MAD MEN: "In Care Of" S6E13 (Season 6 Finale review) at FORCES OF GEEK

Don (Jon Hamm) carries his baggage to the end of Season 6 of Mad Men and reaches a bottom of sorts.  A montage at the beginning of the episode of the finale checks in on each of the main characters moving from Stan to Roger (John Slattery) to Pete, ending on a beat in the office featuring Joan (Christina Hendricks) and new buddy Bob Benson (James Wolk).

Megan (Jessica Paré) is rightfully worried about Don’s drinking at their Park Ave. apartment to set up the rest of this highly anticipated closing episode.

Spoilers ahead, of course!

Here we are at the end of Season 6. We started on vacation in Hawaii and ended up on a street corner in Pennsylvania, the childhood whorehouse of Dick Whitman. The reveals came heavy toward the end, this episode and last exposing Bob Benson for what he appears to be, and Don’s past as Dick Whitman coming to haunt him mid-season (flashing back to being sexually assaulted by one of the ladies in the whorehouse). Whereas the end of Season 5 ended in the suicide of Lane Pryce (Jared Harris), this time it is Don’s career and his relationship with two of his most cherished women in his life, Megan and Sally being asphyxiated.

We open on to Stan (Jay Ferguson) asking Don to take the Sunkist account in Los Angeles. Stan deserves the shot, more than most in his position at the company. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) has paraded her well-earned success over to another firm and is Copy Chief at the new firm of Sterling, Cooper & Partners. It is a well laid plan, to start an agency branch in CA all by himself, to be a leader. Stan is a well-dressed and 70’s fashion-forward New Yorker, looking to stay young in Cali. 

Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton), still recovering and with eye patch and Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) are the next to speak with Don regarding a possible Hershey chocolate account.

Don is enthusiastic as they set up an important meeting that goes the way of the meeting with Royal Hawaiian in the first episode of the season. That is to say, it not only goes poorly but takes a bizarre turn.

Cutting over to Roger’s office, we see his daughter Margaret (Elizabeth Rice) and brother-in-law asking for more money for a poor investment. Roger calls her a brat and Margaret un-invites him to Thanksgiving dinner.

Roger moves downstairs past Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), fresh from Detroit and Chevy.

Bob and Joan meet him at the bottom of the stairs for a brief tête-à-tête. Roger jabs at Benson and calls him into his office for a private meeting. In Bob’s impromptu performance review, Roger warns him to stay away from Joan’s heartstrings, and so much as to stay away from his child with Joan, Kevin. Benson assures Roger that he and Joan are just buddies.

To avoid having his daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka) being subpoenaed about the robbery (Episode 8), Don calls her at boarding school to get her to the courtroom. Sally’s still mad at ‘Daddy’ and gets a good couple of jabs in referencing the affair she witnessed with the downstairs neighbor, “I wouldn’t want to do anything immoral”, and the even hotter, “You know what, why don’t you just tell them what I saw”. I think even critics of Sally’s role on the show would have wanted to give her a high five after that zinger.

Don takes more time off from work, leading Ted (Kevin Rahm) and Jim to deal with the hotel clients. Don is belly-up to a bar where a minister is trying to save his soul.

Flashback to the whorehouse and a similar evangelical is trying to save the girls. He’s removed by his ear by Uncle Mack (Morgan Rusler) and told to never come back. These flashbacks going back to Don’s past (his father’s death, the loss of his virginity) really shape his decisions and his detachment to his family. Don awakes in the drunk tank, arrested for assaulting the minister. Megan finds Don pouring his booze down the kitchen sink, as Don has reached a bottom and tries as many drunks do—goes cold turkey.

On Don’s pink cloud of hangover and regret, he steals Stan’s plan as a way to have a geographical cure for all of his problems and his drinking. Verbatim, he pitches moving to California to Megan, who has had opportunities come her way in her acting career but turned them down to stay in New York on her soap. She gets the ball rolling to make the move.

Pete gets a telegram at work informing him that his mother has been lost at sea, presumed overboard in shark infested waters. After some investigation Pete finds out that Manolo (Andres Faucher) is a suspect after marrying Pete’s mom on the boat!

Rushing out to his flight to Detroit, Pete confronts Bob in the elevator—to another beat of hysterical dialogue.

Bob: “How are you?” Pete: “Not great, Bob”!

On the Chevy showroom floor, Pete is forced to test drive the Camaro Z-28. Bob holds the keys for him, like Blake (Alec Baldwin) in Glengarry Glen Ross swinging a pair of brass balls. Pete can’t drive stick, he slams it into reverse and destroys the display and his integrity in front of the car execs.

