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 This is... uhh... this is a hell of an episode. 
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Jun 17, 2021 07:31
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What's weird about this episode is that the Sally storyline is really intense but the main story is basically a light comedy.
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Jun 17, 2021 07:40
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Season 4, Episode 5 - The Chrysanthemum and the Sword Written by Erin Levy, Directed by Lesli Linka Glatter Betty Francis posted:I mostly outgrew it. Miss Blankenship is working on her crossword, complete with a little magnifying lens attachment on her glasses, when she's irritated by of all things the phone at her desk ringing - very inconsiderate! Inside Don's office, he's discussing the Vicks Account (so presumably they got it, or are at least working on a pitch) with Dr. Miller and a man we haven't seen before, presumably a research assistant. Faye has identified a third specific groups of users of cough drops she clearly sees value in Before she can elaborate though, Don's phone rings. He answers but immediately the line goes blank and another phone starts ringing down by the couch. Don gestures to the assistant to answer it but there's no answer there either, and a disgruntled Miss Blankenship enters the office complaining that Don told her she couldn't buzz him but she can't figure out any other way to contact him otherwise to let him know he has a phonecall. Biting back his frustration, after all she's a favorite of Cooper's AND he got himself into this mess with his disastrous handling of Allison, he reminds he that buzzing him for calls is fine, just not to ask him if he wants a coffee after he already told her no. He dismisses Miller and the assistant after Miss Blankenship informs him that it is Walter Hoffman from the New York Times calling, though she doesn't know what it is about and offers less-than-enthusiastically to go and find out which he has to decline. Miller is impressed though, the New York Times calling Don Draper? That's got to be a good sign, right? Don clearly is of two-minds, it was already well-established that he dislikes exposing himself to journalistic scrutiny, and at the back of his mind must always be that thought: is this it? Have they dug up Dick Whitman at last? He takes the call, and no it's nothing so drastic, but it also isn't good news. Hoffman is calling for a comment, because he just heard that Cutler Gleason and Chaough have picked up Clearasil as a client. This was the ONE agency he told Pete he didn't want Clearasil to end up at, and it seems Ken Cosgrove either failed, wasn't interested in, or got sidelined by senior management from picking up the make-good Pete threw his way. Don allows a momentary wince in but then recovers, and insists that he doesn't make a habit of keeping track of clients after HE has resigned them: in other words, a reminder that Chaough might have Clearasil but they didn't take it from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, SCDP was the one who dumped them. Still though, Hoffman is interested in the fact that this is two former SCDP clients who are at CGC now: first Jai Alai, now Clearasil? Don doesn't see what his point is (yes he does), but seems exasperated when Hoffman tells him that Chaough recently claimed that Don Draper keeps seeing him in his rearview mirror. It's a smart play by Chaough for sure, because there is no harm in acknowledging the truth: Don Draper is THE guy in advertising at the moment thanks to his Glo-Coat campaign, but now Chaough is positioning himself as not only being right up there with him but not-so-subtly implying that Don is running scared of him. So does Don have a response for that? An on-the-record one? Don does, of course, and it's equally as smart: he simply claims he's never heard of Chaough. That's a lie, of course, and an obvious one, but it also serves to demean a guy who is after all picking up Don Draper's leftovers, and belittle him in the eyes of others in the advertising industry who will take at face value Don's utter indifference, which in turn will make Chaough's posturing look pathetic. That's the hope, anyway. As the sudden loss of Jai Alai proved, as well as the sudden destruction of Sterling Cooper, things can change quickly in the advertising industry.   Don leaves his office to attend a Partners' Luncheon (thanks to Miss Blankenship loudly reminding him while he was on the phone with Hoffman) in the conference room. The subject of discussion there are the protests in Selma, which they aptly note don't appear to be going away anytime soon. Cooper is irritated, "they got what they wanted" so why aren't they happy? A reminder that just because he's an affable old fellow, Cooper is very much not what you would call a progressive thinker. Roger of all people is the one to note that "they" need a Civil Rights Law, and Pete actually gets to the heart of the matter, pointing out that it's understandable for black people to be upset when Lassie can stay at the Waldorf and they can't. Arriving in the middle of this, Don sighs that he hopes he missed "everything", and Joan calls the meeting to order. Pete kicks things off, and he's understandably in a good mood, because on top of bringing Vicks to their client portfolio, he has also convinced Secor Laxative to produce a television commercial (plenty of delighted juvenile humor from Roger on this, Cooper has to gently remind him they've had Secor as a client for 18 years and maybe a little respect is in order)..... AND he's gotten the inside word on a potential new monster client: Honda. With over 50% of the US market in motorcycles (a delighted Joan remarks their motorcycles are "cute") they're worth potentially 3 million dollars in billing, even more than Vicks. More than that, they're looking to venture into automobiles which would make them even more valuable.... and they're miserable with Grey as their Advertising Agency and are currently fielding potential replacements, and Pete has gotten them on the list. Don and Lane enjoy some happy joking about how they're a typical client seeing 50% of the market as meaning they're "missing" the other 50%, but the mood is very much an excited one.... until Roger shits all over the parade (insert your own Secor joke here). With surprising seriousness, he proclaims that SCDP will NOT do business with Honda. Pete is flummoxed, and everybody sits in uncomfortable silence as Roger complains that he used to be a man with lots of friends, until they were killed by Pete's "yellow buddies". He says it with his usual calm, detached manner, but watch how John Slattery allows just a moment of the sheer pain and horror of what he witnessed shine through for just a moment before his normal poker face comes back on: it's subtle, but that makes it hit all the harder. This is something he REALLY feels, even to this day. Pete, fittingly enough, is the one to try and smooth this over, after all he is an Accounts Man and this is what they do: convince people to do what they want. He points out that Bernbach does business with Volkswagen, so surely they can do business with the Japanese? "The war is over, Roger," Cooper quietly adds, but a furious Roger is far from calmed, complaining they should just bring Dr. Lyle Evans in which actually causes Cooper to snap with uncharacteristic anger to cut it out. So Roger stands, quietly grunts that "Lucky Strike is great" as his contribution to the meeting before declaring it is adjourned and walks out. Nobody goes after him, and after the dust settles Lane raises that this might be a rare instance of putting a new client to a vote. Pete remains confused though, are they REALLY going to turn down money because of the race of the clients (as always, Pete is progressive if not for exactly the most noble of reasons)? No, insists Don, saying the meeting will happen, and Pete is quick to make the right moves, asking Cooper (who he calls Bert now, they are partners after all) if he can rely on his support as their resident expert on Japan, as all he's been told is to read The Chrysanthemum and the Sword. Cooper readily agrees, reminding them they'll have to keep Roger out of the loop, then makes his own exit. That leaves Lane, Don, Pete and Joan, and Lane and Don are both quick to offer sincere congratulations to Pete for his good work in getting the lead on this client. It's entirely meant, as well, Pete has proven an undeniable asset to them just in the way they hoped: none of them would have gone along to that Asia Society dinner, none of them have a network of high society college "chums" with their fingers on the pulse, and none of them have (or rather, need) the drive that Pete has to prove himself. That does leave one question though... who the hell is Dr. Lyle Evans? Nobody has a clue, in fact they all look to Joan who shrugs and admits she has no idea either. They forget about it, assuming it is just another one of those little instances of Roger living in a world mostly completely detached from their own.   It's Don's turn to have the children, and in the evening Sally and Bobby are happily sitting in his dark little lounge watching the news, where they are covering the recent cremation of a Unitarian Minister clubbed to death for coming to Selma in support of Civil Rights marchers. If Don has any objections (or awareness) to them watching this coverage, he doesn't voice them, perhaps he simply gave up on trying to shield them from this kind of horror after the death of Kennedy? There's a knock at the door and Phoebe from down the hall comes in, apparently no stranger to the kids as Bobby enthusiastically greets her and Sally sullenly pretends not to notice. Phoebe shows off her stethoscope to an enthralled Bobby as Don prepares to leave, he gets the kids for the weekend and then goes out? He's going to Benihana, and pulls no punches when Sally accuses him of going out to see a girl, agreeing that he is. After all he has no reason not to: he's not married to their mother anymore, and she's already remarried. Her name is Bethany, he explains when asked, and when Sally complains that she doesn't like this, Don firmly but not unkindly points out that she doesn't have to. He reminds Phoebe to have them in bed by 9pm, then heads out the door. Phoebe then settles in for a hopefully quiet evening (she's a nurse, she can't have very many of those), with Bobby - forever happy to go with the flow - resting his head on her shoulder as they watch Top Cat. Her hopes for a quiet evening are ruined though when Sally, in her pajamas, emerges from the bathroom and Phoebe sees what she has done. "You look like a mongoloid!" cackles a thrilled Bobby as Phoebe gasps in horror, because Sally has seemingly decided to cut her hair all by herself, and of course has completely hosed it up and hacked out uneven chunks. Phoebe immediately sends a still giggling Bobby to bed and insists Sally join her on the couch, insisting she isn't mad when Sally hesitates. Looking at the hair, she cringes as she sees it is even worse up close, saying that Don is going to legitimately kill her for letting this happen. But what Sally says next hits harder than her own concerns, as in a quiet voice Sally - who has looked on the verge of tears for most of the evening - points out that Phoebe has short hair and her daddy likes it. Oh God, Sally  Phoebe finds herself torn between anger, pity, and sadness as Sally asks her if Phoebe and Don are "doing it", insisting that she knows this is when a man pees inside a woman because some girl at school told her that. Phoebe is horrified but also not about to have the birds and the bees talk with a girl she's only supposed to be babysitting for a few hours, and says she should talk to her mommy about this. Sally of course doesn't want to, between that and her refusing to come when ordered earlier it paints a pretty bleak picture of how she views her mother. Finally though when she simply says that she just wanted to look pretty, Phoebe takes pity on her and agrees that she'll do her best to help her fix up the mess she has made. At Benihana, Bethany is less than impressed by the location or the performance of the chef: it's far from intimate, her hair is going to smell like fried chicken, and this is only their third date in five months so things aren't exactly building up steam. But things get worse for Don when he's greeted by a man who has very definitely just crept up in his rear view: Ted Chaough. Forcing a fake smile, Don stands and shakes his "rival's" hand, calling him by his first name in spite of his insistence to Hoffman he'd never heard of Ted. Introduced to Ted's wife Nan, he returns the favor by introducing his "friend" Bethany, not even giving her the benefit of calling her a date. But Ted isn't interested in Bethany, he's interested in poking at Don, bragging that he's just hired Howard Moses to shoot an ad for Clearasil, asking if they've ever worked together as if it is purely a casual conversation. Don simply remarks he hasn't... yet, but is both surprised and resigned when Ted reveals he came to Benihana for the same reason Don clearly did: to get into the right mindset for Honda, because CGC is going to be pitching as well. More than that though is the realization for Don that this wasn't some unique idea he had, Chaough had the same idea AND suggests that the others in the restaurant might work for various other agencies. If there is one thing Don does not like, it is the suggestion he thinks in the same way as others, especially guys like Ted Chaough. Ted and Nan move on, the latter complaining about Ted clearly antagonizing Don while Ted insists it is just his job (Nan clearly though tonight was to be a pleasant dinner between a husband and wife, not a work outing). Don actually does look gotten to as he complains to Bethany about how CGC have done half of what SCDP have but get treated as their equals purely because they SAID they were direct competitors. Bethany though has no intention of the evening going to waste, even if she isn't a fan of the setting. Don takes her cue and forces away his bad mood, actually getting flirty as he notices she can use chopsticks and asks her to teach him how. Delighted, she is glad to do so, and as they go back to just enjoying their date, Ted sits at his table scowling, obviously reading this as an unwelcome sign that Don Draper really doesn't sweat him in the same way Ted clearly sweats Don Draper.   