Mad Men

Jumping in for a dumb question as I haven't watched the last episode -- are the episodes no longer available online? WTF? That's how I watched the premiere, but it seems to be gone. Are they legally streaming anywhere?

Sorry for the interruption, back to your discussion!

They are available on iTunes.

I really loved the focus on Ken and Pete this episode. I thought it was very deftly done (showing rather than telling) what different men they've become. And I gotta say, Pete really earned getting decked by Lane.

I'm also utterly fascinated how Megan has Don wrapped around her little finger. I cannot believe she got him to wear that godawful sports coat! And I know this is kind of waaaay out there, but in the scene

Spoiler:

Why don't the plumbers who come to my house look like Don Draper?

Oh, Pete. He's going to screw everything up royally, isn't he? Ugh, his coming home and hitting the shower was such a Draper Marriage 1.0 scene. With all the mentions of Pete's gun and Charles [s]Whitmore[/s] Whitman (I see what you did there, Don!), I'm getting a Chekov's gun vibe from Pete's rifle. The last scene on the elevator was almost painful to watch. But damn, he had that coming from Lane.

I'm also utterly fascinated how Megan has Don wrapped around her little finger. I cannot believe she got him to wear that godawful sports coat!

Me too. I'm also fascinated by how different a generation of woman Megan is than Betty, especially in her assertiveness. Not only does she tell Don to call Trudy himself and cancel, but Don actually does it, without a fight! Heh, Don looked so uncomfortable in that sportscoat.

I kind of got mad at Don when he said to Pete that if he had met Megan first, he never would have cheated. It was NOT Betty's fault Don cheated, it was Don's and Don's alone. Especially from what we saw at the beginning of the series. Betty WAS the wife he wanted then. Maybe he outgrew her, maybe he didn't but I don't think he can blame her for his affairs. Don needs to fix Don; Megan -- who is growing more annoying to me every episode -- can't fix him either.

This is all going to explode spectacularly, I can just feel it.

To me, Don's line about if he had met Megan first, he never would have cheated has to be viewed through the lens of who Don has become this season. I think Dick Whitman realized that Don Draper was making him miserable. So he's become a "new" Don Draper. One that doesn't cheat, let's himself be dressed up like a doll, and has no problems with his wife working.

The failure of his marriage to Betty was deeply humiliating, and he's so desperate for this one to work, that he's trying to be the opposite of what he was before. That all works as long as he feels that Megan was worth changing his life for. I do think in some ways Don is better off in his "new" life, but I agree that at some point he's going to realize he can't be the new Don Draper either.

Pete: I have nothing.

My husband and me: Oh, PLEASE.

Beautiful wife, lovely baby, gorgeous house in the 'burbs ... yeah, your life sucks, Pete.

Having said that, though, I can sort of understand that Pete probably feels old before his time. He's a married man, and he likely sees his entire life mapped out before him, and he doesn't like what he sees. He's probably going to be one of those cringe-inducing guys in the early 70's who starts growing his hair long, wearing gold chains, and visiting discos in a desperate attempt to regain lost youth.

It seems like Ken is the only one who has found a healthy outlet and hasn't lost sight of his dreams/hopes. He hasn't lost all of himself to work or the appearances one should present.
The rest of the men/partners are kind of lost in the ether and they are either losing the prestige/power or realizing they will never have it.

I love that Damon Lindelof is writing Mad Men fanfic or rather the works of Ben Hargrove on twitter.

I'm intrigued by the "pact" that Peggy and Ken have. When did that come about? I guess it wasn't in force when SCDP first broke off from SC, because she didn't say anything then about leaving Ken behind. Does this mean she feels more loyalty to him than to Don now? Yikes.

That was something I was thinking about too! What pact? Would she actually leave Don? Hmmm.

Oh man, I had to pause and laugh and laugh at how awkward that dinner party was. SO AWKWARD. And Lane, punching Pete, "You're a grimy little pimp." Hilarious and a long time coming.

I love pretty much anything this guy does.

