Three Up
3. Sally Draper. The episode opens with Sally calling Glen, who is apparently at some sort of boarding school now. Nice to see they're still in touch, both so they have someone to talk to and for future storyline possibilities. The phone call has the added bonus of taking out Pauline (more on that anon). Sally gets to spend time with Don and Megan and Megan's folks, and gets to see Don get an award from the American Cancer Society (and inadvertently freak Don out with her look for the ACS event, in a dress with make-up and knee-high boots). She gets to have Roger as her "date" for the event, which goes well until it really doesn't (also more on that anon). The episode ends as it begins, with Sally talking to Glen, this time saying that the city is "dirty." There are some tough growing up moments for her - she even tries eating fish, which she hates - but all in all she ends up in the positive.
2. Don Draper. While the ACS award is the big event of the episode, Don shows flashes of his prior greatness when he lands the Heinz account over dinner (though Megan did most of the work - the ad idea is hers, and she alerts Don that they're getting fired after she has a chat with the Heinz guy's wife in the bathroom). He also shows a softer side with Megan when her parents have a fight in their apartment. He's not still clear as to the nature of their relationship - and Emile's relationship with his female grad assistant - but he's picking it up and is appropriately consoling to Megan. Don does take a hit at the end, when Ken's father in law has a talk with him noting that all the corporate fat cats who make up the ACS board are happy to give him awards, but will never bring him any business because his anti-tobacco letter makes them scared that he'll do the same thing to them.
1. Roger Sterling. Roger continues on his way back. He's still processing his LSD trip, but it's making him think clearer in a couple of ways. The first is with his relationship with Mona, his first wife. He meets her for drinks to commiserate his failed marriage, but he also recognizes how helpful she was to him with clients, and he asks her for help with some of the ACS crowd. He's also clearer about business, if his attempts to work the room at the ACS event is anything to go by. And while it may not be an example of clearer thinking, he is back on the prowl as well, as he charms his way into getting a blowjob from Megan's mom. Only problem is that it's witnessed by Sally Draper, though she looks too shocked to tell her dad or anyone else about it.
Three Down
3. Pauline Francis. While she's bellowing for Sally to set the table for dinner (and wandering the house cocktail in hand), she trips over the phone cord and breaks her ankle. She winds up needing Sally to call for help, and it's to Sally's benefit that she does so calmly. It's luck for Pauline that Sally didn't call a cab and leave her wallowing in the hallway.
2. Peggy Olsen. Abe calls and sets a firm dinner date for a weeknight, which Peggy takes even though it screws up her schedule. She's now worried that Abe is going to dump her, but Joan says is a man makes this sort of date, he has a proposal. And Abe does, sort of: he wants to move in with her. Peggy, who has dressed and mentally set herself for a marriage proposal, covers her disappointment reasonably well and agrees to move in (though she does answer "I do" when Abe asks if she still wants to eat, a dig that goes way over Abe's head). They later invite Peggy's mom to dinner to tell her about this, which goes as well as expected: she decides to leave before dessert (and takes the dessert back), noting she can't support their living in sin. She's convinced that Abe is going to use Peggy and dump her when he finally decides to settle down. It was actually somewhat subdued for Peggy's mom, I was expecting holy water to make an appearance. Oh, Peggy is also a little jealous about Megan's success with Heinz, but manages to let her happiness for Megan and the firm win out.
1. Emile and Marie Calvet. Megan's parents are not exactly a happy couple. They bicker a lot, with Emile (who is some sort of leftist professor) saying Marie wants him to be miserable until he dies, while she flirts with pretty much any man, which I assume is partially in response to her belief that Emile is having it off with his grad assistant. She's also a bit of a lush, just for good measure. Emile doesn't approve of the money that Don makes or advertising in general, and thinks Megan is settling by working for SCDP. Marie scores the ultimate hit on their marriage, though, when she follows up her flirting (and Roger's reactions) by giving him head at the ACS dinner. For all of Megan's protestations that her parents are always like this and get through things fine, this is clearly not a happy marriage, even for the sort of tortured French Canadian union you'd expect from stereotyping.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing
Three Up
3. Mitch Larsen. Not sure she's actually a winner, but she's at least made steps towards winning. After seeing the same girl on the road and at her motel, Mitch buys her a meal and gets a chance to get into her life a bit. The girl, roughly the same age as Rosie, kind of connects, but is still wary enough about Mitch's questions to keep her distance. She eventually takes off with her no good boyfriend, leaving Mitch alone again. Mitch looks sad at being abandoned again, but also looks like she's beginning to understand where she is now that Rosie is gone.
2. Alexei Giffords. Also not a complete win, as his mom gives him up to the cops, but after playing the hard guy he begins to give Linden and Holder information - until they have to let him go and a Janek-provided lawyer takes him to Janek. But he eventually comes to them and gives them information they need - that Rosie was scared of someone in a Town Car and that she learned (though we don't know how) that Stan was not her real father.
1. Darren Richmond. This was looking like a big loss for Darren, given his nightmare of Belko shooting him and his inadvertent wetting himself. But then Jamie shows up after meeting with a contact (and apparent former girlfriend) in the DA's office, who lets Jamie know about the faked toll booth photo. This changes Richmond's tune dramatically, as he swings from despair to a plan to destroy the mayor in about five minutes.
Three Down
3. Tracey Marek. She's mostly been in the background keeping a handle on the kids, but her role in the Larsen household comes into question when her parents stop by. They're concerned about Mitch, but her dad also notes that her staying at the Larsen household is unseemly, and he's worried she'll end up alone as the men in her life tend to be transient. It doesn't help when, later on, Stan comes into her room and they kiss. Before they can get too into it her phone rings, but the new complexity of her situation hits Tracey hard. Not so hard that she can't keep the Beau Soleil appointment the phone call was apparently about, but whatever she may have been feeling about Stan is now front and center.
