Three Up
1. Joan Harris. The episode opens with Richard telling Joan that her life is undeveloped real estate, and in time (and after a lunch with Ken Cosgrove), she finds something she wants to develop - a film production company, doing industrial films for Dow to start. She offers a partnership to Peggy, who declines, but Joan presses on. Her desire to build something of her own winds up driving Richard away. It's the crowning moment for Joan in the series, really, as she finally has true independence. And Kevin is also now getting part of Roger's estate when he dies, so he's even secure.
2. Peggy Olsen and Stan Rizzo. They're both staying at McCann, but in talking over Joan's offer to Peggy, and Peggy insulting Stan, they learn in their make-up phone call that they're in love with each other. There will be fans that will hate this, but it's the sort of professional and personal synthesis that kind of makes sense for someone as driven as Peggy. And Stan hanging up the phone while Peggy was talking to run up to her office was too cute.
3. Don Draper. Don starts the episode in Utah test driving cars, and now looks every bit a Whitman with his plaid shirts, jeans, and (relatively) untamed hair. He finally learns that Betty is sick, and calls her to say he's coming home, but she (and Sally before her) tell him to keep his distance. This leads him to California, and to Anna's niece Stephanie, where he's looking to crash a bit before heading back. But Stephanie takes him to some sort of New Age retreat up north, which eventually leads to him breaking down after calling Peggy to say goodbye. He's completely adrift until, in one session, he listens to an office worker talk about how he feels unloved and ignored. It's a cathartic moment for Don, as the troubles of this guy put his own issues in perspective. It also apparently leads Don to realize that the best solution for his issues is the one he used before: reinvention. The episode closes with Don in a meditation group, chanting om and smiling. He's at peace and one with the universe, the yin to New York Don's yang.
Honorable Mention: Roger Sterling and Marie Calvet. Marie has left Emile and come to New York, but she and Roger get in a fight because Marie thinks Roger will eventually throw her over. He responds by marrying her and apparently moving to Canada. They seem very happy in the last scene we see them in. As Joan noted, the timing finally worked out.
Three Down
1. Sally Draper. Sally breaks the news about Betty to Don, and then has to make the argument that it's better that he not come back to assert his fatherhood. She thinks it would be too much for Bobby and Gene, and that living with their uncle and aunt would be more stable. She makes no argument about herself, already assuming the mantle of adulthood. She later assumes a maternal role when she comes home to check in on everyone, and finds out that Bobby already knows (he overheard the fights between Betty and Henry). Sally cooks them dinner (Bobby tried but failed), and is still home washing dishes in the last scene we see her in, Betty sitting at the kitchen table and smoking. Welcome to adulthood.
2. Richard Burghoff. For all of Richard's talk about Joan's ability to do whatever she wants, Richard really wants Joan to be with him and not tied down. Her new business will tie her down, and he knows that, so he calls it off before things get ugly. Which is a wise move, but giving up Joan is a mistake.
3. Stephanie Horton. When Don arrives on her doorstep she assumes her folks sent him over to cause trouble over her son, who is being raised by the father's parents. Once they straighten out that Don is there simply because he wanted to check in, she invites him to the retreat. Which she leaves after people in a group session judge her on not wanting to be with her son. She leaves the retreat, going back into the world with the same baggage and problems as before. On the plus side, her conversation with Don before she leaves helps him, I think, as he talks with her about reinvention, potentially getting him to realize that starting over will be best for him.
Honorable Mention: Meredith. She gets canned once McCann realizes that Roger has been using her in addition to Caroline. She's still perky about her chances, agreeing with Roger that she'll land on her feet. Hopefully with a translation service in need of a pig Latin expert.
Showing posts with label AMC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AMC. Show all posts
Monday, May 18, 2015
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Milk and Honey Route"
Three Up
1. Pete Campbell. Pete runs into Duck in the elevator at McCann, and it turns into Duck talking Pete into meeting with an executive from a private jet service. This is actually Duck trying to get Pete into a senior position with the company, which Pete turns down because he's happy at McCann. At least he is until Duck is able to work the company into an offer that matches what Pete would get from McCann. Pete rushes to Trudy with the news, proposing that they all move to Wichita and resume family life, which Trudy accepts.
2. Don Draper. Don is still on his road trip, keeping tabs with the kids and enjoying not being at McCann. His car breaks down somewhere in Oklahoma, and he's stuck there for nearly a week before it can get fixed. He gets in good with some of the locals, enough to get invited to a social for veterans (which is actually a fundraiser, at which he is able to admit that he caused his CO's death). Don later takes a phone book to the face a few times when he's suspected of stealing the fundraiser proceeds (the locals know he has money, and seem to think this is how he gets it). Turns out the thief is the handyman at the motel, and Don gets him to return the money, and gives him a quick lesson on being a con man and the negative aspect of living under a false name. Don gives the kid a ride to the bus station, but then gives the kid his car. The episode ends with Don sitting at the bus stop, huge grin on his face. He's gotten rid the last physical reminder of his New York life and is apparently looking forward to letting Greyhound do the driving.
3. Duck Phillips. Duck gets to eat for the rest of the year! Nice bit of work maneuvering Pete into the new job, maybe not so nice that he's apparently back on the sauce. Probably too much to ask that we'll have one more great drunk Duck scene.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. For all the great backbone that Trudy's shown as a divorcee in the suburbs, it turns out that she's spent the last couple of years waiting for Pete to come back and declare his love for her. She's not forgotten what he's done, but she seems amenable to moving on. Which I'm not sure I'm happy about, but it'd be nice to have a happy Trudy back, even if we don't get to see it.
Three Down
1. Betty Francis. HOLY CRAP BETTY HAS TERMINAL CANCER. A fall at school leads to the discovery that she's got lung cancer that's spread to bones and lymph nodes, and could have a year if she submits to various treatments. She's not going to do this, much to Henry's dismay. Betty asks Henry to not tell the kids until she figures out how she wants to do it, so of course he goes and tells Sally. This leads to Sally coming home, ostensibly to talk Betty into treatment, but Betty gives Sally a pretty good explanation about knowing when something is over, and how fighting that is generally not worth the trouble. This is easily the most adult thing we've ever seen Betty do.
Also, between Anna and Betty, Megan should use some of the million that Don gave her to get regular cancer screenings. Being Mrs. Don Draper is apparently carcinogenic.
2. Sally Draper. Sally is apparently going to be the responsible adult when it comes to Betty's death, as Betty gives Sally postmortem instructions, noting that Henry isn't going to be any use once it happens. So Sally is going to have to deal with helping him through as well. She can't even tell her brothers what's going on, and doesn't have a way to tell Don until he calls again. So she's carrying this on her own, at least for now. And she has to sell her field hockey equipment, what a drag.
3. Henry Francis. When Henry breaks down after telling Sally about Betty, it's the first and best clue that Betty's assessment is correct. He's also in pretty heavy denial, doing research into oncologists and telling Betty that she's always been lucky. He is going to make a horrible widower.
Honorable Mention: Al Bettendorf. The drunk vet burns down his kitchen, and then beats up a stranger who he thinks stole the money raised to fix it. Wonder who he'll beat up next year when they have to have another fundraiser to rebuild whatever he burns down next.
1. Pete Campbell. Pete runs into Duck in the elevator at McCann, and it turns into Duck talking Pete into meeting with an executive from a private jet service. This is actually Duck trying to get Pete into a senior position with the company, which Pete turns down because he's happy at McCann. At least he is until Duck is able to work the company into an offer that matches what Pete would get from McCann. Pete rushes to Trudy with the news, proposing that they all move to Wichita and resume family life, which Trudy accepts.
2. Don Draper. Don is still on his road trip, keeping tabs with the kids and enjoying not being at McCann. His car breaks down somewhere in Oklahoma, and he's stuck there for nearly a week before it can get fixed. He gets in good with some of the locals, enough to get invited to a social for veterans (which is actually a fundraiser, at which he is able to admit that he caused his CO's death). Don later takes a phone book to the face a few times when he's suspected of stealing the fundraiser proceeds (the locals know he has money, and seem to think this is how he gets it). Turns out the thief is the handyman at the motel, and Don gets him to return the money, and gives him a quick lesson on being a con man and the negative aspect of living under a false name. Don gives the kid a ride to the bus station, but then gives the kid his car. The episode ends with Don sitting at the bus stop, huge grin on his face. He's gotten rid the last physical reminder of his New York life and is apparently looking forward to letting Greyhound do the driving.
3. Duck Phillips. Duck gets to eat for the rest of the year! Nice bit of work maneuvering Pete into the new job, maybe not so nice that he's apparently back on the sauce. Probably too much to ask that we'll have one more great drunk Duck scene.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. For all the great backbone that Trudy's shown as a divorcee in the suburbs, it turns out that she's spent the last couple of years waiting for Pete to come back and declare his love for her. She's not forgotten what he's done, but she seems amenable to moving on. Which I'm not sure I'm happy about, but it'd be nice to have a happy Trudy back, even if we don't get to see it.
Three Down
1. Betty Francis. HOLY CRAP BETTY HAS TERMINAL CANCER. A fall at school leads to the discovery that she's got lung cancer that's spread to bones and lymph nodes, and could have a year if she submits to various treatments. She's not going to do this, much to Henry's dismay. Betty asks Henry to not tell the kids until she figures out how she wants to do it, so of course he goes and tells Sally. This leads to Sally coming home, ostensibly to talk Betty into treatment, but Betty gives Sally a pretty good explanation about knowing when something is over, and how fighting that is generally not worth the trouble. This is easily the most adult thing we've ever seen Betty do.
Also, between Anna and Betty, Megan should use some of the million that Don gave her to get regular cancer screenings. Being Mrs. Don Draper is apparently carcinogenic.
2. Sally Draper. Sally is apparently going to be the responsible adult when it comes to Betty's death, as Betty gives Sally postmortem instructions, noting that Henry isn't going to be any use once it happens. So Sally is going to have to deal with helping him through as well. She can't even tell her brothers what's going on, and doesn't have a way to tell Don until he calls again. So she's carrying this on her own, at least for now. And she has to sell her field hockey equipment, what a drag.
3. Henry Francis. When Henry breaks down after telling Sally about Betty, it's the first and best clue that Betty's assessment is correct. He's also in pretty heavy denial, doing research into oncologists and telling Betty that she's always been lucky. He is going to make a horrible widower.
Honorable Mention: Al Bettendorf. The drunk vet burns down his kitchen, and then beats up a stranger who he thinks stole the money raised to fix it. Wonder who he'll beat up next year when they have to have another fundraiser to rebuild whatever he burns down next.
Sunday, May 03, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Lost Horizon"
Three Up
1. Pete Campbell. We see very little of Pete in this episode, but it seems clear that Pete is the one SC&P partner who is really fitting in at McCann (Ted seems OK too, but maybe not to the same level as Pete). He kind of wins by default given how things go for everyone else.
2. Peggy Olson. She's having a rough start at McCann, as her office isn't ready and her boxes get sent back to SC&P. She keeps working at the old office, and discovers that Roger is still hanging around. They spend the second half of the episode getting drunk, but they do talk enough that Peggy, when she finally shows up at McCann, comes in with confidence.
3. Betty Francis. Also a short appearance, but kind of a sweet one with Don involving Sally and Betty's return to school. She's doing what she says she's always wanted to do, and Don is genuinely happy for her.
Honorable Mention: Roger Sterling. He's still processing the move and his role in it, but his drinking with Peggy helps him to see how the move might just be the kick in the pants he needs. Not sure he'll fit in at McCann, but he does help Joan make an important decision.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. Things are going just as expected for Joan at McCann. No one takes her seriously, and she's unlikely to get any more accounts than those she brought over. She's also being saddled with a McCann exec, who more or less expect that she's going to be arm candy - or more. This leads to a tense meeting with Jim Hobart, who offers Joan half of what she's due to disappear. She threatens a lawsuit involving the EEOC and ACLU, but eventually takes the deal. She's equal parts furious, embarrassed and sad, but in the long run this may be the best for her. Especially if this frees her up to finally be happy in her personal life.
2. Don Draper. Don appears to be settling in reasonably well, and Jim Hobart is clearly smitten. Accounts are lining up for Don, including a return to Hilton and a new account with Miller beer that McCann more or less got specifically for Don. But he's clearly not all the way there, and when the first Miller meeting mentions Wisconsin, Don thinks of Diana and how she's apparently returned home. This leads Don to leave the meeting and, eventually, drive to Racine to find her. He doesn't, but does meet her ex-husband, who wants nothing to do with Diana or Don. Don is now fully adrift, and has apparently decided to keep going westward.
3. Jim Hobart. He's landed his "white whale" in Don, but his happiness in finally bringing SC&P in is short-lived. Don goes AWOL, Joan threatens a lawsuit which leads to a buyout, and Roger, when he finally shows up, is less of an ally than expected. Maybe Jim should have stayed in the Bahamas.
Honorable Mention: Ferg Donnelly. No happy fun time with Joan in Atlanta. Which is possibly a good thing for him, as Joan's new man would likely have him disappeared by one of those guys he occasionally calls.
1. Pete Campbell. We see very little of Pete in this episode, but it seems clear that Pete is the one SC&P partner who is really fitting in at McCann (Ted seems OK too, but maybe not to the same level as Pete). He kind of wins by default given how things go for everyone else.
2. Peggy Olson. She's having a rough start at McCann, as her office isn't ready and her boxes get sent back to SC&P. She keeps working at the old office, and discovers that Roger is still hanging around. They spend the second half of the episode getting drunk, but they do talk enough that Peggy, when she finally shows up at McCann, comes in with confidence.
3. Betty Francis. Also a short appearance, but kind of a sweet one with Don involving Sally and Betty's return to school. She's doing what she says she's always wanted to do, and Don is genuinely happy for her.
Honorable Mention: Roger Sterling. He's still processing the move and his role in it, but his drinking with Peggy helps him to see how the move might just be the kick in the pants he needs. Not sure he'll fit in at McCann, but he does help Joan make an important decision.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. Things are going just as expected for Joan at McCann. No one takes her seriously, and she's unlikely to get any more accounts than those she brought over. She's also being saddled with a McCann exec, who more or less expect that she's going to be arm candy - or more. This leads to a tense meeting with Jim Hobart, who offers Joan half of what she's due to disappear. She threatens a lawsuit involving the EEOC and ACLU, but eventually takes the deal. She's equal parts furious, embarrassed and sad, but in the long run this may be the best for her. Especially if this frees her up to finally be happy in her personal life.
2. Don Draper. Don appears to be settling in reasonably well, and Jim Hobart is clearly smitten. Accounts are lining up for Don, including a return to Hilton and a new account with Miller beer that McCann more or less got specifically for Don. But he's clearly not all the way there, and when the first Miller meeting mentions Wisconsin, Don thinks of Diana and how she's apparently returned home. This leads Don to leave the meeting and, eventually, drive to Racine to find her. He doesn't, but does meet her ex-husband, who wants nothing to do with Diana or Don. Don is now fully adrift, and has apparently decided to keep going westward.
3. Jim Hobart. He's landed his "white whale" in Don, but his happiness in finally bringing SC&P in is short-lived. Don goes AWOL, Joan threatens a lawsuit which leads to a buyout, and Roger, when he finally shows up, is less of an ally than expected. Maybe Jim should have stayed in the Bahamas.
Honorable Mention: Ferg Donnelly. No happy fun time with Joan in Atlanta. Which is possibly a good thing for him, as Joan's new man would likely have him disappeared by one of those guys he occasionally calls.
Monday, April 27, 2015
What About Don?
I have to admit to having second thoughts about not including Don Draper in the most recent Three Up, Three Down. It was not a good episode for him, from the aborted pitch to McCann about keeping SC&P West running to not being able to find Diana to his inability to pitch the folding into McCann as a new beginning to the SC&P staff. As has been the case for this half season, Don is losing parts of him at every turn, to the point where all he has is his assumed name.
But I left him off because the four people had arguably worse episodes. Joan, whose position as an executive has always been shaky, is going to get sidelined at McCann. Peggy has to go to McCann if she wants the sort of career success she's already identified as what she wants (all while keeping the stress of giving up her son under the surface). Roger is facing mortality even more squarely than usual, with the Sterling name now, as he notes, ultimately only naming the family crypt. And Trudy Campbell is facing parts of all of these issues, being a single divorced mom who knows that, soon, the husbands who keep sniffing around will stop doing so.
