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Y'know I don't remember if we ever get confirmation of when he fought, but I assumed it was WWII.
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Jun 20, 2021 03:06
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He gives Bobby one of those spiked helmets that he took as a trophy (and never cleaned the blood out of it  ) so yeah I assumed it was WWI.
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Jun 20, 2021 03:10
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Huh, I'd have to double check but we might have just caught one of Mad Men's few errors. By the time Americans got to the front the Metal Pickelhaubs had been replaced by a leather version, at least I'm fairly certain. Either that or maybe Gene is full of poo poo, picked that up years later and made up some poo poo about it because he never saw combat. Edit: Yeah the Pickelhaube was ceremonial only by 1916, replaced by the Stahlhelm Gaius Marius fucked around with this message at 03:15 on Jun 20, 2021 |
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Jun 20, 2021 03:13
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I once read this study of middle aged businessmen in the 50s and like half of them coyld qualify for what we consider today as PTSD. instead of being acknowledged as such, they drank more than any generation in modern history and had such sky ricketing rates of heart disease and liver dysfunction its kinda unimaginable today
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Jun 20, 2021 03:20
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Gene himself was fuzzy about the history of the helmet. Bobby asks if Gene shot the man, and Gene says, “I think so.” 
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Jun 20, 2021 04:07
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GoutPatrol posted: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. I think the only time Roger speaks directly about his war experience is in "Lost Horizon" - and even then, he only tells Peggy a personal story about a rare moment of R&R. "....Can't you swim?" "Did I mention I was in The Navy? No; the real problem was it was a two story-drop off our cruiser."
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Jun 20, 2021 05:01
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Shageletic posted:I once read this study of middle aged businessmen in the 50s and like half of them coyld qualify for what we consider today as PTSD. instead of being acknowledged as such, they drank more than any generation in modern history and had such sky ricketing rates of heart disease and liver dysfunction its kinda unimaginable today War is probably the biggest background character that people somehow miss when watching mad men. Or honestly any media of the time or about that period.
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Jun 20, 2021 07:27
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JethroMcB posted:I think the only time Roger speaks directly about his war experience is in "Lost Horizon" - and even then, he only tells Peggy a personal story about a rare moment of R&R.
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Jun 20, 2021 09:48
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Cutler had my favorite war-related line in the show. Over Dresden? I wanted to live!
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Jun 20, 2021 18:06
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Folks, we're closing in on The Suitcase. Get your hot takes ready. I'm expecting a good performance from all of you.
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Jun 20, 2021 20:18
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Yoshi Wins posted:Folks, we're closing in on The Suitcase. Get your hot takes ready. I'm expecting a good performance from all of you. Don't worry, we have Waldorf Stories first, where we get to see the beginnings of Don Draper, and drunk Life Cereal pitches. Next couple of weeks are gonna be fun.
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Jun 21, 2021 00:01
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the suitcase is great. but the summer man, now there's an episode
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Jun 21, 2021 00:02
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Just watched Waldorf Stories, its a perfect hour of television. Season 4 is amazing.
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Jun 23, 2021 01:33
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Looking back, it's pretty interesting how directly "Waldorf Stories" sets up plot beats which are paid off in "The Suitcase": Don's alcoholism; Don's (over-)work dynamic with Peggy; Peggy referring to the Glo-Coat ad as "her" work while Don implies it belongs to him, which Peggy resents him for; Peggy's love life; Roger mentioning Dr. Lyle Evans (technically in "Mum + Sword") and the presence of Ms. Blankenship; Roger dictating his memoirs. Even Duck makes an appearance in both episodes!
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Jun 23, 2021 03:05
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Gaius Marius posted:War is probably the biggest background character that people somehow miss when watching mad men. Or honestly any media of the time or about that period. It's not a character treated with reverence, either. By my recollection, almost every character's military service in this show is depicted as a hollow and ultimately damaging point of false masculine pride. Don himself is tight-lipped about his service for obvious reasons, but nobody is stronger or better for having served regardless of their story. It's this universally-lauded signifier of respect in wider society that's constantly undermined as dishonest or empty in private...everyone has a medal and it's almost always hiding tons of shame or trauma or resentment. For a show that's not "about" the military, it strikes me as extremely damning of it. And for good reason. And it makes sense next to the show's wider criticism of toxic masculinity. Don's specific history with the Army is an immense point of shame for him. The dissonance between society's reverence for his service and his personal feelings of guilt from how he got out are this cross he bears in silence the entire series. "The Milk and Honey Route" is pitch-perfect catharsis, because Don finds himself in a room full of veterans, and each and every one of them has a story to tell that's as shameful and haunting as his own. They all share the same feelings in private, and they're all coping with them in insanely unhealthy ways. In essence, the episode dispels "military heroism" as another of the lies that define manhood in Mad Men's reality, and it's incredibly important that Don figure that out.
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Jun 25, 2021 02:44
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Xealot posted:Don's specific history with the Army is an immense point of shame for him. The dissonance between society's reverence for his service and his personal feelings of guilt from how he got out are this cross he bears in silence the entire series. "The Milk and Honey Route" is pitch-perfect catharsis, because Don finds himself in a room full of veterans, and each and every one of them has a story to tell that's as shameful and haunting as his own. They all share the same feelings in private, and they're all coping with them in insanely unhealthy ways. In essence, the episode dispels "military heroism" as another of the lies that define manhood in Mad Men's reality, and it's incredibly important that Don figure that out. When he mentioned how he was a Lieutenant also is another kick to Don. There is a big difference being that and the private he really was. It is never really mentioned outside of the flashbacks and there, we don't know if anyone in the office knows that's his official rank. Parading that fact around would make it much easier to spot the phony. I think the only time he really uses his service to try and help himself is the Dow meeting talking about napalm.
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Jun 25, 2021 03:09
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Season 4, Episode 6 - Waldorf Stories Written by Brett Johnson & Matthew Weiner, Directed by Scott Hornbacher Roger Sterling posted:You couldn't have done it without me. Don Draper and Peggy Olson find themselves in a sadly not unusual situation, though one in which their ability to think along the same wavelength is a godsend: they're interviewing a potential new hire who is woefully, almost comically unqualified for the role he is seeking. His name is Danny, a short little man who looks like his body is eagerly awaiting (or rushing headlong into) middle-age. He has brought them his "book", the portfolio of his advertising work to show them what he is capable of... and it's all garbage. Unmitigated garbage. Everything is "<x>, the cure for the common <y>" - Greyhound for bus, Lay-Z-Boy for chair, Budweiser for beer, Manufacturer's Hanover Bank for..... bank (Don's pause as he gets to this one is an amazing read). Danny happily "explains" to Don that he's playing off the idiom of "the cure for the common cold", Don barely hiding his amusement as he asks Peggy if she got that. The thing is, that's not ALL his work, no he has other ads in there as well, and they've very good ones. The problem is... they're not his. Volkswagen, Marlboro, Maidenform, he's just gone ahead and included a bunch of ads he tore out of magazines, explaining that they're there to inspire him.... surely they tear things out of magazines all the time!?! Indeed they do, Don admits, testily pointing out they don't then add it to examples of their own creative work. But Danny is unfazed by the critique, mentioning not for the first time and far from subtly that he and Roger are friends.... Roger Sterling! One of the partners of the firm! He seems confused that this hasn't ended the conversation immediately, obviously having assumed this meeting itself was purely a formality. As it slowly dawns on him from Roger and Peggy's polite push to get him out of the door that the job not only isn't guaranteed but is also almost surely not going to be given to him, the first hints of panic set in. "I'm a 24-year-old kid," he explains, raising one of Peggy's eyebrows as she doesn't believe for a second this is the case. He insists he just wants a foot in the door, that he'll sweep the floors if he has to, casting about almost in a panic now