In all honesty, I was a little frustrated by last night's episode. It just kind of felt like the series spinning wheels and with only a handful of episodes remaining I was miffed at what felt like wasted time. At times, Don seemed written as a caricature of himself. He did everything that Don has done before, like clockwork, and it was a little boring. Most of the episode I found somewhat boring, to the point that I almost wish we'd checked on Betty or Meghan, just for a change of pace.
We're heading into the 70s. That was the decade of ridiculous facial hair Note that Don is still seeing dead people.
Not heading into the '70s. Is the '70s. Nixon's speech was on April 30, 1970. http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a34129/mad-men-final-season-severance-nixon-speech-year/ I have "Is That All There Is?" stuck in my head now. I wasn't surprised when Ken was fired. Though I'm still expecting Burt Peterson to show up before long to wreck some havoc. What did surprise me was Roger's almost walrus mustache. Then Ted's mustache. BUT someone had to have a mustache. We can't have the '70s without them. This was probably one of my favorite season premieres, next to the fourth.
That scene, the one with the McCann stooges. I'm re-watching the episode and I just have to skip over that scene. It's too cringe-worthy. Yeah, the scene did it's job. A little too well.
Technically, a decade ends on the 'zero' year, however. A lot of potential death in that song, you know.
1) That's an odd metric to judge the passage of time. It might take you "some months" to grow a mustache like that; I've known guys who could do so in a week. 2) "Waterloo" ended in July 20, 1969. I read somewhere that this episode, "Severance," took place nine months later, after the sale to McCann-Erickson, placing it in April 1970.
Yes, I kind of felt like not much was really happening. But there have been significant developments. Spoiler: Spoilers, if you haven't seen the episode * I find it telling that Jim Cutler was absolutely nowhere to be seen (he won't be missed, IMO) * Don is getting divorced. Again. And he's acting like his old self. I guess that guy just never learns. * Rachel died. Don gets the inkling to re-connect with somebody from years ago, but it's too late. A lot of us may know that feeling... * Things seem pretty "normal" around the firm. Is this just the calm before the storm, an indication that conditions will be badly shaken up soon? * I find it pretty hilarious that letting Cosgrove go just backfires And Ted's mustache is also ridiculous, but somehow less so than Roger's, IMO. Kor
This was not a standalone episode. Weiner is building the show's ending and it all isn't going to get done in the first episode. I suspect there is a definite reason for Don's behavior and circumstances. We'll just have to wait for all of the episodes in order to put it all together I would really like a scene where Joan, possibly in the midst of complaining about men making a big lewd deal out of her body, would acknowledge, however subtly, that she owes her current status with the firm to that body and those attitudes. Peggy isn't being gifted with a shortcut to the top probably because she lacks what Joan has physically. I can understand her being annoyed because it gets old, but shoving the fact that she banged her way into her current situation so far into the background makes Joan look kind of like a hypocrite. Roger's moustache should have it's own Twitter account. I did enjoy seeing him in charge, though. How Slattery has escaped a supporting Emmy is beyond me. Going to have to watch the episode again. I got a bit confused between the dream sequence, the incident with the waitress. Don referring to Megan as his "ex-wife" was kind of shocking. That's the thing about this show. They just dropped that little bombshell like it was nothing. If you weren't paying attention it was easy to miss. Glad that she showed up in the promos (bare midrift and hip huggers), so we know she'll be a part of the finale in some capacity. I had a feeling they wouldn't take us too far into the future. July of 1970 preserves the continuity from last season nicely.
Interesting. To me, it was a foregone conclusion. The conversation they had on the telephone during "Waterloo" last season made it obvious they realized it was over and a divorce, however amicable, was imminent. If anything, I expected Megan to be completely written out this season.
Well yeah, that they seemed headed for divorce after that last conversation seemed obvious. Seems like I recall another conversation between the two before Waterloo that sounded like the end, as well. I thought the divorce, if it happened, would be drug out bit more. To hear Don refer to her as his "ex" in the season's first episode was unexpected. But one of the things that I think they wanted to establish was that Don's being with all those women didn't represent him just rampantly cheating on his wife. I think the show has evolved Don beyond this little malady. Megan's all over the promos for season 7b, so I knew she wasn't going to be written out. One other thing I noticed about Don, he seemed to be completely comfortable with himself. There seemed to be no hint of regret, or rancor. Kind of a mind blower listening to him make jokes about his "Dick Whitman" life with the women without any guardedness. Don Draper has come long way.
