Mad Men on AMC • Fifth Season Thread

I wonder if Melissa's happy now lol

article's behind the paywall

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0z0hzf

gracias!

Ha, they had to take the ads out of the article. Also, is it just me, or does Mary Wells look a bit like Betty/January Jones?

Betty became a sympathetic character a while back, but she still acts upon her worst impulses. That doesn't make her a cartoon villain. That makes her human.

yeah, but other at least partially loathsome (human) characters on the show get to act on a much wider variety of impulses, and the show seems to treat at least some of their behavior with a measure of sympathy and respect. for a while now, betty's just been getting hammered.

sure she's human but she's consistently the dumbest and most short-sighted human on offer. it's pretty conspicuously and i don't really like it either.

If Betty's character was never seen again in the series that ep would've been a damn good sendoff.

she's consistently the dumbest and most short-sighted human on offer

Harry

Feel like we haven't seen Betty's whole arc yet but I have a hunch they are going somewhere other than "lol Betty." honestly still her character very interesting.

she's consistently the dumbest and most short-sighted human on offer

Harry

yeah, but harry's dumb in a "basically decent", slobbery dog sort of way. he's not made to seem like a horrible, evil toad during every second he appears onscreen. he's mostly a harmless dork, and the show treats him with a measure of compassion (he even got to boast during the last episode that he's running his department alone and that it's doing well - something we have no reason to doubt).

harry is a dipshit but he knows how to do something!

lol Harry? decent? like when he was describing banging the boss's wife? perving out on teenage Stones fans? dude is a buffoon and nothing but.

Joan can do, and has done, his job

Really don't think there's anything stopping you from feeling compassion for Betty though?

I feel pity for Betty more than anything

I think the real problem with Betty (the character) is that she lacks charisma other than her beauty. Makes it harder to overlook the bad things she does (which are all petty compared to the others, tbh)--that overlooking we constantly do with the other characters.

I get the feeling the show people would be glad to see Betty go, but AMC won't let them dump the character because thwy feel January Jones is too big a name to let go.

nah, Betty and Sally's relationship is gonna be great story fodder.

Yeah Sally and Betty are heading for something epic.

lol Harry? decent? like when he was describing banging the boss's wife? perving out on teenage Stones fans? dude is a buffoon and nothing but.

yeah, he's crass, a dumbly lecherous boob, but he's not out to hurt anyone. we've never seen him do anything evil. in this respect, he's much more decent-seeming than don, pete, roger or betty.

dumb lecherous boobs are their own special brand of evil imho

I know we've been over this, but the others all have redeeming qualities

I think the real problem with Betty (the character) is that she lacks charisma other than her beauty. Makes it harder to overlook the bad things she does (which are all petty compared to the others, tbh)--that overlooking we constantly do with the other characters.

― ryan, Monday, May 14, 2012 4:36 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i think this might be due to limitations of january jones as an actress.

yeah, i tend to blame the writers, but that has the ring of truth bomb

i guess it's to the shows credit that we all see the characters so very differently

There were hints early on of, if not charisma, then something more compelling. I am thinking in particular of the scene with the air rifle.

xposts

Okay, the Sally thing is worth it to keep Betty around, but otherwise Betts is getting the scorn stick harder than the others.

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m40yeuGBMS1qbvaudo1_500.gif

so glad we have #1 board feminist contenderizer around to inform us how a sad character on a tv show is an example of gross misogyny

lol so what this is the jewish season?

http://1ski.me/share/31days/mazaltovcocktail.png

Mordy is 1966 seen as particularly significant for Jews in NYC/USA?

not that i can think of off-hand

cool to hear that smog thing was a real event

Mad Men, now on its fifth award-winning season of alluding to real events!

"i promise, bubbeleh."

betty eating a cubic inch of stuffing was good stuff

I thought January Jones was really good in this episode.

Betty struggling with her body image is the first time I've ever rly identified w her as a character

pretty sure ive said this before in past season's threads but betty/sally remind me way too much of my grandmother/mother. anything but cartoon imo.

nb this has lots to do with how my mom is pretty much exactly the same age as sally and my grandmother was exactly the same age as betty, but it has lots to do with other stuff too...

"it's ok, she's hungry"

xp your mom is 12?

so glad we have #1 board feminist contenderizer around to inform us how a sad character on a tv show is an example of gross misogyny

i just think she's getting the short end of the stick is all. i like her as a character, and it makes me wonder why the writers don't wanna cut her a little slack, let her have a little joy or love or victory.

i didn't accuse mad men misogyny, btw. i said that the treatment of betty reminds me of the way weeds treated cecila, which i called "borderline misogynist". was meant as a slam at weeds, not mad men.

Six Day War only six months away - could coincide with the season finale?

xxxxxxpost

Found Jones to be v likable on the ITAS show tonight

were we supposed to sympathize with Megan/Don about the "ask about Anna" plot? I certainly didn't. Way to go, Betty!

I don't know if you are exactly supposed to sympathize with them, but you are certainly supposed to dislike Betty for it. And I think Betty was hoping Megan didn't know about Anna and that it would cause much more friction with Don.

Betty has basically since maybe the middle of season 3 (and it was a slowly evolving process) been made more and more dislikable. Which is funny because going back to the first season I think I felt a lot of sympathy for her and I think the show initially was really good about balancing her character out. Whereas these days it's just more and more displays of her lousy parenting skills and a bunch of "woe is me" whining and little else.

The thing is I actually liked her the most for a long time in this episode - right up to her pulling that despicable shit with Sally.