Mad Men season 5
May. 28th, 2012 01:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chaniI've been enjoying Mad Men for years but I have always considered it to be overrated, and frankly last season was so-so, apart from the brillant "The Suitcase".
But this season has kicked ass BIG DAY. I still think that subtlety isn't Mad Men's strongest suit, but the show did deliver in its fifth season – especially when it comes to my favourite character Pete Campbell (I know many viewers hate Pete, but I think that no matter how weasely he can be, he's a heartbreaking character, the most tragic of the show, and the Pete-centric episodes are often the best, along with episodes centred on the Don/Peggy relationship)– , and last night's episode, "The Other Woman" was a killer.
Sadly, as I'm leaving for Rome on Friday, I won't see the finale. I will probably get Wifi in the library of L'Ecole Française de Rome, but I don't think I'll have it in the building where I'll live.
"The Other Woman" is a well written – although again not subtle at all with its message and parallels– and, above all, poignant episode, mostly focusing on Joan, Pete, Don, Megan and Peggy.
Four things killed me:
- the fact that Don was too late, both times, when he came to tell Joan it isn't worth it and when he finally spoke his mind to Peggy. Not matter the celebration over the Jaguar deal, he was not a winner, our Don, today. The taste of defeat must have been in his mouth, eventually.
- Joan realising that Don wasn't on board with the "deal"...and the reveal that the scene actually happened after she had prostituted herself for the firm and her becoming a partner. Had she heard Don's take on it before going to Jaguar man's room, would have things been different though? I don't think so.
- Don kissing Peggy's hand and Peggy letting the tears run. That relationship has been the core of the show so it's a bold move to split them. It's a devastating moment in which Don seemed to hang on her the way he did in "The Suitcase" when he lost Anna.
- Pete reading a bed story to his baby girl that is all about saying goodbye...something little girls must learn to do. Did he think of Joan's dilemma then? Did he foresee that his baby girl might be The Other Woman some day too? There was a true sadness in the scene beyond the cute portrait of daddy Pete, and I don't think Trudy felt it.
Also, I like the ambiguity of Don's disappointment and shock when seeing Joan in the room with the other partners. I read it as a mix of two things: he likes and respects her so he was disappointed that she had chosen money and "safety" over integrity (of course Don's moral ground was very different when it was about Lucky Strikes and Sal kissing another man!)...but there was also something else. He could no longer be sure that the Jaguar deal had been won thanks to the creatives' work and the magic of the great pitch (thanks to Ginsberg) and the brilliant presentation he delivered. It was a blow to Don's idea of Joan but also to his own ego, and to his idea of what his job means, and what they do in advertising. And I love that Megan, who sees what adverstising truly is and despises it, probably had a wake-up call too, in her case about the "business of acting", after her audition.
So the most accurate parallel in the episode wasn't between the three women(especially between Joan being prostituted and Megan being "assessed" by casting agents), but between Don and Megan, and between Don and Joan. I hated how they set up the Don/Megan pairing last year, because it was lazy writing, but the writers really make the Draper couple work this year.
Joan's choice felt like a defeat for Don who would like to think of his job as something purely creative (just like Megan would like to consider her career as an actress), while it's basically presenting good-looking stuff and selling oneself to clients. What Joan did "in the flesh" mirrored what he and his team do all the time, with words, drawings and performances, hence the cut-crossing montage of Joan's date and Don's pitch. So basically, The Other Woman was neither the car nor the mistress, but Don Draper himself.
I think that Joan's choice made sense (even without the fridge debacle!) and was in character. After all, she kinda did it before when marrying Greg, the man who raped her in Don's office. That marriage was a mistake and provided a false partnership. At least this time she gets a true one!
Joan has always been a practical woman. I know that some fans 'ship Don/Joan but Don isn't her kindred spirit (he is much more well matched with Megan), he is exactly the kind of man he described in the pitch, always chasing what he cannot have but desperately wants, and moving on in the process.
Lane is probably the man who would understand Joan best, as he usually settles for what he can have. By the way I adore Lane and I really fear for him. It's funny to have the same actor play the nasty and despicable David Robert Jones in FRINGE and the touching Lane in Mad Men. Touching but morally-compromised, and given his money troubles it's likely that the big Jaguar deal probably helped him to talk Joan into selling herself for a partnership (instead of cash!).
