'Who Hates Nudes?': Mad Men Recapped
At least Peggy gets a little entertainment outside the agency, because at the office, hoo boy, this whole Father Pete thing is more than a little grueling. She can congratulate him, but must exorcise the moment with three light taps of her head on her desk. She can escape to lunch with her fun, bubbly, colorful new pals, but her eye lingers on the overcoated cluster of patrician lifers in the SCDP lobby -- whom Pete has joined, acknowledging his sudden reality with a returned smile.
Which is to say nothing of the set piece at the center of the episode: a Faye Miller-led focus group comprising all the single young secretaries, lightly grilled in connection to Peggy's concept for the Pond's Cold Cream campaign. Never mind that Peggy's whole principle of youthful independence can't override the personal temptation to try on Dr. Miller's wedding ring (which she's given Peggy for safe keeping, lest the young ladies collapse at its sight), or that the meltdowns on the other side of the two-way mirror echo Peggy's own ingrained impulse toward marriage. Dottie may sob and Allison may angrily flee the room, but its Peggy's moral wavering that anchors the scene. "Your problem is not my problem," she spouts to Allison, whose openness to counsel is directly proportionate to Peggy's relatability -- which, when it comes to the "slept with drunk Don after the Christmas party" front, isn't quite there.
Of course, Allison's problem is Peggy's problem insofar as she suffers inequitably for her indiscretions. Pete gets to go off and be a husband and expectant father; Don gets to go off and have his slappy hookers. Sure it's all a little on the nose, but the fundamental point of the feminist ethos Peggy's been noodling with for at least two seasons now is what she told her old secretary Olive one late night back at Sterling Cooper: "I am going to get to do everything you want for me." But as long as Peggy can't recognize the epidemic neuroses of her fellow travelers are in fact variations of her own, then this is not progress. (Though at least Matt Weiner and co-writer Keith Huff get the black humor of it all, entitling Freddy to his priceless line to Peggy upon her return to the observation room, "Nothing else good happened.")
The focus-group scene -- and everything in its orbit, including Don's own climactic, proto-feminist throwdown with Dr. Miller -- works thanks to Slattery's direction. The guy covered the hell out of the sequence, enabling a sense of participation on both sides of the glass and finally bringing that live, moving camera to bear on the aftermath. The reaction shots were perfect -- Faye to Don, Allison to Faye, Don to Freddy, Allison to Don, Don to Peggy -- and the act of Joan opening and closing the curtain over their two-way proscenium was one of those little flourishes you can't help but smile at.
Moreover, just the way the episode was lit was inspiring: the jags of daylight stabbing the blue wall behind Pete and Ken at lunch; the coal black and dirty white of Don's aborted letter to Allison (oh, who quit in a huff, by the way, leading to the other classic touch of Peggy peeping over the office partition for a glimpse at the carnage in Don's office); the half-occupied backdrop of Madison Avenue at night -- so late that Don slinks out in the shadows behind the janitor. It's always been an impressively shot series with cinematographer Christopher Manley at the controls (particularly inside the Draper residence), but this was another level of visual storytelling altogether that was exactly the reassurance I'd hoped for after last week's crushing misfire.
I'd say Slattery and Co. ended it perfectly with that exquisite, wordless exchange between Pete and Peggy, but that little coda of aged married life in Don's apartment corridor -- no one in the history of television has ever needed pears so insistently -- might have been one glimpse too many into the extraordinary relationship dynamics throughout the episode. As the elderly wife said, "We'll discuss it inside." So: Let's discuss.
Pages: 1 2
Subscribe to the new Movieline on YouTube
Comments
Okay, you love John Slattery. I want to know what January Jones did to piss off Matthew Weiner so much that he's got rid of her character.
I loved that the episode opened with us looking up at Don as he lights a new cigarette from an old one, just moments before he discusses the angles in tobacco ads with Garner Jr. Nice touch.
Here comes an only-slightly-biased opinion: This is the best Mad Men recap on the planet. Well done as always, sir.
Awww! Thanks. You are too kind. I'm just scrambling to half-keep up with your Project Runway coverage.
Cause she's a bore! This was my favorite episode this season so far. No Betty, no Dick Whitman shit, just ruthless old business and personal choices colliding.
I liked this episode(love love love Trudy) but was VERY happy to see the preview for next week: Betty!!
The shot of Joan throwing open the curtain. INSPIRED!
The wordless exchange between Peggy and Pete. BRILLIANT!
No January Jones. AMAZING!
I still don't get why everyone raves about Jones. She is a blank and a cipher (And please don't tell me that's the character. A true actress could play the hell out of that role. Jones just sleepwalks through it.) Any Emmy voter thinking of casting a ballot for her for Best Actress should be forced to watch her painful SNL hosting.
I have to agree with you 100%.
Nice to hear you are done your period after last weeks 'recap'. You were clearly in a bad mood or something. Have you had a chance to watch the episode a second time? It really wasn't that bad imo. Your write up missed a few key points and focused way too much on insignificant details, apparently just because you don't care for the whole California subplot. Usually, your 'recaps' are closer to critical analysis' but last weeks was more opinion than anything else.
That being said, last nights episode was much more enjoyable. And your 'recap' was great. Visually, it was the best episode of the series so far, imo. Slattery really knocked it outta the park. Oh, and that "He's renting my vagina" line was absolutely priceless.
Um, thanks? Anyway, I stand by last week's criticisms. It was the worst Mad Men episode to date. And Sunday's was one of the best. I dunno how or why these phenomena occur, but believe me, they're not attributable to my "period."
Deep episode.
This season is carrying a lot of old characters that don't have a lot to do yet. I'm sure we'll see some thinning of characters like Cooper soon (who's only cameo was snacking on a couch in the lobby?) This show has a lot of balls in the air and it hasn't even broached the Don/Better/kids dynamic in any real detail yet.
Not sure if it was intentional - but did anybody else catch the line by Pete about the maid's room (in the scene where Pete blackmails his father-in-law)? I wonder if that was a wink to Pete's and the German nannies fling/rape/whatever it was?
I know I'm late, but this was absolutely the best episode this season. I tried to think of why and it's because it was about business. All the office stuff (welcome back Miss Blankenship) and even the scenes at Chez Campbell were all about the business. Mad Men is at its best when we are at or thinking about Madison Avenue. Also humorous (to me) is that in an office this small, they all still have office numbers on their name plates (Joan's hand, I'm sure) and that Don's apartment number is 3R. That's some third floor if the units go all the way to R (the old couple across the hall is in 3C). I also love how Don snaps the lock when he gets into his place.
the time travellers wife made me cry! i was just so heartbroken for rachel mcadam's character
MSN Money and Quicken are always ranked the highest but they are labor intensive up front and require additional steps to keep it updated. If you're looking for simplicity try mint.com but that lacks the ability to input your investments. It is secured using the same software many US banks use for firewalls.