Mad Men | 4x04 | The Rejected

Despite the title, this episode is less about rejection than it is about separation, and walls being drawn between people. In the episode’s central set piece, market research consultant Dr Faye assembles a group of unsuspecting secretaries and manipulates them into discussing their deepest insecurities (which revolve, by and large, around rejection from men), whilst being clinically observed through a one-way glass wall by Don, Freddie and Peggy.

There’s a voyeuristic element to this entire setup, recalling the Basket Of Kisses sequence from the first season, but it serves largely as a means for Don, finally, to be forcibly confronted with the consequences of his behaviour, and the fact that “this actually happened."  In contrast to the second episode where he was letting Allison read Sally’s letter out loud to him, he’s now slamming those walls right back up between them, snapping at her when she inquires about his letter from California (though we know there’s a good reason why he’d want to keep that to himself).

So Allison, meek and diminished, is pushed to breaking point by another secretary’s agonised musing on an ex; “I feel like I gave him everything”, and ends up bursting into tears mid-market research. She later resigns her position, but not before throwing a heavy object at Don’s head after his horrifically callous suggestion that she write her own letter of recommendation for him to sign. Even at this moment of crux, he’s totally unable (or unwilling) to articulate her value to him. While I totally agree with her sobbing declaration that Don is “not a good person”, I’m sort of surprised by her naivety. Especially given what we’ve seen of her in the past – cavorting around with Ken in Nixon vs Kennedy and so on – it seems as though she should have more nous than to expect anything more from Don.

The most intriguing reaction to the whole incident, though, was Peggy’s. Though initially kind to Allison, she turns on her viciously after her (quite innocent) suggestion that Peggy must have experienced the same thing with Don. This has always seemed like a real raw nerve with Peggy, who’s understandably frustrated by the assumption that she must have slept her way through the glass ceiling, but here it resonated doubly because of Pete’s situation. Much though she probably wishes to deny that she was ever in the same category as the male-dependant, emotionally vulnerable secretaries, Allison’s dead right when she says Peggy “must have gone through everything I’m going through”. The difference is she went through it with Pete, the sex, the ambiguity afterwards, the hopeless pining, and crucially came out of it far worse off than the presumably birth control-savvy Allison.

Peggy’s reaction to Trudy’s pregnancy – clearly profound, but underplayed to perfection – gave rise to the episode’s other great “glass dividing wall” image. Peggy heads out to lunch with her new, liberated crowd of beatnik pals, Pete remains in the office with the old boys’ crowd, and they share a look acknowledging everything that still binds them, as well as the things that overwhelmingly separate them. Gorgeous. That’s probably as close as they’ll ever get to closure, though such a thing probably doesn’t exist in situations like theirs.

I’ve talked a lot about how Pete seems to have matured this season, but really. My God. I was totally blindsided by his response to the pregnancy news – especially given that he had to hear it from Trudy’s father, it’s hard to imagine the Pete of yesteryear reacting so calmly or with such sincerity. But after a patented “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” he’s overwhelmed with joy at the prospect of fatherhood and goes home to share a really lovely scene with Trudy wherein he tells her he doesn’t care how he found out, and they’re both a bit teary, and she’s happy he’s happy, and it’s literally just really so adorable.

Who’d ever have guessed these two would grow into such a functional, emotionally healthy couple? They feel so much like partners, too, on equal footing – she understands how business works, and has no problem with Pete’s news that the company has to ditch her father’s Clearasil account: “You needed him, and now you don’t. He’ll be fine.” Trudy’s awesome. And so, it turns out, is Pete. Buoyed by the news and by Trudy’s support, he turns a horrendously awkward and potentially upsetting situation into a massive $6m coup for SCDP. Even Don’s impressed. Sure, there’s something a bit Machiavellian about it, but then his father in law had no qualms about basically blackmailing him into getting Trudy pregnant, so whatevs.

