Mad Men: Three Up, Three Down

So Mad Men is finally back, and with it a new attempt at a regular feature: Three Up, Three Down. The idea here is to identify the three characters who had the best and worst turn of events per episode. Hopefully this won't be too much of a rip-off of Grantland's character power rankings.

Three Up


3. Pete Campbell - I generally enjoy watching Pete's flailing around and getting the cold shoulder from the other partners, as he usually gets what he deserves. But facing marginalization due to his crappy office and Roger's continual crashing of his meetings, and an ongoing issue at home as Trudy works through post-partum depression, it was kind of nice to see him win one. He got his bigger office and managed to pull a nice one over Roger, sending him to Staten Island for a phantom 6 am meeting. I'll admit to also liking the awkward moment he had with Peggy when she was with Joan's baby, more for my own entertainment than anything else.

2. African-Americans. As a group they've never fared well on this show; Don almost got a man fired in the first episode by asking about his smoking preference, and Carla got a raw deal when Betty let her go. So when a group showed up at the SCDP office after seeing the EOE ad they ran to tweak Y&R for their water-bombing protesters, it was a strong move forward. I'm very excited to see the integration of the SDCP office.

1. Megan Draper. I don't know if there's a supporting character that's become more important more quickly than Don's secretary-turned-wife. Her ability to make Don happy and her quick rapport with the kids marked a sea change in Don's personal life. Her further willingness to accept Don's past and embrace it shows even greater capacity to lead Don away from the darkness in his life. And then there was her performance of "Zou Bisou Bisou" at the surprise birthday party she threw for Don, equal parts charming, sexy, and kind of goofy. Throw in her kinky cleaning in lingerie make-up sex plan and she's absolutely riveting. Well done Jessica Pare, and here's to hoping you spend more of the season singing in French than writing coupons for condiment companies.

Three Down


3. Lane Pryce. I almost went with Peggy here for her pot-influenced dressing down of Don at his own birthday party, but in retrospect Lane gets the nod as we really saw in this episode the loneliness that's at his core. Sure, his wife is in New York now, but they are contented at best. The continuing cash flow  issues at home and work aren't helping. And then there was his not-so-subtly racist decision to hold onto a wallet he found in a cab rather than hand it over to the non-white driver. His phone banter with the owner's "girl" was sad-cute, which just became sad when the owner showed up to claim his wallet and can't stop talking about what a gentleman Lane is. Pryce's pep talk to Joan helped balance things out a bit, but I was kind of worried he was going to make a pass at her. I still am, to be honest.

2. Harry Crane. I have a feeling he'll show up here often, as he is SCDP's punching bag. Still, it was a pretty bad episode for him. He gave Don a walking stick for his birthday, which went over as well as you'd think. He spent a fair amount of time telling Stan what he'd do to Megan if given a chance - with Megan standing behind him for most of it. Finally, he allows himself to be bought out of his old office so Pete could have a better space. The $1100 aside, a pretty sad week for Harry. He'll have more.

1. Roger Sterling. You know Roger is facing the an ever-expanding void when he has to start crashing Pete's meetings in order to stay in front of clients. And then he has to pay off a secretary to spend some time covering his office! Roger has sunk, and can't quite find a way out. That's as true at home, where he realizes he's lost the Marry Your Secretary sweepstakes to Don. He's dismissive of Jane in a few settings, making one wonder at what point she'll become the next ex-Mrs. Sterling. That their bickering led to spoiling the surprise of Don's birthday party was just icing on the cake. Roger really needs to find a new client to occupy his time.