he makes is one that Don can commiserate with: Danny is 25-years-old and he knows the future facing him if he goes to Bedford is mopping floors and cleaning out toilets until he gets old and dies. As someone who came from a place with no future and found the most unexpected of outs, Don can't bring himself to drive Danny to a fate he avoided, and so he finally pulls over to the side of the road. Before Danny can go though, Don tells him to wait, because he has one last message to give him. Pointing out that he's older and knows a thing or two, Don starts to give the speech about it not being too late to turn things around. Danny cuts him right off though, scoffing at the notion of pulling himself up "by the bootstraps". Now Don is offended, does Danny really think that is impossible? For Don of course, the fact his own "self-made" accomplishments were born out of the luck/pure chance of the death of the original Don Draper doesn't even occur to him. He still made himself into something, and makes the assumption that anybody else can too without recognizing (or being willing to accept) that some people are screwed without a twist of fate like he experienced. Danny lays it on the line, his hostility and arrogance born out of a lifetime of being mistreated or looked down upon by everybody but his sister. He can't just become somebody else, he can't pretend or through sheer force of will make a new life for himself. Because he can't hide his affliction, sooner or later he will have a seizure, and even the kindest and most giving of people will look at him differently after he has a "fit" and pisses his pants in front of them. The best on offer for him for secure employment are menial jobs, and he won't meekly just accept that fate. He'd rather live on the road, working job to job getting by until his condition forces him to move on. Don winces to hear Danny be so blunt, but that's the point Danny is trying to make: it isn't fair and it isn't nice and it messes with people's ideas that anybody who just puts the work in can make it in America... but that's how it is. So he offers the next best thing that he can: money. He gives Danny some cash, and then in frustration mutters that he swore he would try to do this right for once, and also hands over his card. Danny is confused but Don insists that he is ever in need he can call to ask for help, and that he needs to remember it will break Suzanne's heart if anything ever happened to him. Danny takes the card, collects his briefcase and shuts the door and walks away without a second thought even as Don is offering a final take care. Don sits a moment and then starts the car up again and drives away, Danny disappearing around a corner and out of his life. Giving him his card feels like a weird misstep considering he's having an affair with his sister, but really what could Danny say or threaten by way of blackmail based only on having Don's card? Regardless of any potential threat though, Don made himself do it for one reason and one reason alone: Adam. He sent his own brother away once with nothing but money, and Adam ended up committing suicide and dying alone in a rundown hotel. Danny may not be his brother, but Don can at least be there to help a brother in need this time. Maybe it's just to make him feel better about himself, maybe like a depressingly large number of people the plight of somebody else is only real to them when they experienced something akin to it themselves. Whatever the case, Don made the offer, and he made it with surprising sincerity.   Betty has migrated from the couch to the table, sitting with the shoe-box in front of her, drinking wine and smoking copiously to the point she is hacking and coughing like Pete Campbell after a single puff. There is no sign of Don, and like Danny the movie she has been playing out in her head is not coming to pass. Don of course has gone back to Suzanne's, though he may have driven around for a bit first to hide he didn't make it to Bedford. She admits she knows Danny thinks she was just passing him off to somebody else, but she really does just want only the best for him. Don promises that Danny knows that, and lies that the VA in Bedford was nice, before simply offering it was as good as can be. They kiss but she pulls away, tears in her eyes, saying she doesn't want to. "It's okay," Don reassures her, pulling her close, being there for her, the loving partner there to be a rock in her most trying time. While he does that, his actual wife tires of waiting for his return at last and, at 2am she returns the shoe-box to the drawer, locks it and returns the key to his robe. She climbs into the bed, the rest of the laundry left forgotten in the basket and crashing to the floor as she goes to bed, alone. Completely unaware of the disaster he narrowly avoided but that is still waiting to erupt, Don arrives at Sterling Cooper the next morning and changes into the fresh clothes