Bob 1, Pete -10.

Pete is obviously taken off of the account. Upon returning and getting with his brother on the matter of his mother’s murder, they decide not to pursue Manolo (alias Marcus Constantine) via an expensive private investigator in Panama. “She’s…in the water…with father”, “She loved the sea”.

Ted stalks Peggy after she makes an exit to go on a date, and Ted admits that he is in love with her. The soap opera continues as he promises Peggy he will leave his wife Nan (Timi Prulhiere).

Back at SC&P, Ted backtracks on his plan. Ted asks Don if he can be the one to go to California with Nan and the kids for a fresh start. 

The Hershey account shows up for a pitch, and at last we think that Don is back to his old suave self. He pitches a beautiful story about his father giving him a chocolate bar after he mows the lawn. The chocolatiers are eating it up until Don has a breakdown, confessing to the room that his relationship with the candy is tied to a whore at his childhood home.

The breakdown is so startling that everyone, the clients, Roger and Jim leave the room trying to salvage the account. Ted and Don stay behind, and Don concedes the California assignment to Ted. 

Perhaps Don is having trouble decision making or he is thinking of doing right by Ted after betraying him in the past. Either way, Don is on the edge, a broken man, his career in serious jeopardy and his personal life wrecked. If he wasn’t already at bottom, he has just taken the express train there.

When he breaks the news to his successful wife, who has just quit her job on her soap opera to move to California, Megan leaves him. Perhaps she is going on a walk, but she is so upset that she can’t deal with the flip-flop, even if Don promises her the couple will be bi-coastal as he stays at SC&P in NY while she moves to Hollywood to become a star.

Was this a purposeful move to get her to leave him alone in his apartment so that he can rekindle his affair with Sylvia (Linda Cardellini)? This is self-sabotage beyond the brink. I predicted early on that Don’s career was in trouble this season and that his creativity is tapped out, farming the fun stuff to Peggy, Stan, Ted and the Creative Department. Now career and personal life are crashing into his second marriage and Megan has had enough.

As Betty (January Jones) pointed out about Megan and Don, “She doesn’t know that loving you is the worst way to get to you.” She’s right. Don may be incapable of having people love him. Perhaps it is the disease of alcoholism in his veins and his family, or perhaps it is PTSD, but Don doesn’t have the coping tools he need to love himself or others. Poor Megan, a successful actress quit her starring role (or roles, she plays both twins on “To Have And To Hold”) for no real reason except for Don’s selfishness. This episode had me shaking my fists at Don—but also hope that he gets whatever help he needs.

“Fuck the agency—I quit my job!”

When it comes time for Ted to reveal the same to Peggy, that he is going to California in Don’s stead, she kicks him out of her office, and is jealous that Ted has the option. Ted, acting selfishly in one way, should not have told her he would leave Nan, because he won’t. Peggy is dealing with being a female with power at the company, but is dissatisfied she doesn’t get to stomp all over and make executive decisions like Ted and Don. And of course, like Megan, Peggy has to deal with the repercussions of the actions of the men at SC&P.

She loves Ted, and he loves her. Ted is moving away to not absolve his established family, and it pains him to do so, but why the empty promise to Peggy. The girl has been through enough! I suggest Peggy keep a harpoon by her desk at the ready!

Don’s partners (Roger, Joan, Bert, Jim and Roger) call him in for a meeting on Thanksgiving morning, 9am.

Roger speaks up and they lay off Don for the holiday season, with no return date. For the first time, Don is powerless, lonely and without the firm to distract him from the other affairs in his life. This was not specifically about Hershey’s, but all of his behavior before and after the merger. On his way out, humiliated, he runs into head hunter Duck Davis (Mark Moses) and another man, Lou Avery (Allan Havey). The two seem to be making moves on Don’s position at the firm, Lou calls the elevator to push Don down (and out) of the building in a tense hallway moment.

We breeze out of this season with Roger going to Joan’s for Thanksgiving and visiting son Kevin, though we’re all surprised to see Bob Benson carving the turkey in a turkey apron there.

Peggy commandeers Don’s office for some extra work and we all say goodbye to Stan until next time.

Cut to the last scene, Don takes his kids to the place where he grew up, the whorehouse in Nowhere, PA. The dilapidated, boarded up house closes the scene as Judy Collins singing Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” playing us out. Now Don is seeing the bottom half (again) after spending so much time at the top.

