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Xealot posted:Which is all relative, really. I actually think the creatives *do* miss Don as a boss. Absolutely. Don is going to make you write 50 taglines by lunch, but you're working with him to put together a comprehensive campaign that leaves you feeling accomplished. You can pop that in your portfolio and be proud that your name is on it. Now they get to put their name on "Accutron is Accurate," which isn't the kind of stuff you're going to be eager to share with potential new employers when you're trying to flee the Lou Avery era of SC&P.
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Jun 3, 2022 01:18
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Lady Radia posted:He’s trying. He really HAS been good (my own spouse shouted “HE HAS” when he says it to Megan, lmao), and he is trying his loving best since his nervous breakdown in the Hershey’s meeting. he was loving his neighbor's wife for nearly the entirety of last season. a neighbor he developed a genuine friendship with, possibly his only real friend outside of work. and the liaison nearly destroyed his relationship with his daughter, who caught him in the act. then he got fired, and instead of coming clean, he lied (continued to lie!) to his wife and let her live on her own without him while he sat around and did absolutely nothing to better his situation. gently caress him.
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Jun 3, 2022 01:19
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in these first three episodes, the only inkling of progress we've seen thus far from the abysmal lows of season 6 is him apologizing to Sally. he finally admits fault for his actions, and he's rewarded with a glimmer of hope for his relationship with his daughter. so up to the point where he claims "he's been good" there isn't much to support it. but then he comes clean (after being cornered) to Megan, and he learns that sometimes telling the truth doesn't mean everything works out. The real moment where he seems like he'll start to try "being good" comes at the end of this episode, where he's jumping into a situation where all of his power and authority and freedom is stripped away. The Don we know, the Don we've seen up to this point, would have balked at such an offer. If there's anything that ought to mark a sea change in Don's outlook, it's the very last moment of this episode. kalel fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Jun 3, 2022 |
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Jun 3, 2022 01:32
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Gaius Marius posted:Crane is one of the best to watch on a rewatch. Everyone else slowly slowly attempts some matter of actualization and improvement and then Cranes over here just rolling around in the poo poo. his interaction with Megan near the end of this season is the perfect climax to the tragedy of his arc. it also adds a disturbing context to Megan's supposed freak out with the casting director, the events of which are relayed to us only secondhand through Alan Silver and never directly addressed by Megan herself.
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Jun 3, 2022 01:38
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kalel posted:his interaction with Megan near the end of this season is the perfect climax to the tragedy of his arc. it also adds a disturbing context to Megan's supposed freak out with the casting director, the events of which are relayed to us only secondhand through Alan Silver and never directly addressed by Megan herself. see, I’ve come to terms with the idea that Harry Crane never regressed. The tragedy of his character is that he stayed the same.
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Jun 3, 2022 01:56
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kalel posted:he was loving his neighbor's wife for nearly the entirety of last season. a neighbor he developed a genuine friendship with, possibly his only real friend outside of work. and the liaison nearly destroyed his relationship with his daughter, who caught him in the act. But he is so unable to live with the damage he did to his kid and his loved ones that he suffers a nervous breakdown, and even then internalizes his gently caress ups as something be alone had to solve. And that’s why I’m not 100% ready, here’s where we are at s7, to wire him off. He HAS been good.
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Jun 3, 2022 02:00
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Lady Radia posted:see, I’ve come to terms with the idea that Harry Crane never regressed. The tragedy of his character is that he stayed the same. He called his wife crying after his affair with Hildy, now he's laughing eating burger chef on his way to the Weinstein imposter competition
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Jun 3, 2022 02:03
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Gaius Marius posted:He called his wife crying after his affair with Hildy, now he's laughing eating burger chef on his way to the Weinstein imposter competition yeah but same dude openly laughed with Don about how cool he was taking upskirt photos on unsuspecting women
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Jun 3, 2022 02:05
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I wonder if he ever did find a prostitute that will accept traveler's checks.
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Jun 3, 2022 02:51
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Season 7, Episode 4 - The Monolith Written by Erin Levy May, Directed by Scott Hornbacher Freddy Rumsen posted:What the hell are you doing? Pete is having dinner with Bonnie at an outdoor restaurant, cheerfully laying out their options for an upcoming weekend trip when he notices that she seems distracted. Trying to play if off as not insulting, he comments on it, and she quietly warns him not to look behind him... so of course he immediately turns around and looks behind him! She snaps at him not to do that, explaining that the man waiting near the host's stand has been staring at her, though she insists she is fine. Of course Pete sees this as something that must be addressed, if more for his pride than her discomfort, and stands up and turns to confront the man as she tries to stop him... only to stop as he realizes he recognizes him, calling out to him by name: George. George approaches, apologetically explaining he didn't want to bother them since Pete is "clearly on business", and it takes a second for Pete to realize he thinks he means he's come out to California with a mistress or picked up a date. Quickly he explains that he and Trudy are divorced, or at least getting a divorce in any case, and introduces him to Bonnie, his real estate agent. With good-natured grumpiness she complains he needs to stop introducing her that way, but he laughs that it is a good for her business, restating the introduction to George: this is Bonnie, his girlfriend.... and GEORGE'S real estate agent! The ice thoroughly broken, Bonnie stands and shakes the hand of the man she thought only a minute earlier was leering at her, and Pete inquires what HE is doing there given there is no cold and flu season in LA, explaining to Bonnie that George works for Vick Chemicals. That's not entirely accurate though, he DID work for them, but he's moved on and works for Burger Chef now, and just like everybody in the hamburger business he's come to LA to take a swing at getting a working relationship going with Disneyland. Pete is intrigued by the move, after all Vick is a big deal so surely a move to Burger Chef had to mean George got a higher position there, but he's even more interested when he learns George made the move after Tom's heart attack.... that Pete had no idea had ever happened. George in fact has to clarify he's talking about Tom Vogel, and Pete seems momentarily at a loss at how to react, clearly pained if only because he had to hear about it from a stranger... but also perhaps because in spite of everything and his own bitter resentment over being under Tom's thumb even when things were good (and the HORRIBLE way they parted company), he had a soft spot for the man who backed him and supported him and embraced him as a part of the family even if it was almost entirely as a matter of duty towards his daughter. George assures him Tom is fine now, cracking a joke that he didn't know Tom even had a heart, and Pete manages to get a laugh out of that. When Tom mentions they're putting McCann in review and he'd like to work together again without Tom in the way, Pete even manages a joke of his own, cracking that it would kill Tom for sure. He offers George to join them, but a woman has arrived by the host's stand and he chuckles that he'll call when he's back at work. Obviously HE is here "on business" himself, the woman either a mistress of his own or an escort, but he and Pete part ways amicably and with a smile, the initial tenseness of Pete as he prepared to do his "manly duty" and confront George replaced by friendliness, a business opportunity... and also some very unpleasant news. Bonnie is delighted, praising the skillful way with which Pete finessed the other man and may have gotten a business opportunity out of it. But now that George is gone, Pete has dropped the happy facade entirely, obviously still distracted and somewhat distressed by the news about Tom. He grumps that conversations like this happen all the time and don't necessarily mean anything, and concentrates on his meal, all thoughts of that trip he wanted to take out of his head for the moment.   The next day in New York, Don Draper arrives ready to actually earn his (high) pay instead of just sitting around the house. But when he arrives... nobody else is at work. Not Roger isn't at work. Not the Partners aren't at work. Not key members of the Creative Team aren't at work. NOBODY is there. The entire Creative Floor is deserted, all desks and offices empty, but not empty as if they haven't been used, but more like they were abandoned. A phone dangles off the hook at a secretary's desk, like she was snatched away in the middle of a phone call, a half eaten donut left on a plate. Bewildered by this eerie turn of events, Don moves deeper into the Creative Floor, but what at first seems like it might be a creepy dream sequence turns out to be all too real, as he hears murmuring from the Account floor and moves up the stairs. What he finds up there is all the more troubling, the ENTIRE Agency appears to be present for an all-staff meeting, one he has obviously missed the start of but sounds distressingly ominous. As Jim Cutler - wearing a hard hat! - assures everybody that both Accounts and Creative will benefit, Don arrives among the murmuring and obviously troubled staff, hanging back to try and figure out what is going on. Cutler asks for questions and a clearly upset Ginsberg demands to know where they are supposed to work, getting a smug response from Harry Crane - also in a hard hat! - that they all have offices. There's another man present, well built but in a sharp suit, with a jawline that looks like you could land a plane on it. His name is Lloyd, from a company called LeaseTech, and Cutler explains he was the one who told them that the machines "footprint" was "prohibitive", which was when "we" came up with the idea of taking advantage of this to showcase to clients they've arrived in the future. Oh my God they're getting a computer. As if to put doubt to rest, Harry bursts into enthusiastic applause, joined with far less enthusiasm by the rest of the staff including an obviously downcast creative team of Peggy, Stan and Ginsberg. Lloyd promises to make the installation as quick as possible but warns people to stay clear for their safety, causing Roger to quip to an unimpressed Cooper that he'll have to wear shoes. The meeting breaks up, Roger again motioning to Don to join them, while Dawn loudly proclaims that any unclaimed items in the Creative Lounge after noon will be assumed garbage and thrown out. This explains the clearly downcast reaction of the Creative Staff, and Ginsberg's question about where they would work. The Creative Lounge, a communal space to work, to riff, to chat (and smoke weed) and to PRODUCE is being replaced by a computer, and if that doesn't sum up the change in status at SC&P then nothing does: it's business and functionality over creativity and flair. Harry is excited because they have their own computer, they're on the technological cutting edge, they'll have direct access to reams of data. The Accounts Men are excited because it's an icebreaker, it's something to show off to clients, it's highly visible. But Creative? They've become secondary, once the driving force of the Agency they're, as Stan puts it, being driven underground. Peggy bitterly complains that Lou obviously didn't fight for them to keep the Lounge and doesn't care about creativity since he doesn't know how to do it.... and then Lou declares from right beside them that they'll be using the computer far more than they will the lounge. He moves on without another word, a horrified Peggy wondering if he heard what she said (Of course he did!)