"The Rejected"

[chani]

I loved the last episode of Mad Men.

Maybe I shouldn't watch both True Blood and Mad Men on the same day because it isn't at True Blood's advantage. For all its flaws the show also has its moments (the last minutes of "Everything is Broken" for instance almost redeems all the poor writing stuff that made my eyes roll and got me bored this season) but compared to Mad Men it's...pretty much Popcorn tv.

I love "The Rejected" because of its many parallels that played on the idea of "rejected" and because it mostly focused on Peggy and Pete, my favourite characters (as intriguing and charming as Don is, I'm a fan of Peggy who represents the future, the new Don, and I'm quite fond of that little and oten pathetic asshole of Pete Campbell). Besides it was the perfect mix of comedy moments (Peggy's head peeking from her office behind Don!) and melancholy.

The Peggy/Pete scenes were fantastic, especially the last looks they exchanged while she was already outside the office's glass door, waiting for the elevator, with Joyce's counter-culture pals and he was still inside, in the lobby with the new clients, feeling more confident and successful than ever, all grown-up at last. It was kinda bittersweet. 

I also loved the shot of Peter after Peggy had congratulated him for the upcoming child, he was on his couch, frozen, like a lost boy. Vincent Kartheiser never impressed me as Connor on Ats but he nails it in Mad Men. He is a fabulous Pete.

I enjoyed Peggy's journey in the counter-culture world. It's amazing to see how much she's changed. And the gap with Allison! Poor Allison who assumed that Peggy went the same road, which, of course, infuriated Peggy!  

And that last scene, as Don is back to his apartment, with the old couple! "We'll discuss it inside" says the woman who refuses to answer her husband's question about wether she bought pears or not. It echoed something that Don told Faye earlier, about keeping certain matters private. Don Draper is an advertsiing genius who's all about going forward, who doesn't want to make old-fashioned ads that sell old-fashioned ideas, yet he drinks Old-fashioned" and still clings to old-fashioned values. Right now, he's stuck between past and future...he can't even finish the letter to Allison that he began to type.

Pete seems to be following the Draper's golden old path, but it's Peggy who is ahead, already part of the crowd that will define the upcoming years and their fashion. Mad Men and its men's world is on the verge of entering an era of feminism that might sound like women rejecting men.