“It’s a nose job, not an abortion.” – Sally #TheMorningAfter #MadMen pic.twitter.com/lq6ZuT4PuD
— Mad Men (@MadMen_AMC) May 12, 2014
The worst part of the “previously on” is having to hear Bert say, “And you will report to Lou.” Still makes me shudder.
Everyone is running away from everything.
First we’ll start with Stephanie, who is actually running away. From what? Life? The fact that she’s pregnant and has no idea how far along she is? It was interesting to see Stephanie again. The last time we saw her was the end of season 5 when Anna died and Don took his kids and Megan to California. That was probably the first glimpse Don’s kids had at his previous life, even if they didn’t know at that point that their dad was full of secrets.
Don seems to be settling into his role as, well, a role player. Even when Lou messes with his last minute plans to head to California (thanks, Stan!), Don doesn’t go crazy and just leave. He gives Lou his work and heads back to his desk like a good little boy. Like Peggy does in “The Suitcase” when Don messes with her birthday plans. Of course, because Lou is an asshole and gunning for the top of our “Must Die” list, he tells Don he doesn’t need the required work until Monday.
When Lou talks about Bob Dylan and tells his employees to think about where he (Dylan) is and where they are and how much more successful Dylan is than they will ever be, I couldn’t help but think he could have been looking in the mirror saying that. His terrible cartoon is just an imitation of Beetle Bailey and the other cartoon he mentions. Just a pipe dream that will never come true. The only reason he has the job at SC&P is because Don fucked up. If Don doesn’t go insane during the Hershey pitch, Lou remains a middle man at whatever agency he was at before.
We also continue to see Betty’s restlessness. She’s still yearning to be more than a housewife and a mother and tries to assert her opinion about the war in the wrong place. If Henry just wants her to shut up and smile, he needs to tell her so. Betty’s got a mind of her own and she’s about to let you know it! Of course, she exerts her control where she can – over Sally, who got clocked pretty good in the nose with a golf club. Bobby wonders he Betty and Henry will get a divorce, but I doubt that will happen. Henry’s already once divorced and Betty fits the role of being a politician’s wife pretty well (well, except for her outburst at dinner). She and Henry need to have a talk and get on the same page.
Is Megan a runaway? Or was she run away? If she had her way, Don would be out in California with her full time, but instead because Don does what he wants, she only gets to see him on the weekend when he’s available. That changes when Stephanie comes back needing help. Don decides to make the trip right away to help his “niece” and disrupts Megan’s life a little bit. Amy… from Delaware? was annoying. I can’t tell if she likes Megan more than friends or if they are just BFFs. Don didn’t seem to mind that Megan was having a party, but when he returned from drinks with Harry Crane, he’s annoyed by the one guest still at the house.
When Don arrives in California and Megan and Amy go to the store and Amy asks what Don wants and Megan says, “I know what he likes” I picked up on the double entendre. She wasn’t just talking about his choice of scotch. Megan is upset that Don will rearrange his life to help a friend from a previous life, but can’t give into his own wife’s desires. So, she uses what she can to control Don – sex. Great for Don, but Megan is pissed in the morning when Stephanie calls to check in. Megan will never be first in Don’s life and she either needs to accept that or move on.
Ginsberg hates the computer and when he sees Jim and Lou in the computer room on Saturday, he thinks it’s turning them gay. I’ve had suspicions of him needing a tin foil hat, but we see it full force in this episode. If I was Peggy, I’d be more alarmed that my employee showed up at my house unannounced than anything. Ginsberg freaks out because she doesn’t check the peephole, but turns out she’s just waiting for the kid from upstairs to come down so she can baby-sit him.
Peggy falls asleep before the Neighbor Kid (I can’t, for the life of me remember his name, despite watching this episode 3 times) leaves. When she wakes up, Ginsburg is trying to make the moves on her. She rightfully kicks him out. He’s talking like a crazy person! Then he shows up in her office on Monday with a gift for her. See, in the light of day, it turns out that he really does have feelings for her. And he wants to show his affection for her with a gift. His nipple! Peggy calmly walks out and calls the authorities to take him away. Ginsburg’s been saying some nutty things for a while. Remember when Bob Benson had to talk him down after his freak out last season? Hopefully he gets some help, but I can’t help but wonder if this is the last time we see him.
The computer is not making people homo, but turns out because it’s so loud, it’s a great place to hold a secret meeting where no one can hear you. Even on a Saturday when you don’t think anyone else is going to be in the office. Or if you think Don might be in the office. It’s a great place to talk about taking on another tobacco account as a work around to getting rid of Don. He took out that full page ad after Lucky Strike left claiming that he’s quitting tobacco. Harry let all this slip out when in unexpectedly showed up at Megan’s party.
In the end, Don was Don and straight up just broke all the rules when he showed up at the meeting with Commander to tell them that if they picked SC&P, he would quit, but that he also knows both side of the business. It was a pretty ballsy move by Don to show up at that meeting. In the taxi after the meeting, Jim says to Don, “You think this will save you, don’t you?”
You never know, but it just might.
I can’t wait to see what happens next week!