Phoebe is sitting up miserable when Don finally returns home, and when she immediately tells him she's sorry he assumes it is something as innocent as the kids haven't gone to bed yet. It's far worse than that though, as she explains she was watching television with Bobby only to discover Sally had cut her hair. Don is immediately furious, complaining he might as well have just left the kids alone, complaining it was her job to watch them and refusing to accept her explanation that Sally was in the bathroom (if she supposed to go in there and watch her take a poo poo to be sure she doesn't suddenly start hacking at her hair out of the blue?). He moves to check on Sally (or perhaps wake her) but Phoebe insists he leave her alone, saying it took her a long time to get to her sleep. She admits she tried her best to fix the hack-job but Sally will probably still need to go to a beauty salon, and tries to decline when a frustrated Don - complaining about the river of poo poo Sally's mother is going to give him - offers her pay for the evening. "Consider it severance," he offers bitterly, apparently he is no longer doing her the "favor" of using one of her few evenings off to look after HIS kids on HIS custody weekends while HE goes out to Benihana with his girlfriend. She takes the money and goes, miserable... but at least for her this evening is over. The next day, Henry and Betty Francis have no idea their idyllic day is about to be ruined. Betty is napping happily with her head on Henry's lap as he reads the paper, one hand placed comfortingly on her upper arm, baby Gene playing with toys on the carpet in a quiet house without the older children running around causing a ruckus. It is the kind of joyful presence she once longed for and rarely got with Don even though he agreed that it was something he loved to do on the few occasions he did it. The beeping of a horn outside is fair warning from Don that he's coming, and Betty gets up to greet her children, Bobby giving her a hug and agreeing he had a nice time before turning to stare with gleeful anticipation for what is about to come. Don and Sally are next through the door, Don with his hat on and Sally wearing a knitted hat, staring with huge eyes up at her mother knowing that she can't escape what is about to come: the reveal, and her mother's reaction. Betty stares at her daughter, casts her eyes up at Don and then back to Sally. Something is off and she knows it, and she already has a fair idea what as she orders Sally to remove her hat. Slowly Sally does as she is told, Betty's eyes widening and demanding to know what she has done. "Let me explain..." starts Don, and Betty immediately turns on him, exclaiming with shocked as she asks if he cut it. Of course not, he starts, Sally admits she cut it herself as Henry joins the scene to see what is going on.... and Betty just lets swing and slaps Sally hard across the face. Don is shocked, as is Henry, both of them bellowing out at her in protest. Sally, tears in her eyes, apologizes, and Betty demands she go to her room. Sally instantly looks to Don, hoping for some kind of support or protest or countermanding, but Don simply tells her it will be okay: this isn't his domain anymore (they are still in the old house, either nothing has changed or Henry did buy it from Don as suggested?) and even when it was he probably wouldn't have intervened. Sally races up the stairs, and Henry quietly tells Bobby to take Gene outside to play. Bobby goes readily enough (Henry gives him an affectionate pat on the shoulder as he goes), he wanted to see the fireworks but he probably wasn't expecting the slap. Let alone at last, Don reprimands Betty for hitting Sally. Henry watches, uncomfortable, as Betty and Don squabble. It is both an unfriendly reminder of their long marriage that preceded his arrival, as well as an unfortunate instance where he doesn't necessarily agree with Don but doesn't agree with his wife either: Betty complaining that Sally has ruined her picture day and that she'll have to forget her upcoming sleepover with friends are not the focus he would be taking here, but he can hardly speak up against her while Don is there. When Don points out this is the kind of stupid poo poo that all kids do, Betty complains that of course she never cut her own hair. The opposite, she loved having long hair and her mother would threaten to cut it if she was bad. This frankly horrifying admission is spoken with pride by Betty, completely unaware as always of just how much damage her strict, authoritarian mother and her obsession with beauty had on her growing up. The squabble ends, of course, with accusations. Betty complains that leaving the kids with him is like leaving them with nobody, Don blames it on the babysitter and sneers that Betty herself is far from a perfect supervisor of children before bellowing out,"Goodbye!" into the house and walking out. Now that he is gone though, Henry feels safe in not only trying to comfort his wife, but putting voice to some of his own reservations. But he opens with the appropriate play: he stands in solidarity with her in his (genuine) contempt for Don. You don't hear Henry talk about Don often, in fact almost never, and it is easy to forget that for all his focus was obviously on Betty, he has his own opinions on the man. He voices them now, it revolts him that Don couldn't even take ONE night off to be with his kids. He was a divorced father himself and when he got weekends with his daughter they were sacrosanct: they were ENTIRELY about her, he lavished her with the attention he couldn't give her while she was with her mother, and made her his number one priority. Don? Don left the kids with a sitter to go on a date that doubled as work research. BUT.... that's a Don problem, not a Sally problem. Gently but firmly, he reminds her that as the father of a little girl himself he knows that this kind of stupid thing does happen all the time, whether the girl is from a broken home or not. He also knows that sometimes punishment makes things worse. Betty, becoming less high-strung the further Don is from the home (she actually spat out,"SOME WHORE!?!" in Don's general direction when pondering who the babysitter was, despite him having been gone for several minutes by that point) allows herself to be calmed, and even admits guilt over slapping Sally and agrees to apologize. Henry's recommendation then? While she is apologizing, she should tell Sally that they're going to go to the beauty salon and get her hair fixed, AND she is still going to get to go to her sleepover. Betty is suspicious of this, REWARD Sally for her bad behavior? Yes, Henry insists, knowing all-too-well it is easier to catch flies with honey than vinegar, and gives Betty a soft little kiss to help further calm her. Despite herself, Betty is calmed, letting a happy little grin cross her face as she accuses Henry of being soft. He grins back, all too happy to accept the label: his own daughter was clearly a daddy's girl, Betty admits to being one herself, and it couldn't be clearer that Sally is too in relation to Don. But where Betty used to fume over Don not stepping outside of his usual indulgent role up to be the disciplinarian for major incidents like her own father was for her, she is charmed by Henry doing the same. Why? Because, frankly, Henry is open about why he does it. She had to pry Don's reveal of his own suffering of physical abuse at his father's hands from him. Henry is largely an open book in that regard though: he and Betty may not agree on everything, but Henry tells her why he feels and acts the way he does, and it goes a loooooong way to making those views understandable and sometimes outright charming. But when Betty heads upstairs to talk to Sally, Henry's smile fades and he lets out a little sigh. The two of them are clearly very happy together, but real life keeps on intruding and bringing with it troubling signs of flaws, imperfections and outright problems that Betty has, and that Henry knows he will have to acknowledge and address at some point. He's already seen the direct result of what a failure to do so will produce: the sad man currently driving back to his inner city apartment far from his children.   Don arrives at work where he is almost immediately accosted by Pete carrying a pot of chrysanthemums and insisting in a babbled monologue that he's on top of everything, Cooper has filled him in on protocol, and all they need to do is avoid criticizing the Japanese or offering advice. Don ignores that though to critique him, mentioning he "ran into" Ted Chaough and he wasn't happy to learn that Chaough's also in the know re: Honda AND Pete seemingly wasn't. Pete quickly corrects that, he knew, and he's worked out that the Honda contract is going to come down to either them, CGC or JWT. Having demonstrated he's on top of things.... he then admits he only just learned that the chrysanthemums symbolize death and he has to get them out of the building! The Honda executives arrive, greeted in the lobby by Bert Cooper taking the lead, thrilled to be the one chosen to represent the Partners as the elder statesman. They share bows and then give them the tour, their translator offering truncated but reasonable interpretations of what he is being told: this is a new, forward thinking office with a different approach. He meets his match with the Creative Lounge, unable to translate the vague explanation given by Don and Pete and simply declaring in Japanese,"I don't know what this room is for" which the senior executive nods and accepts as being perfectly fine. What the Japanese DO understand, a trait they share in common with the Americans, is Joan Harris. When she is introduced as the "Chief Hostess" they stare enthralled at her, and are charmed when she knowingly jokes that she hopes nobody took them to Benihana. "David Ogilvy" admits the senior executive, Mr. Kamura, clearly unimpressed at being taken to eat food... he can eat at home. Joan, always on top of things, assures them she can offer a good list of steakhouses. The other executive, Mr. Saito, has something other than food in mind though, asking wonderingly in Japanese how the top-heavy Joan manages to avoid falling over. Kamura chuckles and Joan, no fool and understanding without the benefit of translation, points out that they're not exactly subtle. "No, they are not," agrees the translator, himself in awe of her. Ending in the conference room, they chat over details and everything seems to be going well. Both sides laugh and are charmed by the other, joking about when the presentation will happen, talking positively about the possibility of a future relationship. Preparing to call an end to the meeting, Cooper asks to present them with gifts which of course Kamura declines, followed by Pete presenting anyway, Kamura declining again and Pete insisting again with a reminder that they are guests. It's all protocol, the necessary facade of generosity and humbleness so both sides save face, and Pete has obviously followed through on the pointers Cooper gave him... until his own enthusiasm takes over and he asks them to open their gifts now. Alarmed, Cooper quickly plays this off to save the surprised Kamura the embarrassment of having to openly reject this request - it would be crass and too eager to open the gift now, but also crass to refuse - but