So as much as this episode continued Don's decline, I don't think it did so in a way that made things as measurably bad for him as the episode did for others. I do think Don's the one character in this group who is least likely to find the new beginning that he tried to sell to his SC&P colleagues. Unless he decides to head west on his own to take over the SC&P West space (maybe with Joan in tow if she decides to marry her new beau?).
But I left him off because the four people had arguably worse episodes. Joan, whose position as an executive has always been shaky, is going to get sidelined at McCann. Peggy has to go to McCann if she wants the sort of career success she's already identified as what she wants (all while keeping the stress of giving up her son under the surface). Roger is facing mortality even more squarely than usual, with the Sterling name now, as he notes, ultimately only naming the family crypt. And Trudy Campbell is facing parts of all of these issues, being a single divorced mom who knows that, soon, the husbands who keep sniffing around will stop doing so.
So as much as this episode continued Don's decline, I don't think it did so in a way that made things as measurably bad for him as the episode did for others. I do think Don's the one character in this group who is least likely to find the new beginning that he tried to sell to his SC&P colleagues. Unless he decides to head west on his own to take over the SC&P West space (maybe with Joan in tow if she decides to marry her new beau?).
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Time & Life"
Three Up
1. Pete Campbell. OK, it feels very odd to put Pete here, especially as his role in this last half of the season has been minimal, but for once he has an episode where he's (mostly) not a schmuck. He works gamely to keep Dow Chemical, even when Ken is clearly jerking them around. He stands up for both his wife and daughter in regards to day school admissions (he even gets to settle a score related to an ancient clan feud). And after the meeting where McCann says the absorbsion of SC&P is a done deal, he even has a good moment with Joan. He also gives Peggy a head's up on the move to McCann, which is also surprisingly chivalrous.
2. Lou Avery. He had to go overseas to do it, but Lou finally found someone interested in turning Scout's Honor into a cartoon. He's moving to Tokyo and working with the same studio that did Speed Racer. Roger is probably right that the Japanese will eat Lou alive, but for now Lou is pretty happy with himself - especially as he got to deliver the news to Don in typical asshole fashion.
3. Ted Chaough. Ted's happy with the move to McCann, as it means he'll stay in New York and get to work on the pharmaceutical account he's always wanted (assuming Jim Hobart isn't full of it), and not have to be in a leadership role. He'll also get to work on his new relationship with a woman he knew in college.
Honorable Mention: McCann-Erickson. Folding SC&P was pretty much always in the cards, you'd have to think. The only down side is that they'll have to cut loose some conflicting accounts, which they'll likely make up elsewhere.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. The folding is going to be especially hard for Joan, given how poorly they've treated her to date. She's also the only partner to whom Jim Hobart doesn't mention a specific, high-level account. She's going to be sidelined at McCann, and will be lucky to even keep Avon. The only bright side to this is that her new beau is dropping everything to come to New York to help Joan through the difficulties.
2. Peggy Olson. On the personal front, a casting call with children brings up tough memories for Peggy, which leads her to tell Stan about her son. She makes the argument that women should be able to move on from giving up a child just like men, but may not completely believe her own argument. Professionally, Peggy meets with a headhunter to see what her options are, and he suggests staying with McCann. Three years and she'll be able to write her ticket. But she's ambivalent about staying given that her treatment by the McCann execs. In the end she decides to stick with McCann and forward her career.
3. Roger Sterling. As one of the prime movers of the McCann deal, Roger feels pretty guilty about what's happening, and that he's pretty much powerless to stop it. When the announcement is made to the SC&P staff, Roger is unable to hold the audience, which dissolves into several small conversations before the staff walks off on their own. Roger also has to admit to Don that he's in a relationship with Marie and explain why he'd not mentioned it previously.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. The issues with Tammy not getting into Greenwich Country Day, outside of the ancient MacDonald-Campbell feud, mostly lie with Trudy. Trudy didn't submit applications to other schools, which struck the headmaster at GCD as arrogant. Trudy also didn't share all of the information about Trudy's rejection with Pete (low test scores, for example). Trudy also is having larger issues living in the suburbs as a divorced mom - the husbands won't stop pestering her, and she fears that in 10 years no one will want to pester her.
1. Pete Campbell. OK, it feels very odd to put Pete here, especially as his role in this last half of the season has been minimal, but for once he has an episode where he's (mostly) not a schmuck. He works gamely to keep Dow Chemical, even when Ken is clearly jerking them around. He stands up for both his wife and daughter in regards to day school admissions (he even gets to settle a score related to an ancient clan feud). And after the meeting where McCann says the absorbsion of SC&P is a done deal, he even has a good moment with Joan. He also gives Peggy a head's up on the move to McCann, which is also surprisingly chivalrous.
2. Lou Avery. He had to go overseas to do it, but Lou finally found someone interested in turning Scout's Honor into a cartoon. He's moving to Tokyo and working with the same studio that did Speed Racer. Roger is probably right that the Japanese will eat Lou alive, but for now Lou is pretty happy with himself - especially as he got to deliver the news to Don in typical asshole fashion.
3. Ted Chaough. Ted's happy with the move to McCann, as it means he'll stay in New York and get to work on the pharmaceutical account he's always wanted (assuming Jim Hobart isn't full of it), and not have to be in a leadership role. He'll also get to work on his new relationship with a woman he knew in college.
Honorable Mention: McCann-Erickson. Folding SC&P was pretty much always in the cards, you'd have to think. The only down side is that they'll have to cut loose some conflicting accounts, which they'll likely make up elsewhere.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. The folding is going to be especially hard for Joan, given how poorly they've treated her to date. She's also the only partner to whom Jim Hobart doesn't mention a specific, high-level account. She's going to be sidelined at McCann, and will be lucky to even keep Avon. The only bright side to this is that her new beau is dropping everything to come to New York to help Joan through the difficulties.
2. Peggy Olson. On the personal front, a casting call with children brings up tough memories for Peggy, which leads her to tell Stan about her son. She makes the argument that women should be able to move on from giving up a child just like men, but may not completely believe her own argument. Professionally, Peggy meets with a headhunter to see what her options are, and he suggests staying with McCann. Three years and she'll be able to write her ticket. But she's ambivalent about staying given that her treatment by the McCann execs. In the end she decides to stick with McCann and forward her career.
3. Roger Sterling. As one of the prime movers of the McCann deal, Roger feels pretty guilty about what's happening, and that he's pretty much powerless to stop it. When the announcement is made to the SC&P staff, Roger is unable to hold the audience, which dissolves into several small conversations before the staff walks off on their own. Roger also has to admit to Don that he's in a relationship with Marie and explain why he'd not mentioned it previously.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. The issues with Tammy not getting into Greenwich Country Day, outside of the ancient MacDonald-Campbell feud, mostly lie with Trudy. Trudy didn't submit applications to other schools, which struck the headmaster at GCD as arrogant. Trudy also didn't share all of the information about Trudy's rejection with Pete (low test scores, for example). Trudy also is having larger issues living in the suburbs as a divorced mom - the husbands won't stop pestering her, and she fears that in 10 years no one will want to pester her.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Forecast"
Three Up
1. Joan Harris. Joan gets sent out to LA to help interview new staff, and manages to meet a nice, older gentleman, a retired developer named Richard Bergoff who got lost while looking for his eye doctor. They hit it off immediately, to the extent that Richard follows Joan back to New York. Their courtship hits a bump when Joan admits to having a young son. Richard, who has grown kids, admits that he doesn't want to start over and be tied down. This leads Joan to decide to send Kevin away so she can choose love. Thankfully, Richard has decides he wants to be in Joan's life, including her son.
2. Betty Francis. Betty has some reasonable parenting moments, between a talk with Sally about a teen tour she's going on and confiscating a toy gun from Bobby in return for letting him watch the Brady Bunch. Her best moments are with the now grown Glen Bishop. They still have their weird energy, and Betty has to rebuff a pass from Glen, but she's very good with him as he admits to why he enlisted in the Army. Even if she might not believe the positive outlook she keeps spinning to Glen.
3. Peggy Olson. There's not a ton of Peggy in the episode, but what she is in she's nicely assertive. She gets to tell Pete off when he tries to get one of her people fired, while she calls Don on his BS when he mocks her answers as to what she wants for herself in the future. She's never been more confident or fun to watch.
Honorable Mention: Melanie. Don's real estate agent is having trouble selling his place - too empty and in need of new carpets - and while Don tries to tell her that she can find a different way to sell the place, she cuts close to the quick when she says the apartment looks like it's home to a sad person. She's more right than she knows. As a bonus to using Don's apartment to describe him, she also manages to sell the place. It's a win-win! Double her commission.
Three Down
1. Glen Bishop. Glen stops by the Francis residence to see Sally (and Betty), and eventually announces that he's shipping out shortly. Betty tries to be supportive, while Sally is pissed at Glen becoming part of the war machine. Turns out his motivation isn't just love for country; Glen failed out of college and enlisted as a way to keep his stepfather from laying into him (he also had some odd hopes for Betty, which she rebuffs). He knows he's screwed up, and is doing his best to get through things.
2. Don Draper. Don is tasked by Roger to write a speech about the future of the firm. This leads him to ask several SC&Pers about their dreams for the future, all of which he finds lacking. It doesn't help that he's having similar issues personally, now that he's unattached and selling his place. It doesn't help that more than one person accuses him of being sad or empty. He also gets into things with Sally before she leaves for her tour, as she's mad about how he can't turn his masculinity off, even for one of her high school classmates. But the bigger issue is Don seemingly set adrift without a clear vision for his future.
3. Mathis. He gets into a fight with Ed during their pitch for a Peter Pan peanut butter-based cookie and drops an F bomb. Don helps defuse Pete, who wants Mathis gone, and gives Mathis some advice about how to approach their next meeting. Turns out Mathis takes Don's advice too literally, using a line Don once used. He fails miserably, not being Don and not having enough of a sense of the room to know that the line isn't going to work. Mathis gets into it with Don afterwards, and Don fires him. At least Mathis got to tell Don that's he's basically empty inside.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Sally is unable to apologize to Glen in person about his decision to join the Army, which weighs on her given their long-standing friendship. She also gets into it with Don over his constantly engaged libido, and says her greatest wish is to get on the bus and go somewhere where she can be unlike either of her parents. Don's retort is that she will someday realize she's just like her parents, and that it's up to her to be something more than pretty. There is probably nothing worse to a teenaged girl than being told she's going to be just like her parents. Nice to have Sally in an episode, though.
1. Joan Harris. Joan gets sent out to LA to help interview new staff, and manages to meet a nice, older gentleman, a retired developer named Richard Bergoff who got lost while looking for his eye doctor. They hit it off immediately, to the extent that Richard follows Joan back to New York. Their courtship hits a bump when Joan admits to having a young son. Richard, who has grown kids, admits that he doesn't want to start over and be tied down. This leads Joan to decide to send Kevin away so she can choose love. Thankfully, Richard has decides he wants to be in Joan's life, including her son.
2. Betty Francis. Betty has some reasonable parenting moments, between a talk with Sally about a teen tour she's going on and confiscating a toy gun from Bobby in return for letting him watch the Brady Bunch. Her best moments are with the now grown Glen Bishop. They still have their weird energy, and Betty has to rebuff a pass from Glen, but she's very good with him as he admits to why he enlisted in the Army. Even if she might not believe the positive outlook she keeps spinning to Glen.
3. Peggy Olson. There's not a ton of Peggy in the episode, but what she is in she's nicely assertive. She gets to tell Pete off when he tries to get one of her people fired, while she calls Don on his BS when he mocks her answers as to what she wants for herself in the future. She's never been more confident or fun to watch.
Honorable Mention: Melanie. Don's real estate agent is having trouble selling his place - too empty and in need of new carpets - and while Don tries to tell her that she can find a different way to sell the place, she cuts close to the quick when she says the apartment looks like it's home to a sad person. She's more right than she knows. As a bonus to using Don's apartment to describe him, she also manages to sell the place. It's a win-win! Double her commission.
Three Down
1. Glen Bishop. Glen stops by the Francis residence to see Sally (and Betty), and eventually announces that he's shipping out shortly. Betty tries to be supportive, while Sally is pissed at Glen becoming part of the war machine. Turns out his motivation isn't just love for country; Glen failed out of college and enlisted as a way to keep his stepfather from laying into him (he also had some odd hopes for Betty, which she rebuffs). He knows he's screwed up, and is doing his best to get through things.
2. Don Draper. Don is tasked by Roger to write a speech about the future of the firm. This leads him to ask several SC&Pers about their dreams for the future, all of which he finds lacking. It doesn't help that he's having similar issues personally, now that he's unattached and selling his place. It doesn't help that more than one person accuses him of being sad or empty. He also gets into things with Sally before she leaves for her tour, as she's mad about how he can't turn his masculinity off, even for one of her high school classmates. But the bigger issue is Don seemingly set adrift without a clear vision for his future.
3. Mathis. He gets into a fight with Ed during their pitch for a Peter Pan peanut butter-based cookie and drops an F bomb. Don helps defuse Pete, who wants Mathis gone, and gives Mathis some advice about how to approach their next meeting. Turns out Mathis takes Don's advice too literally, using a line Don once used. He fails miserably, not being Don and not having enough of a sense of the room to know that the line isn't going to work. Mathis gets into it with Don afterwards, and Don fires him. At least Mathis got to tell Don that's he's basically empty inside.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Sally is unable to apologize to Glen in person about his decision to join the Army, which weighs on her given their long-standing friendship. She also gets into it with Don over his constantly engaged libido, and says her greatest wish is to get on the bus and go somewhere where she can be unlike either of her parents. Don's retort is that she will someday realize she's just like her parents, and that it's up to her to be something more than pretty. There is probably nothing worse to a teenaged girl than being told she's going to be just like her parents. Nice to have Sally in an episode, though.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "New Business"
Three Up
1. Megan Draper. Megan is still living off of Don's generosity, but is coming to New York to get her things and hopefully finalize the divorce. Things then get worse when she has to fend off Harry Crane's casting couch advances and then discovers that her mom not only stole all of Don's furniture but that she had a fling with Roger Sterling. What turns things around for Megan is (a) a million dollar payout that Don makes so she can have the life she deserves, and (b) the realization that she, like her mom, has done something to get out of a bad situation (unlike her sister, Marie-France, who is a total pill). If nothing else, Megan now has the money to buy a place that will fit all of her ill-gotten furnishings.
2. Stan Rizzo. Stan starts off the episode getting bumped from Cinzano in favor of Pima Ryan, an art photographer. He clashes with her to start, but then she sees his drawing, likes his talent, and suggests that he shows her some of his photography. He does - shots taken of his girlfriend - and Pima suggests that he should focus on drawing. And that his girlfriend isn't that into him. Stan and Pima do it in the darkroom, but the bigger win for Stan is getting a dose of reality.
3. Marie Calvet. Not only does she mastermind the theft of Don's furniture, she winds up making a life change by staying in New York with Roger, who bails her out when the movers demand more money (to their credit, they weren't expecting to move an entire apartment). It's not great that Megan catches her post-dalliance, and it seems unlikely that Marie's stay with Roger will be permanent, but for now she's made a positive step away from a very unhappy home life.
Honorable Mention: Bobby and Gene Draper. They get screen time! And Don makes them chocolate milkshakes! Hooray!
Three Down
1. Diana. Don tracks down Diana in an attempt to get to know her better, and we learn that she's like Don in a few ways - she's not from New York, and is running away from a past tragedy (she lost a daughter). She's also like Don in that she's not always entirely truthful. She did lose a daughter, but has left another daughter (and a husband) in Racine. In the end she tells Don that she doesn't want anything from him, and would like him to go away. When she's with him she forgets about what she's left behind, which she doesn't want to do. Diana is keen on punishing herself, and can't let Don get in the way.
2. Don Draper. Don's rebuffed by Diana, cuts Megan a huge check out of guilt for the way their marriage went, and has to see Betty's happy homelife after time with the boys. And his former mother in law steals his furniture! The episode closes with Don standing, confusedly, in his bare living room, and it's a nice depiction of where Don is right now personally. There are bits and pieces of his past life, but for the most part things are a blank canvas.
3. Roger Sterling. He has two secretaries and three phones, which is more of either than he'd care for. He has to dodge a golf meeting so he doesn't have to be around Bert Peterson. And he's apparently gained a new woman now that Marie has decides she's staying in New York. That should be fun for a while, and Marie can certainly keep up with Roger verbally, It's just unlikely that she's going to be good for him long term.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. We've seen more of her brothers (and her room in Don's apartment) than we've seen of Sally in the second half of this final season. She'd better make a significant appearance in the next episode.
