Mad Men on AMC • Fifth Season Thread

I think the way Roger has treated Jane this season has made it clear that his money comes with a lot of strings attached. Joan is never going to have to deal with Jaguar guy again -- it makes sense to me.

Also, while Don may treat Peggy like crap in the office, she's also his new Anna

^^^ This. I mean, Don was on top of his game before he went into that room with Peggy and he looked genuinely crushed at the end of it. Especially when he realised here she was going.

Don was on top of his game before he went into that room with Peggy

haha waht he was totally pissed about the Joan/Jaguar thing and had ditched the party!

i am a bit surprised that post-acid, "life-altering experience" roger would so blithely let this pass. though blithe is admittedly what roger does best...

Remember, Pete phrased this all to them as if Joan had already agreed but that they couldn't afford her. Joan was trying to tell Pete she had no price (until Pete went back to HER as if they'd all voted that she had to do it - did not say 'you can say no' as Bert wanted clear.)

So from the perspective, Roger thought Joan was up for sleeping with this guy and then just said the "leave me out of it" or whatever.

still, if i were a friend of joan's, i'd want a word with here, regardless of how some weaselly little nerd described the situation to me. roger hardly seems to be pete's biggest fan, after all.

here = her

one of the problems with standard soap opera plotting is that it so often requires that everyone unquestioningly accept things said by the least credible people. mad men is usually smarter about avoiding that device.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4pt4twLwy1qzyj1uo2_250.gif

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4pt4twLwy1qzyj1uo3_250.gif

That scene was a really, really tough scene to film. They didn’t tell me they were going to do this but Phil told Jon to hold on to my hand and not let it go. And then he did and I really sort of lost it… and I will say that every single one of those tears was actually absolutely real.
— Elisabeth Moss, Inside Episode 511

it does seem sort of weird that Roger would take Pete's word for it and not discuss it with Joan. otoh maybe he did and we just didn't see it.

scientologists don't cry real tears fyi

xp and of course we've all read Mad Style by now & know that JOan wore the fur Roger gave her (when he met Don!) as a giant 'Fuck you!' to Roger -not- going to talk to her about the deal.

we have another two whole episodes to see how bitter and miserable roger is

haha wow I missed that about the fur. of course

I had no idea. But of course she did, because Joan fucking RULES

i love vincent kartheiser saying "jag-wire" like a minnesotan

and jared harris' non-posh accent

“When I wear it, I’ll always remember the night I got it.”

Can we get a gif of Joan flatly snubbing Pete's handshake attempt to contrast with that Peggy/Don one?

would like to throw some love to Joan's mom this season, she is a laff riot. "we all wish he was dead" indeed

she is the perfect archetype of mom living in yr apartment

the whole thing about her and the repairman is lol

"we're just friends"

i still find it difficult to accept that roger wouldn't talk to joan about it beforehand...

We know that Lane and Roger already objectify Joan, as affectionate as they may be toward her. We can assume that Bert doesn't care enough about Joan to say no. The darkest part is, knowing Pete, that he'd in his own way enjoy prostituting the female staff, and especially a woman more respected than himself.

...and that joan would reject roger's money but go through with this

It's different. This situation has Pete manipulating Joan into thinking that 'whore' is in her job description, and that all the partners think so. (And they do, except Don.) Even though they say "she has a choice" and "she can still say no", the fact that any of the partners would even consider the idea, in the first place, it has effectively redefined her occupation.

The fact that Roger and Joan were in a relationship-- that is, boss with secretary-- only re-enforces the fact, despite his affection for her, he still thinks of her as an object.

Why does Don hate Ginsburg so much? Any reasons besides professional jealousy?

he has no manners

http://www.avclub.com/articles/jaguar-is-cool-with-looking-like-total-scumbags-on,75814/

during the close up of peggy where don was holding her hand, i remember wondering why it was going on for so long. like, "what is he doing down there...?"

this is obvious, but since i don't think anyone's mentioned it... i keep thinking back to the first episode of the season where joan was practically falling apart at the idea that she'd been replaced at scdp and could be so dispensable. and after all that, what finally institutionalizes her is her body and her looks.

I feel like Rogers's whole internal reality throughout this episode remains unseen. Like, he was holding it all in, or we'll get more information later.

Roger doesn't really give a shit. Lane was appalled but using it to cover his own back. Bert at least said "tell her she can still say no". Pete obviously the worst of all of them. Don was the only one who actually emerged with any credit at all.

I initially thought that Don just washed his hand and didn't do enough to stop it by just leaving the meeting, but I guess the point was made by Pete that he's not the end-all, be-all at the company and he sometimes doesn't grasp that he's not in control of everything that happens.

well there we go

fucked up!

lane's final note was exceedingly sloan wilson.

jaguar ignition gag was awesome.

last ep is called 'the phantom' fyi

jaguar ignition gag was awesome.

Thought that too.

Also, Creepy Glen is the best.

he wasn't terribly creepy tho just kinda meh imo!

nice to see a nice moment btwn Betty and Sally there

Creepy or not, I like him getting screentime.

Don's kind of in a pickle now. He's trying to do one of those "Don regroups and recharges the business and his own sense of purpose" things, but all this shit is getting his way. I wonder if he'll fail at it this time.

Great episode from the Jaquemattons. They wrote the Lucky Strike letter episode last season, they have their own private part of the plot now.

Also the ironic failure of a suicide attempt was classic. Hanging in the office was well played. Just devastating and unvarnished for everyone.

the actual sight of the body hanging there was hands-over-my-eyes shocking to me. we've been talking all season about someone killing themselves and the whole episode was so clearly leading up to it, but even with all that to potentially soften the blow it was horrible.

yeah ^^ that

good insight from sepinwall:

(*) On the plus side for poor Rebecca Pryce and her son: didn't Pete learn that the company insurance policy indemnifies for suicide after three years? SCDP's been in existence for more than three years now, after all.

would his resignation letter complicate that?

he didn't turn it in. he died as a part of SCDP.

but it was addressed "to the partners" and clearly drafted before his death. Was this a spiteful, I'd rather die than resign to you fucks kind of statement? I don't think so

I'm really gutted because I love Jared Harris.

Even the way he totally fucked the dog with that last Joan interaction was just heartbreaking.

an undelivered resignation letter wouldn't mean much, legally speaking. if no concrete steps had been taken (paperwork filed, etc) to separate lane from the firm, then he died in their employ.

xp yeah