Mad Men 4x10 Reaction
Comments (32)
I also love the small detail that Lane shows no sign of transferring the abuse he received to his own son.
another L for the writers on black characters. the last scene does go somewhere interesting though Don's gaze towards Megan reflects dominant, stunted, illusory perceptions of women. It's ironic the ad man fails to realize he's chasing an imaginary product, not companionship. He's been sold that there's a product that will heal his emotional trauma, fulfill his sexual desire, and mother his children. Overwhelmingly, the fantastical product he's chasing has been informed by white supremacy and heteropatriarchy. His beauty standard is young and white. His behavioral expectations include 'modest' and 'motherly.' Accordingly, he pursues young, beautiful, modest, white woman he perceives to be the promised product. Notably, while fulfilling all those specific traits delineates who Don considers a fling and who he considers a potential 'partner,' it's not a rigorous process. In a complete misread, after marrying and having kids with Betty, he tells her, "I would have given anything to have a mother like you, beautiful and kind filled with love like an angel.” In the last scene, we see Don project, once again, onto Megan. It's not a coincidence this happens after discovering Faye is not 'motherly.' A trait he likely assumed to be included in the 'product.' anyone connecting to Don's relation to women: seek help, you're stuck in a corrosive trance
This is a good analysis overall, but I think it's a bit extreme to use terms like white supremacy and heteropatriarchy about a white man being attracted to young, beautiful white women.
"Fucking Depressing" - perfectly summed up how i felt when i finished watching the episode. It feels depressing seeing don so close to genuine connection romantically, but he’s clearly more fascinated with a particular fantasy. You can feel Don inching away from faye and more intrigued with the fantasy of Megan. His look at her at the end reminded me of how he looked at Miss Farrell in season 3.
I like the metaphor of riding in the car with Don.
Love this episode. I love seeing Betty look out for Don in this episode. It's a nice follow on from The Summer Man, where Betty and Henry are angry seeing him dating and seemingly being unaffected, but eventually realising that he is suffering from the divorce. They both seem less wound up. I think everyone can sympathise with Don doing what he did, and so don't want him to get in trouble with the law for it even while it causes problems. Don is leaning towards confronting everything head on, but he's not fully committed. It's also great seeing Sally excited for the concert.
I agree but Henry doesn't care who Don dates, it only bothers him because it bothers Betty and he wants to live a nice life + with a happy new wife and her kids. At the end of that episode Henry switches from annoyed to happy as soon as Betty shows (or performs) not being bothered by Don turning up to the birthday party.
Desertion in 1965 was definitely a big deal and not just to Don. Jail time wouldn’t just be an abstract possibility. But even in the plausible scenario in which he doesn’t go to jail, his career (and life as he knows it) would likely be over. People with a vested interest in Don’s success knowing his secret and it being public knowledge are very different things.
”Stop looking for signs you need help!” 😆
One thing unmentioned so far: a subtle, lovely, part of Lane’s characterisation is his love affair with America. Early on, he says to another character (Don, I believe), “I’ve been here weeks and no one has asked me where I went to school.” The contrast here being England’s rigid class system and the dominance of certain posh schools in elite spaces (Eton/Harrow & Oxford/Cambridge) vs. America’s “pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps”, anyone can be anything, ‘American Dream’ culture. There are obviously a lot of asterisks to add to the above - by no means is the American Dream attainable to everyone - but the foundation of Don & Connie’s relationship was the lives that they managed to build for themselves. Both born poor, out in rural America; now in the WASPs country club. Anyway. All of this to say: Lane’s little red, white, and blue balloons & Mickey Mouse stuffed toy; hilarious, and sad, and very on point writing. Gets at some really interesting conversations about 20th Century America.
It's hard to understand if you haven't experienced how nasty England can be but class mobility was (still is tbh) much more restricted. America is the land of opportunity where any old sod can get lucky and become a millionaire - except not really and not for anyone who doesn't fit the vision... but at least it's a dream. In England we didn't even bother to dream. That's why Lane's bosses at PPL didn't even once think he would betray them, that's simply not possible for a good subservient "boy" like Lane to do.
That cover of "Do You Want to Know a Secret" at the end is so funny. Edit to add: V pna'g erpnyy vs Jrvare rire qvfphffrq guvf arrqyr qebc va gur jnxr bs gur gur "Gbzbeebj Arire Xabjf" fghss arkg frnfba. Qvq gurl jnag gb hfr gur erny genpx urer? Jrer gurl erohssrq / jnf vg gbb rkcrafvir? Be qvq gurl cersre guvf zber boyvdhr irefvba jvgubhg gur ylevpf? Va nal pnfr, V'z tynq vg jnfa'g gur npghny Orngyrf fbat urer -- gur nofbyhgr fubpx & guevyy V sryg jura gurl qebccrq "GAA" va Ynql Ynmnehf vf bar bs zl sbaqrfg zrzbevrf bs gur fubj. It's wild to watch Don coming clean to Faye but it's also striking how much *easier* that seemed -- easier to unburden himself, but also easier to explain the details -- than when he told Betty. Psychologically, I think this gets at the (obvious) truth that keeping the secret is doing more harm to Don than coming clean ever could. Faye is right; he committed a crime, but there is probably a way to plead out of it. But I also think that moment, and Don saying how tired he is of running from the secret, is a little bit of Weiner & Co. saying that it's OK for the show to move on from that plot point? Don's big secret identity was kind of the mystery box hook in S1, but the show has obviously evolved way past that now. I do understand the irony in my saying that after an episode that wrung so much drama out of the secret. The FBI visiting Betty is a plot point that really sticks in my mind, and I love her phone conversation with Don afterwards. (The funny, "well there's nothing wrong with that!" for starters, but also the quite tender thank you that Don has for Betty.) IMO this one can't help feeling a little forgettable, coming so soon after The Suitcase the The Beautiful Girls, but hey, 7/10 Mad Men is still pretty damn good. Edit: I would be remiss to not mention how Roger revealing that he knows about Lee being gay puts such a sad twist on the stuff with Sal last season. We thought that Roger was so adamant about firing Sal because Lucky Strike was important to the company. The fact that he could (and presumably did) piece together what really happened both explains his reaction and makes it more cruel.
