Mad Men

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Heriotze

Heriotze

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Lithose_sl said:
Empty set of clothes on the bed as Don was leaving, more death symbolism. Also, there is a tea set on the bed, and the room is 503---the episode 503 was Tea Leaves. It's probably a stretch, but Tea Leaves was about Betty's cancer, and her wondering how the kids would react to her death, and in this episode Joan had the same thought. Don't know if there is any link there, but I think it just adds to the whole notion that "Don" as he exists for everyone else, is dying. (Which doesn't mean he will literally die--but he seems to be disillusioned with his life and shrinking away from those around him--his kids, Betty, Megan and now his mistress)
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I think that it is all alluding to Don eventually dying, both the constructed Don Draper and, eventually, the actual (?) Don Draper. He was hit on both sides this week. He had to get Ted drunk enough to where he could finally try to pitch his classic "Don Draper" ideas to him and even drunk Ted had enough creativity and wherewithal to throw in and challenge him to make those ideas better, and with Ted flying them to meet Mohawk and Don's realization about how that would affect the pitch he's seeing that his "big fish in a small pond" mentality is going to start unraveling (Peggy confronting him and being on Ted's side also adds to this). People have come up with good ideas around him before and he's always been able to give credit where it is due but they have always been subordinates, now he begins to have people on equal footing as him starting to take the reigns away.

Personally, he was attempting to create the ideal relationship for Don Draper. Finding someone unable to even function without needing his input, someone who was going to be always at the ready to be present to accommodate his needs, someone who's role was to need him. That last scene that they had in the hotel room when, despite him trying to be hardcore Don Draper and telling her how things were going to be, and Sylvia still telling him that wasn't the case (along with him being corrected about her dream's interpretation) was some great acting by Hamm. Don Draper had the most defeated look on his face and all that he could do was open the door for her, watch her walk out and go home to tune out his wife.

I'm hoping that he goes all McNulty with it now.

**edit** sorry, pre-celebrating almost an entire week off of work to go to Google I/O and have been drinking on a Sunday then forgot to actually have a point to quoting Lithose. Empty dress and tea set on the bed are not symbolic of death but emptiness. Nobody is there to fill the role of making Don comfortable being Don anymore and the episode just kept giving him more reasons to feel that way.
 
Lithose

Lithose

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Heriotze_sl said:
**edit** sorry, pre-celebrating almost an entire week off of work to go to Google I/O and have been drinking on a Sunday then forgot to actually have a point to quoting Lithose.Empty dressand tea set on the bed are not symbolic of death but emptiness. Nobody is there to fill the role of making Don comfortable being Don anymore and the episode just kept giving him more reasons to feel that way.
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They literally spent a whole scene talking about how empty clothes meant death. Why do you think in this case it means just being empty?
 
D

Df~_sl

shitlord
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Don spent the entire episode NOT seeing how empty clothes mean death...

I am really enjoying this season... so much better than fat betty!
 
Breakdown

Breakdown

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Lithose_sl said:
Empty set of clothes on the bed as Don was leaving, more death symbolism. Also, there is a tea set on the bed, and the room is 503---the episode 503 was Tea Leaves. It's probably a stretch, but Tea Leaves was about Betty's cancer, and her wondering how the kids would react to her death, and in this episode Joan had the same thought. Don't know if there is any link there, but I think it just adds to the whole notion that "Don" as he exists for everyone else, is dying. (Which doesn't mean he will literally die--but he seems to be disillusioned with his life and shrinking away from those around him--his kids, Betty, Megan and now his mistress)




Hey, just wanted to drop in and note, combined with last week, France has gotten two scenes so far and one of them was through Megan's parents (As I said). Now that you understand you were wrong, we can move on.
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Dont see how two fleeting scenes means anyone cares.
 
Breakdown

Breakdown

Gunnar Durden
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Dabamf_sl said:
Can someone remind me who the dude Roger re-fired was?

Don's little control show with the mistress was weird. I don't really get the timing of his freak out. They just landed Chevy, and he was weird from the beginning of the episode. I get that he's threatened by Ted because Ted's a good human being, Peggy rejectd Don for Ted, etc. But it just seems out of place. Everything is going well. He is made to feel important at home, lands a major success for his company, is smitten with his mistress, and he's acting like a total weirdo all episode.
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Burt Peterson. He was the fleeting head of accounts after Duck Phillips. He was never around much. When Sterling Cooper sold out to the Brittish, he was fired in first episode of the next season as the last of the cuts that Lane was making. They then promoted Ken and Pete to go head of accounts. On his way out he made a major scene.