? The sad thing is that Lou probably believes what he just told them. The man who gave the world "Accutron is Accurate" thinks creative flair is largely a waste of time or otherwise overrated. This is the kind of guy who Duck Philips would have hired had his Presidency of Sterling Cooper not been destroyed by Don Draper before it could start, a man who thinks in terms of simple puns, a photo of the product, and then careful targeting of ad placement for maximum return. It's probably what he has done at every Agency he has ever worked for, and the simple fact is that this works, it's a successful way to run an advertising business. It's just... boring. Utterly boring and safe and not even remotely creative, and that is the type of Agency that SC&P is quickly becoming, after building it's reputation and strength on the power of its Creativity. Don joins Roger, who quietly notes to him that coming in late is a "no-no" and he should know better. Don testily reminds him that he wasn't late, nobody told him about this early morning meeting and no memo came around, he has no idea what any of this was about. Roger shrugs that they're getting a computer, commenting sarcastically that it can do all kinds of magical things... like make Harry Crane seem important! This doesn't make Don feel any better, for all that he's agreed to the humiliating conditions of his return, he IS still a Partner and a decision like the purchase of a computer has to be agreed at the Partner level. Indeed it was, Roger explaining the idea preceded his return, and if he has an issue with it he should take it up with Cutler... which they both know Don has no intention of doing. Still, Don's here now, so slyly he asks if he wants to pop into his office and have a quick drink to celebrate their "technological advantage", and now it's Don's turn to scold him, pointing out that this would be much worse than being late. Roger agrees but doesn't give up on the idea, simply saying they can do it later "off campus". He makes his exit, and Don leaves the Account Floor, passing Jim Cutler who takes a moment to grimace as he passes, clearly worried for a second that Don might question the loss of the Creative Lounge or, perhaps worse, want to talk to Lloyd who he and Harry are clearly quite possessive of.   Unlike earlier, downstairs is now a hub of activity as people race around to remove their possessions from the Creative Lounge. Ginsberg is all doom and gloom, dreading the idea of being trapped in an office instead of having the freedom of the lounge, complaining that Harry Crane took a dump but THEY got flushed down the toilet. Stan isn't happy either, but he tries to put a positive spin on it and see the merits, reminding him that nowadays a computer is like the Mona Lisa: people pay money and queue up just to walk by it. But it's Mathis of all people who notes what cuts past the merits or otherwise of a computer purchase: The Creative Lounge was what was unique about SC&P... now it's just like any other advertising agency. Fixating on a point, perhaps as a token act of rebellion or just because it will give him some small piece of the Lounge to remember, he declares he wants the couch. Stan points out it won't fit in their office, so Ginsberg - who has now determined to take the couch even if he can't keep it! - says they can switch it out with the one in Lane's office, which is smaller but much nicer! Stan points out that Lane's office is actually DON'S office, but saying the man's name simply makes Ginsberg take notice of the returning Don and call out to him to help him move the couch. With a shrug, having nothing better to do, Don slips off his jacket and grabs one end as requested, taking Ginsberg's directions as he backed the couch out. But Stan, who had been moving some other things, returns in time to see what is happening and snaps at Michael the couch is too big for their office. Ginsberg slams his end of the couch down, roaring that he WANTS the couch because the other one is "full of farts!" Don realizes he wants no part of this nonsense, particularly when he spots Roger, Cutler and Lou enter the Conference Room for a meeting he wasn't invited to. Dawn enters after them and closes the door, and Don collects his jacket and returns to his office, ignoring Ginsberg who is at this point clearly just doing anything he can to protest against the maddening indifference of change, screaming that they're trying to erase the Creative Department but they can't erase this couch. Alone at last in the hole they dumped him into (hey at least it isn't the one with the column in the middle!), Don pulls out a cigarette but drops it to the floor, where it rolls under the heating unit. Reaching under to grab it, he finds something else instead, pulling out a piece of cloth he unfolds to reveal... a New York Mets pennant. Lane's New York Mets pennant. He stares for a few moments at the unwelcome reminder of the past. He's in Lane's old office, the very same place he saw Lane's hanging corpse, a suicide that Don in some part blamed himself for (and that Lane WANTED him to feel bad about). That is bad enough, but at least it was JUST an office, long since stripped of the man himself, used at various points for excess copywriters and artists to work out of. But this? The pennant is a reminder of the man, of his personality, the pennant that represented his early and earnest efforts to adopt some familiarity or point of connection with his new American home. Don stares, and then fixes his face and tosses it into the trash in an effort to move past it. The Conference Room meeting which Don wasn't invited to is also one that wasn't planned with any great foresight, the result of Pete's unexpected meeting with George from Burger Chef. It seems that as promised, George followed up once back at work, and he and Pete have had promising discussions born out of the rapport they had from George's time at Vick, with SC&P's bi-coastal presence seen as a plus. Cutler is concerned there might be a conflict with H. Salt Fish and Chips, but Ted - also present on the LA side - assures them that they consider themselves a specialty restaurant rather than a fast food franchise like Burger Chef. That delusion of grandeur amuses Roger, but it means they can pursue Burger Chef without upsetting an existing client, and they're all impressed by Pete explaining Burger Chef has a presence in 45 States already, and are soon to open their 1000th store. But Cutler also sees this as an opportunity, happily declaring that he's calling Ted back to New York so he can head up the Creative Team on building a pitch, a declaration that catches Lou by surprise and that he clearly doesn't appreciate. After all, he may just be a functionary whose presence largely just fills a hole and keeps Creative's wilder impulses in line... but he's also somebody who knows how to build a resume and has a vested interest in having his name on successful work, he doesn't want Ted getting all the kudos for running such a large campaign. Luckily for him, Ted is also not interested in running the campaign, or rather has no interest in returning to New York. Cutler obviously is feeling in a more powerful position than ever despite Roger giving him a solid smack on the nose last episode, with Don now contained and the new computer furthering the uneven Accounts/Creative balance, and still obviously believes that Ted was somehow exiled as opposed to begging for an escape to the West Coast. Ted's suggestion is that they put Peggy on it, which doesn't please Pete not because he doesn't credit Peggy's talents... but it's a National Campaign, something he obviously doesn't feel she's the best person to run. Ted though argues that Burger Chef's appeal is going to be through food, kitchens, cleanliness, a drive to get mothers to bring their children, so they'll want a woman running it. Cutler clearly wants Ted, but he isn't going to force the issue, or at least not in public, so he asks Lou what he thinks. After a moment, Lou agrees that Peggy is the right choice before looking to Roger for HIS reaction, because all of them are clearly avoiding the elephant in the room: gee, who do they have working for them right now who has the experience, talent and reputation to run a national campaign? But one person at least brings it up, and it's not a surprise it ends up being Pete Campbell. For all his faults, Pete is the kind of guy who more often than not will put aside his own personal distaste and prejudices if he sees a way to make money.... so is Don Draper REALLY not an option? It's only NOW that Roger speaks up to agree that he was thinking the same thing, his friendship with Don and forceful defense of him to get him to return not extending to sticking his neck out unprompted. He reminds them that Don has allowed himself to be holed up in "that cave" for 3 weeks now and so far hasn't clubbed any of the other apes to death! "High praise indeed," mumbles Cutler, before asking Lou what he thinks. Lou's own response is diplomatic, he didn't want Don back but he also has little authority in these matters, and he wants to stay on the good side of the Partners... so he agrees that Don is a very valuable piece of talent. Roger agrees, Cutler throws up no objection, and so it is decided. The meeting ends with everybody seemingly happy, particularly Pete in LA who gleefully remarks to Ted that he'd like to see them give THAT to Bob Benson, and everybody parts ways amicably... except for Lou who stops Cutler from leaving to grumpily demand an explanation, he thought they had an understanding about Don! Cutler plays it off as no big deal, they do have an agreement but the fact is Don IS an exquisite copywriter regardless of any other flaws he has. Lou doesn't like the thought of playing with fire though, warning Don is going to implode... and Cutler smirks at the idea, all but admitting this is absolutely what he hopes will happen, that giving Don just a little taste of freedom from his cave WILL result in another ape being clubbed to death, giving them all the excuse they need to fire him without eating a big financial hit. But it's win-win, as he points out to Lou that even if Don doesn't implode he'll at least end up with some good writing for the campaign. He opens the door and motions Loud out, happy that everything is going great. Lou though leaves with a frown, now having to figure out how to deal with the poo poo that has been left in his lap, the awkward encounter to come of swallowing his pride and givng the Creative Director HE replaced creative oversight of an important new client's proposed campaign.   Upstairs Caroline runs screaming in terror down the corridor, pursued by a relentless killer hellbent on mowing down his prey with a machine gun. Luckily Roger arrives to save the day, calling out to the assailant as Caroline rushes to his side.... and little Ellery happily gets scooped up in his grandpa's arms, the plastic machine gun dangling from his hands as he explains that he and Caroline were playhing hide-and-go seek  Caroline explains he has visitors in his office, and at first Roger assumes it is Margaret, but Ellery happily explains it is daddy and Nana, a combination that surprises and unsettles Roger. Caroline was instructed to take Ellery away to play, a clear message to keep the boy occupied which just increases Roger's unease. He sets Ellery down who immediately starts blasting a game Caroline again, while Roger heads into his office where he finds Brooks pouring a drink and Mona waiting patiently on the couch. Trying to hide his unease behind a jokey front, Roger greets them both, and when Mona informs him that Margaret has run away he asks if it was to Bergdorf's. But Mona is being serious, even if she's talking about something as ridiculous as a grown-rear end married woman "running away": Margaret has joined some kind of religious cult upstate. Brooks corrects her that it is a Commune, but she doesn't see the difference, irritating Brooks when she speaks for him and says they both want ROGER to go and collect her. Showing admirable restraint (or just straight up denial), Brooks points out that he only told her about this because he wanted family to watch his son while he went upstate to sort this all out, and if she won't do it he has a long line of strangers he can pay instead. Roger, not happy about any of this but also clearly of the (old fashioned) mindset that this is Brooks' situation to deal with, tries his best to be diplomatic, siding with Mona to some degree by agreeing that they can't help Brooks if they don't know exactly what is going on. So he takes a seat and tells them the story. Margaret, who we last saw being clearly very serene and keen to offer her father forgiveness, has "not been herself lately", and so Brooks agreed clearly reluctantly to attend a marriage encounter group with her, believing it would be good for her to have people to talk to. Roger chuckles that this is ALWAYS a mistake, getting a sharp rebuke from Mona, but she does herself little favors by telling Brooks it is clear that he TRIED to do something about the situation but clearly failed! Now it's Roger's turn to (mildly) rebuke her, asking her what she is doing and that Brooks should be allowed to "be a man" and handle this himself, and Mona will watch Ellery in the meantime. A grateful Brooks thanks Roger and shakes his hand, telling them he's going to tell Ellery he's joining his mother on vacation as a cover for his absence. Once he's gone, a furious