"This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened. Except when you think about it, constantly, in the back of your mind, when it weighs you down like a backpack of rocks making everything you do slightly harder for your entire life."
"I wanted them to" - I dont think Don has ever acknowledged that part of his story to anyone, not even Anna. Also side note - Don really is the living embodiment of being self-destructive
Eric Viola (above) is correct that desertion would be a prosecutable crime, so it's not just a matter of Don's reputation. This could result in jailtime, asset forfeiture, etc. It's a life-ruiner if it's discovered at this point. BUT...the government wasn't LOOKING for evidence of desertion, and they didn't think it was a possibility. They don't have Dick Whitman marked as a deserter, they have Dick marked as Killed in Action and Don Draper was Honorably Discharged afterwards. This investigation was looking for pro-communist remarks he had made at home, or vacations to socialist countries, or even current gambling debts or personal habits that would make him susceptible to blackmail (i.e. is he gay?). So they probably would have been fine and gotten a good new client if Don had been willing to risk it. But even the chance that they might STUMBLE upon it has Don completely lose the ability to function. It overrides EVERYTHING else in his mind. I don't think "cowardice" is quite the right word, but I can't think of any other word to describe Don's panic here. The Beatles' concert at Shea Stadium was a watershed moment in US popular culture. The band was massively popular and sold out the entire 55,000 seat stadium. The fans were screaming so much that the microphones on-stage picked it up and it overwhelmed recordings that were in process. It was talked about for years -- it's STILL talked about -- and was one of the factors that ushered in stadium concerts for big bands on tour Last year I attended a concert at Citi Field, which is the stadium that replaced Shea Stadium in 2009. It was an AMAZING event: The Linda Lindas, Rancid, Smashing Pumpkins, and Green Day. It went for 5 or 6 hours and it knocked my socks off.
You're under-selling the background check. Sure, they weren't specifically looking for Don but they would very likely have found out and and he would have been fucked. Pete said his DoD contact said he had been flagged. That means something stood out. Don isn't some deep cover agent who covered his tracks with professional intel means. He's just some guy, a garden-variety imposter who took someone else's name. Had the background check proceeded, he absolutely would have been rooted out. Even in the 60s. Let's not forget that the original Don Draper also had a civil record and probably had people beside Anna.
It's crazy that the first 3 seasons of Mad Men all won the Emmy for best drama series, and then the showrunners casually made a 4th season that obliterates the previous 3. Mad Men should've set the record for most consecutive Emmy wins with 5 (season 5 is the best season imo) but voter fatigue likely played a role in giving it to Homeland season 1 instead.
👍
On the topic of desertion, yes there definitely would've been the potential for imprisonment. Many Americans were imprisoned for desertion during WW2, the Korean War, Vietnam. The law finding out about Don wouldn't just be about hurting his reputation.
I feel like Lane Pryce might be the saddest character on the show. It feels like he’s never allowed to be his own person. Both his family and his workplace have expectations that he must be this dutiful, obedient provider. It almost mirrors Don Draper in a way — both of them are forced to uphold a façade that’s killing them on the inside. But the difference is that Lane is more vulnerable and endearing. He can’t escape or reinvent himself like Don. He’s just stuck in the trap that is his life.
Even Betty, a woman stuck in the 50s, understood how much of a big deal The Beatles were.
betty listening like "i DO wanna hold your hand"
This is my favorite show of all time but I haven't re-watched it in years, so I just wanted to say I'm really enjoying watching it with you guys! I love the appreciation you have for the stories and the characters. Thank you!
I rewatch once a year but it's a binge watch where all the eps gloriously blend into one. Watching 2 eps a week has been an amazing change of pace.
Roger ripping up the business card whilst talking to the widow of whoever he was trying to poach is so good
Henry IS hot!!! I've BEEN saying this!! I'm so glad you guys agree with me. There's just something about him...
Hes also generally speaking a pretty damn decent person, atleast compared to the vast majority of other male characters on the show. The bar is set veeeeeery low tho.
Just a heads up since we're almost there, the season 5 premiere is a two-part episode meant to be watched all at once. A Little Kiss part 1 & 2. Not sure if it shows up on streaming sites separately or combined. There is so much going on in these episodes though that it might be easier to split into two reactions anyway? Idk lol
yippee someone said it! 5x1 and 5x2 should be watched together, with a short break in-between for discussion yes.
Random question since Black Friday is coming up and I'm trying to find a new signature scent– what is your girls' favourite fragrance, if you wear any?
my everyday parfume for years has been narciso rodriguez for her musk noir but they told me a few months ago its being discontinued so i dont think you can find it anymore, my other every day is the ghost in the shell by etat libre d'orange (it just smells clean).. another parfume that i really love for the winter thats kinda sweet is sugar addict by btso (milena would agree with this one) if you want one that last forever that all my friends like most but i haven’t worn it in years try instant crush by mancera, and the one ive gotten most questions for is probably another 13 by le labo
First.