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I agree that a central theme of Mad Men is that poor communication kills relationships. Another is about getting what you wanted. The arc of many of the characters in the show is that some desire has been fulfilled and what happens next? Already we have seen Don getting his perfect late 1950s work/life balance with a suburban home, string of exciting mistresses and prestigious job; we see the farcical version of that with Pete (whose role is in some ways that of the “low” characters in a Shakespeare play; that is to parallel the story of the protagonist but at a level more relatable to the audience: he’s a lot more obviously a fuckup than Don), Peggy getting her time with Pete and what that turns into, and so on.
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Oct 27, 2020 01:40
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The Klowner posted:I would strongly advise more discretion when it comes to discussing the overarching themes of the show. That kind of conversation lends itself to accidental spoilers very easily (e.g. "X is very interesting, especially in the later seasons" or "The show is about Y, which is demonstrated later on by Z"). Part of the fun of the thread is reacting to the OP's fresh take on the plot, particularly in what they expound on or what they personally connect to. If you go ahead talking about which certain events or relationships are important unspoilered, it sours the fun a bit. Ok that’s fair.
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Oct 27, 2020 03:22
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Jerusalem posted:Listen fellas, you both just had a fight and I wasn't involved. If you don't make up right now, I stand no chance tonight Pate’s just being competitive. He doesn’t actually dream of being a writer, he’s just desperate to have something that he can win at.
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Oct 27, 2020 06:52
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What do we know about Pete, based solely on Jerusalem’s recaps so far? He’s enjoying the benefits of privilege, and because they are totally hollow, he is also totally hollow. Pete’s presented as a well educated, decently smart guy from a well off family who isn’t streetwise and completely lacks a moral compass, but who knows that he is supposed to have one and feels inferior to people who earned their achievements. All of this combines to mean that he can’t fail, but also possesses none of the things a person needs to succeed. So he coasts along in mediocrity, and feels bitter and angry at everyone else. It’s absolutely toxic. Of all the characters we have been introduced to, I believe the writers have been having the most fun with Pete, in the same way that Austen must have loved kicking the poo poo out of her characters.
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Oct 27, 2020 07:15
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Gaius Marius posted:I'd be willing to bet there's quite a few Indians,Chinese, Aboriginal Australians, Native Americans, and Africans who would disagree. Racism in the US is its own unique kind of horrible and in the 60s was perceptibly more raw than the racism people ran into in the homelands of former imperial powers; Paul Robeson and others commented on this at the time. It’s not that British people were any less racist, but race is THE social issue in America in a way it wasn’t in other countries.
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Mar 20, 2021 02:31
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The Klowner posted:Edit: Trudy looks completely terrified of Pete at the beginning of the scene where he comes home. You can see it not just in her words or her facial expression but also her body language, she places her hands in front of herself almost to brace against him. I wonder if their relationship is such that she's fearing physical retaliation? Alison Brie's performance here always suggested "battered wife" to me but it's not something we ever see in the series, in fact Trudy comes out looking like the dominant half of their pair especially in the latter seasons. The show doesn’t really shy away from showing Pete behaving badly. If he was a wifebeater we’d know. It is however very plausible that Trudy is scared of him being unhappy with and therefore unpleasant to her; that’s a lot more normal than being scared of being physically abused.
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Jun 7, 2021 16:57
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Yoshi Wins posted:I think Trudy's trepidation when Pete comes home is mostly because Pete showed a lot of resistance to being a father at all in season 2, questioning the whole idea that having a child is "what comes next" for a married couple. And Trudy knows that Pete throws tantrums when he doesn't get his way, and the father of her child throwing a tantrum over that child's conception would be a terrible blow. There's also the possibility that Pete will think Trudy cares about Tom more than him, since Tom found out first. But I think that's secondary. She doesn't know if Pete will love his own child (man, putting it that way... yikes), and surely her dreams of being a loving mother to a wonderful child also involved being married to a loving father. But she just didn't know if she could count on that. Yeah actually I agree, it’s probably this. The uncertainty about whether she could rely on him for even something so seemingly basic.
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Jun 7, 2021 17:18
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