Re: his Dick Whitman days. I caught that too. But I also noticed he referred to the other people in the house as "boarders," not "prostitutes." So I think there's still a little guardedness.
He probably learned his lesson after that disastrous meeting with Hershey's. Upon further consideration of this episode, I have a wild theory. I think Don died at the end of Waterloo. He walked out of his office, spotted ol' Burt on the staircase singing "The Best Things in Life are Free" and then tumbled over on the floor, dead. Aneurysm. Heart attack. Whatever. Everything since is just Don's fever dream while he sorts his shit out before finally biting the dust. This also allows for the idea that Don dies in 1969 -before the '70s- because come on, did anyone ever expect Don to make it out of the '60s? Di makes the big point about how "when people die, it makes everything mixed up" and you "try to make sense of it" --- we're supposed to think it's Rachel who died, but maybe it's DON who died, and he himself is trying to make sense of all the weird things going on. The firm is doing well. He doesn't see his children or either of his ex-wives because they never really were his "Family" -- the people he worked with have been. Yeah I know. It's far-fetched, but I think it could work, even though there's probably somethign far more complex and nuanced that will be the actual end of the show. Still, it's fun to theorize.
With all the changes in the world, I think part of Season 7B is to look at where society is after the music stopped. So, now that the '60s are over -- and it's 1970 -- where are we? It also gives a nice round number for comparing and contrasting the beginning of the series with the end. How were things in 1960? How are things exactly 10 years later, in 1970?
Yes, good point. Also, I read somewhere that the early 1960s (especially before Kennedy's assassination) could still be regarded as a continuation of the 1950s in many ways. I think this was in one of the essays in "Mad Men (Reading Contemporary Television)", edited by Gary R. Edgerton. So we see these ad men trying to maintain a 1950s commercial and social institution throughout the tumult of the 60s and into the 1970s as if the world around them isn't dramatically changing. BTW, are you the same Lord Garth who was here in the early 2000s? Kor
I am. Ironically, I only come on to TrekBBS to talk about Mad Men now. I've talked Star Trek into the ground, I don't really have time for it these days, I feel like the discussions go around in circles and circles, and the direction things have gone in isn't something that interests me anymore as much as I tried to get behind it early on.
Wow. Don could afford to write a check for a cool million bucks in 1970? Wow. And Megan's mother cleaned Don out, literally.
Yup. I can't wait for the next episode. I was wondering what Megan would be doing this season. Now we've got Marie too. As a shaker and a mover. Actually, this episode hit on a lot of things personal to me, career wise. I'm an editor/videographer as a profession but I also do independent films where I've been part of the crew (sound, editor, script supervisor, assistant director, whatever I'm needed to be) and I've done some acting (though I want to do more). So I'm always looking for people who can critique my work. There are those who are further along who I want to impress and those above me who I've been repelled by. To take it even further, I've thought about looking for an agent if I'm ever lucky enough to get far enough with the film end of things. And I'm a grad-school "drop out". I go back-and-forth about whether or not I want to get a Master's Degree. Though it's mostly a money issue. If it weren't an issue, I'd have one by now. Luckily, I can't relate to divorce. I can't relate to having my residence cleaned out. Or catching one of my parents cheating. I wish I could relate to being written a check for $1,000,000 though.
Don made multi millions from the merger and he was pretty well off before. The waitress is, I think, a further illustration of the evolution of Don Draper. I don't think he would have fallen for a woman like this in the past. She isn't glamorous and has as much baggage as Don does. But unlike the old Don, he isn't running away from her. Likewise Don's meeting with Megan. There was no anger. He was able to see things from her stand point without bitterness or anger. I was thinking while watching, that some of Megan's bitterness and anger had to do with her meeting with Harry and finding out that her mother was leaving her father after cheating on him with Roger. She associates both Harry and Roger with Don. I just wonder if Megan's storyline has been wrapped. Boy, did Harry seal his piggishness or what? I don't think Don is going to make an issue of the furniture.