Mad Men

[Stephanie66]

I would be the same age as Joannie's son, Kevin. Almost to the month. :lol:

I love this show and "Breaking Bad." Two best shows on television. Don is such an interesting and complicated character. He can be nice, like standing up for a relative stranger's wedding, then cheating on Megan with his friend's wife. Oy.

My favorite scene in the entire movie was when he said, "It's shocking, how much this never happened." Broke my heart, but it was good advice, too. Don knows all too well what it's like to move on and pretend to live a different life. His one true love was probably (the real) Don's wife in California. I think his love for her keeps him from appearing as too much of a sociopath.

[MamaJunebug]

I would be the same age as Joannie's son, Kevin. Almost to the month. :lol:

I love this show and "Breaking Bad." Two best shows on television. Don is such an interesting and complicated character. He can be nice, like standing up for a relative stranger's wedding, then cheating on Megan with his friend's wife. Oy.

My favorite scene in the entire movie was when he said, "It's shocking, how much this never happened." Broke my heart, but it was good advice, too. Don knows all too well what it's like to move on and pretend to live a different life. His one true love was probably (the real) Don's wife in California. I think his love for her keeps him from appearing as too much of a sociopath.

Sociopath? Don? Interesting! Haven't been able to catch the epis with the Real Mrs. Don Draper, now it's gonna be my mission. ;) Sociopath ... yes, I can see bits of that!!!

[crazyforkate]

So what did everyone think of tonight's episode? Kind of an interesting moment about midway through for some of us FJ viewers - you'll see what I mean when you see the episode/read the recap, which is here:

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

[Mela99]

I liked this week better than last week for sure.

[PennySycamore]

I'm just reading the recap and have just gotten to the part about Quest powder. I remember that stuff. It was a powder you sprinkled on your sanitary napkin to deal with the odors that come when menstrual fluid is exposed to oxygen; in other words, what happened when you bled onto your Kotex, Modess or Confidets pad. Yeah, with the belt. IIRC, Quest was made by the Kimberly-Clark company that also made Kotex.

[PennySycamore]

I think you asked about the timing of the Tet Offensive. It started on 30 January, 1968 and lasted through the month of February. There was to be a cease fire during the Tet Lunar New Year celebration. Even though the forces of North Vietnam lost the offensive, public opinion in the US towards the war really began to turn after Tet. It probably was not helped any by the photograph, published on the front page of many papers, of General Nguyen Noc Loan summarily executing captured Viet Cong captain Nguyen Van Lem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tet_Offensive

The Pueblo incident that Dr Rosen referred to was the the capture of the US Navy spy ship Pueblo by the North Koreans earlier that January. The North Koreans held the crew until 23 December, 1968. They still hold the ship, btw.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Pueblo_(AGER-2)

[kpmom]

Geez, Don's a crappy friend as well as a crappy husband, isn't he? He seems to sincerely like his surgeon neighbor, but has no problem screwing the guy's wife.

I can't imagine that ending well.

[crazyforkate]

Geez, Don's a crappy friend as well as a crappy husband, isn't he? He seems to sincerely like his surgeon neighbor, but has no problem screwing the guy's wife.

I can't imagine that ending well.

That's the strange part to me. Many of the women he had affairs with weren't married at all, or he didn't know their spouses/significant others. The only example I can think of where he knew the husband was Bobbi Barrett, and he pretty much despised Jimmy. This is really the first time we've seen him involved with the wife of a friend (not to mention that Megan and Sylvia also seem to be friendly). Before that he really stayed out of friend circles. Wonder what prompted that change?

[PennySycamore]

I don't know what prompted Don to hook up with Sylvia, but I think he's headed for disaster.

Someone pointed out over at TLo's forum that the portion of The Inferno that Don was reading last episode was about the dark woods. Sylvia comes from the Latin for woods.

Is this the first time we've seen Megan smoke a cigarette? I can't recall her smoking before.

[FreeJosie]

Geez, Don's a crappy friend as well as a crappy husband, isn't he? He seems to sincerely like his surgeon neighbor, but has no problem screwing the guy's wife.

I can't imagine that ending well.

Agreed, I don't like the Don/Sylvia storyline at all. I really don't like Don much at all these days.

[MamaJunebug]

I'm so glad for your recaps - I have to FF through most of the episode. Phew, it's getting dark, isn't it? I remember my elders in ''67, '68 being pretty glum, and they weren't the swingers Don and Sideburns Boy are.

What's up with Pete, while we're on the subject? I can accept that Vincent K is a great actor and a decent human being (if quirky) but yeeks, there's nothing about Pete that's attractive! He's small, he's womanly, he's smarmy to a disgusting extent. Why the neighbor lady would want to move in with him? Do. Not. Get. It.

The most distressing thing about this episode was the repeated views of the draperies. Ohmybadtastegosh I still remember despising those things throughout my whole childhood/adolescence. Big Mama Junebug, may her name be blessed, never had them in our home. Solid beige kept me sane!

ETA: Thanks so much for the recap, crazyforkate! Feel like I watched it - without really having to see all of Pete's bitchfaces.

[MamaJunebug]

crazyforkate & all, Don gives money to Sylvia???? I missed that entirely in my FF'ing. But there was some comment by Syl or the doc to the effect, "Don't worry, there'll be enough money for dinner, Wednesday." ??? Is Doctor on the edge of financial ruin? Any backstory to that? Sure don't want another dead-Lane storyline. :(

[crazyforkate]

This week, the Drapers have an interesting conversation with friends, Harry looks ridiculous and CFK stays up way too late: http://blog.freejinger.org/worldly-dist ... d-to-hold/

[MamaJunebug]

cfk, your lack of sleep is our gain!