1. Megan Draper. Megan is still living off of Don's generosity, but is coming to New York to get her things and hopefully finalize the divorce. Things then get worse when she has to fend off Harry Crane's casting couch advances and then discovers that her mom not only stole all of Don's furniture but that she had a fling with Roger Sterling. What turns things around for Megan is (a) a million dollar payout that Don makes so she can have the life she deserves, and (b) the realization that she, like her mom, has done something to get out of a bad situation (unlike her sister, Marie-France, who is a total pill). If nothing else, Megan now has the money to buy a place that will fit all of her ill-gotten furnishings.
2. Stan Rizzo. Stan starts off the episode getting bumped from Cinzano in favor of Pima Ryan, an art photographer. He clashes with her to start, but then she sees his drawing, likes his talent, and suggests that he shows her some of his photography. He does - shots taken of his girlfriend - and Pima suggests that he should focus on drawing. And that his girlfriend isn't that into him. Stan and Pima do it in the darkroom, but the bigger win for Stan is getting a dose of reality.
3. Marie Calvet. Not only does she mastermind the theft of Don's furniture, she winds up making a life change by staying in New York with Roger, who bails her out when the movers demand more money (to their credit, they weren't expecting to move an entire apartment). It's not great that Megan catches her post-dalliance, and it seems unlikely that Marie's stay with Roger will be permanent, but for now she's made a positive step away from a very unhappy home life.
Honorable Mention: Bobby and Gene Draper. They get screen time! And Don makes them chocolate milkshakes! Hooray!
Three Down
1. Diana. Don tracks down Diana in an attempt to get to know her better, and we learn that she's like Don in a few ways - she's not from New York, and is running away from a past tragedy (she lost a daughter). She's also like Don in that she's not always entirely truthful. She did lose a daughter, but has left another daughter (and a husband) in Racine. In the end she tells Don that she doesn't want anything from him, and would like him to go away. When she's with him she forgets about what she's left behind, which she doesn't want to do. Diana is keen on punishing herself, and can't let Don get in the way.
2. Don Draper. Don's rebuffed by Diana, cuts Megan a huge check out of guilt for the way their marriage went, and has to see Betty's happy homelife after time with the boys. And his former mother in law steals his furniture! The episode closes with Don standing, confusedly, in his bare living room, and it's a nice depiction of where Don is right now personally. There are bits and pieces of his past life, but for the most part things are a blank canvas.
3. Roger Sterling. He has two secretaries and three phones, which is more of either than he'd care for. He has to dodge a golf meeting so he doesn't have to be around Bert Peterson. And he's apparently gained a new woman now that Marie has decides she's staying in New York. That should be fun for a while, and Marie can certainly keep up with Roger verbally, It's just unlikely that she's going to be good for him long term.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. We've seen more of her brothers (and her room in Don's apartment) than we've seen of Sally in the second half of this final season. She'd better make a significant appearance in the next episode.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Three Up ,Three Down: Mad Men, "Waterloo"
The best things in life may be free, but we've to to pay Father Time almost a year before we see how the '60s close out. Ugh.
Three Up
1. Roger Sterling. Roger is put on the defensive when he learns of the Cutler-led lawsuit against Don for breach of contract (Cutler didn't tell him and Joan, who knew about it, didn't tip him off). He confronts Cooper about this, and gets a lesson on leadership from him about it. Which is good thing, as Cooper dies at home right after the moon landing. Roger get to the office and meets with Joan and Cutler, and Cutler is ready to use Cooper's passing to force Don's ouster. Roger finds the silver lining, though, by meeting with the exec from McCann who talked to him in the steam room and sets up a deal where McCann will buy a majority stake in SC&P, but only if they get the entire team that won Chevy - including Don and Ted, who wants out of advertising. Roger presents the offer to the partners, and once he explains the money people will make he gets everyone on board. Even Cutler, who Roger hoped to push out only to see him stay due to the money. Roger will lead the new subsidiary, taking on that leadership role that Cooper didn't see him in.
2. Peggy Olsen. The Burger Chef pitch is happening while this is going on, and Don pushes Peggy to make the pitch given the turmoil at work so she'll be sure to keep the account if he is forced out. She's doubtful that she can do it, but of course she nails it and the firm wins the account. Peggy is ready to stand on her own two feet, though how she'll fit in with Don and the return of Ted (I'm assuming Lou's contract will be terminated, though having him around to kick at would be entertaining).
3. The SC&P Partners. Are now rich. Or more rich. Joan can finally afford to move out of the Village (assuming she wants to), and Pete can get the hairplugs he needs (his glee at learning how much he stands to earn is hilarious).
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. She's home for the summer and working as a lifeguard, and gets a bonus when a friend of Betty's comes by to visit with her family - including a hunky college-aged son. Sally shows interest - she wears lipstick to lifeguard, and she apes the older boy's cynicism at the moon landing - but she winds up kissing the younger, nerdy brother, and after he leaves she gets to light up and enjoy a smoke with the knowledge she's got power. She is a frightening amalgam of her parents.
Three Down
1. Bert Cooper. Song and dance aside, he's still dead. Too bad, too, as even though we didn't see much of Bert he was always fun in a racist, crazy old man sort of way.
2. Don Draper. For a man who now gets to keep his job and make millions for the privilege, Don's in an odd position as the half-season ends. He's clearly in the doghouse with Joan and Cutler, neither of whom are likely to forgive him for past transgressions (even if Don's agreement to the deal finally gets Joan the payday she missed from the company going public). His position as creative director is still unclear, now that Ted is sticking around and Peggy is proving her worth. His marriage is over, which learns over the phone with Megan, and then at the end of the episode he has a hallucination or vision or something where Bert Cooper sings "The Best Things in Life Are Free" to him. Whatever clarity that may have come from the McCann buyout is gone now thanks to Don's subconscious. Or a blood clot.
3. Harry Crane. His failure to sign the partnership agreement means he's going to miss out on the McCann payday, and he's probably not going to have a deal once it's done. That's why you don't act like a partner until you are one, dummy. Looks like that divorce is back on the fast track!
Honorable Mention: Jim Cutler and Ted Chaough. While both were enriched by the McCann deal, neither man gets what he wants. Cutler started the episode angling to have Don removed as part of his vision for the future of the company, while Ted (after a semi-meltdown with some guys from Sunkist) wanted out altogether. As it ends, Cutler is still around but will be second-fiddle to Roger and loses Harry as a potential partner ally. Ted opts to stay as well after Don sells him on being able to just be creative and not deal with business (which is Don selling Ted the position Don wants). Ted relents on that and so everyone can get their payday, but his comment that a five year contract would cover the rest of his life is ominous.
Three Up
1. Roger Sterling. Roger is put on the defensive when he learns of the Cutler-led lawsuit against Don for breach of contract (Cutler didn't tell him and Joan, who knew about it, didn't tip him off). He confronts Cooper about this, and gets a lesson on leadership from him about it. Which is good thing, as Cooper dies at home right after the moon landing. Roger get to the office and meets with Joan and Cutler, and Cutler is ready to use Cooper's passing to force Don's ouster. Roger finds the silver lining, though, by meeting with the exec from McCann who talked to him in the steam room and sets up a deal where McCann will buy a majority stake in SC&P, but only if they get the entire team that won Chevy - including Don and Ted, who wants out of advertising. Roger presents the offer to the partners, and once he explains the money people will make he gets everyone on board. Even Cutler, who Roger hoped to push out only to see him stay due to the money. Roger will lead the new subsidiary, taking on that leadership role that Cooper didn't see him in.
2. Peggy Olsen. The Burger Chef pitch is happening while this is going on, and Don pushes Peggy to make the pitch given the turmoil at work so she'll be sure to keep the account if he is forced out. She's doubtful that she can do it, but of course she nails it and the firm wins the account. Peggy is ready to stand on her own two feet, though how she'll fit in with Don and the return of Ted (I'm assuming Lou's contract will be terminated, though having him around to kick at would be entertaining).
3. The SC&P Partners. Are now rich. Or more rich. Joan can finally afford to move out of the Village (assuming she wants to), and Pete can get the hairplugs he needs (his glee at learning how much he stands to earn is hilarious).
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. She's home for the summer and working as a lifeguard, and gets a bonus when a friend of Betty's comes by to visit with her family - including a hunky college-aged son. Sally shows interest - she wears lipstick to lifeguard, and she apes the older boy's cynicism at the moon landing - but she winds up kissing the younger, nerdy brother, and after he leaves she gets to light up and enjoy a smoke with the knowledge she's got power. She is a frightening amalgam of her parents.
Three Down
1. Bert Cooper. Song and dance aside, he's still dead. Too bad, too, as even though we didn't see much of Bert he was always fun in a racist, crazy old man sort of way.
2. Don Draper. For a man who now gets to keep his job and make millions for the privilege, Don's in an odd position as the half-season ends. He's clearly in the doghouse with Joan and Cutler, neither of whom are likely to forgive him for past transgressions (even if Don's agreement to the deal finally gets Joan the payday she missed from the company going public). His position as creative director is still unclear, now that Ted is sticking around and Peggy is proving her worth. His marriage is over, which learns over the phone with Megan, and then at the end of the episode he has a hallucination or vision or something where Bert Cooper sings "The Best Things in Life Are Free" to him. Whatever clarity that may have come from the McCann buyout is gone now thanks to Don's subconscious. Or a blood clot.
3. Harry Crane. His failure to sign the partnership agreement means he's going to miss out on the McCann payday, and he's probably not going to have a deal once it's done. That's why you don't act like a partner until you are one, dummy. Looks like that divorce is back on the fast track!
Honorable Mention: Jim Cutler and Ted Chaough. While both were enriched by the McCann deal, neither man gets what he wants. Cutler started the episode angling to have Don removed as part of his vision for the future of the company, while Ted (after a semi-meltdown with some guys from Sunkist) wanted out altogether. As it ends, Cutler is still around but will be second-fiddle to Roger and loses Harry as a potential partner ally. Ted opts to stay as well after Don sells him on being able to just be creative and not deal with business (which is Don selling Ted the position Don wants). Ted relents on that and so everyone can get their payday, but his comment that a five year contract would cover the rest of his life is ominous.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Strategy"
Three Up
1. Peggy Olsen. The team is getting ready to pitch Burger Chef, and Peggy presents a mom-based strategy that everyone loves. Pete and Lou love, it too - but want Don to pitch it, saying Peggy would be better introducing Don and presenting the emotional response. They say it's Peggy's call, but we're pretty clear what the class is supposed to be. Peggy asks Don, but then he says he's been considering a kid-oriented angle. This sets Peggy to doubting the strategy, and she spends most of the weekend trying to come up with a new one. Don shows up eventually, and she demands that Don thinks out loud so to how he'd save things. He does this, and they eventually land on a new strategy, one of anyone eating at Burger Chef being family. It's not all fun and games along the way - along with all the self-doubt, we learn that Peggy has turned 30 and kept it secret - but she has a nice moment with Don as they dance, which struck me as Don giving his blessing to Peggy's first big campaign.
2. Don Draper. Don's role in the firm is still very murky - he's still overshadowing Peggy and is stuck under Lou - but during the episode he works through the issues to get to a point where Peggy is standing on her own two feet with an idea she's behind. His role in marriage is also murky - Megan is in for a visit, and while she's happy to be home and with Don, there's still some tension as to their bicoastal arrangement. There's vague agreement about a vacation away from both New York and LA, but they're still unstable. Still, Don is in a better place at the end of this episode than he's been in the past.
3. Harry Crane. He's not in the episode, but at the end he gets a reward when he's made a partner. It's not unanimous - both Roger and Joan are very strongly against it - and it's done as part of a cover strategy for the loss of Chevy (more PR touting their computer and Harry). Cutler is the one who suggests it, of course, thinking it'll help his secret war to take over the firm.
Honorary Mention - Trudy Campbell. Really, this is just for getting to see Alison Brie again, but she does get to tell Pete off a bit when he visits while in New York and says her dating is immoral because she's a mom. It is a little obvious that she planned a date for the same day that Pete was coming out to visit Tammy, but anytime Trudy puts Pete is his place is something.
Three Down
1 Pete Campbell. Pete returns to New York with Bonnie in two, both having inducted the other into the Mile High Club. Pete's very happy with the Burger Chef pitch and is behind the idea of Don doing it. Things take a turn when he heads out to Cos Cob - without Bonnie - to see Tammy. Which he does - though she's very shy around him - but then Trudy is out, and he decides to wait for her. She was on a date, so he's there for a while. When she does return he gives her the business about "forgetting" his visit and the morality of her dating. He surmises she's got feelings for him She's very clear that they are getting a divorce and that he's no longer part of the family. In a bad mood, Pete buries himself in work and ignores Bonnie (bad idea). She winds up flying back to California by herself (on the same flight as Megan, though they don't seem to know each other). He then has to accept the changes to the Burger Chef campaign. At one point Bonnie says she doesn't like Pete in New York, and it does seem to cause him no end of problems.
2. Bob Benson. Bob's in New York with some Chevy execs, and gets to have a late night visit with one of them to pay bail. Turns out the exec propositioned an undercover cop - male - and then got roughed up in the cells. The two talk in the cab about the temptations of New York - they both know about the other, unclear if they've ever been involved - and the exec drops a bombshell - Chevy is moving the advertising in house, meaning SC&P is out of a job. But he hastens to add that Bob is well-liked at Buick, and he'll likely wind up there. This leads Bob, at the end of his visit with Joan and family, to propose to her. She turns him away, saying he shouldn't be with a woman. When did Joan learn that he was gay? Bob says GM expects their people to be a certain way, and that as a couple they'll have each other to lean on. Joan still declines, saying she's holding out for love, even if she never finds it. She's also stunned at the Chevy news, which doesn't help Bob. So while he may find a soft landing at Buick (and may even land them with SC&P), he's in a bit of a pickle if he can't find a beard.
3. Roger Sterling. Roger has a cryptic conversation in a steam room with an exec from another agency, involving SC&P's going after fast food and Philip Morris (while having Don Draper as an albatross around its neck). Roger has a similar conversation with Cutler, who tells Roger to think less about Don and more about the company. So while he's mulling this, he learns at a partner meeting that Chevy is out. He catches on that Joan knew about this, and stalks out at the double whammy of that and partner Harry Crane. Joan follows, and he gives her a ration about not getting a head's up when he finally pieces things together. The other exec is concerned about losing Buick to SC&P as GM liked their work on Chevy and are likely to bring Bob Benson in-house. Roger at least got that by the end - but still has to see Harry at partner meetings.
Honorable Mention - Bonnie Whiteside. She takes her vacation to New York and has to spend most of that time by herself while Pete moons over his lost family and buries himself in work. She even has to wash her feet after learning you don't wear sandals to walk around Manhattan. In a way it'd be best if she got off the Pete Campbell train now, but it is too bad that she had to waste her vacation on his disaster of a trip back.
1. Peggy Olsen. The team is getting ready to pitch Burger Chef, and Peggy presents a mom-based strategy that everyone loves. Pete and Lou love, it too - but want Don to pitch it, saying Peggy would be better introducing Don and presenting the emotional response. They say it's Peggy's call, but we're pretty clear what the class is supposed to be. Peggy asks Don, but then he says he's been considering a kid-oriented angle. This sets Peggy to doubting the strategy, and she spends most of the weekend trying to come up with a new one. Don shows up eventually, and she demands that Don thinks out loud so to how he'd save things. He does this, and they eventually land on a new strategy, one of anyone eating at Burger Chef being family. It's not all fun and games along the way - along with all the self-doubt, we learn that Peggy has turned 30 and kept it secret - but she has a nice moment with Don as they dance, which struck me as Don giving his blessing to Peggy's first big campaign.
2. Don Draper. Don's role in the firm is still very murky - he's still overshadowing Peggy and is stuck under Lou - but during the episode he works through the issues to get to a point where Peggy is standing on her own two feet with an idea she's behind. His role in marriage is also murky - Megan is in for a visit, and while she's happy to be home and with Don, there's still some tension as to their bicoastal arrangement. There's vague agreement about a vacation away from both New York and LA, but they're still unstable. Still, Don is in a better place at the end of this episode than he's been in the past.
3. Harry Crane. He's not in the episode, but at the end he gets a reward when he's made a partner. It's not unanimous - both Roger and Joan are very strongly against it - and it's done as part of a cover strategy for the loss of Chevy (more PR touting their computer and Harry). Cutler is the one who suggests it, of course, thinking it'll help his secret war to take over the firm.