Mona demands to know what kind of sales pitch THAT was, Roger snapping back that he agrees with Brooks that the husband should be the one to deal with an issue with his wife, rather than father and daughter. But Mona blames her ex-husband for this whole situation in the first place, baffling Roger who asks quite justifiably how the hell this could be HIS fault. "Because she is a perverse child who only thinks of herself," sneers Mona, and makes to leave. Roger moves to stop her, telling her she's upset, but she just moans that she's worried and then walks out, not at all impressed or eased by Roger insisting that things will be fine. Once she's gone, Roger lets it all sink in: his daughter has walked out on her husband and son to join a Commune, it's about as far from his mental image of his spoiled, easily upset daughter as you can get. Don is reading his newspaper in the office when Harry Crane's loud voice carries through the frosted glass window, lamenting the poor production design and lack of research of a variety show skit he saw recently that featured a computer. Harry is of course talking to Lloyd, wanting to show off his knowledge of computers to an expert in that field, which is a perfectly Harry thing to do. Lloyd politely comments that he'll buy a TV to see if he can watch it, and Harry agrees he should buy a TV.... but the show itself got canceled 11 minutes into the premiere! Unable to concentrate on his newspaper with all the construction noise AND Harry's loud talking, Don steps of the office... and as he goes it appears he had a change of heart, because that Mets pennant has been taken out of the trash and put back up on the wall where Lane once kept it. In the corridor, he immediately injects himself with his usual charm and wit (and slightly troubling reflection on his own situation?) by claiming a skit of Tim Conway trying to kill himself was Conway's way of trying to get out of his contract. All smiles, Harry introduces Don to Lloyd Hawley, who gets confused when Harry explains Don is a Partner and Creative Director... isn't Lou the Creative Director? "We have two," explains Don, and Harry confuses things further by pointing out they actually have three, since there's Ted too... and none of them want to explain this mess to Lloyd, so Don turns the conversation back to Lloyd's business. LeaseTech is doing well, but it is tough going since he both sells IBM computers AND competes with them. Don cracks a joke, asking which side is doing better at replacing humans, and Lloyd is quick to apologize for the loss of the lounge. Harry though downplays the significance, mockingly "apologizing" that Don lost his "lunchroom" but insisting it isn't symbolic... and Don offers back quickly that he's right about that, because it's actually quite literal. Not wanting to pick a fight with Don, particularly in front of Lloyd, Harry excuses himself though makes a point of loudly declaring that "some of us have work to do" as he goes. Lloyd apologizes again for any problems the construction has caused, promising it won't take long - indeed the Creative Lounge is already completely erased - but Don assures him the tension between himself and Harry long precedes Lloyd showing up. Lighting a cigarette for Don, Lloyd remarks that supervising these installations means he sees a lot of different workplaces, and he's found the installation of the computer usually has some sort of metaphorical significance for at least some of the people who work there, surprising Don with a level of insight he probably wasn't expecting. That goes even further when Lloyd waxes lyrical about the intimidation factor of computers, how the human experience is finite but a computer is capable of processing an infinite number of things (the IBM 360 was capable of having up to a MASSIVE 8mb of Ram!  )... but how glorious to consider that finite man created this thing of infinite capability!Things get philosophical, Don enjoying the back and forth as he notes that while an IBM 360 might count more stars in a night than a man could in a lifetime... what man ever looked at the stars and thought about numbers? Lloyd grins and agrees that far more likely they thought about going to the moon, and they both beam over that idea... and then the spell is broken by Peggy stepping out of her office, and so Don says his goodbyes so he can get back to his "work", heading back into his office while Peggy passes by, glowering suspiciously at the now blank space where her beloved Creative Lounge sat only this morning. For Don though, something unexpected happen... he stepped out into that corridor probably expecting to hate Lloyd, and instead... he might actually like him!   Peggy steps into Lou's office, asking if he wanted to see her. Her heart sinks when he tells her to close the door, she clearly thinks this is about her angry comment about him overheard upstairs after the meeting, and that only seems more likely when he - very deliberately posing like a general as he looks out the window - starts talking about a good leader having to dole out discipline. But then he turns to look her directly in the eye, another very deliberate tactic, and explains he knows you have to temper discipline with encouragement. He notes that he wasn't the one who hired her... but he would have had he the chance, and he would have paid her a rate commensurate with her senior status as Chief Copywriter... which is why he's giving her a $100 a week raise! She's utterly stunned as he writes words to that effect on a piece of paper, explaining that he's found simply saying things in this Agency is useless. She takes the proffered note from him with a huge smile beaming out, because Lou for all his faults has struck on one thing at least that still eludes most modern businesses even into the 21st Century.... nothing actually boosts morale and raises productivity more than actually paying your hardworking employees more money! Not in the way Don once complaining money alone should be all the gratitude needed to be shown, but in the sense that you reward people for their hard work, not punish them or offer them empty token gestures. She tells him she appreciates that, but it's not the only good news he has for her: he's also putting her in charge of Burger Chef. Oh you son of a bitch. A raise and being put in charge of a big campaign, it's the carrot to lower her guard for the stick, though even she doesn't grasp just how much he's loving her over. Because while she's thrilled to be put in charge and told to carve out her own team and her own hours, she also immediately picks up on the problem when he tells her that Don has to be on the team. She doesn't know the full extent, that the expectation from Pete and Roger and maybe even Cutler was - as far as my read of the meeting went - that Don would be the one running this ONE campaign. But she does know she's supposedly now in charge of a man who wasn't just her mentor, but is still a Partner and still technically Creative Director, and SHE is supposed to tell HIM what to do? But she sets aside her trepidation to thank Lou with genuine gratitude, because both the pay-rise and the position are encouragement, while Don's presence is purely a challenge added to that. She leaves and Lou's face falls, and it's hard to say exactly what he is thinking. Does he hope it all explodes? That Peggy will be the ape that Don clubs to death, giving him a measure of revenge on her for her earlier comments while also hopefully removing Don from the picture entirely? Or did he just fear Don running a campaign would bring into too stark relief how anemic his own Creative Direction is by comparison? Or perhaps I just misinterpreted the meeting entirely and the idea was that Don would only ever be a part of the team, and Lou just removed himself from having to directly run him to avoid a volatile mix and push it on to somebody else? Whatever the case, the end result is that Peggy has dumped in a landmine along with that pay-rise, and now she has to navigate it knowing that if it all blows up in her face she'll be blamed for it. So she walks down the corridor, pausing at Don's desk to consider how to convey the news to him... then decides discretion is the better part of valor and, after confirming with Meredith that Don is in his office ("He never leaves!" coos a happy Meredith), returns to her own office where she will have home-field advantage, then buzzes through to a secretary called Marsha and asks her bring Don and Mathis to her office. Don is eating at his desk when Meredith pops him to pass him the message, though she teasingly chides him for eating candy and drinking chocolate first since he's so trim. She explains Miss Olson wants to see him and he nods and tells her to let her in, caught by surprise when Meredith explains that DON is go and see HER. He's taken aback, but he also knows he has to be on his best behavior so he agrees and leaves the office. In Peggy's office she offers him a drink which he politely declines despite the "long walk", asking why she wanted to see him. She explains she has what she hopes he understands is good news, and asks him to take a seat when Mathis pops in with a legal pad, says hello and immediately takes a well-practiced seat on the couch to receive his instructions. Sensing something is amiss, Don closes the door and takes his seat (I have no idea if the orange couch is the one from the Creative Lounge and it somehow ended up in her office, or that is just a coincidence), immediately looking out of place seated beside Mathis and looking up at her, feeling the power dynamic is obviously reversed from usual. Peggy explains they have an opportunity to present to Burger Chef, and she has picked them both to be on HER team. Mathis is of course delighted, congratulating her on being put in charge of a presentation for a National Brand and delighted to have been picked to work on her team. Don though is wide-eyed, grasping immediately what is happening here, in particular his own demoted status by being set to work by her. She may be Copy Chief, but he is technically a Creative Director even beyond his Partner status, and yes he's been reduced to doing the work of a copywriter? He makes one token effort to eat the poo poo piled in front of him, managing to force out a question asking what the strategy is... and learns that Lou's process is to generate taglines first then let a strategy "sneak up" on him. Mathis chuckles that Don will get used to this, an idea that fills him with even more horror, while Peggy explains she expects 25 tags from each by them by Monday. Mathis leaps to his feet and offers her a handshake, thanking her again for thinking of him... while Don simply turns and marches out the door, returning to his office without a word. That in itself is a triumph for Peggy... she told him what to do and he didn't say no or lash out, just took it in angry, shocked, insulted silence. She sips her drink and allows a smile, as starts go it was.... not a disaster! It's a different matter inside Don's office though, as he stands seething for a moment at the indignity of what has just happened, then grabs his typewriter and hurls it at the window, damaging the shades but thankfully not breaking the glass. Snatching his hat and coat, he storms out of the office, fed up with staying hidden in his cave being good if the end result is this demeaning assignment.   