It's weird how Betty is the quintessential 50's wife, and Megan is the "modern" 60's wife...Don couldn't have fallen for two women who were ANY more different from each other in manner and appearance. But I have to agree with those who say Betty is what he needed then and Megan is what he needs now. I'm one of the rare viewers who really likes Megan and doesn't want everything to go to shit, but it will. This is Don Draper we're talking about. *sigh*

The episode was very, very good, my favorite of the new season so far. Pete is a complex bastard; one minute you want to see him get taken down a peg (go, Lane!) the next, you actually feel sorry for him. I think Pete is very much like Betty in the sense that he just can't tell his spouse what he wants and WHY he is miserable...or maybe Trudy just doesn't listen. Either way, he is very unhappy, and nothing good will come of it if he doesn't make some changes soon.

I think Peggy became more loyal to Ken after Don went soft at work. That's my guess.

Crowbridge wrote:I think Peggy became more loyal to Ken after Don went soft at work. That's my guess.

I think so too. I think she fears that SCDP may be a sinking ship, and she's making sure she has an out in case Ken leaves.

One of the things that I thought was interesting was how this episode reminded me how completely selfish and wrapped up himself Pete is. Even ROGER realizes that he's basically on the downward slope in his career. And Ken admits that he's let the job slip a bit in order to write more. Contrast that with Pete, who has been horrible to Roger and Lane over the course of the season whining to Don that "they're all supposed to be friends". I do feel bad for Pete because he is clearly pretty miserable in his life, but he does not get that his utter toolishness is not going to win him much sympathy from his co-workers.

Agent Sculder wrote:

Crowbridge wrote:I think Peggy became more loyal to Ken after Don went soft at work. That's my guess.

I think so too. I think she fears that SCDP may be a sinking ship, and she's making sure she has an out in case Ken leaves.

I think she's become more and more disillusioned with Don, and him marrying Megan just sealed the deal. It can't help that she, as Don's secretary, was expected to work two roles to get where she is; Megan just had to marry the boss. And if you're going to hook yourself on to anyone in that office, Ken's your best bet. He works hard, but he's proven that he still has a) scruples (as witnessed by not hitting up his father-in-law for business) and b) a life.

In addition, in the last episode of S4, they brought in the account that Peggy was so thrilled about (was it for shoe polish?), which was then overshadowed by Don's announcement of his engagement to Megan. I really think that's when the tides began to shift, but I was astonished to see that there's an official pact in place between the two of them.

I think there was always a bit of a rapport between Peggy and Ken from the beginning despite his lobster comment in Season 1. He tells her good work and gives her a friendly punch on the arm when she first starts out, and when she gets her office he just advises her to get a new couch instead of throwing a pissy fit like Kinsey.

Speaking of, I wish we could find out about the ones who have left. We got updates on Freddy Rumsen and Midge, but what about Sal, Kinsey, and the rest of the old Sterling Cooper gang?

I get the feeling we might. I read an interview with Matthew Weiner that unless a character dies there is always a chance they might come back. He wanted to bring Rachel Menken back for more then the little bit she came back for but decided against it.

I hope we get to see Sal again. The way we last saw him was just so depressing.

I've been concerned for the past several weeks that Pete was on his way to some massive comeuppance. So much of his interaction at work is now about power and control: it wasn't that he needed a better office because of his work in accounts and his status as a partner but he wanted Rodger's office. That was all about emasculating Roger and placing himself in a superior position. And then again when he took credit for Mohawk. Not only does he want to be valued but he wants to be powerful. Lane knocking him on his ass was a direct punishment for those desires and I can't wait to see how he handles the shifting balance of power as a result.

Of all the characters on this show, I would not have chosen Roger to be the first to trip on acid, but there you go.

I really need to rewatch this one, but oh God, the fight scene at the apartment was intense and definitely a reminder of what an ugly person Don Draper can be. Looks like Don's "love leave" may be over. Way to go, Bert Cooper (um, not for calling Peggy a "little girl," though).

Roger will pop up with those unusual surprises. Is it bad that I sort of hope that he will finally get together with Joan?

Probably. I don't know I think she can do way better. I think he loves her but hes treated her very badly for years and years.

I am really really curious about Ginsberg's whole story. Obviously we called it regarding being a survivor of the holocaust but this is just the edge of something really interesting.

I am getting more and more interesting in him. Also I watched Drop Dead Diva a bit and he was very charming but I never knew he was this good.

If this were any other show I'd say Megan being tired in the car and then picking at her food and then getting excited about pie = totes pregnant, but this show is more subtle than that (and maybe she was actually just mad at Don, omg).

I liked this trippy episode quite a bit. Nice approach to Roger and Jane splitting up.