Mad Men 4x04 Reaction

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My biggest mad men hot take is I actually like Peggy and Pete together. Idk they have good chemistry sue me 🤷‍♀️

The way the assassination of Malcolm X was dismissed in a throwaway exchange rankles. Yes, the Madison Ave crowd naturally wouldn't care for him but I would have expected a bit more of an impact (even if it's a celebration), given that it happened right here in the same city. Locally, it was a major event, with front page headlines and significant radio and TV coverage. One of my very few complaints about Mad Men is that while it is ruthlessly clear-eyed about misogyny, it gets the characters off the hook a lot on racism. With the exception of some naked anti-semitism in early episodes (and Roger's blackface and Joan's comments about Paul's girlfriend), the characters simply never express any racial animus. These were white people on or connected to Madison Ave, many of them rich. Their thoughts on black people (and other minorities) were not pretty. But the show rarely has to courage to face that reality upfront and instead often cops out. It's a shame. Contrats with the Sopranos, where Tony and his environnement were often shown as openly and unapologetically racist. I wish Mad Men were significantly more overt and honest about this simple reality of the 60s - especially since this is the single most pivotal era of race relations in this country since the Civil War.

I actually wouldn’t say this is a new development for Pete, although it’s certainly the best it’s ever played out for him. He has always been pretty shrewd in certain situations when it comes to business. Especially when he’s able to leverage information or his personal connections.

I think it's a bit of an oversimplification to just characterize him as "self-centered". He's much more empathetic and morally aware than that ...... but I think that's also the reason why he behaves badly, drinking and philandering help him (seemingly) escape from his own mind. Same as all the literal running away from things.

Love Mrs Blankenship, Mad Men doesn't really start until she gets here. She reminds me of Roz from Monsters Inc with the glasses. I like seeing Pete and Ken put their differences aside too, and Harry kind of doing a Betty and leaving them together. Lola thinking Harry was bald was genuinely hilarious. Someone from another show maybe entered her mind randomly. I just love this season though, really feels like they hit their stride with everything. We know the characters now so the storylines are great, there's a lot of history there, the humour is great. Everything just feels fresh.

Research has its purpose but I agree with Don here. People can't want what they don't know, especially young women in a changing 1960s. It's a good tool for the toolbox though. Peggy seems to like Faye a lot, nice for her to see a (slightly) older successful business woman. The Peggy and Pete scenes ARE emotional because we know them so well! They have a connection + have 'come up together' in the same orbit. We know them and what they've been through and this state they've settled into. All this is aided by David Carbonara's touching score that "Makes your heart hurt" as Don says. Speaking of Don, how can someone so thoughtful be so thoughtless. Imagine your Boss who is famous for being a Genius Writer telling you to "write your own recommendation 🙂" pisses me off just thinking about it. Don is now staying in his office drinking until the sound of the floor buffer makes him go home 😬 bet he misses the carpets from Sterling Cooper. I think the final scene is Don craving that "live together til we're 90yo arguing about pears" love, that pure uncut real real love, the type he couldn't build with Betty, the type he fears he'll never build with anyone. Peggy going to exactly 1 alternative party and then excitedly telling everyone at the office about politics that she's just learning for the first time is so funny. For 4+ years now she's been enmeshed in her career with office-people + her very Catholic working class family. I agree it could be really nice for her to meet more types of people than just those. Bonus Thoughts: Ken on Harry "He's like that and everyone who knows him knows that" everyone thinks Harry is a nasty gossipy bitch 💀 Joyce makes her move then takes the hint and pulls back + enters chill friend mode, proving you can push without being 'pushy'. Peggy banging head on desk, peeking over wall at Don, most relatable character for sure.

“Caesar salad - No dressing”.. Who hurt you Harry?