Pete can't help being Pete and so happily tells them all what they can find inside: a cantaloupe for Kamura, and a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red for Saito and the translator. Quietly, without a word, Kamura and the translator exchange their gifts, both knowing which is the more prestigious/valued and therefore should go to the senior man. Still, despite this faux pas things have gone well.... and then Roger saunters into the room. gently caress. Seemingly a little drunk, Roger loudly apologizes since he didn't know the meeting was happening, before "subtly" referencing Pearl Harbor by noting he knows how much some people love "surprises". He strides to the head of the table, from where Pete had been leading the meeting (Cooper was the face, Pete is doing the legwork, Don will be on Creative, and Lane isn't there because he just handles the money) and notes that "somebody" set him up with a long lunch. Pete, horrified and desperate to get everybody out of here before Roger can ruin things, tries to claim the meeting has ended but Roger happily insists that the Japanese don't know it's over until you drop the big one... then in case they didn't understand this remarkably "subtle" hint, adds,"Twice." He takes the seat at the head of the table, while the confused translator points out that the meeting can't be over since they still have to present the rules. Roger of course is outraged, THEY are setting terms? Everybody awkwardly takes their seats, Don forcing at least the pretense of normalcy by introducing Roger to the executives and them to him. Kamura then explains the "rules": each firm will be given $3000 to make a competitive presentation. The translator, Mr. Takahashi, prepares to hand over the conditions that must be followed, but Roger snaps that there will be no conditions, they want an unconditional agreement. Cooper, angry but restrained, snaps at Roger that they are guests, but Roger is having none of it. "We beat you, and we'll beat you again!" he sneers into Kamura's face, insisting they don't want any of their "Jap Crap" before smugly declaring,"Sayonara" and sauntering back out of the office. The Japanese are left stunned, Cooper is horrified, and Pete just outright lies and insists that Roger was drunk due to his wife being very sick! Kamura and Saito simply stand, saying nothing, offended yet but more mortified at this breach of protocol AND the very unwelcome reminder of a long finished war that ignores how hard they have worked to adapt to an entirely new world since the rewriting of their constitution and the embrace of capitalism. Takahashi simply informs Cooper, Don and Pete that they have the rules and they look forward to the presentation, everybody exchanges bows (Pete overcompensating and bobbing up and down crazily) before making their exit. All while Don Draper fumes.   Don storms into Cooper's office shortly after, ready for a confrontation. Roger tries to play it off with a bad joke, he won't have to kill the account because "those people love to kill themselves" - the man who has made a career out of advertising freely regurgitating the propaganda fed to him during the War - "Jap Crap", they're all kamikazes and cowards who attack from behind etc. Don is having none of it, snapping that even putting aside the money, the product itself is something Roger would normally love to work with. Roger won't be moved though, his name is on the company and that means he gets to choose if he wants to take on a client or not, and he has "better" reasons than Don did when he tossed out Jantzen for not wanting to make suggestive ads. Don snaps that Jantzen was over, but Roger yells back louder that it's not over for him, and there are plenty of men that Don will never get to meet because of the Japanese. But if their argument was rough, things get worse when Pete returns after done his bit to escort the Japanese out. He's livid, demanding to know what the hell Roger thinks he was doing and refusing to accept Roger's complaints about the war, since that was 20 years ago and these are different people. This enrages Roger further, how can they be different people when HE is the same person? Up to this point Roger has been actually somewhat accommodating to Pete's anger, playing it off as Pete simply being too young to understand the importance of his stance. But Pete, long past the point of feeling like he has to tiptoe around Roger, plus of course as always assuming the world revolved around him, complains that Roger is just using the war and "patriotism" (racism) as an excuse to stop Pete from succeeding. Roger is baffled, then outraged (with another beautiful little micro-expression of despair thrown into the mix by Slattery as he ponders whether Pete is right, or laments that Pete simply doesn't grasp the significance of the war) as Pete complains that he is just trying to protect Lucky Strike's dominance of SCDP, because he knows with each new account Pete brings in it lessens Lucky Strike and thus Roger's grip on the Agency as a whole. Infuriated, Roger lunges at Pete and Don has to jump between them. Pete leaps backwards out of harm's way, but while he's frightened he's not cowed, snarling at Roger that some of them are trying to building something at SCDP. The implication, of course, being that Roger - for all his talk of wanting to make something of his own for once - is happy to just continue to coast along like he has for most of his life. Pete storms out and Don finds himself in an unusual predicament, agreeing with Pete Campbell over Roger on a matter of business. "He's right, you know," Don admits, and walks out himself. Roger is left, feeling more alone than ever, bewildered and angry and frightened at the realization that it really is a whole new world, and that moving into it is somehow making GBS threads on the sacrifices and pain that made it all possible. About as far from the world of business, the war, and racism as you can get is the next scene: Sally Draper's sleepover. As promised, she has had her hair fixed at the beauty salon (it's a good look!) and has been allowed to join her friends for a sleepover at the house of a friend called Laura. Sally is the last woman standing, every other girl has fallen asleep in the lounge leaving her sitting alone watching the television. The Man From U.N.C.L.E is on, and Illya Kuryakin is trying to convince their captors to release his comrades. Sally watches, not really listening, just staring. Staring and staring. David McCallum's face fills her vision, she can't take her eyes off of him. Her hands grip at her night dress, her breathing is getting heavier, and the camera closes in so only her face takes up the screen and just the barest glimpse of her arm moving at the edge of the frame.... and then everything snaps back to reality as Laura's mother walks into the room and gasps out in shock, demanding to know what she was doing. Sally leaps to her feet, insisting it was nothing, but just her reaction alone says it all. Poor young Sally Draper, increasingly aware of sex through the actions of her mother and father and the 5th-hand gossip of equally ill-informed girls, has starting exploring her own growing body and suffered probably the worst humiliation a young person can: getting caught by an adult in the act. At the Francis residence, Henry and Betty are enjoying a decidedly not-solo version of sexual gratification when the doorbell rings, catching them by surprise. Henry puts on his robe and heads downstairs, surprised to find Laura's mother - Jean Rose - there with Sally. Confused, he asks if she was sick, tousling Sally's hair and saying he would have happily come and picked her up and saved her the trip. Jean, nervous, claims everything is fine but the party ended early, and Sally quickly rushes up the stairs to hide in the safety of her bedroom from the humiliation of getting caught and brought home, and the knowledge her mother is soon to find out what happened. Indeed she is, Jean nervously asks to speak with Betty and Henry grasps there's something up and calls for Betty. She comes down, asking if everything is all right, and now Jean admits it isn't... but she still wants to speak to Betty alone, casting another nervous look Henry's way. It's not because she judges or dislikes him, she'd be the same if it was Don or any other man: this isn't a subject she wants to discuss with anybody but another woman. Left alone at last, she still tries to couch her language carefully, simply saying Sally was acting inappropriately. Betty sighs, but it is a sigh that says,"Oh it was something dumb but ultimately harmless", so when she asks for specifics Jean finally lays it out: she caught Sally playing with herself. In the den. On the couch. With Laura asleep next to her. Betty is horrified, moreso when Jean grumbles that she isn't sure what they do in THIS house but in HERS that is not the done thing. Ignoring the insulting implication that masturbation is just openly going on in the house (maybe she was judging Henry after all, the second husband of a divorced mother might be reason enough for suspicion in her mind?), Betty forces herself to remain calm and offers a sincere apology and insists that had their positions been reversed she would reacted in exactly the same way as Jean. That seems to mollify things somewhat, since Betty is essentially taking the side of somebody else over her own daughter, and Jean apologizes for having to dump this information on her in the middle of the night. She says goodbye and leaves... and now it's time for Betty to talk to Sally. This time there is no slap, but she still bursts into the room like something out of a nightmare. Sally is sitting on the edge of the bed waiting, she hasn't even removed her coat, knowing that a reckoning was coming and resigned to her fate. Betty demands to know what she was thinking, why she is like this, demanding to know what is wrong with her? Sally has no answer at first, infuriating Betty who snarls at her that you don't do that kind of thing, especially not in public... but also not in private either. So yeah, masturbating in the den on the couch while your friend is sleeping next to you... not a good idea. But this - sadly common thinking at the time - idea that masturbation is disgusting and wrong and simply not done at all, ever, is also a horrible lesson to teach. Sally is becoming a sexual person, and Betty is sadly repeating the same hosed up and repressed values nailed into her and so many other women over the decades/centuries/millennia to her impressionable, questioning daughter. When Sally finally responds, it is to protest that she didn't do anything, a childish retreat into just denying the truth when caught. This only makes Betty angrier, going so far as to threaten to cut her fingers off! (What the fucccccck?) before growling that they'll deal with this in the morning and storming out of Sally's room. She returns to the master bedroom, not wanting to admit to Henry what Sally did but also desperate to vent. She complains about Sally's behavior, and tellingly insists that she is doing it to humiliate HER. Betty still to some regard sees her children as simply an extension of herself, and Sally's growing independence/maturity enrages her because Sally is decidedly NOT just a miniature version of her mother but a person in her own right. She tells him at last and Henry winces, but he also doesn't seem overly surprised: he had a daughter himself, and while he might have avoided the worst of the misadventures of her sexual development thanks to both the divorce and the gendered division of childraising, he's still more than aware that these things happen. He has a suggestion at least, reminding Betty of something he has put out there before: psychiatry. Betty is not pleased by this idea and not keen to discuss it, but admits that she has had her own bad experiences with psychiatry, surprising Henry who had no idea. She admits that "years ago" she saw a (bad) psychiatrist and it didn't help, largely echoing Don's own assessment and claiming she decided she was simply bored as the reason for her justified anxiety at the time. But Henry continues to chip away with his charm, pointing out that his own daughter benefited immensely from seeing a psychiatrist (thus establishing a target for Betty to aspire to, she knows how together Eleanor seems to be) and noting that there are doctors who specialize solely in children, and they're accepted enough that schools actually have them (and thus, assuring Betty that there is nothing unusual or "off" about it). Betty has softened but not entirely cracked, and they agree to simply sleep on it. Henry cuddles up with her but thankfully doesn't make the poor decision to try and pick up where they left off and try to have sex again, while Betty lies brooding, considering Sally's problems (she's a healthy young girl suffering from justified anxiety) and how they reflect on her own reputation.  