to namedrop Roger again in case maybe they didn't understand the first half-dozen times. It's at this point that it really comes into focus just who Danny is. The pipe helps, but the general veneer of superiority quickly falling into despair and panic, even the hairstyle... he's Paul Kinsey. Younger and better connected perhaps, but slap a beard on him and ignore the height difference and you've got a guy who has mistaken his ability to talk a good game with actual talent, and forgotten that the lack of can only really be mitigated by REALLY working hard at it. When Don tries to politely kick his rear end out, he becomes alarmed and asks what Don means by wishing him good luck, good luck with that!?! Peggy takes charge, simply informing him that they'll let him know, the universal sign for "You didn't get the job." Even now he tries to play it off with (forced) easy familiarity, asking where he can get something to eat, and Don sends him out to ask Miss Blankenship. "I DON'T WORK FOR YOU!" her voice blares through the closed door moments after Danny has taken the bait and left the office, leaving Don and Peggy a brief moment of levity before they move on to more work. Peggy actually seems more focused on the smallest of details, complaining that Danny can't be 24, after all she's 25! But what is his connection to Roger? Don explains he is a cousin of Jane's, which says it all really: this was purely an obligation, and Roger presumably passed it off to Don (and Peggy) so they could be the ones to boot his rear end out the door. Still, Peggy does find some relief in seeing that here is somebody she knows absolutely for 100% fact she is better than, and it reminds her how far her own work has progressed. She brings up the Glo-Coat ad as an example of how much things have changed over the last few years, and seems disappointed when Don sighs and complains that he worked so hard on that but by the time it was done it had started to feel like somebody else's work. Trying to lighten the mood, she asks wryly if THAT will be his acceptance speech when he wins a Clio, and he points out that you don't make speeches at the Clios. But sure he is excited to have been nominated, at least? It seems Glo-Coat was nominated (which makes sense, it has been written up everybody as completely shaking up the advertising industry) and Don carefully talks around his own personal excitement/pride by simply saying it will be good for the Agency, noting that Grey's own increased valuation has been based solely on the awards they've won (sour grapes there? They would only win awards if their advertising was innovative/successful). He turns talk back to work, though not before pouring them both a drink, he asks about Vicks and dismisses her attempt to correct him to Vick as a way to avoid admitting she has nothing. That is true, but she isn't willing to accept the blame for it, because she has been putting the work in. The trouble is HIS new Art Director, who is either rejecting her ideas or losing them or using them as scrap paper to draw all over. Don won't accept this passing of the buck though, even if there is truth to her claim, because the new Art Director is HER new Art Director too, and as somebody with more experience and talent (okay the first part maybe, the second part is a real insult) than her, she has to learn to work with him. Laying down the law, he instructs her that he wants to see work on Monday, and she won't be able to hide from him if she has nothing because he will track her down and find her. Not appreciating being talked down to, and certainly not the idea that SHE is the type to not do her work or hide away or avoid him if she hasn't, she places her barely touched drink down and simply offers him "good luck" for the Clios. When he reminds her she isn't supposed to wish somebody luck, she shrugs and grunts,"Break a leg" with probably a fair wallop of genuine hope before leaving the office. Don actually amused by her obvious bad mood as she goes, though whether because he he appreciates her nerve or actually thinks he has done good management work and "inspired" her (it wasn't and he didn't) I couldn't say.   Meanwhile, Roger Sterling is hard at work.... meandering his way through an unfocused stream of consciousness dictating of his memoirs to his secretary, Caroline. This mostly consists of him rating the silent film comedians, saying he found Chaplin too maudlin and disliked the meanness of Laurel and Hardy even if they had more fun. His poor secretary has to make sense of this when it suddenly occurs to Roger he has no idea why he is talking about this, suggesting maybe it could go into the section on his childhood. Roger ponders why that section seems to be getting bigger, having no idea (nor would he ever admit if he did) that what he REALLY needs is therapy and this "memoir" is largely just a way for him to talk about things he has never talked about before. The "session" is broken up by Don knocking at the door and coming in with a beaming smile, chuckling over the "cute" prank of sending Danny to see him. Don's mood here is far different to the one he had with Peggy, and Roger leaps at the "invitation" to drink when he sees Don has brought his drink (or did he just take the rest of Peggy's so as not to "waste" it?) with him. He gets up and pours himself a vodka, commenting that he's been to the Clios before and they'll want to "come prepared". Yet another form of non-therapy therapy. They cackle happily over Danny's farce of a book, Roger laughing that it was probably cruel of him to tell Danny to be himself. But then Roger asks Don when Danny will be starting, and doesn't share in Don's weeping laughter that he'll never start. Instead he just puts on a little forced smile and "reminds" Don how marriage works: if he doesn't get Danny a job, then it'll cost him between $500 - $1000 in a gift to Jane to keep her from staying upset at him. He clearly expected Danny to get the job regardless of his incompetence, having seemingly forgotten (or not caring) that this isn't Sterling Cooper anymore and they can't really afford to have somebody on who doesn't deserve a spot. Still, Don side-steps this potential minefield by simply ignoring it (this has worked out GREAT for him in the past!) and says they'll be heading out to the Clios after their meeting with Life Cereal. Roger raises a toast to the prospect of new business AND a victory at the Waldorf, shaking Don's hand and telling him he deserves it. At which point the show leaps back a decade or more to another handshake, the first of what would be many between a man named Don Draper and a man named Roger Sterling. Don of course has always been tall and handsome, but he is absolutely the junior man in this exchange and far from the equal (and in many ways, superior) standing he would share a decade later. Roger Sterling is middle-aged but still seemingly in (the tail end of) his prime, with hints of color and volume still to be found in his hair, his face just a little less gaunt, his expensive tailored suit filled out just a slight bit more by a frame not quite yet feeling the full brunt of another decade of expensive lunches, smoking and copious amounts of vodka. As an aside, it's remarkable what simple (relatively speaking!) hair and make-up can do to seemingly take a decade off the age of an actor. They're at Heller's Luxury Furs, where Don is the charming and eager salesman and Roger the self-assured master of his own destiny, not afraid to admit his lack of knowledge because he is entirely comfortable with the power he holds in this relationship. Their banter even now at this first meeting is an easy back-and-forth, Roger's considerable talent as an Accounts man meshing well with Don's obvious charisma. They easily step around the implications of Roger's visit: that this is for somebody Roger is sleeping with, and probably NOT his wife. Roger of course is a pro, and can't help but notice when Don casually starts referring to the two of them as "we" instead of "you" and "I", recognizing it as a technique to draw Roger into considering the man trying to make a sale to him as a friend/compatriot, that they're in this together as opposed to it being a transaction. Still, he's not insulted by it, and Don's suggestions are offering him just what he needs: a mink that is expensive without being TOO expensive, and that will attract its recipient to him rather than scare her away. As Don replaces one mink to fetch another longer one, Roger catches sight of a poster in the mirror and turns to look. It's a female model (Betty Hofstadt, of course, wearing the same coat that Don would send to her as part of his own courtship, and it certainly did NOT scare her away) in a long fur, and the tag he's attached to it is surprisingly progressive (in pursuit of money from more sources, Pete Campbell would be proud): Why wait for a man to buy you a fur coat? "That's a dumb question," sneers Roger, because of course in his mind why would any woman want to buy her OWN coat rather than have one bought for her? "Who does your work?" "I do," replies Don, with obvious pride, explaining that advertising interests him and his boss "allows" him to do it (of course he does, it means he doesn't have to pay anybody else!). Roger passes him his card and Don is surprised and delighted to see he works in advertising, asking if he can give him a call sometime about possible work. Roger explains that he'd need at least twenty more pieces of work to show him first, and even if he had them.... no, he couldn't call. Rather he gave Don the card so he could call him to get explicit delivery instructions regarding the fur. For the first time in their meeting, Don's face falls, but he quickly recovers, asking "Mr. Sterling" to join him at his desk to handle the payment. When he met Roger, he had no other intention but to make a sale, and he has done so successfully... but for just a moment he saw the opportunity for something more, and now what would have given him great satisfaction only a few minutes earlier is leaving him feeling empty, because that "opportunity" has been snatched away. Sometime later (but still a decade plus in the past), the fruits of Roger's purchase are demonstrated. At a hotel (presumably not the Waldorf?), he enters the bedroom holding the box under his arm that the woman waiting on the bed has been fixated on since she saw him leave Sterling Cooper with it. The box, of course, is the fur. The woman, of course of course, is Joan Holloway. In her very early 20s (younger perhaps?) at this point, at