Mad Men Season 4 Unpopular Opinions

[sunclouds33]

Here are my Mad Men Season 4 UOs. My UOs came out easier for early West Wing and later Mad Men....

Comments

[local_max]

More later, maybe...but ITA especially that Roger was in no way trying to tank Pete over Honda, and that it is hilarious Pete would think that was it. It wouldn't even occur to Roger to be in competition with Pete pre-LS loss, IMO, at least not until Pete brings it up.

[sunclouds33]

It's really hilarious and so Pete. Pete recognizes a petulant office tantrum when he sees one because takes one to know one- but then, he presumes that there's an ambitious, careerist motor behind it because otherwise WHAT FIRES IT UP? LOL.

Of course, Roger LUNGED at Pete right then. It's infuriating to believe that you're championing A NOBLE CAUSE as DA KING OF THE AGENCY and for someone you consider an employee, to say that it's not a cause but because you, the king, badly needs to compete with the employee because you're on your way to becoming irrelevant.

But still Roger's racism and stupidity about the account is bad enough that it still feels like JUSTICE for Pete to try to make Roger feel small about it, even if Pete was totally inaccurate in his insult.

[local_max]

Yeah, like, it's one thing for someone to scold you in general, it's another for Pete to hold the moral high ground while in the midst of still being a self-involved twerp. It's also kind of telling that Pete, for his various flaws, genuinely cannot conceive of someone having that level of destructive racism and so assumes it's a put-on...because Roger's out to get him, of course!

[sunclouds33]

I don't know if this link is intended but it's somewhat reminiscent of Father Campbell using racism to disparage Pete and his line of work. Run into you at the club, you're working, at a restaurant, you're working, taking people out to dinner. Wining and whoring. No job for a white man.

The line sounds like it was said or implied before- Pete's parents calculatedly used racism and class-standards to put Pete down. So, it's not just racism targeted to blacks/Japanese to Pete. In a certain context, it can trigger Pete's "fight" part of his brain because he's just looking for the hidden parental insult there. Roger's racism must have an ulterior motive to keep Pete as the unrewarded, least favorite son! That's what older WASPs with family crests do!

[bellesbells]

I definitely did think Roger's tantrum was more racism and WWII based, though I wouldn't necessarily discount him as someone who wouldn't have the ability to consider his diminished status. It's kind of weird - Roger doesn't want so much work, but at the same time, he never wanted to be like Cooper in the office - he does want to feel like he is contributing something (but preferably by doing very little). And I kind of think that when Pete told him off, it occured to Roger that he probably did feel a bit of that, worrying that the young guys will take over the office and he'd just be a relic and in name only partner

[sunclouds33]

I agree that Roger is capable of considering a reduced status pre-losing Lucky Strike. When the PPL left him off the flowchart in their S3 visit, a bunch of points when he felt professionally spurned by Don. However, I just don't think Roger thought *Pete* had the standing to reduce Roger's standing by comparison. IMO, Roger still thought of Pete as an employee in S4 instead of a partner i.e. high-handedly informing Pete to fire Vicks to make room for Ponds, Roger dictating to Pete to halt his relationship with Honda, how Roger grasped to upbraid/abuse an employee in Pete on losing North American Aviation so Roger could self-soothe at losing Lucky Strike. IMO, Roger considered all of Pete's business to be Roger's business (that Roger just didn't need to service or consider). It took losing Lucky Strike and the agency (very much including Pete) reiterating that one Accounts partner had most of the business and it pointedly wasn't Roger for Roger to see Pete as not just a partner, but someone with his own much great portfolio and

[bellesbells]

Yeah, that's true, I doubt Roger was that on top of things at that point. :D

I heart Don/Peggy so much too. They always maintained such an interesting relationship throughout the entirety of the series.

[sunclouds33]

Roger was really out of it then. I think Roger has above-average-intelligence, arguably even clever (certainly with wit)- but he never though he had to consider strategy like Godzilla just stomping around with his natural heft and importance ("HAYAWAJAKAZAWAKA...MONSTAH!").