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jun 18, 2021 |
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Jun 17, 2021 11:03
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In his office the next morning, Don asks Miss Blankenship if she has been able to get through to the California number he gave her, but she tells him there is no response. Presumably he is checking up on Anna, forever waiting for the other shoe to drop on either her discovering she has cancer or presumably having succumbed to it. Now he has to add into the mix the possibility that Miss Blankenship is loving up the number in any case. She informs him that Mister Peters and Pryce are here to see him, and he doesn't bother to correct her that Mister Peters is "Mister Campbell", just telling her to show them in. Pete breathlessly informs him that his contact at Honda, Masao, let him know that the meeting was the disaster they thought it was, but then Masao also called Lane a little later to set their meeting. Don takes the same read from this as the two of them: they accepted that there are people like Roger at every firm, they've outgrown it while the Americans haven't (meaning they turn the other cheek when openly insulted instead of flying into a rage), and so while the meeting was a disaster the chance to still win the account is there. That none of them grasp that Masao called Pete first as a favor to let him know without explicitly saying so to not to get their hopes up (and so that Pete could quietly inform Lane and save the "Senior" man the humiliation of being informed by Masao) demonstrates that they REALLY have a lot of growing up to do. Cooper arrives with Roger in tow, informing them quietly that Roger has something he'd like to say, almost like Roger is a chastened schoolboy following the lead of his father or a teacher to apologize to the class. Roger closes the door so they can have some privacy, at which point Miss Blankenship buzzes in to loudly announce that Mr Cooper and Mr Sterling are here to see him  Roger admits that he understands their financial position means they cannot afford to be scaring off clients, and promises that no matter who their next prospective one is he will offer his full support. He also, after some prompting from Cooper, admits that he needs to get over the war if only for his own health, agreeing that after all the war IS over. Pete has nodded along to this, but can't resist saying that Roger's contrition would not have gotten him out of this (as if he gets that final say, he is the junior partner after all) but luckily they still have their meeting set up with Honda. "That means nothing," sighs Cooper, ignoring Pete's rather condescending repeat that they have a meeting. Taking a seat, he explains that the obvious meaning of the meeting is so that they can go in and resign as an act of contrition. When the others are confused as to how he got that as the takeaway, Cooper asks if any of them received gifts from Honda yet? Because if things were going well, a gift would have arrived by now. None of them have, of course, so Don buzzes Miss Blankenship and asks if he has received any packages today. "Yes." she replies. Don waits a beat, then rolls his eyes in exasperation and asks her to bring it in. Slowly she totters into the room carrying an expensive wooden box of what looks like liquor, and Pete grabs at it to get a closer look... and she grips on tight, refusing to let it go, complaining that it says,"Don" on it. Unbelieving of the farce his life has become, Don insists she hand it over and she does, then totters out again, while Pete eagerly opens the attached envelope, sighs, and reads the message: a taunting note from Teddy Chaough designed to get under Don's skin. Roger, who only moments ago had declared he was going to get over his hatred of the Japanese for his own health... immediately declares that he refuses to let them go in, bow and get their heads chopped off and demands to know how Cooper can admire these "animals". A furious Pete yells at Roger to shut up, reminding him that he walked in and insulted BUSINESSMEN to their faces, of course they're not going to be happy... and he's expecting a child! Don though has another concern: he does not want a third account that was or could have been SCDP's to go CGC, especially not by default. He doesn't plan to waste that meeting, he intends to go in and wow Honda with fireworks: they're going to come up with a campaign and shoot an entire and complete commercial for it, something outrageous and graphic that will blow Honda's socks off so they have no choice but to overlook Roger's insults and give them the account. But reality intrudes, not only Cooper's insistence that the Japanese aren't going to accept breaking of the rules no matter how flashy the end result.... but Lane's dour reminder that they simply do not have the money to do what Don wants to do. They have the $3000 that Honda gave them, and they cannot go out-of-pocket and pay for it themselves, because a spec commercial will eat up their ENTIRE discretionary budget, they would be unable to pitch for any new business for the rest of the year... and it's only March. With a sigh, Pete admits that he would happily risk bankrupting SCDP if he thought they weren't dead in the water already and any attempt was doomed to failure no matter what. Looking to Roger, he mutters that they are dead in the water and the leaves, and Roger has the self-awareness to look guilty that he is the cause of all this. He and Cooper leave, and Don sighs as he looks at Lane, knowing no matter how flashy his speech he isn't going to convince this partner of all people. No, for once Don Draper has encountered an impossible situation he cannot talk himself out of, the fact is that this account is gone from their grasp forever.   That evening, Don sits on his bed reading The Chrysanthemum and the Sword when his phone rings. He answers, not happy to hear Betty on the other end, even unhappier when she tells him that "we" have decided that Sally needs to see a psychiatrist. He doesn't like that, he already dislikes the idea of psychiatry (except for when he could use it as an excuse to peek into his wife's head) and especially not the idea of Henry being involved in this kind of decision. He assumes that Betty is overreacting, that this is in regards to the hair-cutting, and when Betty says it is worse than that he jokes asking what it could be, did she try to burn down the house? "She was masturbating. In front of a friend. Is that bad enough?" snaps Betty on the other end, sitting at the desk of what used to be Don's study, frustrated and hating having to make this call herself. Don is shocked, but given the framing of the information (Betty implied that the friend was awake and aware) asks what to him is a pertinent question: was the friend a boy or a girl? Disgusted, Betty asks why that matters and the two begin bickering, taking the opportunity to throw accusations at each other and assign blame. Betty - already mortified by Jean's comment about "I don't know what happens in this house" - turns that back on Don, insisting that girls who masturbate are "fast" and suggesting she picked up this habit from one of the surely many women Don constantly has at his "bachelor pad" while Sally is there. An angry Don hits back with the fact Betty brought another man into her bed in her house, and Sally sees that every day. Betty insists that's different because she's married, Don sneeringly asks if she ever listens to the things she says, and both appear to have lost sight that this is supposed to about what is best for Sally as opposed to scoring points on each other. Finally they hang up, Betty has basically told him that the meetings with the psychiatrist ARE going to happen, that it would be best if the psychiatrist also saw each other them (individually of course) and now that she's done her duty and informed him neither wants to talk to the other any more. Don hangs up, then tosses his book across the room, in no mood to read any more tonight. The next day, following this intense argument, we're treated to the important business of the Creative Lounge at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, where the assembled great minds of the company are.... watching with excitement as a drinking bird dips its beaks into the water!. Peggy, Joey, Pete, Joan and another man are delighted at what they're seeing, literally applauding as Don makes his entrance, throws a snide remark Joey's way (no wonder Joey dislikes him) and then asks Joan, Pete and Peggy to join him. Before Peggy leaves though she insists to the others they don't touch the drinking bird... she wants to see how long it can go for! In the conference room, Don closes the door and then reads a quotation: "A man is shamed by being openly ridiculed and rejected. It requires an audience." All of them are confused, and Pete asks if he got it from a fortune cookie, and they're all mildly shamed (with an audience) when Don points out it comes from the book they were ALL supposed to read. The book has given him an idea, probably prompted in part by the phonecall with Betty and their own throwing around of guilt coupled with the shame of what Sally did with a (sleeping) audience. At first though they don't grasp the significance of the quote, as he explains that CGC being the same size as them means they'll be in a similar financial position. Given Chaough's constant insistence he is in Don's rearview mirror, Don thinks they can trick him into making a commercial and blowing all the money they'd have to pursue new business for the year. Pete doesn't understand though, what benefit is there to the two of them bankrupting themselves? It's Joan who figures it out first: they don't need to make a commercial, just make Chaough THINK they are, and let his own ego handle the rest. That creates another problem though, if Chaough makes a fantastic commercial and they have nothing on top of their already doomed bid... then Chaough reaps the benefit, gets the Honda Account, and grows while they stay in the same place. Don isn't showing all his cards just yet though, simply telling Pete to let HIM worry about that part of the plan. So the scheme begins. First phase of the plan is Joan's, as she brings in William Moses to offer him the chance to direct their Honda commercial, having "mistakenly" believed he would be available. He's not, he's still shooting Clearasil, but he is interested in the ad and asks if they can push it back so he can finish one and start the other. Joan considers for a moment and then conspiratorially tells him she is relying on his discretion before showing him the storyboards that have been developed. Just then though there is a knock at the door and she pulls the storyboards back and opens the door after the person knocking asks to be let in. It's Don Draper, wheeling a Honda motorcycle, and he apologizes when he realizes she has somebody in and wheels it away. Joan returns, and for once the man in the room is desperate to see something other than her figure: the storyboard, seen for a tantalizing moment then taken away; Don Draper, the genius Creative Director, wheeling around a Honda motorcycle.... what is going on!?! Things become even more intriguing when Joan starts listing off things he'll need to figure out how to arrange: how to film all 12 scenes, including the big crowd shot and the one on the Staten Island Ferry, and of course how to get Fifth Avenue shut down! Moses decides now is the time to be "honest", admitting that as much as he'd love to do this commercial he is simply too busy for all that work... and then instantly is over at the offices of Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough to fill them in on the gossip and admit he'd love to work on THEIR Honda commercial instead. Chaough though doesn't have one, and he's suspicious... why did they call Moses in when he knows for a fact Don knows he is working on Clearasil for them? Rather than guessing the obvious: that Don is up to something, he assumes that Don is like himself: he's trying to wind him up to psyche him out. One of the men in the meeting ponders an important question that Chaough ignores... how can SCDP afford the kind of ad they're talking about? Chaough though is getting ahead of himself, asking his secretary to get in the "kid" that used to work for Draper before running loudly through his mental process. Chaough's office is large and spacious, but there is very much a performative sense to it all. The size is to project power, the decorations designed to tell a story about himself and his creative genius. There's a typewriter, set up on a side table where it would be awkward to actually work, because it's probably never used. He has prints of Japanese art on his wall.... the frosted glass wall, so people can see he's put up things from one side, and see once inside his "inspiration wall". He too has a Honda motorcycle, but stuck in a corner, not being moved around for any practial purpose but simply there to help him "think". Chaough is, fittingly enough for his profession, all about the image, and just as shame needs an audience so does he: he wants Moses and the other executive to watch him as he performs and shows them Ted Chaough: Creative Genius. He runs through his idea for a commercial, a Honda racing down a Subway tunnel with a train right behind it, then racing up some stairs, coming to a stop and the rider pulling off his helmet to reveal... he's a girl! Yes, it's what by now is one of the oldest, most tired and frankly condescending tropes in advertising. In 1965 though, maybe it was a fresh idea? Chaough's a bit of a douche but you don't get a small advertising agency that is showing growth without having something behind it talent/creativity wise. The other man (Cutler or Gleason, perhaps?) appears to have the Lane Pryce role, as he agrees with Ted that this is a great idea... and they'll realize it by hiring a sexy girl to come to the presentation in a motorcycle outfit and helmet and do the reveal there, because they're not spending any more than the 3k they got! The "kid" arrives and, of course, it's Smitty. He landed a job at CGC after the hollowing out of Sterling Cooper, and clearly among whatever other creative elements he brings he's also valued for having had some inside knowledge of the way Don Draper operates. All he can offer now though is that if Draper ever broke the rules to win a head-to-head contest for a client, he wouldn't have shared that with the likes of Smitty.... but he definitely is the type of guy who thinks the rules don't apply to him. Getting a little faraway look on his face, Smitty admits that Don was always thinking on the edges and was, quite frankly, a genius. Chaough is a little taken aback by this glowing recommendation, grumpily asking if Smitty ever talks about HIM like that before dismissing him to go work for his "boyfriend".... so presumably Kurt got work as well, but perhaps with a switch in the payment dynamic that Smitty insisted on when he was first hired. Smitty leaves with instructions to develop "twenty words for pimples", causing Moses to chuckle. Ted though is convinced now, and if this other guy is Cutler or Gleason then obvious Chaough is the senior partner, because gently caress the rules and the limits, he's convinced himself that Don Draper is going to make that commercial and he isn't going to be left behind.... they're gonna call New York City and get them to shut down a subway for them!   