the very start of an affair that would last for years - far longer than Jane, who would be a schoolgirl at this point, has known Roger. She opens the box and is delighted by the mink, just as Don promised, and as she slides it on she exhibits some level of the confidence and intelligence she would hone to a fine point over the years to come... but at this young age she can't quite hide her enthusiasm and excitement as she warns Roger "one gift at a time" as he asks her to take her dress off BEFORE putting on the mink. But something gets Roger's attention as she slides the fur on, a black folder sitting in the box beneath the fur. He opens it, musing it might be "an instruction manual" and is not pleased at all to see that the salesman... included his book!?! It's not exactly what you would call "professional" work, it's drawn on artboard with colored pencils and you can see the ruled lines.... but even the first examples of work is at a level far higher than anything Danny would show off a decade plus later: a spec ad for Play-Doh playing off Noah's Ark, with the tag of "Open a Can on a Rainy Day". But while Joan is impressed with the work, Roger is not, complaining it is out of line. He soon forgets that though as Joan, buzzing over the mink, promises him that every time she wears it she will think of everything that happened on the night she got it: a promise of wild and energetic sex that drops every other thought from his mind: she might still be developing the smooth and in-control persona she would eventually have, but Joan Holloway still knows how to handle men and get what she wants even at this young age. So they kiss, and embrace, the mink slipping off and falling to the floor, covering over/burying Don Draper's gamble. Back in the present, Roger sits contemplating as he smokes. Don has left, presumably to prepare for Life Cereal, and Roger calls out to Caroline to rejoin him, saying he finally has an actual work story. Presumably it will be a sanitized version of how he met Don Draper, rather than enthusiastically explaining about the time he banged Joan Holloway after buying her a fur coat.   The time of the meeting arrives, but there is no sign of Life Cereal themselves. Nobody is happy about that of course, but Pete is the one displaying the most anxiety, bellowing out from the conference room asking Joan what is keeping them - "Life" Joey offers helpfully, garnering a laugh. When Peggy asks Don when he has to leave for the Clios, Harry points out that he was late to the Emmies last year and Red Skelton gave away his ticket. Lane both demonstrates his own lack of knowledge of pop culture AND his intimate knowledge of Harry as a shameless namedropper, pointing out that he can assume Red Skelton is somebody of "some note", getting an amused chuckle from Harry in return. Joan arrives to update everybody, giving the "good" news that Life Cereal's plane was grounded in Philadelphia due to wind. Pete, frantic now, asks why that is "good" news, and a smiling Joan offers the "bad" news, opening a cabinet to reveal an enormous amount of liquor bottles and noting that they only have an hour of drinking time before it is time to attend the Clios. Don is happy of course, one less pitch means one less thing to worry about and more drinking time before the awards. As Pete seethes about having to reschedule, Don reminds Joey that Joan does not work for him and he can fetch his own drink... but is happy to have Joan pour and bring him something "simply but significant". Joan does actually offer to get Peggy a drink too, a demonstration perhaps of not only how far their working and personal relationship has developed but also the security Joan feels in her current role. Peggy excuses herself to work though, but not before asking if Joan will be attending the awards. She will be, though Pete and Don at least offer the reasoning as it not being overlooking Peggy herself but simply because they only had 4 tickets and Joan is coming because they want to impress other Agencies' clients who are in attendance - leaving it unsaid whether that will be due to Joan's obvious talent for networking/relationship building, because of her obvious attractiveness, or a combination of both. Returning to her office, Peggy finds it darkened as the new Art Director - Stan Rizzo - plays a horrifying (and real!) political ad from 1964 on the projector for two secretaries. Rizzo, who at least worked on the ad if not produced it, claims that Goldwater (who won the Republican nomination over Rockefeller, partly due to the "scandal" of Rockefeller remarrying) pissed blood when he saw a copy, even though the actual ad itself never aired (though another famously did). Rizzo claims that one of the secretaries, Clara, wanted to see the ad, which Peggy finds unlikely. She asks them to leave and they awkwardly do so, wheeling out the projector - which they forget to unplug first - while Stan makes no bones about hungrily leering at them. This is Stan Rizzo, the new Art Director, and he's about as far from Sal Romano as you can possibly get. Casually dressed, openly crass and rude, he's also got an equal level of animosity for Peggy as she does for him. They snipe at each other, Rizzo affecting a "I'm cool and hip and you're not" vibe as he mocks Peggy for being a "prude" who can't accept that the natural state of man is nude. Peggy doesn't give a poo poo about any of that though, doesn't want to get into another philosophical argument, and certainly doesn't want to waste time. She asks if Don has yelled at him yet and when Stan sneers that he's not scared of Don Draper, Peggy declares that this answers her question with a "no". He wants a presentation on Vick Chemicals on Monday and she is NOT working over the weekend, so they have to sort out a plan NOW. Bitching and moaning but going along with it, he agrees it'll get done before falling back on the oh so wonderfully progressive and "natural" idea of asking if she's in a bad mood because she's "on the rag"? Yes, Stan Rizzo is one of those "enlightened" new men whose idea of enlightenment is,"I get to be a huge rear end in a top hat and treat women like sexual objects, but somehow I expected to be lauded and celebrated for this". It's.... it's very similar to the pre-enlightened way of being a man!   At the Waldorf, Don stands at the bar chatting to another ad-man, introducing him to Roger as Ned Elliot from K&E. Roger is more interested in getting another drink, having done the math and figured out just how long the ceremony is going to last for. Elliot is up for Best Local under $2000 award, for the New England Merchants Bank, and wishes Don luck before making his exit. The next person they meet isn't such a pleasant experience though, as Ted Chaough makes a point of coming up to introduce them to Major-General Frank Alvin, wanting to show off a big client to them. Roger can't help but crack a joke at Chaough's expense, which means Chaough can't resist cracking a joke about how neither Roger or Don were at the ceremony last year before the takes the General away. Roger proclaims that the General is bullshit, saying he met him before. Don assumes in the war, but Roger explains it was an ad for Bay Rum and the "General" had a parrot on his shoulder, claiming that Chaough simply hired an actor to play a General and make himself look impressive. Which, if true, is pretty goddamn pathetic and surely prone to exposure because it's a room full of advertising men, surely there is a good chance they'd have worked with that same actor before? Elsewhere, Pete is still anxious, commenting to Joan that her recent interaction with one of the other Agencies clients was not a "business proposition". "You catch more flies with honey," she smirks, but Pete is already fixated on something else, spotting Ken Cosgrove and another man approaching and in no mood to deal with them. Apparently the other man is a representative of Bird's Eye, Pete - all smiles and jokes now that they've arrived - "joking" that they miss them as a client more than they miss Kenny as an Account Executive. Everybody laughs at this "joke", and the Bird's Eye man - Phillip - admits that this is why he insisted to Ken they come over, since they're putting the "old team" back together. Ken quickly reminds Phillip this hasn't been confirmed yet, and Phil shrugs and notes that one thing Geyer does NOT have is Don Draper, before he and Ken leave. Now Pete is REALLY frantic, what the hell was that about!?! Turning to Joan, he asks if they're merging with Geyer and is left reeling by her smooth response that he should talk to Lane. That's not a no, and for somebody as paranoid as Pete that is as good as a yes. Oh God, it's happening! They're betraying him! He knew they would, it was inevitable because everybody hates him and nobody likes him and Ken Cosgrove is going to take his place and he's going to lose everything he worked so hard and put so much effort into oh God oh God why is the universe so unfair to the rich young white man who was born into high society, married into money, and is a partner of a lauded advertising agency!?! The Awards begin, the MC asking everybody to take their seats. Pete grabs a seat next to Don and tries to bring up his meeting with Ken, but Don - starting to feel the nerves now that the reality of the awards is starting to sink in - simply whispers at him not to talk to him right now, and leaves Peter hanging in the wind, paranoid mind racing with the horrifying possibilities. Luckily they're all distracted by loud laughter and clapping coming from another table. The MC thanks them for the laughter, noting he didn't think his joke was THAT funny.... and one of the men at the table starts talking back. Loudly. And very drunkly. Oh God it's Duck Phillips. Yes, he's off the wagon again, and completely blitzed out of his mind. He bellows out towards the befuddled MC, Wallace Harriman (played by John Aniston!), calling him "Wally" and explaining how inspiring he was to Duck coming up at Y&R at the start of his career, and how he's shocked he's still alive. Duck's own Agency look humiliated and a few more than a little irritated, and nobody protests when he is escorted out complaining about the "French service". Harriman recovers well enough though, quipping this will be an end to the public speaking portion of the ceremony before gently reminding everybody - all hard drinking advertising executives - to "pace themselves". Thank God for Peggy she didn't end up going. It has eased the tension somewhat though, Don chuckling to Roger that he feels like he has won already (remember, that guy was going to be the President of Sterling Cooper at one point, and Don was supposed to work firmly under his bootheel). But as the first award is prepared to be announced, Don takes another drink and the tension starts to build again: it's going to be a long night, and satisfaction isn't guaranteed at the end of it.   