Mad Men season 6 (spoilers)
- Thread starter ALF
- Start date
How is Don retreating into the fetal position twice in response to Sally and Peggy's condemnation of him going to play out? Is he going to fling himself off a balcony?
I'm starting to wonder how Don's story can turn out any differently. He's too damaged, too scared, too insecure, and the world has passed him by. He's a dinosaur at 45. He can't be happy in a marriage. He's compelled to fuck it up. When a woman like Dr. Faye comes along who could actually make him happy, he throws it away for an image and then blames the image when she can't live up to the pedestal she was placed on. Don doesn't know how to be a father, either. What can become of him at this point?
He's doomed to die in the gutter if something drastic doesn't happen.
I'm starting to wonder how Don's story can turn out any differently. He's too damaged, too scared, too insecure, and the world has passed him by. He's a dinosaur at 45. He can't be happy in a marriage. He's compelled to fuck it up. When a woman like Dr. Faye comes along who could actually make him happy, he throws it away for an image and then blames the image when she can't live up to the pedestal she was placed on. Don doesn't know how to be a father, either. What can become of him at this point?
He's doomed to die in the gutter if something drastic doesn't happen.
It was "released" by AMC after Sunday's airing. It's also on the mug that Bob is drinking out of when Pete confronts him.
So Sally loves trouble. What a surprise. I thought she liked the boy who has been her friend over the years. Initially, I thought the reason she dragged him into a fight was because she was jealous that he went into the room with new girl. But she didn't seem to flinch when he told everyone that they were just friends. I've read that productions use "herbal" cigarettes rather than tobacco, but I don't know if I'de want my 16 year old smoking "herb" at work.
I'm thinking that Pete's reason for keeping Bob Benson around is because people like him (and Don) have a certain ruthlessness that Pete doesn't have but needs as part of his team., or at least that is what I think we were being told. BTW, I still don't see where it is definite that Bob Benson is gay. He denied it to Pete.
I wouldn't be surprised if Don and Megan separate, maybe not for good, in the season finale. They've never been further apart and Megan is getting fed up.
It was funny watching Don play a baby and Joan a Jewish woman and Ted, (whoever, can't remember). Don may not be able to keep it in his pants but he sure can read when other guys are thinking with "theirs". He was right about Ted and Peggy allowing their goo goo eyes routine to get in the way of sound business practises. Old common sense Ted realized it. Peggy though, chose to blame it all on Don.
Glad to hear the Megan won't be killed this season (or maybe ever).
Also, I don't think Don is going to kill himself in the end either. That is too "pat" for this show, not to mention cliche. "Everyone" seems to think it will happen and that is likely one of the reasons it won't.
I'm thinking that Pete's reason for keeping Bob Benson around is because people like him (and Don) have a certain ruthlessness that Pete doesn't have but needs as part of his team., or at least that is what I think we were being told. BTW, I still don't see where it is definite that Bob Benson is gay. He denied it to Pete.
I wouldn't be surprised if Don and Megan separate, maybe not for good, in the season finale. They've never been further apart and Megan is getting fed up.
It was funny watching Don play a baby and Joan a Jewish woman and Ted, (whoever, can't remember). Don may not be able to keep it in his pants but he sure can read when other guys are thinking with "theirs". He was right about Ted and Peggy allowing their goo goo eyes routine to get in the way of sound business practises. Old common sense Ted realized it. Peggy though, chose to blame it all on Don.
Glad to hear the Megan won't be killed this season (or maybe ever).
Also, I don't think Don is going to kill himself in the end either. That is too "pat" for this show, not to mention cliche. "Everyone" seems to think it will happen and that is likely one of the reasons it won't.
No words. I was blown away!
I think I should change my username to Dick Whitman.
I think I should change my username to Dick Whitman.
How awesome would it be if that was the end of the agency's storyline and next season was about Don trying to redeem himself by starting over elsewhere but this time with more self-awareness?
Same here. Don is basically outing himself in unexpected places. First at a client's meeting and then it looks like he's going to do the same with his kids. I even got the feeling he's was going to tell Megan before she flew out the door.
