my thoughts on the Mad Men finale and Pete
There are vague spoilers here but nothing major.
Another season finale ends with Don pissing me off. Keep it in your pants and see a therapist, for christ's sake. Megan is not going to leave you because she gets her own career! (I know he didn't do anything, but the point is, he's thinking about it again.)
I wrote this comment, quickly, in response to Tom & Lorenzo's review (relevant portion quoted at the beginning). [http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/06/mad-men-the-phantom.html] What do you all think?
And having [Pete] deliver a suspiciously poignant and well-written monologue explaining his actions and then having Trudy give him exactly what he’s wanted all season, an apartment in the city, felt a bit too much like the whole arc had just been wrapped up in a bow.
I see his getting the apartment differently. I think Pete's story line was driven home by his crying in the elevator, "I have nothing." The point is that he has EVERYTHING and he still isn't happy. He's wealthy, successful, good at his job, has (or had) a great relationship with his wife, finally has a kid, etc. He is not disadvantaged in any conceivable way, except where his own petulant entitlement causes him problems. The episode even ends with Pete pointing out that he has arrived at the same level as Don (which, clearly, also parallels where Don's life was in season 1--it was no accident that the first time we saw Pete's house, for a moment we thought it was Don's!). So Trudy consenting to let him have his apartment was the final nail -- he's gotten everything he's asked for, except for an escape from his life. (Note that he expressed disdain toward people who would resort to suicide as being unable/unwilling to solve problems, while he makes no effort to solve problems himself.)
Some of my friends have mentioned feeling sorry for him. I love Pete as a character, but I sure as hell am not sympathetic. I don't think we're supposed to feel sorry for him, specifically, beyond whatever pity we might feel for people who have been entrapped by the American Dream. The 50s and early 60s are famous for their consumer culture, and I suspect Pete is where the fallout of that is being worked into the show.
Or something along those lines. These are all half formed ideas, but I do feel sure that the point of Pete's story this season is to give him everything, and show that it will never be enough.
Another season finale ends with Don pissing me off. Keep it in your pants and see a therapist, for christ's sake. Megan is not going to leave you because she gets her own career! (I know he didn't do anything, but the point is, he's thinking about it again.)
I wrote this comment, quickly, in response to Tom & Lorenzo's review (relevant portion quoted at the beginning). [http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/2012/06/mad-men-the-phantom.html] What do you all think?
And having [Pete] deliver a suspiciously poignant and well-written monologue explaining his actions and then having Trudy give him exactly what he’s wanted all season, an apartment in the city, felt a bit too much like the whole arc had just been wrapped up in a bow.
I see his getting the apartment differently. I think Pete's story line was driven home by his crying in the elevator, "I have nothing." The point is that he has EVERYTHING and he still isn't happy. He's wealthy, successful, good at his job, has (or had) a great relationship with his wife, finally has a kid, etc. He is not disadvantaged in any conceivable way, except where his own petulant entitlement causes him problems. The episode even ends with Pete pointing out that he has arrived at the same level as Don (which, clearly, also parallels where Don's life was in season 1--it was no accident that the first time we saw Pete's house, for a moment we thought it was Don's!). So Trudy consenting to let him have his apartment was the final nail -- he's gotten everything he's asked for, except for an escape from his life. (Note that he expressed disdain toward people who would resort to suicide as being unable/unwilling to solve problems, while he makes no effort to solve problems himself.)
Some of my friends have mentioned feeling sorry for him. I love Pete as a character, but I sure as hell am not sympathetic. I don't think we're supposed to feel sorry for him, specifically, beyond whatever pity we might feel for people who have been entrapped by the American Dream. The 50s and early 60s are famous for their consumer culture, and I suspect Pete is where the fallout of that is being worked into the show.
Or something along those lines. These are all half formed ideas, but I do feel sure that the point of Pete's story this season is to give him everything, and show that it will never be enough.