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Remember that episode of The Sopranos where Tony got shot and the entire episode was his coma dream about what his life would be like if he were a salesman instead of a mobster? This episode was that mixed with the episode where the Brady Bunch goes to Hawaii mixed with boring. But Peggy meets her first non-closeted homosexual, and the first thing he does is give her a makeover!
Don and Pete go to LA, where they see a presentation about missiles that’s supposed to set us up for the Cuban Missile Crisis which is coming up soon. Then Don goes off to Palm Springs with a Viscount and his daughter, Joy, where he has sex with Joy and has mexican food for the first time and hangs with this group of self-described “nomads” who are all about free love. This is represented by Time Warner Cable with this description:
Also, Don faints:
To be honest, this episode was bad. It was, from beginning to end, a perfect example of the things this show does wrong: the heavyhanded foreshadowing of historical events (in this case the Cuban Missile Crisis), the heavyhanded “Things were so different then!” stuff (Don’s never had Mexican food!), and the heavyhanded symbolism. Oh my god, the symbolism. Don sees a woman who looks like Betty, Don hangs out with freewheeling nomads, Don sees some kids and remembers his own kids, etc etc etc. So let’s just focus on the two most interesting scenes from this episode. Kurt casually comes out to the Sterling Cooper office, and we’re supposed to watch Sal’s face:
Then, he and Peggy go on a friend-date, where he updates her look:
It’s such a cliche that it’s wince-inducing, but it could be the beginning of an interesting friendship. Anything to distract from the long business talks (gentlemen, you’re boring the ladies!) Also, there was a bit of a bombshell that was hardly worth an hour: Don called and set up a meeting with someone using his real name, Dick Whitman. Oooh. Maybe he’ll fake his own death and then there won’t be a show!
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this episode was a bit labored…
that said, I LOVE that Kurt is now THE GAY FRIEND. and how funny was Ken’s response to Kurt’s announcement – “I don’t think that means what you think it means”.
INCONCEIVABLE – he’s a homosexual lol.
and did anyone else think those weirdo commune people in Cali were a part of some cult? or that they were con artists?
oh yea – Joy’s voice sounds EXACTLY like Betty’s…
for a terrible episode, I really loved it.
Should I be ashamed that I noticed Mr. Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy) from the Nanny playing Duck’s old London buddy Saint John Powell?
OH MAN WHAT WAS THAT ARABIAN MUSIC THE WHOLE EPISODE.
ALSO – this episode had the dad from the nanny in it! @ the dinner with the guy from desperate housewives who was looking for another job cause he won’t make partner cause he’s bad.
Still, a bad episode of Mad Men is better than pretty much anything else in the world. They need to get back on track and start having more Joan scenes.
I don’t think it was bad (I thought the inheritance was worse in that heavy-handed way), but I think it was a bit slow intentionally. seems like they were trying to convey the differences between the fast-paced business world (emphasis on world) of New York, and the leisurely life of the west coast. it’s so different and romantic and alluring and sexy that it induces sort of a dreamlike state in both Don and Pete – Don runs off to play with some rich vagabonds and see what his life might have been like had he not settled into being the way he thought an affluent man should be, and Pete gets to sit around the pool and head meetings while pretending to be powerful and in charge. If you think about everything that’s going on back at Sterling Cooper at the time, they’re all lounging around too. They’d rather eat, watch TV, and speculate about what to make of “the pervert” than work, and that’s all totally okay because Roger’s distracted by his impending divorce and Don’s nowhere to be found. Everyone’s doing their own jetting around, and most of the main characters aren’t grounded in any kind of reality.
Overall, I think it was a strong episode punctuated by even stronger twists of the kind Mad Men became known for in the first season, and I can’t fucking wait for tonight’s episode. MOAR BETTY PLEASE.