2. Sarah Linden. Parental issues come to the fore again, as she tries to help Jack through being sick via phone, which leads to a visit from his dad (he's actually in the room when she gets back, he's lucky she didn't shoot him). He's concerned about Linden caring more about Rosie than her own son, and there's a hint of truth to his accusation. Linden also has work issues, as she continues to run into roadblocks set up by Captain Carlson. There's also a weird blackout at her place before Holder and Alexei show up, which sets her on edge. The professional end of things pick up at the end, but there are troubles looming.
1. Stan Larsen. Let's see, Stan gets grilled by his in-laws about Mitch's absence and then tries to give possible suspect names to Linden when he sees Alexei in an interrogation room. A meeting with a lawyer suggests that Stan's going to do time, and when he gets home he seeks comfort from Tracey. So even when he tries to do good, bad results. He'll be lucky to just get some jail time at this point.
3. Mitch Larsen. Not sure she's actually a winner, but she's at least made steps towards winning. After seeing the same girl on the road and at her motel, Mitch buys her a meal and gets a chance to get into her life a bit. The girl, roughly the same age as Rosie, kind of connects, but is still wary enough about Mitch's questions to keep her distance. She eventually takes off with her no good boyfriend, leaving Mitch alone again. Mitch looks sad at being abandoned again, but also looks like she's beginning to understand where she is now that Rosie is gone.
2. Alexei Giffords. Also not a complete win, as his mom gives him up to the cops, but after playing the hard guy he begins to give Linden and Holder information - until they have to let him go and a Janek-provided lawyer takes him to Janek. But he eventually comes to them and gives them information they need - that Rosie was scared of someone in a Town Car and that she learned (though we don't know how) that Stan was not her real father.
1. Darren Richmond. This was looking like a big loss for Darren, given his nightmare of Belko shooting him and his inadvertent wetting himself. But then Jamie shows up after meeting with a contact (and apparent former girlfriend) in the DA's office, who lets Jamie know about the faked toll booth photo. This changes Richmond's tune dramatically, as he swings from despair to a plan to destroy the mayor in about five minutes.
Three Down
3. Tracey Marek. She's mostly been in the background keeping a handle on the kids, but her role in the Larsen household comes into question when her parents stop by. They're concerned about Mitch, but her dad also notes that her staying at the Larsen household is unseemly, and he's worried she'll end up alone as the men in her life tend to be transient. It doesn't help when, later on, Stan comes into her room and they kiss. Before they can get too into it her phone rings, but the new complexity of her situation hits Tracey hard. Not so hard that she can't keep the Beau Soleil appointment the phone call was apparently about, but whatever she may have been feeling about Stan is now front and center.
2. Sarah Linden. Parental issues come to the fore again, as she tries to help Jack through being sick via phone, which leads to a visit from his dad (he's actually in the room when she gets back, he's lucky she didn't shoot him). He's concerned about Linden caring more about Rosie than her own son, and there's a hint of truth to his accusation. Linden also has work issues, as she continues to run into roadblocks set up by Captain Carlson. There's also a weird blackout at her place before Holder and Alexei show up, which sets her on edge. The professional end of things pick up at the end, but there are troubles looming.
1. Stan Larsen. Let's see, Stan gets grilled by his in-laws about Mitch's absence and then tries to give possible suspect names to Linden when he sees Alexei in an interrogation room. A meeting with a lawyer suggests that Stan's going to do time, and when he gets home he seeks comfort from Tracey. So even when he tries to do good, bad results. He'll be lucky to just get some jail time at this point.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men
Three Up
3. Ken Cosgrove. He wasn't in much of the episode, but for what he was in he managed to keep the Heinz reps calm after Peggy lit into them for their indecision. Good work to keep them as clients at all.
2. Roger Sterling. Odd to have him as a winner, what with his marriage ending and all, but he's clearly comfortable with it, even when Jane says it'll be expensive. That's helped by the LSD trip he went on with Jane and some of her friends. It should not surprise that triumphant music comes forth every time he opens a liquor bottle.
1. Bert Cooper. At first it just appears that he gets a couple of throw-away lines, as usual for Bert, but he picks up the win at the end of the episode when he calls Don out for his shirking. For all of the discussion of Don's hands-off attitude by other characters, it's Bert that manages to say something and get Don to actually think about it.
Three Down
3. Peggy Olsen. With all of the weird days on tap, her's might actually be the weirdest. She starts the day getting into a fight with Abe, who can't put up with her permanent focus on work and her general lack of attention to their relationship. She then has a bad meeting with Heinz, who reject her latest pitch, which causes her to go on the attack and then get pulled from the account. She goes to the movies to cool off, where she shares a joint with a strange guy and gives him a handjob in return. She goes back to work, sleeps late, gets an odd phone call from Don, and has an odd conversation with Ginsburg about his being born in a concentration camp, which both think is impossible. She ends up calling Abe to come over because she's ostensibly spooked by Ginsburg's story, but she really just needs him there.
2. Megan Draper. We finally get to see where the fault lines are in the Draper marriage, as Megan broods over being pulled out of the Heinz presentation so she can go on a trip upstate with Don to a Howard Johnson's. Things come to a head with her disdain for orange sherbet, which sparks an argument with Don over her role as wife and as work subordinate. The fight ends with Megan making a reference to Don's real family, which causes him to take off on her. She then gets herself to a bus station and home, where the fight continues when Don returns. She then gets chased around the apartment until Don catches her, and they sort of reconcile, but it's clear that Megan is still disturbed by the ease with which Don was able to leave her at the HoJos.
