Stefanie said:
"Seeing this group of men and women react with such immaturity to such a grave event was jolting."
Richard, if I could re-title this episode, I think I'd call it "Babysitting." And I'm not talking about hangin' out with Sally or Bobby or even Roger Sterling's now-wedded offspring and watching Disney movies and braiding their hair. Nope. I'm talking about the adults. This episode opened up another Pandora's Box — the Kennedy assassination that you so astutely predicted would ruin Margaret Sterling's wedding — and it made whatever lingering ambivalence we may have had about the characters abundantly clear. Betty is a baby. Pete is a baby. Peggy, Roger — both babies.
I have a disclaimer: I did not experience the horror and shock of the Kennedy assassination. I'm too young — and perhaps desensitized to it. My generation's equivalents are probably Princess Diana's death and, of course, 9/11. I remember where I was on both of those days. So seeing this group of men and women react with such immaturity to such a grave event was ... jolting, to say the least. Thankfully, each had his or her own "better half" to talk them down from the proverbial ledge — Pete had the surprisingly stoic Trudy, Roger had Joan, Betty had her silver-haired fox, and Peggy had Duck. These better halves emerged, then, as the "grown-ups" to which the title of the episode refers — but where does that leave Don Draper and Jane Sterling? Perhaps ... their futures are unclear? No way! That would be silly.
Maturity levels aside, it was quite fascinating to see how the news spread and how people reacted. I know that Betty's reaction — that she couldn't stop crying — was not uncommon to the time. In fact, it was refreshing to see her let loose a little and display some of her better parenting skills, like letting the children actually watch the news. Once Don came in, switched off the TV, and covered every little corner of the problem in his signature salve, it was clear how much of a change had taken place in both of them — and how vital next week's season finale will be to the story of the Draper marriage.
Joan's story was also rather delicious. It's obvious that she's unhappy, it's obvious that she enjoys reconnecting with Roger, and it's obvious that she's still the rock she always was. She is the definition of clutch — she can think of an ad campaign on the fly, MacGyver a tourniquet, and comfort a powerful man after another powerful man has been shot. Roger even says to her, "Nobody else is saying the right thing about this." But to have Joan transition from ho-hum Greg to long-lost love Roger so quickly would be too smooth. Too easy. Too un-Mad Men. There have to be some rocky points in the future of this love triangle. What do you think, Richard?
I can't decide if Pete's going to go off the deep end right away, or if he's going to move on to Duck's hep-cat firm, kick ass and take names, find out about Duck and Peggy, and then go off the deep end. Trudy's been more of a pillar presence in his life than ever before, which is refreshing, but can she handle Even More Emotionally Tormented Pete?
And, finally, Peggy. She's got a savory little dilemma on her hands, sleepin' with the competition and whatnot. I'm still not so sure what she sees in Duck — their relationship is frustratingly underdeveloped, as is the tension between Peggy and Pete this season. Also, I have a hard time believing Duck's character. He's one of those old guys who insists on regaining his youth with twentysomething women and a little too much jive talk. Regardless of Peggy's taste in men, though, she's definitely in a pickle that will prove difficult to get out of — and will make for good television.
Now, if we could just round up Sal in the season finale, all would be right in the world.
Richard said:
"I hope they go running and don't look back."
Stefanie, I think you're right about this episode and its somewhat mysterious title. Who were the grownups here? Where were they? Like you said, we did indeed find adults, or at least adult-like behavior, in Joan and in Betty's dashing-yet-sad-eyed paramour. That wasn't terribly surprising. Joan has always known more than everyone else--it's her loneliness being out there on the forefront and her desperate attempts to reach back and be part of the gang that have made her something of a tragic figure on this show. And Betty's older would-be lover swooped in just at the right time, when she was missing her father, when she needed some kind of stern-but-loving male attention that Don was incapable of giving her. So yeah, those two folks are implicitly two of the "grown-ups" being discussed in this episode, I think. But you know who else became grownups in the most surprising way? Pete and Trudy.
I absolutely adored the scene with sullen, bewildered Pete planted on the sofa, unwilling to go to Margaret Sterling's wedding--unwilling, really, to keep up the whole soul-gnawing rococo charade of his life when everything, the very fabric of the country, had suddenly and irrevocably changed. There was a true glimmer of awakening in those budding progressive words he spoke--about the coldness of corporate culture, about politics and money. And there was Trudy next to him--these sad little sailors in their said little boat bobbing sadly along alone together--having tiny epiphanies herself. Pete was right. This pretend life is stupid and hollow and provides no comfort or support when things bottom out beneath you. I certainly don't think they found the key to their happiness last night, but I think they both finally turned down the right road. Here I was thinking Peggy would be the only person to get out, but now here's Pete. I loved his sudden and budding maturity, the way he just sort of cracked and finally realized that none of the things he's been so upset about for the past few years really mean anything. It was a terrific little rescue of a sometimes irredeemable character. I hope it sticks.