What fate belies Don Draper next season? Humility? Honesty with his family? Sobriety? Growth? Will we even see Ted, Pete and the California office? What about Megan? She’ll be there too, perhaps. Season 7 will be the last for Mad Men, and we will be back here in April of next year for more.

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MAD MEN: "A Tale of Two Cities" S6 E10 REVIEW AT FORCES OF GEEK

MAD MEN: “A Tale of Two Cities” S6E10 (recap)

The firm is still quibbling over naming rights as some partners go for business trips and Joan (Christina Hendricks) expands her horizons at the office with Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) as a companion and accomplice.

Will Bob Benson’s (James Wolk) enthusiasm and inserting himself into every situation finally give him the leg up he’s been waiting for? 

We open to a partner’s meeting that Don arrives at the end of. The merged firm’s name “Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Cutler Gleason & Chaough” or “SCDPCG&C” is agreed to be a mouthful, but the subject is tabled as Ted (Kevin Rahm) leaves for Detroit to handle Chevy and Don and Roger head to L.A.

In this John Slattery (Roger) directed episode we’re treated to a bit more color—from the wardrobes of the stars as they visit California—to the color television set coverage of the Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention, 1968. National television and Hollywood take center stage as Don (Jon Hamm) and Roger visit Los Angeles to woo West Coast clients.

Slattery shines on the plane with Hamm as the two go back and for the about the trip. Roger wants Don to be the self-assured east coast business man that he knows he is, and not to be an over-prepared worry wart. Roger knows that the New York confidence and swagger will get the job done, not reading about Carnation Instant Breakfast and Sunkist on the flight.

Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) is aplomb as he dons a scarf and sunglasses to check Don and Roger into the hotel.  Roger heads to the Sunset Strip for a Steak, Don orders room service in the hotel and sees the riots on TV. He gets a phone call from Megan, who, as we are reminded of, cannot vote in the election because of her Canadian citizenship.

When Joan’s friend Kate was visiting, she made the connection with Avon Cosmetics to Joan directly. Looking to expand her role or define herself as a partner, Joan takes a meeting with the Avon executive, on the pretense that it was a date.

Joan returns to the office (having picked up the tab) with a hot lead on the company and tells Peggy. Ted is excited but takes Joan off as the contact and assigns partner Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) to the job, frustrating Joan.

In an act of defiance and claiming her own stake in the company, Joan takes the next meeting with Avon without inviting Pete. Peggy is along for the breakfast meeting, and Joan leans on her for the heavy questions. Joan handles the meeting well but deals with the consequences later. Back at the office, Peggy is convinced that Joan has made a mistake by breaking protocol, but Joan firmly explains herself and asks for support.

What about Bob Benson, you may ask? He may be found listening to “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling” on phonograph in his office, or breaking the tension between former Air Force officer Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman). Cutler puts Bob to the test as Roger is out of town to take care of the Manischewitz account. The account puts the firm under review, so Benson had best give that record another spin.

Out in Beverly Hills, Harry, Don and Roger hit up a pool party with hot men and women, no shortage of dope and they run into an old friend, Danny Siegel (Danny Strong). Danny is a failed copywriter and former employee of SCDP. Roger jabs at Danny’s height and tries to steal his girl, Lotus. Lotus is tripping and high as a kite, but as we know, Roger is ‘experienced’.

Don makes his way to the restroom but is distracted by beautiful ladies smoking hashish out of a hookah. When the stuff hits him, it’s bad news. He hallucinates a pregnant Megan stalking him, and Private Dinkins visiting him from Vietnam, missing an arm. Cut to Don being fished out of the pool by Roger. Never trust a hookah nipple from a stranger!

Back at the firm, Joan’s secret Avon meeting is exposed to Pete and Ted. As she’s asked to repent for her crimes, and Pete is dressing her down, Peggy saves the day by lobbing a fake phone message into the conference room by way of her secretary. The Avon rep is calling for Joan, so Ted demands she take the call. Where Peggy did not agree with how Joan took her piece of the pie, the women stick together to change are changing the sexist workplace environment together.  Gender roles are expanding and now Joan has an account she is responsible for. Since Lane’s suicide, Joan’s partnership has been purely as a figurehead.

All partners except for Joan meet in Don’s office upon everyone’s return. Ted is excited that Chevy’s approvals will come easier now, Don and Roger’s trip may or may not bear fruit, and Manischewitz goes away. 