he keeps in his drawer: these were there from the first episode as shorthand for his common overnight stays with his mistress, even after he started just doing his roaming out of town they remained because he never had any intention of changing. Allison gets Betty on the phone at his request, she lies despondent in bed on the phone and asks dully where he was last night. Breezily he just lies, saying he told her he would be with Connie last night, and she mumbles that she must have forgotten. The fire has gone out of her, only the sick emptiness she first felt on seeing the divorce decree remains. For a moment there is a spark, after he asks about his tuxedo and informs her to be ready to go by 5:30pm she mumbles she won't go, and when he asks what is wrong she feels the anger returning. "What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG!?!" she starts... and then it's all gone, she can't keep up the energy and certainly not over the phone, she wants to be looking him in the eye. So she just mumbles that she doesn't feel well, and completely failing to read her emotional tone he tells her to get some rest but to be ready in 7 hours. After all, all the clients and top brass will be there and he wants them to see the elegant, glamorous Betty Draper: he wants to show her off. Words that would have once thrilled her and left her brimming with adoration leave her cold now. She just mutters okay, fingers listlessly curling the phone cord before she hangs up. She lays back in the bed, pondering the loving words of a husband who keeps everything from her without giving the slightest sign that anything is wrong. Even after their reconciliation, he has still left her entirely in the dark.  Peggy comes to collect Paul, it's time for them to present their Western Union ideas to Don. With a sigh Paul admits he has nothing, and Peggy says that is a relief as all her ideas are garbage too. No, Paul explains, he had SOMETHING... but he lost it, because he didn't write it down. Peggy takes that in for a second, then offers the last thing Paul expected to hear.... "I hate it when that happens." Surprised, he runs through his efforts to recreate his thought process, going so far as to recreate each step last night (does that include masturbating to the Playtex account?) including talking to Achilles, but nothing happened. Peggy is a little confused about talking to Achilles so Paul explains he is a janitor... with a very bad memory. Yes, Paul somehow thought Achilles might have gotten some insight on his idea from their brief and unproductive initial conversation. Paul laments it was the best idea he ever had (he was drunk, the idea probably sucked!) and quotes an old Chinese saying,"The faintest ink is better than the best memory." Peggy nods and, since there is nothing else for it, tells him to come along to see Don, because it's not like they haven't failed before. They're going to go in there together, pitch garbage, get yelled at, and then go back to work. In Don's office, Peggy and Paul takes their seats and Peggy takes the lead. Her first suggestion is playing up that phonecalls are common but telegrams are special, they can run with slogans playing up special events like weddings requiring something more than a phone-call. Don rejects that, that's targeting consumers who would probably already be at the event in question in the first place. Next is the idea that old people love telegrams, so why not run with,"When you care, send one there." Don points out that's a slogan but it isn't an idea, and tired of hearing Peggy's ideas turns to Paul to see what he has to say. Absolutely not an improv guy, Paul makes a show of looking through his papers while saying most of what he has is largely along the same lines as Peggy (who made a point of pitching HER ideas as THEIR ideas, because she has empathy). Don isn't going to accept a non-answer during a pitch though, and snaps at him asking what his excuse is. To his surprise, Peggy - a little sick and tired of Don taking out his aggression on his Copywriters - quietly tells him not to yell at Paul. Turning his raised voice on Peggy now, he growls,"Excuse me?" for daring to call him out. Peggy quietly insists that Paul tell Don what happened, alarming him greatly: is she throwing him under the bus the moment Don turned an angry glare her way? "No," he says, but it's too late now, Don is staring at him and knows that something happened, so what was it? Paul childishly offers that a dog ate his homework, then finally just flat out admits the truth: he had something, he lost it.... he didn't write it down. "I hate when that happens," sympathizes Don after a moment of taking this in, unknowingly echoing Peggy. Paul is stunned, Don just... accepted that? You can tell people the truth!?! What stuns him even more is suddenly in the silence that follows Don's pained sympathy for the Copywriter's curse, Peggy starts musing on an idea