Honorary Mention - Trudy Campbell. Really, this is just for getting to see Alison Brie again, but she does get to tell Pete off a bit when he visits while in New York and says her dating is immoral because she's a mom. It is a little obvious that she planned a date for the same day that Pete was coming out to visit Tammy, but anytime Trudy puts Pete is his place is something.
Three Down
1 Pete Campbell. Pete returns to New York with Bonnie in two, both having inducted the other into the Mile High Club. Pete's very happy with the Burger Chef pitch and is behind the idea of Don doing it. Things take a turn when he heads out to Cos Cob - without Bonnie - to see Tammy. Which he does - though she's very shy around him - but then Trudy is out, and he decides to wait for her. She was on a date, so he's there for a while. When she does return he gives her the business about "forgetting" his visit and the morality of her dating. He surmises she's got feelings for him She's very clear that they are getting a divorce and that he's no longer part of the family. In a bad mood, Pete buries himself in work and ignores Bonnie (bad idea). She winds up flying back to California by herself (on the same flight as Megan, though they don't seem to know each other). He then has to accept the changes to the Burger Chef campaign. At one point Bonnie says she doesn't like Pete in New York, and it does seem to cause him no end of problems.
2. Bob Benson. Bob's in New York with some Chevy execs, and gets to have a late night visit with one of them to pay bail. Turns out the exec propositioned an undercover cop - male - and then got roughed up in the cells. The two talk in the cab about the temptations of New York - they both know about the other, unclear if they've ever been involved - and the exec drops a bombshell - Chevy is moving the advertising in house, meaning SC&P is out of a job. But he hastens to add that Bob is well-liked at Buick, and he'll likely wind up there. This leads Bob, at the end of his visit with Joan and family, to propose to her. She turns him away, saying he shouldn't be with a woman. When did Joan learn that he was gay? Bob says GM expects their people to be a certain way, and that as a couple they'll have each other to lean on. Joan still declines, saying she's holding out for love, even if she never finds it. She's also stunned at the Chevy news, which doesn't help Bob. So while he may find a soft landing at Buick (and may even land them with SC&P), he's in a bit of a pickle if he can't find a beard.
3. Roger Sterling. Roger has a cryptic conversation in a steam room with an exec from another agency, involving SC&P's going after fast food and Philip Morris (while having Don Draper as an albatross around its neck). Roger has a similar conversation with Cutler, who tells Roger to think less about Don and more about the company. So while he's mulling this, he learns at a partner meeting that Chevy is out. He catches on that Joan knew about this, and stalks out at the double whammy of that and partner Harry Crane. Joan follows, and he gives her a ration about not getting a head's up when he finally pieces things together. The other exec is concerned about losing Buick to SC&P as GM liked their work on Chevy and are likely to bring Bob Benson in-house. Roger at least got that by the end - but still has to see Harry at partner meetings.
Honorable Mention - Bonnie Whiteside. She takes her vacation to New York and has to spend most of that time by herself while Pete moons over his lost family and buries himself in work. She even has to wash her feet after learning you don't wear sandals to walk around Manhattan. In a way it'd be best if she got off the Pete Campbell train now, but it is too bad that she had to waste her vacation on his disaster of a trip back.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Runaways"
Three Up
1. Don Draper. A call from his "niece" Stephanie reveals that she's pregnant, in LA, and needs money. Don sends her to Megan, and plans to head out to California that night, but is delayed when Lou throws a tantrum. When he does get out there he's out of sorts, as Stephanie has already left. He then has to suffer through a party Megan is throwing for her acting class, when who wanders in but Harry Crane (who didn't know whose party he was going to with an actress he's helping to "find an agent"). Don manages to cockblock Harry by dragging him out to a bar, and in return Harry lets him in on a secret overture Lou and Jim are making to Philip Morris. Don uses this to crash a meeting and either leverage his experience with tobacco to improve his station or get him out of the firm entirely. In between, he gets to have a three-way with Megan and her friend Amy. Some flashes of the old Don, certainly.
2. Stan Rizzo. While at the copier Stan finds artwork for a comic called "Scout's Honor" that Lou created. Stan spreads this around the creative staff and it develops into a running joke - until Lou overhears the joking while in the men's room. This leads to a confrontation where Stan pretty much gets to call Lou and idiot and still not get fired. Lou's response - make everyone stay late - is pretty bush league, and doesn't change the fact that Stan's assessment of Lou's idea is spot on.
3. Sally Draper. Sally winds up at Henry and Betty's after she seems to have broken her nose sword fighting with golf clubs. Betty sends her to her room, which is just fine with Sally. It also sets up a nice scene with her and Bobby where she allays his fears that Henry and Betty will get divorced - he overheard a fight of theirs - and apologizes for not being around to help him handle the stress of it all. She even ditches her plan to run away back to school so she can stay with him (as long as he doesn't wet the bed). And her nose wasn't broken after all!
Honorable Mention - Harry Crane. Harry's surprise at finding Don at the party is pretty funny, as he's clearly scared that Don will out Harry's hanky panky with his actress friend. His profession of respecting Don seems a little self-serving, but I do think he's sincere about trying to help Don by letting him know about Philip Morris. That it may also be self-serving - Harry doesn't seem to like the direction the firm is heading in, and maybe sees a shakeup as a way to finally get a partnership - is a bonus.
Three Down
1. Michael Ginsberg and/or Peggy Olson. The computer is causing problems for Ginzo, as the humming seems to be doing something to his already unstable mind. At one point he goes out to the computer and sees Lou and Jim having a conversation in the computer room - on a Saturday - and Ginzo immediately understands the problem. The computer is turning everyone homo. He goes to Peggy's home to let her know, and at some point decides the only way to protect himself is to jump Peggy. Peggy fends him off pretty easily, and he leaves without complications. Those come on Monday, when he goes to Peggy's office, says he has feelings for her, and that the data streaming into his head was causing the problem. He's solved that problem by opening the "valve" to let the data out. The valve is one of his nipples, which he's cut off and put into a box as a present for Peggy. She reacts to this better than expected - initial disgust, but she reins it in enough to have Ginzo take a seat while she goes out to call for an ambulance. Kind of sad that this is how Ginzo may go out. Maybe we'll visit him at whatever facility takes him in.
2. Betty Francis. There's a neighborhood party going on (an around the world sort of thing), and Betty steps in it with the neighbors Henry barely knows by voicing a hard-line position on Vietnam that's at odds with the party line voiced by Nixon (and by extension, Henry). That leads to a fight where Henry tells her to stop thinking. So she's already feeling marginalized when Sally shows up and Betty does her usual mother of the year routine. Even so, it's hard not to feel some sympathy for Betty, who is still trying to figure out what to do with her life while being bossed around by Henry and continuing to fail with her kids.
3. Megan Draper. Megan takes the news about Stephanie coming over pretty well, and the two get along at first - though Megan's first comment about Stephanie is how pretty she is - but Megan turns on a dime when Stephanie mentions that she knows all of Don's secrets. While Stephanie is quick to add that she and Don never did anything (what with her being his "niece"), it's obvious that Megan is jealous of Stephanie because she really does know Don better than Megan does. Megan cuts Stephanie a check and sends her packing for Oakland, but the visit causes a distance between Megan and Don for his entire visit, outside of the threeway. When Don announces he has to leave early due to work - and this after finally talking to Stephanie - Megan is even madder than before, as she is reminded that other things and people will come before her with Don.
Honorable Mention - Lou Avery. He'd rank higher, between the lame "Scout's Honor" and even lamer rant about it to the creative team and Don hijacking the meeting with Philip Morris, but as most of it just underscores the dickishness that we already knew about Lou he just gets the honorable mention.
1. Don Draper. A call from his "niece" Stephanie reveals that she's pregnant, in LA, and needs money. Don sends her to Megan, and plans to head out to California that night, but is delayed when Lou throws a tantrum. When he does get out there he's out of sorts, as Stephanie has already left. He then has to suffer through a party Megan is throwing for her acting class, when who wanders in but Harry Crane (who didn't know whose party he was going to with an actress he's helping to "find an agent"). Don manages to cockblock Harry by dragging him out to a bar, and in return Harry lets him in on a secret overture Lou and Jim are making to Philip Morris. Don uses this to crash a meeting and either leverage his experience with tobacco to improve his station or get him out of the firm entirely. In between, he gets to have a three-way with Megan and her friend Amy. Some flashes of the old Don, certainly.
2. Stan Rizzo. While at the copier Stan finds artwork for a comic called "Scout's Honor" that Lou created. Stan spreads this around the creative staff and it develops into a running joke - until Lou overhears the joking while in the men's room. This leads to a confrontation where Stan pretty much gets to call Lou and idiot and still not get fired. Lou's response - make everyone stay late - is pretty bush league, and doesn't change the fact that Stan's assessment of Lou's idea is spot on.
3. Sally Draper. Sally winds up at Henry and Betty's after she seems to have broken her nose sword fighting with golf clubs. Betty sends her to her room, which is just fine with Sally. It also sets up a nice scene with her and Bobby where she allays his fears that Henry and Betty will get divorced - he overheard a fight of theirs - and apologizes for not being around to help him handle the stress of it all. She even ditches her plan to run away back to school so she can stay with him (as long as he doesn't wet the bed). And her nose wasn't broken after all!
Honorable Mention - Harry Crane. Harry's surprise at finding Don at the party is pretty funny, as he's clearly scared that Don will out Harry's hanky panky with his actress friend. His profession of respecting Don seems a little self-serving, but I do think he's sincere about trying to help Don by letting him know about Philip Morris. That it may also be self-serving - Harry doesn't seem to like the direction the firm is heading in, and maybe sees a shakeup as a way to finally get a partnership - is a bonus.
Three Down
1. Michael Ginsberg and/or Peggy Olson. The computer is causing problems for Ginzo, as the humming seems to be doing something to his already unstable mind. At one point he goes out to the computer and sees Lou and Jim having a conversation in the computer room - on a Saturday - and Ginzo immediately understands the problem. The computer is turning everyone homo. He goes to Peggy's home to let her know, and at some point decides the only way to protect himself is to jump Peggy. Peggy fends him off pretty easily, and he leaves without complications. Those come on Monday, when he goes to Peggy's office, says he has feelings for her, and that the data streaming into his head was causing the problem. He's solved that problem by opening the "valve" to let the data out. The valve is one of his nipples, which he's cut off and put into a box as a present for Peggy. She reacts to this better than expected - initial disgust, but she reins it in enough to have Ginzo take a seat while she goes out to call for an ambulance. Kind of sad that this is how Ginzo may go out. Maybe we'll visit him at whatever facility takes him in.
2. Betty Francis. There's a neighborhood party going on (an around the world sort of thing), and Betty steps in it with the neighbors Henry barely knows by voicing a hard-line position on Vietnam that's at odds with the party line voiced by Nixon (and by extension, Henry). That leads to a fight where Henry tells her to stop thinking. So she's already feeling marginalized when Sally shows up and Betty does her usual mother of the year routine. Even so, it's hard not to feel some sympathy for Betty, who is still trying to figure out what to do with her life while being bossed around by Henry and continuing to fail with her kids.
3. Megan Draper. Megan takes the news about Stephanie coming over pretty well, and the two get along at first - though Megan's first comment about Stephanie is how pretty she is - but Megan turns on a dime when Stephanie mentions that she knows all of Don's secrets. While Stephanie is quick to add that she and Don never did anything (what with her being his "niece"), it's obvious that Megan is jealous of Stephanie because she really does know Don better than Megan does. Megan cuts Stephanie a check and sends her packing for Oakland, but the visit causes a distance between Megan and Don for his entire visit, outside of the threeway. When Don announces he has to leave early due to work - and this after finally talking to Stephanie - Megan is even madder than before, as she is reminded that other things and people will come before her with Don.
Honorable Mention - Lou Avery. He'd rank higher, between the lame "Scout's Honor" and even lamer rant about it to the creative team and Don hijacking the meeting with Philip Morris, but as most of it just underscores the dickishness that we already knew about Lou he just gets the honorable mention.
Tuesday, May 06, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Monolith"
Three Up
1. Jim Cutler. While we don't see much of Jim, the events of the episode help build his position in the office. It opens with an announcement about the computer that he championed, which gets media behind him. He seems to miss the mark when trying to bring Ted back to New York to work on landing a new national account, but wins by supporting Ted's idea to give it to Peggy and then having Don wind up on her team. Any potential fallout there helps Jim, as he's either supported success or gets to blame former SCDPers if things go south.
2. Pete Campbell. He's responsible for getting a crack at Burger Chef, as he runs into one of their execs, a former Vicks man, while out to dinner with girlfriend Bonnie. He also learns that things back in New York changed when his soon to be father-in-law had a heart attack. He's OK, but you can see Pete's taken aback by the news, suggesting he's still thinking about Trudy and Tammy on some level. Finally, this new account would not run through Bob Benson, so it's an even bigger win where Pete's concerned.
3. Freddie Rumsen. He only shows up in the last quarter of the episode - Don calls him to go to a Mets game, Freddie takes him home because he's three sheets to the wind. The next morning, Freddie gives Don a talking to, using his experience to help Don figure out that it's time to play ball with the partners if he wants a crack of getting back to where he was. It's also a rare instance of true friendship between ad men.
Honorable Mention - John Mathis. He's on the Burger Chef account as well and quite pleased to be there, apparently unaware of the larger issues of how the team was set up. He'll write tags all day and be happy to do so! Too bad he's about to be crowded out by whatever Don comes up with.
Three Down
1. Roger Sterling. So that brunch with Margaret where she forgave him has finally led to where we thought it would - she's run off to join a commune, leaving husband and child behind. Roger gets Brooks to go up to get her, but he winds up in jail. So Roger and Mona go up, and while Roger tries to understand what's going on - he stays overnight after Mona gives up trying to talk reason - he falls short after Margaret (now Marigold) wanders off in the night to hump one of the commune's men. Roger tries to physically force her to leave, which results in a savage dressing down from Margaret about his absentee parenting. And he gets mud on his suit, which I suppose will dry up on his walk back to town.
2. Don Draper. He's back but isolated - he doesn't get the memo about the computer, and he's frozen out of partner meetings due to the rules set up for his return. Don hits bottom when he finds out he's working for Peggy and then gets shot down by Bert after suggesting their computer company could become a client. So Don looks to get below the bottom by getting tanked in his office, which is when he calls Freddie to go to the Mets game. Things turn around at the end, with Don working on his tags for Peggy. He's down but working back up.
3. Peggy Olsen. Good news to start for Peggy - she gets a shot at a national account and a $100/week raise. The price, of course, is that Lou saddles her with Don, which effectively get him out of his hair and potentially may see him gone for good if he implodes (almost, Lou!). Peggy broods about this all episode, but in a small talk with Joan gets some good news when Joan suggests that the partners probably didn't even think about anything when they set the team up, never mind sabotage (I'm pretty sure Ted was working off of residual guilt when he suggested Peggy, though). The bonus comes on Monday morning, when she stops in to see Don and he says he'll get his tags to her by lunch. Things are looking up for Peggy, too.
Honorable Mention - Lloyd Hawley. The owner of the company that's installing the computer, he and Don strike up a bit of a friendship, to the point where Lloyd seeks advertising advice from Don. This is what gets Don to propose new business to Bert, who shoots it down as a violation of rules. Don later drunkenly accuses Lloyd of being in cahoots with everyone else. Lloyd has no idea what he's talking about. Welcome to SC&P, Lloyd. Hope they paid you in advance!
1. Jim Cutler. While we don't see much of Jim, the events of the episode help build his position in the office. It opens with an announcement about the computer that he championed, which gets media behind him. He seems to miss the mark when trying to bring Ted back to New York to work on landing a new national account, but wins by supporting Ted's idea to give it to Peggy and then having Don wind up on her team. Any potential fallout there helps Jim, as he's either supported success or gets to blame former SCDPers if things go south.
2. Pete Campbell. He's responsible for getting a crack at Burger Chef, as he runs into one of their execs, a former Vicks man, while out to dinner with girlfriend Bonnie. He also learns that things back in New York changed when his soon to be father-in-law had a heart attack. He's OK, but you can see Pete's taken aback by the news, suggesting he's still thinking about Trudy and Tammy on some level. Finally, this new account would not run through Bob Benson, so it's an even bigger win where Pete's concerned.