Speaking of a lack of satisfaction: Stan Rizzo! He tossing pencils into the ceiling, bored out of his mind and contributing nothing to the meeting in the Creative Lounge as Peggy tries to come up with ideas. She asks him something that has been bothering her though, if he really worked on the Johnson Campaign... why is he working here at SCDP now? After all, Johnson won! He insists that DDB didn't properly keep track of or credit those who worked on the ads with the exception of Daisy, a monumentally impactful political ad that he clearly feels sullen about being so lauded while "his" work was not. He complains that the KKK ad was the nearest he'll get to having worked on (so now he "worked on" it as opposed to being the one who made it?), and this actually strikes a nerve with Peggy, and makes her in some sense commiserate. She points out that she worked on Glo-Coat... no, more than worked on it, she contributed an ENORMOUS amount to the ad, but everybody thinks of it as a Don Draper solo production. This explains a lot of the earlier scene with Don, and her reaction to him complaining about working on something and then feeling like it was no longer yours. Because she did that very same thing with Glo-Coat, only for it to become "Don's". She does admit that it was Don who put the cowboy spin on things, but she was the one who came up with the idea for the kid being "imprisoned". Like Rizzo, she is perhaps attributing too much credit to herself - it was the cowboy spin and the aping of movie aesthetics that made people sit up and take notice after all - but she has a point: Don happily lapped up all the praise without considering the vital role she played in it. But if she thought Rizzo would also commiserate with her due to a similar experience, she's mistaken. When she admits she was clapping for herself when the nomination came in and Don allowed everybody to congratulate him and ONLY him, he laughs at the idea of anybody clapping for themselves. He then deigns to be creative, standing up and declaring he is going to "riff" and come up with ideas for Vick Chemicals.... and he wants HER to note down his ideas, reducing her to a secretary, dismissing all the ideas she came up with as uninteresting and assuming he'll be able to spin gold from nothing in a couple of minutes. Back at the Clios, the man behind (or the one who took all the credit at least) for a Byrrh commercial collects his award, and then Harriman declares they have reached the waxes and polishs category. Under the table, Joan and Roger hold hands, and shortly after Don's hand reaches out and Joan takes his as well. She sits between them, a comfort to both in very different ways, as Harriman runs through the nominees and then declares the winner.... Johnson Wax's Glo-Coat, by Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce! Don's demeanor cracks at last. After playing it off, pretending not to care, being racked with tension, trying to pretend this only mattered as a boon to the Agency and not as an endorsement of him personally and philosophically etc... the moment of truth comes as he explodes with happiness. All the tension and stress is gone, all pretense and stoicism stripped away in a second as he vaults to his feet, kisses Joan on the mouth, shakes Roger's hand and then races up to the stage to shake Harriman's hand, pose for a photo and then race past the projection of his commercial to return to the table and show off the award to a FINALLY excited Pete Campbell. Reality intrudes at this key moment however, as one of their secretaries who absolutely should not be there steps up to congratulate him. Why is she there? She raced over to inform them of developments at the office: Life Cereal rented a car and drove the rest of the way to New York, they're right there at the office now waiting for the presentation. A surprised Pete insists he can get them to stay longer in the city and reschedule the presentation for next week, but now he's dealing with a Don Draper who is feeling on top of the world and invincible. No, he declares, they'll go do the presentation right now! Pete is startled, really? He casts a worried glace as Don and Roger both knock back the last of the MANY drinks they've been enjoying up to this point, then follows them as they head out the door, prepared to go give a presentation to a major potential new client while high on adrenaline from their win and well into a long afternoon of drinking already. Luckily they're not the only ones. Killing time as they wait, Harry Crane has been pouring the Life Cereal executives drink after drink while regaling them with stories of what will be happening on future episodes of Peyton Place. Lane, who probably hasn't got a loving clue what Peyton Place even is, agrees with one of the drunk executives that he also can't believe Connie goes through with her wedding. Joey and Peggy - called away from Stan's "riffing" to attend - simply sit and watch, hoping that word will arrive back soon about presumably a rescheduling of the meeting. Suddenly the triumphant heroes return, bursting through the door holding the trophy high before planting it on the table as they recieve applause and cheers. Peggy can't resist grabbing it and lifting it up (imagining it is HER trophy for HER work), commenting on how heavy it is, while Pete reintroduces the two executives who Don - far more animated and excited and usual - happily declares he recalls they are Jim and Dennis. Roger isn't staying, but before he goes he declares he wants one more victory lap and makes everybody race around the table with him as he holds the trophy aloft, and tells them not to take too long as they have a victory party to attend. Pete watches this with distaste and a fair amount of unease, they're doing this IN FRONT of a client? Lane also doesn't seem overly happy, but they're both too professional to make any kind of big deal out of it. With Roger gone they settle into the presentation itself, Joey - ironically far more respectful of Don while he's actually being the drunk he often complains he is - assuring Don he didn't start without him. So Don begins, trying to push down his drunkenness momentarily to deliver a sober presentation... which makes him sound like a drunk guy trying to sound sober! (Jon Hamm does this VERY well). He runs through the basic ideas, that Life is a big name, it's a big cereal, they want to push these themes while avoiding the health aspects which aren't sexy or exciting. With that out of the way, it's time for Joey to take over, and Don passes over to him. With that, he has succeeded in doing his part, to make the client feel respected and appreciated since he's the Creative Director etc, and this meeting is going to be a succeess. And then with drunken bravado, still flying high from his award, Don decides he's just gonna wing the rest of the presentation! The others nervously watch as Don runs through the idea. All the basic elements of the usual Don Draper presentation are there: the confidence, the way with words, the embracing of the painful pleasure of nostalgia etc. Except this time he's drunk and has to keep swallowing burps as he talks, red-faced and speaking with forced deliberateness. Their tagline is "Eat Life by the Bowlful", and uses deliberately oversized props to create dual-meaning for specific audience targets: children will see the giant bowl and spoon and think it is fun, while parents (mothers in particular) will be happily reminded that their child is still small and tiny and needs protection... protection that Life will give them! Slumping into his seat, Don declares this is all he has. Harry is quick to jump on that, insisting that if they were invited into the company they could probably put together a Saturday Morning TV show based around the Quaker Oats family! Don can't help but quip they could call it The Quaker Oats Family, getting a laugh. The executives are happy, despite the rather unprofessional and untraditional method of the pitch, the bowl imagery works for them and they were in agreement about Don's assessment of how a term like "Life" makes people feel. But this isn't a one way street, and they have their own perceptions. Not as drunk as Don but still more than a little drunk, they point out that the slogan and the themes behind it might be a little too "smart" for "regular folk". They even agree with Don's counter that kids only need to see the bowl, while the mothers will understand the irony, but point out the true fact that when they go back to Chicago all the company is going to want to hear is what is the slogan, and he doesn't think "Eat Life by the Bowful" will do it. Here is where Pete sees the chance to jump in. The meeting has been, somehow, a success, so it is time to call it to a close with allowances for the necessary follow-up: Don will workshop a new slogan and they can see it on Monday if they are staying OR SCDP will come see them in Chicago to pitch it. Unfortunately for Pete, this entirely sensible idea gets swept aside by an over-confident Don, as assured as Stan Rizzo that he can just pull an idea out of the ether as required. "Life is just a bowl of Life Cereal." "Life is sweet." "Enjoy the rest of your Life... Cereal!" "Life. The reason to get out of bed in the morning." "Life. The cure for the common breakfast." "Life. Its sweetness never ends." "Life. Eat it by the bowlful." He throws those all out with a big sloppy grin on his face, enjoying himself far too much, reduced by his drunken state to the early stages of the Creative Process where you're just throwing any old poo poo at the wall to see what sticks, including the slogan that was already rejected. But one of those ideas grabbed the attention of the Cereal Executives..... AND Peggy Olson. "The cure for the common breakfast!" exclaims one of them, and just like that they're all in agreement and shaking hands and congratulating each other for a great meeting and a fun time in New York. Don happily collects his trophy and walks out the door, Harry's desperate effort to talk media with the executives stymied, calling out to Roger that he's done and they can go.... and Peggy Olson is right behind him desperately needing to speak to him.  
