MAD MEN on AMC - Seasons 7(a) & & 7(b)

Every time I read one of those interesting, well-written post-show analyses like the Vulture one--I've read about four today--I immediately start second-guessing myself about how impatient I was with the first two episodes (the Vulture writer even specifically makes reference to viewers like me--he's got me figured out...). The first two make for better reading than viewing.

hard to work for Governor Rockefeller and be hard right

i thought this was a great episode but i like the moody doomed-romance-y ones. still not sure why Megan and Marie are in such a bad mood with Don? anyone? i wonder if the fact that a) she's pissed off with Don and b) she knows Don is Dick, will somehow come back to haunt him/us.

best new expression learned this week; "N.A.C.; no afternoon calls".

Well, I would say that Megan arriving back from a cheesy attempted-seduction lunch to find her mother has a) cleaned the apartment right out and b) has been shagging Roger for HOW LONG after believing she was not unfaithful even in a shitty marriage and that her mud hen of a sister is most worried about explaining this whole thing to her kids, would probably laser-focus her into thinking Don was the wrong turn responsible for her life not lived and the unravelling of her own family when Maman leaves Papa for Don's associate.

yeah i figured megan was directing a day's worth of anger over shitty events at don, fair or not

mmhm makes sense. did Megan not know about Roger and Marie? damned if i can remember.

I don't think it's all that out of the question for a married couple to part ways "amicably" and then once the divorce papers and lawyers start getting involved civility gets thrown out the windows and they get frustrated and start to take it out on the ones they love(d).

I'm finding it harder to believe Don actually has a million dollars in cash just sitting in a bank.

If Joan's 5% of the company was worth over a mil, Don's share is substantially more. Even with some of it tied up in the deal, he's probably sitting on some cash.

xp and not just that but that he was a millionaire when they met?! how did that happen? so many questions.

Maybe that is just Don's life, falling ass-backwards into women and money.

Megan looked so fineeeee in that blue barely dress thing

this was the worst thing in the whole episode

I found Don's cheque a bit of a stretch. I know he's a millionaire, but how much of that would be liquid in 1970? One million must represent a substantial part of his liquid assets. Nitpicking, I know--it was the meaning of the gesture that was important.

Don is millionaire many times over.

There was that article a few months back:

http://www.vulture.com/2014/05/mad-men-how-much-did-each-of-the-partners-make.html

"That would mean each owns 15 percent of SC&P, which would make their takes $4,972,500 each."

I don't know--that just doesn't seem rich enough to hand over a million in cash.

A million in 1970 wasn't chicken feed -- that's when a million bucks meant something.

Except Don was rich before they sold out to McCann. He wrote a $250k like it was nothing.

check

If he's worth $5 million in 1970, that's, like, $12 million now, I think.

Uh try like $30 million.

forgot to carry the one

back the hell up

sic why was the blue dress the worst thing in the whole episode?!

Who did Don write the $250,000 cheque to? I'm not disagreeing, I just don't remember it.

How much the money would be worth now, to me, argues against the believability. I can't imagine an ad exec today calmly saying "You're right--here's a cheque for $30 million." Mind you, dead Bert did tell Don that the best things in life are free.

Blue dress ruled.

She looked ridiculous and immature, the pairing with eyeshadow took over her entire face; made her look like a foofy tissue-box doll, a naif, a fool. Not a grown woman taking a lunch meeting to attempt to find a new business partner. She shouldn't be this dumb after so many years.

also, I didn't like it

Bert hasn't even been mentioned since he died. Mad Men forgets its dead quickly.

sic u crazy

liked that line from megans sister, "new york, everyone here just does what they feel." kind of sums up the insular world of MM.

blue dress was super garish, unflattering! megan trying too hard to fit into some image she has of what a successful actress should look like, so when slime-masters like harry give her the "your every mans dream" she eats it right up.

Joan was a magnificent unseen presence in this episode. You could really see the silent hatred in Don's eyes when Harry was talking, he knew exactly what had happened, he's likely to still be feeling a degree of guilt for what happened to Joan, but the only way he felt he could prevent it happening to Megan was to pay her off with such a large sum of money it would be unlikely to happen again. And this is a guy who paid a woman for sex like a week ago. The Stan/Peggy stuff mirrored that except it was Stan who got played.

The season seems to be about bringing characters to a point of departure one by one (last week Kenny, this week Megan), so I guess they'll focus more on the people who really matter from now on. But given there are only five episodes left, there's still a lot of screen time being given to tangential characters - I don't care that Don's fucking someone else, I want to see long scenes with him and Joan or him and Peggy.

Also Megan knows about the doctor's wife, right? Stands to reason her entire family would be pissed off.

Not to obsess on this point, but my math is faulty above. He's not handing her the equivalent of $30 million--it's the equivalent of about $6 million. I guess so...still seems pretty generous.

"Who did Don write the $250,000 cheque to? I'm not disagreeing, I just don't remember it."

Wrote to firm. Was actually $500k as it was his + Pete's share.

"I can't imagine an ad exec today calmly saying "You're right--here's a cheque for $30 million.""

I think it's pretty well established that Don is not a typical anything and he doesn't really give a shit about money.

if anyone expects the final season is gonna be tying up loose ends i think they've maybe been watching a different show all this time?

― ryan,

Yeah, this. I'm not holding out for any kind of traditionally satisfying ending, just trying to enjoy the last episodes. And this one had a lot to enjoy imo, plenty of very funny lines. The sad punchline of Don arriving back to the empty apartment was great.

I thought the dress was horrible fwiw.

smdh

maybe don will move now

high five chap

And this is a guy who paid a woman for sex like a week ago.

no he didn't! he didn't even know she thought he had until afterwards

Then this is a guy who just drops $100 bills on complete strangers.

I imagine he is paying Betty alimony and child support, plus he is paying for Megan's rent and extra allowances. Maybe he is a multi-millionaire but he does seem to be hemorrhaging money in any case.

I imagine he is paying Betty alimony and child support, plus he is paying for Megan's rent and extra allowances. Maybe he is a multi-millionaire but he does seem to be hemorrhaging money in any case.
--©Oz Quiz© (Adam Bruneau)

He's not paying Betty any alimony. Betty's remarried and I'm pretty sure Henry was against her getting any money from Don.

so last week he 'meets' Rachel, this week the upstairs neighbour, odds on him bumping into Dr Faye this week?

Then this is a guy who just drops $100 bills on complete strangers.

...uh, who is?

roger left the $100

Yeah I'd forgotten that bit despite Roger explicitly saying so earlier in the episode.

Replace that with "and this is a guy who has paid for sex with a lot of women in the past".

his 'Marie who?' (pause) 'Bonjour' was Sterling-gold.

otm, i loved that

the best tumblr on earth is operational again
http://41.media.tumblr.com/1a83a4d95f470eff8e4a3eb2559ccfd5/tumblr_nmig6yNrvN1qdbluio1_1280.jpg

I think she's about to just turn up at Roger's house and I'm sad we probably won't get to see his reaction.

I don't care that Don's fucking someone else, I want to see long scenes with him and Joan or him and Peggy.

I dunno - I find this waitress character interesting in a vortex of doom kind of way. I wonder is that it for her now...