1. Don Draper. The honeymoon is over. His fight with Megan exposes how much he has not considered the difficult position she's in, and leaving her at the HoJos further shows the continuing turmoil he's in over his real family. His fears of losing Megan - seen both in his waiting for her and in the end of their fight at their apartment - also show that he's in a vulnerable position personally. Then on top of that he gets upbraided by Bert, and rightfully so. To then have Roger pop his head into the conference room to say it'll be a great day - followed by the parade of creative types - is just the icing on the cake.
3. Ken Cosgrove. He wasn't in much of the episode, but for what he was in he managed to keep the Heinz reps calm after Peggy lit into them for their indecision. Good work to keep them as clients at all.
2. Roger Sterling. Odd to have him as a winner, what with his marriage ending and all, but he's clearly comfortable with it, even when Jane says it'll be expensive. That's helped by the LSD trip he went on with Jane and some of her friends. It should not surprise that triumphant music comes forth every time he opens a liquor bottle.
1. Bert Cooper. At first it just appears that he gets a couple of throw-away lines, as usual for Bert, but he picks up the win at the end of the episode when he calls Don out for his shirking. For all of the discussion of Don's hands-off attitude by other characters, it's Bert that manages to say something and get Don to actually think about it.
Three Down
3. Peggy Olsen. With all of the weird days on tap, her's might actually be the weirdest. She starts the day getting into a fight with Abe, who can't put up with her permanent focus on work and her general lack of attention to their relationship. She then has a bad meeting with Heinz, who reject her latest pitch, which causes her to go on the attack and then get pulled from the account. She goes to the movies to cool off, where she shares a joint with a strange guy and gives him a handjob in return. She goes back to work, sleeps late, gets an odd phone call from Don, and has an odd conversation with Ginsburg about his being born in a concentration camp, which both think is impossible. She ends up calling Abe to come over because she's ostensibly spooked by Ginsburg's story, but she really just needs him there.
2. Megan Draper. We finally get to see where the fault lines are in the Draper marriage, as Megan broods over being pulled out of the Heinz presentation so she can go on a trip upstate with Don to a Howard Johnson's. Things come to a head with her disdain for orange sherbet, which sparks an argument with Don over her role as wife and as work subordinate. The fight ends with Megan making a reference to Don's real family, which causes him to take off on her. She then gets herself to a bus station and home, where the fight continues when Don returns. She then gets chased around the apartment until Don catches her, and they sort of reconcile, but it's clear that Megan is still disturbed by the ease with which Don was able to leave her at the HoJos.
1. Don Draper. The honeymoon is over. His fight with Megan exposes how much he has not considered the difficult position she's in, and leaving her at the HoJos further shows the continuing turmoil he's in over his real family. His fears of losing Megan - seen both in his waiting for her and in the end of their fight at their apartment - also show that he's in a vulnerable position personally. Then on top of that he gets upbraided by Bert, and rightfully so. To then have Roger pop his head into the conference room to say it'll be a great day - followed by the parade of creative types - is just the icing on the cake.
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Pact
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday about Ken Cosgrove - he and Peggy apparently have a pact that if he leaves SCDP he'll take Peggy with him (which is why they were so awkward in the diner at the start of the episode). I don't think we knew that before. Interesting to think that they'd leave, but it makes sense. Ken isn't going to get past Pete, and Peggy is fed up with Don enough that leaving would be a blessing. It'll be fun if it ever goes into action.
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing
Three Up
3. Steven Holder. He's back to the Holder we recognize, giving Linden crap while taking it in return. He also manages to do some police work, as he helps make connections leading to Alexei Giffords, the anime-tatted bicycling partner of Rosie Larsen.
2. Sarah Linden. She makes the greater connections, using her personal experience of the foster system and relationship with her own case worker, Regi, to get the background on Alexei that connects him to the Larsens by his dad, Piotr, who may have been killed by Stan so he could get out of the mob. On the down side, Linden is getting sued by her ex-husband for joint custody of Jack, contending that she's a negligent parent. And by what we've seen, that may not be that far from the truth.
1. Janek Kovarsky. He gets Belko's body from the morgue and arranges for the funeral, scooping Stan and giving him a chance to mock Stan for his life choices. Later, when Stan figures out that Janek used his trucks to move Beau Soleil, he goes after Janek, only to get further humiliated. Janek continues to get his pound of flesh out of Stan.
Three Down
3. Stan Larsen. He's less stupid in this episode, but he's still getting humiliated by Janek. Home life isn't any better, as he's having issues with Tommy and Mitch is still gone. His business appears to be infiltrated by Janek, as the widow of the man he allegedly whacked stops by to tell him he got what he deserved.
2. Tommy Larsen. He's been reluctant to go to school, and when forced to do so he locks his brother in the trunk of the car and loses it with aunt Terri, screaming at her that she's not his mother and to go home. We then learn that he's getting picked on at school and teased about Rosie. This leads Stan to give Tommy his version of the It Gets Better speech by telling Tommy the kids teasing him about Rosie are stupid, and that the next time he's getting pushed around he needs to punch the biggest kid on the bridge of the nose. For Stan, this is a positive parenting step.