But the mind games aren't over yet (for somebody who claims not to believe in psychiatry, Don sure knows a lot about getting into people's heads). Peggy and Joey time things carefully to make sure they are seen when Peggy wheels the Honda motorcycle into one of the television studios used for filming. Joey sets up outside, and when Mose and the other exec who spotted them try to casually walk inside claiming that they're meant to be there but are late, he cheerfully informs them that they're not and this is a closed set, before going back to eating his sandwich. All the while, the sound of the Honda can be heard coming from inside the set: Don Draper's commercial is being filmed in there! What is actually happening, of course, is Peggy Olson enjoying driving the cute little motorcycle around and around in circles in an otherwise empty set! That evening Don is working late when he notices the "gift" that Chaough sent him and decides to partake. He heads into the kitchen, opening the knife drawer which gives Dr. Miller a start, she hadn't noticed him as she washed dishes from one of their focus groups. As Don cuts open the box, he asks who was in today, and with a weary sigh she says it was world travelers as part of their research into Samsonite. One of them was a trapeze artist, and she muses at the idea that he made more in an hour of paid research than he does in a week doing such dangerous acts for the circus. Don either doesn't hear or doesn't care, grunting over the box being difficult to open before pulling out a pretty looking bottle of Sake. He's never had it before and neither has she, so he grabs two glasses and pours one for both of them without bothering to ask if she'd like to imbibe. She doesn't turn him down, but she does comment on how she can't understand how everybody around here drinks as much as they do. Passing her the drink, Don reveals that he was listening, asking what the trapeze artist had to say. He's surprised when she reveals he openly told her that his father was a better trapeze artist than he was, not really able to comprehend how people can be so open about their internal lives.... why do people feel the need to do it in the first place? Miller can't speak to that, all she can say is that talking helps, and that no matter what people always feel relieved after they've talked. Psychiatry and religion are two different things, of course, but both would seem to agree that confession is good for the soul. Don is in the process of talking to her now, an "interested stranger" herself, which will also be what any psychiatrist who talks to Sally will be. He's talking around the subject, maybe to test the waters for asking about that specifically, maybe just to get a sense while - as always - jealously protecting the core of his inner thoughts. So he asks if she has kids, and when she hesitates and says no he asks what her husband does, and she hesitates again before admitting she has no husband. But she wears a ring? Is she divorced? With less confidence than she usually shows, she admits it is a "stop sign", she wears it to avoid awkward conversations from men in offices trying to pick her up. Don, being Don, points out with a smirk that she's told HIM she isn't married though, and she smiles but avoids THAT awkward conversation too, purposefully not encouraging him (it's Don, the lack of active discouragement probably encourages him) and instead asking him if HE has children. He does, listing the ages of all three. She figures it must be difficult to be apart and he agrees it is, but also admits that it's mostly because he feels so conflicted: he doesn't see them enough, then doesn't know what to do with them when he has them, then is relieved when he drops them off, but then misses them when they're done. She offers a sorry and he agrees things aren't going well, telling her that Betty thinks Sally needs a psychiatrist. She assumes he'll be against that, given the way he's reacted to her own attempts to analyze him, but in what is a pretty big step for Don he admits he genuinely doesn't know. So Miller offers a nice thought, one she admits she has no backing evidence for: if Sally knows that Don loves her, she'll be fine. She finishes her sake, thanks him and says she should be doing, smiling when Don jokingly asks if she has fake dinner plans with her fake husband? She leaves, and Don is once again left alone with nothing but himself and alcohol to contemplate his life. On another day, Betty meets with the child psychiatrist the school has recommended, Dr. Edna Keener. They're meeting in the space she uses for her patients, but despite the baskets and shelves of toys and brightly colored walls, she presents herself in a warm, professional manner that exudes confidence and a supportive ear: she is an interested stranger. Betty agrees that the last year-and-a-half have been packed with change for Sally, but she's always thought that children had no real concept of time (the words of a woman who grew up in privilege and a - perceived - happy home where nothing ever really changed) plus Henry is an adoring stepfather who already has raised a fine, remarkable young woman of his own. Dr. Keener explains that should Betty hire her, she'd want to schedule regular meetings with Sally but also meet with both Betty herself as well as Don. With a frown, Betty complains that she's unlikely to ever see Don, and Keener notes that down... or perhaps more accurate, notes down Betty's reaction to Don. She asks if the most recent incident is the most troubling, and Betty admits that while she blames the divorce for most of this, she can't deny that Sally has been different ever since Grandpa Gene died. She has to fight back her own tears, because while she talks about how close Sally and Gene were, she is thinking of how close she was to her father. She was a self-admitted Daddy's girl, and speaking of him now brings back the pain of having lost him... it's just that, unlike Sally, Betty was brought up (and Gene was involved in this) to not display her emotions so openly. Leaving aside Sally for the moment, she talks about how much she wishes Gene could have met Henry, and how she thinks he would have liked him. She's probably right, Henry has "people" and more than that, he's from a similar social standing/background as Betty herself. While Gene respected Don's military service, he didn't respect much more than that, and neither man ever really liked the other. But things come back to Sally when thoughts of her father inevitably bring up thoughts of her mother. She talks about how strict her mother was about "it", and speaks "fondly" of their mother finding a nudist magazine William had saved up to buy and had shown to Betty. Ruthie's reaction was to nail it to the door of his bedroom so the "shame" of his sexual thoughts was constantly on display for all to see. Jesus Christ her mother was a loving monster. Keener doesn't comment on this horrifying act, but instead asks a pertinent question: she's mentioned her brother obviously masturbated, but what about her? Instead of claiming like she did to Sally that it's just not something you do AT ALL, she admits that she did but she was "private" and "mostly" outgrew it. Betty has, of course, always demonstrated a healthy sexual appetite, but she's always filtered it through a deep belief in the idea that while sex is fine it MUST be only ever with one person and that person MUST be her husband (Outside of one one-night-stand that was more about getting "even" with Don). Now, unfortunately, it appears that she is trying to cage Sally with the same stifling sexual repression she grew up in. Embarrassed at having admitted to masturbation, she quickly proclaims to Dr. Keener (who insists she call her Dr. Edna, like the kids do) that she's fully aware that children will do this type of thing... but not in public. She's right on that front, except of course she can't help but bring it back to herself, insisting that Sally did this in order to somehow punish HER. Dr. Keener doesn't judge this comment, just pauses for a moment to take it in before observing that this must be a terrible feeling. It is, Betty agrees, the words practically spilling out of her mouth in her eagerness to share with this "interested stranger". Because Dr. Miller was right, it is a relief to share. She insists that she HAD to get divorced, and that it was better for the stability of the children that she remarry, and that Sally will eventually see that this was all for the best. She may even be right, but she's more trying to convince herself than Dr. Keener, letting out all her own fears and self-doubt and guilt to the point that Keener notes it might be a good idea for Betty herself to talk to someone. She immediately shuts down that idea, insisting she is okay, and so Dr. Keener just so happens to suggest that as part of Sally's therapy it might be a good idea for them to meet once a week as well. Whether Betty realizes this is a suggestion to help her save face or not is irrelevant, it allows her to accept seeing a psychiatrist without actually officially seeing a psychiatrist. When she asks Dr. Keener if she will tell her what Sally tells her, Keener's immediate response of,"No," gives her great relief, as does her assurance that the opposite also holds true. Keener leaves to get her date book, and Betty is left behind struggling to compose herself for a moment after revealing far more than she expected, having had the benefit of a psychiatrist who actually listened and responded unlike Dr. Wayne. She finds herself looking at a playhouse set up among the other toys. It's a perfect house, and there's a perfect family there: Father, Mother, daughter, son and baby. A smile crosses her face, the relief of the ordinary, here is the reinforcement she needs: this is the way things should be, and things being this way is good, which makes her good, and right. Like so many other things in her life, Don's life, and the life of so many of their friends and colleagues: the image is everything, and looking like you have everything together is far more important than actually having everything together.   