Mad Men 6x05 and 6x06: "For Immediate Release" and "Man With A Plan"
Lumping these together since I didn't put up a separate review last week and since each informs the other...
Real quick notes on 6x05. One of the few episodes I've gotten to watch live in the past couple years, which was nice. And it was refreshing to have an episode that didn't focus exclusively on Don's affairs and mental breakdowns.
The Ken Cosgrove Advice Hour was comedy gold, as was his "oh no, he wasn't working the slide rule" quip. Seeing Pete and Tom's faces as each saw the other in that brothel was just the best, as was Pete's "...hello." Of course he'd be so hell bent on proving he wasn't a hypocrite that he outed Tom's infidelities to Trudy, just as she was on the verge of taking him back. Which doesn't mean I approve of Tom's snit fit. But instead of taking Ken's advice and avoiding mutually assured destruction, Pete reacted to Tom's alpha male swinging by upping the ante and pushing the detonator himself.
TED. His turtleneck sweaters. Sad drinking. SOMETHING by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I die! I also hope that Don starts to put two and two together re: Ted's feelings for Peggy and vice versa. I just want Don to see those two making googly eyes at each other over mockups and freak the hell out.
I want all the drunk Marie GIFs. ALL OF THEM. She has never been more fabulous. "Listen to this idiot." "Forget my name." CAN WE KEEP HER.
Liked the idea of the merger but as soon as it was hatched I knew it wasn't going to go as smoothly as the last. By the end of the ep, when Peggy goes to Ted's office and finds Don there, I was just screaming IT'S A TRAP at the television. Don likes the beginnings of things, and he may like the idea of merging to become a superagency at first, but there is no way he'd give up so much creative control once the other shoe drops.
Which brings us to 6x06:
Lot of death/illness foreshadowing between Gleason's hospitalization with pancreatic cancer and Joan's trip to the ER for her ovarian cyst. I don't think Gleason's long for this world, unfortunately -- and who knows how Ted will cope with losing his confidant and friend if that happens - but if Joan's scare is representative of something more serious I will lose my shit. YOU HAVE ALREADY PUT HER THROUGH SO MUCH, WEINER. LEAVE JOANIE ALONE.
Bob Benson still creeps me out. Not so much because of his earnestness -- because he seems to react to all the senior partners/employees with the same puppy-like enthusiasm and need for attention -- but because we still know nothing about him other than his name, former job, and (maybe) alma mater. He's a cipher and I don't like that. Right now, he still seems like the type of person who's collecting information about the entire agency, and who can either use it for good or bad. He is the Gretchen Weiners of SCDP. And while he was kind to Joan, I'm gonna be pissed if that turns into an affair. Although I will always laugh at Gail's "he was adorable! Younger men aren't intimidated by powerful women!"
Don is such an asshole. Notable that he brought out the BDSM persona post-sex and teased Sylvia with it, not for any mutual enjoyment but purely because things are bad and when things get bad for Don, he compensates by punishing the women in his life (personally, professionally, etc.) and trying to reassert total control. And buying the red dress for her -- solidifying her role in his life as part-time prostitute, who literally gets to do nothing but wait on him and indulge his whims of the day. Get my shoes on your hands and knees. Put on this dress. Take off this dress. I'm taking your book. Jesus. I was so glad when she dumped him. Very reminiscent of Rachel Menken -- "you don't want to run away with me, you just want to run away." Interesting that last year we were all complaining about the season being so Megan heavy and now we're reduced to a Megan who literally isn't even being heard, just seen and observed as if in a haze. Again, that marriage isn't long for the world.
I was also pleased to see Peggy standing up to Don immediately re: his treatment of Ted. She may be in the same office again, but she's clearly not going to let Don walk all over her. HALLELUJAH. Plus a Peggy and Joan scene within the first five minutes! You may have the shitty office with the column, but at least you have a space of your own (next to Ted's office, may I add.) I may be delusional, but still hope Peggy and Joan are able to become better friends now that Peg's back.
Pete's relationship with his mother and their bout of living together was very interesting to me. Much more so than the rest of the Don/Sylvia nonsense. At first I made a lot of Odd Couple jokes, but their dynamic truly is fascinating. Remember she always favored Bud over Pete, back when Pete's father was alive and even right after he'd died. She was so against his adopting a child she threatened to disown him. So it was poignant, uncomfortable, and strange to watch the two of them interact as she drifted in and out of lucidity. She has at least realized Pete's living in the city full time -- nice call on the "is this place for your father's prostitutes, or for yours?"
Someone on the TLo boards pointed out that there is a Munich air crash in August 1968 -- so we can add Roger and Jim Cutler to the list of People We're Worried About. It wouldn't surprise me if Cutler got killed, as that leaves more room for Don, Roger, and co. to self destruct and probably bring Ted down with them.
Ted. Dear Ted. So secure in his own power he gives up his seat to sit on the credenza while Pete gets a chair. Getting super drunk and berating Freddy Crane for voting for Nixon. Being sad and hungover with a dying Gleason. Piloting his own plane. NEVER LEAVE US.