1. The Darren Richmond Campaign. Darren plans to end his campaign, losing the will to continue when the mayor comes in and gets to act all supercilious. Jamie is trying to help Darren, both politically and personally, but fails at both when Darren tells him to get a life outside of the campaign and, when Darren says he needs to get out of the hospital, Jamie tries to haul him out of bed but gets crushed by him instead. Finally, Gwen has to go over Darren's morning routine with Jamie, which makes her realize what she's lost by quitting the campaign and moving to DC. It looks like they're going back on the attack next episode, but for now they're about as low as they can be.
3. Steven Holder. He's back to the Holder we recognize, giving Linden crap while taking it in return. He also manages to do some police work, as he helps make connections leading to Alexei Giffords, the anime-tatted bicycling partner of Rosie Larsen.
2. Sarah Linden. She makes the greater connections, using her personal experience of the foster system and relationship with her own case worker, Regi, to get the background on Alexei that connects him to the Larsens by his dad, Piotr, who may have been killed by Stan so he could get out of the mob. On the down side, Linden is getting sued by her ex-husband for joint custody of Jack, contending that she's a negligent parent. And by what we've seen, that may not be that far from the truth.
1. Janek Kovarsky. He gets Belko's body from the morgue and arranges for the funeral, scooping Stan and giving him a chance to mock Stan for his life choices. Later, when Stan figures out that Janek used his trucks to move Beau Soleil, he goes after Janek, only to get further humiliated. Janek continues to get his pound of flesh out of Stan.
Three Down
3. Stan Larsen. He's less stupid in this episode, but he's still getting humiliated by Janek. Home life isn't any better, as he's having issues with Tommy and Mitch is still gone. His business appears to be infiltrated by Janek, as the widow of the man he allegedly whacked stops by to tell him he got what he deserved.
2. Tommy Larsen. He's been reluctant to go to school, and when forced to do so he locks his brother in the trunk of the car and loses it with aunt Terri, screaming at her that she's not his mother and to go home. We then learn that he's getting picked on at school and teased about Rosie. This leads Stan to give Tommy his version of the It Gets Better speech by telling Tommy the kids teasing him about Rosie are stupid, and that the next time he's getting pushed around he needs to punch the biggest kid on the bridge of the nose. For Stan, this is a positive parenting step.
1. The Darren Richmond Campaign. Darren plans to end his campaign, losing the will to continue when the mayor comes in and gets to act all supercilious. Jamie is trying to help Darren, both politically and personally, but fails at both when Darren tells him to get a life outside of the campaign and, when Darren says he needs to get out of the hospital, Jamie tries to haul him out of bed but gets crushed by him instead. Finally, Gwen has to go over Darren's morning routine with Jamie, which makes her realize what she's lost by quitting the campaign and moving to DC. It looks like they're going back on the attack next episode, but for now they're about as low as they can be.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men
Three Up
3. Trudy Campbell. She's apparently past her post-partum depression, as she plans a dinner party and even gets Don to show up, much to everyone's surprise (and glee). She makes a gracious hostess, and even has a spot of fun when the kitchen sink blows due to Pete's incorrect, though temporarily successful, repair of a drip (though she was clearly unaware of how Don's quick and more permanent fix would cut Pete off at the testicles). And she even gets to show off the baby!
2. Roger Sterling. After weeks of having nothing to do, Roger gives Lane some unsolicited but useful advice on how to handle a dinner with a new-found friend who intends to bring Jaguar to SCDP as a new account. When Lane can't seal the deal, Roger comes to the fore when the new friend says he wants to have a little fun after a second dinner. Roger's knowledge of a local high-class house of ill repute just about seals the deal... until the friend's wife discovers the next morning that her husband has chewing gum on his nether region. Roger also gets to chew out Ken on his secret writing career, using his past experience as an account exec (and more recent past as a failed author) to tell Ken that if he's doing his job right, he doesn't need the writing. And Roger gets a couple decent one-liners, so a nice week for him, finally.
1. Don Draper. OK, it's a bad sign that Don can't excuse his way out of a dinner party against Trudy Campbell. But when he actually shows he's treated like royalty, as Pete and Ken know it's a big deal that he's there. Don also gets to drink as much as he wants, make Peter look like a boob due to his lack of home repair skills, and have sex with Megan in the car on the way home. Not a bad night. Later, while at the classy whorehouse, Don earns the approbation of the madam when he talks about growing up in one that was much less classy and doesn't stray. He gets to further put Pete in his place by noting that Pete has much to lose if he fools around on Trudy, but mostly gets attitude from Pete, due to the irony of one of advertising's greatest swordsmen giving disapproving looks and advice regarding infidelity. It's kind of a fair cop, but Don saves it by noting that if he'd met Megan first, he would never have gone the way he did.
(Though Megan was probably a gawky Quebecois pre-teen when Don met Betty.)
Three Down
3. Ken Cosgrove. Ken runs into Peggy at the diner near the office, and he's trying to sneak a stranger by her. She browbeats him at the diner and later at the office, and he finally admits that the man works for a publisher, and they were talking about printing a collection of short stories Ken has been writing under an assumed name. Turns out he's now writing sci-fantasy stories. The meeting didn't go well. Later, at Pete's party, we see Don and Megan try to dance around not knowing Ken's wife's name. He does get chewed out by Roger about the writing as the episode is closing (Pete apparently mentioned it to Roger), and he admits to Peggy that his writing career is over. But at the end, we see Ken writing a new story, under a new pen name.
