Mad Men

[crazyforkate]

I think it was all part of the episode's theme - missed chances and such. In this case, referring to how he missed his chance to be with Rachel. I didn't mention this in the recap because it didn't occur to me until later, but there was a point in the first season where Don proposed that the two of them run away together, I think actually to Paris. Weird kind of mirror when you contrast it with Peggy and Stevie in this episode. So I guess it was referring to that incident?

My bad, it appears to have been Midge in the first season. Oops. Still an interesting parallel with Pegasus, though. And there's enough airplane imagery in this series to come up with a lot of explanations for that scene (I'm still half clinging to the "Don is D.B. Cooper" theory).

[kpmom]

Is Don pretty much on the wagon now? I noticed last night (4/12) he did not pour himself a drink at all.

When he visited the waitress (can't recall her name) she handed him a vodka, but he never drank it.

I'm also wondering what Megan is so angry at Don about? She ended it with him, right? How did he ruin her life? I guess $1,000,000 cured whatever he did to her!

Is the waitress totally out of Don's life?

Don looking longingly back at Betty and the kids. When he had 'em he didn't want 'em. Go figure.

[crazyforkate]

Sorry for the late recap - here we go. The return of Megan (plus a mini-family reunion starring one of my own relatives, bizarrely), and Stan and Peggy get into a weird competition.

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... SyqOPnF_WQ

[kpmom]

Wow, Marie-France is your cousin, crazyforkate?

Yes, you must see her and get all the gossip and report back here right away!! :lol:

Seriously, that must have been such a kick to see her!

I'm glad you also can't figure out why Megan is so pissed with Don. I guess he encouraged her to move to California and then failed to move there too, but I still don't see how he ruined her life. I can't imagine she would have stayed with him for long anyway. She was obviously growing away from him and hooking up with a younger, hipper crowd out there.

Harry is such a sleaze.

I hope we see more Joan, Sally and Betty, and much less time with the new characters from here on out.

[Chubbi]

I found this a while ago, before I joined FJ, but I just realized there's some jingerites who watch Mad Men too!

Enjoy!

madmenwiththingsdrawnonthem.tumblr.com/

One of my favorites:

http://41.media.tumblr.com/0cfd1322d572148f57da7e3300f7119a/tumblr_nmig60tkkT1qdbluio1_1280.jpg

[crazyforkate]

Yup, actually my second cousin! She has been quite successful as an actress for many years now. She moved from LA years ago (originally from Montreal), but we keep in touch on FB. My guess is that her perfect bilingualism was a big factor for this particular part. As you can imagine, we all flipped out when we heard!

[crazyforkate]

Don starts over, Joan has a detour and Sally deals with life.

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... TSYS9FFDIU

[kpmom]

Good recap, crazyforkate!

Glen's back! He grew up to be a nice looking young man, but his acting hasn't improved one iota. Good thing his dad is Mathew Weiner.

I like sober Don. He's a little less sad, and even has a sense of humor. I loved how he tried to get Ted, Peggy and even his secretary to tell him what the future of the company is. He obviously has no clue how to write this speech. Do your own homework, Don. Although, to be fair, having to write a Gettysburg Address in a few days could be a bit daunting.

Poor Joan, feeling the effects of single parenthood. I know Joan is quite a catch, but her suitor sure seemed to change his mind about Joan having a son (and living with her mom) pretty quick. If he's on the up and up, I hope it works out for her.

Sally definitely sees her parents for what they are. As crazyforkate mentioned, she's a Baby Boomer alright.

[eri]

I am in love with this show, but I hate Don so much. He is such an unrelatable character for me, and I can't look past his hypocritical characteristics.

I'm so sad it is over. I hope Mark(Matt?) Weiner goes on to do more amazing shows like this. Historical dramas are my favorite.

[crazyforkate]

This week - well, things don't go quite like we expected.

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... T26eiFViko

[crazyforkate]

Peggy and Roger are badass, Don has a bit of a detour, and CFK is already beginning her post-Mad Men existential crisis:

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... Ub1RvlViko

[MamaJunebug]

crazyforkate, great recap!

