Mad Men 4x08 Reaction
Comments (24)
FUN FACT: Matthew Weiner stated that this is his favorite episode of the series, and that most of Don's journal entries were actually pulled straight from Weiner's own personal journals. The man sure can write.
Don journaling is the deepest we’ve ever seen into his mindset and ideas, I love that you can really tell he’s a writer by listening to his prose. Juxtaposing the Bethany Van Nuys date at the beginning with the Dr. Faye date at the end and weaving Betty’s jealousy throughout is such a great structure to the episode I could cry, three writers but a great result. Summer Man may be my favorite of the season.
I really love Doctor Faye, she has such a caring and kind nature even in her work that seems antithetical to success in the 60s workplace and it’s cool to see. The hint of deeper character with her Father being mob connected reflects Don in a way and explains how they can see each other so well
Regarding Don's behavior in taxis with women, yes, it's strange because there's literally another person right there in front of them, but the 1960s were crucial for the normalization of sex. basically, it was the first signs of a sexual revolution that we now see as freedom. People really started to feel that they could have sex in public, and taxis used to be very associated with intimate encounters back then, just like movie theaters. But I'm just contextualizing a little the feeling of "I can do it" that started to grow. I am completely against such acts in public with other people present. I don't know if it's the same everywhere, but in my country it's considered a crime, yet there are people who continue to do it without any shame.
Lola’s face lights up when she recognizes something she’s seen before watching the show. Joan’s Vietnam speech and “that’s what the money is for” last ep. I dunno it’s just really fun to notice.
Your top 10 and faves keep evolving lol So many friends and lovers of mine quit after s01e02 and I promise them it's worth continuing- So it's nice to see other people notice how it keeps getting better and better, thank you!
Don: "This is as far as I can go right now." Cab driver: "I wish you said that last time!"
Don's swimming scenes were such an amazing piece of visual storytelling. I especially love the final one where we see Don use the random swimming guy as a stand-in for Henry Francis.
In the final one, they also break the 180 rule, which is so fundamental to filmmaking that it is never done unintentionally. I believe trying to show Don fighting to regain control and signalling a mental reset.
I think it's so much fun that we get a Rolling Stones needle drop here. Mad Men is pretty sparse with the general pop culture references for a lot of different reasons, but Don is being lifted out of his fog that he existed in even prior to realizing Anna was going to die, and then the show responds in kind by giving us a cultural touchstone that isn't a 50s holdover like the ones they've done previously. God this show is stupidly good.
My favorite episode. Personally I thought I was alone in this but over the years I've been surprised at how much it is beloved. Especially since following the Suitcase has to be most unenviable position. I'll simply say it's the vibe, quiet, meditative, introspective vibe that I love. You would think this would contrast/clash with the brightness and exuberance of summer, but somehow the episode managed to merge these conflicting aspects into a wistful and beautiful coherent whole.
This is an incredible season, just one good episode after another. Btw Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones came out in june 1965. I think that scene with the song marks the beggining of the "real" 60s. We previously had in the end of episode 4 another scene that represented the change that was ocurring in the decade where we see the generational contrast between Peggy's young friends and the older executives. Mad Men manages to not only tell the stories of multiple different characters, but also telling the story of the 60s in a very smart and subtle way.
Does anyone else watch this on their TV YouTube app? Everytime i watch their content, i hear them say "Hi guys, im Milena" and "Hi people, im Lola" 3 times in 5 seconds. Once when i open the vid here, once when i open it in my phone YT app and again when i start it on my TV. They do it so fast lol
Yeah I do the exact same thing.