Other than that, I have to say I was left a little unsatisfied by the rest of the episode. Or not unsatisfied maybe, but not as riveted as I thought I would be. I mean, we've been waiting for this event all season, the Kennedy assassination, and then here it was. Just sort of here. But you know what? Now that I type that and think about it, maybe that was the point. It wasn't some sensational, rabble-rousing episode, it was just another slice of life. Like Joan said, people were still sick, babies were still getting born. Time lurched on and that was that. There were brief moments that felt like sea-changes, like Carla unabashedly lighting up on the Drapers' couch or Betty whining and raging about a quickly-changing world that she just couldn't understand. (Will she step into this brave new world or let it march away without her? We'll have to wait and see.) But other than that it was just these still same people mired in their dying lives. This increasingly empty party, everyone moving up to closer tables, huddling around their dwindling primordial flame while bonfires began to flicker into life outside, without them, surrounded by younger (or at least younger-minded) people. This older generation, this particular set of people who are grown (up), is just there on its ice floe, floating away.
And maybe that's been Mad Men's chief thrust this season. Painting a picture of this option. To stay stubborn and conservative in the past or to grab a hold and participate. And I don't just mean big-picture socially. I mean in small ways too. Does Don listen to the progressive and wild-eyed Teacher and try to dig out the root of his sadness, to try to feel some hope for his life and the world at large? Does he stop trying to figure out what blue is for other people and enjoy his own color? Does Betty finally admit to herself that there are things, big important life-sized things, she's always wanted and hasn't gotten? Do Joan and Roger just cut the bullshit and tumble back into each other, where they belong, or do they stay unhappy but polished? Do Peggy and Pete realize their invaluable place in the world of Mad Men--that they're smart, young people who don't have to be left behind, who don't have to conform to some old institution they don't understand and don't like in equal measure? In the case of both of them, but especially Peggy, there's Duck. This older guy who became, like you said, a turtlenecked hep-cat, who saw some new thing on the horizon and said "Me want." Duck who is, yes, brash and silly and a bit dumb, but so are kids! So is the future of everything, all nascent and fumbling and Bambi-legged. Better to be wrapped up in that, to be on that rickety lifeboat, than put on your best furs and go down with the Titanic. Isn't it? I hope they leave Sterling Cooper, I hope they go running and don't look back.
I don't know. I'm curious about next week, for sure, but I'm also curious about the future of the show. Things are gonna be really different. And I'm just not sure our central guy, our wounded hero Don, is really going to be able to hack it anymore. He's so dark--literally, has spent a lot of time in the dark this season--and so retreated into himself that I just worry he might be a casualty. Sort of historical collateral damage. Eggs broken to make an American omelet. I don't know. I'm rambling.
In the words of Betty Draper, just what is going on?
Comments (9)
"Take a pill and lie down." Don's Old School management. As we see, Betty says she doesn't love him anymore and runs into the arms of another man. She also mourns (pretty much for the first time) the death of the STRONG, MALE FIGURE. My guess is she'll burn her bra, get a divorce and teach college. Maybe she and Carla will go down to Selma together. Wouldn't that ROCK?!
dblackga is correct that Ms. Lee's comparison of Kennedy's death to Princess Diana's is AMAZINGLY VACUOUS. I was also amazed by her characterization of the grief of some characters at Kennedy's death as "immature." Kennedy's death, like 9/11, was a national tragedy that deeply shocked some and barely touched others; however,(again like 9/11) it resulted in monumental changes in American history and culture. It's not "immature" to feel emotional when something like that happens; if anything, it's natural. And you don't need hindsight to freak out--we might not have known exactly what was in the works, but on 9/11 my friends and I were already worried about how the conservatives would manipulate the attacks to attain their own ends. I'm sure it was the same when Kennedy died--you didn't know exactly how things were going to change, but you knew it was a BIG SCARY DEAL. In summary, I'm not sure why Stephanie Lee does these recaps at all, since she's hardly insightful. Richard only, please.moreless
HOLY CRap he wrote alot.... two down from me
@ person below me: Wow!