I was yelling at the TV when Peggy and Joan were disrespected, and laughing when Peggy heard the organ music, and practically losing it when Roger yelled "One more round!" and Peggy showboated by on skates. Where'd the skates come from ? Who cares? Who knows?

I'd've been glad to see some of Developer Boy's goons come put the fear into the McCann corner-office guy.

When Joan picks up exactly two things - Kevin's photo and her Rolodex - I wanted to cheer. But by that time I was more or less hoarse.

Second-best scene ever (to date) after the roller-skating in the vacant SCDP environs: Peggy bad-assedly strutting down the McCann hall to her office. Get 'em, Tiger ... er, Octopus!

Lovely seeing Bert again. I'm living for next Sunday, and the Sunday after that. And then???? I'll always have the scenes in this episode. Perfection. :clap:

[kpmom]

Great episode!

I burst out laughing when, a). Peggy heard the spooky music and then realized it was Roger playing the organ (did they always have an organ in the offices?) and b). Peggy drunk skated while Roger played the organ. and c). Peggy walked into her new offices wearing shades with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth.

After the way they treated Joan Peggy's gonna need all that swagger.

So where does Joan go now?

Ditto for Don?

[crazyforkate]

This week, we really are getting to the end, in a lot of different ways:

http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... VA0UflViko

[kpmom]

crazyforkate, I was curious to read your recap.

What a show.

Yes, Betty (and Henry) dropped a lot on Sally, but I think Betty sees that Sally is the strongest of them all.

As cold as Betty can come across, I think the letter shows she's not. I had a similar mother. The feelings are there, but she's gotten so good at hiding them they are hard to see.

Ultimately, Betty will serve as a good role model for Sally, though it will take some years for Sally to see that I think.

And guess who is going to have to step up and be a real father to his three, soon to be motherless, children?

ETA: I was surprised to see the ending next week is only an hour show. I was figuring they'd need two hours to wrap things up.

[MamaJunebug]

You couldn't have written this any more within my head! Argh until next week, indeed!!!

Thank you for the good work. Hasn't Ms. Kiernan turned into a heckuvan actor?!

[crazyforkate]

ETA: I was surprised to see the ending next week is only an hour show. I was figuring they'd need two hours to wrap things up.

Who says they're going to wrap anything up? :D

And I can't see Don abandoning his kids, so if they can locate him (or if he calls Sally again), I think this will cut his cross-country temper tantrum short. My fantasy is that he'll take them to California, pick up Anna's-niece-Stephanie and her kid, and they'll all move into a bungalow (and solve mysteries in a spinoff), but I imagine the reality will be more like Sally looking after her brothers while Don throws money at them.

[kpmom]

Who says they're going to wrap anything up? :D

Ha! Good point!

ITA with MJB about the actor who plays Sally. I thought she was so moving when Grandpa Gene died, and she's just gotten better and better.

[eh02]

Haven't posted in this thread before, but I LOVED Betty's storyline in this episode. Sally's never given her mom any credit, and understandably so, I guess. But Betty is a smart woman who never had the chance to follow her dreams, use her brain, have any goals of her own...and when Sally was a child, Betty seemed to resent her for being confident and wild and everything Betty didn't have the chance to be herself. And it was such a nice moment of Betty showing that she's proud of her daughter, and Sally finally realizing that she should be proud of her mom, too. It was so resonant. I loved Betty asking Sally (who hated her mother's vanity) to make sure they put her in the dress she wanted, with her hair the way she liked. She knew she could trust Sally to do it right and it was such a graceful way to show Sally that she admired her strength and knew she could trust Sally to be OK without her. Sigh, now I'm tearing up again. Betty was such a badass. I love her and was absolutely heartbroken. January Jones KILLED that role. I LOVE that Mad Men has female characters who, for once, are just as deep and multidimensional as the male characters, maybe even moreso.

I didn't especially love the Don bit, but it would have been wrong if the show ended without him ever acknowledging out loud what happened to him in Korea. I felt confused about Pete and Trudy - part of me was happy, I guess? But it just felt so weird - too happy of an ending. What's Pete done to deserve a perfect ending? And that line about how he never loved anyone else is probably what triggered the skepticism for me. I always thought he loved Trudy to some extent, but clearly loved Peggy just as much, if not more. So it's a weird thing for him to have said if it's supposed to be his "moment of clarity."