2. Lane Pryce. At the start of the episode Lane is grousing about having to go to a pub to watch soccer with a bunch of ex-pats he doesn't know. Turns out they're going to watch the World Cup final where England defeated Germany, and Lane's mood is much improved. It's here he meets the man who has the Jaguar account to move, and they develop a bit of a friendship. But that takes a serious hit at the dinner where Lane is trying to get information about the account. Turns out Lane doesn't get his friend's hint about finding some fun, which indirectly leads to the loss of the account. Lane is furious about this, and the response of the other partners - laughing, due to the circumstances of the loss - makes him even madder. The one saving grace is that when Pete dismisses Lane as unnecessary, Lane challenges Pete to a fight to avenge the insult. And Lane gives Pete a good pasting, which is always a good thing.
Lane does feel badly about the fight, but manages to make himself feel even worse when he makes a pass at Joan after she brings him some ice. She handles it quite gracefully, giving Lane a little dignity back. Still, not a good week for Lane.
1. Pete Campbell. Nothing goes right for Pete. His kitchen handiwork goes kaboom, and he's upstaged by Don when trying to fix it. He gets his ass kicked by Lane, and has no one in the office to commiserate with (the best he can do is telling Don in an elevator ride that he has nothing, a reference back to their discussion after the whorehouse visit (where Pete indulged, but only when the woman goes all "you're my king" on him). But the worst thing, from Pete's perspective, is that the high school senior he's been chatting up in driver's ed (he's finally getting his license now that he lives in the suburbs) throws him over for some jock who missed the first couple of classes. Pete seems to realize then that he's no longer the young ad exec who can get the girl and succeed in the office. He's marooned in the 'burbs and isolated at work. From his perspective, he really doesn't have anything.
3. Trudy Campbell. She's apparently past her post-partum depression, as she plans a dinner party and even gets Don to show up, much to everyone's surprise (and glee). She makes a gracious hostess, and even has a spot of fun when the kitchen sink blows due to Pete's incorrect, though temporarily successful, repair of a drip (though she was clearly unaware of how Don's quick and more permanent fix would cut Pete off at the testicles). And she even gets to show off the baby!
2. Roger Sterling. After weeks of having nothing to do, Roger gives Lane some unsolicited but useful advice on how to handle a dinner with a new-found friend who intends to bring Jaguar to SCDP as a new account. When Lane can't seal the deal, Roger comes to the fore when the new friend says he wants to have a little fun after a second dinner. Roger's knowledge of a local high-class house of ill repute just about seals the deal... until the friend's wife discovers the next morning that her husband has chewing gum on his nether region. Roger also gets to chew out Ken on his secret writing career, using his past experience as an account exec (and more recent past as a failed author) to tell Ken that if he's doing his job right, he doesn't need the writing. And Roger gets a couple decent one-liners, so a nice week for him, finally.
1. Don Draper. OK, it's a bad sign that Don can't excuse his way out of a dinner party against Trudy Campbell. But when he actually shows he's treated like royalty, as Pete and Ken know it's a big deal that he's there. Don also gets to drink as much as he wants, make Peter look like a boob due to his lack of home repair skills, and have sex with Megan in the car on the way home. Not a bad night. Later, while at the classy whorehouse, Don earns the approbation of the madam when he talks about growing up in one that was much less classy and doesn't stray. He gets to further put Pete in his place by noting that Pete has much to lose if he fools around on Trudy, but mostly gets attitude from Pete, due to the irony of one of advertising's greatest swordsmen giving disapproving looks and advice regarding infidelity. It's kind of a fair cop, but Don saves it by noting that if he'd met Megan first, he would never have gone the way he did.
(Though Megan was probably a gawky Quebecois pre-teen when Don met Betty.)
Three Down
3. Ken Cosgrove. Ken runs into Peggy at the diner near the office, and he's trying to sneak a stranger by her. She browbeats him at the diner and later at the office, and he finally admits that the man works for a publisher, and they were talking about printing a collection of short stories Ken has been writing under an assumed name. Turns out he's now writing sci-fantasy stories. The meeting didn't go well. Later, at Pete's party, we see Don and Megan try to dance around not knowing Ken's wife's name. He does get chewed out by Roger about the writing as the episode is closing (Pete apparently mentioned it to Roger), and he admits to Peggy that his writing career is over. But at the end, we see Ken writing a new story, under a new pen name.
2. Lane Pryce. At the start of the episode Lane is grousing about having to go to a pub to watch soccer with a bunch of ex-pats he doesn't know. Turns out they're going to watch the World Cup final where England defeated Germany, and Lane's mood is much improved. It's here he meets the man who has the Jaguar account to move, and they develop a bit of a friendship. But that takes a serious hit at the dinner where Lane is trying to get information about the account. Turns out Lane doesn't get his friend's hint about finding some fun, which indirectly leads to the loss of the account. Lane is furious about this, and the response of the other partners - laughing, due to the circumstances of the loss - makes him even madder. The one saving grace is that when Pete dismisses Lane as unnecessary, Lane challenges Pete to a fight to avenge the insult. And Lane gives Pete a good pasting, which is always a good thing.
Lane does feel badly about the fight, but manages to make himself feel even worse when he makes a pass at Joan after she brings him some ice. She handles it quite gracefully, giving Lane a little dignity back. Still, not a good week for Lane.
1. Pete Campbell. Nothing goes right for Pete. His kitchen handiwork goes kaboom, and he's upstaged by Don when trying to fix it. He gets his ass kicked by Lane, and has no one in the office to commiserate with (the best he can do is telling Don in an elevator ride that he has nothing, a reference back to their discussion after the whorehouse visit (where Pete indulged, but only when the woman goes all "you're my king" on him). But the worst thing, from Pete's perspective, is that the high school senior he's been chatting up in driver's ed (he's finally getting his license now that he lives in the suburbs) throws him over for some jock who missed the first couple of classes. Pete seems to realize then that he's no longer the young ad exec who can get the girl and succeed in the office. He's marooned in the 'burbs and isolated at work. From his perspective, he really doesn't have anything.