- It’s noticeable how much more balanced this season has been in terms of rounding out everybody in the office. The focus on Betty’s story, and the Ossining stuff in general, really overwhelmed last season to the point where it felt as though we learned barely anything about, say, Peggy or Joan all year. Now, everyone gets to take centre stage on a semi-regular basis, albeit at the expense of January Jones these past couple of weeks.
- Although Lee wasn’t in this episode, his noxious presence was felt in that hilarious tag-team phone call. The Lucky Strike situation is surely going to come to a head before the season’s end – in my personal dreams, Pete (and maybe a newly recruited Ken?) will eventually bring in enough new accounts that they can tell Lee Garner where to get off, and then hire Sal back. Is that too much to ask? Yeah, okay.
- Speaking of Cosgrove, he was looking a lot less chipper and bright-eyed than I remember him from Sterling Cooper, and definitely didn’t seem like his old so-laid-back-he’s-horizontal self. Clearly he’s not at all happy in his current position, which is what’s making me wonder if Lane won’t see an opportunity to bring in more accounts by taking him on. I think Pete might have an actual, legitimate nervous breakdown. Much though he’s matured, I think that’s one grudge that runs pretty deep.
- How, oh how, is Vincent Kartheiser the ONE major player not to have received an Emmy nomination? Ever? This episode alone makes a great case for him.
- This is probably just the paranoid, Joss Whedon-influenced doomsayer in me, but I have this weird inkling that something is going to go wrong with Trudy's pregnancy. Surely a couple can't be happy and functional on this show for long? Plus since she's had so much difficulty conceiving, problems with carrying to term would be very plausible. Hopefully, I am way off base with this.

Mad Men | 4x03 | The Good News

Quick notes on this one, as a trip to Dublin threw off my scheduling last week.  And I don’t even like Guinness.

As with Don’s second season sojourn to California, this episode felt a little disjointed, as though being out of New York throws the show’s entire rhythm out of whack.  But where his previous trip felt overlong and underdeveloped, this was brief, lively and quite gut-wrenching, as Don pays another visit to Anna Draper and visibly relaxes in her presence, only to discover she has months to live.  It’s a soapy premise, but subtly written as always and played to perfection by Jon Hamm, who runs the full gambit of emotions this week as he effectively becomes Dick Whitman for a day.   The scene where he says goodbye to Anna for what’s likely the last time, the one person who “knows everything about him and still loves him”, is truly devastating, especially following the scene in which he admits how much Betty’s rejection wounded him.  But, as he admits, he had it coming.

It’s ironic too that Don’s real struggle here is with how much to tell Anna, as it turns out that her doctors and her family have concealed her prognosis from her.  There are hints that she knows, but he’s nonetheless burdened with the decision and ultimately lies to her, though she is the one person he’s hidden nothing from up to this point.  Maybe he’s just forever doomed to keep enormous secrets from people he loves?

Back in Manhattan, Don and Lane run into one another in the empty SCDP office, both struggling with the loss of family and the reality of New Year’s alone, and Don – uncharacteristically reaching out – suggests a movie.  Thus begins a drunken night of low-level debauchery, tentative male bonding and a series of really hilarious outbursts from the generally reserved Lane, my personal favourite being his pseudo-Japanese squawk at an unsuspecting audience member.  All this sat a little oddly with the earlier half of the episode, and I struggled to see quite how the two acts led on from one another, but it was hugely enjoyable to watch both these guys let loose.  Don definitely needs more friends, especially as Roger has for some inexplicable reason still not got rid of Jane. 

It was surprising in a way to see Lane agree to Don’s generous call girl offer, and even more surprising that he was so smooth about the encounter where some stiff-upper-lip fumbling might have been expected.  The scene where he gives Don money to pay the girl, actually laying down bills on the counter, was an interesting parallel to last week’s ending scene with poor Allison, the implication being almost that Lane was paying Don for his time and his companionship.  That said, this seemed like it could be the start of a beautiful friendship, depending on what develops with Lane’s wife.  Much though I’m always eager to see Embeth Davidtz in anything, I have a feeling she may not be back. 

The other main story thread here was Joan’s, and hers was the only plot that even vaguely fulfilled the title’s promise of Good News.  Even here, it’s pretty thin on the ground – a visit to the gynaecologist from the pilot tells us that Joan’s had a couple of “procedures” in the past and is now concerned about her chances of getting pregnant with Greg.  The doctor assures her that everything’s fine physically, which qualifies as good news except that Greg is likely shipping out to Vietnam fairly soon.  He’s refusing to accept this as a certainty, Joan’s frustrated by the ambiguity about their future and the fact that her biological clock is definitely ticking at this point, and this all comes to a head in a surprising scene where she cuts herself on a cooking knife.  Between this moment and her awesomely uninhibited fight with Lane, this is by far the most exposed and emotional we’ve ever seen Joan, and after her relatively small role last season it’s great to see Christina Hendricks given some stretching room. 

 What’s really striking about the knife scene, though, is how well Greg comes off.  Considering he’s been portrayed thus far as an incompetent doctor and insensitive husband at best, and at worst a flat-out rapist, it was almost odd to see him take control of the situation so smoothly and with so much sensitivity.  And who doesn’t love a good hillbilly joke?   Joan’s clearly scared by the idea of his going to Vietnam, and her mini-breakdown here seemed more to do with that than the actual injury, as though she was happy to relinquish control for once and let him take care of her while he still can.  She still deserves a million times better, and I almost wonder if this wasn’t an attempt to inject some sympathy into his character and their relationship before he’s swiftly dispatched to an off-screen death. 