He returns to work on Monday to find work has proceeded extensively on the former Creative Lounge, the sterile open space of the computer room coming into shape. Meredith greets him, asking how his weekend was, and he offers back an honest,"Lonely" he masks behind a self-deprecating humor. He asks her how hers was and she offers back a delighted,"Wouldn't you like to know?", clearly enjoying being the secretary of the handsome Partner Don Draper, either unaware or uncaring of how far his fortunes have fallen in the company. She passes him a thick folder of Burger Chef research and informs him he has a meeting with Miss Olson, which he absorbs quietly before entering his office. Roger arrives at work not long after, asking Meredith if Don is in and satisfied when she tells him he is. This is either a daily ritual now or he was aware Don disappeared early from work on Friday, but in either case he is clearly pleased Don is continuing to abide by the rules of his return, and continues on without popping his head in to check on him. In his own office, he takes a seat and is grumpy when Caroline pops in saying it's good he is here, saying she can't pretend she was looking for him because HE was looking for her... he needs coffee! Instead she puts on her glasses and explains she has to read a message from Mona (first names with Mona! She's really entrenched as Roger's secretary by this point!) which she clearly plans to do verbatim: "Hey genius! Brooks is in jail in Kingston." With a sigh Roger snaps the note from her, complaining that from now on she is only listen to Roger, not Mona.... but he reads the note, clearly not pleased that Brooks hosed up whatever his strategy was to get Margaret back... not just because it means Margaret is still MIA, but because Mona now believes she was right to insist Roger be the one to go and fetch her. In Peggy's office, she distractedly listens to Mathis explaining the benefits of being served a spaghetti side dish even if you ordered the spaghetti! Confused, she asks if he's talking about Burger Chef, and he reminds her he is talking about Vito's, though absolutely no context is given as to WHY. Seeing that she's distracted by Don's absence, he points out he can go get him and she nods, relieved that this way it isn't her having to go to him and undermine her perceived authority. Except... it doesn't work that way. Mathis knocks and enters to find Don playing solitaire, and when Mathis explains it's time for the meeting he just simply says he isn't coming, and when Mathis offers to bring in his tags for him he simply says,"No." With no idea what to do about this, Mathis leaves and passes the information on to Peggy, explaining he isn't coming and then in the awkward silence that follows suggests that maybe it's because they only just got the research. Peggy fumes, knowing that she's between a rock and a hard place: Don is technically her subordinate on this project, but he's also technically her employer, her boss, and of course they have a very complicated mentor/protege history. She knows she SHOULD go next door and demand he explain himself, but also knows that might just bring into sharper relief her powerlessness if (when!) he chooses to ignore or discount her instruction. So instead she... takes it out on Mathis. When he suggests he should be given to the end of the day since Don apparently doesn't have to work to deadline, she counters that she'll take his 25 taglines now and wants another 25 by the end of the day... after all, he already said it would be easier with the research they were lacking before. Uneasily Mathis hands over his taglines, unsure quite how he ended up being the one punished for Don not showing up and certainly regretting being shoulder-tapped by Peggy to be on this pitch now. But he goes, unlike Don he doesn't have the luxury of ignoring her commands. Peggy isn't satisfied by this empty achievement though, certainly not smiling about the outcome of THIS particular meeting like she was at the last. Still, it's not as awkward as Roger's current situation, as he drives his ex-wife upstate to bail their son-in-law out of jail and try and convince their daughter to abandon a Commune.... especially AFTER Roger sided with Brooks over Mona in the first place. Roger of course tries to play down his own concern, teasing Mona to reach into his pocket when she asks how much money she has. She's in no mood though, caught between blaming herself for Margaret's current situation and blaming Brooks for his failure to handle this himself. Oddly enough she doesn't seem to be overly angry at Roger himself, more concerned that HE is angry. Roger for his part has certainly changed his tune on his earlier support for Brooks. Not because he got violent and got arrested as a result, but because he got violent at the wrong time... after Margaret refused to leave the Commune, Roger thinks Brooks should have had a fistfight with the "hippies", but instead he went off to a bar, got drunk and got into a fight with some rednecks instead. They both agree that they'll leave him to stew in jail for now, Mona saying they can bail him out AFTER they've convinced Margaret to come back with them. She bemoans that she let Margaret get away with everything as a child, all with the understanding that Margaret's only "job" in life was to find a good husband... which she screwed up. Roger defends Brooks obliquely again, pointing out that Mona actually liked him, but she counters that she simply thought he was good enough.... for now. That is the problem, as she sees it, Margaret's role models for marriage were Roger and Mona, and so it is no wonder that she has the mindset that if a marriage isn't working out she can just move on to another partner just like both her own parents did. Roger is pained by that, as well as Mona's complaint that Margaret should have been allowed to wait longer before getting married like Mona herself did, pointing out with typical self-confidence that she only waited because HE wasn't available. He doesn't like the idea that they (and more particularly he) are to blame or were bad parents, pointing out that poor Ellery has far worse examples that he'll probably end up having to unload on a psychoanalyst. Mona rather bitterly points out that Roger will probably be able to recommend one, a not particularly nice jab at the fact he has actually engaged in therapy of a sort even though he has clearly needed it for a long time. The drive continues, this awkwardness sure to only be compounded once they finally confront their daughter, whose own recent serenity Mona now fears was just the result of an affair mixed with drugs, unable to reconcile the idea that maybe Margaret really is genuinely just happy where she currently is, doing something her mother never planned and laid out for her as the definition of success.
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Jun 4, 2022 06:57
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Back in the city, Don is very pointedly NOT doing any work, chilling on his couch reading Portnoy's Complaint, the kind of book he probably would have never read a decade earlier, or at least not so openly. A knock at the door interrupts him and he calls them in, perhaps expecting a confrontation with Peggy at last... but no, it's Lloyd, looking for a light for his cigarette. Don gives him one, cracking a joke about the failure of technology which Lloyd just as quickly fires back was more a human error on his part for not refilling it. Don lights his own cigarettes and it soon becomes clear the lighter was just a pretext, as Lloyd asks for a moment of his time, takes a seat on the couch and asks a pretty crazy question considering where he's currently standing: does advertising work? "On some people," admits Don with a grin, recognizing that Lloyd has something deeper on his mind. It all comes out fairly quickly, Lloyd is trying to figure out how to make his growing business more of a success, because beyond just competing with IBM he's also competing with multiple other smaller firms like his who are doing installations. He's identified the growth potential of the market after working in IBM and grasping the resilience of the machines was not being acknowledged or respected by IBM themselves: they see their line of computers as simply units to be replaced at set timeframes by newer versions, but Lloyd saw the opportunity to extend out the life of the machines longer which would both cut down costs as well as give LeaseTech a reputation for quality.... but how does he get that across, especially since his competitors are also obviously thinking the same thing? For a moment Don seems at a loss on how to answer, not because he can't answer that question but because he's not sure if he should. LeaseTech isn't a client, the opposite in fact, SC&P are LeaseTech's client... but Lloyd has just come to Don and all but said,"I want you do do our advertising", and that makes this a business meeting, one he is prohibited from having. But Lloyd came to him, and saying nothing would be worse, so Don offers a variation of what he once wowed Lucky Strike with way back in season 1.... the difference between LeaseTech and their competitors is that LeaseTech will get to dictate that difference by advertising. Just at that moment Harry Crane arrives, spotting Lloyd and reminding him they were going to have lunch together. Lloyd is quick to get up and join him, this pleasant conversation with Don at this moment just that and nothing more, even if Harry is an obvious step down in terms of a conversation partner, eagerly asking him to recommend him a good keypunch service! But once they're gone, Don contemplates what just happens and makes a decision. Marching upstairs, he asks Caroline when Roger will be back from lunch, only to be told he's gone for the day. With everybody else at lunch, that leaves Don with little options... but there is one, and he makes the mistake of thinking it's just as viable an alternative as Roger would have been.... he goes to Bert Cooper's office. He gets it wrong right the get-go. Instead of telling Cooper that Lloyd and he had a casual chat over cigarettes and he thinks there is potential for somebody to reach out to him as a prospective client, he presents it like a planned concept, laying out that LeaseTech are "virgins" in an industry seeing exponential growth. He's right to identify the chance to grab LeaseTech as well as the obvious (even in 1969) potential growth of the computer industry, but he's made a rare misjudgement about how to go about selling this to Cooper. Roger would have jumped at the chance, of course, but presented it as his idea and maybe finagled Don onto the team dependent on how Burger Chef went. But Cooper sees this as a bad sign, because it's Don Draper acting like a Partner (which he is) and trying to sign new business (which he should).... but in direct contravention of the conditions of his return to work, which indicates he hasn't learned any lesson at all, or not to Cooper at least. Don tries to play off his personal investment, shrugging and saying he doesn't want the credit or even to work on the Account (the latter is a lie, I'd wager, he'd be counting on the personal rapport he and Lloyd clearly have), but SOMEBODY should approach LeaseTech. But Cooper discounts that, ignoring the matter of LeaseTech itself to explain this is an issue of Don still not understanding why they removed him from an active role in the Agency in the first place. When Don lashes out at that, demanding to know if they expect him to just be a janitor and why bring him back in the first place if they don't want to actually use him, Cooper offers back a counter question: if he really thought he could go and work anywhere, why did he agree to come back? Don explodes at that, reminding Cooper that he started this Agency, and Cooper's reply is both accurate and also horrifying.   Oh that is loving cold. Cooper lays it out with a smile, and this his face falls flat and he returns his attention to his baked potato, singling as clearly as possible that this "meeting" is over. A stunned Don leaves the office, at a loss for a moment before he fixes his eyes on Roger's office and comes to another terrible moment of decision. Marching over, he tells Caroline he left something in there and stomps inside, a confused Caroline asking,"When?" that he ignores. Inside, he takes off his jacket, grabs a bottle of Canadian Club from the bottom of the drinks trolley and wraps it under the folded jacket, then marches back out still holding his shoes, telling Caroline he found what he was looking for. She walks uneasily into Roger's office, looking around in confusion, nothing apparently missing, not disbelieving Don but confused as to what it could have been he left there. Returning to that "dead man's office", Don takes a swig of whisky directly from the bottle, then pours the remains of his can of coke out into the trash and refills it from the bottle. It seems he plans to knock off as much as that bottle as possible, having reached the end of his tether, the humiliation of his assignment to work beneath Peggy and Cooper's immediate discounting of his LeaseTech suggestion on top of the insult regarding Lane more than he can put up with... which is just what half the Partners have been hoping for since they reluctantly agreed to his return purely because of the cost of letting him go. In some regards, Cooper cut off his nose to spite his face here, even discounting the personal element of his insult to Don. But in other regards his immediate dismissal is perfectly warranted. Don has always been a law unto himself, and for the longest time he got away with it because the fear was the Agency needed him more than the other way around. But as Cooper almost gleefully laid out to Don just now, he thinks Don agreed to the conditions of his return because he thought there would be a Creative Crisis that only he could solve and they would be forced to give him all his old freedoms back. Instead, the Agency has been doing just fine, or at least it has from Cooper's perspective. Roger complained last episode that creatively the Agency was invisible under Lou's directorship, and morale is obviously at rock bottom on the Creative Floor... but the other partners don't care (Ted might, but he's not just in LA, he's checked out entirely), because the money is being made. They're primarily Account Men, the Creativity side of the Agency has always seemed more style than substance to them, and things like the computer are just another sign of the way they're allowing growth to remove what distinguished them from other Agencies: they want to be big like McCann, Dancer, Ogilvy etc, and in their push to do so they are losing their identity and becoming just another Ad Agency.... and it seems they're fine with that, because the money is good and all they have to do is look at market analysis and target ads in the right places, and "Accutron is Accurate" being generated by writers jammed into small offices tasked to come up with taglines first and then jam a strategy into those gets the job done just fine as far as they're concerned. Don may have started the Agency, but this isn't the Agency he started. These problems do somewhat irrelevant compared to Roger and Mona's though, as they arrive at the farmhouse