'There's Eggs In My Bed!': Mad Men Recapped
At least Peggy has some dignity. Or whatever it is you call her shielding her sexual history from handsy boyfriend Mark, whose efforts to relive Peggy of her "virginity" bear rather smug, revolting fruit later in the episode. Her nooners with Duck Phillips were so much more rewarding, interruptions via presidential assassination notwithstanding.
Her professional tangles with Freddy, meanwhile, have their own implications. They're fairly on-the-nose, stock Mad Men gender politics -- Freddy wants an aging female star for the Pond's campaign, Peggy wants to skew the demographics younger, Freddy stereotypes ("You might get married!"), Peggy stereotypes back ("You and your old typewriters and your desperate spinsters!") -- but their resolution suggests Peggy is indeed the superior politician. That's quite the rebound from last week, when her creative wiles gave us the infamous Sugarberry Ham Brawl of 1964.
And it's definitely a step ahead of virtually everyone else in the office. There was no more glaring evidence than the Christmas party -- I mean, did you see Lee Garner Jr. whip Roger into playing Santa Claus? Or Lane's desperate trawl for approval when giving Lee his gift Polaroid? Or the emasculated husbands in a circle, supplemented by Don, whose plunging creds have already been established? It's true that Joan, with Peking House on speed-dial and her fierce conga-line leadership, wields the more redoubtable authority. But in her cagey, modulated (and sure, occasionally false-modest) way, Peggy slashes through one Y-chromosome after another in her march through the Testosterone River Delta.
Sally will follow that trail someday, assuming that Glen doesn't taxidermy her in the climactic grace stroke of his savage love. You know when a boy breaks into and vandalizes every room in your house ("There's eggs in my bed!" Bobby yelped) only to leave your room untouched and an anoymous trinket of affection behind, that is true love. Or it's the only thing keeping the show's Ossining arc from becoming an increasingly frustrating stall-out, like a computer crash in the middle of a productive day. Or maybe it's just Matthew Weiner's way of giving his son Marten -- who inhabits Glen with laconic, sinister zeal -- something to occupy himself with on the set besides sneaking peeks inside Christina Hendricks's trailer or whatever it is teenage boys do. All of the above? Part of me doesn't even want to dignify Glen with a response: "Ignore him and he'll go away," that kind of thing. But I don't think he quite works that way. I guess we'll find out.
Anyway, what did you think?
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Lee Garner Jr. was just awful. The crack about Roger having a third heart attack.. ouch, that was humiliating and cruel.
The shifting power structure(s) will continue to be a major theme throughout this season no doubt, last night typified greatly by Joey's "He's _pathetic_!" line. The young generation does not hold the older generation in high esteem? That's probably a bit of an oversimplification of what's happening, but I'm really enjoying watching this season begin to unfold.
The minute Sally and Glen form a gang and start killing people is the moment I stop watching.
At least no one lost a foot.
This show is getting to such a point of creepiness that it makes my stomach hurt to watch it.
One particularly creepy moment was the slight smile on Sally's face when she found the "trinket" on her bed - like it didn't even occur to her to be scared or creeped out. And when Glen was talking about his parents "doing it" and she didn't know what it meant - you got the feeling he is definitely planning on letting her in on it.
Don nauseates me - I, too, was struck by the payments for "services rendered" to his poor secretary. He caused everything he's going through - he needs to man up. Blech.
There's a darkness and ugliness around the show from beginning to end - I don't know how to explain it.
I kinda alluded to this, but I purposely left some of the Glen/Sally stuff (including the phone call) out of the recap because it's just more prurient Weiner overkill. It's like Don's family now exists only to be openly mocked, humiliated, and systematically destroyed. I can't believe a guy who gave us so many rich, multi-dimensional and dynamic characters over three seasons could suddenly be so vicious to some of them.
I really liked this episode. The whole thing with the secretary was really cool to me because she's this small character that's been on the show for a while and suddenly she gets this huge moment.
I like Glen coming back but not like this. The whole family thing is getting ridiculous. They should have been written off the show.
And Peggy's new characterization became less annoying this week. She's turning into Don with all the lying and deceit with her boyfriend.
Can't wait to see where this season is going to go. But honestly watching Betty's character ruined is really killing me.
I kept waiting for Lee to announce that he is pulling his account from SCDP. Between the way they kept declaring the percentage of their business (in both the re-cap and the actual episode) that Lucky Strike commands and the escalating level of humiliation of that office party, I think it is a foregone conclusion.
Just a great episode last night. Loving this season!
But real life isn't often pretty in the way Tv shows sometimes like to present. I think Draper's collapsing and the world's falling down around him thanks to his own doings.
It's time to pay the piper and them bagpipes are sounding pretty ominous.
I LIKE the turn this is taking.
I am enjoying this season, I think. I'm sure Weiner is telling us that "everything is off kilter" as the 60s move along. Marriages, business partnerships -- all dissolving. It's turning out that Don's as much of an "old guard" as Freddy. Drinking all day, changing wives -- Roger Sterling without the trust fund (and again, the best lines go to Roger...'with my hair, you can't even see me in here' 'my father said this was the best business in the world except for one thing...the clients'). Good to see old gay Lee making all the men sit on Santa's lap for pictures. And, yes, Peggy's calm deceitfulness is leading her to be Don Draper in a skirt.
Sally and Glenn need to run away to the circus together and never return.
I totally agree as far as what's affecting Don. But Betty et. al. seem to only be there now as objects of derision and/or misfortune. The complexity is gone. What was so entrancing about last season was how Betty became a kind of activist in her own life, for better or worse. And that activism was arguably justified. Now she is made to look simply foolish, spoiled or worse, which we know isn't how she is. At least not exclusively.
I guess it's one of those "What's my motivation?" things. What's her motivation? What's Henry's motivation? Until I know, I'm not so sure of their purpose. And of course Sally's motivation is to be the most sociopathic little girl ever. Or... not? That's the point -- I sincerely don't know.
January Jones has to stop giving acting lessons to Matt Weiner's son.
I wish I would have read your post. But unfortunately the code is messed up on my end. Is it just me? I can barely see the box for leaving comments. You may want to give it a check...