Mad Men Season 6: Going the wrong way on a one way street

[drawkcabi]

I keep going back to how much this was a "war" episode, not only subtle but right in the dialog.

"psychological warfare"

"troops on the ground"

"MAD"

"dropping the bomb"

Then there's sudden alliances, sudden losses, risking it all on a big battle. Roger not only getting back into the accounts game but becoming head of covert operations with his spy game. And it ends with Peggy writing her dispatch from the front.

In a year when Vietnam was at its bloodiest, this is the symbolic episode of that. Maybe they did jump the shark, that remains to be seen, but even if the did, what an amazing jump!

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Thinking it over, I think my big concern with this move is what it means for Peggy. I loved her leaving SCDP, and I thought it was a great moment of independence, and I hope that her relationship with Don has changed enough that this isn't just a reset button for her. (I think it makes Joan's story potentially work even better, but I'll want to rewatch that episode at some point to see how I feel.)

[PhoenixFlame]

It's not jumping the shark if you never come back down :laugh:

[Spring Bass]

Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.

I mean, Jesus. That was positively soap opera-ish in the sheer number of twists and turns in that episode.

1. The merger idea is pretty good, if they can hack it. Despite Don & Friends picking up some good accounts, they're still a small agency, and mergers were not unknown. I loved the scene in the bar where they insult their own business and then decide to merge.

2. Oh, Peggy. You thought you'd escaped from Don Draper, didn't you? I'm hoping she's smart enough to set some clear boundaries, or at least to play Chaough and Draper off against one another. Man, this is a weird turn for the show. I have no idea where they're going to go with this, particularly after they made a great bunch of scenes about her finally leaving SCDP and moving on.

3. I love how Pete and Ken may not like each other, and may actively try to exclude one another from the other's accounts, but Pete's comfortable enough to tell him about how he caught his father-in-law in a whorehouse. Then again, Pete doesn't seem to discriminate in who he reveals private life details to, be it Ken, Harry, or Kiss-Ass (who was nice enough to stand outside the room and offer to pay for Pete's time in the brothel- what a guy!).

4. Pete falling down the stairs. Naturally, it only took the Internet six hours to come up with the GIF at the link. Hats off to Vincent Kartheiser for making that look good.

5. Put me in the same camp as Harry the Heir - where is the show going with this season? We're not even halfway through, and they've tanked two major clients, merged the agency with another one, and finally smashed Pete's marriage.

6. Pete once again badly misreads the situation. He doesn't realize that there's no Mutually Assured Destruction - if he tells his wife that he caught his father-in-law at a brothel with a prostitute, then . . . what? Tom might get in trouble with Trudy, assuming she believes Pete? Whereas Tom caught Pete betraying his daughter, and finally had an opportunity to pay him back for years of manipulation and general sliminess by yanking the account.

He's never going to turn into Don Draper, no matter how much he wants to. Every time he starts to build himself up, he cuts himself back down with stupid behavior and his inability to bounce back from slights and mistakes. Consider that while Don was drastically changing the fate of the firm on a whim to try and solve a problem, Pete was sneaking into his house just so he could hurt Trudy with the news of her father's infidelity.

7. Once again, Don Draper tries to sell an empty space in his advertising campaign.

My god, I seriously can't wait for the Mad Men Power Rankings on this episode.

It's not jumping the shark if you never come back down

At that rate, you'd need to have Don drop-kick Pete out of a window after telling him that he's Tammy's real father, and after literally yanking the office carpet from under Pete's feet in order to line him up for the kick.

yeah. the "totally new" thing doesnt really make sense in that case. but the way it was pitched at the end and his little speech after "totally new" does lead towards mustang competitor. in which case it has to be trans am, as far as i can tell

Or the Vega, which was a disaster - http://ateupwithmoto...a-cosworth.html

[delete this account pls]

Well, that was incredibly satisfying. Roger gets a win (his first in 3 seasons?), Don gets a win (and gets to act like Draper Classic), Don and Megan get their groove back (might be temporary but it was nice to see them happy, at least), Fat Jaguar Dude gets put in his place, Joan gets to Aw Snap Don, and best of all - all of Pete Campbell's hopes and dreams turn to ashes.

ETA; it was confirmed in Sepinwall's review that the Chevy in question is indeed the Vega, which was a huge lemon, so that takes some of the shine off the big victory.

ETA 2; I dont see this as jumping the shark at all. The merger twist is the best kind of twist - the one nobody sees coming, but seems obvious in hindsight. You don't have to look back too hard to see all the clues. They've been setting this up all season.

ETA 3; How furious is Harry going to be about all of this. They just added 2-3 more partners and none of them are him :lol:

[Rhom]

Or the Vega, which was a disaster - http://ateupwithmoto...a-cosworth.html

That's an interesting read. Certainly does not bode well for our new heroes at SCDPCGC.

Its also clearly the car that is being referenced.

In October 1968, GM chairman James Roche announced to the press that in two years, GM would build a subcompact car codenamed XP-887. He promised that it would be priced like a Volkswagen Beetle, weigh less than 2,000 pounds (907 kg), and feature new advances in both engineering and assembly. It would stem the tide of imported small cars, and show the world what General Motors could do.

As to naming the new firm... We can drop the P obviously. (Sorry Memory Lane.) Also, we'll be dropping the G in just a few months (statistically speaking).

So of current letterhead guys you have Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Cutler, and Chaough. You also have at least Holloway and Campbell as partners without names on the letterhead. :dunno:

Speaking of Holloway and Campbell, did anyone else find it somewhat unnerving early in the episode where it felt like Pete was putting the moves on Joanie and she wasn't immediately disgusted? Also, while I was as satisfied as anyone to see her go off on Don... it did seem a bit disingenuous of her to say "If I can put up with him, you can" when just two weeks ago she couldn't even be in the same room with him and ran to Don's office visibly upset.