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Jun 27, 2021 11:30
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She tries to get him to stop but he's barreling through everything right now, instead asking her what SHE has on Vicks (still calling it that) and getting mad at HER when she tries to talk past that and he assumes that she is trying to avoid admitting it. Angrily he declares that Miss Blankenship will book them a hotel room and charge it to Vick(s), because he doesn't want anymore excuses. With that he bellows out to Pete that he and Roger will walk the Life Cereal executives out and then strides away, the master of the universe, clutching his trophy and knows that nothing can hurt him or stop him because he is Don Draper, creative genius and award winner who just nailed yet ANOTHER pitch with something he just came up with himself out of the blue with no support or priming from anybody else! Miss Blankenship asks Peggy if she would like to choose her own hotel or have it picked for her, and when a frustrated Peggy points out it is the weekend and they'll just work in the office, Miss Blankenship grumpily asks if she really wants her to chase down Don and ask if he was being serious or not. She instructs her to go get Stanley, meaning to carry out Don's orders to the letter. So Peggy races to the next best person: Pete Campbell. Don may be Creative Director but Pete is running this account, she can at least let him know what is going on. But Pete has his own problems and refuses to talk, wanting to speak with Lane Pryce instead about his own paranoid fears, leaving Peggy once again frustrated: SCDP have just gotten themselves into a major jam and she is the only one who knows it, and nobody will listen to her. She turns and looks for some salvation, and all she can see is Stan Rizzo laying on the table in the Creative Lounge, being his heroic "I don't care about your RULES I'll lie on a table, what do you think about THAT society?  " self.Inside Lane's office, Pete gets straight to the point: are they merging with Geyer? Lane's response is immediate and simply: no. Pete of course doesn't believe that, explaining that he ran into Ken Cosgrove and Clarence (not Phillip?) Birdseye at the Clios. Lane sighs, not because he's been proven a liar but because this means he has to tell Pete what is actually happening. Ken isn't happy at Geyer, and he is offering to bring some of his choice clients over to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and Lane is more than happy to let him. Not so Pete, who immediately declares this will be over his dead body. This is not something that Lane can ignore either, Pete is no longer just a "Co" Head of Accounts. He is not just the guy who has brought in most of the non-Lucky Strike clients they rely on to keep the Agency running. He is a Partner, not a named one but still a Partner and still somebody who can't just be ignored or kept out of the loop (hell, Roger at least got told initially about their pursuit of Honda). So Lane apologizes, admitting it was wrong not to consult him, but before he can explain further Pete launches into a spite-fueled rant about how Lane never liked him, picked Ken over him (yes he's still salty about that) and now expects him to just work with him again without even being consulted? "Approval denied," he growls, and tries to storm out, but Lane grabs him by the arm and physically stops him. Taking a moment to collect himself, Lane spits some home truths of his own. Roger Sterling is a child, and SCDP can't continue expecting Pete to "pull the cart" all by himself. They need Ken Cosgrove, and Ken wants to be with them. He's hungry, proven AND he has accounts: Birds Eye, Mountain Dew (Lane clearly has no idea what that is, but that it is worth money), and Fillmore Auto Parts. If they bring Ken on, the money they're paying him will be more than covered by the clients he brings with him, which in turn takes the pressure off of Pete and his clients, which in turn reduces the massive and disproportionate power that Lucky Strike (and in some regards, Roger) has. The hire would benefit EVERYBODY, and not just Pete twice-over because it would make life easier for him personally AND as a Partner it would be best for the Agency itself. When Pete still tries to walk out, Lane hits him with another couple of hard shots: he expects pragmatism from Pete, not this kind of emotional shortsightedness, and he likes to think that pragmatism is a trait both of them share. On a personal note, he's also quite fond of Pete, and is pained to discover that Pete thinks otherwise. He will be having Ken over for lunch on Monday, and if Pete's "tantrum" has subsided he is welcome to join them. Pete, completely thrown off by the compliments, the reminders of the benefits, the personal endorsement AND the guilt of having allegedly hurt Lane's feelings, isn't quite sure how to react. He simply declares he is going home, but Lane has planted the seed: one thing true of Pete is that he loathes himself enough to assume that everybody else loathes him too... but that same thing means he is desperate for approval, and Lane just offered it to him.   Joan has joined Don and Roger for their continued celebrations, at a bar packed with the other Clio award winners. As they share a toast to the trophy, Roger spots the General passing and calls out to him, asking if he flying tonight, and then making a number of jokes insinuating what he clearly believes to be the truth: that the General is an actor hired by Ted Chaough. Either the actor is VERY dedicated to staying in character or Roger has the wrong end of the stick, because his ramrod posture, fixed angry glare and quiet declaration that one of the medals on his chest is for shutting up loudmouths indicates he might just be the real deal. He leaves, Roger chuckling happily to himself, and the next passer-by is a more welcome one: Ned Elliot. It seems he won too, and he and Don congratulate each other. Elliot admits that though he knows 50 of the awards are given out on the night, it still feels special to him to get one, which Don clearly agrees with. Spotting something, he asks Roger to buy Ned a drink and then walks over to where Dr. Faye Miller is chatting with a young handsome man, declaring that her mother called and is "looking for us" before escorting her away. She goes without protest, though she does tell the stranger it was nice to meet him before asking Don what he was doing. "Rescuing you," he assures her, having made the assumption she wasn't interested in being picked up. She's wearing the wedding ring, but it is still a bold assumption of his, and she points out what he actually rescued her from was a business opportunity. Still, it can't have been that promising a one, as she's happy to stick around and chat with Don, telling him she didn't see him win but she did hear about it, laughing that Grey will be putting his face on a dartboard now. Don tries to play down the victory he obviously puts a lot of stock in, insisting that "everybody" won, and even if he had lost it wouldn't change how he feels, because awards don't make the work any better. "That's very healthy," she agrees, about a man with a VERY unhealthy way of thinking about things. But then he's leaning forward uncomfortably close, sniffing her hair and telling her how good she smells, and suggesting they "get out of here" and... welp, she's not dumb (she's a doctor!). She tells him simply that she thinks he is confused about a lot of things right now, tells him she is happy for his win, straightens his tie and leaves. He watches her go, fascinated, intrigued, wanting her more now that he has been rejected: basically she's the exact type he used to go for when he was with Betty. Miss Blankenship proved as good as her word, and Peggy and Stan are holed up in a hotel room at Vick Chemical's expense. Neither are working, though at least Peggy has all her files on the table. She's trying to get through to Don on the phone, he is casually reading a Playboy (again, his "enlightenment" involves him being "free" to ogle naked women and pretend it somehow makes him a better person). He also assumes that she wants to report their (lack of) progress to Don, and when she insists it is something that has nothing to do with him he points out he knows they have a special relationship. That gets her attention, and her temper up, assuming that like everybody else he assumes she got where she is by virtue of an affair with Don. Surprisingly though, he is one of the few who grasps that she is Don's favorite (she doesn't feel like it, but she absolutely is) without sex being involved. Of course he puts it in an insulting way, claiming that Don wouldn't be caught dead with her and likening her to a favored pet, a dog he takes hunting with him and lets carry his carcasses in her mouth. Peggy, who has had just about enough of this rear end in a top hat, hits back with some cutting insight of her own, asking if he plans to work or just continue to stare at women who can't stare back. He insists though this is part of his creative process, the freedom helps him get his mind moving the way it should (like Paul Kinsey once insisted marijuana would). She hits back that given all his constant talk about the liberating power of being naked, why isn't he a nudist? He would be, he promises, if the environment was right. But in the presence of the Pope.... or her... it simply isn't possible. Irritated at his continual putdowns and assumptions about her prudishness, she reminds him that he doesn't know anything about her, and he offers his analysis: she's ashamed of her body, or at least she should be. Hooooo okay yeah, gently caress this guy. He can gently caress right the gently caress off. I hate him. And so Peggy, in typical Peggy fashion, decides to play a game of chicken. Kind of. Except instead of being that thing where you come at each other head-on and see who dives out of the way first, it's that thing where you take off all your clothes. Stan is shocked as she starts pulling off her clothes, stripping down first to her underwear before declaring she can work in the nude if he needs that "liberation" to actually get any work done. After she calls him a chickenshit when he hesitates, he decides to throw caution to the wind and eagerly joins in. But as she keeps stripping he finds himself down to his underwear and not quite able to take the final step. When she removes her bra, his eyes become locked on her breasts, but unlike the magazine this time the woman he is staring at can stare back, and suddenly it's not quite so easy to "admire" the female form. Not wanting to admit defeat, he pulls his underwear off and takes a seat. But just like Smitty and Kinsey found out when they smoked marijuana with her, Peggy actually can use these "aids" to work while he can't. The ideas don't flow freely for Stan at all, he finds himself unsure where to look, how to act, feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed when she smirks at his erection, insisting it is just an involuntary reaction left over from the Playboy. Meanwhile, Peggy simply starts running through ideas, and with their mutual nudity a giant elephant in the room (not the "it was a bad idea to gently caress" elephant, there is no danger of that here) he finds he has little choice for once but to actually listen to the ideas she is putting out. Peggy, for her part, seems to have already forgotten she is nude at all.   