where their daughter has irresponsibly found happiness. Roger opens the door for Mona and helps her out, though not before she checks her make-up which baffles him. They're watched with interest and mild suspicion by the people scattered about the house, one working on a truck who assumes they've come looking to buy jelly and explaining the stand is up the road. Roger explains they're looking for Margaret Sterling and Mona has to correct him, reminding him that as a married woman her name is Margaret Hargrove now. He knows who they mean though, calling for "Marigold", and out emerges Margaret, almost unrecognizable not just because her hair is down and she's dressed in such simple (and dirty) clothes.... but because she's beaming with pure happiness, her face lit up with joy, her body language utterly relaxed in direct contrast to the severe tension that has marked almost every other appearance she has had on the show. She greets them with joy, hugging Roger and then moving to do the same to Mona who initially stops her to try and stamp her authority down... but eventually relents and allows the embrace. She asks Margaret for some privacy, as the other Commune members gather around to watch with curiosity, and Roger loudly calls out to everybody to come back later. None of them move till Margaret assures them it's okay to go though, although they were displaying no aggression or hostility as they gathered around, simply open and honest curiosity. Once they're gone though, Mona insists that they have to take her away, insisting Brooks and Ellery need her, ignoring Margaret's insistence (which to be fair is kind of bonkers) that her and Brooks have never been closer, warning her that these people are lost and on drugs... and they have venereal diseases! Margaret tries to keep up a warm and serene expression, but as her mother lays out that she understands how overwhelming being a young mother can be but how the child makes it worth it, she can't help but let a little of the old bitterness through as she tells her she's grateful that SHE won't need to lock herself in the bathroom with a bottle of gin at the end of the day just to get through life. Furious, Mona growls that she should slap her for that insult, and Margaret does apologize in spite of just listening to her mother openly insult all her friends, more because she doesn't want to have that negativity in her own life. But Mona has had enough, she said her piece and obviously seemed to think she had the magic words that would convince her daughter... or made herself believe she still held the ultimate final word in authority over a woman who is no longer a child. She stomps away, telling Roger they're leaving, who after an exasperated look at his daughter chases after his ex-wife to complain that he hasn't even had a chance to talk to her yet. Barely holding back her own anger, Mona complains Margaret can't have been brainwashed because there's no brain to wash! She insists she has to get back to Ellery who is crying himself to sleep at night (I don't think Ellery has any idea anything untoward is going on beyond his mother not being around) but sneers that he can "wine and dine the client if he wants", so Roger hands her his keys and says he'll get a lift to the train to get back to the city. She's gone without another word, driving off without hesitation, and Roger turns and makes a point of calling out "Marigold" to his daughter, using her new name and charmingly asking her to give him a tour.   Don is drunk enough that he's laying exhausted on his couch, near enough to passed out from downing straight whisky in copious amounts. Blearily opening his eyes, he looks up and finds himself staring at the pennant he pinned back up on the wall, an act he might have initially thought of as a memorial to Lane but now is just an unpleasant reminder of Cooper's words equating him to another founding Partner now utterly irrelevant to the future of the Agency. Striding to his desk, he decisively grabs the phone and dials an outside line, managing this stunning feat without the aid of his secretary. He's pleased to reach whoever he was trying to reach, as we hear only his half of the conversation as with sloppy charm he insists the two of them go out to Shea Stadium to see a ballgame. The person on the other end - Megan? No, he's probably not THAT drunk - obviously asks if he's drunk and he chuckles that he's not in the bag, he's in his office! With mocking solemnity he agrees to a command to stay there and not move until the other person arrives, cheekily asking permission to hang up the phone before staggering back to the couch and flopping back down, very satisfied with his bizarre overture. At the farm, Roger peels potatoes on the porch alongside Margaret and another woman, while the man who was working on the truck - Clay - rolls a joint. When it is suggested that somebody collect firewood, Roger notes to Clay that they could swap roles, and Clay chuckles that Roger can collect firewood if he wants, nobody tells anybody else what to do here and there is no hierarchy. Roger is amused by that notion, pointing out there is ALWAYS a hierarchy, but the blonde woman insists that if they can't all agree on something... they simply think of something else to do instead. When Clay offers Roger the joint, he's surprised when Margaret encourages him to take him up on the offer, taking a toke and suggesting this is why they're eating early. Again the blonde corrects him, they follow the cycles of the earth, they're going to eat before it gets dark. It seems there is no electricity in the house, and Clay admits that even the truck they have is a matter of some debate among the group as to whether it should remain. Noting the issues a lack of electricity causes, Roger asks how they deal with the cold, and Margaret of course tells him they just build a big campfire, but Clay gives Roger a knowing grin as a slender woman all in white passes by them and notes that there is more than one way to stay warm. Oh dear. At SC&P, Freddy Rumsen lets himself into Don's office while telling Meredith he's expected. Any other secretary would probably step in to confirm with their boss, but Meredith of course takes it at face value. So this is who Don called, and that itself says a lot, this was on a subconscious level at least a cry for help, because he knows Freddy will know how to deal with a drunk at work. The first thing he asks Don - still lying on the couch - is if he remembers calling Freddy in the first place, and Don does of course, standing up and explaining he wants him to met somebody.... THE METS! He begins cheerfully singing Meet the Mets, doing a little dance, and almost seems offended when Freddy asks him if he can walk, making a point of striding confidently towards him. That's good enough for Freddy, because it means he can get him the hell out of there before he makes a scene. Don, despite his claims of being fine to walk, is leaning companionably on Freddy as they step out of the office, and he leans in a little too close to beam at a happy Meredith when she greets him. Luckily it's Meredith, she hasn't picked up on his odd behavior, and Freddy explains they're leaving for the day, figuring if they can just get down the corridor and through the door then they're safe. And then Don sees Lloyd. With a smirk on his face he steps through the door, peering intently at Lloyd, ignoring Freddy's protest. Standing in the doorway of what was so recently the Creative Lounge, he watches Lloyd directing the work, intrigued and then growing suspicious, his drunken mind forming connections that are utterly illogical but make perfect sense to him in the moment. Lloyd spots him and greets him with a big toothy smile, and Don pulls his hand free of Freddy's attempt to covertly hold him back, walking up and getting right into Lloyd's face to warn him that he knows who he is. Lloyd recoils slightly from Don's whisky breath, then reminds him he already told him his name. But no, Don insists, he goes by MANY names, and he needs no campaign because his campaign is as old as time! Lloyd is bewildered, and Freddy manages to drag Don away at last. What did he mean by that? Progress? The devil? In either case, Don is indulging in an old habit: blaming somebody else for HIS gently caress-ups, taking out the bitch-slap he took from Cooper on Lloyd when it was Don who took it upon himself to try and sell courting LeaseTech to Cooper in the first place. As Freddy tries to hurriedly escort Don out, Peggy spots Freddy and calls out his name in surprise. Knowing he can't pretend he didn't hear, Freddy pops his head back through the door and informs her they're checking out of the office early, something that doesn't please her but that she has accepted... until Don ALSO pops his head back to "helpfully" inform her they're going to a ballgame. Freddy ushers Don away and Peggy buries her head in her hand, outraged but resigned to the fact she can do nothing about it. In another example of awful timing (though good for Don, if Freddy hadn't gotten him out of there she would have picked up on his state immediately) Joan comes passing by too and stops to happily inform Peggy that she and the other Partners sent out a memo confirming Peggy's pay-rise. She's understandably not pleased at Peggy's far from grateful response, chalking it up once more to their often difficult relationship, and makes to leave until Peggy has the sense to call her back to apologize, explaining she's "having a day". Joan offers her 2 minutes to talk it through, closing the door behind her and pouring them both a drink, assuring her that while Burger Chef is a big account the Partners clearly thought she was ready for it (so Lou's decision was passed on to the Partners then). But what Joan didn't know, and perhaps the other Partners don't know either, is that Lou put Don on Peggy's team, and THAT is the problem she is dealing with. Taking this in, Joan raises a toast to cowardice, and when Peggy downs her drink and bitches about Don going to see a ballgame rather than doing his work because he knows she can't do anything about it, Joan carefully lets her know that there were "rules" set for Don when he returned to work. Intrigued, Peggy asks if he has broken any of them, but Joan has to admit she doesn't know - not doing work for Peggy isn't exactly a fireable offense, and neither of them have any clue that Don was drunk just now as he left, and only Cooper knows that Don was talking with Lloyd which wasn't technically violating any rules. With a sigh, Peggy moans that she and Don were put together in the hopes one or both would fail, and Joan - the two minutes up - collects both their glasses and lets her know that, while it may not bring any comfort, she would guess they didn't think about that at all. She leaves, and Peggy can't help but give a little smile at that thought, knowing it is probably true. Not in the sense that they weren't trying to humiliate Don, I don't think, but at the acknowledgement that - Lou's petty little revenge aside - the only thought given to Peggy in this entire equation was how it would impact Don, not her. The flipside of a male dominated society/industry perhaps, she's just collateral damage as opposed to an active target.   Upstate, the dark has come as promised and the Commune is settling down for the night... and that includes Roger Sterling, who finds himself in a barn of all places, bunkering down with his "Princess and the Pea" daughter to sleep rough. She admits she used to find the country lonely, but now realizes its the city that really had that problem. They look up through the loose boards of the roof, the night sky, stars and moon all on full display, and she ponders whether they'll really be able to send a man to the moon. Roger chuckles that with all the brainpower in the Commune they'll put a man on the roof at least, but admits that yes like he he would like to go to the moon, pointing out that all little boys want to grow up to be astronauts... and yes that included him, because they might not have had rockets when he was a child but they did have Jules Verne. Margaret warmly remembers him reading the book to her as a child, but Roger corrects her sadly, probably because he knows he wasn't the type of father who would be home in time to do that.... it must have been Mona. They lie in silence on the hay for a few moments, looking at the stars, and then Margaret turns and tells her father with warm, genuine sincerity that she is happy here. "I know," he offers back, and kisses her on the forehead. Overflowing with love and gratitude, Margaret lies beside her father, enjoying a moment of closeness with him that is both rare and for perhaps the first time since she was a child unburdened by ulterior motive. Sadly the same cannot be said for Roger, who also lays in silence, knowing that even if he acknowledges her happiness... he is still committed to eventually trying to talk her into abandoning it. Freddy gets Don home, agreeing with his demands to collect his binoculars, warning him they're going to miss the National Anthem. But Freddy has no intention of letting him out in public, just to let nature takes its course and for Don to pass out while preventing him in the meantime doing too much damage to his career, others, and especially to himself in his drunken state. Don realizes Freddy