Amph [MAD MEN] Guy walks into an advertising agency...

"It's much worse: I'll be your client. And I'm very hard to please."

Heh, very nice Kenny. You're a good guy, but please, do make them suffer.

 

Havac: It'd be difficult for Don not to be morbid and disconnected when you consider all that has happened to him in just ten years. Two failed marriages, plus other personal and professional losses. The company he worked for exists in name only since it's pretty obvious the McCann deal isn't as hands off as Roger had promised. And now, he's having vivid dreams, visions, whatever, of dead acquaintances.

Maybe he should've moved on like the partners intended after he had the Hersheys breakdown. Go to California, salvage his marriage with Megan and maybe just seek the happiness that has eluded him for so long. But I suppose that requires a willingness for change that, as we've seen in this episode - as Megan and everyone else knows - is just not there. Even if it has left him with a life as hollow and meaningless as the big apartment he still lives in. He truly is a fascinating character.

 

Stan episode!

I love it whenever Marie shows up. She didn't disappoint. And Megan's up and down day was a great way to check in on her. God, Harry. Nice to see a little of Betty and the family too. That opening was almost eerie, seeing Don with the kids in that suburban household and Betty walking in. Betty taking up psychology is just a fascinating development, especially for someone with so little insight into her own psychology -- but it's no surprise she's interested. Can't wait for a full storyline for her in another episode.

Roger was delightful as ever, and Pete's golfing outfit made my day. We still haven't seen much from him, though it's interesting he's no longer with his realtor. Sally is the only other one left we haven't really checked in with, I think.

 

Loved it. Several really good Roger moments and quips. Although his mustache reminds me of Uncle Pennybags or whatever the Monopoly guy's name is. He just needs a monocle and a penguin suit.

 

Good episode, but I have to ask - why are we getting introduced to relationships we don't care about whilst the ones we do aren't being serviced?

 

I dunno, something about Diana...I have a bad feeling about this. Don should too.

 

Honestly, it wasn't until the Rosens spoke to Diana that I realized she was a real person. I thought that she may have been a figment of something in Don's psyche. Even then, how the hell do we know that any of this is really happening? Maybe it is all happening in the mind of a shell shocked Dick Whitman who is in a straightjacket at the VA hospital with only a radio tuned to news and current events (and snappy radio advertisements) to keep him company in between the thorazine enemas and Diana is just the latest in a string of nurses who has to administer them.

 

Examples?

 

Examples of which, relationships that go nowhere?

The California sex compound? Pete at Drivers Ed?

the best moments were Don and Megan, and yet we barely saw it. Her comments - you're an ageing, sloppy, selfish liar - were on point but we're distracted from their interactions with Diana, who goes nowhere.

 

Diana's a reflection of who Don could be if he had left his children. As terrible as he is most of the time, he does try to be a good father. If he didn't, he would have left Sally, Bobby and Gene with Betty, or when Sally saw him with Mrs. Rosen he knew he had done wrong by her and wanted seriously to repair their relationship. Diana's more callous, closed off and genuinely broken. There's been a lot of the road not taken themes popping up this season, this is just one of them. Is that all there is? is another reoccurring question that will come up regarding the events of the season.

I would love it if that's what we're left asking by the end of the season.

 

And Don did actually seriously consider leaving his kids at one point. Oddly Pete is the one who helped talk him off that ledge.

I do agree that it can be a little frustrating to have new storylines introduced when there are so few episodes left. But it's hard to say whether they are pointless at this stage. The Diana thing may wind up being crucial to Don's ultimate end point in the show. It can frustrate me too (especially since I'm dying to know more about Pete's life atm and definitely am bummed at no Sally).

It feels like they are doing episodes with major storylines for the supporting cast... Last week Ken, this week Stan and Harry... I'm guessing we won't get extended arcs for a lot of the characters. Sadly this is a function of the dumb way AMC insisted they break up the final "season".

Roger's little storyline in this episode was amazing, though.

 

Jiminy Christmas!

 

You can add all the sideburns you want, but Glenn gonna Glenn.

 

He can get older, skinnier, and more handsome, but he's still as creepy as ever.

 

I think he looks even creepier now. But then, early 70's fashions could bring out the creep in just about anyone.

 

I actually didn't recognize him until Betty asked. Wow.

 

Kyle Katarn I demand you change your avatar to moustache Roger.

 

Care to guess as to whether or not Glen is bringing that lock of Betty's hair with him to Vietnam?

 

I doubt this will happen, but after last night's episode I had an idea on how Mad Men could end:

In the jungle of Vietnam, Glen Bishop in a very similar situation to Dick Whitman in Korea
Attempting to get out of the war, but possibly assuming another's identity…
And maybe it doesn't turn out as well for him, maybe he can't pull it off and somehow gets caught. Or maybe it does. Or maybe we never find out.

The idea is a little out there. But there is some parallel to how Mathis couldn't pull off using Don's line at the meeting. Mad Men involves cycles of behavior.

 

Done.

 

I think she was being facetious when she said that.

 

I agree with Guy, as is often the case.