Monday, April 09, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing
Three Up
3. Jack Linden. After getting dragged all over Seattle in the last couple of episodes, he and Sarah have finally landed somewhere they can cook, and he shows some independence as he continues watching a meal Sarah started before getting a work call. He also adds a bit of background to the investigation when he talks about the anime character whose tattoo is on a mystery guy in one of Rosie's movies. He also gets to tweak Sarah when he notes that she bought him the anime book at some point in the past, and that it's full of sex and violence. Nice parenting!
2. Janek Kovarsky. Stan brings the Polish mobster back into the case when he asks him to kill Rosie's killer. Janek manages to get under Stan's skin by making contact with his sons, but then gets Stan back into his graces by providing him with details about Rosie's death that the cops didn't tell Stan. Janek also says that the Beau Soleil thing is a dead end, as they only used Russian women, But we learn later that Janek is involved with Beau Soleil, and may have used Stan's employees to torch the building that housed the Beau Soleil servers just before a warrant was to be executed.
1. Sarah Linden. Not only has she managed to find something that passes for a home for Jack, but she makes some decent progress on the case, between the anime tattoo, the footage that links Larsen's moving company to the Beau Soleil arson, and discovering Holder's double cross with Rosie's backpack. She even manages to talk Holder off of a Seattle highway, apparently restarting their partnership.
Three Down
3. Darren Richmond. He's working hard to get back to normal - he's stopped taking morphine, wants to start rehab immediately, and swears he felt the warmth of the sun on his legs. He's even planning to attend an event at the end of the week to get back into the election, spurred in no small part by a mayoral press conference. But he comes back to earth when a doctor's test leads him to report sensation when he's not being touched, followed by a nurse he's been flirting with being able to change his catheder without him feeling it. When he finally stabs himself with a campaign pin, only to find he doesn't feel it, he realizes the road back to the campaign is much, much longer than he wants.
2. Steven Holder. So much for whatever "up" he had from last week. He's in a downward spiral this entire episode, starting with blowing off a N.A. meeting, followed by having his son reject a ride to school because his mom doesn't want him taking rides from dad. After beating up a dealer and stealing meth from him, Holder has sex with one of the former junkies from his N.A. group and, realizing he's hit bottom, winds up walking out into traffic on a Seattle highway. Linden talks him back in and gives up Rosie's backpack, so hopefully he's going to build back up after coming way down.
1. Stan Larsen. Poor, dumb Stan. He's gone back to Janek for help, not realizing that Janek is going to use Stan to protect his own interests. Stan is also told by Terry that he's incapable of taking care of the boys on his own, which past experience suggests is pretty much true. And it turns out that he likely has Janek-connected arsonists - and perhaps Rosie's actual killer - working for him. And unlike Holder, who seems to have realized what direction he was heading in, Stan seems poised to lumber right into whatever ending Janek has planned for him. Or just randomly doing something stupid that'll put him back in the jug.
On the other hand...
While we were led to believe that Don's evening of infidelity and murder on last night's Mad Men were fever-induced, I do think there's an alternative theory. In this case, Megan came back to the apartment, discovered the dead woman under the bed, and used her lingerie ninja cleaning skills to dispose of the body and remove any evidence of the struggle. She feeds him the fever dream line, he buys into it as most likely, and she keeps her work in reserve for when their marriage inevitably blows up.
Megan could even offer out this service to others, kind of as a French-Canadian Winston Wolfe. I'd suggest she contact Joan Harris, but it looks like the Viet Cong is going to take care of her problem.
Megan could even offer out this service to others, kind of as a French-Canadian Winston Wolfe. I'd suggest she contact Joan Harris, but it looks like the Viet Cong is going to take care of her problem.
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men
Three Up
3. Michael Ginsburg. He shows his genius during a pitch to a shoe company, but almost blows it when he goes into a long discourse about the darkness of the Cinderella story, which results in the company keeping SCDP on but changing the campaign from what was presented to the Cinderella thing, which Don doesn't like as it's cliche. Don dresses down Michael afterwards, and Ken has to clue Michael in on the fact that he almost got fired, but all in all Michael gets to show his creative genius in a couple of different ways. He just needs to learn when to turn it off.
2. Sally Draper. She's stuck with her step-grandmother while Betty and Henry are stranded due to an airplane mechanics strike. She doesn't like her discipline (which isn't all that bad, really), and wants her to tell her about the Chicago nurse killings that are all over the papers, but grandma refuses. When Sally sneaks the paper into bed she freaks out and can't sleep until given one of grandmother's little helpers. She's still zonked under the couch when Betty and Henry return. Nice to see Sally forge some sort of maternally-based relationship, even if does include serial killing and abusing prescription drugs. That is actually a step up from Betty's approach.
1. Don Draper. He starts off the episode with a cold, which kind of sucks, but he then he runs into a freelancer that he had an affair with and she's clearly interested in restarting a relationship, to to extent that she finds out where he lives. She goads him into having sex, and when she suggests their affair will continue, regardless of Don't protestations, he strangles her. But wait! It appears that the entire sequence with her (after their initial meeting) was some sort of fever dream, and when Megan says she was worried about him for being sick, his reply that she has nothing to worry about goes deeper than she knows. It's an odd kind of win, but given how widely he played the field when married to Betty, it's a win.