At the bar, Don has gotten even drunker, he, Ned and Roger all knocking them back, while Joan of course is far more controlled as she also imbibes. Feeling like she's hit her limit, she begins to collect her things, and Roger complains she shouldn't leave him alone with all these naked gold women (the trophies). They're interrupted by another woman, Roger perking up at the sight of her until she asks if the man at the end of the bar they were with is Don Draper. Yes he is, Joan tells her, and no he isn't attached she assures her when she asks (Roger insists he is, but to the glass in his hand). She leaves to make her move, and Roger can't help but comment on how proud Don is of his win. When Joan says it is a big day, she can't help but notice Roger's frown and promises him it is a big day for him too, though she can't help but tease exactly what it is that he does do when Roger complains they don't give trophies to guys like him. "Find guys like him," Roger explains, looking at Don. Joan takes his drink from him, warning him he has crossed the line from lubricated to morose, and cups one side of his face gently before making her exit. She'll look out for him, but they are not together in any sense but as co-workers/friends anymore, and she certainly isn't his wife. So that leaves Roger alone at the bar, and his thought travel back once more to the early 1950s. In the lobby of Sterling Cooper, Roger is confused when a tall, handsome man calls out to him, because he has no idea who he is. Don introduces himself as Don, then Don Draper, then reminds him he works at Heller's Luxury Furs. "The fur guy," Roger says at last, the memory sparked, but he looks less than impressed. He asks what Don is doing there and he explains he has a meeting in another part of the building, but saw him there and thought he's come say hello. Roger, no fool (in this regard at least) asks him to name one other company in the building, and Don is immediately caught like a deer in the headlights. He admits that yes he came here hoping to "accidentally" meet him, but Roger hasn't responded to any of the messages he left. Roger points out that he threw them out/ignored them, and that was HIS message to Don, one Don obviously hasn't gotten. What did he do with Don's portfolio? He threw it in the trash along with the box the fur came in, complaining that it was a bad move on Don's part. Don tries a new tack now that lying didn't work: telling the truth. Maybe it was a mistake, but he's trying to make a break for himself, and surely Roger can appreciate that, didn't he have a break at some point? For Roger, the break was being born, and he asks Don if his boss knows he's here. Don insists he does and knows that Don wants to do the type of thing that Roger does, and when Roger asks exactly what it is he thinks he does (10+ years in the future, Joan jokes that even she doesn't know that) Don's reply is pretty perfect: he's an important man at an important agency. He admits he might be risking his job at Heller's after all, but he would give anything to buy Roger a drink and hear what he has to say about the business. Buy him a drink? Roger points out it's 10am (and yes, he's only JUST arriving to work), insinuating of course that drinking this early in the morning is scandalous. Anyway, not long after that they're in a bar drinking! And drinking. And drinking. Roger knocks back one after the other as he always does, and talks and talks as he always does (even back then, the man needed therapy). Don listens and drinks, far more of the former than the latter, keeping his wits about him, listening to Roger outline his mother's philosophy - be careful what you wish for, you'll get it and then people will be jealous and take it away from you! It has been a couple of hours of heavy drinking, and Roger finally grasps that soon it will be lunchtime and he'll be embarrassed to be seen in this state and in this company. He can't hire Don, and Don already has a good job and can remain his "fur guy", and that's that. Don offers to take him elsewhere and buy him lunch, but Roger waves off the offer, saying he filled up on olives (in other words, he drank a LOT of martinis). He gets to his feet and staggers, having to grab at Don's shoulder for balance. Don helps brace him and says he should go home, and with Don supporting him as he staggers out of the bar, Roger calls out in French for a taxi to be ordered. Presumably at Sterling Cooper they just shrugged and went about their work when Roger never showed up. Back in 1965, Peggy has made great progress, running through all her ideas. Rizzo isn't really offering anything, but he's also not making GBS threads all over her ideas or dismissing them. He can't, because he's desperately trying to think of something, anything, to make his humiliating erection go away. Peggy teases him when he doesn't respond, noting her pencil is blunt and maybe she should dip "that thing" in ink and use it as a pen. Furious, he tries to stare her down, but her insight proved accurate as she simply stares back, and he can't deal with it. A nude woman who stares back isn't somebody he can freely ogle, and he can't ignore or deny or play down her attractiveness because there is real physical evidence right there between his legs. Leaping up, he pulls his pants back on, trying to act like he just decided this because he doesn't really care. "But you do!" she offers sweetly, pointedly looking at his still erect penis, and grumpily he admits that fine, she wins! Wins what? she asks, butter not melting in her mouth, and he snaps that she wins being the smuggest bitch in the world and storms off to the bathroom to take a leak (or more likely a miserable little wank). That leaves Peggy reveling in her victory, relieved to put her own clothes back on but offering her own front of not caring by calling out simply that she's decided to get something to eat, would he like anything?   At Don's apartment, he and the woman from the bar are making out in his bed. She also won a Clio, for a jingle in the cake mixes and toppings category. He has her hum a few bars (it sounds very much like "her" jingle is The Star-Spangled Banner) but she noise stops as she lowers herself down to his crotch, unzips his pants and finds something different for her mouth to do. Don simply lays there and enjoys it, eyes closing.... and night passes into day, and he wakes to the sound of a ringing phone disturbing his sleep. He answers groggily, and gets assailed by a wall of noise as Betty demands to know where he is? Why he hasn't arrived yet? Why he hasn't answered his phone? Why is over 2 hours late and counting? Does he care that the kids are waiting for him? Does he care that she and Henry have an important brunch? Doesn't he know she can't get Carla because of Church? Confused, irritated and more than a little put-out, he testily reminds her that he is scheduled to pick the kids up on SUNDAY.... and she angrily points out it IS Sunday. His eyes widen, horror settles in as the full enormity of this sinks in: he has lost an entire day to his bender? The last thing he remembers is being in bed with the jingle-writer getting a blowjob, and that was Friday night... now it's Sunday noon? He manages to stammer out a sincere apology, claiming he's under the weather, but that has no impact on Betty who simply snarls a sarcastic thanks for letting her know and hangs up on him. That leaves Don in bed, shocked and appalled, the woman in bed beside him moaning that she can't believe they slept so long. Yeah, he says, and turns and... it's a completely different woman to the jingle writer. It's some blonde, and he has no idea who she is at all. He spots a pink diner uniform lying on his dresser, desperately trying to find some semblance of memory or at least put enough clues together to create the impression of one. He asks if it is hers and she tells him solemnly it is his before breaking into giggles. Desperately trying to regain control of the mad situation his drinking has gotten him into, he manages to get out that he had forgotten some things he needed to do. But... he hasn't taken her picture yet like he promised! He's more baffled than ever, asking when he promised that, and she says it was sometime after his third order of French Fries, just after his sister left! Oh God, Don. In fact, was that his sister on the phone just now, the blonde asks. She assures him it is okay, he doesn't need to lie.... Dick. His heart sinks even further, he was so drunk he told her his original name? She is starting to get the message now, though she's only got it halfway right that still puts her two steps ahead of Don himself. She seems to have figured out the sister wasn't a sister, and that Don is regretting their night together, or at least doesn't plan for it to be the start of anything. So she does what far too many women have had to do, pretend it is okay and do what she can for the man's ego, telling him it is okay and not to worry about it. Pulling on his underwear, he gets up and retrieves her uniform when asked, spotting her name tag and at least being able to offer a name to go with his pathetic apology: Doris. He moves into the bathroom and turns on the shower to give the impression he is actively going about preparations to go anywhere. Then he simply rests against the door and sinks his head into his hands, while Doris dresses and calls out a sad little goodbye before leaving "Dick's" place. With her gone, Don staggers out into the living room. It is a mess, half-eaten cartons of Chinese food on the coffee table, the detritus of a forgotten weekend and a blender that involved an award, kissing Joan Harris on the mouth, a successful pitch, a blowjob, a shitload of French fries and sex with two women... and left him feeling like the biggest piece of poo poo in the world. So he lies down on the couch and closes his eyes, and sinks into another stupor, the day passing once more into night. This time it is a knocking on the door that wakes him, and when he answers the door he is bewildered (and perhaps a little frightened, like Roger once assumed he must have done SOMETHING offensive to her when she showed up unexpectedly) to find Peggy Olson there. She asks if he is alright, explaining she couldn't reach him on Friday, his phone rang non-stop on Saturday and gave a busy signal all day today. He left the phone off the hook after Betty's call, of course, so he simply says the phone isn't working. She asks to come in and he lets her, assuming there is a problem, and he is right. She FINALLY gets to tell him what she tried to tell him on Friday, he sold Danny's tagline to Life Cereal. Don is completely confused, Eat Life by the bowlful was Danny's? How can that be, they worked on it for weeks. And there it is. Don's bender was so pronounced he literally has no memory of the tagline he pitched and sold, and things get worse from there. He tries to tell her to call Life and tell them the tagline is terrible, but she shuts that down with an authority he can't dispute because he has no memory of it: they loved it. Neither he or they were in any condition to realize what an awful slogan it was, and she also refuses to come up with 10 new tags they can offer as replacements, reminding him she just spent a weekend in a hotel room with "that pig" and is tapped out. "What hotel room?" he asks, and she realizes he has no memory of that either. She could have just worked in the office after all and Don would never have known (well, Miss Blankenship would have told him but he probably wouldn't have cared as long as the work was done), he has no idea of the poo poo she has been through and she is NOT fixing it for him. In a complete flip of their normal dynamic, she lays down the law and Don meekly accepts it: HE will bring in Danny on Monday and HE will figure out a solution to HIS problem. She leaves, and Don is left with yet another bowl of poo poo to eat on top of all the other problems he thought he had. What started as one of the great professional triumphs of his life has turned into a goddamn nightmare.  