The rejected: Don's dumb secretary Allison, SCDP's Clearasil account, Peggy/Pete's baby, cavalier Lucky Strike cigarette ads that make smoking look overly cool.
One of my favorites this season, this week's episode (directed by John Slattery, aka Roger) felt stylistically very much like season 1/2 Mad Men. Lots of Pete/Peggy action outside of the office, Don dealing awkwardly with issues arising from this latest conquest. I love Mad Men most for the way it continues to develop a strong central character, while simultaneously bringing in so many other well-rounded figures. My only fear for the future is that they will run out of time or material to get just enough of everyone's story told. So far, so good. (Except for Betty, who was completely absent again. Is this an intentional way of sending her on her not-so-merry way? Or some ploy to make the audience miss such a wretched character? It's working…)
We opened this week at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce offices, on the phone with head of the Lucky Strike account, Mr. Lee Pretentious A-Hole Jr. In a great stroke of awesome Mad Men writing, it's made evident that the agency has to change their cigarette ads; presumably from the recently announced national news that cigarettes cause cancer. Specifically, Don says they can't use angles in their ads that make the smoker look "superhuman." More Lucky Strike drama: The account responsible for a large majority of SCDP's business has become aware their funds are helping the new agency stay afloat.
The Pete/Peggy stuff was by far my favorite part of this episode. I'm glad the show took a break from these two for a while, as their interaction stalled a bit in previous seasons, and wasn't very interesting toward the end of those interoffice sexual tension/lovechild drama themes of season 1/2. But all of the major characters were back on Sunday: Pete, Peggy, Trudy, Pete's father-in-law; plus a baby on the way. At the start of the episode, Pete is told by his senior ad men that, due to a new Ponds cold cream account, there is no longer a need for his Clearasil account. He needs to get rid of it, which put hims in the delightfully sticky situation of confronting his father-in-law, the man responsible for the account and largely for Pete's cred at the agency. But, surprise! When Pete approaches the old man over cocktails one night, he lets it slip that his daughter Trudy is (after much trying) pregnant with Pete's baby.
And then something odd happened: Pete is ecstatic. "Jesus, Mary and Joseph," he said. I loved this reaction. For three seasons now, Pete Campbell has generally been a squirrelly, suck-up sourpuss. His excitement for his pregnant wife was sweet and surprising. "I'm going to be a father." Except, oh… he already is.
Enter Peggy. She's off meeting pretentious, lesbian Life photo editors in the elevator and getting invited to their boss' pot-filled apartment party. I enjoy seeing Peggy out of the office, usually because she does things you wouldn't expect. This time, she tells her new party friend that her boyfriend is renting her vagina, then kisses a man she just met in a closet. In addition to marijuana, the party also has Andy Warhol references and a highly political, controversial video playing. Sometimes I forget just how young Peggy is. And though her haircut usually never lets me forget just how 1960s she is, in this episode she and her new friends fully embodied the youthfulness of a new era. At the office, things are less fun for Miss Olson. First, Don's secretary apparently thinks Peggy had to sleep with Don to get to where she's currently at in the agency, then Peggy finds out Pete's wife is pregnant and seems pretty torn up about it (cue hitting her head on the desk three times). I absolutely loved the overdramatic moment when Pete and Peggy's eyes lock through the SCDP glass door, Peggy with her new hip friends and Pete with his congratulatory office pals. But my fav. Peggy moment was when she stuck her head over the top of her office wall to spy into Don's as he argued with his secretary.
Which brings us to the most pointless and most annoying part of last night's episode: Don's secretary, Allison. Is this girl serious? I know she's only supposed to be 20 or something, but give me a break. Anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes with Don Draper should know that he's a ruthless womanizer who gets a little frisky when he drinks too much (which, conveniently, is all of the time). Her "You are NOT a good person!" speech was pitiful and pitiable. I hope she's gone for good, and that Don's guilt about the whole mishap leads him to do something interesting, like go crawling back to Betty or fall in love with someone else.
Allison is of course moved to tears and anger by a female-centric focus group held at the SCDP offices. The account: Ponds cold cream. The group: A bunch of 22-year-old secretaries. The outcome: Ponds should be linked to matrimony, because all the women care about is a husband. This scene was hilarious/depressing to watch, mostly because it involved a bunch of young women whining about their relationships. It brought up great conflict between Don and Dr. Faye Miller, the psycho-analyst who is brought in to find out what would make 18-25-year-old woman buy Ponds cold cream. Don' s pretty pissed off by her findings: All they care about is finding a husband, and will buy beauty products to attract a man. He is adamant about the fact that there's a better, more progressive idea that doesn't promote the rigidness of the 1950s. He says past performance isn't any indication of future performance; that people don't know if they like a new idea until they're presented with it. Lots of great themes for Mad Men to toy with as we move into what is feeling more and more like the new '60s.
Best part of Sunday night's show: A background shot of Bert Cooper, chomping on an apple and reading a newspaper in the SCDP lobby.
Join us back here next week for "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword." Want more Mad Men right now? Download the podcast here.
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.
