Mad Men on AMC • Fifth Season Thread

you know in sports hoodies when the drawstring for the hood gets out and you can't get it back in? he had some complicated technique to get it back in involving miniature weights

Recaps are something I don't read unless it is something where I've missed a few episodes and I'm trying to catch up, or Mad Style since it's costume related.

And was anyone else annoyed by Lane kissing Joan? For me, the whole appeal of their relationship was that they understood and empathized with one another, and their mutual respect kept things platonic. That kiss came outta nowhere, and just seemed like an insanely pointless distraction.

i don't think this came out of nowhere at all! there was that scene a few eps earlier where Joan was in Lane's office talking about how much she missed the office and i thought it was going to happen back then!

i cant believe you actually watched the episode and lane's arc in it if you think that moment "came outta nowhere" or "felt hasty and tacked on"

Poor Lane, dude really is a fish out of water. Between his clumsy affair in the past, his fellow British dude thinking he was either too square or gay to actually have fun, and his officemates disrespecting him, he's had a weird run.

he won a fight tho

they're definitely carving out a place for him this season

i cant believe you actually watched the episode and lane's arc in it if you think that moment "came outta nowhere" or "felt hasty and tacked on"

In terms of his relationship with Joan, yeah, that's pretty much how it struck me.

I think only Pete really disrespecting him...the other guys were all pretty supportive of his attempt to woo new clients.

There never seemed to be a lot of interaction between those two before and I don't think it feels that believable. T

the "pact" was explicitly addressed/shown at the end of last season when Peggy and Ken broke the firm's streak of losing business after Don's "letter"

slocki, do you mean to imply that lane kissed joan in part b/c his manliness had been challenged?

I think he's pretty clearly been shown as super lonely, the whole thing with the mystery wallet woman a couple of episodes ago etc.

not s1ocki, but that's how i took it

^^^

that kiss did not "come out of nowhere" it was way telegraphed

plus yeah, his general alienation and sense of powerlessness

yes concluding with a completely unsatisfactory and mutually degrading fight

Laine will be a fucking hero for decking Pete, everyone wants to do it.

to me Pete's needlessly brutal antagonizing of Lane was the part that seemed to come out of nowhere - in the past Lane's been at least supportive of Pete and they have shared some (albeit awkward) camraderie

lane just shit on him and accused him of losing a big account did u not notice that part

yeah but Pete's defensiveness got way out of hand pretty quick

I mean calling him "a homo" wtf

Pete was lashing out & sniping at whoever was a convenient target because he was feeling emasculated for a number of reasons.

granted Pete was unloading on Lane because of his own problems with his masculinity

xp

ya for reals

Pete's character kind of a commentary on the present-day "regaining masculinity" people in his inability to find a way to really shine. He wants to somehow lead or be a success and he tries every stupid trick during the episode but ends up just looking like a dick for outing his coworker's extracurricular activities and even trying to mention his now near-useless family name to a high school kid.

I think if he existed in 2012 he wouldn't be in the "men have been denied their place by feminists/liberals/etc" but I don't think it'd be unfamiliar to his line of thought.

"You're my king."

yup.

these ppl wouldnt exist in 2012 at all

Food for another thread, but I think that Pete's constant lack of self-realization or self-actualization is really the foundation of a certain type of backlash. Pete's sympathetic, at least to a point, with some of the civil rights struggles but the evident forces that are being confronted -- racism and sexism -- aren't really the ones that are causing him discontent. It might just be a frustration that his character will never shake, but I think a lot of people see others successfully struggling against oppressive forces and decide that their own failures -- or in Pete's case, just the lack of an overwhelming success -- are the result of oppression or someone taking what's his.

So far, Pete's only gone as far as complaining about how he thinks he's more competent than others, thankfully.

xp dream on.

There are Pete's at every company I've ever worked at.

I thought carousing and going to the Playboy Club and shit was Lane's favorite thing about America! How come all of a sudden in this episode it's like none of that ever happened? Based on the version of Lane that we've seen in previous seasons, if the dinner with the Jaguar guy is boring and seemed to have hit a wall, I'd have expected Lane to be like "Fuck it, let's go get drunk and ogle cocktail waitresses, eh chap?"

even in this episode they had a bloody good time getting pissed and watching the footy

He thought he was supposed to be proper British dude since he met the guy in the guise of being proper British people with his wife and the dude's wife! I think he's not good at navigating the different spheres.

I thought it was pretty obvious it was because Jaguar Guy's wife took it to Lane's wife. Be seen to do something, rather than necessarily do something.

"chewing gum on his pubis"

lane knows how to party
http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzd5njWk3h1qkpccwo1_500.gif

best lane line - “I’ve heard men talk with dark permanence of those years.”

his astute britishisms kill me

Difference I think is that Lane partied with Don and at the playboy club on his own time, but I think he sees taking a client to a brothel as beyond the pale.

slocki, do you mean to imply that lane kissed joan in part b/c his manliness had been challenged?

I don't think anyone needs a reason to want to kiss Joan.

like i said upthread, they'd hinted at it (Lane wanny smoochy Joan) before - but what i think put him over the top was the adrenaline rush of getting into a fight (and winning).

so who was Lane with at the pub watching the World Cup? his wife who he's semi-separated from? (or not separated from?) I feel like I forgot a plot turn somewhere, I thought she moved back to London.

Dad beats Lane/tells him to get his affairs in order --> Lane brought his family over from England

at the pub Lane was with his wife and Mr. and Mrs. Jaguar

Yeah, Lane wanted to go to the park and thought hanging with other expats was dweeby, but then really got into the footy and tried to parlay it into a business deal.

dunno how much of Lane's behavior at the pub was genuine tbh

yeah, i thought it was pretty clear that he was putting on the expected show

laughed a lot at this episode. made me remember why i like this show.

Lane's Playboy exploits were while the wife was back in blighty.

the show is flirting with total farce this season, though getting away with it so far. i know there have been silly moments before but lane fighting pete was into utter ridicule.