Sunday, March 25, 2012

MAD MEN
Season 5
Episode 1

1 comment:

Greg said...

First off, what was up with Sally talking in Betty's voice in the beginning. They didn't revisit that so I can't figure what that's about.

Also, was Ken Cosgrove's date to the party the same either character, or just the same actress playing a different part, who was in the pilot episode where they go to the strip joint hitting on some girls, and the one tells Pete he's hurting her when he's grabbing her knee. I swear, same person.

I thought Pete actually had the best story of all.

Pete was interesting because he's becoming what he always wanted: Don. He's riding the train in and out of the burbs just like Don, living in a house similar to Don's former house, and having to deal with Roger similar to Don. That whole idea was what made me think the Pete angle was actually the best.

The idea of transition, which is usually what this part of the decade is about: Pete is a little different now because he's becoming Don it seems, and Don is different because he's so fresher, cleaner, actually happy as opposed to the beating the character took the last 2 seasons. That same idea of transition was also apparent in Layne, who seems to have fully transformed into a true Mad Man.

We saw a parallel of being an outsider in the office: Both Joan and Megan felt that. Joan basically crying talking to Layne and Megan crying as well complaining, "what's wrong with you people, nobody smiles" etc plus the thing with not understanding the deal with coupons.

And that led to the Megan sex on the floor scene with Don. She's an outsider in the office with no skills, therefore no influence, inclusion or power. So what she does is use what skills she does have to compensate, and take power of the office in metaphor by literally taking power of the greatest power in the office, Don. And Don responds in like form in that of power himself. She does what no one else in the office can in metaphor form.

As an aside, Megan is very similar to Betty in attention needs it seems.

Other little obscurities: great shot of Layne's hand on the wallet with the girl's picture inside, with his wedding ring clearly in sight. Good line, "Freddy Rumson doesn't come to parties". And my favorite little obscurity, when Pete is switching offices with Harry, his secretary in the background moving his things has his all-important symbolic rifle that he's has since season one.

I thought the episode was ok not great, but there's a fear the show is about to fall into typical cliche of the 60s, the same predictable overdone things you see everywhere regarding the late 60s, a part of it leaving unique and entering into typical.

What made Man Men great was that it's the only thing you ever saw regarding the 60s that showed the early 60s. That made the show unique and where it's greatness began. That whole element of greatness of the show is now gone with their decision to make the series a walk through the decade, which they never should have done. The whole series should have taken place in the early 60s, with the series finale being the Kennedy episode. 5 seasons of that would have been a better decision. Beginning tonight, Mad Men lost a big part of itself and is falling closer to typical. It'll always be the best thing on tv due to the quality of writing, but it's lost a lot of itself.