Mad Men Season 4 - Page 64

to make it superduperfuckingCrystalClear that betty is in essence a child. she wants a child psych for herself, she is constant competition with her daughter - even for creepy matt weiner's child. henry francis figured out that he has to raise another kid and teach her morals and how to think (only its not of any Draper's progeny- its Betty) its almost admirable that he didn't jump ship and looks up to the challenge.

Trudy Campbell has had some nice lines in these past episodes:

"i love to watch two grown men pound eachother!"

"when you bet big and lose big you don't double down

"And you'll lose your state room on the titanic?!"

that relationship is finally shifting towards typical marriagedom .. the wife wearing being the boss..

That Midge scene was a little heavy handed for me. Could have played out a little differently.

Don paid Pete's share out of appreciation for everything he's done - he's the only account guy that's hard charging and he's watched Don's ass on several occassions. He owed him one at that point.

Bert is walking out but I doubt he can dissolve his portion of the partnership so easily. He's probably just "retiring," but his money is already paid and he still owns his piece of the firm.

Dude - her company is cutting ties with SCDP. Hence, they're pulling her out of there. Also - the part where Stan and Peggy are in the creative room and you hear the person start bawling - was I the only one expecting the short dude to run down the hallway crying?

That Midge scene was so depressing.

Yes it was. Midge was an interesting character, and a key player in my favorite episode, "Babylon". For you latecomers, go to youtube and search "mad men babylon" for what is IMO the most powerful 2 minutes of Mad Men.

Cooper always keeps Sterling in check most recently when Sterling lashed out at Campbell for North American Aviation. It's Cooper who asked him to apologize. Cooper also got Sterling and Draper to reconcile. I doubt Sterling would have went to the new firm without Cooper's prodding.

If the firm doesn't have Sterling, though, then Cooper's role is a bit redundant with Pryce in now.


The thing is I thought that Bill character (the one with the rolled up dress shirt) was part of the loan from the research company or maybe they just showed up around the same time at the office.


Campbell and Draper have mutual appreciation for their talents now. Just as Campbell balked at Draper going on the lam to hide from the army, I'm sure Draper would have balked having to rely on Sterling and Cosgrove to be the only account men in his firm. There is absolutely no way Campbell will go to Chaough now.

It was disappointing to hear Cooper say that Draper was never suitable to be partner. I'm guessing this is not about his talents but his tendency for unilateralism and not being a team player. But from what I remember, Cooper never wanted to make Draper partner until he was forced to by Lee Garner Sr. when Sterling had the second heart attack.

And how is Pryce a junior partner but he gets his name on the door?


But then when has Draper given credit to anyone? (Clio, all the other campaigns that his staff did for him).

I thought the episode was too busy again. Too many plot lines put in. The Midge scene was more like a deus ex machina to lead to the anti-tobacco stance. But then what else could they do - start the firm up again in the season finale, wait for an even more crass deus ex machina like Conrad Hilton or another "golden pork chop" showing up.

Crane was at his most formal season to date when they were in the lobby waiting for Philip Morris. He even had a hat in hand. Did he ever even wear a hat?

Campbell had some of the most sarcastic lines - about Draper saving the company, now let's get rid of half of it. The part about public service - that's what we need. It must be blowing ice cold out there if we can't get a meeting with a tobacco company. And when he said he was out trying to get business and told Sterling, "You should try it".

Of course then Sterling had to actually learn the names of the people he has to fire.

I loved what Draper did with the ad. It was just what was needed. The others are just too stupid to see it. They should be thanking him.

Sterling is a lazy spoiled rich kid, who one day will have to grow up, and actually do some work.

Pryce should just stick to the numbers, and let a real manager manage. Bean counters are needed, but only so much.

Coopers a likeable old fart, but he needs to go to pasture. His time is well past.

Campbell needs to go sell, and do like Don said, "Get me in a room."

Draper is the Man!! He needs to have another face to face discussion with Meghan.

I wonder if they're going to make the office a smoke free environment. Seems a bit early for 1965. Cooper leaving with shoes in his hand is the symbolic "out with the old...." adage Don owed Pete for dropping the military contract in order to save his ass

"I loved what Draper did with the ad. It was just what was needed. The others are just too stupid to see it."

I thought it was a very bold move too and will likely reap rewards. He said before doing it that the firm appeared "weak" and it seemed everyone was now "kicking them" while they were down. So, this move shows strength. However, I do agree with the other poster that he could have sold it to the others before doing it. I don't think they are stupid and would have been persuaded. I think Don is just the kind of guy who does things more impulsively and takes chances. The way it was done also made for better TV/story.

Depressing episode. Really depressing.

Next Sunday is the season finale

it took me almost the entirety of her appearance to realize who she even was. I was like, ohhhh, the beatnik!! Other than seeing someone WAY WAY worse off than Don, I didn't really GET the purpose of Midge in this episode/season, though. I think it was Don's way of saying "Hey dude, you took a HUGE bullet for team Draper. This is my way of making it up to you" Oh man, is she ever. It's almost like Weiner's telling us, "if you ever had any hope that Don and Betty would reconcile, it aint gonna happen...she's a fucking loon"

Sterling will land a big client next episode. Roger only works as a character if he is on top making quips. As a loser, he is dead weight as a character, neither fun enough for comedy relief or deep enough for darker stories. Just boring.

On the other hand, one of the good things about Mad Men is they don't mind getting rid of characters, even good ones like Paul or Sal. The Wire got weighed down by too many characters.

Don and Faye will get engaged for the season finale. She had a comment in the Christmas episode I believe, "people don't want to believe they're a type, but you'll be engaged before the end of the year." Or maybe they won't.

In case you never noticed, Don has been off his A-game all season. I liked Don's move with the ad, however, his method for doing so was pigheaded. Pete and Trudy are awesome. Any person named Midge deserves to be pimped out by her addict husband. I hated her story line in season 1 or 2 (whichever it was) and I was happy to see her in the gutter. Meghan is hot, don't get me wrong. But her teeth/gums are jacked up. She needs to learn to smile without showing so much gum.