Monday morning dawns, and various weekend resolutions are revealed: Pete Campbell informs Lane that rather than Ken having lunch with them, he will be brought to see Pete alone in the Conference Room; Stan shows off his ideas for Vick to Joey, who thinks it is good, and when Stan smugly declares this is exactly what HE pitched Peggy is happy to agree before noting she only changed one "little" thing, causing Stan to shut his goddamn mouth and not say a thing; and Don arrives looking his normal perfect self and instructs Miss Blankenship to call The Pen & Pencil bar and see if they found his Clio, since he left it there. He enters his office and is alarmed to find Danny already waiting there, a bright smile on his face as he explains Miss Blankenship told him to wait in here. Miss Blankenship then buzzes in over the intercom (the door is still open and Don is standing about 5 feet away from her) to let Don know that Danny is waiting in the office for him. Bracing himself, Don takes a seat across him and admits that there was an idea in his portfolio that Don likes, and he is willing to pay the princely sum of $50 for it. Danny doesn't want $50 though, he wants a job. So Don offers $100. Danny doesn't want $100, he wants a job. Don explains this would count as freelance work. Danny says he knows what freelance is, it isn't a job... which is what he wants. Don reminds him he could just take the idea and he should accept the money. Danny doesn't want money, he wants a job. Don reminds him he is only in the room because he is related to Roger, Danny happily accepts this fact and admits that this is all he has... and his ideas. And no job. Which he wants. As one potential new hire is taking advantage of an unusual situation, another who is desperately wanted and needed is brought before the one person who doesn't want him. Lane brings Ken into the conference room, and is happy to leave them alone at Pete's request, assuming that this little powerplay is Pete's way of swallowing the hard pill he has been given. Ken waits to be offered before he takes a seat, but when he does he already seems to take to it naturally, like he absolutely belongs. It is this baffling - to Pete - ability to just fit in and be accepted and appreciated wherever he goes that has always irked Pete about Ken, or rather made him jealous.... but now he's in a position to do something about that. He explains to Ken that if Ken is open to the direction and tenor of the business "I'm doing here", then "you'd be a great addition to MY team." Ken is confused, what the hell does that mean? Pete is quick to explain it means things have changed, which amuses Ken - who knows Pete all too well himself - who points out it seems like nothing has changed at all. But his happy, easy-smile slowly drops as Pete hammers it home: Pete is in charge now. They won't be equals. They won't be two guys on an equal footing coming up together. Ken is going to be where Pete has ALWAYS felt he should be: beneath him. But also, it isn't enough for that to be simply the case: Ken has to admit to and be aware of the fact he is beneath Pete. Just like with his father-in-law, Pete can't be a gracious winner. He can't resists reveling in his power, in reminding and proving that he is better than the other person, that he has THEM over a barrel. Ken, always so likeable and friendly, takes a moment to really let it sink in, his natural smile dropping. But once he's gone, he proves to be as pragmatic as Lane claimed Pete was. He nods, he accepts his position, because after all he has the natural good grace of somebody who - largely - doesn't let his ego dominate him. Sure he has plenty of his own problems, but also plenty of confidence (and an upcoming marriage to a wealthy fiance) that this position will not be permanent. And so, just like that, Pete is friendly again, leaning back and happily asking how the wedding preparations will go. He may have cost himself a friendship in the process, but it's Pete Campbell: since when has friendship ever won out over the opportunity to get one over on somebody, even if it is almost entirely in his own head? Don emerges from his office and bellows for Peggy, and when she comes to see him she is shocked to discover what Don's solution to the Life Cereal debacle was: he has hired Danny. He instructs her to take him to see Joan, and when Danny tries to shake his hand in thanks Don just snaps at him to go away. Peggy is horrified, but puts that aside when she hears a familiar voice and sees Ken - already naturally at ease with Pete again in barely a minute - and goes into the conference room to greet him, though she has to tell Danny to stay put when he tries to follow her. Inside, she hugs Ken happily, all the old crew are back together sans Paul Kinsey now! In Roger's office, he's dictating his memoirs now, telling the riveting story of how he preferred chocolate ice cream but his mother made him eat vanilla so it wouldn't stain anything (GO TO THERAPY ROGER!). Don pops in the door and lets him know he hired Jane's cousin, surprising but pleasing Roger who asked why he changed his mind. "Couldn't live without him," admits Don, and a pleased Roger offers a favor back, pulling the missing Clio out of one of his cupboards and explaining he found it left at the bar by Don. Don is pleased to get it back, though Roger's condition for its return is that Don has to admit he couldn't have done it without him. Don, who has legitimately forgotten most of the last three days, shows genuine surprise that he hadn't told him that already and offers genuinely that it was wrong not to. He accepts the award back and they shake hands, and as Don returns to his office and ignores a beaming Danny, Roger watches him go, a titan of the industry now that Roger gave his start to...and the episode ends on the final flashback reveal of how that finally happened. In the early 1950s, Roger Sterling is waiting in the lobby of Sterling Cooper for the elevator when he hears Don's voice calling him. Now enough is enough, he's had it, the drinks were fun and he gave good advice with the fur but he's just getting beyond ridiculous now. He demands Don leave him alone, and a baffled Don points out that it was Roger himself who told him to come in. Roger is bewildered, why would he do that, and when? At lunch of course! He hired him, he told him welcome aboard! Roger is taken aback, unsure how to react. He doesn't remember how the lunch ended, or even going to lunch, or much of the drinking that preceded it. As the elevator doors open and he steps in, Don Draper steps in beside him. Don is beaming ear to ear, ready to start the career he has wanted so long. And the man who gave him his start? He has no idea what to do and how to react. This is the truth behind the myth. Don Draper the self-made man got his start because he got a guy drunk who hired him. Roger who "discovered" Don actually tried to ignore or pass by him multiple times only to apparently get drunk and forget hiring him. Or maybe neither of those things happened and Don just.... lied? Or got Roger drunk enough to say yes to anything and give him a plausible in to starting work? Or deliberately misinterpreted something he said? In any case, this was the "break" he was looking for. This was the "discovery" that Roger made. Like so many other of the great "self-made men" of American Capitalism, it was almost all bullshit, luck and a fair amount of exploitation. Don at least has talent, but in many ways he was just another Danny: playing off a connection to Roger Sterling to get his foot in the door. If Danny ends up being a success - it seems unlikely - Roger will probably take credit for that too. But it is a fitting start to Don Draper's advertising career: he figured out how to convince somebody to buy what he was selling. https://i.imgur.com/49ZtxAt.mp4 Episode Index Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 09:35 on Jun 28, 2021 |
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Jun 27, 2021 11:31
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Yay, Ken's back. I think that sideways glance at Roger in the elevator supports the idea that Don deliberately misinterpreted something that was said or just plain old lied about being hired. The power pose that Pete puts on at the end of his meeting with Ken is so funny. He leans back in the chair and puts his hands behind his head. It's like he read it in some business advice book or something. crimedog fucked around with this message at 13:59 on Jun 27, 2021 |
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Jun 27, 2021 13:57
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1. Stan bringing the pussy posse energy big time! 2. Go back to the original Carousel pitch when Don talks about his first "in-house" job, he talks about the fur company, Greek Teddy, and nostalgia...And now you watch this episode. You see that pitch, the most personal and touching thing Don ever did for an ad, start off with something that was very obviously a lie. 3. Danny being played by Danny Strong, known mostly for being Jonathan on Buffy. In a couple yeara he would be a multi-Emmy winner, and now he's one of the more powerful people in Hollywood. GoutPatrol fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Jun 27, 2021 |
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Jun 27, 2021 14:18
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GoutPatrol posted:3. Danny being played by Danny Strong, known mostly for being Jonathan on Buffy. In a couple yeara he would be a multi-Emmy winner, and now he's one of the more powerful people in Hollywood. This is Doyle McMaster erasure and I won't stand for it.
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Jun 27, 2021 14:25
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Put me in the "Don totally lied about Roger hiring him" camp. That mischievous look he gives Roger behind his back as the elevator doors close is the very funny tipoff. When I first saw this episode, I had a problem with the character of Stan. I found him to be too much of a caricature. I expect to see severe sexism, but more in the form of interrupting women, sexually harassing them, or dismissing their ideas. Stan does all these things, but he also constantly makes childish insults for no reason. I think that line, "You're ashamed of your body, or at least you should be" seems too over the top even for this era. But later I came to a more detailed interpretation of what's going on here. Stan and Peggy have a nebulous power dynamic. Stan has the better title and supposedly more experience, but Peggy is a founding member of this agency and Stan knows that she's important to Don. Who defers to whom here? It's unclear. And, yes, Stan is genuinely sexist, so internally he's freaking the gently caress out about possibly having to defer to a woman--a woman who, if he plays his cards right, he believes will instead have to defer to him! So like a dumbass, his brain starts telling him, "ASSERT DOMINANCE ASSERT DOMINANCE ASSERT DOMINANCE", and his caricacture-of-a-sexist behavior in this episode is the result. Once he realizes how loving bad an idea it is to start poo poo with Peggy, he starts acting more like a real human being. Is he still an arrogant sexist? Sure! Or else he wouldn't have tried this tack at all. But now he knows better than to make "get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich" insults with Peggy. Love this selection of screenshots. Just amazing how much Mad Men gets out of facial expressions. Kartheiser's face says it all, and there really is a lot to say, as you point out. The show is so sophisticated, but one of its main aesthetic pillars is shockingly simple--get the actors to find a really nuanced facial expression and make that the focus of a shot that occurs at a key moment in the scene. We can clearly see multiple conflicting emotions simultaneously here. Finally, I like how Don's reaction to winning the Clio illustrates both his ego and his insecurity at the same time. He feels invincible, but only because he has been publicly recognized. He needs that. He can't just be proud of Glo-Coat. That gigantic grin when the award is announced is that insecurity temporarily dropping. "I really am good. THEY said so!" There's a big reliability problem if your method of maintaining happiness and security can be left behind on a stool at a bar.
