Mad Men interlude

[frenchani]

Here is the first part of an interesting intreview with Matthew Weiner and Christina Hendricks on "The Other Woman".

And yes, I'm glad to see that I wasn't wrong, concerning Joan's choice, when I reviewed it!

Comments

[falafel_musings]

Thanks for this interview! I remember a lot of fans (and critics) angrily insisting that Joan prostituting herself for the Jaguar account was out of character, but I had the exact same thoughts about Joan's choice. Like Weiner points out as much as we like Joan - this is a woman who married a man who raped her. I imagine that Joan's wedding night felt something like her night with the Jaguar client; it's Joan sleeping with a bad man for a price. In the early seasons Joan's price was simply that she wanted a handsome doctor trophy husband to spare her from being a 30 something spinster. If anything Joan's price in the Jaguar deal is more self-sacrificing since I think she does it mostly to provide for her newborn child rather than for her own vanity and status. I can see why the choice was more painful in 'The Other Woman' since she went into it with open eyes and with the other five partners knowing what she was doing. With Greg the choice was Joan's secret and she had a very long period of denial over it. But yes, I agree with Weiner that not only was Joan capable of doing what she did in 'The Other Woman' but that it's not so different to things she's done before.

Great review too, btw. I also agree with your thoughts on Pete in this episode. I read an interview with Vincent Kartheiser recently and he was being asked how much hate he was getting for Pete's role in 'The Other Woman'. VK just pointed out that Pete was right - he was right that Joan would prostitute herself from price and he was right that the other partners would go along with it or at least do nothing to stop it. In a very sick twisted way, there's something admirable about Pete's willingness to embrace his role as the company bastard if that's what it takes to make SCDP successful. It's often a thankless role. Everyone can scowl at Pete and act appalled by Pete's willingness to entertain the Jaguar sleazeball's demands, but nobody takes the opportunity to stop it. Pete often lacks empathy but I actually thought in this case Pete had considered this from Joan's perspective. Given how Pete's "What would it take to make you a Queen?" speech echoed Pete's own fantasy of being a King (from his own encounter with a prostitute), I think Pete believes that if he were in Joan's position, he would do this. Indeed, there was the time Duck asked Pete if he would use his father's death as leverage to get a big account which (again) was an appalling thing for a boss to request, yet Pete went along with it without even asking for compensation. I think Lane also considered what he'd do in Joan's position and realized he'd agree it too, only he'd make sure to secure a better financial future for himself as part of the deal. Everyone's got a price.

I strongly agree with Weiner's reflections on Don in this episode. I also felt that Don wasn't really Joan's white knight who tragically arrived too late. Don left Joan and the other partners to it because he was all caught up in his insistence that "Creative is going to win this!" After a whole season of Don lacking creative spark and seeing young underlings like Peggy and Ginsberg coming up with much better ideas than him. Sure Don is sad for Joan in the final partner's gathering, but I think the real blow is to Don's ego as he realizes that the Jaguar account wasn't won by his creative genius; it was won by Joan's willingness to whore herself out and Pete's willingness to be an amoral little shit.

Oops, sorry for the essay! I just loved that episode of MM.

[frenchani]

You're welcome.
I think that many viewers didn't like seeing Queen Joan being treated and behaving like a whore, and forgot all about the previous seasons and Joan's goals. It's amusing to think that to many fans Joan had turned into the very thing the people in Advertising use to sell: a mere icon, a sort of ideal, a goddess... "The Other Woman" was a way to remind them that she's supposed to be a "real character", a woman of her time. Her actions were totally in character but didn't suit some fans' views, the idea of Joan that many have.

It was a great episode, one of the best from Mad Men! The writing is often uneven but once in the while they really get it right.