The day of the presentations has come, and Don sits waiting outside the hotel room for his turn. The previous pitchers make their exit, carrying out a projection screen, posts and folders. Last of them is Ted Chaough, beaming with pride and ready to stick it to Don, asking where HIS film is? Don insists they didn't make one and Ted chuckles that he heard their commercial stunk, and either doesn't believe Don or doesn't get the significance when he's told once again that SCDP didn't make a commercial. Ted leaves on Cloud 9, convinced he's all but guaranteed Honda now AND grasped it from Don Draper's jaws to do so. Don though just smirks and enters the room at Mr. Takahashi's invitation, ready for his own presentation. He makes a slight bow as he is introduced, but appears indifferent when asked where Cooper and Campbell (and "white hair", though Takahashi translates that as Sterling) are, simply saying they couldn't come. This puts Kamura and Saito on the backfoot, unsure how to react to his lack of deference considering he must surely have come to apologize... and then things get weirder as.... Don starts to lecture them? Don points out the rules were created by Honda to even the playing field, and the rules specifically stated no finished work. He understands not every participant followed these rules, and thus the competition is unfair and he has no intention of competing in it, and so he withdraws. A stunned Kamura and Saito listen as Takahashi informs them that SCDP is retiring, not due to their own embarrassment but because Honda did not follow their own rules. Don walks up and hands them a check, written out from his own account returning the $3000 given to them to take part, thanks them for thinking of them and then simply turns and leaves. This is what Don meant when he told Pete he would handle things if Chaough delivered an incredible ad. Because he read The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, and he took away a lesson from it. The book has been considered highly controversial for quite some time, but nobody disputes how incredibly influential it also was. It set out to try and understand what made the Japanese tick, why they acted and reacted the way that they did - it has been argued (including by the Japanese) just how valid its conclusions were, but those conclusions were accepted by a great many for a long time as authoritative. What Don has exploited is the idea of guilt cultures and shame cultures, helped along by his own observation (and personal feeling) of guilt and shame throughout the episode. The line he identified about shame requiring an audience is something he took to heart: they were doomed with Honda whether they showed up to retire or not, but this way Don has saved face and forced Honda to accept that THEY were the ones at fault, giving Don and SCDP a way to safely retire while keeping their own "honor" (for great want of a better term) intact. It has also, on a personal level, left them to ponder their own reputation if they hire an Agency that broke their rules.... which means CGC is unlikely to get the account either, but they've blown their entire new business budget for the next 9 months while SCDP walks away scott-free. Now had Kamura been the type to go,"gently caress you, you condescending American rear end in a top hat!" and hire Chaough out of spite, relying on the size of the company to get away with everything, Don would have hosed himself over here. That would probably be how most big American companies would handle it after all!  Roger is drinking in his office and feeling sorry for himself when Joan pops in to let him know the voice-over actor for Lucky Strikes has chest congestion. Grumpily Roger complains she should get the boy wonder on it, making her ask in confusion if he means Greg from Account? He means Pete of course, Roger is feeling the same sullen depression that Don Draper felt when Cooper informed him calmly that Pete Campbell meant too much to Sterling Cooper to be fired, way back in season 1. He asks her to have a drink to help make HIM look younger, but she tells him in no uncertain terms she has no interest in being the audience to his particular shame, in this case feeling sorry for himself. He moans that Don is over "surrendering" to the Japanese right now and she tells him to stop, and that of course sets him off in an entirely different direction. He begins to tell her about Private First Class Brycen, a kid on the destroyer he served on in the Pacific Theater. He was a poet, and then.... and Joan cuts him off, telling him she doesn't want to hear it, reminding him that her own husband is going to be in uniform any day now. The last thing she wants to hear is sad stories about bright young men killed before their time. He jumps on that though, how will Greg feel one day when some day a Pete Campbell type goes to see some Vietnamese doctor instead of an American one! He... he probably won't give a poo poo, Roger. He complains that forgiveness is not a better quality than loyalty, but Joan cuts him off again. She agrees that what he went through was awful - I was never entirely sure if Roger's service was "normal" or if he mostly spent the war chilling in a cushy position thanks to his wealth/connections, but it seems that even if he was an officer he was very much involved in direct action - and it will never seem like a long time ago to him... but he fought to make the world a better place, he won, and now it is. Does she really think that? She has to, she admits, and after making sure he needs nothing else she leaves. Roger is left alone, and probably feeling it. The world is a safer place, but it is a changing place too, and he isn't sure he likes what his safety has made it. Don returns from his "surrender", face falling when Miss Blankenship blares out,"GOOD AFTERNOON. YOUR DAUGHTER'S PSYCHIATRIST CALLED" right there in front of everybody as she takes his hat and coat. He takes a moment, sighs, quietly asks her to lower her voice, then heads inside and pours himself a drink. He isn't alone for long though, Pete and Lane burst in full of smiles. They've just spoken to Mr. Saito, and learned that Honda was playing a game of their own: the push for pitches was purely designed to light a fire under Grey's asses to get them to offer a better service (and presumably lower billing) and they never had any intention of moving their motorcycle business (so Chaough was hosed regardless).... but they were VERY impressed by Don. The result? As mentioned earlier they are keen to get into the automobile trade, and they're now considering SCDP as the first Agency they will come to when they complete development of their first car. Even better, CGC are completely out of the running, even if they hadn't blown their entire budget for the rest of the year, after what Don said to Kamura there is no way he could let himself hire on Chaough. It is, to put it mildly, a complete and total victory for Don Draper. But as Pete revels in the devastation of a rival (Chaough doesn't even know Pete exists, most likely), Lane makes a surprising admission: he is the one who "let" Don pull this unseemly stunt in the first place. Don takes exception to that, assuming that Lane didn't know what happened until after it happened, but Lane points out that there is no way Joan could rent out stage space without clearing it through him first. He knew, and he let it happen, because he grasped that their financial future was tied to Chaough's "demise", and the gamble has paid off. Don passes them all drinks and they settle down, the three leading lights of SCDP now. Cooper is still very useful as a figurehead and with connections, but Roger is right to feel alone and sidelined: Don and Pete now get on well and treat each as peers (as much as Don treats ANYBODY as a peer), and Lane works comfortably with them both. Still, there are problems: the new car only has 57 horsepower and red-lines at 9,500 RPM... it's basically a motorcycle with doors. But they're working on it, and Pete has confidence. They share a toast, the future is just a little brighter today, and Don Draper's rearview mirror is clear. And finally, Sally Draper. At Dr. Edna's office, she and Carla wait with another mother for the previous patient to finish. He comes out, a little boy taken away by his mother, watched carefully by Carla who is probably wondering what is "wrong" with him. Edna warmly invites Sally in, and with a look at Carla she heads inside. Carla watches her go, clearly not a great believer in the need for psychiatry herself, worried but powerless to do anything. Talking is good, and Dr. Edna seems capable and empathetic, and this will hopefully be an enormous help to Sally. But there are other factors to consider too, not least of which is the impact her mother has on her. After all, what lesson has she already learned from this episode? That the natural, inevitable development of sexual desire is something so horrifying and revolting that it makes your mother scream at you and send you to a doctor to get your "problem" fixed. Is there any recovery from this kind of core memory? How much can Dr. Edna help her when she's living in this strange bridging period of history where a cultural, racial and sexual revolution are going to be at direct odds with the repressive, locked down and morally black and white era that preceded it? God speed, Sally Draper.  Episode Index
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Jun 17, 2021 11:04
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Jerusalem posted:He says it with his usual calm, detached manner, but watch how John Slattery allows just a moment of the sheer pain and horror of what he witnessed shine through for just a moment before his normal poker face comes back on: it's subtle, but that makes it hit all the harder. This is something he REALLY feels, even to this day. This episode, particularly the scenes with Roger and Honda, always reminds me of my grandfather. He served in WW2, lost two cousins in the Pacific, and had his own ship, the USS Vincennes, sank at the Battle of Savo Island. He spent hours in the water waiting for rescue while his friends drowned around him, or were eaten by sharks. The Japanese continued to fire on their position, as well...a pretty serious breach of the expected rules of naval combat. He didn't talk about it often, but when he did he got that same look Roger showed for a moment. He definitely had PTSD from the experience, and he hated the Japanese until the day he died. He'd never buy anything made or designed in Japan, and we had to hide and Japanese brands when he visited or he would just leave when he saw them. He died when I was 8 or so, but I can still remember how he felt about our peace with Japan. It's a level of hatred I simply can't comprehend, despite having served and lost friends myself. I've only really ever seen it from WW2 vets who served in the Pacific. All that is to say that Roger's reaction was spot on accurate and Slattery sold the hell out of it.
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Jun 17, 2021 12:37
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I feel like psychiatrists in popular culture are depicted as Dr. Wayne types much more often than Dr. Edna types. It's very good to see a positive depiction of a warm, empathetic mental health professional. That's becoming less rare, thankfully.
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Jun 17, 2021 12:50
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Mad Men heist episode number 2. You can tell how much fun they had with the season 3 finale!
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Jun 17, 2021 13:25
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Jerusalem posted:He's surprised when she reveals he openly told her that his father was a better trapeze artist than he was, not really able to comprehend how people can be so open about their internal lives.... why do people feel the need to do it in the first place? 15 seconds later... quote:She figures it must be difficult to be apart and he agrees it is, but also admits that it's mostly because he feels so conflicted: he doesn't see them enough, then doesn't know what to do with them when he has them, then is relieved when he drops them off, but then misses them when they're done. She offers a sorry and he agrees things aren't going well, telling her that Betty thinks Sally needs a psychiatrist. She assumes he'll be against that, given the way he's reacted to her own attempts to analyze him, but in what is a pretty big step for Don he admits he genuinely doesn't know.
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Jun 17, 2021 14:17
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Jerusalem posted:
On my recent rewatch I was shocked that this was in the same episode as slapping Sally. In my memory, there was no way they had Betty Francis - Mother of the Year 1965 - do BOTH of those things in a single hour!
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Jun 17, 2021 15:00
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On my first rewatch I had the inverse experience: I was amazed how gentle Betty is in season 1. Only the pigeon incident and her slapping Helen Bishop hint at the ocean of anger underneath that is growing larger every day that she’s married to Don (of course, he’s not the ONLY reason she’s angry). Scenes like the ones in this episode just loomed so much larger in my memory. Love that scene with Faye. That quote about how he loves his kids but is never fully comfortable around them is so poignant.
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Jun 17, 2021 15:10
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Devorum posted:It's a level of hatred I simply can't comprehend, despite having served and lost friends myself. I've only really ever seen it from WW2 vets who served in the Pacific. I think racism is probably the answer. Not specifically your relative obviously, but there was a long history of characterising ‘Orientals’ as inhuman and inscrutable way before the war started. The rhetoric used to get the Allies in the mood for war in the Pacific theatre was of a particularly vicious and dehumanising nature, and this was exacerbated by a lot of extremely well documented atrocities. If you already thought of the Japanese as the Yellow Peril, then heard about the Rape of Nanking, then watched your buddies get strafed in the water after your boat sank under you in the Gulf of Leyte, having a dim view of the Japanese is somewhat understandable.
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Jun 17, 2021 15:31
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I always thought it was possible that, mean-spirited and petty as he is, Pete was right about Roger on some level. The pain he feels about the war and the animosity towards the Japanese is definitely real, but even Roger can plainly see that Pete's career is on the up. Roger can't be feeling good that his career is effectively static, with his sole (if sizable) client, while "that little poo poo" continues to eat up real estate in "his" company. I'm not saying it's the only factor as Pete seems to suggest but it may be a factor influencing his decision-making.