Pete and his brother are also pieces of work and don't seem all that upset over their mother's disappearance. But I've always seen Pete as his own brand of douche anyway.
Man, it's gonna be a long wait till next season.
I always said Don is not going to literally die. Figuratively "Donald Draper" will die and already is dying. The opening has always been symbolic. The show is so secretive there is no way Mathew Weiner would have been telegraphing a physical suicide ending this whole time.
Anyone notice the mirroring of the "don Draper" silhouette from behind shot when Peggy sat in his office chair? Will she become the new Don?
I cracked up with the "well be bi-coastal" line.
Loved it, can't wait till next season, hate that it will be the last.
I cracked up with the "well be bi-coastal" line.
Loved it, can't wait till next season, hate that it will be the last.
I wasn't impressed with Don outing himself in front of Hershey. That's not professional behavior. Once again, he makes a unilateral decision that affects everyone without asking them. Confessing to your kids is a necessary step, but keep it out of the work meetings. Hershey's could have been a big account or maybe not, but it wasn't Don's decision to make to torpedo the potential client.
I don't get the man. He wants to go to California. He doesn't want to go to California. He makes huge promises to his wife that things will change and she goes in and has herself written off her show, then he changes his mind and decides to be "nice" to Ted. Okay, Don has decided he can't run, but he decided after it affected everyone else's life and Megan completely uprooted her professional situation. I'm not surprised everyone east of the Mississippi is angry as hell at Don and wouldn't blame Megan for divorcing him. That the partners kicked him out isn't a surprise. How much money did he cost them when he decided he was offended by whathisface who slept with Joan and torpedoed that account? Don needs a therapist. Will he come out whole? Problem is, Don's been such a dreadful human being that his rooting value as a character is extremely limited. The other characters, flaws and all, are far more sympathetic to me now.
When will Peggy ever learn not to sleep with married men? I get how she gravitates to them because the single guys don't seem to be able to handle that she's a professional woman and the professional men are all married, but there's more where Ted came from. What a spineless wimp he is. He can have the affair, but he doesn't want to be the bad guy and leave his wife. Ted, you're Don with less backbone. That's a condemnation and a half.
I'm growing weary of Bob Benson and that Stepford wife smile on his face. He's starting to make Roger seem palatable by comparison. Hello? Your buddy Manolo murdered Pete's mom and skipped the country. WTF was that all about anyway? I almost feel sorry for Pete. He's a douche, but for some reason he's never offended me quite as much as the others. Go figure. Maybe it's because he's never been gifted with any social graces. You almost feel sorry for Pete like an ugly puppy with his awkwardness. He's always been a fish out of water. Also, is Joan safe with Bob around? Maybe he thinks she has money since she's a partner. Bizarro world.
Sally, Sally, Sally. Will you forgive dad? Will you end up at Woodstock next summer? Time will tell. Was that a subpoena for her and Don to testify at a divorce hearing for Sylvia and Arthur? My sound was having trouble at the very beginning.
Bizarre finale. I'll be back, of course. I'm too invested in the characters not to be back. Now Pete and Ted are in California. Ted can stay there, but I want Pete back. Will we end with Woodstock, the moon shot, or New Year's Day 1970? Time will tell.
I don't get the man. He wants to go to California. He doesn't want to go to California. He makes huge promises to his wife that things will change and she goes in and has herself written off her show, then he changes his mind and decides to be "nice" to Ted. Okay, Don has decided he can't run, but he decided after it affected everyone else's life and Megan completely uprooted her professional situation. I'm not surprised everyone east of the Mississippi is angry as hell at Don and wouldn't blame Megan for divorcing him. That the partners kicked him out isn't a surprise. How much money did he cost them when he decided he was offended by whathisface who slept with Joan and torpedoed that account? Don needs a therapist. Will he come out whole? Problem is, Don's been such a dreadful human being that his rooting value as a character is extremely limited. The other characters, flaws and all, are far more sympathetic to me now.