that she credits Paul with inspiring. She asks him to repeat his line about the Chinese saying, then comments to Don that when you call somebody to congratulate them on a baby or a wedding etc.... you give your well-wishes, hang up and poof, it's gone forever. Not so a telegram, which is permanent. A telegram is forever." "You can't frame a phone call," adds Don, intrigued. Paul's head twists from one to the other like in a tennis match, watching the creative process unfold directly in front of him. Peggy smiles and nods in appreciation of Don's addition, and Don actually smiles back as if he respects and appreciates HER appreciation. The mutual respect of colleagues, of peers. "My God..." he declares, unable to help himself. Just like that, the meeting is over, Don declaring this is what they'll go with and since the party is tonight they don't need anything final on his desk till Monday. Peggy nods and that's that, what should have been a disaster to Paul turned into just another meeting.... in fact it turned into a productive one! Something got done, and he was a part of it, even if as a passive observer. "See," notes Don with smile as Paul goes to leave,"It all works out."  There is so much to unpack in his "My God." The cynical take would be that he thinks Peggy has gone it again, she's taken his idea and put her little "twirl" on it it and gotten all the credit from Don for being his favorite. She pretended sympathy and then "stole" from him. The more positive take, and the one I choose to believe, is that this was a Road to Damascus moment for Paul. He saw it all happen, you see, the actual creative process happening right before his eyes. Peggy came up with this idea on the fly, it wasn't pre-planned or orchestrated or in any way manipulated. He saw her conceive an idea, saw her and Don bat it back and forth and refine it, saw it succeed. And he realizes in this moment, or at least I hope he does, that Betty isn't just a skirt or a favorite or getting preferential treatment: she's there on merit. She's a Copywriter, and a drat good one. She understands Don in a way he didn't... she had him tell the truth knowing that Don would have had the same experience, because it's one they have ALL had. They're all Copywriters (or were in the past, like Don) and they stand together in a brother/sisterhood because of it. Hell, Peggy not only tried to protect him at the start of the meeting, when she came up with the idea she made sure to credit Paul as being the genesis of the idea in the first place. Along with that knowledge, of course, also comes another undeniable fact: Peggy Olson is another person surpassing Paul Kinsey. Ken Cosgrove is a published writer and now co-Head of Accounts. Harry Crane created and runs the television department. Pete Campbell was always fast-tracked for success due to his family and he's co-Head of Accounts as well. Even Sal, before his exit, had moved over from Head Artist to a Commercial director. Now Peggy Olson has gone from secretary to Junior Copywriter to Copywriter and in that exchange he also saw a future Creative Director. All this time, Paul Kinsey has remained in exactly the same place, and at some point (one would hope) he has to start acknowledging what the common denominator is in all this.... Paul Kinsey. 5:30pm comes and Betty Draper finds herself seated on the edge of the bathtub, dressed up as glamorously as promised, her hair and makeup perfect as ever. She's utterly miserable. Don calls to her as the children enter the bedroom to tell their father that the driver is waiting downstairs for them, Bobby giggling over the fact he's Chinese. Betty enters the bedroom, clearly not only miserable but angry, but Don doesn't notice in the slightest, instead putting on his,"Wow!" face and commenting to the children how pretty mommy is. She forces a smile that disappears almost as soon as Don turns his back to her, going through the motions and unsure herself why she is even bothering. If the car ride is going to be torture for her though, imagine poor Jane Sterling. She's sandwiched between her old husband Roger and her ancient mother-in-law Nellie, whose mind isn't the best and forgets that the Waldorf Astoria (of course they're holding the party there) moved from 5h Avenue to Park years ago. Belatedly remembering, Nellie sighs and turns to Jane, telling "Margaret" to enjoy the world as it is. Taking Jane by the hand, Roger reminds his mother that she's not his daughter Margaret but his wife Jane. His WIFE!?! Nellie is shocked... does Mona know!?! "Yes, she knows" offers Jane, expression flat, really not in the mood to be understanding about being mistaken for her own daughter-in-law and especially not having her predecessor referred to by name. The Pryces are also going by car, and Lane is not happy about being caught in traffic. It's just yet another reminder of why this isn't London for Rebecca though, who notes there is always