Comments on: Harpy Televisual Society: Mad Men

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:26:59 +0000

I thought that Roger’s response was perfect considering the lady in question–can’t remember her name–basically showed up solely to exploit her old connection to him and jerk him around. Maybe she was lonely because she’d lost her husband, etc. etc. but her attitude towards Roger was downright predatory, narcissistic and manipulative and I though his harshness was justified (and necessary, since he kept telling her to back off and she wouldn’t).

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:19:05 +0000

Roger ain’t a nice guy, but I don’t think he was being gratuitously cruel to Annabelle. It seemed to be coming from a place of deep hurt (which is, after all, where most cruelty comes from).

By: baraqiel

baraqiel — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:32:25 +0000

@Becky – Yeah, I cannot wait for Rapist Ken to get killed in Vietnam. I’m interested to see how Joan will/would react to what we normally think of as “the sixties”.

I still think that Suzanne is just not very well written. She doesn’t make a lot of sense to me — I can’t get my head around her motivations for anything. This is in contrast to Betty, whose inner life I have a clearer and clearer picture of every episode (the most of any of the characters, for me). When she was talking to the lawyer, it occurred to me that this was the first time she was saying the stuff about Don out loud a moment before she said it — personally, I’m finding January Jones’ performance to be very subtle and impressive (but maybe it’s just more to my taste than to PS’).

On the Feministing recap they were really, really harsh about Roger’s storyline, saying that the only reason he would ever turn down a drunk woman is to be cruel and deliberately humiliate her. That wasn’t my reading of the situation at all, actually. The “you weren’t” line was definitely brutal, but I don’t think he would have gone there if she hadn’t pursued the issue. Maybe I’m being too easy on him, given that he is in fact a racist and sexist jerk…

Also, even though Peggy wasn’t in this ep for very long, I think she had one of the best lines. “I can’t turn it off, it’s really happening!” That is the reaction of someone who is far more used to watching television than any of the older execs in the room.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:19:10 +0000

True, ceejee, but the title of the ep was “The Gypsy and the Hobo,” and masquerade and role-playing were central ideas.

By: ceejeemcbeegee

ceejeemcbeegee — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:00:40 +0000

About the costumes… I asked my mom about this and she said that back in the day, part of the fun of Halloween was making a costume. Don protested about Sally wanting to buy a “cheap, plastic” Minnie Mouse costumer because it was a waste of money (some things still haven’t changed).
The choices of a Hobo and Gypsy would have been easy to put together with common household clothing and items.

By: mkp-hearts-nyc

mkp-hearts-nyc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:46:23 +0000

I TOTALLY want to see what Peggy’s life with her Swedish roommate is like these days – it’s killing me not to know if she’s still sleeping with Duck too, or if that was a one..well, two-time deal.

Do you guys all know about the viewing party the Lipp Sisters (over at Basket of Kisses) are having at some bar on Madison ave for the finale? I’m going!

http://www.lippsisters.com/2009/10/27/hey-did-you-know-were-having-a-mad-men-party/

By: PhDork

PhDork — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:41:06 +0000

Yeah, I need some Peggy before this is all said and done. If I had an awesome Halloween party to go to, I would dress up as her–I even have a dowdy-ish plaid vintage dress that would work.

By: BeckySharper

BeckySharper — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:17:53 +0000

@Mild: Whatever happened to Peggy, period??! I want to know how her ill-advised whatever with whathisface turned out!

@pedimd: Nah, I don’t think that indicated anything other than frustration. I think there are major power issues in that marriage, but so far they’re not expressed through physical violence (except for, y’know, the occasional rape).

By: mkp-hearts-nyc

mkp-hearts-nyc — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

I totally concur that this episode was a big breath of fresh air. I remember reading an interview with Elizabeth Moss where she pointed out that the first season was about the girls, the second one was about the boys, and this one is all about couples and relationships – The Drapers, Roger and Don, Joan and Rapist Ken, Pete and Trudie etc. So there are a lot of those scenes where when they finish I’m like “Did nothing just happen or was that Really Important?”

To me Joan’s outburst was based on everything that happened from the moment he pinned her on the floor – I think she kept telling herself that at least she’d have the position in life she’d wanted, and not only did that fall apart, he was going to whine at her about it.

I also loved that this was probably the first Honest, Significant conversation Don and Betty have EVER had. Or at least on the show. Don’s breakdown was magnificent. So full of fear and humiliation and some more fear. Betty came home from her lawyer thinking “Ok, if I’m not going to leave him, I am at least done living this stupid lie.”

I definitely don’t think we’re done with Suzanne Farrell.

By: Mild

Mild — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:47:41 +0000

I was on the verge of submitting a creepy/stalkerish lurker’s email demanding that one of you respond to this episode – I am now appeased.

Soapy or not, I loved the Joan-vase moment. She never loses it like that, and to explode over his little speech about lost dreams speaks to her character. Later, fer face when he told her that he’d joined the army was so nuanced (I just don’t know how to interpret it).

And speaking of dropped tangents – whatever happened to Peggy’s kind of crazy new roommate?