MAD MEN on AMC - Season 6

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."

Bob marries Joan, and they open a B&B in Martha's Vineyard.

Maybe Bob is actually "Bob". "Bob" supposedly made his early fortune in advertising.

well I suppose losing jaguar at that particular moment theoretically cost joan like $1 million didn't it?

She's still a partner in the business, her stake isn't contingent on Jaguar being onboard. Although Don would have cost them a fair amount of billing if it hadn't been for the Chevy thing.

I'm assuming that between Don and Roger they have a controlling stake in the business? It sounded like Cooper, Joan and Pete together would still have needed to consult the others to go public. Either that or Don and Roger just don't give a shit, which is also pretty likely.

i imagine cooper's share is kind of big no?

does anyone understand what he actually does for the firm under than occasionally put out fires and dispense useful advice?

btw did they retire pryce's name or keep it on? it would be kind of bad look if they got rid of it no?

also liked how the ending of this last episode was like the literalizing of peggy's implicit worry that she would be spiritually demoted back to don's secretary. there she is again, being ordered to type up a fucking memo.

The Pryce name is still there. Don't think Cooper actually does much other than pad around the office in a vague Chairmanish capacity but his stake is probably sizeable, he was able to give Don a bollocking last year.

oh just realized the jaguar dude and his wife were herb & peaches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaZ48fERfc

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

I think the degree to which he can be solicitous and considerate of others is usually tied to how much he perceives he needs them at any given time. That he is somewhat aware of this makes him both more sympathetic (he has a sense of his own neediness and emptiness, cf the soliloquy about fatherhood) and less sympathetic (he gives in to the neediness too often and excuses it too easily). But I don't think there's anything inconsistent about it. He's basically self-centered, but it's important enough for him to think of himself as a good guy that he can be generous -- with emotions, praise or attention -- when it doesn't cost him much.

sometimes it seems they want him to represent a sort of unreflective, tightly wound, uncommunicative american male. full of roiling emotions on but uninterested/unwilling/unable to communicate them or to understand himself. basically your father if you are a baby boomer.

other times they want him to be a supremely self-aware manipulator, aware of his own Inability to Love (and periodically sorrowful for that), able to size up and respond appropriately to (nearly) any situation.

i don't know if these two things are entirely irreconciliable (sp?) but it can be a confounding mix. the little soliloquy you cite seemed to come from nowhere to me.

Feel like there needs to be an episode centered around Don and Joan soon.

Feel like there needs to be a series centered around Joan soon.

also aside from serial cheating he doesn't really seem to have quirks, idiosyncrasies, pasttimes. or rather none that carry over from episode to episode (which is why it's kind of weird when he references literature of capital-C Cinema out of the blue; we don't get a sense of him really having a reading bug or filmgoing habit in general).

esp. not now that the secret of his identity is out to those closest to him. he's a singular character but in some ways he seems a void in ways that, whatever claims creators and fans might make for that as an expressive value, often just seems to be a failure of imagination.

xxpost

She's still a partner in the business, her stake isn't contingent on Jaguar being onboard. Although Don would have cost them a fair amount of billing if it hadn't been for the Chevy thing.

yes but w/o jaguar they wouldnt be able to make their public offering, therefore no $1 million

also aside from serial cheating he doesn't really seem to have quirks, idiosyncrasies, pasttimes. or rather none that carry over from episode to episode (which is why it's kind of weird when he references literature of capital-C Cinema out of the blue; we don't get a sense of him really having a reading bug or filmgoing habit in general).

in the very first episode he's reading frank o'hara and hanging out with beatniks!