Comparing Princess Diana's death with the assassination of President Kennedy is, to me, mind-boggling. I was 7 years old when Kennedy was killed, and I remember every single detail of that long, black weekend. We had gone home for lunch (our school sent kids home for lunch for an hour). My babysitter was distraught, and we listened to the radio while eating Chicken Noodle soup and a grilled cheese sandwich seated at a yellow Formica kitchen table. When Kennedy was declared dead, my babysitter put her head down on the kitchen table and sobbed, which was very disconcerting. All weekend long, in black-and-white, the 3 TV channels covered the events. I remember being annoyed that ALL the cartoons were preempted by serious-looking men who seemed to be repeating the same thing over and over again. Luckily, I had parents with a sense of history, and on that Sunday evening, the last day Kennedy was lying in state in the Capitol, my parents drove me to Washington, DC right after church. On the way up to Washington, we listened to the radio, and heard about Oswald being shot -- my parents were so confused, trying to make sense out of the unbelieveable. After we parked, my parents mistakenly tried to enter at the East Entrance, and were politely told that that was the exit, the line was around the other side. We walked around, and I remember being completely stunned by the sight of two lines of people, 5 and 6 across, streaming down both sides of the Mall. I had the impression of two long grey lines, as people were bundled up against the cold. We joined that line that stretched down the Mall for almost 7 hours for the opportunity to file past his casket. It was sooooo cold, and, more importantly, for a 7 year old, no bathrooms :-) The line was surprisingly quiet, with some murmuring, but not the usual "friends in line". We finally arrived at the Rotunda around 9 pm, and we were held back for a few minutes in line as the line stopped moving. When it started again, I remember being scared by a glimpse of a woman leaving on the opposite side of the Rotunda who reminded me of a witch, wearing an all black dress with a funny black veil. My mother explained later that it was President Kennedy's wife. Afterwards, my dad had to carry my mother back to our car, parked a couple of miles away, because she had made the mistake of wearing stiletto heels and her feet absolutely gave out. :-) School was out on Monday, so that we could watch the funeral on TV. A few months later, in the spring, we returned to Washington and went by Kennedy's old gravesite, surrounded by a white picket fence, heaped with flowers, and topped with the Eternal Flame. I remember being fascinated by the Flame, wondering how on earth they kept it burning ALL the time. (The grave was eventually moved to its present location.)Kennedy's assassination brought the country to a complete halt from Friday until Monday, and the ramifications, theories, finger-pointing are still being felt. Kennedy was the icon for young America at that time, kids who had grown up under Eisenhower and lived through World War II, who wanted a new and vigorous direction and was tired of being governed by old men. Kennedy had the same star power as Princess Diana -- perhaps more, given his position of power. The fabric of our country rippled at his death, and his death served as an impetus to the space program, which had caught the imagination of the entire country with the Mercury manned flights between May, 1961 and May, 1963. There was a sense of loss that was not only personal, but for the country as a whole, the loss of possibilities, of imagination, and of drive. Johnson became President, and the country struggled with the ramp-up in Vietnam -- much of the discontent that Vietnam engendered stemmed from the disillusionment from Kennedy's assassination. While Princess Diana's death was affecting, I don't think it can be held to the same level. She was the equivalent of a rock star in an era of instant news and intrusive media. Both she and Kennedy had "star quality", but her fame came primarily from who she married, and being the object of the projection of millions of fairy-tale fantasies. 9/11, on the other hand, had a very similar effect on the entire country, with the entire country visibly going through the stages of mourning. 9/11 will have repercussions for decades that will cause the country to reevaluate itself. Diana's death was tragic, but ultimately meaningless in terms of a national psyche.moreless
One thing I absolutely love about this show is that it doesn’t view previous generations from the morally smug lens of the present. We’re all so ready for Don, Peggy, Betty, Sal, etc to embody certain stereotypes we’ve assigned to that era, and I’m delighted each time they prove us wrong. I loved the wedding reception scene and thought it really captured the moment. I’m afraid that Betty has broken Don’s spirit…I pray her new boyfriend dumps her for political reasons
Yes, LourdesGavilane, Princess Diana's death is more of an iconic reference. It's hard to compare her death to the Kennedy assassination, because of the differing circumstances, but I think it's my generation's equivalent.
Princess Dianas tragic car accident didnt register w/me, even a little bit.. 9/11, definitely will always always be just unbeliveable, Ill never forget it. All those innocent people, killed on purpose. The Kennedy assisnation was probably the very first time in our history that people felt the same way. It was a WHY?????? moment. I was waiting for someone [on madmen]to watch the whole thing unfold. Betty freaked, it was good to see her get like that. About time!!! Kennedy was the bright, and shiny hero for America, and when he died,it died w/him. Imagine if the show is still on in yr 1968?? Martin Luther King, Robert Kennedy, Vietnam, womens rights, civil rights movement, how great would that be?? And the Draper kids, hippies, abortions, drugs, and music?? Maybe Pete will become a leader in advertising, and stir things up a bit.. Change is on the horizon!!Betty might grow up a little, maybe not. All the divorces during that time, all the disgust w/the government/war/and life in the 1960's started with November 22,1963...Don will muddle through it, he has no choice.. His character has dealt w/sadness since day one...I CANT WAIT, bring on the change, baby!!!moreless
i have a hard time with stefanie's comparison to the kennedy assasination with princess diana's tragic accident. im hoping it's an iconic reference more so than an "order of magnitude" comparison.