Other thoughts:

-      -  Wow.  I think Don has officially lost his mojo.  Especially in comparison to his beatnik conquest last time he was in California, his coming onto the hot niece (who looked to me like a slightly stoned Blake Lively) was so, so desperate and not remotely sexy.  “You’re so young and beautiful”?  Ugg.  Don, you’re turning into that lecherous old guy we try desperately to avoid at the bar.  Stop it.

-       - Did I mention how awesome Joan and Lane’s fight was?  It was a lovely continuation of a theme with Joan from way back in season one, where she’s angry with Roger after watching The Apartment.  Much though she courts male attention, there is a deep anger in her with regards to the way she’s treated in the workplace, and that really came to fruition here with her “helpless, stupid little girl” remark.  It was also great because Joan and Lane are, weird though it sounds, very alike in that they’re both incredibly controlled and put a lot of stock in appearing unruffled, but have a huge amount going on beneath the surface.  Poor Sandy didn’t stand a chance.

-       - The reintroduction of Dick Whitman started me thinking: would anybody in the office really care all that much if his identity were revealed?  Would they lose their respect for him, not even want to look at him anymore like Betty?  I guess it depends whether we’re talking about the fact that he’s not who he says he is, or the fact that he stole the dogtags and took credit for the war honours of a man who had his face blown off in Korea.  The latter, I can see people struggling with.  But it’s easy to forget that Pete already knows Don is “a deserter at the very least”, and still hero-worships him.  Cooper didn’t care, so would Roger?  Peggy’s already benefited from Don’s teaching on how to forget things, so equally it’s hard to imagine her judging him.  I hope we get to see some of these revelations play out, given how seamlessly Don slips into being Dick here.  

Mad Men | 4x02 | Christmas Comes But Once A Year

If last week’s premiere was like reuniting with an old friend, this episode was more like the point where you start to remember all the things you don’t like about them.  The honeymoon period’s over, and the reality of Christmas at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is altogether more downbeat than their triumphant previous holiday season.  It is fitting, though, that Mad Men’s first true Christmas episode is really more of a Christmas party episode.

We began with the Francises (which looks wrong, much like the marriage itself) buying a Christmas tree, and the return of creepy, creepy, creepy Glen Bishop, who seems to have transferred his obsessive affections from mother to daughter.  Sally, like Betty before her, seems a lot less disturbed by his advances than many might be, and later opens up to Glen by describing how much she hates living in their old house without Don.  Sad.  And Glen, who we know has a bit of a knight-in-shining-armour complex, helps out by initiating a one-sided food fight with the Francis house, presumably in hopes of making Betty finally want to move out.  Whether or not he’ll succeed, only time will tell.  But, like a true serial killer in the making, he leaves a piece of severed twine on her bed.  Run, Sally.  RUN.

Much though Glen's resurfacing was an unexpected little twist, the Ossining-Manhattan divide felt really pronounced in this episode.  I hope they can find a way to make these strands feel less extraneous, because otherwise I can see them getting very tiresome, no matter how good Kiernan Shipka is (and she is).

Freddy Rumsen also makes a return, and in a much less disturbing and more useful way than Glen – not only is he clean and sober, in AA no less, but he’s bringing a $2m account with him.  Roger naturally takes him back with open arms though he is, I think, working for them only on a freelance basis.  This could actually be a great way for them to sporadically reintroduce old characters (like Ken, who we know from the credits will be back) as and when they want to use them, without having to commit to their being in the office full time.  That said, I don’t know why Ken would want to freelance for SCDP unless he leaves McCann for some reason, but he strikes me as the type who wouldn’t mind being a cog in a corporate machine.

While Freddy and Peggy are happily reunited at first they clash over strategy, with Peggy accusing Freddy of being old fashioned after he suggests the promise of marriage is the best way to market cold cream to women.  Great to see Peggy asserting herself against a dismissive Freddy, not least because she is right.  His ideas are dated, and out of step with the new agency which is specifically trying to keep “looking forward” – it's significant that he voiced his dislike for Pete, who has previously been singled out as forward-thinking.

Moving onto Peggy, we finally meet her “fiancée” properly and their relationship already seems pretty doomed.  Having been warned by Joan back in the first season that “there’s no money in virginity”, and responding with some pride that she wasn’t one, Peggy’s ironically now pretending to be a virgin and the episode culminates with what is, to Mark’s mind, her first time.  I’m no form of shipper, but I did think it was interesting that her boyfriend bore a certain physical resemblance to Pete – is she in some way trying to recreate her actual first time, but to re-do it “right” and within the context of a relationship?  Or maybe she just has a type, though I don't know where Duck fits into that...