In this episode, Pete plays the role of the bad guy and behaves like an asshole; he even embraces the role (and we know it's gonna feed his inner depression), but the others are no better as they let him do the dirty work, as usual. Of course Don gets angry and says he doesn't want to be part of this, but he simply leaves the room (a way of burying his hea din the sand), he doesn't prevent the partners from green-ligthing the whole deal. And I loved how Pete told him "a conversation doesn't stop because you leave a room".
Roger probably is a bigger asshole than Pete here, as he clearly states that he won't stand in the way. Bert goes with the flow while reminding Pete that Joan must know that she can say "no". Lane convinces himself that it will be better for Joan. Even Ken could have said something earlier, but he let Pete cajole the Jaguar guy into thinking that his demande was not inappropiate. Pete's bad behaviour just conceals a long line of assholes actually.
In a way, Peggy sold herself too, but as she told Don, it wasn't a matter of number. She had to go, and the talk with Freddy Rumsen and the offer she got was the last push she needed to be ready (and if she had any second-thoughts when entering Don's office his telling her that Joan was now a partner probably straignten her resolve) to give her notice.
Her leaving the nest has been foreshadowed in previous episodes and makes a lot of sense. I like her "don't be a stranger" line, because it emphasized the fact that Peggy and Don are no strangers for one another. They are basically the same, except that Peggy is younger and female, as she embodies the new generation, the new time, while Don is a man of the 50's.
I think that it's very important that Peggy was not privy to the dirty business that went along. To Don's eyes, Peggy, who is his soul mate, remains the unstained hope of a better world, so she may leave the corrupted place that the SCDP firm has become for the promise land he can no longer provide. He is trapped but she still can escape.
So it was nice to end up with Peggy's smile. Joan got to be a partner, which migth have been Peggy's dream once upon a time, but we are led to think that Peggy got the better part.
ETA: I forgot to say that Don throwing the money at Peggy was painful and not subtle a message, yet typical of his using her as a reflection of himself. He takes liberties with Peggy that he will never take with anyone else.
But this season has kicked ass BIG DAY. I still think that subtlety isn't Mad Men's strongest suit, but the show did deliver in its fifth season – especially when it comes to my favourite character Pete Campbell (I know many viewers hate Pete, but I think that no matter how weasely he can be, he's a heartbreaking character, the most tragic of the show, and the Pete-centric episodes are often the best, along with episodes centred on the Don/Peggy relationship)– , and last night's episode, "The Other Woman" was a killer.
Sadly, as I'm leaving for Rome on Friday, I won't see the finale. I will probably get Wifi in the library of L'Ecole Française de Rome, but I don't think I'll have it in the building where I'll live.
"The Other Woman" is a well written – although again not subtle at all with its message and parallels– and, above all, poignant episode, mostly focusing on Joan, Pete, Don, Megan and Peggy.
Four things killed me:
- the fact that Don was too late, both times, when he came to tell Joan it isn't worth it and when he finally spoke his mind to Peggy. Not matter the celebration over the Jaguar deal, he was not a winner, our Don, today. The taste of defeat must have been in his mouth, eventually.
- Joan realising that Don wasn't on board with the "deal"...and the reveal that the scene actually happened after she had prostituted herself for the firm and her becoming a partner. Had she heard Don's take on it before going to Jaguar man's room, would have things been different though? I don't think so.
- Don kissing Peggy's hand and Peggy letting the tears run. That relationship has been the core of the show so it's a bold move to split them. It's a devastating moment in which Don seemed to hang on her the way he did in "The Suitcase" when he lost Anna.
- Pete reading a bed story to his baby girl that is all about saying goodbye...something little girls must learn to do. Did he think of Joan's dilemma then? Did he foresee that his baby girl might be The Other Woman some day too? There was a true sadness in the scene beyond the cute portrait of daddy Pete, and I don't think Trudy felt it.