3. Freddie Rumsen. He only shows up in the last quarter of the episode - Don calls him to go to a Mets game, Freddie takes him home because he's three sheets to the wind. The next morning, Freddie gives Don a talking to, using his experience to help Don figure out that it's time to play ball with the partners if he wants a crack of getting back to where he was. It's also a rare instance of true friendship between ad men.
Honorable Mention - John Mathis. He's on the Burger Chef account as well and quite pleased to be there, apparently unaware of the larger issues of how the team was set up. He'll write tags all day and be happy to do so! Too bad he's about to be crowded out by whatever Don comes up with.
Three Down
1. Roger Sterling. So that brunch with Margaret where she forgave him has finally led to where we thought it would - she's run off to join a commune, leaving husband and child behind. Roger gets Brooks to go up to get her, but he winds up in jail. So Roger and Mona go up, and while Roger tries to understand what's going on - he stays overnight after Mona gives up trying to talk reason - he falls short after Margaret (now Marigold) wanders off in the night to hump one of the commune's men. Roger tries to physically force her to leave, which results in a savage dressing down from Margaret about his absentee parenting. And he gets mud on his suit, which I suppose will dry up on his walk back to town.
2. Don Draper. He's back but isolated - he doesn't get the memo about the computer, and he's frozen out of partner meetings due to the rules set up for his return. Don hits bottom when he finds out he's working for Peggy and then gets shot down by Bert after suggesting their computer company could become a client. So Don looks to get below the bottom by getting tanked in his office, which is when he calls Freddie to go to the Mets game. Things turn around at the end, with Don working on his tags for Peggy. He's down but working back up.
3. Peggy Olsen. Good news to start for Peggy - she gets a shot at a national account and a $100/week raise. The price, of course, is that Lou saddles her with Don, which effectively get him out of his hair and potentially may see him gone for good if he implodes (almost, Lou!). Peggy broods about this all episode, but in a small talk with Joan gets some good news when Joan suggests that the partners probably didn't even think about anything when they set the team up, never mind sabotage (I'm pretty sure Ted was working off of residual guilt when he suggested Peggy, though). The bonus comes on Monday morning, when she stops in to see Don and he says he'll get his tags to her by lunch. Things are looking up for Peggy, too.
Honorable Mention - Lloyd Hawley. The owner of the company that's installing the computer, he and Don strike up a bit of a friendship, to the point where Lloyd seeks advertising advice from Don. This is what gets Don to propose new business to Bert, who shoots it down as a violation of rules. Don later drunkenly accuses Lloyd of being in cahoots with everyone else. Lloyd has no idea what he's talking about. Welcome to SC&P, Lloyd. Hope they paid you in advance!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Field Trip"
Three Up
1. Don Draper. It's not all sunshine for Don, as a trip to California to buck up Megan (at the behest of her agent) goes completely sideways when he tells her the truth about work. The ensuing fight, however, clarifies for Don that he needs to get back in the game, so he gets an offer from a competing firm that leads to a return to SC&P, albeit under strict conditions (including reporting to Lou, which I thought my be a deal breaker). While this may not be the best thing for him in the long run, in the now Don is back where he identifies with what it is to be Don Draper. That's probably going to have to be enough for the time being.
2. Peggy Olsen. Still chafing under Lou's cardigan-wearing tyranny, now notable for his lack of push to get anyone nominated for Clios, she seems to react positively to Don's return, but manages to burn him later by saying he's not been missed (a sentiment not fully shared by the rest of creative, though Rizzo is on the fence). Not sure how she'll react to Don's return, but she's likely gained an ally that she's not had in the office, well, ever.
3. Harry Crane. Harry has to respond to a client's question about computer-driven market data and replies with how SC&P is just as good - if not better - in that department. Of course it's all lies, as the firm has to farm out their computer needs to someone else. His prevarication does get Cutler to call Harry the most dishonest person he's met, but it does show Harry in a more competent light as he was able to talk the client down and then impress upon a partner the importance of supporting the media division. Sadly for Harry, Cutler uses the computer as an argument against bringing Don back. Roger also make an off the cuff statement that Harry is gone, so maybe this isn't going to go so well for him as first thought.
Honorable Mention: Francine Hanson. Francine is back! She's working at a travel agency three days a week now, and stories of the office are just the thing to get Betty worked up about what she's doing with her life. Francine should show up to sow the seeds of discord more often.
Three Down
1. Betty Francis. So in response to her coffee date with Francine, Betty decides to chaperone a field trip that Bobby's class is taking to a farm. And Betty does well for a while, making small talk with Bobby on the bus, connecting with another chaperone, and even tasting milk fresh from the cow. Things go south when Bobby trades her sandwich for some gumdrops. I mean, Bobby may have thought she wasn't going to eat (having flashbacks to fat Betty, I suppose), but it's still a stupid thing to do. What's stupider, though, is Betty forcing Bobby to eat the gumdrops while she sits there and smokes disapprovingly. Her snit lasts the rest of the day, and pretty clearly crushes Bobby. In a conversation with Henry later she asks why the children hate her, and when Henry deflects by pointing out Gene is sleeping in her arms she just says it's a matter of time. Good that she recognizes the problem, I suppose, but it'd be helpful if she actually tried to do something about it.
2. Megan Draper. The return to constant rejection is not sitting well with Megan, who took to arranging an "accidental" meeting with a casting director so she could plead to redo a reading for a part. Her agent is concerned and calls Don to see if he can calm her down. This leads to a surprise trip to LA and the talk that may have ended their marriage. A later phone call may have repaired some of the damage, but Megan's trust in Don is pretty severely broken. That he's now going back to work in New York rather than moving out to LA as originally promised isn't going to help.
3. Lou Avery. We'd already seen the new depths that Lou could go to before Don showed up at the office and ran into him, putting Lou in panic mode. He angrily reminds Cutler about his contract and gets to chew out the creative staff for talking to Don. Which should make for a very comfortable work environment now that Don is back. I can't believe that Lou thinks he can actually supervise Don, but he's just egotistical enough that it could be the case. I'm looking forward to seeing how Don tortures Lou.
Honorable Mention: Gumdrops. Few things have looked less appetizing than when Bobby started to choke down those gumdrops. Tough enough market for a legacy candy, but throw that in and what chance is there of a comeback?
1. Don Draper. It's not all sunshine for Don, as a trip to California to buck up Megan (at the behest of her agent) goes completely sideways when he tells her the truth about work. The ensuing fight, however, clarifies for Don that he needs to get back in the game, so he gets an offer from a competing firm that leads to a return to SC&P, albeit under strict conditions (including reporting to Lou, which I thought my be a deal breaker). While this may not be the best thing for him in the long run, in the now Don is back where he identifies with what it is to be Don Draper. That's probably going to have to be enough for the time being.
2. Peggy Olsen. Still chafing under Lou's cardigan-wearing tyranny, now notable for his lack of push to get anyone nominated for Clios, she seems to react positively to Don's return, but manages to burn him later by saying he's not been missed (a sentiment not fully shared by the rest of creative, though Rizzo is on the fence). Not sure how she'll react to Don's return, but she's likely gained an ally that she's not had in the office, well, ever.
3. Harry Crane. Harry has to respond to a client's question about computer-driven market data and replies with how SC&P is just as good - if not better - in that department. Of course it's all lies, as the firm has to farm out their computer needs to someone else. His prevarication does get Cutler to call Harry the most dishonest person he's met, but it does show Harry in a more competent light as he was able to talk the client down and then impress upon a partner the importance of supporting the media division. Sadly for Harry, Cutler uses the computer as an argument against bringing Don back. Roger also make an off the cuff statement that Harry is gone, so maybe this isn't going to go so well for him as first thought.
Honorable Mention: Francine Hanson. Francine is back! She's working at a travel agency three days a week now, and stories of the office are just the thing to get Betty worked up about what she's doing with her life. Francine should show up to sow the seeds of discord more often.
Three Down
1. Betty Francis. So in response to her coffee date with Francine, Betty decides to chaperone a field trip that Bobby's class is taking to a farm. And Betty does well for a while, making small talk with Bobby on the bus, connecting with another chaperone, and even tasting milk fresh from the cow. Things go south when Bobby trades her sandwich for some gumdrops. I mean, Bobby may have thought she wasn't going to eat (having flashbacks to fat Betty, I suppose), but it's still a stupid thing to do. What's stupider, though, is Betty forcing Bobby to eat the gumdrops while she sits there and smokes disapprovingly. Her snit lasts the rest of the day, and pretty clearly crushes Bobby. In a conversation with Henry later she asks why the children hate her, and when Henry deflects by pointing out Gene is sleeping in her arms she just says it's a matter of time. Good that she recognizes the problem, I suppose, but it'd be helpful if she actually tried to do something about it.
2. Megan Draper. The return to constant rejection is not sitting well with Megan, who took to arranging an "accidental" meeting with a casting director so she could plead to redo a reading for a part. Her agent is concerned and calls Don to see if he can calm her down. This leads to a surprise trip to LA and the talk that may have ended their marriage. A later phone call may have repaired some of the damage, but Megan's trust in Don is pretty severely broken. That he's now going back to work in New York rather than moving out to LA as originally promised isn't going to help.
3. Lou Avery. We'd already seen the new depths that Lou could go to before Don showed up at the office and ran into him, putting Lou in panic mode. He angrily reminds Cutler about his contract and gets to chew out the creative staff for talking to Don. Which should make for a very comfortable work environment now that Don is back. I can't believe that Lou thinks he can actually supervise Don, but he's just egotistical enough that it could be the case. I'm looking forward to seeing how Don tortures Lou.
Honorable Mention: Gumdrops. Few things have looked less appetizing than when Bobby started to choke down those gumdrops. Tough enough market for a legacy candy, but throw that in and what chance is there of a comeback?
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "A Day's Work"
Three Up
1. Joan Harris. Turns out Joan's involvement with the shoe company last week was a part of something bigger - she's been juggling accounts and personnel work, and just when the latter is proving difficult Cutler shows up and suggests she choose one over the other. It's not a hard choice - Joan packs her things and moves upstairs, opening up room for...
2. Dawn Chambers. Dawn's been juggling working for Lou Avery and covering for Don, and when those two ships collide - Sally comes to the office and finds out Don's not there anymore - she takes a ration from Lou. This turns out to work in Dawn's favor, as (a) she gets to tell Lou off when he asks to have her moved, and (b) she winds up in Joan's old office after a brief stint out front.
3. Sally Draper. Sally goes into the city for the funeral of a roommate's mother, and loses her purse. She goes back for it, and that's how she winds up stopping by the office. She then goes to Don's apartment, but never confronts him about his job, leading to a later confrontation when she calls him out. Don eventually explains what happened, and they wind up getting past things, sort of. In the end she even says she loves him.
Honorable Mention: Michael Ginsburg. He's only in one scene, but has the best line of the night, in reference to Peggy's Valentine's Day plans. "She has plans, look at her calendar: February 14th, masturbate gloomily."
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen. Besides the burn that Ginzo puts on her, Peggy winds up in a misunderstanding over some roses sent to her secretary, Shirley. Peggy thinks they're for her, and Shirley never gets a chance to correct her. Peggy believes they're from Ted, and spends most of the episode trying to tell Ted off, indirectly. Eventually Shirley tells Peggy about the flowers, which Peggy takes as a humiliation and asks Joan to move Shirley off her desk. In the end, masturbating gloomily would have been a step up.
2. Roger Sterling. Roger gets into something with Cutler over new business the LA office landed, and is outvoted. He ends the day discovering that Joan is moving in next door as an account rep, and on the way down is stuck in the elevator with Cutler, who says he hopes Roger would never be an adversary, but in a way that makes it clear that Cutler is an adversary. Back to the free love and acid?
3. Lou Avery. Continues to be a colossal dick, which will make his eventual comeuppance that much sweeter.
Honorable Mention: Bert Cooper. Also proves himself to be a dick, but in a low key way when he asks Joan to move Dawn off of front reception because she's black. I hope he steps on a thumbtack.
1. Joan Harris. Turns out Joan's involvement with the shoe company last week was a part of something bigger - she's been juggling accounts and personnel work, and just when the latter is proving difficult Cutler shows up and suggests she choose one over the other. It's not a hard choice - Joan packs her things and moves upstairs, opening up room for...
2. Dawn Chambers. Dawn's been juggling working for Lou Avery and covering for Don, and when those two ships collide - Sally comes to the office and finds out Don's not there anymore - she takes a ration from Lou. This turns out to work in Dawn's favor, as (a) she gets to tell Lou off when he asks to have her moved, and (b) she winds up in Joan's old office after a brief stint out front.
3. Sally Draper. Sally goes into the city for the funeral of a roommate's mother, and loses her purse. She goes back for it, and that's how she winds up stopping by the office. She then goes to Don's apartment, but never confronts him about his job, leading to a later confrontation when she calls him out. Don eventually explains what happened, and they wind up getting past things, sort of. In the end she even says she loves him.
Honorable Mention: Michael Ginsburg. He's only in one scene, but has the best line of the night, in reference to Peggy's Valentine's Day plans. "She has plans, look at her calendar: February 14th, masturbate gloomily."
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen. Besides the burn that Ginzo puts on her, Peggy winds up in a misunderstanding over some roses sent to her secretary, Shirley. Peggy thinks they're for her, and Shirley never gets a chance to correct her. Peggy believes they're from Ted, and spends most of the episode trying to tell Ted off, indirectly. Eventually Shirley tells Peggy about the flowers, which Peggy takes as a humiliation and asks Joan to move Shirley off her desk. In the end, masturbating gloomily would have been a step up.
2. Roger Sterling. Roger gets into something with Cutler over new business the LA office landed, and is outvoted. He ends the day discovering that Joan is moving in next door as an account rep, and on the way down is stuck in the elevator with Cutler, who says he hopes Roger would never be an adversary, but in a way that makes it clear that Cutler is an adversary. Back to the free love and acid?
3. Lou Avery. Continues to be a colossal dick, which will make his eventual comeuppance that much sweeter.
Honorable Mention: Bert Cooper. Also proves himself to be a dick, but in a low key way when he asks Joan to move Dawn off of front reception because she's black. I hope he steps on a thumbtack.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Time Zones"
Well, it's the start of the first half of the last season of Mad Men, and we've moved into 1969. How's that working out?
Three Up
1. Joan Harris - After listening to Ken complain about how he has no help, Joan freelances a meeting with Butler Shoes, a client who is planning on taking their advertising in-house. With some help from a surprisingly non-lecherous professor, she gets information which helps turn the company's director of marketing around, to the point where he's asking her for advice. Ken calls her out on it, but it's a good step forward for Joan given how she's been marginalized in the past.
2. Megan Draper - Now set up in LA and still married to Don, she's living in the hills and just got a callback for a pilot being shot for NBC. Things aren't perfect - her career has clearly receded since leaving New York, and she's got some anxiety stemming from Don's part-time presence, but things seem to be moving forward for her - except there's some talk about "fixing her teeth," which is blasphemy.
3. Pete Campbell - Of everyone who's decamped to LA, Pete seems to be reacting to it the best. He hates the city (flat, ugly, brown air) but loves the vibe. He's tan, dressed for tennis and has hooked up with a comely real estate agent (who will hopefully get him out of his apartment overlooking the tar pits soon). I'd rank Pete higher if I didn't expect him to Campbell it all up in short order.
Honorable Mention: Margaret Sterling - She invites her father to brunch, where she forgives him for everything. He forgives her back, only getting that she's on some sort of spiritual quest late in the conversation. She seems happy, thus the honorable mention, but I do fear that she's hooked up with some sort of cult.
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen - Peggy did not get the head of creative position once Don was cashiered, and is now the senior person under some guy named Lou who is both lousy at his job and has all the gaiety of an impacted wisdom tooth. On top of work problems Peggy is now the landlady for the building she bought with Abe, meaning she's stuck in dangerous territory with tenants who send their kids to yell at her about their toilet. Oh, and Ted is back from LA for a visit, which just adds to the problems in both personal and professional areas. Peggy breaks down at the end of the episode, realizing just how isolated she is.
2. Don Draper - Don's "bicoastal" now, visiting Megan on weekends and such while "working" in New York. That "working" is doing freelance work with Freddie Rumson, who is the public face of the team when making pitches (their pitch for a watch company is the account that Peggy and Lou square off on for most of the episode). Don seems to have some positives here - he rebuffs a woman on the plane with whom he easily could have hooked up, for example - but at the end, sitting alone on his balcony in the cold, we get the bookend of isolation to Peggy. He's married, is getting some work done, but is essentially on his own.