traffic so he'll just need to calm down and they'll arrive when they arrive. He decides to take this moment to let her know what he's been sitting on for days now: Sterling Cooper is being sold. She's shocked, and to her credit she actually asks a pertinent question: what happens to the Americans? They'll go to the highest bidder, sighs Lane, and now her initial selflessness is out of the way Rebecca can barely restrain the smile trying to break out on her face as she considers the implications for herself. Taking Lane by the hand, happy to offer him the same comfort he struggled to give her earlier, she acknowledges that he hates uncertainty, but he can take comfort in the back that they'll soon return to England. He can barely force the edge of one lip to twitch up before he turns away to look out the window. She barely notices his clear regret though, her mind already racing with the idea of being back where everything makes sense to her.   Betty and Don, meanwhile, sit in silence on their drive. Betty is stone-faced, internally asking as many questions about herself as she is about the man beside her. Don is, of course, completely fixated on himself, reading through his prepared remarks for the big speech he's expected to make to wow everybody (including prospective new buyers). Roger Sterling's voice booms over the scene, before it bridges into the party. It's a lovefest for Don Draper, as Roger runs though his many accomplishments (joking at one point there are too many to read and throwing the list aside) while talking with false warmth about how dearly he admires and respects his good friend and colleague. "He's loyal, charming, quiet but not modest," Roger declares, as Betty listens more intently than most. Roger admits that sometimes Sterling Cooper gets more than its fair share of Don, and he points out Betty, thanking her, Sally, Bobby and Gene for being willing to share him with them. Roger turns to Cooper, placing a hand on his shoulder and talking about the past: 40 years ago his father and Bert Cooper starting this Agency, and Roger (keeping himself front and center) looks forward to spending the next 40 working side by side with Don Draper. With a final flourish, Roger calls Don up to the stage, highlighting him as not just a Creative Director but a husband, father AND friend. Everybody assembles burst into applause, some more enthusiastic than others (Cooper didn't want to be there and just got called the past) but all unified in their admiration for Don. Don stands, gives Betty a kiss, embraces Roger and then drinks it all in, smiling and calling for them to please stop, a false modesty as he laps up the attention and admiration he longs for. As he declares how honored he feels, he's watched intently by a gently clapping Betty Draper. She stares up at him, a man who has just been lauded. Like Roger said, he is a father and a husband. He is father to her children, husband to her. A life partner. A soulmate. This man, this perfect, charming, handsome and intensely intelligent man. He is hers, she is his. At least that is the way it is supposed to be.   For perhaps the first time ever, Betty Draper truly understands that she is staring at a complete stranger. Episode Index
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Apr 14, 2021 11:44
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Your read on Paul here is 100% dead-on, Jerusalem. He's realizing that it isn't Peggy's relationship with Don or her femininity that makes her better at the job than him but that he just does not have what it takes. Paul keeps trying these big grand ideas - Marilyn or Jackie, his long Aqua Net story, his incredible forgotten idea. That just is not what the job is, and Don and Peggy do a much better job of cutting a story down to the essential message necessary to sell a product to a customer. Paul just cannot do that, because he imagines himself as a tortured artist and is trying to do something totally different. Also the sequence with Betty trying to plan an ambush on Don with the information she now knows is such a perfect example of why Mad Men is a great show. Most other programs would have given her her big dramatic moment, but in this one all she gets is dissatisfaction.
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Apr 14, 2021 15:46
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Ken is not a creative man. Edit: I guess he is with fiction but every time he pitches something it sucks so bad
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Apr 14, 2021 15:50
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GoutPatrol posted:Ken is not a creative man. For and episode with seismic revelations like PPL letting Pryce in on their plans for S-C and Betty finally getting her first glimpse of exactly who Don Draper really is, that two line Ken and Don exchange is my favorite part (Followed very, very closely by "...Who told you I was vain?")