Then he went to the other agency and was the account man on Peggy's super bowl commercial. Then Roger fired him again.

Dawn never being around was odd. Then Peggy had that one liner about talking to Dawn and her not giving up any info on Draper...

Either that was Peggy covering for Dawn not being around - Or something weird is going on.

Wouldnt be surprised if she was killed or something and no one notices for weeks. Like not paying attention to the news and not noticing the missing black person. Something like that.
 
Bondurant

Bondurant

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That scene with Roger firing Peterson was really awesome : Sterling's face when "Work ? No Burt, I'm letting you goagain" was ace, especially when you notice it was John Slattery (Roger Sterling) who directed the episode. All the buildup before that and then Roger telling he don't really care about Peterson's accounts or billings since he won't be around to tell everyone he's more valuable than Roger, that was probably one of the best Roger scenes ever.

I also agree with Heriotze about Hamm's acting during the mistress scene, it was as genuine as you can get, that whole delusional look and sorry attitude when reaching for the door. The episode title was "A Man With A Plan", and seeing Draper's "one" going down the drain, I'm really looking forward the next episode.
 
Lithose

Lithose

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Gunnar_sl said:
Dont see how two fleeting scenes means anyone cares.
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The discussion was about them mentioning it. Since your comment was on that discussion, you were wrong and they did care enough to mention it--twice. Now, like I said, lets move on. No more rustling.

 
Lithose

Lithose

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Dabamf_sl said:
But why does Roger hate that guy so much? He was almost elated to get to fire him
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Just Roger being Roger. The only thing that guy ever did was throw a fit after he was fired the first time--it was the only episode he was on the show I think.
 
agripa

agripa

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Szlia_sl said:
Not too sure what Fifty Shades of Draper was about.
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It was a means to end, this whole episode was about Hubris. In the very literal original meaning which is to derive pleasure out of actions that shame or degrade the victim. We see this during the episode in the scenes with Roger and Burt, Don and his mistress and finally with Don and Ted. The fall of Bobby Kennedy at the end of the episode and Don being oblivious to it was some great foreshadowing about what is to come. I think Don's success will reach its pinnacle around the moon landing which is a little over a year from the assassination of Bobby Kennedy and he will have a rather fiery fall from grace after that.
 
chaos

chaos

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This also isn't the first time we've seen him engage in some role-playing in the bedroom. I can't remember the previous time and if there is any common theme right now.
 
iannis

iannis

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Wow. That episode was SO uncomfortable to watch. I can't take very many of those in a row. Christ.

I'm telling you, he's gonna buy a farm in Kentucky.
 
L

Lowendtheory_sl

shitlord
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I think he is going to fuck up every personal and professional relationship he has and take his money and go completely start over again somewhere else. One of the major themes surrounding Don is starting over/reinventing yourself.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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Heriotze_sl said:
Personally, he was attempting to create the ideal relationship for Don Draper. Finding someone unable to even function without needing his input, someone who was going to be always at the ready to be present to accommodate his needs, someone who's role was to need him. That last scene that they had in the hotel room when, despite him trying to be hardcore Don Draper and telling her how things were going to be, and Sylvia still telling him that wasn't the case (along with him being corrected about her dream's interpretation) was some great acting by Hamm. Don Draper had the most defeated look on his face and all that he could do was open the door for her, watch her walk out and go home to tune out his wife.

I'm hoping that he goes all McNulty with it now.
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I think so too. He has lost control of Meagan now that she's succeeding at her career and with Ted and Peggy in the company now he probably feels like he's losing control of creative at the agency as well. So of course he went too far and lost the mistress too.
 
Gravel

Gravel

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I don't catch all the little allegories or whatever you want to call them. A few, maybe. But even without reading this thread, I feel like this is the best season of Mad Men yet.
 
D

Draegan_sl

2 Minutes Hate
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I find it a bit heavy handed and outside the merge, it is repeating the same themes over and over. That's probably the point though, time and society move on and Don is stuck in the same rut.

Just gets tiring after Don cheats on his woman for the 100th time.
 
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