You were given the choice between war and dishonor. You chose dishonor and you will have war. – Winston Churchill
WARNING: THIS THREAD WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE EPISODE OR DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200. STAY OUT UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED.
And now my random thoughts regarding the episode in no particular order.
Collaborators took a major turn for the soap opera and I loved that it was even alluded to when Sylvia wasn’t sure if Megan’s miscarriage was something that happened in her life or a plot point from the character she plays. Everyone cheating on everyone and having secret miscarriages and spying on their step-mother schlepping their step-dad, oh my.
Another thing which really struck me this episode was that throughout the show a tapestry of significant historic events was woven into the background but each character was so wrapped up in their own lives they were barely paying attention. That actually struck me as fairly true to life. When we think of the era what comes to mind are the brazen activists and government machinery but I would imagine there was a fair amount of people for who the events of the time were not affecting their everyday life.
This week’s flashbacks were pretty straightforward and yet straight out of left field at the same time. The same austere Abigail Whitman who was outraged at having to raise a “whore’s son” is now having sex in a brothel with a random man? What? The writer’s took a pretty big leap in an effort to show what drove Don to associate shame with sexual arousal.
Fuck yeah, Trudy Campbell. Pete stands as one of the last bastions of a dying misogynistic era and Trudy isn’t going to stand for it anymore. As a side note to that story line, I’ve always been a Pete fan- I just want to take him and fix him- but when he paid that complement about the lipstick I became entirely convinced Pete is going to turn out to be a serial killer. You read it here first, kids.
Say it ain’t so, Peg. The one thing that has always been at the core of Peggy’s character was her loyalty. I’m really, sincerely hoping she won’t sacrifice that for her career. Perhaps instead this will be the impetus for her to go running back to Sterling Cooper this time with greater leverage to demand the respect she deserves? Fingers crossed.
And finally, footage from the original cast of Hair‘s 1968 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Can you imagine Pete in the audience?