is just standing watching him, and gives an exasperated frown... but that seems to use up the last of his energy, and his head drops back on the couch as he collapses into unconsciousness. Upstate at the barn, Roger is woken from a light sleep by the sound of Margaret giggling and whispering,"Not here!" Behind him, Clay leads her giggling outside, having apparently decided he wants to use one of those other methods of staying warm. Roger doesn't sit up and make accusations, declare outrage, or otherwise indicate he hears what is going on. His daughter is an adult, so he lays miserably in place, hating what he knows is happening but also knowing a confrontation would make things worse... and though he may not consciously think it himself, does he really have the gall to be such a hypocrite as to rail against infidelity and insist upon the sanctity of marriage, given his own track record? The next morning, Don is woken from where he still lays on the couch by Freddy, placing a cup of coffee "as black and strong as Jack Johnson" on the coffee table. Sitting up confused and disorientated, Don asks how he got inside the apartment, making Freddy chuckle as he notes he is glad Don passed out so he has less to explain. Vaguely remembering a burning desire to watch the Mets play, Don asks if they won, while Freddy just stares at him and - deciding the time is right to confront him - SC&P gave him a second chance, what the hell is he doing? Bitterly, Don complains they weren't serious about it, the first actual work they've given him is to write 25 Burger Chef tags for Peggy Olson. Freddy is amused at that, but asks a more pertinent question: has Don been to any of the restaurants yet to do his own research? When Don complains that he doesn't want to go get served a milkshake by some pimply kid who should be the one writing the tags, he wants his job back... Freddy chooses exactly the right moment to snap at him and demand to know just how the hell Don thinks that is going to happen if he's a drunken mess? Freddy, who spent years as a high functioning alcoholic before hitting rock bottom, knows from bitter experience just how much worse it can get. He's in a good place sobriety wise, but as a copywriter? His life has been reduced from jumping from office to office doing freelance work, because his reputation precedes him: he was a legendary drunkard, and that stink will always be on him, nobody is willing to take a chance on him as a permanent employee in case he falls off the wagon... and now here is Don blowing a second (in some ways third or even fourth) chance and retreating into booze? He isn't going to stand for it. Don tries to wave off Freddy telling him he doesn't need to ever drink again if he doesn't want to, saying he doesn't need to hear that kind of talk, but Freddy insists that being hungover is EXACTLY when you need to hear it. Is he going to kill himself? Let "them" win? Or will he go into his bedroom, put on his uniform and hit the parade? Glaring at his old friend and colleague, Freddy hits him with the best advice he could get professionally (personally it would be to quit and go to California to be with his wife) at this moment: "Do the work, Don." Don absorbs this, a hungover mess, his emotions highly strung and for once close to the surface. He begins to shake, tears welling in his eyes, because he knows Freddy is right... and that in itself is humiliating. Because what Freddy is telling him is that he doesn't get to dictate things. He said okay to the demands he was given last episode, but Cooper was right too that he did do thinking some emergency would come along that only Don Draper could solve and things would go back to normal. What Freddy is telling him now is that to get what he wants he is going to have to suffer the humiliation, he's going to have to eat the poo poo, he's going to have to do the frankly embarrassing work that should be given to Junior Copywriters or freelancers like Freddy himself. He can have his pride or he can have his work, but for now, for the first time in a long time... he can't have both. So which is more important to him? Upstate, Roger sits under a blanket on the porch smoking a cigarette. The blonde from the day before comes by holding a toddler, noting he's up early, and Roger asks where his daughter is. She suggests she is probably at the creek getting water, either guessing or actively lying out of (hopefully) kindness, but Roger isn't fooled by that, because he knows exactly where she is. The door opens and Clay comes out with a big poo poo-eating grin on his face, telling the father of the woman he just had sex with about what a beautiful night and morning it has been. Margaret steps out soon after, also commenting on the beauty of the morning, and Roger gets up and immediately ruins the day for everybody by declaring it is time to leave Shangri-La, they're going. Disappointed and hurt, Margaret mumbles that he was doing so well, but he's tired of playing along, grabbing her by the arm and hauling her after him. Clay protests, telling him to leave her alone, the others following after him as Roger pulls Margaret away. She snatches herself free, and he yells at her that he understands the temptation to escape from everything, but she doesn't get to make that decision, she's a mother. She snaps back that Ellery already has everything he needs, but he counters angrily that he needs his mother, and when she tries to turn and walk away he grabs her physically around the wait and lifts her up off her feet, hauling her towards the truck intending to drive it... all the way to New York? With her fighting all the way? Things never get that far, though, as she kicks and squirms, her foot pushing off the truck and sending them both crashing into the mud. Staggering to their feet, father and daughter glare at each other, the Commune watching but making no move to interfere, this is "Marigold's" situation to deal with, they are just there to give their support when it is done. Roger demands to know how she could do this, abandon her own child, and years of venom come spilling out of her in return.... how could HE do it to her? Sneering, she asks him how he felt when he would go to work? How was his conscience when he was out sleeping with mistresses in hotel rooms and calling his secretary to buy his daughter a birthday present so he didn't have to bother doing it himself? She snarls that Ellery will be fine, making it clear that the lack of a parent in a child's life is nothing new even when they don't run off to join a Commune. Horrified, but knowing he's lost the battle, Roger for once has no quick retort, no smarmy comment, no insistence that actually he wasn't to blame at all. He shakes off the excess mud and then staggers away, passing Margaret who already regrets exploding like that, perhaps not so much for his sake but for her own: she may have genuinely felt she had moved on after she made a point of forgiving him at their brunch, but now she knows that a lot of that bitter resentment remains unexcised. Roger has a long walk, maybe he'll hitchhike, maybe he'll find the nearest store and call a taxi, or maybe he'll just walk. But whatever the case, he'll have plenty of time to think. About his own failures as a parent and how they have filtered through to his daughter and now are affecting his grandson. Will he grasp that Margaret has a point, or continue to think that motherhood somehow trumps any other consideration, just like his own mother apparently subsumed everything about her own identity in favor of supporting him? Or maybe he'll think about just how similar they are. After all, Roger himself has been engaged in an open relationship with multiple partners indulging in a more sexually open way of life. Why is it okay for him to indulge in all this while Margaret has to remain locked into one particular role no matter how unhappy she is... how unhappy Mona clear was, given Margaret's line about locking herself in the bathroom with a bottle of gin. Make no mistake, Margaret is a brat, immature, and stunningly naive. The Commune has good intentions, I don't doubt, but the chances of it lasting are low, and Roger was right that there is ALWAYS a hierarchy, one we could already see in place with Clay's obvious role as the spokesman of the group, and the fact he apparently felt free to pick out whatever woman he wanted at any given time. But she was also unmistakably, genuinely happy for perhaps the first time in her adult life. It's easy to say poor little rich girl, but she has been a prisoner all her life. Mona said she only ever had one job, but that also means she was also taught that she only had value in one regard: getting married and having a baby. An absent father, a miserable mother, a divorce, the ignominy of having a mother-in-law roughly her own age, she was a daddy's girl who was indulged extravagantly in exchange for long periods of parental neglect, her love for her mother tied up in the uncomfortable mixture of being told to grow up while still being beholden to both her parents for her future. No wonder she was always pushing Roger to invest in Brooks, she wanted her husband to be a success if only to give them independence from their utter reliance on their parents to keep them secure. No wonder she was so interested in a potential inheritance from her Grandmother, because her parents have decades left and she can see the years and decades stretching out ahead of her of having no real control over her own life. So along comes a Commune that tells her,"You know what? ....gently caress it, just come hang out, get high, gently caress who you want and everybody is in it together," and of course it's compelling. She'd be happy to have Brooks and Ellery there, but she must have known Brooks would never tolerate open marriage, that her parents would be adamant that Ellery couldn't grow up in a place like that. So she chose to just abandon them, just like her father willingly broke up his own marriage the second he decided he would be happier somewhere else. For that man to now demand she give up the same freedom he took as a natural right? No, she wasn't having it. There are no easy answers in life, and that applies as much to our understanding of Margaret Hargrove as a character as it does Margaret's own belief that the Commune is going to make everything better from now on.   Once again, Don Draper arrives to work. Once again he is squared away, immaculately dressed, looking for all the world like a man in complete control of his faculties. As Freddy said, he got into uniform... now to see if he can follow through. As he moves towards reception, the elevator doors open and the IBM computer is wheeled out. True to Stan's word, Don can't help but turn to look at it as he goes, the technological marvel of the age, in such a small package... to think that computers could get so small that they're barely the size of a fully grown adult male! Meredith follows him into the office, hanging up his hat and coat for him and double-checking that he doesn't want a danish. Meanwhile the computer is rolled into the now completed computer room - floor to ceiling glass windows meaning everybody can see inside to goggle with amazement. This has the bonus effect of making the floor look more open, though perhaps largely because all the Creatives have been shunted away into their own offices out of sight and out of mind. Peggy arrives, her secretary (so she doesn't share Meredith with Don) asking if she wants a coffee. She does, passing her own coat over (do they lose the ability to hang their coats up themselves when they become copywriters?), also unable to stop herself from watching as the IBM 360 is put into place. But she shakes clear of that, because while the new tech goes in she still has to deal with the old guard. Finally girding her loins, she approaches Don to finally have the confrontation over his lack of work, armed at least with the knowledge that he might be violating rules set in place for him. She knocks on his door and says good morning, and looking up from his typewriter as he loads in some paper, he simply tells her that he will have her tags by lunch. ".... great," she says after a startled moment, her readiness to fight disarmed by his complete submission. She leaves, returning to her own office, and Don starts to type. As he does, he pauses to think, mind running through potential tags... and then for just a moment his lips quiver. For a second he looks on the verge of tears, and then he retakes control. As On A Carousel plays to lead into the closing credits, a song that if nothing else likens back to his season 1 ending pitch which Ken spoke so admiringly off just last episode, Don sets aside his pride and his emotions. He has options, not least of which is that he has a wife who wants a divorce BUT is willing to take him back if he would just put their marriage over his (ruined) career, but he has chosen where he wants to be. So what does that mean? Exactly what Freddy Rumsen told him. He has to do the work. Episode Index
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Jun 4, 2022 06:57
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Absolute beaut of a writeup, Jeru
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Jun 4, 2022 11:13
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I wish I had a friend like Freddy. 