I'm not saying I was refreshing this page just WAITING for the drop, but... When you two groaned in unison at 'just a joke', I FELT that. I think the core of this episode is several of the characters TRYING. They're all trying different things, but they're all trying something. Don is trying to improve who he is as a person (Journaling, exercising, and NOT trying to have sex with Faye Miller on the first date). Joan is trying to change how she is perceived at work (Not happy to be viewed as "just" a secretary, when that used to not bother her). Peggy is trying to control Joey and the rest of these losers as "one of the guys", before realizing that she can't do that and needs to be The Boss. Betty is trying to accept and move on (at least at the end after Henry and Francine talk to her). They're all TRYING. "Go shit in the ocean", which we hear Faye say over the phone during the argument, is a translation of the Yiddish phrase "Gai kaken oifen yam!" It's a way of expressing disbelief/dismissal, saying (essentially) "fuck off" and can be said jokingly or serious-insulting. Is this a hint that the character is Jewish? Possibly. It's also possible she picked it up through general osmosis living in New York (Notice that Harry Crane has started peppering Yiddish into his dialogue ever since he took over the media department). Or maybe her boyfriend (David) was Jewish and she was throwing one of his own phrases back in his face. A subtle part of the episode I really enjoy is that Don sided with Peggy over Joey INSTANTLY. He was on board with hiring him full-time, even after Joan hinted it might not be a good idea, but as soon as Peggy made a clear statement he got right in line. Would he have sided with Joan as well if she had made a clear remark that SHE didn't want him hired full-time, instead of making vague remarks? Maybe. But maybe not. I guess we'll never know.
I think you misunderstand: "one of the guys" isn't a gender statement, it's a RANK statement. Peggy was behaving like she's on an equal level with Joey. She disapproves of his behavior, but she verbalizes it the way she would if they were peers. She tells him not to antagonize Joan, but her tone and word choice is almost like giving advice instead of an order. When she gets fed up she goes to Don for him to do something about it. Don has to tell her that she has power and authority here, and if he steps in it will only undermine her and expose her as a tattletale. So Peggy goes and she doesn't ASK Joey to apologize to Joan, or tell him he SHOULD apologize to Joan, she tells him that he HAS to apologize. For the first time she gives an order as his superior, instead of a peer. And when he doesn't respect her instructions, she fires him. More importantly, she sticks to firing him when he sees he's crossed a line and tries to backtrack. Peggy has been taking on management roles for a while -- we saw her help interview Danny a few episodes ago -- but this is the first time she let herself act as The Boss.
Lola saying she's very protective of hated female characters really really really makes me want them to react to the anime NANA. I know they would LOVE Hachi <3
Absolutely massive episode for everyone who has been telling Don to seek therapy (date a marketing researcher). I've never been totally sure what to make of the journaling voiceover in this episode. It's a tricky conceit, because you want the voiceover to be insightful and additive to the storytelling, but you also don't want Don to be *too* insightful about himself. I'm not sure if it totally works. There's some really beautiful stuff in there, mixed with the half-stupid ideas like instantly changing his mind between climbing Kilimanjaro and visiting Africa. I do love that the show is willing to experiment with stuff like this, even if it isn't always a home run success. And yes, that Stones needle-drop is such a (great) shock to the system. It feels like the show suddenly jumping forward in time into the "real" 1960s. (It wasn't released as a single in the US until the end of August in 1965 though. Are they cheating the timeline a bit here?) Anyway it's a really striking sequence.
I am watching this show for the first time along side you guys and after last episode, it needs to be said: this is one of the greatest shows of all time and it’s insane that it’s this good. I know that’s not a hot take, but I always hear breaking bad, sopranos, the wire etc. in the conversation. All great shows (imo brba is a tad overrated, still outstanding though), but mad men needs to be brought up more often.
Agreed on all counts. Mad Men had Sopranos-level maturity and depth but without the colorful, comedic, and violent mob life packaging that casual and/or younger viewers could enjoy. So it was never gonna be huge. Personally it's in my top 5.
Lola: 'I understood that reference'
Fun fact about season 4: What you said about enjoying every second of the episode, having so much fun and not wanting it to end... EVERY episode for the rest of the season is like that (in my opinion at least)! Really fantastic, really fun, almost flawless run of episodes.
Henry Francis, antifa super soldier
I don't think we've heard much about Henry's time in the service before, have we? That's a funny line, but in a show that spends a lot of time thinking about who served in which wars, it's a bit of a non sequitur.