Mad Men on AMC • Fifth Season Thread

it'd be a pretty massive coincidence guys

that didn't even occur to me

it did seem sort of weird to me that Megan jumped over her friend for the part, it made me think I'd misunderstood their initial conversation or something. We've never seen Megan deliberately take advantage of anyone before.

it's a meg eat meg world

meg or be megged

the girl kinda looked like the other girl. not a big deal.

all the commenters are like "yeah, she was out for REVENGE". I just think it's funny

kinda wonder if this last episode is supposed to be evidence of a kind of Don-destroys/corrupts-Megan arc - he's been complicit in making her as petty, deluded, and unhappy as all the other people around him

whereas before she was an innocent flower of optimism etc

Her parents bear as much responsibility for that as Don does, imo.

she was really mean to her mother, so i sort of thought her mother's response was fair enough, and also very funny.

Kinda disappointed nobody jumped on shakey's C&P error up there utility-data style!

Why are you guys making Megan out to be a victim at Don's and her Mother's hands?

well her mother treats her like shit. Don doesn't victimize her, he just gives her everything she wants (which is not necessarily good for her)

Her parents know her, and I feel like her mother treats her squarely though maybe a little harsh, but who's parents aren't this way? Her Mom speaks in truth bombs!

my mom doesn't say horrible things like "at least my life is more than my children" TO HER CHILDREN, while they're crying on a bed

I've got to blame Megan's parents for effing her up. First her dad with all the "What are you doing in advertising?" like the episode before she quits her job, then her mom with "Some people have the temperament, blah blah" before she sells out her artsy dreams. Don seems to be the most reasonable, obviously emotionally invested but at the same time trying to support whatever she wants to do. Maybe he's the most adult out of all of them. At least at this point.

which basically just signals "your emotional needs annoy me"

xp

You really have to give her dad a lot of credit for drilling commie anti-corporate idealism into her head, pretty much directly leading to her quitting her job.

remember that in the middle of megan's tantrum she basically just called her mother a failure. I think her character is very well written -- with a knack for lashing out in really mean-spirited ways.

Interesting interview with Weiner.

ha he says "on the nose" in there

great interview. his comments on Don watching Megan's reel are illuminating

that is a good interview. also interesting that he sees Ginsberg as representing "nihilism, random violence, the rise of subversion in the marketplace".

uh I think he just meant the latter re: Ginsberg

his comments on Don watching Megan's reel are illuminating

I don't know if you're being sarcastic, but I didn't notice any mention of this...?

weiner talks about it in the slate interview linked at the top of the article

Don is not a modern person. I don't think he ever had a perception of the fact that this woman — even though he loved her for her youth and independence, and loves her for that, and that's what we see when we see him watching that film is how much he loves her — he never perceived that she would separate herself from him.

Ah, thx.

Don tells Peggy at the movies that when you help someone they succeed and move on. I thought Don was disappointed with Megan and falling out of love with her, but now I see him afraid of losing her to her career.

this is totally otm by the way. didn't occur to me that Don's feeling about Megan trying to find career success apart from him would also be wrapped up in his ... loneliness? ... after Peggy left the company

Don says something to Peggy like, "I knew you'd succeed, I just thought it would be with me." He could almost deliver the exact same line to Megan.

well, Megan IS succeeding with Don - without him she was failing!

remember that in the middle of megan's tantrum she basically just called her mother a failure.

Children being cruel to their parents is WAY more forgivable than the other way round.

well yeah but she broke up Team Don & Megan that Don was so hyped about after they saved the Heinz account (xpost)

it'd be a pretty massive coincidence guys

It was good enough for SMASH, I'll have you know.

great. Smash spoilers

unlike other spoilers the problem with Smash spoilers is that you have to hear more about Smash

what a great last couple eps guys!

they're totally doing the sopranos thing - climax in the penultimate ep, last one is for the comedown.

i didn't really think about it before, are they putting the new stairway where lane's office used to be?

No it's coming into where the conference room is now, I think.

what if the next season picked up at exactly the moment the last scene cut to black

"...no I am happily married."

/end series

"...she's working on the soundstage attached to the bar. she should be done shooting in about two hours if you want hang around for a few drinks and then get freaky."

i mean, that's what *i* would say at least.

Maybe she was asking "Are you alone?" cos she only had enough acid for one other person and wanted to offer it to him.

nah, they're gonna drug him and steal his wallet. It keeps happening to him.

Matthew Weiner: Alan, if you really want to know what the season's about, listen to the words to "You Only Live Twice."

Smash spoilers?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/1355000/images/_1357091_smash150.jpg

while we're on the subject, that's an amazing song

http://video.vulture.com/video/A-Death-Foretold-Foreshadowing

some parts of that video are a stretch but the compilation of all the shots of characters "lying in state" throughout the season is neat

hmm yeah some of that is grasping a bit, but the lying-in-state thing at the end is v interesting