This is one of my personal favorite episodes of the show, especially with such a heavy Pete and Peggy focused episode which we don't really get much of. I love how Pete deals with Tom since Tom wasn't letting Pete get a word in it made Pete bring Tom down to his level. Pete just shrugging off the "you son of a bitch" comment is also the best. I think Peggy gets so angry with Allison because of Allison jumping to the conclusion that Peggy and Don slept together which is something that has lingered over Peggy's career since she first became a copywriter. She made a joke about it to Pete after Peggy got her office in season 2 but its still something that comes up every now and then. The reintroduction of Ken is also really well done here with him and Pete clearing the air a bit. Season 4 in general is a real highlight of the show and this and thenext two episodes in particular are a big reason why

Ah, the classic pears episode. Did she get pears? We'll never know. Inception, The Sopranos, Before Sunset... all of it crap compared to *this* ambiguous ending. I'll reiterate my (gentle) amusement at how they are clinging to the idea that Peggy -- who didn't even realize that Malcom X had been assassinated! -- is "progressive". She's obviously more open-minded than most other characters (though we shouldn't discount Harry's apparent interest in Puerto Rican girls) but she is riding the revolutionary wave, not leading it. The Warhol shoutout, and Peggy's broader brush-up against real counterculture at Kellogg's party, is fascinating. Previous comments have suggested that the 1960s as we know them didn't start until Kennedy's assassination, and that's broadly true, but it bears remembering that these folks in advertising generally aren't on the bleeding edge of the culture -- they're chasing it, despite Don's protests to Faye. The "1960s" have already been happening on the fringes of society -- I'm talking about civil rights and Malcolm X just as much as I am "Campbell's Soup Cans" and Kenneth Anger -- but it's taken until 1965 for it to end up in the lobby of an advertising firm on the 34th floor of the Time & Life Building. Anyway it's another gorgeous episode. Love those twin Pete/Peggy storylines, culminating with that sliding doors moment in the lobby. This is the kind of moment that only longform television storytelling can pull off. Before the episode, they were complaining that we haven't seen much of either character lately. By the end, we are crushed under the weight of their shared history.

Peggy may be more progressive than the rest of the characters, we mustn't forget she's still a Catholic white lady in the 60s. Her progressive attitude only extends so far

I feel like Pete somehow manages to be both the most despicable and the most endearing character in the show for me. He’s constantly in conflict with himself — he does awful things, but you can always see where those actions come from. It’s also pretty clear that Pete hates himself more than anyone else possibly could. There’s definitely a degree of self-awareness in there, and because of that, he sometimes ends up surprising people in genuinely positive ways — almost despite himself.

I approve of you both being suspicious of everything we say. Never trust us. ESPECIALLY not this sentence! I think this is the most honest that Peggy and Pete have ever been able to be with each other. Pete has learned the truth about Peggy having his child before, and she knows that he is going to have another child now, so she is able to give him an honest "congratulations" and he is able to accept it with full knowledge and appreciation. There isn't even the secret of Duck offering them both jobs like we had last season. For the first time, there's nothing 'between' them. I was honestly impressed at how well Pete managed this situation. This is almost the first time in the series that we see him really turn a situation to his advantage instead of just coasting along in mediocrity. If he'd been this good all along, he may have deserved the promotion to Head of Accounts before. I don't think I'd agree that Pete treats Trudy like a partner, but I do think that he is the CLOSEST of all of our characters to treating their spouse like a partner. Definitely closer than Don or Roger ever were.

What happens to Peggy the day after going out is so relatable. You go out, you broaden your horizons, you meet new people and you do exciting things. The next day you still have your head in the clouds and suddenly you get hit with something that reminds you of who you are, where you are and what you did, completely deflating you. After that she lost almost all her excitement when Joyce called her for lunch.

I think part of Peggy snapping on Allison also has to do with Don never showing any romantic interest in Peggy when she was his secretary. Remember back in season 1 when she put her hand on Don's and said how greatful she was? Don shut that shit down immediately, and he almost scolded Peggy like she was a child. So not only does Peggy have to walk around having everyone think she slept with Don, but as an added insult, the person everybody thinks she slept with actually rejected her in humiliating fashion.

The last two minutes of this episode are so beautiful and significant. Great reaction.

Smart move for Joan to assign an elderly woman (Ms Blankenship) as Don's new secretary lol. Post-divorce Don is MESSY, let's keep him away from the pretty young women for a while.

I always loved the ending of this eps with Peggy and Pete. It feels like a moment to let them move on but without resentment.

Lola in season 7 episode 1: "Did Don have hair before? Wasn't he bald?"

It feels like 2024. Is everything one day earlier again, or did only the break day move for this week? :D