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Jun 4, 2022 13:03
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kalel posted:I wish I had a friend like Freddy. Freddy is great, and his buck up speech is heroic, but Don going back to work is also such an ambivalent moment. It's interesting to contrast Freddy's advice with Duck's to Pete about how what really mattered was investing in his family. Meanwhile Don has chosen isolation and adding more money to a fortune that will probably just sit there until it's divided up after he dies. I was super checked out on Don after his ridiculousness in season 6, but I was a little disappointed at this point that his seeming resolve from the end of the season finale didn't add up to much. On the other hand it's very realistic that willpower and a one-time shock aren't enough to get someone to really change their behavior.
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Jun 4, 2022 14:46
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Part of what frustrates me (in a good way, because it's a sadly realistic character trait especially for a rich white male in the 1960s) is that not only is there an obvious out for him but his wife and several other characters have straight up said it to his face: just leave SC&P and go live in LA with Megan and start a new life there. Even more than that, it's what HE wanted to do before the other Partners exiled him, and something he's flirted with doing multiple times throughout the series: take off to the West Coast and live in LA. But the moment he wasn't the one getting to make that decision for himself, he's doubled down on trying to stick around and make everything go back to the way it was before, even though it's clear things have changed, are changing, and will continue to change. "It's quite literal," he said to Harry over the Creative Lounge being replaced by a computer, but even so there he is clinging on trying to convince himself that things must eventually revert to the natural order of Don Draper being in control of the world.
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Jun 4, 2022 15:17
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Leaving everything behind and starting a new life worked so well for him last time, right?
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Jun 4, 2022 15:27
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Well in this particular case the "everything" he'd be leaving behind is a workplace that doesn't want him anymore and isn't using him properly, to rejoin a wife who loves him and who he convinced to go out there in the first place back when it was his decision to make to start over, something he only doesn't seem to be willing to do now because somebody else is the one who kicked him out of the place he was more than happy to leave only a couple of days earlier. It's a far cry from when he was planning to leave both Sterling Cooper AND Betty and the kids behind and go sell custom hotrods and hang out with Anna. Sally is in boarding school, he could have the boys spend their summers with him in LA like he suggested, SC&P doesn't want him, the work doesn't satisfy him, but there is a place that does want him, a person that wants him, and it's a place and a person he wanted to be in/with, but he just seems to refuse to even consider the idea over his quest to cling onto SC&P.
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Jun 4, 2022 15:39
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Randallteal posted:Freddy is great, and his buck up speech is heroic, but Don going back to work is also such an ambivalent moment. It's interesting to contrast Freddy's advice with Duck's to Pete about how what really mattered was investing in his family. Meanwhile Don has chosen isolation and adding more money to a fortune that will probably just sit there until it's divided up after he dies. I was super checked out on Don after his ridiculousness in season 6, but I was a little disappointed at this point that his seeming resolve from the end of the season finale didn't add up to much. On the other hand it's very realistic that willpower and a one-time shock aren't enough to get someone to really change their behavior. Why would Don do that, though? As far as we can tell, despite his proclamations to the contrary, he doesn't actually care about Megan at all. He's simply playing the part of the husband that cares. Because he thinks he has to, because that's what he's done before, because he is continually grasping at some ideal memory of his life that simply doesn't exist. Like J said, he is stuck in the past and can't accept that times (and people) have changed. That's why he accepts the deal with the partners with no hesitation: he's supposed to be at Sterling Cooper, and it's what he wants (or at least, he seems to want it more than being with Megan). He's "supposed" to be a loving devoted husband, too, but the difference is that he truly does not want to be with Megan. He resents married life. We knew this all the way back in s1s3. But he thinks he has to, because "that's the way it is." So he's caught in this contradictory state where he "wants" to be devoted husband, loving father, and powerful professional, but he also doesn't actually want to be with Megan. when he's forced to choose, he abandons his wife. That's why he doesn't go to her, or even ask her to return to New York. Right now, despite having to face the "indignity" of his co-workers holding him responsible for his actions, he's exactly where he wants to be. That's my read anyway, I can't really explain his actions up to this point in any other way. kalel fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Jun 4, 2022 |
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Jun 4, 2022 15:59
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I don’t get the sense at this point that Megan wants to be with him anymore. That shipped sailed when he told her he lost his job and didn’t decide to move out to LA.
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Jun 4, 2022 16:34
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The character arc of Freddy Rumsen is one of my favorites in this show - the guy starts off as a drunken joke in the first couple of seasons, but eventually earns back a measure of dignity by sticking to his sobriety. (As opposed to, say, Duck, who's clearly struggled a bit more.)kalel posted:Why would Don do that, though? As far as we can tell, despite his proclamations to the contrary, he doesn't actually care about Megan at all. He's simply playing the part of the husband that cares. Yeah, I think you've hit the nail right on the head here - when it comes to Megan, Don simply doesn't want to "do the work".
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Jun 4, 2022 16:38
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don hates himself and hasnt thought that megan could love him in over a year. the idea doesnt even enter his mind, because if she did love him he would have been enough for her to not pursue acting in the first place. its the entire impetus for him going off and cheating and falling back into all his old lovely patterns, because he felt he had nothing and no one really holding him up. now hes getting that support again, even if its only freddy being the ultimate bro, roger telling him he missed having him around in his life, and a somewhat offhanded i love you from his estranged daughter. its barely anything, but when you hate yourself that much, its just enough to buoy you in choppy waters. these people want him around. they believe he can do it. he just has to do the work, and maybe other people will feel that way too. even if he personally never does feel that way himself.
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Jun 4, 2022 21:20
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Jerusalem posted:Don is reading his newspaper in the office when Harry Crane's loud voice carries through the frosted glass window, lamenting the poor production design and lack of research of a variety show skit he saw recently that featured a computer. Harry is of course talking to Lloyd, wanting to show off his knowledge of computers to an expert in that field, which is a perfectly Harry thing to do. Lloyd politely comments that he'll buy a TV to see if he can watch it, and Harry agrees he should buy a TV.... but the show itself got canceled 11 minutes into the premiere! Harry's talking about Turn-On here, long held as one of the greatest misfires in American TV history. It was ABC's attempt to recreate the success of Laugh-In (Going so far as to hire the same creators/producers) and the overall premise was that the skits were written by a computer being fed prompts. It's hard to tell why exactly the series was so poorly received now, whether it was truly that bad/bawdy or if people were just thrown by the very strange production choices - but Harry's not exaggerating, as noted in the Wikipedia article some ABC affiliates cut the broadcast short. There are just a few brief clips online, but the Paley Center has both produced episodes in their collection (Someday I'm going to visit NYC, and I'm going to spend over an hour of my trip sitting in a booth at the Paley Center watching 50+ year old sketch comedy.)
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Jun 6, 2022 17:42
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Speaking of that scene, I enjoy Lloyd's exchange with Don about computers, in part because of the way Lloyd talks about them. His language suggests a kind of technological delusion of grandeur that reminds me of Silicon Valley rhetoric, and the cult of personality that was forming in the era the episode aired. Of course, unlike a lot of the promises that were made through the 20-aughts and -10s, we did end up actually going to the moon (only a few months away from the current episode in the show's timeline). Robert Baker (Lloyd) is a somewhat lesser-known character actor, though he's been in a lot of stuff. His filmography includes roles in Leatherheads, Indiana Jones 4, Justified, The Lone Ranger 2013, Grey's Anatomy, and Supergirl, as well as bit parts in the usual suspects—CSI, NCIS, Law & Order, etc. He was also involved in The Robocop Remake fan film (he played one of the Dick Joneses)!