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Jun 27, 2021 15:31
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Oh god drat it. I won't be able to read the Waldorf Stories write-up until tonight but I'll be thinking about it all day. gently caress!!
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Jun 27, 2021 15:34
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The part where Peggy grabs the Clio is reminiscent of a real life moment from Matt Weiner's life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRVdWlegLFE This is the acceptance speech for winning the Best Drama Series Emmy for season 2, for an episode that was written by Kater Gordon (the woman who accused Weiner of sexual harassment). Weiner is famously a credit hog who would insert his name in the writing credits for an episode any time he could, and many writers chafed at it. Here Gordon grabs the statuette, as that's all she's "allowed" to do, standing in the shadow of the showrunner and series creator who will give the speech and is much more famous. Some striking similarities. Don, of course, fumbled the easiest possible win by jetting out of the office right after the Life pitch. All he had to do was spend 5 minutes rounding up everyone who worked at Glo-Coat to tell them all that "WE" did it, and "WE" are going to do so much more together, and it would have been great for camaraderie. But nope! He is so desperate for validation that he has to suck up 100% of the credit, and it's still not enough. Recognition of his creative abilities is the only good thing in his life right now, so that was never going to happen.
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Jun 27, 2021 15:58
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I appreciate the unintended foreshadowing of Betty's call by describing the hotel room's contents as "Betty and Stan" 
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Jun 27, 2021 18:22
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Yoshi Wins posted:Put me in the "Don totally lied about Roger hiring him" camp. That mischievous look he gives Roger behind his back as the elevator doors close is the very funny tipoff.  In my memory Roger said something at the end of their drink that Don twisted around to be a job offer, but no, he brushed him off without a second thought. Don came in with a flat lie, betting on a guess that Roger didn't abstain for the rest of the day after they parted. That single eye movement is Hamm totally selling Don's barely contained "Holy poo poo, this worked" giddiness.quote:When I first saw this episode, I had a problem with the character of Stan. I found him to be too much of a caricature. I expect to see severe sexism, but more in the form of interrupting women, sexually harassing them, or dismissing their ideas. Stan does all these things, but he also constantly makes childish insults for no reason. I think that line, "You're ashamed of your body, or at least you should be" seems too over the top even for this era. Also . Stan's introduction here feels like he sauntered in from the hypothetical TNT version of the show GoutPatrol mentioned recently, where it's all hijinks and no nuance; the kind of show where a character has to announce their passions and prejudices every time they walk into a room. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that Stan reveals himself, in time, to be as complicated and interesting as any other character at SCDP, making this "Eyyy, toots, I'm a big swingin' dick and you're gonna deal with it!" appearance that much more jarring in retrospect.
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Jun 27, 2021 18:47
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I do love how much this episode solidifies Peggy's badass nature. She doesnt let fear control her, and she has a whimsical and curious approach to life that is vaguely child like and yet incredibly mature. Yeah she'll try marijuana. Yeah she'll be break the glass ceiling. Yeah she'll make this sexist dude take his pants off and make fun of his dick. Its a quiet sort of bravery, not theatrical or looking to score points, but just always there. Don't gently caress with Peggy. I guess because she's already gone thru so much? I see that kind of thing alot with ppl from estranged families. Where they have to construct their own identity instead of relying on something given out.
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Jun 27, 2021 19:06
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Had forgotten how much Peggy owned this episode. Completely put that guy in his place, and did the work too.
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Jun 27, 2021 20:11
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quote:As Don replaces one mink to fetch another longer one, Roger catches sight of a poster in the mirror and turns to look. It's a female model (Betty Hofstadt, of course, wearing the same coat that Don would send to her as part of his own courtship, and it certainly did NOT scare her away) in a long fur, and the tag he's attached to it is surprisingly progressive (in pursuit of money from more sources, Pete Campbell would be proud): Why wait for a man to buy you a fur coat? I love how this show rewards viewers with subtle callbacks like this. the first time I watched this episode and I saw Betty in the poster and remembered Betty recounting the story of how they met to Francine all the way back in season 1, and I did the leo pointing at the TV meme irl
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Jun 28, 2021 06:53
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Yeah, Peggy rules in this episode. I love how Don told her off and instructed her to learn how to work with Stan, and as always she ends up over-delivering and completely takes control of the room, and it filters through into the workplace after that. Also I had no idea that Weiner is a credit hog AND that he sexually harassed women, goddammit. And there I was thinking how great it was that the show was so smart about making use of women directors and writers to get a better grasp on their female characters/relationship drama  pokeyman posted:I appreciate the unintended foreshadowing of Betty's call by describing the hotel room's contents as "Betty and Stan"
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Jun 28, 2021 09:40
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Weiner comes across as charming in every interview, but the writers who have worked with him paint a picture of him as a tremendous rear end in a top hat. A lot of people compare him to Don, actually. Kater Gordon’s accusation is the only sexual harassment allegation against him that I know of, so that particular transgression is probably not one he does often, but another member of the writing staff said that even though she had never seen Weiner sexually harass anyone, she believed Gordon because Weiner is “an emotional terrorist” and that you never know what’s real and when he’s loving with you. It’s interesting because I find this show to be very compassionate. People truly do contain multitudes. And, of course, he didn’t make Mad Men by himself.
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Jun 28, 2021 14:20
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I also interpreted the end of this episode as Don just straight up lying and hoping that Roger was too blackout to remember, but I guess the other interpretations work equally well for Roger's character; he takes credit for "finding" Don when in reality he tried to make him go away but got too drunk to follow through. Don comes across differently depending on how you read it though I think; fully pretending that Roger did something he actually didn't do is way ballsier than just misinterpreting something he said.
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Jun 28, 2021 17:46
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I read it as Don just outright lying. He has experience with blackout drunks from his father, so he could recognize how far gone Roger was. It was still a gamble, but one he probably felt confident he could win.
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Jun 28, 2021 18:15
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I also like to think that Roger is all "OK whatever let's go" is because it isn't the first time he drunk hired someone. Don was just lucky that his BS aligned with Roger's BS.
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Jun 28, 2021 19:48
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GoutPatrol posted:2. Go back to the original Carousel pitch when Don talks about his first "in-house" job, he talks about the fur company, Greek Teddy, and nostalgia...And now you watch this episode. You see that pitch, the most personal and touching thing Don ever did for an ad, start off with something that was very obviously a lie. Eh, partly. He was "in-house at a fur company," did make their advertising. That part was true. There probably wasn't ever a Teddy, of course, but it says a lot about HOW Don lies to people...with half-truths. He's clever enough to interweave his obvious lies with things that are honest, to imbue the whole message with an air of believability. S7 This is a lesson Peggy learns from Don, as well. Her Heinz pitch and her Burger Chef pitch are dense with half-truths about her personal life. Especially Burger Chef: she has "a little boy in front of the TV" at home, which is true, but a detail clearly meant to mislead, to imply she's a mother and thus an authority on family dinner without saying so. And it works...the client buys the lie because the narrative she crafts around it feels compelling and truthful.
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Jun 28, 2021 20:14
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Yoshi Wins posted:Weiner comes across as charming in every interview, but the writers who have worked with him paint a picture of him as a tremendous rear end in a top hat. A lot of people compare him to Don, actually. Was that Marti Noxon? Because I know that she also said that she hadn't witnessed it but believes Gordon. I think she called him a control freak, but hadn't heard the emotional terrorist part. Him getting compared to Don makes sense. In the commentaries on the blueray, he says a couple of iffy things. Like defending some of the iffier consent parts (Like Pete and the neighbors nanny) or when Don is rougher with women he is like "a lot of women like this". They are phrased in a way that you could chalk up to a writer has to know every characters pov and understand it if you didn't know about Gordon. Edit: Also Marti Noxon going from Whedon as a show runner to Weiner as a show runner makes me think she is a lady made of steal. KellHound fucked around with this message at 00:06 on Jun 29, 2021 |
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Jun 29, 2021 00:01
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I think every woman in every level of showbiz has to be made of steel
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Jun 29, 2021 00:29
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KellHound posted:Was that Marti Noxon? Yes. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/17/16671206/mad-men-marti-noxon-matthew-weiner Funnily enough, she compares Weiner more to Pete than Don.
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Jun 29, 2021 03:36
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Yoshi Wins posted:Yes. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/17/16671206/mad-men-marti-noxon-matthew-weiner Well every Pete wants to be a Don.
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Jun 29, 2021 05:06
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Yoshi Wins posted:Yes. https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/11/17/16671206/mad-men-marti-noxon-matthew-weiner If you think Pete as "will do anything and everything to get what they want" that makes sense. 99.9% of Hollywood's history has been "you can be a terrible person as long as you get results" and that is going to lead to alot of backstabbers and sociopaths greasing their way to the top. Weiner I'm sure believes/believed (but let's face it, it is believes) that everything he did: every jab, every put-down, every tantrum, was worth it he did because it led to a greater product on screen. Because gently caress that's what you see in the drat show!
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Jun 29, 2021 05:16
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