Also, I like the ambiguity of Don's disappointment and shock when seeing Joan in the room with the other partners. I read it as a mix of two things: he likes and respects her so he was disappointed that she had chosen money and "safety" over integrity (of course Don's moral ground was very different when it was about Lucky Strikes and Sal kissing another man!)...but there was also something else. He could no longer be sure that the Jaguar deal had been won thanks to the creatives' work and the magic of the great pitch (thanks to Ginsberg) and the brilliant presentation he delivered. It was a blow to Don's idea of Joan but also to his own ego, and to his idea of what his job means, and what they do in advertising. And I love that Megan, who sees what adverstising truly is and despises it, probably had a wake-up call too, in her case about the "business of acting", after her audition.
So the most accurate parallel in the episode wasn't between the three women(especially between Joan being prostituted and Megan being "assessed" by casting agents), but between Don and Megan, and between Don and Joan. I hated how they set up the Don/Megan pairing last year, because it was lazy writing, but the writers really make the Draper couple work this year.
Joan's choice felt like a defeat for Don who would like to think of his job as something purely creative (just like Megan would like to consider her career as an actress), while it's basically presenting good-looking stuff and selling oneself to clients. What Joan did "in the flesh" mirrored what he and his team do all the time, with words, drawings and performances, hence the cut-crossing montage of Joan's date and Don's pitch. So basically, The Other Woman was neither the car nor the mistress, but Don Draper himself.
I think that Joan's choice made sense (even without the fridge debacle!) and was in character. After all, she kinda did it before when marrying Greg, the man who raped her in Don's office. That marriage was a mistake and provided a false partnership. At least this time she gets a true one!
Joan has always been a practical woman. I know that some fans 'ship Don/Joan but Don isn't her kindred spirit (he is much more well matched with Megan), he is exactly the kind of man he described in the pitch, always chasing what he cannot have but desperately wants, and moving on in the process.
Lane is probably the man who would understand Joan best, as he usually settles for what he can have. By the way I adore Lane and I really fear for him. It's funny to have the same actor play the nasty and despicable David Robert Jones in FRINGE and the touching Lane in Mad Men. Touching but morally-compromised, and given his money troubles it's likely that the big Jaguar deal probably helped him to talk Joan into selling herself for a partnership (instead of cash!).
In this episode, Pete plays the role of the bad guy and behaves like an asshole; he even embraces the role (and we know it's gonna feed his inner depression), but the others are no better as they let him do the dirty work, as usual. Of course Don gets angry and says he doesn't want to be part of this, but he simply leaves the room (a way of burying his hea din the sand), he doesn't prevent the partners from green-ligthing the whole deal. And I loved how Pete told him "a conversation doesn't stop because you leave a room".
Roger probably is a bigger asshole than Pete here, as he clearly states that he won't stand in the way. Bert goes with the flow while reminding Pete that Joan must know that she can say "no". Lane convinces himself that it will be better for Joan. Even Ken could have said something earlier, but he let Pete cajole the Jaguar guy into thinking that his demande was not inappropiate. Pete's bad behaviour just conceals a long line of assholes actually.
In a way, Peggy sold herself too, but as she told Don, it wasn't a matter of number. She had to go, and the talk with Freddy Rumsen and the offer she got was the last push she needed to be ready (and if she had any second-thoughts when entering Don's office his telling her that Joan was now a partner probably straignten her resolve) to give her notice.
Her leaving the nest has been foreshadowed in previous episodes and makes a lot of sense. I like her "don't be a stranger" line, because it emphasized the fact that Peggy and Don are no strangers for one another. They are basically the same, except that Peggy is younger and female, as she embodies the new generation, the new time, while Don is a man of the 50's.
I think that it's very important that Peggy was not privy to the dirty business that went along. To Don's eyes, Peggy, who is his soul mate, remains the unstained hope of a better world, so she may leave the corrupted place that the SCDP firm has become for the promise land he can no longer provide. He is trapped but she still can escape.
So it was nice to end up with Peggy's smile. Joan got to be a partner, which migth have been Peggy's dream once upon a time, but we are led to think that Peggy got the better part.
ETA: I forgot to say that Don throwing the money at Peggy was painful and not subtle a message, yet typical of his using her as a reflection of himself. He takes liberties with Peggy that he will never take with anyone else.