Jim Cutler and Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) reveal the company name to be reduced to Sterling, Cooper & Partners. Jim says this is the only way because it is equally offensive to members of both firms. Don and Ted drop the fight about the name and all agree that SC&P will look good on the stationary. The partner with the most to say about the change is the resistant Pete, to whom Don invites to leave if he doesn’t like it. Pete storms out of Don’s office to steal a joint from Stan’s mouth and mellows out on the couch.

What can we expect from the preview of next week’s episode?

Megan’s got a surprise visitor or two, Peggy and Ted have more than a drink together, Betty returns and Don pays Pete a visit to his desperate bachelor pad. We’re also reminded of the countdown. There are only three episodes left this season before we see the summer of love in 1969.

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MAD MEN: "THE BETTER HALF" S6 E09 REVIEW at FORCES OF GEEK

The family dynamic is explored in depth on the latest episode of Mad Men.

Now that Don (Jon Hamm) has more time to focus on his work and relationships, will he drown in a sea of margarine, or stay afloat on his bourbon ice cube?

Who will Joan (Christina Hendricks) trust to be the father figure to Kevin?

It’s not that smiley Bob Benson (James Wolk) is it?

Roger (John Slattery) has difficulty connecting with the children in his life, but Don and Betty (January Jones) re-connect at Bobby Draper’s (Mason Vale Cotton) upstate summer camp.

We open on Don and Ted (Kevin Rahm) arguing over the price of margarine, or rather the strategy to woo the Fleishman’s Margarine account.

 

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) , Harry (Rich Sommer) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) try to stay neutral, but Don’s insistent on Peggy’s input. She doesn’t relent, as she is loyal to both men and the company itself. In fact, her loyalty to Ted may be romantic. The two have feelings for each other, but Ted does not want to have an office romance (though his feelings for her are strong).

Harry recommends Pete see a headhunter, a familiar face, Duck (Mark Moses) from Season 2. The men are weigh their options on leaving the firm with no name but Pete’s not worth much to the market these days, he’s not a partner.

On the set of Megan’s (Jessica Paré) soap, we find Megan in a blonde wig, playing double duty as Collette, her character Marie’s twin. Megan opens up to Don about work drama over a drink, as we hear the din of sirens in the city as the ‘60s youth revolts and a crime wave hits Manhattan.

Don hits the road for the weekend to visit Bobby at summer camp. Along the way, he runs into a slim Betty at the gas station. The two make love at the Motel and talk about Don’s relationship to Megan and his disconnectedness to the act of sex. Betty has a line that steals the episode, “That poor girl, she doesn’t know that loving you…is the worst way to get to you”. Betty admits that she’s forgotten about how upset she was with Don over the events of the last episode, leaving his kids alone in the apartment as it was robbed.

Megan invites fellow actress Arlene (Joanna Going) over to talk about the acting craft, but Arlene is more interested in making more passes at Megan, which Megan denies. Arlene’s husband, also a swinger is Megan’s boss, so she fears recourse. In the end, there are no hard feelings as Arlene leaves to walk back home.

Uptown, Peggy and Abe (Charlie Hofheimer) are feeling unsafe. Abe has been stabbed and mugged, but refuses to tell the cops what the race of the perps were. Peggy feels uneasy in her new home, and Abe stays on the side of the oppressed.

Peggy sleeps with a homemade harpoon by her bed with a knife attached to a broomstick. A smash and grab outside startles her from bed, armed with the harpoon. Abe is there to ask what is up, and Peggy ends up stabbing her boyfriend…with a harpoon! This unexpected violent act was comic relief for many, I’m sure.

On the way to the hospital, Abe breaks up with Peggy. He does so not because his girlfriend stabbed her, but because he sees her as part of the establishment, and he is a cutting edge journalist. They simply cannot exist in the same world. Peggy is left alone at the end of this chapter, as Ted pushes her away when she confides in him of the breakup. Poor Peggy, but we’ve seen her on the prowl as of late, she will bounce back.

Hey, how about that Bob Benson? He’s swell and certainly has found himself at Joan’s apartment for a trip to the beach! As Joan (elegantly) is packing beach blankets for the trip with Bob and baby Kevin to the beach, Roger pops in with Lincoln Logs for the little tyke (Roger is Kevin’s biological Dad). Roger doesn’t recognize the brownnose Bob from the office, and feels awkward coming by unannounced. Joan flawlessly conducts Roger’s exit and makes Bob feel at home. Oh Joan, you are so independent and wonderful. And a supermom at that! Yay Joan!