3. Roger Sterling - Roger has turned his hotel room into some sort of commune/ashram/love-in, based on the number of nude people (and their various states of consciousness) in the room when his daughter calls to arrange brunch. His return from brunch shows that Margaret's forgiveness has sparked something in him, suggesting that all the free love and acid he can get isn't going to fulfill him.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove - it's only been two months since the last episode, so that eye patch may not be permanent, but its appearance does make me nervous. Ken is not having a very good time at work - he's the head of accounts in New York, has to juggle Detroit and LA and has little help - which given his ambivalent nature about his job must be killing him (I'm also guessing that Dave Algonquin hasn't had much time to write). I'd rank Ken higher if they didn't play him for comedy based on his newly limited eyesight.
Three Up
1. Joan Harris - After listening to Ken complain about how he has no help, Joan freelances a meeting with Butler Shoes, a client who is planning on taking their advertising in-house. With some help from a surprisingly non-lecherous professor, she gets information which helps turn the company's director of marketing around, to the point where he's asking her for advice. Ken calls her out on it, but it's a good step forward for Joan given how she's been marginalized in the past.
2. Megan Draper - Now set up in LA and still married to Don, she's living in the hills and just got a callback for a pilot being shot for NBC. Things aren't perfect - her career has clearly receded since leaving New York, and she's got some anxiety stemming from Don's part-time presence, but things seem to be moving forward for her - except there's some talk about "fixing her teeth," which is blasphemy.
3. Pete Campbell - Of everyone who's decamped to LA, Pete seems to be reacting to it the best. He hates the city (flat, ugly, brown air) but loves the vibe. He's tan, dressed for tennis and has hooked up with a comely real estate agent (who will hopefully get him out of his apartment overlooking the tar pits soon). I'd rank Pete higher if I didn't expect him to Campbell it all up in short order.
Honorable Mention: Margaret Sterling - She invites her father to brunch, where she forgives him for everything. He forgives her back, only getting that she's on some sort of spiritual quest late in the conversation. She seems happy, thus the honorable mention, but I do fear that she's hooked up with some sort of cult.
Three Down
1. Peggy Olsen - Peggy did not get the head of creative position once Don was cashiered, and is now the senior person under some guy named Lou who is both lousy at his job and has all the gaiety of an impacted wisdom tooth. On top of work problems Peggy is now the landlady for the building she bought with Abe, meaning she's stuck in dangerous territory with tenants who send their kids to yell at her about their toilet. Oh, and Ted is back from LA for a visit, which just adds to the problems in both personal and professional areas. Peggy breaks down at the end of the episode, realizing just how isolated she is.
2. Don Draper - Don's "bicoastal" now, visiting Megan on weekends and such while "working" in New York. That "working" is doing freelance work with Freddie Rumson, who is the public face of the team when making pitches (their pitch for a watch company is the account that Peggy and Lou square off on for most of the episode). Don seems to have some positives here - he rebuffs a woman on the plane with whom he easily could have hooked up, for example - but at the end, sitting alone on his balcony in the cold, we get the bookend of isolation to Peggy. He's married, is getting some work done, but is essentially on his own.
3. Roger Sterling - Roger has turned his hotel room into some sort of commune/ashram/love-in, based on the number of nude people (and their various states of consciousness) in the room when his daughter calls to arrange brunch. His return from brunch shows that Margaret's forgiveness has sparked something in him, suggesting that all the free love and acid he can get isn't going to fulfill him.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove - it's only been two months since the last episode, so that eye patch may not be permanent, but its appearance does make me nervous. Ken is not having a very good time at work - he's the head of accounts in New York, has to juggle Detroit and LA and has little help - which given his ambivalent nature about his job must be killing him (I'm also guessing that Dave Algonquin hasn't had much time to write). I'd rank Ken higher if they didn't play him for comedy based on his newly limited eyesight.
Monday, October 07, 2013
Catching Up
So with summer gone and the new TV season starting up, a quick look back on what I wasted my time with over the past few months:
Under the Dome - we're about halfway through this, and I'm not particularly impressed. Too exposition-heavy, odd moments of illogic (a meningitis outbreak that can be cured in hours using one dose of antibiotics, no one finds that strange?), and not particularly great acting (though the guy playing James "Junior" Rennie could probably make a career out of playing sociopaths). But it's interesting enough for a summer series, I suppose. It is picking up a bit now that the thing that's apparently causing the dome has been discovered.
Hell's Kitchen/MasterChef - I found the former more watchable this time around if only for the casting of perhaps the most incompetent group of one gender in the show's history (the men, who proved almost incapable of winning a team challenge). The latter is much more watchable this time around, not sure if it's the contestants or the (relative) streamlining of the tryouts. It's not the Walmart product placements or the Glee-themed episode, which pretty much proved that Jane Lynch will appear in anything (as if Celebrity Game Night didn't do that already).
Masterpiece - after working through Mr. Selfridge (kind of not worth it, unless 14 episodes of Jeremy Piven given license to overact is your kind of thing), we got what appears to be the last season of Inspector Lewis (boo) and the first season of Endeavor, a Morse prequel series that I've enjoyed quite a bit. Neither have particularly long runs (3 and 5 episodes respectively, I think), so easy to cover if you're so inclined.
The Killing - you may have noticed that I tailed off of the weekly coverage, thanks in part to a move and in part to the show not really having three characters who have an "up" episode every week. Turns out the show's been cancelled (for good this time), which isn't helping me finish the season. Don't think I'll miss the show per se, but I will miss Joel Kinnaman's performances as Stephen Holder. Here's to hoping he gets the higher profile role he deserves, but soon.
American Ninja Warrior - modeled after a Japanese show, it features a variety of folks (many of whom are either rock climbers or devotees of Parkour/freerunning) trying to conquer obstacle courses in the hopes of conquering the final one (which has never been done). It's not something we'd have tuned into, but the oldest boy found it one rainy weekend afternoon and it quickly became his program of choice. I fear future trips to the park will be ruined as he finds that none of them have a salmon ladder or warped wall. Also problematic is the change from G4 to Esquire Network, as the show went off air for a few weekends, but it appears to be back, for better or worse.
Under the Dome - we're about halfway through this, and I'm not particularly impressed. Too exposition-heavy, odd moments of illogic (a meningitis outbreak that can be cured in hours using one dose of antibiotics, no one finds that strange?), and not particularly great acting (though the guy playing James "Junior" Rennie could probably make a career out of playing sociopaths). But it's interesting enough for a summer series, I suppose. It is picking up a bit now that the thing that's apparently causing the dome has been discovered.
Hell's Kitchen/MasterChef - I found the former more watchable this time around if only for the casting of perhaps the most incompetent group of one gender in the show's history (the men, who proved almost incapable of winning a team challenge). The latter is much more watchable this time around, not sure if it's the contestants or the (relative) streamlining of the tryouts. It's not the Walmart product placements or the Glee-themed episode, which pretty much proved that Jane Lynch will appear in anything (as if Celebrity Game Night didn't do that already).
Masterpiece - after working through Mr. Selfridge (kind of not worth it, unless 14 episodes of Jeremy Piven given license to overact is your kind of thing), we got what appears to be the last season of Inspector Lewis (boo) and the first season of Endeavor, a Morse prequel series that I've enjoyed quite a bit. Neither have particularly long runs (3 and 5 episodes respectively, I think), so easy to cover if you're so inclined.
The Killing - you may have noticed that I tailed off of the weekly coverage, thanks in part to a move and in part to the show not really having three characters who have an "up" episode every week. Turns out the show's been cancelled (for good this time), which isn't helping me finish the season. Don't think I'll miss the show per se, but I will miss Joel Kinnaman's performances as Stephen Holder. Here's to hoping he gets the higher profile role he deserves, but soon.
American Ninja Warrior - modeled after a Japanese show, it features a variety of folks (many of whom are either rock climbers or devotees of Parkour/freerunning) trying to conquer obstacle courses in the hopes of conquering the final one (which has never been done). It's not something we'd have tuned into, but the oldest boy found it one rainy weekend afternoon and it quickly became his program of choice. I fear future trips to the park will be ruined as he finds that none of them have a salmon ladder or warped wall. Also problematic is the change from G4 to Esquire Network, as the show went off air for a few weekends, but it appears to be back, for better or worse.
Sunday, July 07, 2013
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing, "Head Shots"
Three Up
3. Ray Emery. His attempt at making a connection with Hill, and then taking the pill so Becker will stop beating Hill, shows that he still can feel and connect. The only problem is that it allows others to manipulate you and derail your attempts to manipulate others. Emery will figure out a way to get back at Becker, but for now Emery has to reflect on the fact that all of his beatings and injuries at the hands of his father and various gangs may not have made him the hardened character he tries to be.
Honorable Mention: Mama Dips. The (manager? owner? madame?) of the Queens Motel, she quickly finds herself on the wrong side of the law when Holder is able to connect the motel to the sex tapes and get a warrant. Things get worse when it's found that she has a warning buzzer to the hidden room where the taping took place. She's putting on a brave face for the cops - saying she's the voice on the tapes, and where is the soda she was promised? - but you have to think she's lying to cover for someone who can do her real harm. She is, at least, entertaining about it.
1. Goldie Willis. He's not in the episode much, but he makes maximum use of his time. He leads Holder and Reddick (who are staking him out) to the retaining pond where all the bodies were discovered and throws a makeshift press conference with his mom at his side. He claims he is not the serial killer (giving the killer the media-friendly nickname of the Pied Piper) and that the cops aren't even telling anyone about Kallie being missing and likely with the actual serial killer. This causes the expected problems with the Seattle police, and indirectly reunites Linden and Holder. Which may not be the best thing for Goldie in the long run (they'll figure out if Goldie's involved well before Reddick ever would), but for now it throws the heat off of him.
2. Sarah Linden. Is back partnering with Holder after Goldie's press conference and a chance to dish back to Reddick what he's been dishing to Holder (and presumably others) about her. She's also able to make some connections that help her and Holder figure out who is making the sex tapes in the motel (more of whom anon). She's not made the leap she most wants - connecting all of this to the Emery killing - but she's back with her partner and making headway.
3. Francis Becker. Emery continues to manipulate things on the cell block - he doesn't obey the junior guard's order to take antibiotics, and is developing a friendship with his chatty block-mate, Hill. None of this is to Becker's liking, so he invites the junior guard home for dinner (they're both working double shifts, Becker's house is closer to the prison, and the junior guard doesn't really want to go home). There Becker's wife and son quickly give a picture of how unpleasant life is at casa Becker, and Becker quickly gets the other guard to admit that Emery didn't take his medicine. Becker then kills two birds with one stone by beating Hill until Emery takes the pill. Hill tries to get Emery to not give in, but he does. So Becker's back in charge, for now at least, though Emery's unlikely to be done challenging authority (he's acknowledged that the system has already bested him, so what does he have to lose?) and Becker's wife is pretty clearly willing to give the younger guard some of what Becker's not been around the house to get (by which I mean sex). So, like Goldie, this may just be a short term win.
Honorable Mention: Bullet. She's still working with Holder on finding Kallie, and is able to give him information that leads to the raid on the motel. She also shows how deeply protective she is of her fellow street kids when she goes with Twitch to the park to score, because she knows what a bad idea that is and that Twitch will need someone there, if just to pick up the pieces. We see more of what's behind Bullet's brave face in this episode, and it shows that there is a difference between her and the other street kids, even if she has to hide that to survive.
2. Sarah Linden. Is back partnering with Holder after Goldie's press conference and a chance to dish back to Reddick what he's been dishing to Holder (and presumably others) about her. She's also able to make some connections that help her and Holder figure out who is making the sex tapes in the motel (more of whom anon). She's not made the leap she most wants - connecting all of this to the Emery killing - but she's back with her partner and making headway.
3. Francis Becker. Emery continues to manipulate things on the cell block - he doesn't obey the junior guard's order to take antibiotics, and is developing a friendship with his chatty block-mate, Hill. None of this is to Becker's liking, so he invites the junior guard home for dinner (they're both working double shifts, Becker's house is closer to the prison, and the junior guard doesn't really want to go home). There Becker's wife and son quickly give a picture of how unpleasant life is at casa Becker, and Becker quickly gets the other guard to admit that Emery didn't take his medicine. Becker then kills two birds with one stone by beating Hill until Emery takes the pill. Hill tries to get Emery to not give in, but he does. So Becker's back in charge, for now at least, though Emery's unlikely to be done challenging authority (he's acknowledged that the system has already bested him, so what does he have to lose?) and Becker's wife is pretty clearly willing to give the younger guard some of what Becker's not been around the house to get (by which I mean sex). So, like Goldie, this may just be a short term win.
Honorable Mention: Bullet. She's still working with Holder on finding Kallie, and is able to give him information that leads to the raid on the motel. She also shows how deeply protective she is of her fellow street kids when she goes with Twitch to the park to score, because she knows what a bad idea that is and that Twitch will need someone there, if just to pick up the pieces. We see more of what's behind Bullet's brave face in this episode, and it shows that there is a difference between her and the other street kids, even if she has to hide that to survive.
Three Down
1. Danette Lutz. The mother of the year campaign kicks into high gear
when Linden stops by again to ask Danette if she's seen Kallie, and in
revealing that Kallie's been hooking gets the response from Danette that
it's a phase and she'll grow out of it (which makes one wonder how
Danette conceived Kallie in the first place). Danette also admits that
she locked Kallie out of the trailer the night she disappeared, an act
which finally seems to work a chink in Danette's armor (something the
sex tape didn't even seem to do). The capper is that Danette's boyfriend
is none other than the man behind the sex tapes, Joe Mills (who Kallie
previously said creeped her out and whom Lyric has provided certain
services for in the past). There is like not a single choice Danette has
made that's working in her favor.
2. Twitch. One clean drug test before moving to L.A., but Twitch's PO has some bad news - he failed his last test. That, of course, is a lie, but the PO knows how to rig the system to his own advantage. Which, in this case, is teaching Twitch a lesson by sodomizing him in the back of his car. Clearly, there are issues here, but we don't dwell on them but instead see that Twitch (who is not into dudes) is driven right back to heroin due to this. He later goes out to a park to score and gets beaten by some punks for his trouble. Lyric tells him that she'll nurse him back to health, so if nothing else he still has the love of a girl that he doesn't really deserve.
2. Twitch. One clean drug test before moving to L.A., but Twitch's PO has some bad news - he failed his last test. That, of course, is a lie, but the PO knows how to rig the system to his own advantage. Which, in this case, is teaching Twitch a lesson by sodomizing him in the back of his car. Clearly, there are issues here, but we don't dwell on them but instead see that Twitch (who is not into dudes) is driven right back to heroin due to this. He later goes out to a park to score and gets beaten by some punks for his trouble. Lyric tells him that she'll nurse him back to health, so if nothing else he still has the love of a girl that he doesn't really deserve.
3. Ray Emery. His attempt at making a connection with Hill, and then taking the pill so Becker will stop beating Hill, shows that he still can feel and connect. The only problem is that it allows others to manipulate you and derail your attempts to manipulate others. Emery will figure out a way to get back at Becker, but for now Emery has to reflect on the fact that all of his beatings and injuries at the hands of his father and various gangs may not have made him the hardened character he tries to be.
Honorable Mention: Mama Dips. The (manager? owner? madame?) of the Queens Motel, she quickly finds herself on the wrong side of the law when Holder is able to connect the motel to the sex tapes and get a warrant. Things get worse when it's found that she has a warning buzzer to the hidden room where the taping took place. She's putting on a brave face for the cops - saying she's the voice on the tapes, and where is the soda she was promised? - but you have to think she's lying to cover for someone who can do her real harm. She is, at least, entertaining about it.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "In Care Of"
Three Up
1. Ted Chaough. Ted finally makes the leap with Peggy, showing up at her place after she comes home from a date, confessing his feelings and winding up in bed. Peggy talks him into going home afterwards (he apparently always goes home when he works late), saying she's willing to wait for Ted as he figures out how to best end things at home. But when he gets in bed with Nan you can see the realization that he can't leave. Ted basically begs Don to let Ted go to California, and while Don says he needs the move as badly as Ted does, but Don later relents and says Ted should go (not that Don has much of a choice, as we'll see). Ted gets a lot of anger from Peggy, but in the end he's doing the right thing, getting out of a situation that he knows will hurt more people than help.