When will Peggy ever learn not to sleep with married men? I get how she gravitates to them because the single guys don't seem to be able to handle that she's a professional woman and the professional men are all married, but there's more where Ted came from. What a spineless wimp he is. He can have the affair, but he doesn't want to be the bad guy and leave his wife. Ted, you're Don with less backbone. That's a condemnation and a half.
I'm growing weary of Bob Benson and that Stepford wife smile on his face. He's starting to make Roger seem palatable by comparison. Hello? Your buddy Manolo murdered Pete's mom and skipped the country. WTF was that all about anyway? I almost feel sorry for Pete. He's a douche, but for some reason he's never offended me quite as much as the others. Go figure. Maybe it's because he's never been gifted with any social graces. You almost feel sorry for Pete like an ugly puppy with his awkwardness. He's always been a fish out of water. Also, is Joan safe with Bob around? Maybe he thinks she has money since she's a partner. Bizarro world.
Sally, Sally, Sally. Will you forgive dad? Will you end up at Woodstock next summer? Time will tell. Was that a subpoena for her and Don to testify at a divorce hearing for Sylvia and Arthur? My sound was having trouble at the very beginning.
Bizarre finale. I'll be back, of course. I'm too invested in the characters not to be back. Now Pete and Ted are in California. Ted can stay there, but I want Pete back. Will we end with Woodstock, the moon shot, or New Year's Day 1970? Time will tell.
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I think that was the intent of the scene, yeah. Ted was right, Peggy is better off without him. Ted leaving his wife for her would have undermined all she's achieved on her own in the agency.
It actually didn't end as bleak as I thought it might. The ties of family have been strong this season, and they appear to be revealing some redemptive power. It was family bonds, apparently, that got Duck back on the rails. It was family bonds that got Don to loosen up and sing a song in public with his son and ex-wife. It was family bonds -- his own and Ted's -- that made Don realize he couldn't go to California. The appeal of Stan's California pitch to Don's instincts of moving and re-inventing was so strong that he ripped it off almost word for word. For all the hurt it's caused Megan, it was still a more mature Don that ultimately rejected it. Rachel chucked Don because she couldn't respect herself being with a man who would desert his family. Megan may come to see it that way, or maybe not. But Don starting over and reinventing himself for the right reasons, that's got some real positive potential.
Bob Benson is Don with no code and no loyalty, running amok. As bad as Don has been, he could have been a lot worse.
I felt like I missed something: How did the California job go from "one man and a desk" to a two-partner operation?
That I can buy. As bad as Don is, he's not running around plotting to rob old ladies of their (believed) savings and then murder them. Bob Benson may well be a would-be murderer in the making. He must think Joan has money. I just don't have any faith that Don can reinvent himself in a positive way at this point in his life. Yeah, I'm cynical.
Peggy probably is better off, but Ted's motives are born of weakness, not altruism. Nice that he came to the conclusion after he took Peggy to bed and not before. Lots of Teds out there. His wife will probably leave him in the future. That's the way it usually works.
True, though I'm not sure I'd call choosing his wife and kids over his mistress "weakness." But whatever his motives, I think Ted's too sharp to not know, on some level, that his relationship with Peggy would not be good for her in the long run.
Choosing his wife and kids in and of itself isn't weak, but Ted didn't choose them because he truly wished to remain or to do the right thing. Ted tasted the forbidden fruit with Peggy, got her hopes up, and then conveniently decided he had to "do the right thing" just after "getting some." He chose his wife out of fear of stirring the pot. It's fine that he wants his wife. It's laudable, but he decides this after he leads Peggy on and conveniently just right after he gets her into bed the first time. It comes across as spineless. I'm big enough to have an affair and tell the other woman I'm in love with her.....but I can't pull the trigger. Ted wants to leave his wife, but he's too scared to do it. If you're too scared, don't start up with someone else.
Word! Could not have said it any better than that.
Interesting, I saw it differently. I thought Ted's home life was set up in the season well enough that I felt he really cared about his family and they cared about and needed him. He led Peggy on, yes. She also took some initiative toward winding up in bed with him. If it was just about "getting some," he could have kept getting it for a while without committing, as Peggy wanted.