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Jun 17, 2021 15:53
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I assume the circumstances of entry were a factor too. None of us (the Americans I mean) have any concept of being attacked by an aggressor nation-state, especially one that was fully capable of winning. Yeah, we have 9/11, but...I wouldn't be surprised if the whole of al Qaeda in 2001 didn't have the manpower that just the Kido Butai had, let alone the full power of Japan.
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Jun 17, 2021 16:04
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There was also the thing where they would torture, murder and sometimes even eat prisoners and civilians. You don't need to go digging into propaganda to find out why the Japanese were hated. Plenty of Korean, Chinese and Filipino people hate the Japanese just as much and more than Roger does in this episode.
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Jun 17, 2021 16:19
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It's weird. My grandfather served in the Pacific and I never heard him express any explicitly anti-Japanese sentiments - mind you, he was deeply, deeply racist against all non-whites, but I never picked up on any specific animosity. When he found out I was taking Japanese as my foreign language in college, he bought me a beginner's study guide to get me started over the summer before my freshman year, and gave me his Navy pocket translation guide from the occupation years. My grandmother on the other side of the family, though, she'll still express some strong anti-Japanese sentiments from time to time. She was like 5 years old when VJ Day occurred and, to my knowledge, didn't lose any family members in the conflict. I guess the wartime propaganda got to her, and good, at a very formative age. Jerusalem posted:What the Japanese DO understand, a trait they share in common with the Americans, is Joan Harris. When she is introduced as the "Chief Hostess" they stare enthralled at her, and are charmed when she knowingly jokes that she hopes nobody took them to Benihana. "David Ogilvy" admits the senior executive, Mr. Kamura, clearly unimpressed at being taken to eat food... he can eat at home. Joan, always on top of things, assures them she can offer a good list of steakhouses. I always read it as less about "food they could eat at home" as it is the condescension/unoriginal thinking of taking them to a heavily Americanized take on Japanese cuisine. "Hey, you're a weirdo foreigner - this is exactly what you like, right? Look, with the onion volcano and everything, just like Momma-san used to make! Look out, he's gonna flip a shrimp tail at you!" In any event, I like that they throw David Ogilvy under the bus for the punchline simply because he's the one advertising name of the era viewers might be familiar with, even without the repeated references to his book in previous episodes. Other thoughts: - I freakin' hate Ted Chaough. - Set design and Janie Bryant's costuming shine through once again in establishing a visual shorthand that tells you at a glance exactly what you need to know about the fundamental philosophical differences between CGC and SCDP. - Peggy riding the Super Cub around the white cyc is one of the best visuals in the series. - The car they're talking about is likely the Honda S600, possibly its immediate successor the S800 - cars that were never officially sold in America, despite receiving redesigns specifically for export markets.. - There's a lot to unpack with just how freely and readily Betty takes to talking with Dr. Edna. JethroMcB fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Jun 17, 2021 |
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Jun 17, 2021 17:13
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OctaviusBeaver posted:There was also the thing where they would torture, murder and sometimes even eat prisoners and civilians. You don't need to go digging into propaganda to find out why the Japanese were hated. Plenty of Korean, Chinese and Filipino people hate the Japanese just as much and more than Roger does in this episode. atrocities like this fed into the racist direction anti-japanese propaganda took. both sides are true - the japanese military acted 'barbarously' in western eyes, moreso than the sort of just regular mass death and atrocity against civilians that all participants in the war committed to one degree or another (please, as an aside to the lurker, this is not the thread to relitigate WW2 war crimes). on the other hand, america was uniquely pissed off and disdainful of the japanese both as a people and as an opponent. Devorum upthread mentioning savo island and the vincennes - this was an example of american complacency leading to the japanese navy utterly pantsing the american navy, and multiple ships like the vincennes got beaten to pieces for it with extreme loss of life i dont know if roger's military past is ever explained in detail, a lesser show would have him spill his guts to the camera but i think enough of the pieces are here to make a solid assumption. if roger was an officer on a destroyer, then he probably did see some serious poo poo. destroyers were kept busy and run ragged. kamikazes were particularly horrifying because they were among the most effective tools in the japanese arsenal at that period of the war, basically with the same destructive capacity as a guided anti-ship missile but requiring a human sacrifice. this self-sacrificing mindset was understandable to soldiers, but to deliberately set out for this purpose - are they even human? do they value their lives? of course, decades of military conditioning created soldiers who would be willing to do suicide attacks, they valued their lives so much that it was nothing less than the highest calling of their profession to attack recklessly. this mindset was demonstrated over and over during the war, and each time the easiest way to comprehend it was through angry, reactionary racism. american military history is full of similar rhetoric of glorious self-sacrifice - "the tree of liberty watered with the blood of patriots", the alamo, bellau wood, dying heroically being the surest way to get a medal of honor (posthumous). the militaristic japanese government of the early 20th c really took this thinking to an entire level beyond though, and it is terrifying to be on the other end of a suicide charge (though, to be honest, most of the dudes doing the suicide attacks were motivated by avoiding the shame of being the one guy in the group who's a big coward not willing to die for the emperor). this fed into uniquely racist attitudes towards the japanese, beyond just the dehumanization of enemies in war. to the allies, the japanese seemed to even behave inhumanly, i guess because dying heroically is much more understandable if one or two guys do it for an audience instead of having entire groups of dudes throwing themselves boldly into the teeth of the enemy this tendency of self-sacrifice was so terrifying that roger, who very likely has well repressed and compartmentalized PTSD, is enormously triggered by the sight of a japanese executive. racism is the socially acceptable way to express it in this era, but roger isn't just flatly racist. his racism is backed up by the deep, lingering fear of fighting an enemy who you've seen (or been told to see) as not even human because of their actions. if he's buttoned up about the war most of the time, then it would be baffling to see cool, collected roger lose his poo poo over reasons understandable but unfelt unless you had directly experienced the terror of war. yeah, the war was a long time ago, but roger's never really going to get over this fear and hatred with the state of psychiatry at the time, as well as the disdain men like him would have towards seeking help processing these emotions
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Jun 17, 2021 17:40
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Torquemada posted:I think racism is probably the answer. Not specifically your relative obviously, but there was a long history of characterising ‘Orientals’ as inhuman and inscrutable way before the war started. The rhetoric used to get the Allies in the mood for war in the Pacific theatre was of a particularly vicious and dehumanising nature, and this was exacerbated by a lot of extremely well documented atrocities. If you already thought of the Japanese as the Yellow Peril, then heard about the Rape of Nanking, then watched your buddies get strafed in the water after your boat sank under you in the Gulf of Leyte, having a dim view of the Japanese is somewhat understandable. Oh, it's definitely racism. But it's different than, say, my uncle who did multiple tours in Vietnam and was racist as hell, but didn't have any issues with Vietnamese people beyond his normal racism. You're probably right about how the Orientalist Yellow Peril BS was pushed so hard in WW2. Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:Devorum upthread mentioning savo island and the vincennes - this was an example of american complacency leading to the japanese navy utterly pantsing the american navy, and multiple ships like the vincennes got beaten to pieces for it with extreme loss of life Absolutely. As much as my grandfather hated the Japanese, he blamed complacent officers for allowing what happened to happen. There was nearly the same amount of ire when he talked about scout aircraft not being sent up because the OIC of their group decided it was impossible for the Japanese navy to be anywhere nearby. Devorum fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Jun 17, 2021 |
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Jun 17, 2021 21:18
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OK, now I get to say my peace about this episode. An episode which I love very much, like every episode. The Sally/Betty stuff is amazing, playing into all the terrible things you would see from parents during the time period. You also get to see Kiernan Shipka emerge as like the best young actress in the world during this time period (and they're just using her more, she's not just recurring anymore and is in the list of names for the title credits.) And alot of that works because Shipka herself is the same age as Sally (I think in S4 actually a year younger, 10 to 11) so you're watching in real time. Just the loving balls of a show to try and tackle childhood sexuality. There will be future hay made (and if you go back to the old threads for real-time viewing 10 years ago) that it fits Betty would make the connection with the child psychologist. But that's not my issue with this episode. It is the Honda storyline. A story I enjoy watching - it is cool to see a madcap plot work and the good guys got to fool the upstart punks who think they're better. The shot of Peggy on the Honda is just the real Honda ads, so you also see more of how Peggy has changed now at the new agency (and 75% of that is wardrobe). And it is great to see them bring in the real advertising from the time period - the Honda campaign, like the Volkswagen one from S1, is one of the top 5 automobile ads of the 20th century. I have a co-worker who rides a Cub (a Sym clone) to work every day and I'm super jealous - something impractical that I will never need, but want so bad. I just greatly dislike the idea of what happened for this campaign and ad pitch. The stakes of it, and false nature of the idea, the contest, and the self-made conflict with another agency...this storyline is like what I imagine a lesser show would have been doing every episode, and I wouldn't expect Mad Men to go for something like this. If you had the setting of Mad Men on TNT, you would get 132 episodes of this being the A plot - a group of coworkers who are almost like a family working together to sum it all together with a final ad pitch. A new business every week, zany antics and schemes, to trick their rival company into looking like fools for the client. Then Roger would have shown up at the end making a big speech about how he was racist then and he's now learned racism bad. Thank god that didn't happen - instead you get the much more realistic version that is "I'll shut up for business, but I'll hate the japs as long as I live."
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Jun 18, 2021 00:20
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Jun 18, 2021 00:42
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Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:american military history is full of similar rhetoric of glorious self-sacrifice - "the tree of liberty watered with the blood of patriots", the alamo, bellau wood, dying heroically being the surest way to get a medal of honor (posthumous). the militaristic japanese government of the early 20th c really took this thinking to an entire level beyond though, and it is terrifying to be on the other end of a suicide charge (though, to be honest, most of the dudes doing the suicide attacks were motivated by avoiding the shame of being the one guy in the group who's a big coward not willing to die for the emperor). this fed into uniquely racist attitudes towards the japanese, beyond just the dehumanization of enemies in war. to the allies, the japanese seemed to even behave inhumanly, i guess because dying heroically is much more understandable if one or two guys do it for an audience instead of having entire groups of dudes throwing themselves boldly into the teeth of the enemy I do take a little exception to this, knowing a few guys missing parts because they survived their self-sacrifice. The attitude behind it, as well as the scale and scope, was different. Self-sacrifice in the Western tradition is more often tied to saving allies than damaging enemies. There's very, very few Medal of Honor and Silver Star citations that are "and then he made a pointless suicide charge" and plenty that are "he agreed to stay behind with the machine gun to cover their retreat." But even those are very small in number. The heroic last stands were because they couldn't retreat and they were going to be executed anyway, so just keep shooting. It wasn't the plan. It was a failure. The Japanese government made it the plan, and that's vastly different in my book.