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Apr 14, 2021 16:30
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Jerusalem posted:AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! That's the scene you're screaming at???
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Apr 14, 2021 17:07
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The Klowner posted:That's the scene you're screaming at??? It's hard to watch somebody self-sabotage so spectacularly, especially when this is about the dozenth time we've seen it from Paul. One detail that I find very clever is that there are no obvious hooks in Paul's conversation with Achilles. The old man doesn't drop any phrases that lend themselves to a perfect tagline for the viewer to glean, or even share some personal story with a clear throughline you could follow to arrive at a campaign for telegrams. It's a great way of depicting how whatever Paul had in that moment really was entirely in his own head.
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Apr 14, 2021 17:26
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Also a great way to not need to come up with "the perfect idea" when writing the script 
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Apr 14, 2021 17:58
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I knew Kinsey went to rub one out, but somehow I never thought of it as masturbating to the Marilyn ad before. That's hilarious. On the subject of Don keeping a change of clothes at the office: I think there was an evolution of his behavior, but not one that came around to being morally acceptable (obviously). In season 1, he seemed to think it was his right to have a mistress, but he was wary of falling in love, which is why he sheepishly told Rachel he was married after their first kiss. I think in Out of Town, we saw that he intends to do his casual cheating further from home. But now with Suzanne, he's cheating closer to home than ever before. I believe Don thinks he still has the right to cheat if he's really feeling crappy. He started the affair with Rachel on the night that Roger had his heart attack, which shook him up. He starts the affair with Suzanne after his father substitute Connie bullies him, which I think cut him pretty deep. So it's like he thinks, "If I need it, I should still be able to cheat on my wife." This is, uh, not a good way to think, and in fact, morally this is the most heinous affair we've seen him engage in. So I'm not trying to let him off the hook here at all--I just want to look at how he his the same and how he is different from before. I never cared for the way Lane is depicted as a do-nothing boob at work in season 5. In this season, he seems pretty sharp to me. Cooper is not the easiest person to manipulate, but Lane does it so well that Cooper basically doffs his cap and says, "Well done, sir." I feel like the "Lane is incompetent and/or doesn't do anything" angle in season 5 is just there to explain why no new financial officer character needs to be brought in after his suicide, and it always felt phony to me. What say you folks?
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Apr 14, 2021 18:16
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GoutPatrol posted:Ken is not a creative man. he just has no idea how to edit his ideas down, because all his ideas are already perfectly formed and brilliant
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Apr 14, 2021 18:19
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Yoshi Wins posted:I never cared for the way Lane is depicted as a do-nothing boob at work in season 5. In this season, he seems pretty sharp to me. Cooper is not the easiest person to manipulate, but Lane does it so well that Cooper basically doffs his cap and says, "Well done, sir." I feel like the "Lane is incompetent and/or doesn't do anything" angle in season 5 is just there to explain why no new financial officer character needs to be brought in after his suicide, and it always felt phony to me. What say you folks? I never cared for it either. Though a lot of that accusation in S5 comes from Pete, I believe...so, consider the source. I think the feeling I had wasn't so much that Lane is bad at his job or unnecessary, but that Joan is exceedingly competent in a way nobody (except Lane) acknowledges. After Lane's death, it seems like she's de facto the CFO and very little changes because she is great at her job.
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Apr 14, 2021 20:06
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Xealot posted:I never cared for it either. Though a lot of that accusation in S5 comes from Pete, I believe...so, consider the source. I think the feeling I had wasn't so much that Lane is bad at his job or unnecessary, but that Joan is exceedingly competent in a way nobody (except Lane) acknowledges. After Lane's death, it seems like she's de facto the CFO and very little changes because she is great at her job. I never got the sense that Lane was anything besides very quietly competent - professionally, at least. Pete throws that "you don't do anything" at him because he's on the front lines of the business, and has no interest in the behind-the-scenes work at the agency beyond seeing whether the ink is red or black at the bottom of the quarterly reports. And yes, Joan assisted him so long she knew all the ins and out of his job and was just able to fold those responsibilities into her position when needed.