Well, was having the affair a good decision or not? I regard it as a mistake, and a very serious one. But the mistake having been made, I'd say it's better to limit the damage and cut it off rather than keep it going and compounding it. And I felt there was more than just fear keeping him with his family. I thought in the scene when Nan was sweet to him as he got into bed with her after being with Peggy he was starting to think that was where he really belonged.
I don't think Ted really knew what he wanted at all until he got into bed with Nan and then really thought about it. He made a mistake and tried to fix it after the damage with Peggy was done.
I'm glad Ted stayed with his family. It's bad enough people think Peggy slept with Don to become a copywriter. Being involved with Ted adds fuel to the fire.
I hope Don doesn't return to SC&P. If the seventh season weren't going to be the last I think he would. But since there's nothing after the seventh season, he shouldn't return. Let the punishment stick.
SC&P will be much more stable from now own. Sterling Cooper has managed to survive Don Draper.
Even look at the SCDP --> SC&P transition. With only acronyms, the D was taken out of the picture while the other letters remained the same. The product was absent from all the ads earlier in the season because Don himself was absent.
SC&P is a stock that would make for a better investment without someone so unstable in such a powerful position.
Duck must've loved it to see Don leaving the building in disgrace. Must've loved searching for Don's replacement. Don is in the same boat Duck was at the end of S2. Don orchestrated a merger with CGC in S6 while Duck orchestrated an absorption into a PPL. In both cases, Sterling Cooper survived the transition but the people who set the combinations in motion were out because they screwed up. Don constantly competed with Ted as much as Duck constantly competed with Duck. Don's drinking was as bad as Duck's. Don pulled a lot more antics that Duck ever did. It was natural that Don was let go.
I'm glad Ted stayed with his family. It's bad enough people think Peggy slept with Don to become a copywriter. Being involved with Ted adds fuel to the fire.
I hope Don doesn't return to SC&P. If the seventh season weren't going to be the last I think he would. But since there's nothing after the seventh season, he shouldn't return. Let the punishment stick.
SC&P will be much more stable from now own. Sterling Cooper has managed to survive Don Draper.
Even look at the SCDP --> SC&P transition. With only acronyms, the D was taken out of the picture while the other letters remained the same. The product was absent from all the ads earlier in the season because Don himself was absent.
SC&P is a stock that would make for a better investment without someone so unstable in such a powerful position.
Duck must've loved it to see Don leaving the building in disgrace. Must've loved searching for Don's replacement. Don is in the same boat Duck was at the end of S2. Don orchestrated a merger with CGC in S6 while Duck orchestrated an absorption into a PPL. In both cases, Sterling Cooper survived the transition but the people who set the combinations in motion were out because they screwed up. Don constantly competed with Ted as much as Duck constantly competed with Duck. Don's drinking was as bad as Duck's. Don pulled a lot more antics that Duck ever did. It was natural that Don was let go.
I feel like there's one final piece to the Dick Whitman puzzle we still haven't seen or heard yet.
Now that we know what Uncle Mac's was like, I really doubt that Dick stuck around any longer than he had to. I think he would've moved out the first chance he got, probably in his late-teens. He dropped out of high school, so he must've been working early on.
He was 24 when he went to Korea in 1950 and he was clearly a rookie soldier.
There's a gap from 1942/1944-1950 that's completely unaccounted for. There had to be some sort of spark that made Don decide, "I have to get out of here!" "Here" meaning Pennsylvania. Coal Country. Not necessarily Uncle Mac's.
Now that we know what Uncle Mac's was like, I really doubt that Dick stuck around any longer than he had to. I think he would've moved out the first chance he got, probably in his late-teens. He dropped out of high school, so he must've been working early on.
He was 24 when he went to Korea in 1950 and he was clearly a rookie soldier.
There's a gap from 1942/1944-1950 that's completely unaccounted for. There had to be some sort of spark that made Don decide, "I have to get out of here!" "Here" meaning Pennsylvania. Coal Country. Not necessarily Uncle Mac's.