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Jun 18, 2021 02:42
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The Klowner posted:15 seconds later... Don so badly, terribly, awfully needs therapy and it's so frustrating knowing that he's unlikely to ever accept or acknowledge that. Yoshi Wins posted:What's weird about this episode is that the Sally storyline is really intense but the main story is basically a light comedy. GoutPatrol posted:I just greatly dislike the idea of what happened for this campaign and ad pitch. The stakes of it, and false nature of the idea, the contest, and the self-made conflict with another agency...this storyline is like what I imagine a lesser show would have been doing every episode, and I wouldn't expect Mad Men to go for something like this. If you had the setting of Mad Men on TNT, you would get 132 episodes of this being the A plot - a group of coworkers who are almost like a family working together to sum it all together with a final ad pitch. A new business every week, zany antics and schemes, to trick their rival company into looking like fools for the client. Then Roger would have shown up at the end making a big speech about how he was racist then and he's now learned racism bad. Thank god that didn't happen - instead you get the much more realistic version that is "I'll shut up for business, but I'll hate the japs as long as I live." I do think there was a very deliberate choice to keep the rest of the episode as breezy and "fun" as possible with the "caper" stuff because, yeah, the Sally stuff and especially Betty's reactions to her are loving intense and you need that safety valve. Even then, Roger's PTSD exhibiting via his antagonistic behavior is there as a counterpoint to the "zaniness" going on as well. JethroMcB posted:- I freakin' hate Ted Chaough. I love that he and Smitty both are wearing those turtlenecks, because they're cool casual dudes you know, not like those stuffy fuddy-duddies in their suits and ties (nooses am I right fellas!) and this is a cool and relaxed work environment.... followed by Chaough getting pissed at an underling and publicly humiliating him/reminding him of his place by sending him off to his "boyfriend" to come up with terms for pimples as punishment for... answering the question he asked him.
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Jun 18, 2021 05:17
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I think this was the first episode of Mad Men I ever saw, I just came across it channel-hopping and was transfixed by the decor in Roger's office. The secret history of Cooper's balls is like a novel told in two or three throwaway lines across as many episodes, it's the "For sale: baby shoes, never worn" of cable TV
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Jun 18, 2021 08:16
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So unless I'm forgetting something later this is probably the shows attempt at tackling the same subject area as the book that 'inspired' Mad Men;quote:'The first day they had a meeting on the Japanese electronics company, Panasonic, and there must have been six or seven guys there: the account supervisor, the account executive, the executive art director, and a couple of others. I figured I'd keep my mouth shut for a few minutes, like it was my first morning in the place. I read the book a long time ago and I remember it being quite self-aggrandising in a lot of ways, it's called, unsurprisingly, From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor: Front-line Dispatches from the Advertising War.
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Jun 18, 2021 12:05
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Kinda funny that Betty and Don had the same reaction and literally said the same things when they found out that Sally cut her hair. They're both so obsessed with image and beauty its insane. No wonder they got married. e: oh yeah and Betty's apporach to masturbation really makes her scenes in S1 about Don coming home to sleep with her the only thing she looks forward to really fit into place. drat, she repressed. Shageletic fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Jun 18, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 12:42
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Her telling him how she "yearns" for him was a really nice moment at the time, I thought it was great that she was happy to admit she had a health sexual desire. After four seasons though it's so clear how deeply sexually repressed she is and how desperate she is for "respectable" outlets for her needs. She wanted Henry badly but she absolutely refused to have sex with him till she'd divorced Don and married him, because that would be wrong (and tawdry!), and her yelling at Don in this episode about how bringing a strange man into the house and her bed shouldn't bother Sally because he's her new husband really goes to show how screwed up her thinking is. You see it exhibited in all kinds of off ways too, it kind of says a lot about how starved for attention she was that she was flattered by Glen asking for a lock of her hair, and ironically the one extra-marital encounter she appears to have ever allowed herself was not about sex at all but just her own small form of "revenge" against Don. She was interested in that doofus from the stables but she'd never act on it while she was married, she wanted Henry desperately but refused to allow it until it was "right": everything gets filtered through this screwed up sense of what is "decent" and it must be a living hell. At least now she has Henry who is a far more attentive and loving husband than Don was, it's just that there's a bunch of problems that have come along with that and she is furious about it because she's supposed to live happily ever after (again!) just like that perfect dollhouse family she grew up being told was what was right and proper and expected.
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Jun 18, 2021 13:25
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That bit with Betty getting attracted to the young guy getting married at the horse club, turning him down, and successfully setting him up with her friend, only to drop her as a friend because of it, is basically an entire year's worth of course work in psych 401. There is absolutely too much to unpack there.
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Jun 18, 2021 14:01
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my hot take about Ted Chaough is that he is who Paul Kinsey would have become, had Paul been talented and savvy enough to start and build his own agency
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Jun 18, 2021 14:09
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Ted is attractive and somewhat charismatic tho. Paul should have been in a back office somewhere he can faff around 9 to 5 and not care, and have his actual life being a pompous jerk outside of work.
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Jun 18, 2021 14:11
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I have to admit, when Chaough said,"Get the kid who used to work for Draper in here" my first thought was,"Oh my God it's going to be Kinsey", because the thought of him being called a "kid" by Chaough would absolutely loving kill him. I really, really hope we haven't seen the last of Paul (I'd find out for myself!).
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Jun 18, 2021 14:22
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Ted Chow. Ted Choff. Ted Cho-wag. Ted Chog. According to Matt Weiner, he created the name from thin air. It has no etymology or origin or heritage. “It sounded and looked like one of those ridiculous wasp ad men names. It’s just a writers’ joke.” The Klowner fucked around with this message at 15:09 on Jun 18, 2021 |
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Jun 18, 2021 15:07
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https://twitter.com/madmenqts/status/1405971578911875074?s=21
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Jun 18, 2021 22:02
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I got one of those lol. Gave me flashbacks to the time I hosed up a git merge and deleted half a week's worth of my team's work. I wanted to die of shame
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Jun 18, 2021 22:36
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ulvir posted:my hot take about Ted Chaough is that he is who Paul Kinsey would have become, had Paul been talented and savvy enough to start and build his own agency I tend to think of Season 4 Ted and Season 5+ Ted as different characters. They seem to have very different personalities.
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Jun 18, 2021 23:13
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GoutPatrol posted:I tend to think of Season 4 Ted and Season 5+ Ted as different characters. They seem to have very different personalities. Yeah, he's phonier and slimier in season 4. I don't think they knew he was going to be in every season from then on. It seems like they retooled the character a bit.
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Jun 19, 2021 05:41
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Yeah I'm looking forward to following Ted's character arc, before he turned into a depressive sludge in S7. The guy seemed really unstable.
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Jun 19, 2021 06:04
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Mr. Fall Down Terror posted:
This is my read on it too; for as much as Roger is a privileged rear end in a top hat, the way Slattery plays him--not just in this episode, but especially this episode--makes it seem like he really did see some horrible things in combat. I haven't actually rewatched the show in a while, so forgive me if I'm remembering details wrong, but the way he carries his service (especially, if I'm remembering right, the way he kind of regards Don's war as a lesser one) comes off as like "I saw some serious poo poo and I deserve respect for it but I don't feel the need to get into specifics about it;" whereas if he'd spent the entire war behind a desk, I feel like he'd have more of a chip on his shoulder about it and feel like he had something to prove. For as blustery as Roger is, he doesn't seem to feel the need to impress people with war stories, he just kind of builds an aura that says "I don't want to talk about the war, but believe me that I have Stories." Then something like this episode triggers his PTSD and it comes spilling out. That said, I've forgotten pretty much everything about this show outside of Jerusalem's recaps, so maybe there's some cotton hill-rear end "tojo took my shins" scenes i'm forgetting about. I've also never served so the above observations are just based on what others have told me, it could all be completely off base
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Jun 20, 2021 01:12
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The thing I most remember is in season 1, I think, where Roger brings up Korea for some reason, I think to mention how Don never talks about it. Don of course absolutely can't because he doesn't want to fly too close to the sun about the big lie that got him out of the war and to where he is today, so he simply says something like,"There was no glory, you boys used it all up in your war," and Roger replies,"Yes we did," in a way that is both congratulatory but also genuine: he clearly thinks the people who served in WW2 truly deserve every accolade, which again speaks to some of the horrifying things he probably saw during it.
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Jun 20, 2021 01:35
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Ainsley McTree posted:This is my read on it too; for as much as Roger is a privileged rear end in a top hat, the way Slattery plays him--not just in this episode, but especially this episode--makes it seem like he really did see some horrible things in combat. I haven't actually rewatched the show in a while, so forgive me if I'm remembering details wrong, but the way he carries his service (especially, if I'm remembering right, the way he kind of regards Don's war as a lesser one) comes off as like "I saw some serious poo poo and I deserve respect for it but I don't feel the need to get into specifics about it;" whereas if he'd spent the entire war behind a desk, I feel like he'd have more of a chip on his shoulder about it and feel like he had something to prove. For as blustery as Roger is, he doesn't seem to feel the need to impress people with war stories, he just kind of builds an aura that says "I don't want to talk about the war, but believe me that I have Stories." Then something like this episode triggers his PTSD and it comes spilling out. There are very few times we get the real stories, and the lack of people wanting to talk about it is something that shows up all the time though. Freddy and Roger's talk when he's getting fired is one of the biggest. But the war is never that far from their minds, the references never stop. The Suitcase is coming up very soon and you have Duck's outburst, otherwise you just got The Milk and Honey Route when Don is at the Legion Hall confession.
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Jun 20, 2021 02:17
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Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Roger brings up the fact Freddy killed a bunch of guys, and it is with great admiration but it's only when they're super drunk and Freddy is on his last day, and Freddy clearly doesn't want to talk about it at all.
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Jun 20, 2021 02:20
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| # ? Apr 23, 2024 21:50 |
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Did Gene fight in the First World War?
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Jun 20, 2021 03:04
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