2. Peggy Olsen. Peggy forces the issue with Ted by getting dolled up for a date and then making sure he sees her before she leaves (Peggy adjusting her dress to show more cleavage may be the least Peggy Olsen-thing I've ever seen her do). Her protestations to Ted about not wanting to be "that woman" in his marriage belie the fact that she wants him and is willing to wait for him to become free, and her anger towards Ted when he says he's going to California is palpable. But after Don gets the boot, she winds up in his office going over work. It's not officially her office, but Peggy is staking claim to it and a new level of importance in the New York office. Even if the guy Duck brings is becomes her nominal boss, Peggy's going to be an integral part of the firm going forward.
3. Bob Benson. Bob shows he can give as well as he gets by ending Pete's tenure with Chevy almost as soon as it starts. Knowing that the apparent death of Pete's mom will put Bob under even more pressure, Bob uses the Chevy guys' love of their cars against Pete, whose driving acumen is limited at best. With Pete now shuffling off to California, and Ken unlikely to take Chevy back, Bob is in position to be the top guy on Chevy. On the personal front, he's also managing to be the main man in Joan's life, even if she only refers to Bob as a buddy. Bob's the one carving turkey on Thanksgiving, and he's not letting Roger scare him off. Curious to see how all this plays out; will Duck give his info on Bob to other people at SC&P, and is Bob sincerely interested in Joan?
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Things are not going well for Sally at Miss Porter's, as she gets suspended after buying beer for classmates and getting drunk. So she'll be home for Thanksgiving, on top of which she has a summons to give a statement over the burglary case (her phone call with Don over this is, at best, frosty). But things might be in for a change when Sally sees the dilapidated house where Don grew up. As the first thing Don has really told Sally (or any of the kids) about his life, you can begin to see the wheels working in Sally's head, as to why her dad is hiding stuff about his past. Not sure if he'll make a full confession, but it's at least an opening for Sally if she wants to rebuild her relationship with Don.
Three Down
1. Pete Campbell. Pete, now on the Chevy account, learns just before a trip out to Detroit that his mother has gone missing at sea, falling overboard during a cruise with Manolo, whom she married on board. Pete and Bud have a chance to pay for an investigation that will almost certainly see Manolo found guilty, though they apparently have a price at which they'll let things lie. Pete uses this to continue his threats towards Bob, which Bob deftly turns around by having Pete try to drive a Camaro in front of the Chevy guys. Pete promptly backs into a display and is off the account. In the end Pete winds up going out to California to set up SC&P's Los Angeles office, either free of his burdens or abandoning his family depending on your point of view.
2. Megan Draper. After an entire season where she tries to get Don back, she finally gives up trying after he tells her they're not moving to California. He doesn't explain it well, and his attempt to soften the blow by trying redefine their union as "bicoastal" doesn't cut it. So she's lost her husband and her job, and is moving to L.A. mostly on the hope of getting work.
3. Roger Sterling. There are some good moments for Roger - he gets invited to Joan's for Thanksgiving, giving him some time with their son, but he's only there because his daughter has frozen him out as he won't put any more money in her husband's trucking business. He also gets to have it out with Bob over Joan, but his attempts to intimidate Bob don't quite work as Bob winds up at Joan's for Thanksgiving as well. And he also has to be in on Don's ouster, choosing the business over friendship (though their friendship has never really fully come back from the falling out a few seasons ago).
Honorable Mention: Dorothy Campbell. She may have loved the sea, but she probably loved being not dead better. Or at least assumed dead; I would love it if she turned up next season after wandering around Martinique for six months or so with no idea of who she is or what happened.
One ?
1. Don Draper. So how is it that you can wind up in the drunk tank, lose your wife, and lose your job, and not have it turn out to be a down episode? It happens when the things that lead to these setbacks may, in the long run, be the best thing for you. Not so much the drunk tank - as much as it gives Don another clue that he needs to cut of the sauce, it also opens him up to being discovered for who he really is - but the rest of it. During a pitch to Hershey's that is going quite well, Don comes clean with them about his personal story (which he wove into his pitch), telling all assembled about his actual childhood. This goes over about as well as you'd expect, and in its immediate aftermath is when Don tells Ted he can go to California (an act that causes him to lose Megan). In some respect, Don sacrifices himself to prevent Ted from going down the same road that Don's traveled.
When Don loses his job, it's ironic that he gets Fred Rumsoned for something he did when not drunk (he had that drink beforehand, but I don't believe he was actually drunk for the pitch). And as mad as Don was for being ousted, it does help give him the freedom that someone like Pete only thinks he's getting.
And when we see Don bring the kids to the house where he grew up, and we see Sally look at Don in a way that's questioning and a little understanding, we begin to see that for all of the trouble opening up has caused Don, it's also starting to give him back his family. It will be interesting to see how far his opening up will take him.
1. Ted Chaough. Ted finally makes the leap with Peggy, showing up at her place after she comes home from a date, confessing his feelings and winding up in bed. Peggy talks him into going home afterwards (he apparently always goes home when he works late), saying she's willing to wait for Ted as he figures out how to best end things at home. But when he gets in bed with Nan you can see the realization that he can't leave. Ted basically begs Don to let Ted go to California, and while Don says he needs the move as badly as Ted does, but Don later relents and says Ted should go (not that Don has much of a choice, as we'll see). Ted gets a lot of anger from Peggy, but in the end he's doing the right thing, getting out of a situation that he knows will hurt more people than help.
2. Peggy Olsen. Peggy forces the issue with Ted by getting dolled up for a date and then making sure he sees her before she leaves (Peggy adjusting her dress to show more cleavage may be the least Peggy Olsen-thing I've ever seen her do). Her protestations to Ted about not wanting to be "that woman" in his marriage belie the fact that she wants him and is willing to wait for him to become free, and her anger towards Ted when he says he's going to California is palpable. But after Don gets the boot, she winds up in his office going over work. It's not officially her office, but Peggy is staking claim to it and a new level of importance in the New York office. Even if the guy Duck brings is becomes her nominal boss, Peggy's going to be an integral part of the firm going forward.
3. Bob Benson. Bob shows he can give as well as he gets by ending Pete's tenure with Chevy almost as soon as it starts. Knowing that the apparent death of Pete's mom will put Bob under even more pressure, Bob uses the Chevy guys' love of their cars against Pete, whose driving acumen is limited at best. With Pete now shuffling off to California, and Ken unlikely to take Chevy back, Bob is in position to be the top guy on Chevy. On the personal front, he's also managing to be the main man in Joan's life, even if she only refers to Bob as a buddy. Bob's the one carving turkey on Thanksgiving, and he's not letting Roger scare him off. Curious to see how all this plays out; will Duck give his info on Bob to other people at SC&P, and is Bob sincerely interested in Joan?
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Things are not going well for Sally at Miss Porter's, as she gets suspended after buying beer for classmates and getting drunk. So she'll be home for Thanksgiving, on top of which she has a summons to give a statement over the burglary case (her phone call with Don over this is, at best, frosty). But things might be in for a change when Sally sees the dilapidated house where Don grew up. As the first thing Don has really told Sally (or any of the kids) about his life, you can begin to see the wheels working in Sally's head, as to why her dad is hiding stuff about his past. Not sure if he'll make a full confession, but it's at least an opening for Sally if she wants to rebuild her relationship with Don.
Three Down
1. Pete Campbell. Pete, now on the Chevy account, learns just before a trip out to Detroit that his mother has gone missing at sea, falling overboard during a cruise with Manolo, whom she married on board. Pete and Bud have a chance to pay for an investigation that will almost certainly see Manolo found guilty, though they apparently have a price at which they'll let things lie. Pete uses this to continue his threats towards Bob, which Bob deftly turns around by having Pete try to drive a Camaro in front of the Chevy guys. Pete promptly backs into a display and is off the account. In the end Pete winds up going out to California to set up SC&P's Los Angeles office, either free of his burdens or abandoning his family depending on your point of view.
2. Megan Draper. After an entire season where she tries to get Don back, she finally gives up trying after he tells her they're not moving to California. He doesn't explain it well, and his attempt to soften the blow by trying redefine their union as "bicoastal" doesn't cut it. So she's lost her husband and her job, and is moving to L.A. mostly on the hope of getting work.
3. Roger Sterling. There are some good moments for Roger - he gets invited to Joan's for Thanksgiving, giving him some time with their son, but he's only there because his daughter has frozen him out as he won't put any more money in her husband's trucking business. He also gets to have it out with Bob over Joan, but his attempts to intimidate Bob don't quite work as Bob winds up at Joan's for Thanksgiving as well. And he also has to be in on Don's ouster, choosing the business over friendship (though their friendship has never really fully come back from the falling out a few seasons ago).
Honorable Mention: Dorothy Campbell. She may have loved the sea, but she probably loved being not dead better. Or at least assumed dead; I would love it if she turned up next season after wandering around Martinique for six months or so with no idea of who she is or what happened.
One ?
1. Don Draper. So how is it that you can wind up in the drunk tank, lose your wife, and lose your job, and not have it turn out to be a down episode? It happens when the things that lead to these setbacks may, in the long run, be the best thing for you. Not so much the drunk tank - as much as it gives Don another clue that he needs to cut of the sauce, it also opens him up to being discovered for who he really is - but the rest of it. During a pitch to Hershey's that is going quite well, Don comes clean with them about his personal story (which he wove into his pitch), telling all assembled about his actual childhood. This goes over about as well as you'd expect, and in its immediate aftermath is when Don tells Ted he can go to California (an act that causes him to lose Megan). In some respect, Don sacrifices himself to prevent Ted from going down the same road that Don's traveled.
When Don loses his job, it's ironic that he gets Fred Rumsoned for something he did when not drunk (he had that drink beforehand, but I don't believe he was actually drunk for the pitch). And as mad as Don was for being ousted, it does help give him the freedom that someone like Pete only thinks he's getting.
And when we see Don bring the kids to the house where he grew up, and we see Sally look at Don in a way that's questioning and a little understanding, we begin to see that for all of the trouble opening up has caused Don, it's also starting to give him back his family. It will be interesting to see how far his opening up will take him.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Quality of Mercy"
Three Up
1. Sally Draper. Turns out that part of Sally's processing of catching Don with Sylvia Rosen is that she now wants to go to boarding school, apparently an extension of her blowing off weekends in the city. Betty takes her to an interview and overnight at Miss Porter's School, where Sally is saddled with two students who demand smokes or booze to ensure they say good things about Sally. She has neither, but is able to call in Glenn Bishop and a friend of his, and they bring booze and weed. There's a bump in the road when Glenn's pal Rollo tries to move in on Sally, but she gets Glenn to intercede, which he does buy beating Rollo about the head and torso (which makes Sally very happy, not sure if it's because she likes Glenn or likes that she can manipulate him). In any case, it turns out that Sally's in if she wants, and in the end Betty even lets Sally try a cigarette, which leads Sally to note that Don has never given her anything. So even with the win, there's still a pretty big hole there.
2. Pete Campbell. Pete finally gets his shot at Chevy, taking over for Ken after his latest injury at the hands of the GM guys in Detroit. Problem is that he's saddled with Bob Benson, but Pete has a stroke of genius: he calls Duck to see if he can find a spot for Bob at another firm (and with good timing, as Pete's mom is still seeing Manolo). Duck passes on some interesting info on Bob, which Pete (using his experience with Don as a guide) uses to keep Bob around, but out of Pete's business (so to speak). He also gets Manolo out of the picture. He's still Pete at times, but it's a good week for him, relatively.
3. Betty Francis. Her phone call to Don about Sally shows some of the flirty aftermath of Don and Betty's hook up, which is a nice softening of Betty's usual bitchiness. She's very good with the woman at Miss Porter's School, and when she learns that Sally is in is reasonably proud (though she wants more details from Sally). Betty is surprised when Sally says Don has never given her anything, but I think there's some part of her that's happy to hear that Sally's giving attitude in equal amounts.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove. Odd to be considered a winner when you've been shot in the face, but getting out of traveling to Detroit while staying on the account in New York makes this an overall win (especially if Ken gets to keep that eye that's under the patch).
Three Down
1. Ted Chaough. Ted's interest in Peggy is obvious to pretty much everyone, as she can do no wrong when pitching ideas. They also take in Rosemary's Baby together, though an awkward encounter with Don and Megan (who are at the same theater) leads to an even more awkward explanation of why Ted and Peggy are at the movie (they claim it's for an ad, which is true enough for cover). When Ted plans to spend three times the approved budget on a TV ad (putting the firm's money on the line, as he's not yet run the extra cost by the client), Don gets involved by making a (not particularly) oblique reference to Ted and Peggy when trying to explain the extra money. When Don comes up with a different reason, it spares Ted (and gets him more money), but in the end Ted is furious with Don for outing him and Peggy. Oh, and Ted also gets to yell at Don when it turns out the firm is going to go with Sunkist, forcing them to drop Ocean Spray (Harry Crane is involved, but the money is also too good to pass up).
2. Don Draper. Don's been guilt drinking, and actually agrees to stay home when Megan notes his deplorable condition. That's when he hears from Harry about Sunkist, which Don tells Harry to cancel, but changes his mind when he begins to see how Ted is around Peggy. This winds up being Don's main issue for the episode, cock-blocking Ted by bringing in Sunkist and ratting Ted out about the over-budget TV ad. In the end he tells Ted off and says he's not thinking clearly, but it's clear that Don's actions are not coming solely from concern for the firm. As bad as Ted takes it Peggy takes it worse, as she sees it as Don's continuing war with Ted and his continued meddling with Peggy. If you want to be charitable, you could argue that Don is doing this to keep Ted from making the same mistakes Don has made, but I don't think Don would act like that. In the end, Don winds up curled up on his office couch, probably reflecting on how screwed up things are for him at home and at work.
3. Bob Benson. Bob gets assigned to Pete as part of his Chevy team, and while Pete tells him to keep his distance it looks like Bob will do the Bob thing. Or at least he would if Duck hadn't discovered that Bob's story - education, work, family - is all crap. The best that Duck can tell is that Bob is from West Virgina, was a manservant to a wheel at Brown Brothers Harriman, and has managed to get work only at places dumb enough to not ask many questions (hello, SC&P!). But Bob gets to stay on after Pete confronts him, and even with conditions it's a better deal than getting turfed out. It's a setback in Bob's plan to do whatever it is he's planning to do.
Honorable Mention: Megan Draper. Remember when Betty said the worst way to get Don is to show that you love him? Megan tries very hard to get Don healthy and interested, but by the end of the episode Don is sitting in the dark living room, drinking and watching TV, rather than come to bed with Megan. She's getting closer to prove Betty right with every passing week.
1. Sally Draper. Turns out that part of Sally's processing of catching Don with Sylvia Rosen is that she now wants to go to boarding school, apparently an extension of her blowing off weekends in the city. Betty takes her to an interview and overnight at Miss Porter's School, where Sally is saddled with two students who demand smokes or booze to ensure they say good things about Sally. She has neither, but is able to call in Glenn Bishop and a friend of his, and they bring booze and weed. There's a bump in the road when Glenn's pal Rollo tries to move in on Sally, but she gets Glenn to intercede, which he does buy beating Rollo about the head and torso (which makes Sally very happy, not sure if it's because she likes Glenn or likes that she can manipulate him). In any case, it turns out that Sally's in if she wants, and in the end Betty even lets Sally try a cigarette, which leads Sally to note that Don has never given her anything. So even with the win, there's still a pretty big hole there.
2. Pete Campbell. Pete finally gets his shot at Chevy, taking over for Ken after his latest injury at the hands of the GM guys in Detroit. Problem is that he's saddled with Bob Benson, but Pete has a stroke of genius: he calls Duck to see if he can find a spot for Bob at another firm (and with good timing, as Pete's mom is still seeing Manolo). Duck passes on some interesting info on Bob, which Pete (using his experience with Don as a guide) uses to keep Bob around, but out of Pete's business (so to speak). He also gets Manolo out of the picture. He's still Pete at times, but it's a good week for him, relatively.
3. Betty Francis. Her phone call to Don about Sally shows some of the flirty aftermath of Don and Betty's hook up, which is a nice softening of Betty's usual bitchiness. She's very good with the woman at Miss Porter's School, and when she learns that Sally is in is reasonably proud (though she wants more details from Sally). Betty is surprised when Sally says Don has never given her anything, but I think there's some part of her that's happy to hear that Sally's giving attitude in equal amounts.
Honorable Mention: Ken Cosgrove. Odd to be considered a winner when you've been shot in the face, but getting out of traveling to Detroit while staying on the account in New York makes this an overall win (especially if Ken gets to keep that eye that's under the patch).