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Apr 14, 2021 20:16
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I think they do well at showing Joan developing into the role of head ops honcho, but I question Lane's dialogue in the season 5 opener that "the books have been held together with spit" with her on leave, and that he's adrift without her, and that soon "everyone will see that I'm a sham." It always sounded to me like we were getting new, out-of-left-field information that Lane can't do the things everyone assumes he can. But maybe it's just his self-esteem issues are so serious that he goes about complimenting a skilled co-worker by presenting himself as useless. That wouldn't be out of character! He also asks Joan, "What do I do here?" and she replies with the vague, "Something essential." I thought it was pretty clear what he did. Keep the books, watch the companies debt/credit/payroll, identify areas to cut costs, etc. A role that is rarely seen as non-essential to running a business with tens of millions in billings. The presentation just never smelled right to me. Yoshi Wins fucked around with this message at 20:38 on Apr 14, 2021 |
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Apr 14, 2021 20:36
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Lane is also very seriously depressed through S5, so I think he probably had a pretty warped image of his own contributions.
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Apr 14, 2021 23:02
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pokeyman posted:Also a great way to not need to come up with "the perfect idea" when writing the script It being Paul, and him being drunk, it was also probably a terrible idea and he was either going to groan when he saw it the next day (if he WROTE THE loving THING DOWN  ) or take it triumphantly to Don who would go,"....well that's no good, what else have you got?" and leave him reeling.Paul: Okay, we open on a shot of New York City at night. A slow zoom in to the window of an empty apartment. We can see a man sitting inside at a table. Inside the apartment, the man stares forlornly at a calendar marked,"Birthday". All the other days before it are crossed out... it's his birthday and he's all alone! He sighs, he's so sad. He's so alone. There are pictures on the wall of Greece, of family, all far away from him. Suddenly the doorbell rings. He looks up, surprised. He goes to the door and opens it... it's a telegram! A birthday greeting from his family! As he reads it, the apartment walls fall away, he's in Greece! He's surrounded by the people he loves. He laughs, he dances, he drinks, he smiles! Cut to him back in his apartment, holding the telegram, a small smile on his face. He is content. The slogan comes up "Western Union: How To Be There When You Can't Be There" Don: Peggy: ....that gives me an idea.... Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Apr 15, 2021 |
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Apr 14, 2021 23:10
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Poor Paul. He's deeply insecure so he's always trying to project the image of being established as whatever he thinks is as positive, anti-racist, intellectual, creative, conservationist but he never gets around to actually doing any of it because he should always have been there already. He's sad and petty but he's also so inconsequential. I never got why people disliked him to much though because so many of the other characters are so much worse, they're just more charismatic. He's just a guy who believes his own virtue signalling if I can use that term in a neutral way.
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Apr 15, 2021 01:01
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What seemed to trigger the perfect idea was Achilles saying that it was a family name and when it's said, all the men turn their heads. Maybe Paul invented the looking at the other girl meme and he's a genius
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Apr 15, 2021 01:55
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Jerusalem is probably right that whatever idea Paul had was poo poo in the first place. And you see exactly why Paul is bad at his job: he will winge and complain about losing his best idea and never come up with anything else, while Don and Peggy both go "gently caress it, I can think of another." Which is exactly the kind of attitude you want in the TV or movie business: don't get so obsessed with one idea, you'll never do anything good if you just keep rewriting the first one.
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Apr 15, 2021 02:27
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Maybe his idea was "I'm a fraud and my pathetic posturing as an intellectual only drives me further from happiness"
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Apr 15, 2021 04:25
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Gotta write that down, Paul. I etch that into my skin every day.
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Apr 15, 2021 04:45
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For me the quintessential Paul moment is still him declaring sincerely,"I'm a writer... I need to write!" at his party after it gets pointed out he stole a typewriter (and nearly got a secretary fired for it!).... because you loving know outside of maybe an initial flurry he just leaves it sitting untouched and never writes anything.
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Apr 15, 2021 04:58
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