Meanwhile at the office, Lane’s plans for a penny-pinching Christmas party get a last minute do-over, as everybody’s favourite walking sexual harassment lawsuit Lee Garner Jr calls and gets himself an invite.  With Lucky Strike now 70% of SCDP’s billings, it’s more imperative than ever for them to keep him happy – and that, kids, is how we end up with Roger Sterling in a Santa Claus outfit, taking photographs with staff members on his lap. Hee. Hee. Hee. A totally dick move on Lee’s part, but to Roger’s credit he swallowed the humiliation well and went along with it, despite the fact that Lee was clearly just asserting his power for its own sake. Better than hitting on Roger and getting him fired, I suppose.

It was nice to see Joan in her element this week, handling the party situation like the level-headed pro she is, keeping Lee in check, and working that conga line like nobody’s business.  And sharing a lovely, quiet scene with Roger…I’ll never quite stop holding out hope for those two.  Still no conclusive word on where Greg is, though, only that he’s “saving lives”.  It seems weird that Roger would ask where he was if he had been posted somewhere, unless Joan had kept it quiet for whatever reason.

Don, on the other hand, was a complete mess.  I almost want to say he’s hit rock bottom, but something tells me he can still go lower.  He’s getting sloppy, crossing boundaries he used to hold sacred (nib, meet office ink), and at this rate is it only a matter of time before he slips and reveals something about his past?  He used to be so meticulous and careful, but between the loss of his family and the seemingly constant boozing, things are definitely slipping.

Interestingly though, he also seems to have softened and become a little bit more fun – his “Merry Christmas, sweetheart” to Peggy was sweet, and he seemed to be having a better time at the party than he has before at office shindigs, even putting a playful arm around Joan at one point.  Not to mention my favourite exchange of the episode, his “Did you enjoy ze Fuhrer’s birthday?” bit with Roger which seemed almost out of character in its levity.  Again, maybe it’s the constant booze talking.

What Don actually seems to want, in this episode at least, is a caretaker or mother more than a partner.  The women around him vacillate from maternal figures to sexual figures (or, if you like, from madonnas to whores) almost seamlessly.  I mentioned last week the idea that Don getting slapped by the prostitute might be a reaction to his mother.  Here, Phoebe the nurse (played by Brick’s Laura Zehetner) came on very strong in their initial scene together, but later rejected his drunken advances, opting instead to take off his shoes and put him to bed.  Allison, who completely embodies Joan’s view of a secretary’s role as “something between a mother and a waitress”, takes a drunken Don his keys, gets him aspirin and offers to make him food, only for him to seduce her and later make her feel like a hooker.

Sexual economy plays a big role in this episode overall – most notably in that awful ending with Don and Allison, where he (unintentionally, I think) gives her the bonus he’d promised in a way that makes it seem like payment for sex.  But it emerges with Peggy and Mark, too.  When he comes over to see her, he's impatient about her reluctance to sleep with him, and she indignantly says she’s sorry if he feels he’s put in enough time – the implication being that he has paid his dues, and now expects something in return.  He then says “I brought you cookies” in a mock-accusatory tone, and while he’s joking the implication is still there, offering something in exchange for something else.  But of course, he’s not actually getting what he thinks he is, and Peggy's false advertising will surely come back to bite her in one way or another.

Other thoughts:
- I’m enjoying Lane enormously this season – not a huge presence, but he’s always ready with a dry riposte at the most opportune moment, like his pained “Yes, we did” in response to Lee Garner’s entirely false “Oh, you didn’t have to do this.”
- Much though he is creepifying and I don’t enjoy the Ossining stuff really, Glen’s “My mom said that would happen” was hilarious.  Can we have Helen Bishop back, please?
- Peggy saying she didn’t want to worry Freddy would start drinking every time she hurt his feelings was very, very true to life with an alcoholic.  Horrible cycle to get into, and she’s right to try and avoid it.
- Pete was again showing a lot of newfound maturity, I was especially surprised he didn’t make any kind of fuss when Roger said he’d be handling the Palm’s account.  Boy is growing.  Though not into his Santa suit, alas.
- On the subject of the Campbells – I can’t fault their conga skills, but what the heck were they thinking outfit wise?  Pete’s burgundy velvet thing was bad enough, but Trudy then wore pale pink?  Clashy clashy.  And those two always seem so coordinated.