Three Down
1. Ted Chaough. Ted's interest in Peggy is obvious to pretty much everyone, as she can do no wrong when pitching ideas. They also take in Rosemary's Baby together, though an awkward encounter with Don and Megan (who are at the same theater) leads to an even more awkward explanation of why Ted and Peggy are at the movie (they claim it's for an ad, which is true enough for cover). When Ted plans to spend three times the approved budget on a TV ad (putting the firm's money on the line, as he's not yet run the extra cost by the client), Don gets involved by making a (not particularly) oblique reference to Ted and Peggy when trying to explain the extra money. When Don comes up with a different reason, it spares Ted (and gets him more money), but in the end Ted is furious with Don for outing him and Peggy. Oh, and Ted also gets to yell at Don when it turns out the firm is going to go with Sunkist, forcing them to drop Ocean Spray (Harry Crane is involved, but the money is also too good to pass up).
2. Don Draper. Don's been guilt drinking, and actually agrees to stay home when Megan notes his deplorable condition. That's when he hears from Harry about Sunkist, which Don tells Harry to cancel, but changes his mind when he begins to see how Ted is around Peggy. This winds up being Don's main issue for the episode, cock-blocking Ted by bringing in Sunkist and ratting Ted out about the over-budget TV ad. In the end he tells Ted off and says he's not thinking clearly, but it's clear that Don's actions are not coming solely from concern for the firm. As bad as Ted takes it Peggy takes it worse, as she sees it as Don's continuing war with Ted and his continued meddling with Peggy. If you want to be charitable, you could argue that Don is doing this to keep Ted from making the same mistakes Don has made, but I don't think Don would act like that. In the end, Don winds up curled up on his office couch, probably reflecting on how screwed up things are for him at home and at work.
3. Bob Benson. Bob gets assigned to Pete as part of his Chevy team, and while Pete tells him to keep his distance it looks like Bob will do the Bob thing. Or at least he would if Duck hadn't discovered that Bob's story - education, work, family - is all crap. The best that Duck can tell is that Bob is from West Virgina, was a manservant to a wheel at Brown Brothers Harriman, and has managed to get work only at places dumb enough to not ask many questions (hello, SC&P!). But Bob gets to stay on after Pete confronts him, and even with conditions it's a better deal than getting turfed out. It's a setback in Bob's plan to do whatever it is he's planning to do.
Honorable Mention: Megan Draper. Remember when Betty said the worst way to get Don is to show that you love him? Megan tries very hard to get Don healthy and interested, but by the end of the episode Don is sitting in the dark living room, drinking and watching TV, rather than come to bed with Megan. She's getting closer to prove Betty right with every passing week.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Three Up, Three Down: The Killing, "Seventeen"
Three Up
1. Sarah Linden. Linden is back on the job, signed up by her old partner to help with the investigation into all of the bodies she found in that pond. She spends the episode looking for Kallie Leeds, and manages to do so without noticeably falling down the rat hole. Her search comes to fruition when a video of Kallie turns up in the stash of kiddie porn found at Goldie's place during a raid. While there's no guarantee she's still alive, the footage at least gives hope that Kallie is still alive.
Ray Emery
2. Steven Holder. Holder and Reddick are assigned to finding identities for the 17 bodies, but Holder focuses on finding Bullet. When he does she gives him the tip that Kallie may be locked up at Goldie's. The raid turns up Goldie and a stash of child porn, including the recording with Kallie mentioned earlier. But there is a looming problem for Holder - he may be falling down the rat hole instead of Linden, spending all of his time at the office and forgetting that he should do something on Valentine's Day for his girlfriend.
3. James Skinner. Skinner is heading up the investigation, and appears to be cool, composed and solidly professional. He's mindful of how bringing Linden in on the case may be problematic, both based on her history and on their history (though he was apparently unaware that his wife knew he and Linden were shagging). Problem: while watching Holder and Reddick interrogate Goldie, Skinner seems intent in pinning the 17 murders on him. Which suggests he may have been similarly intent on sending up Ray Emery.
Honorable Mention: Carl Reddick. It says as much about the show as it does Reddick that he gets mention for mostly doing his job. We do get more insight as to why he's a good partner for Holder - their good cop/bad cop rap is polished, and Reddick does seem attuned to Holder's personal gaps (the Valentine's Day reminder, for example). Still, he's a 9 to 5er who may not see the eventual reunion of Linden and Holden coming.
Three Down
1. Goldie. So after attacking Bullet, Goldie gets busted after she rats him out for holding someone in his apartment that she believes is Kallie. It's not, but he's busted with child porn, so he's pretty much screwed, even without taking into account that he may get put on the hook for the 17 murders. He does make Holder and Reddick's stake out, and thus manages not to lead them to anything that would get him into more trouble, at least until the recording with Kallie turns up. Things are going to get worse for him, no question.
2. Bullet. Still hurting after being raped by Goldie, she pulls herself together to some extent, and then manages to point Holder in Goldie's direction saying she thinks he's got Kallie locked up in his apartment. It winds up being a different girl, but it does help Bullett get some revenge. It also may lead some of the other kids to think Bullet might be a rat. On the plus side, Bullet does get to have a couple of tender moments with Lyric, but both are tainted. One is cut short when Twitch shows up and says he's going out to see where the bodies were found, the other comes when they get to the pond, and see all of the locations where bodies were found marked off and lit. It's then that it hits home for Bullet and Lyric that their "dates" may have deadly consequences.
3. Ray Emery. I'm not sure what's going on with Ray. He manages to get someone to sneak in a razor blade for him (hidden in a bar of soap, so suggests it's a guard or other prison functionary), but when it appears he's going to use it against Becker (after goading him with a story about how Ray maimed Becker's brother in a prison riot a few years before), but doesn't get the chance. Ray finally uses the blade to remove a tattoo from his chest that commemorates the birth of his son. Not sure if that was the original intent, but for all of the talk about his son this episode, he may figure it's better to cut his son loose to protect him than to use the blade to hurt Becker for no obvious end.
Honorable Mention: Coroner. So he's got to examine 17 bodies (or at least perform some exams and review the others), assemble dental records for the victims that still had teeth, deal with parents who are hanging out in the hallway waiting to see if one of the victims is their daughter, and deal with Linden popping in asking questions looking to link the 17 dead with Emery's wife. Pretty sure this guy does not get paid enough.
1. Sarah Linden. Linden is back on the job, signed up by her old partner to help with the investigation into all of the bodies she found in that pond. She spends the episode looking for Kallie Leeds, and manages to do so without noticeably falling down the rat hole. Her search comes to fruition when a video of Kallie turns up in the stash of kiddie porn found at Goldie's place during a raid. While there's no guarantee she's still alive, the footage at least gives hope that Kallie is still alive.
Ray Emery
2. Steven Holder. Holder and Reddick are assigned to finding identities for the 17 bodies, but Holder focuses on finding Bullet. When he does she gives him the tip that Kallie may be locked up at Goldie's. The raid turns up Goldie and a stash of child porn, including the recording with Kallie mentioned earlier. But there is a looming problem for Holder - he may be falling down the rat hole instead of Linden, spending all of his time at the office and forgetting that he should do something on Valentine's Day for his girlfriend.
3. James Skinner. Skinner is heading up the investigation, and appears to be cool, composed and solidly professional. He's mindful of how bringing Linden in on the case may be problematic, both based on her history and on their history (though he was apparently unaware that his wife knew he and Linden were shagging). Problem: while watching Holder and Reddick interrogate Goldie, Skinner seems intent in pinning the 17 murders on him. Which suggests he may have been similarly intent on sending up Ray Emery.
Honorable Mention: Carl Reddick. It says as much about the show as it does Reddick that he gets mention for mostly doing his job. We do get more insight as to why he's a good partner for Holder - their good cop/bad cop rap is polished, and Reddick does seem attuned to Holder's personal gaps (the Valentine's Day reminder, for example). Still, he's a 9 to 5er who may not see the eventual reunion of Linden and Holden coming.
Three Down
1. Goldie. So after attacking Bullet, Goldie gets busted after she rats him out for holding someone in his apartment that she believes is Kallie. It's not, but he's busted with child porn, so he's pretty much screwed, even without taking into account that he may get put on the hook for the 17 murders. He does make Holder and Reddick's stake out, and thus manages not to lead them to anything that would get him into more trouble, at least until the recording with Kallie turns up. Things are going to get worse for him, no question.
2. Bullet. Still hurting after being raped by Goldie, she pulls herself together to some extent, and then manages to point Holder in Goldie's direction saying she thinks he's got Kallie locked up in his apartment. It winds up being a different girl, but it does help Bullett get some revenge. It also may lead some of the other kids to think Bullet might be a rat. On the plus side, Bullet does get to have a couple of tender moments with Lyric, but both are tainted. One is cut short when Twitch shows up and says he's going out to see where the bodies were found, the other comes when they get to the pond, and see all of the locations where bodies were found marked off and lit. It's then that it hits home for Bullet and Lyric that their "dates" may have deadly consequences.
3. Ray Emery. I'm not sure what's going on with Ray. He manages to get someone to sneak in a razor blade for him (hidden in a bar of soap, so suggests it's a guard or other prison functionary), but when it appears he's going to use it against Becker (after goading him with a story about how Ray maimed Becker's brother in a prison riot a few years before), but doesn't get the chance. Ray finally uses the blade to remove a tattoo from his chest that commemorates the birth of his son. Not sure if that was the original intent, but for all of the talk about his son this episode, he may figure it's better to cut his son loose to protect him than to use the blade to hurt Becker for no obvious end.
Honorable Mention: Coroner. So he's got to examine 17 bodies (or at least perform some exams and review the others), assemble dental records for the victims that still had teeth, deal with parents who are hanging out in the hallway waiting to see if one of the victims is their daughter, and deal with Linden popping in asking questions looking to link the 17 dead with Emery's wife. Pretty sure this guy does not get paid enough.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Favors"
Three Up
1. Betty Francis. Betty wins the week without appearing after the third minute of the episode. She forbids Sally from staying in a hotel on a Model UN trip. This leads Sally and a friend to stay with Don and Megan, and the repercussions of that, as we'll see, are a potential long-term boon for Betty.
2. Peggy Olsen. We don't often see Peggy played for comedy, but this week suggests that it should happen more often. On the home front, Peggy has a rat in her apartment, and when it appears it's in a trap but alive she calls Rizzo for help, even offering sex for his services (she even hints at a three-way with Rizzo and the woman who's with him when she calls). She eventually gets a cat. At work, she's still navigating her relationship with Ted, but more importantly has a very uncomfortable conversation with Pete's mom, who mistakes her for Trudy and then lets out that she's having sex with her nurse. Peggy's reactions, and the scene where she tells Pete, are priceless. She even offers Pete kindness by saying she doesn't pity him, and that she does know him best (even if part of that is kind of date rapey). Anyway, some needed relief given some of the other stuff.
3. Mitchell Rosen. His act of protest - sending his draft card back to the government - sees him classified as 1A, which is a bad thing when you've also dropped out of school. He's pretty lucky that his mom's lover works with a guy who was taught to fly by a brigadier general in the Air National Guard. Mitchell was pretty dismissive of Don when the first met - looking like The Man as Don does - but he's at least big enough to thank Don and offer a handshake (even if Al had to prompt him).
Honorable Mention: Roger Sterling. Not much of Roger in the episode, but he can juggle three oranges like nobody's business.
Three Down
1. Sally Draper. So the only thing worse than seeing your parents have sex is seeing one of your parents having sex with someone not their wife. That's what happens when Sally sneaks into the Rosen's apartment to get a note her friend slid under the door telling Mitchell that Sally likes him. She does not take this well, and winds up locking herself in her room. Don offers a weak explanation - that Sylvia needed consoling given Mitchell's stiuation - that Sally doesn't buy at all. Between this and seeing Megan's mom fellating Roger, Sally should just stay in the burbs.
2. Don Draper. While he does a great service for Mitchell - regardless of his motivations - the great service he's doing for Sylvia when they get caught by Sally negates pretty much everything. He's lost Sally, possibly for good. His burying the hatchet with Ted - dumping Sunkist for Ted's promise to talk to his flight teacher about Mitchell getting an Air National Guard spot - is also tainted, as Don doesn't even know they were in competition. His ham-handed discussion of how to get out of Vietnam during a dinner with GM didn't help, either. He'd have been the clear loser of the night if he hadn't scarred Sally for life.
3. Pete Campbell. While his job continues to be a problem - he sees the Sunkist versus Ocean Spray problem as being another personal attack on his standing in the firm - it's family that hits him hard this episode, what with his mother having sex with her nurse and then, when confronted, saying that Pete was always sour and unlovable, even as a child. And to wrap things up, when he talks with Bob Benson about how the nurse he referred is taking advantage, Bob gives a monologue about how it can't be wrong when someone finds a true love, and then presses his knee against Pete's. Pete doesn't recoil in terror as you might expect, but it's another blow.
Honorable Mention: Dorothy Campbell. Not only is she going to lose her lover, her insistence that she can manage herself as she has carfare and her address on paper is undercut by the fact that she can't remember her handbag. And with her outburst about Peter, she's pretty much destined for one of New York's less savory nursing homes.
1. Betty Francis. Betty wins the week without appearing after the third minute of the episode. She forbids Sally from staying in a hotel on a Model UN trip. This leads Sally and a friend to stay with Don and Megan, and the repercussions of that, as we'll see, are a potential long-term boon for Betty.
2. Peggy Olsen. We don't often see Peggy played for comedy, but this week suggests that it should happen more often. On the home front, Peggy has a rat in her apartment, and when it appears it's in a trap but alive she calls Rizzo for help, even offering sex for his services (she even hints at a three-way with Rizzo and the woman who's with him when she calls). She eventually gets a cat. At work, she's still navigating her relationship with Ted, but more importantly has a very uncomfortable conversation with Pete's mom, who mistakes her for Trudy and then lets out that she's having sex with her nurse. Peggy's reactions, and the scene where she tells Pete, are priceless. She even offers Pete kindness by saying she doesn't pity him, and that she does know him best (even if part of that is kind of date rapey). Anyway, some needed relief given some of the other stuff.
3. Mitchell Rosen. His act of protest - sending his draft card back to the government - sees him classified as 1A, which is a bad thing when you've also dropped out of school. He's pretty lucky that his mom's lover works with a guy who was taught to fly by a brigadier general in the Air National Guard. Mitchell was pretty dismissive of Don when the first met - looking like The Man as Don does - but he's at least big enough to thank Don and offer a handshake (even if Al had to prompt him).
Honorable Mention: Roger Sterling. Not much of Roger in the episode, but he can juggle three oranges like nobody's business.
Three Down
1. Sally Draper. So the only thing worse than seeing your parents have sex is seeing one of your parents having sex with someone not their wife. That's what happens when Sally sneaks into the Rosen's apartment to get a note her friend slid under the door telling Mitchell that Sally likes him. She does not take this well, and winds up locking herself in her room. Don offers a weak explanation - that Sylvia needed consoling given Mitchell's stiuation - that Sally doesn't buy at all. Between this and seeing Megan's mom fellating Roger, Sally should just stay in the burbs.
2. Don Draper. While he does a great service for Mitchell - regardless of his motivations - the great service he's doing for Sylvia when they get caught by Sally negates pretty much everything. He's lost Sally, possibly for good. His burying the hatchet with Ted - dumping Sunkist for Ted's promise to talk to his flight teacher about Mitchell getting an Air National Guard spot - is also tainted, as Don doesn't even know they were in competition. His ham-handed discussion of how to get out of Vietnam during a dinner with GM didn't help, either. He'd have been the clear loser of the night if he hadn't scarred Sally for life.
3. Pete Campbell. While his job continues to be a problem - he sees the Sunkist versus Ocean Spray problem as being another personal attack on his standing in the firm - it's family that hits him hard this episode, what with his mother having sex with her nurse and then, when confronted, saying that Pete was always sour and unlovable, even as a child. And to wrap things up, when he talks with Bob Benson about how the nurse he referred is taking advantage, Bob gives a monologue about how it can't be wrong when someone finds a true love, and then presses his knee against Pete's. Pete doesn't recoil in terror as you might expect, but it's another blow.
Honorable Mention: Dorothy Campbell. Not only is she going to lose her lover, her insistence that she can manage herself as she has carfare and her address on paper is undercut by the fact that she can't remember her handbag. And with her outburst about Peter, she's pretty much destined for one of New York's less savory nursing homes.
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