Anyway, I will probably be in tears again next week when it ends. :( I don't think January Jones will be back - the moment of her walking up the stairs was too triumphant. There's no way we will see Betty sick and dying - this was her swan song IMO. If they ended with Betty's funeral, would Roger, Joan, Peggy and Pete all be there, I wonder? The final moment they're all together before they go separate ways? Then again, I'm sure it won't be anything we could possibly guess - it will probably be a totally out of left field, another lawnmower-to-the-leg moment. :D

[kpmom]

I liked everything you wrote, eh02.

I agree, Betty grew up in a time when marriage and children were pretty much the end all and be all for a woman. Yes, she was probably jealous of the life Sally and her generation had ahead of them, but it's understandable.

I don't think she was cold so much as she didn't know what to think of a female like Sally. The world was changing so much and so fast I don't think Betty quite knew what to make of it. In Betty's mind girls were to be feminine and attractive so they could catch a man.

I also agree January Jones was perfect for the role. I have read some criticism of her acting, but I thought she nailed this role. In the opening episode of this season when she tells Don she is going back to school she tilts her head and glances up at him with a smile as if to say, "Don't make fun of this, it's important to me and I want you to be impressed.". It was just a perfect moment. I've seen that look irl, and probably have given it myself.

Yes, I agree, I don't think we'll see Betty next week. Your idea of all the characters meeting at the funeral is interesting.

[crazyforkate]

Now that we're into the last week of the show's existence (gulp), let's have some fun with it! Feel free to answer any or all of these :)

Best season:

Worst season:

Best episode:

Worst episode:

Most interesting character:

Character you love to hate:

Best minor character:

Post one burning question you have that has not been resolved so far:

A moment that made you laugh:

A moment that made you cry:

A moment that appalled you:

Best Quirky Detour:

Best current event:

Best pop culture reference:

Best romance:

Best music moment:

MVP performance:

Best of Don's Women:

Best quote:

Anything from Season 7, please put under spoilers. (I'll add mine closer to the finale.)

[kpmom]

Let's see;

Character I love to hate: The head of McCann Ericson who was so nasty to Joan.

Most interesting character: Peggy

Burning question that hasn't been resolved: Peggy and Stan, love or friendship?

Moment that made me laugh: Almost any moment with Roger.

Moment that made me cry: When Betty got her diagnosis. The Kodak carousel pitch.

Moment that appalled me: The lawnmower accident, and the way the head of McCann Erickson treated Joan.

Best minor character: Sal Ramano I wish they had brought his character back this season.

[crazyforkate]

I've thought about this a little, and here goes:

Best season: 4

Worst season: 6

Best episode: The Suitcase

Worst episode: Tea Leaves

Most interesting character: Sally

Character you love to hate: Duck Phillips

Best minor character: Anna Draper

Post one burning question you have that has not been resolved so far: WTF happened to Polly Draper, and why did they never address it even with a throwaway line?

A moment that made you laugh: Too many to count, but since I'm already going to hell for this, the Lawnmower Incident.

A moment that made you cry: The end of The Suitcase

A moment that appalled you: 99% of Betty's interactions with her children

Best Quirky Detour: Roger's LSD trip

Best current event: A lot of people will say Kennedy, but I really adored the way they handled Joan and the death of Marilyn Monroe

Best pop culture reference: Kinsey and Star Trek

Best romance: Not a lot of great examples here, but I'll choose Roger/Joan. Peggy/Stan would win if it was established in the show. (Who knows, maybe it will be.)

Best music moment: "Both Sides Now" as Don and kids go to Don's, er, childhood home

MVP performance: I don't think I can give this to anyone but The Hamm

Best of Don's Women: Rachel Menken

Best quote: "I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you."

[apandaaries]

We're so close to the final episode!!

[PennySycamore]

I just finished watching the finale and am starting the rerun. I won't spoil anything but just want to say it was completely awesome!