[WrathOfTinyKittens]

I could see them giving all or part of Gleeson's share to Harry, though he'd surely be a junior partner like Pete and Joan.

[Rhom]

Maybe... just maybe... they could keep the "P" by bringing back Duck Phillips!!!!!

Ooooh... Has anyone ever made the connection that even though its pronounced "Shaw," its spelled Chaough... And that is frighteningly close to... Chauncey! We never saw Chaough before Chauncey was sent feral into the streets and we've certainly never seen them onscreen at the same time! What if the crazy reveal for the series finale that everyone told Weiner he couldn't do is the fact that the downfall of SC has been orchestrated this whole time as a crazy revenge scheme from everyone's favorite Irish Setter!

ETA: My gawd! And now Chauncey as Chaough is even moving in for some of Duck's sloppy seconds!

[Spring Bass]

Speaking of Holloway and Campbell, did anyone else find it somewhat unnerving early in the episode where it felt like Pete was putting the moves on Joanie and she wasn't immediately disgusted?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw that. I was thinking, "No no no no no don't do it Joan! Don't stay there and get drunk with Pete Campbell!" Seriously, that is just . . . ugh. It's the opposite of Don and Joan's bits together from last season in the bar, where you're positively drunk on the sexual chemistry, and totally eager to see them hook up despite it being so wrong.

As to naming the new firm... We can drop the P obviously. (Sorry Memory Lane.) Also, we'll be dropping the G in just a few months (statistically speaking).

I'll have to change my user name and picture, now that even Lane's zombie presence is being banished. But to what? Bob Benson with vampire fangs? Duck Phillips with a three o'clock shadow and a drawn-on beanie? Bert Cooper as Bert Cooper?

[Rhom]

I'll have to change my user name and picture, now that even Lane's zombie presence is being banished. But to what? Bob Benson with vampire fangs? Duck Phillips with a three o'clock shadow and a drawn-on beanie? Bert Cooper as Bert Cooper?

Speaking of Bert... a few seasons ago, it clearly looked like they were pushing him down the aisle of senility. All of a sudden, he's a killer shark at the negotiating table?!!?

[Spring Bass]

Bert just doesn't seem to age at all. I'm going to be horribly sad if they end up killing him off before the series end, because I'd love to see him outlast everyone.

EDIT: I just remembered that I loved Ted's line about how he's going to struggle to go on without Gleason's negativity.

[Rhom]

One thing that just hit me out of the blue was the goofy grin on Don's face at the end... in my mind its the exact same expression he gave when he announced that he and Megan were getting married! As I got to thinking about that image in my mind, a lot of things started to seem similar. He married Ted Chaough after seeing him give a great pitch... essentially being great with the kids. He saw it as a perfect opportunity and committed on a whim. And when he gets back to New York and tells everyone how excited he is; he doesn't even see the confusion/frustration on Peggy's face.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Speaking of Bert... a few seasons ago, it clearly looked like they were pushing him down the aisle of senility. All of a sudden, he's a killer shark at the negotiating table?!!?

I think the idea with Bert is that he's a shark when he's interested, but most problems don't rise to the level of his interest. He was the one who got Don back in line last season, though.

[SpaceChampion]

Bob creeps me out, like he belongs on Happy Days but paying for your prostitute like he's paying for a milkshake. The Fonz needs to come by and rumble all over his face.

I have a feeling he's probably filthy rich, son of a Romney type, and will buy his way into the company at their hour of need. Or, buy up a lot of shares when they go public, then buys up those of Gleeson and Cooper to worm his way up to a controlling interest.

Seriously, he's the gun on the mantle piece. Please someone throw him out the window before its too late.

[Spring Bass]

This is totally immature, but I find the episode title slightly hilarious in light of some of it happening in a brothel. Looks like Pete and Tom both needed some "immediate release"'.

[Datepalm]

When Peggy was fantasizing about Ted Chaugh, he was reading "SOMETHING, by Ralph Walso Emerson." Does RWE have a book named "Something"? (I do think it's hilarious, but also kind of unusual humor for Mad Men....)

[Spring Bass]

I think that was Peggy knowing an Emerson quote that she liked, but not remembering exactly what it was called. :D

[Winterfell is Burning]

Amazing episode. A complete shake-up in mid-season? Not a lot of shows would pull that off.

Thinking it over, I think my big concern with this move is what it means for Peggy. I loved her leaving SCDP, and I thought it was a great moment of independence, and I hope that her relationship with Don has changed enough that this isn't just a reset button for her. (I think it makes Joan's story potentially work even better, but I'll want to rewatch that episode at some point to see how I feel.)

I'm afraid it is. At Chaugh's, she was essentially the top creative mind, but now she's second-fiddle to Don again.

[Baitac]

This week, on a very special Mad Men's Mothers' Day episode... that's a whole lot of riggamarole just to have Peggy and Don in the same agency. It was brilliant, though. Pete tripping, was that a mistake that was kept in, I wonder. I just don't know how Megan turned out to be so nice with such a witch of a mother. Take my flowers, I'm done with them. Joan, used again and again. :(

[Arbor Gold]

And I really like Ted Chaough as a character. He's clearly got his issues but he seems like a fundamentally decent guy. His delivery of "this is why people hate you" to Don had me rolling.

I also really like Ted. It was interesting how, when he saw Don in the bar, Ted immediately understood what was going on with Chevy. "Dammit!" He had to spell it out for Don before Don could get to "dammit".