Poor Roger, this is his second failing with kids this week. His daughter Margaret (Elizabeth Rice) wasn’t happy with Roger taking 4 year-old grandson to Planet of the Apes. Maybe 4 years old is a bit young for that movie, but that’s when I saw it…and I’m obviously perfectly fine!

When Don returns home to Megan, they talk about their relationship.

Don promises to be more present, though we will have to see if anything else distracts him. Let us not forget, the main motivation to having this talk with Megan was an affair he had with his ex-wife.

This episode explored how close we can get to people in our lives, and once again we see how being close to people makes it easier to hurt them. Quite literally in the case of Peggy and Abe! Pete searches for something, we don’t know what, but Bob Benson has come to Pete’s rescue with a nurse recommendation for Pete’s senile mother. Don and Megan have some issues to work out, and both seem willing.

On the next Mad Men puzzle game we hear Ted talking about “kissing the ring”, perhaps Don’s ego is pushing his business acumen from the subtle to the blunt. Ginsberg talks of body bags from the war and Roger calls a partner’s meeting. Let’s hope Peggy gives up her dream to be a whaler and concentrates on what she does best, writing copy and breaking hearts.

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MAD MEN: "MAN WITH A PLAN" S6E 07 (RECAP) AT FORCES OF GEEK

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and CG&C have merged to handle the Chevrolet account and bring the forces of both firms together.

Not everyone is able to keep their jobs as the union comes with some redundancies. In this episode we marvel at how the higher ups at the company deal with the power shifts in the workplace and at home.

All the while, those at the bottom of the totem pole scramble to prove their worth and save their own jobs.

The story opens with the recurring elevator scene in Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) building. On his way in to the new company’s first day, the elevator door opens to Sylvia’s (Linda Cardellini) floor. We hear her argue with husband Doctor Arnold Rosen (Brian Markinson) who is leaving his practice and headed to Minnesota. Don closes the door, just before the doctor turns the corner for the lift.

At Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, the as yet unnamed amalgamation of the two firms is physically taking place. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) is shown to her new office by a put upon Joan (Christina Hendricks). Joan assigns new offices to the salesmen and the secretaries.

Sterling moves upstairs, as Ted (Kevin Rahm) takes the office directly across from Don’s. This positions these two gentlemen at an equal level psychologically.

The first board meeting divides the client base among reps. Ted Chaough shows an assertive and clear headed side.

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser), the last to the meeting and temporarily without a seat is called away to deal with his senile mother. This accompanies the theme of any self-imposed punishment he’s carved out for himself these past weeks. He is, in his own way, compassionate toward his mother, and puts her up in his stag apartment, offering her the bed.

Don leaves the partner meeting for a different calling. He and Sylvia have a hotel quickie that devolves into a master/slave BSDM power play. It’s clear that while she plays along, this is Don’s game, not her as he demands she stay naked waiting for him to be done with work.

After blowing off a meeting with the creative department and Ted about Fleischmann’s Margarine to have his affair, Don returns to the office. Ted dresses him down about the tardiness, and Don slams the door on Ted.

In a power play, Don visits Ted’s office with a full bottle of Canadian Club. Not being as much of a drinker as Don, Ted is quickly hammered and unable to do any more work. They visit the creative suite in the middle of the offices where Peggy, Stan and Ginsberg are still meeting.

 

Ted passes out, with Don assuring everyone that Ted will “Sleep it off”. The move to embarrass the new partner gets Peggy irked, and she says as much to Don later in the episode.

Our new pal, Bob Benson (James Wolk), the man who has been sticking his nose in everyone’s business, but in a friendly ass-kissing sort of way has moments with Joan that redeem the character in the eyes of the viewer. Joan is not only dealing with the merger of the two companies, but is doing so under incredible pain. Bob takes her to the hospital and is able to use his sideways smirk to get her immediate treatment for what turns out to be an ovarian cyst. When it comes time for Joan, Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Pete to fire redundant employees, Joan saves Benson.

What mysterious reveals about Bob will we see in the second half of the season? He is certainly having many people talking about him and some important allies in the office (Ted and Joan). 

Don has imposed an imprisonment for Sylvia as he leaves with Ted in a two-seater plane to deal with the Mohawk plane account upstate. In this instance, Ted has the upper hand, being a pilot and identifying more closely with the client, trumping Don’s history with the client.

When Don returns to the hotel to boss Sylvia around and get kinky, she is about to leave and calls off the affair. She realizes that she needs to end the whole thing, and Don protests. In the end, that’s where it leaves off. Drenched from a downpour, Sylvia returns home on to the floor below Don’s, departing the elevator without a word. Don returns home, and Megan (Jessica Paré) fixes him a drink.