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Jun 6, 2022 20:52
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JethroMcB posted:Harry's talking about Turn-On here, long held as one of the greatest misfires in American TV history. It was ABC's attempt to recreate the success of Laugh-In (Going so far as to hire the same creators/producers) and the overall premise was that the skits were written by a computer being fed prompts. It's hard to tell why exactly the series was so poorly received now, whether it was truly that bad/bawdy or if people were just thrown by the very strange production choices - but Harry's not exaggerating, as noted in the Wikipedia article some ABC affiliates cut the broadcast short. There are just a few brief clips online, but the Paley Center has both produced episodes in their collection (Someday I'm going to visit NYC, and I'm going to spend over an hour of my trip sitting in a booth at the Paley Center watching 50+ year old sketch comedy.) drat, that show sounds absolutely fascinating in a really weird way. I also like the note at the end of the Wikipedia entry about how the studio passed on another show fearing a similar backlash, and that show was kalel posted:Speaking of that scene, I enjoy Lloyd's exchange with Don about computers, in part because of the way Lloyd talks about them. His language suggests a kind of technological delusion of grandeur that reminds me of Silicon Valley rhetoric, and the cult of personality that was forming in the era the episode aired. Of course, unlike a lot of the promises that were made through the 20-aughts and -10s, we did end up actually going to the moon (only a few months away from the current episode in the show's timeline). It reminds me a bit of movies and television shows from the 70s that would regular feature computers as somehow intelligent and even sometimes moral (usually in a comedic fashion) - people really did think the "modern" computer was capable of utterly incredible feats even if the specs, processing power, capabilities etc seem laughable now. It actually reminds me a little of the enthusiasm we're seeing for machine learning nowadays: yeah it's undoubtedly incredible and is probably going to lead to some remarkable developments, but people ascribe almost divine capabilities to what is essentially just a machine following programmed orders to output a result. Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 01:29 on Jun 7, 2022 |
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Jun 7, 2022 01:26
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Jerusalem posted:It reminds me a bit of movies and television shows from the 70s that would regular feature computers as somehow intelligent and even sometimes moral (usually in a comedic fashion) - people really did think the "modern" computer was capable of utterly incredible feats even if the specs, processing power, capabilities etc seem laughable now. It actually reminds me a little of the enthusiasm we're seeing for machine learning nowadays: yeah it's undoubtedly incredible and is probably going to lead to some remarkable developments, but people ascribe almost divine capabilities to what is essentially just a machine following programmed orders to output a result. The best 70's supercomputer is the one in Rollerball because it inverts the 70's "Computers can accomplish anything" trope. They keep mentioning "Zero" throughout the film as the central repository of human knowledge; you expect it to be revealed as the mastermind that has been manipulating every level of society based on some cold machine logic, or maybe as an automated system without guile it James Caan will ask it a basic question and it will immediately reveal the vast conspiracy he is looking for. When Caan finally makes the trip to meet Zero, you find out that humanity did indeed hand over control of everything to this computer years ago...and it no longer works; the supercomputer has become overwhelmed with information. The sole technician assigned to manage Zero bemoans that it routinely "misplaces" entire swaths of history, and whenever it's given a query it responds with nonsense. It feels especially prescient now.
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Jun 7, 2022 17:34
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kalel posted:Speaking of that scene, I enjoy Lloyd's exchange with Don about computers, in part because of the way Lloyd talks about them. His language suggests a kind of technological delusion of grandeur that reminds me of Silicon Valley rhetoric, and the cult of personality that was forming in the era the episode aired. Which makes sense. The explosion of IBM and the mass industrial adoption of computers in the 70's must have looked like something pulled from a Clarke or Asimov story. His arguments aren't even *wrong* necessarily, just hyperbolic; computers did and do represent an extension of human intelligence, to process things beyond the scope of normal human cognition, it just feels mundane today because we're so immersed in it. But circa 1970, the idea of thinking machines sending us to the moon must've been mind-blowing and probably a little frightening. Mostly, I'm struck by how much positivism there was for the future during this period in the US. Because you're right: even this random third-party contractor for outdated IBM products comes off like a high-on-his-supply tech bro, philosophizing about the infinite. Despite the Cold War and intense civil unrest, it seems like there was a profound sense of possibility. Technologically, for people like Lloyd, but also among the Timothy Leary "consciousness expansion" set, the people forming communes or what-have-you. That's dead now. I can't think of anyone with a truly optimistic outlook for the future. Even tech bro types with bullish beliefs about what technology can do mostly seem interested in how it will enrich themselves, not how it will enrich society or cure some social ill.
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Jun 8, 2022 22:14
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You're self selecting then. I know plenty of people with utopian outlooks
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Jun 8, 2022 22:16
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Gaius Marius posted:You're self selecting then. I know plenty of people with utopian outlooks Where can I pick up one of those utopian outlooks, it sounds like fun
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Jun 8, 2022 22:34
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Xealot posted:Mostly, I'm struck by how much positivism there was for the future during this period in the US. Because the US had never really known defeat. Like a 12 year old kid, literally anything is possible. Then we lost in Vietnam and turned into cynical teenagers.
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Jun 8, 2022 23:14
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you lost 1812 and invented a copium narrative too 
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Jun 8, 2022 23:36
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Paper Lion posted:you lost 1812 and invented a copium narrative too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_New_Orleans quote:the American forces defeated a poorly executed assault in slightly more than 30 minutes. The Americans suffered just 71 casualties, while the British suffered over 2,000, including the deaths of the commanding general, Major General Sir Edward Pakenham, and his second-in-command, Major General Samuel Gibbs. The British are lucky the bell rang. Btw the troops who burned DC were from Bermuda, the Canadians remained totally worthless throughout the war despite the countries best efforts to pretend they aren't a total joke. Gaius Marius fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Jun 9, 2022 |
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Jun 9, 2022 00:46
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Paper Lion posted:you lost 1812 and invented a copium narrative too canadian spotted
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Jun 9, 2022 02:46
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Xealot posted:Which makes sense. The explosion of IBM and the mass industrial adoption of computers in the 70's must have looked like something pulled from a Clarke or Asimov story. His arguments aren't even *wrong* necessarily, just hyperbolic; computers did and do represent an extension of human intelligence, to process things beyond the scope of normal human cognition, it just feels mundane today because we're so immersed in it. But circa 1970, the idea of thinking machines sending us to the moon must've been mind-blowing and probably a little frightening. I bet this episode hit hard for advertising professionals at the time it aired, since advertising itself had undergone a pretty significant change during the Internet age, and especially after the advent of social media. Imagine someone like Don reckoning with having to reorient the output of his entire business around one platform controlled by one company (namely, Google's AdSense)
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Jun 9, 2022 19:11
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also, I forgot to mention before: Don's face when Peggy tells him he's to be on her team, working under her, is priceless. his loathing is palpable, and Peggy's little satisfied grin is so cathartic 
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Jun 9, 2022 19:12
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Gaius Marius posted:You're self selecting then. I know plenty of people with utopian outlooks This is a genuine question: what's a group with broadly optimistic outlooks on the future today? Like, in a demographic sense. By most statistical metrics I've seen, the younger a generation is, the less optimistic they are. The majority of Millennial and Gen Z respondents, when polled, express concern or pessimism for the future, due to climate change, wealth inequality, civil unrest, gun violence, etc. The general sense is that the world will be worse, less safe and less livable and less sustainable, looking forward. The common mid-century belief that the future will yield greater progress and abundance isn't really in the zeitgeist anymore.
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Jun 9, 2022 20:17
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Gaius Marius posted:You're self selecting then. I know plenty of people with utopian outlooks Sir, can you point me to these lotus eaters?
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Jun 11, 2022 15:13
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Those two tracks of utopian thinking (technological, hippie communes) have been shown over time to not lead anywhere within capitalism except their subsumption and exploitation. They grew out of capitalism anyway, relied on it, so of course they didn't end up changing it. I think maybe until the early 2000's people still had the belief that progress was happening at such a clip that any large scale problems would either be preempted or manageable by the time we got there, and that inequality was decling while living standards rose. Now we pretty much know none of that is true, and the perception that it was true was due to advertising, basically. So there's no autopilot from where we are right now to utopia, like it seemed like there was back then because those avenues hadn't had time to play out yet. I think plenty of people out there still believe in these 20th century ideas of human progress, but its due to either basic stupidity, wilful ignorance, or selfishness - when in the 60's, since the way things would play out was unknown, you could legitimately put your faith in these ideas. Maybe young people are more cynical in general - I'm within the millenial age range and I'm pretty cynical but not about the future, only about the way things are. I think my idea of a path towards a utopian society assumes a major collapse at some point in the next couple of decades because I don't see how world leaders are otherwise going to allow any meaningful change, and I don't think there are any obvious weaknesses to be exploited by working people in their operation other than to simply wait it out because there's only so much fuel (literally and metaphorically) for them to burn through before things break down. Maybe automation will do it, but it seems like a certainty to me that capitalists will squeeze everything they can out of that while giving workers nothing until finally there's an uprising out of desperation. Maybe it'll be something else, climate change, or something we don't know about yet. It's not really a lighthearted outlook, but it's not doom and gloom either. I think it's the reason that popular culture has embraced post-apocalyptic fiction so much more over the past 20 years, in contrast to the 20th century optimistic futures people were imagining. A lot more people just feel in their gut that a cataclysm is the only way forward, it's just a matter of when. roomtone fucked around with this message at 15:56 on Jun 11, 2022 |
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Jun 11, 2022 15:52
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  Don't mind me, I'll just be having myself a little extended scream for the next few minutes.
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Jun 14, 2022 10:40
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GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN JERUSALEM
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Jun 14, 2022 10:56
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Peggy needs to bring Julio with her wherever she goes for protection.
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Jun 14, 2022 10:59
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