MAD MEN on AMC - Season 6

There's a lot of questions that will arise, of course. But come on, both are small companies losing out every time; Peggy - after kissing her boss, the attraction obviously there - in a similar awkward bind as with Don; beard-guy (forgot his name) already working for Don but keeping a warm bond with Peggy all the time through the phone... It is hardly a surprise.

How it will work out though? No idea.

Forks otm

yeah i'm curious about the logistics as well, in an episode where you had joan (and pete but who cares about him) go off on don for making unilateral decisions it's interesting to see him put together a merger on a whim (necessitated somewhat by need and obv the spin is that it was chevy's idea but everyone knows that if don didn't blanch at a client stepping on his freedom and genius then it was probably his idea in the first place), ted would only have to sell harry hamlin on the idea w/ the incentive of having to buy out their soon to be dead partner working for him, don gets to tell the other partners that forget about the ipo and whatever other ideas about scdp and their lives they might've had or been working on he's decided they're doing a merger w/ a rival. presumably they consulted w/ other partners before putting out a press release but boy i would've liked to have heard those phone calls.

it was a pretty awesome high-five moment when they merged you guys gotta admit

the logistics arent keeping me up at night but im delighted to see how they'll play out

every big thing that's happened on this show happens in a rush. don et al found out sterling cooper was for sale, decided to leave then left all in the same episode (all while don & betty decided to get divorced).

also, for some reason i kept thinking we were gonna see sal come back??

one way it benefits them is it gets them the chevy account

balls pretty on-the-ball

i think sal's w/ the russian in new jersey tbh

wait waht

Harry Hamlin?

i will say i was really pissed they didn't have the chutzpah to cut to the pitch for chevy and see how the sell went down. all that buildup and no payoff? tease.

wait did they get the Chevy account? that wasn't clear to me

I too hold out hope for return of Sal, but who knows

xp

Harry Hamlin?

he's been in the last two episodes bro where ya been

and if so whose pitch did they use lol

i didn't get why one small ad agency in the mix would have a chance, but with two they were fucked, but whatever

I didn't recognize him.

they did get the chevy account

and it was obviously pretty huge, like "open offices in detroit" huge.

I mean -- blond fag hair? hornrims?

I didn't recognize him at first either cuz he's so gaunt now

I think it's actually quite significant that Joan stood up to Don. When did that ever happen before? Never. And not in this harsh/truthful manor either.

And Pete was absolutely right when he said to Don "Don't act as if you had a plan"... Don, company-wise, was like a steerless ship, lost at sea. He already was personally, but he had to endure some failures in his pitches. Joan standing up to him - Joan! - was very significant. Pete shouting at him as well. His position is being undermined.

Which is good, Don probably needs a shock at work most as a wake up call than anything else.

I agree about Joan.

as for Don, all he needed was a bj from wifey eh lol

I don't think Joan's insubordination was out of line. She's exercised her power since Season ONe.

it's not out of line at all, but she has always been deferential and/or had a special camraderie with Don. she's never taken him to task for anything.

I dunno, that showdown had been building for a while.

one small agency in the mix = chevy serious about going w/ that one small agency if they decide not to go w/ a large firm w/ added implication that that small agency being there already means they're looking not to go w/ a large firm. two small agencies = chevy exploring whatever options are out there, not necessarily looking to go w/ small firm but hey who knows bring em in. heinz ketchup all over again. for large firms this is another (potentially great) day at the office, for small firms cutting ties w/ alfa romeo or jaguar is an existential risk you do cuz you think you've got a strong hand. when ted sees don is also there (in kind of a reversal of don running into ted in that hotel hallway) it's like he caught a bad beat on the river.

don also asked her "don't you feel 300lbs lighter?" which is just, hoo boy

joan was much more passive aggressive about standing up to don in the past

http://www.vanityfair.com/dam/online/oscars/2010/09/24/mrs-blankenship-460.jpg

in kind of a reversal of don running into ted in that hotel hallway

also an inversion of Pete running into his father-in-law, no?

and of course Pete and Don handled their respective situations in completely opposite manners

haha if only the bartender had been 200 POUNDS and BLACK

james wolk is probably too big a 'name' actor for this to be the case (the same way it was unlikely jessica pare was gonna stay just the receptionist in the lobby) but i kinda hope bob benson doesn't turn out to be 'something', that he just remains this little office suckup. i swear i laffed harder at him w/ those fucking coffees than i did at pete on the stairs and i laffed really hard at pete on the stairs.

I decided to put my new gif-capturing software to good use by documenting Don's reaction to the puppies have a nipple each line:

http://oi42.tinypic.com/15fymb.jpg

Why on earth did he ask the black secretary to stick duct tape on his tie?

I'm not sure I accepted the merger tbh; it's like the episode had too much plot for one hour.

seems like most seasons they have jacked up the stakes/made some big changes mid-season, which is where we're at right now.

Q: so does pete's (soon to be ex-) father in law just not give a shit whether his wife knows he's been whoring around?

love how ken's totally sensible advice completely misunderstood the situation

final random thought: the guys they hire to play assholes on this show are good. that jaguar dealer, that's kind of a magnificent performance.

Q: so does pete's (soon to be ex-) father in law just not give a shit whether his wife knows he's been whoring around?

my guess is that, like Trudy, she already knows and has made her peace with it

trudy's too much of a wasp to say anything to her folks, pete just wanted to hurt her

it'll forever be the 200lb negro prostitute in the room, so to speak

so do you guys think that

1) don makes less sense as a character than other characters on this show

2) it only seems this way b/c we know and see much more of him and thus he has more "shades"

3) that the seeming contradictions in his character are themselves evidence of "realism" rather than incoherence

4) a little of all of the above?

5) what?

5) yes

3

What has he done recently that contradicts his character?

best episode for the last 2 seasons imo. the only false note was Trudy's dad freaking out so completely; didn't he and Pete always have a tetchy-but-affectionate father/son thing going on? especially after Pete's dad died. i might be mis-remembering tho.

i think trudy's dad had respect for pete as a businessman, and he wanted him to be successful for trudy's sake

but the daddy's girl thing was also firmly established long ago

What has he done recently that contradicts his character?

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Monday, May 6, 2013 7:15 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i dunno, his treatment of the same characters (esp. in the office) over time seems often like it meets the needs of the plotting rather than being "motivated" consistently or even consistently inconsistent

i feel he is genuinely unpredictable (as opposed to predictably unpredictable) which is a little disconcerting

so do you guys think that

1) don makes less sense as a character than other characters on this show

2) it only seems this way b/c we know and see much more of him and thus he has more "shades"

3) that the seeming contradictions in his character are themselves evidence of "realism" rather than incoherence

4) a little of all of the above?

5) what?

i think don is pretty much (intentionally) a figurative black hole--so perhaps all of the above?

This was a really good episode. The best in a while.

I'm wondering where they are going with this Bob character. Maybe they won't do anything with him. It would be kind of cool if he would just keep on offering coffee and prostitutes to his superiors until the end of the series without ever getting anywhere.

or gets laid off in the last episode, in passing.

"ken, you're fired! oh, you too, bob."