Three Down
3. Roger Sterling. The anti-roll continues for Roger, as he completely forgets to put Michael on to some emergency work for Mohawk, who is unaffected by the strike and picking up more business covering for other airlines. So he has to buy off Peggy to do the work (she gets $400 out of him, thanks in no small part to the liquid courage coursing through her veins). He's worse with almost nothing to do than he was when he actually had nothing to do.
2. Peggy Olsen. She starts off on a roll getting the $400 off of Roger, and then builds on it when she finds Dawn sleeping in an office (it was too late to get the subway home, and cabs won't go into her neighborhood). Peggy invites Dawn to stay the night, and they have an interesting conversation about being different in the office, and everything goes well... until Peggy take a too-long look at her purse before going to bed, giving Dawn the obvious cue that Peggy has some concern that Dawn will steal from her. Dawn is gone before Peggy gets up, leaving her alone with her unexpected racism.
1. Joan Harris. Glenn is home from Vietnam, but the happy return is short-lived, cut off when he announces that he has to go back in 10 days and do a year-long tour. Joan is upset by the news but is working through it when she learns from her mother in law that Glenn volunteered to return. When arguing about it afterwards, Glenn notes that he's needed in Vietnam, where he gets to command a number of doctors and other medical personnel. With the suggestion that his family isn't enough, Joan says he's free to go - right now. Glenn threatens to never return if he walks out the door now, to which Joan just shrugs. He goes, and she knows it's over (and will be permanently when he is inevitably killed over there). She puts on a strong face, and even gets to bring up his rape of her during their fight, but in the end, in bed with her mom and Kevin, it's clear she's unsure if she's up for single motherhood.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing
Not sure how well this concept is going to work for this show, which so rarely has three characters you could define as "up." But I'll do the best I can.
Three Up
3. Jamie Wright. In the wake of Richmond's shooting he manages to keep the campaign going and even gets to take a swing at one of the mayor's aides. He's doing his best to keep everything together. Still, he's not very up given how things are working out.
2. Stephen Holder. As cocky as he is for making the Richmond collar and getting promoted to homicide, he quickly figures out that things don't add up in the Larsen case, especially when the sudden appearance of Rosie's backpack outside of the Larsen house doesn't prompt significant inquiry. He then reasserts his badass self by taking the backpack, though what he'll do with it is up to question as he's been told that he was basically set up to steer the case towards Richmond.
1. Sarah Linden. She's the first to twig on to the idea that there's some sort of conspiracy at play, and makes quick connections to Holder's former boss in Narcotics and a representative of the mayor. She also pieces together some information from Gwen to check out Richmond's favored kayaking area. Still, for the new progress she has no idea who to trust or even if she and Jack are safe. Her personal life is certainly not at the top of the positive scale.
Three Down
3. The Larsen family. You could probably populate this entire section with Larsens. Stan has seen Mitch walk and his right hand man kill himself. The boys are feeling the absence of their mother keenly, and don't even feel safe in their own home. And Terry has to move in after whoever was paying her rent cuts her off, though she covers by taking a maternal role.
2, Belko Royce. He's got one dead (his mom) and one gravely injured (Richmond), and when he tells Stan that he shot Richmond for Stan and Rosie, Stan's sad, pitying looks tells Belko he's lost the trust of the man he looks up to the most. That, coupled with the fact that he's not going home soon, despite Holder's comments to the contrary, leads Belko to grab a cop's gun and kill himself.
1. Darren Richmond. He's been shot, paralyzed, will have a colostomy bag for the rest of his life, and to top it all off, Linden has figured out what Richmond was doing the night of Rosie's murder - trying to kill himself due to the guilt he feels over his wife's death. So while he's been cleared, he now has to live with the aftermath of his shooting and the potential of his suicide attempt going public.
Three Up
3. Jamie Wright. In the wake of Richmond's shooting he manages to keep the campaign going and even gets to take a swing at one of the mayor's aides. He's doing his best to keep everything together. Still, he's not very up given how things are working out.
2. Stephen Holder. As cocky as he is for making the Richmond collar and getting promoted to homicide, he quickly figures out that things don't add up in the Larsen case, especially when the sudden appearance of Rosie's backpack outside of the Larsen house doesn't prompt significant inquiry. He then reasserts his badass self by taking the backpack, though what he'll do with it is up to question as he's been told that he was basically set up to steer the case towards Richmond.
1. Sarah Linden. She's the first to twig on to the idea that there's some sort of conspiracy at play, and makes quick connections to Holder's former boss in Narcotics and a representative of the mayor. She also pieces together some information from Gwen to check out Richmond's favored kayaking area. Still, for the new progress she has no idea who to trust or even if she and Jack are safe. Her personal life is certainly not at the top of the positive scale.
Three Down
3. The Larsen family. You could probably populate this entire section with Larsens. Stan has seen Mitch walk and his right hand man kill himself. The boys are feeling the absence of their mother keenly, and don't even feel safe in their own home. And Terry has to move in after whoever was paying her rent cuts her off, though she covers by taking a maternal role.
2, Belko Royce. He's got one dead (his mom) and one gravely injured (Richmond), and when he tells Stan that he shot Richmond for Stan and Rosie, Stan's sad, pitying looks tells Belko he's lost the trust of the man he looks up to the most. That, coupled with the fact that he's not going home soon, despite Holder's comments to the contrary, leads Belko to grab a cop's gun and kill himself.