More to add later, but I gotta go to work.
Real quick notes on 6x05. One of the few episodes I've gotten to watch live in the past couple years, which was nice. And it was refreshing to have an episode that didn't focus exclusively on Don's affairs and mental breakdowns.
The Ken Cosgrove Advice Hour was comedy gold, as was his "oh no, he wasn't working the slide rule" quip. Seeing Pete and Tom's faces as each saw the other in that brothel was just the best, as was Pete's "...hello." Of course he'd be so hell bent on proving he wasn't a hypocrite that he outed Tom's infidelities to Trudy, just as she was on the verge of taking him back. Which doesn't mean I approve of Tom's snit fit. But instead of taking Ken's advice and avoiding mutually assured destruction, Pete reacted to Tom's alpha male swinging by upping the ante and pushing the detonator himself.
TED. His turtleneck sweaters. Sad drinking. SOMETHING by Ralph Waldo Emerson. I die! I also hope that Don starts to put two and two together re: Ted's feelings for Peggy and vice versa. I just want Don to see those two making googly eyes at each other over mockups and freak the hell out.
I want all the drunk Marie GIFs. ALL OF THEM. She has never been more fabulous. "Listen to this idiot." "Forget my name." CAN WE KEEP HER.
Liked the idea of the merger but as soon as it was hatched I knew it wasn't going to go as smoothly as the last. By the end of the ep, when Peggy goes to Ted's office and finds Don there, I was just screaming IT'S A TRAP at the television. Don likes the beginnings of things, and he may like the idea of merging to become a superagency at first, but there is no way he'd give up so much creative control once the other shoe drops.
Which brings us to 6x06:
Lot of death/illness foreshadowing between Gleason's hospitalization with pancreatic cancer and Joan's trip to the ER for her ovarian cyst. I don't think Gleason's long for this world, unfortunately -- and who knows how Ted will cope with losing his confidant and friend if that happens - but if Joan's scare is representative of something more serious I will lose my shit. YOU HAVE ALREADY PUT HER THROUGH SO MUCH, WEINER. LEAVE JOANIE ALONE.
Bob Benson still creeps me out. Not so much because of his earnestness -- because he seems to react to all the senior partners/employees with the same puppy-like enthusiasm and need for attention -- but because we still know nothing about him other than his name, former job, and (maybe) alma mater. He's a cipher and I don't like that. Right now, he still seems like the type of person who's collecting information about the entire agency, and who can either use it for good or bad. He is the Gretchen Weiners of SCDP. And while he was kind to Joan, I'm gonna be pissed if that turns into an affair. Although I will always laugh at Gail's "he was adorable! Younger men aren't intimidated by powerful women!"
Don is such an asshole. Notable that he brought out the BDSM persona post-sex and teased Sylvia with it, not for any mutual enjoyment but purely because things are bad and when things get bad for Don, he compensates by punishing the women in his life (personally, professionally, etc.) and trying to reassert total control. And buying the red dress for her -- solidifying her role in his life as part-time prostitute, who literally gets to do nothing but wait on him and indulge his whims of the day. Get my shoes on your hands and knees. Put on this dress. Take off this dress. I'm taking your book. Jesus. I was so glad when she dumped him. Very reminiscent of Rachel Menken -- "you don't want to run away with me, you just want to run away." Interesting that last year we were all complaining about the season being so Megan heavy and now we're reduced to a Megan who literally isn't even being heard, just seen and observed as if in a haze. Again, that marriage isn't long for the world.
I was also pleased to see Peggy standing up to Don immediately re: his treatment of Ted. She may be in the same office again, but she's clearly not going to let Don walk all over her. HALLELUJAH. Plus a Peggy and Joan scene within the first five minutes! You may have the shitty office with the column, but at least you have a space of your own (next to Ted's office, may I add.) I may be delusional, but still hope Peggy and Joan are able to become better friends now that Peg's back.
Pete's relationship with his mother and their bout of living together was very interesting to me. Much more so than the rest of the Don/Sylvia nonsense. At first I made a lot of Odd Couple jokes, but their dynamic truly is fascinating. Remember she always favored Bud over Pete, back when Pete's father was alive and even right after he'd died. She was so against his adopting a child she threatened to disown him. So it was poignant, uncomfortable, and strange to watch the two of them interact as she drifted in and out of lucidity. She has at least realized Pete's living in the city full time -- nice call on the "is this place for your father's prostitutes, or for yours?"
Someone on the TLo boards pointed out that there is a Munich air crash in August 1968 -- so we can add Roger and Jim Cutler to the list of People We're Worried About. It wouldn't surprise me if Cutler got killed, as that leaves more room for Don, Roger, and co. to self destruct and probably bring Ted down with them.
Ted. Dear Ted. So secure in his own power he gives up his seat to sit on the credenza while Pete gets a chair. Getting super drunk and berating Freddy Crane for voting for Nixon. Being sad and hungover with a dying Gleason. Piloting his own plane. NEVER LEAVE US.
More to add later, but I gotta go to work.