I'll read your recap before I devote an hour to watching my dvr.

Thank you!

[kpmom]

I liked last night's episode the best so far of the new season.

I loved the awkward meeting between Don's firm and Peggy's new firm in the hallway. Oops.

Why was Don so upset at the love scene between Megan and the other actor? He seems too sophisticated to worry about such things, and he's not exactly virginal himself. Yeah, the actor would like to wife swap, but I'm sure lots of guys have the hots for Megan.

Loved that there was lots of Joan in this episode. She gives the best withering looks to her employees.

Harry's becoming such an ass.

[crazyforkate]

Remember when Don flipped out over Betty going out in a bikini a couple of seasons back? I think the adultery on his part just adds to his paranoia about women leaving him.

[PennySycamore]

I want Megan to wise up about Don and divorce him NOW. She does not deserve that kind of abuse. Furthermore, it would suit me fine if Megan and Betty, between them, soaked him for everything he's got.

edited for riffle

[kpmom]

I want Megan to wise up about Don and divorce him NOW. She does not deserve that kind of abuse. Furthermore, it would suit me fine if Megan and Betty, between them, soaked him for everything he's got

Either Megan or the surgeon-neighbor is bound to discover the affair. I don't have a good feeling about how that's going to turn out. I think somebody is going to end up hurt or dead somehow.

[PennySycamore]

I don't know if crazyforkate posted this or not, but Megan was in a maid's uniform during the soap opera love scene and Don's an Sylvia's tryst was in the maid's room. I think Don feels pretty shitty about his behavior, but not enough to stop and not enough to realize that a huge part of the shittiness was how he treated Megan. This affair is worse than those that have gone before.

[MamaJunebug]

Oof. What a depressing episode - but good story!

Loves: that Peggy is so over Pete the Petite that you'd never know they shared vast passion (and a kid, ha ha Pete, you'll never kno-ow!) ... but her sheepish looks are reserved for Don. And they're not that sheepish, more like, "Well, buddy, yep you are my mentor and ... looks like I've learned well."

Don's expression when he heard her quote him, to her new firm's benefit - priceless indeed. Jon Hamm's pretty danged great.

I too hope that Stan's flip of the bird reflects disgust that will dissipate over a short amount of time. If not, who will Peggy shmooze on the phone with, while she works those grossly long hours at Chaough?

The storytellers are making Don so incredibly repugnant that I can see him taking his 30-story fall soon, though certainly he won't. Even we viewers, knowing his complex and desperate story, are feeling more contempt for him than anything else. What are the writers gonna *do* with that? Honestly, I can hardly wait to know.

Sylvia is one of the most intriguing characters on the show: boldly (hypocritically?) wears a cross pendant, prays for her lover to find peace, cheats on her sweetheart of a husband with no sense of irony nor guilt, apparently. How'd she get there? What's the bckstory with the dedicated, decent doc? I'm tuned in - for better or worse - to criticism of religion on this and any show, and while this obviously is criticism, it's so nuanced; it's not a matter of "scoff at the religious hypocrites!" any more than it's "scof at the ethical hypocrites!"

Dawn and her neo-radical friend with her built-in backup (the friend's fiance) .... Dawn and Christina's character (I am so drawing a blank on the character's name!) ... the whole theme of women in the late '60s is bringing back many many many many memories! It was like that, you young'uns: We were trying to figure out where we fit in, or if we fit in. Pretty brilliant.

Harry is Don without the charm. Love that he was surprised to realize the old guy knew about his twins. Talk about a guy who's compartmentalized his life at work (Mother Lakshmi's arse!) from his life at home.

[MamaJunebug]

Also - to PennySycamore - real good catch about the infidelity in the maid's room and the maid's infidelity on TV!!!

Also also -- keep 'em coming, crazyforKate! Recapper without peer!

[crazyforkate]

PennySycamore, I noticed those separately but never made the connection - good observation! MamaJunebug, thanks...I love doing these recaps anyway, but it's nice to have interested readers. Christina Hendricks' character is named Joan. And Pete does know about Peggy's baby, she told him at the end of Season 2...he's just put it away. And it has been a very long time, the kid's almost 8 now. Hard to believe time goes by so fast...in the premiere we notice that Roger's daughter has a kid we never even heard about, and she was married towards the end of Season 3!

[MamaJunebug]

PennySycamore, I noticed those separately but never made the connection - good observation! MamaJunebug, thanks...I love doing these recaps anyway, but it's nice to have interested readers. Christina Hendricks' character is named Joan. And Pete does know about Peggy's baby, she told him at the end of Season 2...he's just put it away. And it has been a very long time, the kid's almost 8 now. Hard to believe time goes by so fast...in the premiere we notice that Roger's daughter has a kid we never even heard about, and she was married towards the end of Season 3!

Peggy told Pete? Oh boy, I wanna see that episode SO bad!

Just ... tell me she didn't fall for Pete's ... charms, again? The magnetism that little twerp has will never ever ever cease to confound me profoundly.

[crazyforkate]

They never had sex after Season 1, but did work together and have some rather reflective moments.

[MamaJunebug]

Thanks, cfK, I got the TwOP recap and it was enough.

Apropos of nothing, I just had the most wonderful viewing: Jim Parsons on Broadway as Elwood P. Dowd, and Rich Sommer as the menacing orderly!!!!!! Mad Men + TBBT (on Broadway) = the most fun I've had all day!!!!!!!!!

It's in one of several short videos on the Roundabout Theatre Company site. Highly recommend it to any MM/TBBT fan-nerd!