1. Darren Richmond. He's been shot, paralyzed, will have a colostomy bag for the rest of his life, and to top it all off, Linden has figured out what Richmond was doing the night of Rosie's murder - trying to kill himself due to the guilt he feels over his wife's death. So while he's been cleared, he now has to live with the aftermath of his shooting and the potential of his suicide attempt going public.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men
Three Up
3. Don Draper. In tonight's episode, he got to learn that Betty called him about her malady and didn't tell her husband, got to mess with a teenage girl's head and mock Harry Crane when trying to sign the Rolling Stones to do a Heinz ad, is still married to Megan, and didn't have to do any actual work. Not a bad outing. He also has the result of the firm's EOE "ad" working for him. She's named Dawn, which kind of cracks people up.
2. Michael Ginsberg. He's the newest copywriter at SCDP, brought in to work the Mowhawk account. His initial meeting with Peggy doesn't go well - he's spends most of it channeling Woody Allen, but with more crazy. He almost talks himself out of meeting Don, but has a good enough portfolio for Peggy to give him a chance to meet Don. In that meeting, Michael is normal, almost charming, or at least is when Peggy lets him talk (as she keeps interrupting to hold off his neuroses). He also lives with his (I'm assuming) widowed dad, who sings what I assume is a Hebrew blessing over his son when told he got the job. I think I'm going to like these two.
1. Pete Campbell. The episode doesn't start well for him - Roger moved a meeting regarding Mohawk out of Pete's new office and into his own - but Pete gets the last laugh when he assembles the SCDP staff to announce Mohawk's return. That he gets to do so and intimate that Roger will be working under him on the account is icing on the cake.
Three Down
3. Harry Crane. He accompanies Don to sign the Rolling Stones, and gets in to see them. He even gets them to sign on to sing an ad for Heinz. Except that the group he actually signs are The Tradewinds. This might not be such a bad deal in a decade, as it looks like they'll become the band Styx (assuming Wikipedia is right about their early years and I'm making the correct logical leap). Crane then pounds sliders (he's got the munchies after smoking a joint with a teenaged girl) and complains about not getting food when he brings dinner home for the family. Don gets to mock some more, but more gently than last week. Pretty much the usual sad sack Harry as usual.
2. Roger Sterling. He's all set to handle the Mohawk account and even have his own creative staffer to handle the writing, but then gets presented as the "day to day" guy on the account by Pete. This makes him feel even more ineffectual than usual, as he notes to Don over a drink. I do like that these two are friends (of a sort) again. Don better get used to hearing this type of complaint, though.
1. Betty Francis. Betty has gained a significant amount of weight since we last left her, and it's due to something she's carrying. Sadly for her, it's not a baby. It's a lump on her thyroid, which is discovered when she goes to get a prescription for diet pills at the suggestion of her mother in law. Thankfully, the lump is benign, but this does suggest that her weight gain is psychological. From the last scene, where she's sharing ice cream sundaes with Sally, it seems that food is the lone place she's finding happiness in her current situation, even though Henry clearly loves her. Henry also learns of her call to Don from Don, when he calls to check up on her diagnosis. That's probably mitigating some of those feelings.
3. Don Draper. In tonight's episode, he got to learn that Betty called him about her malady and didn't tell her husband, got to mess with a teenage girl's head and mock Harry Crane when trying to sign the Rolling Stones to do a Heinz ad, is still married to Megan, and didn't have to do any actual work. Not a bad outing. He also has the result of the firm's EOE "ad" working for him. She's named Dawn, which kind of cracks people up.
2. Michael Ginsberg. He's the newest copywriter at SCDP, brought in to work the Mowhawk account. His initial meeting with Peggy doesn't go well - he's spends most of it channeling Woody Allen, but with more crazy. He almost talks himself out of meeting Don, but has a good enough portfolio for Peggy to give him a chance to meet Don. In that meeting, Michael is normal, almost charming, or at least is when Peggy lets him talk (as she keeps interrupting to hold off his neuroses). He also lives with his (I'm assuming) widowed dad, who sings what I assume is a Hebrew blessing over his son when told he got the job. I think I'm going to like these two.
1. Pete Campbell. The episode doesn't start well for him - Roger moved a meeting regarding Mohawk out of Pete's new office and into his own - but Pete gets the last laugh when he assembles the SCDP staff to announce Mohawk's return. That he gets to do so and intimate that Roger will be working under him on the account is icing on the cake.
Three Down
3. Harry Crane. He accompanies Don to sign the Rolling Stones, and gets in to see them. He even gets them to sign on to sing an ad for Heinz. Except that the group he actually signs are The Tradewinds. This might not be such a bad deal in a decade, as it looks like they'll become the band Styx (assuming Wikipedia is right about their early years and I'm making the correct logical leap). Crane then pounds sliders (he's got the munchies after smoking a joint with a teenaged girl) and complains about not getting food when he brings dinner home for the family. Don gets to mock some more, but more gently than last week. Pretty much the usual sad sack Harry as usual.
2. Roger Sterling. He's all set to handle the Mohawk account and even have his own creative staffer to handle the writing, but then gets presented as the "day to day" guy on the account by Pete. This makes him feel even more ineffectual than usual, as he notes to Don over a drink. I do like that these two are friends (of a sort) again. Don better get used to hearing this type of complaint, though.
1. Betty Francis. Betty has gained a significant amount of weight since we last left her, and it's due to something she's carrying. Sadly for her, it's not a baby. It's a lump on her thyroid, which is discovered when she goes to get a prescription for diet pills at the suggestion of her mother in law. Thankfully, the lump is benign, but this does suggest that her weight gain is psychological. From the last scene, where she's sharing ice cream sundaes with Sally, it seems that food is the lone place she's finding happiness in her current situation, even though Henry clearly loves her. Henry also learns of her call to Don from Don, when he calls to check up on her diagnosis. That's probably mitigating some of those feelings.
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