Megan asks Don to go on vacation with her, but Don can hardly focus on her words. His world seems to be falling apart. Can he reinvent himself again?

Pete’s mom awakes him to tell him the news of the RFK assassination, but also that he is going to be late for school at 6AM. Chalking this up to her senility, Pete returns to sleep on the couch in his apartment. A grown man who is also powerless, though in a different way that Don.

The story ends with Don staring into space as Megan cries, touched by the loss of Bobby Kennedy.

In a world where freedom rings, there is a sense of unknown powerlessness. Don has lost some control of his business and creativity and his mistress. Is he losing control of everything? Time will tell.

What do we have to look forward to in episode 8 from the teaser?

Furrowed brows, a reaction to the RFK shooting, tired partners and the return of Ken Cosgrove from the midwest with what seems like dire news. Is this merger a success? We’ll see in the long-tail, this new super agency doesn’t have a name yet!

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MAD MEN: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" S6E06 - FORCES OF GEEK

There’s a shakeup at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Roger’s liaison with a stewardess may affect the company’s future as Mother’s Day approaches and Pete is left in the cold with his baby mama.

A well timed strategy from the top brass of these ad agencies shakes up the office by returning a prodigal daughter to the copy chief desk of a huge firm.

We don’t get to see any Don and Sylvia action this episode, but there is plenty of activity of note here.

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) Joan (Christina Hendricks) and Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) are having the firm audited to go public.

While they await the results, another partner, Roger (John Slattery) has shacked up with a Northwest Orient stewardess, Daisy (Danielle Panabaker). The charming blonde comforts Sterling (in a very adult manner) before leaving for work, as it is Mother’s Day weekend and his mum has just passed. 

Pete returns home to Trudy (Alison Brie) to carry on the charade of his marriage and hopes for some comfort of his own. No dice, Petey.

Though Trudy seems to appreciate the effort he is putting in, sex with his wife is not in his future. Trudy in her full length flowy nightgown, though really is a thing of beauty.

Megan’s mother, Marie (Julia Ormond) continues the matriarchal theme upon visiting Don and Megan for the weekend from Montreal. She encourages Megan (Jessica Paré) to reinvigorate the heat between the sheets after she confides that something may be wrong in the Draper household. Maybe she can borrow some lace from Trudy?

 

Peggy’s (Elisabeth Moss) world is only grazed by any mother talk. No mention of kids with Abe this episode, quite the opposite. After a life affirming peck on the cheek from her boss Ted Chaough (Kevin Rahm), she wishes that her boyfriend Abe (Charlie Hofheimer) was instead Ted in her fantasy. The two are settling into Peggy’s new apartment.

Ted and Peggy’s firm is in upheaval. One partner Frank has fallen sick with Pancreatic Cancer and does not have long to live. It seems to be at an inopportune time, as they try to hone in on the Chevy account.

Speaking of Chevy, there is a comedic sidebar with Pink Panther music as Roger and Daisy turn up the heat. Roger rushes to the airport to trap a client. A businessman headed for Detroit turns out to be a Chevrolet executive and is ensnared by Daisy and liquored up by Roger.

Later we find the both the SCDP and CC&G reps en route to the motor city to land the account. The car is not even revealed to the agencies, just a code name (XP-887). And this is to be the biggest car announcement in years. Both teams have their pitches.

Don (Jon Hamm) has just lost the Jaguar account over an hilarious and ill-fated dinner with Herb, his wife, Megan and Marie. Marie insults Herb’s ditzy wife in French before the ladies excuse themselves. Alone at the table to discuss business, Herb (Gary Basaraba) suggests bringing in someone else to help write copy. Don leaves the table, offended and down a major client.

This episode is fast paced and full of surprises. Pete encounters his father-in-law at a cathouse with a black prostitute, and loses that account (Vicks Chemical). It seems the firm is in trouble before going public and everyone is trying to save face. 

After landing in Detroit, before the pitch meetings, Don does what he does best (or, arguably one of his finest traits) by sitting at the hotel bar downing scotches. He’s joined by Ted who stops the binge as the two leading men come to some realizations about their two companies. The reveal that comes in the third act may just land the Chevy account, but for which firm?

I’m happy to say that I fully enjoyed the action, comedy and the behind the scenes business acumen displayed in this episode. Sure, I’ll take a tawdry affair with the neighbor and noir drama and high fashion highlighted in the other episodes this season, but this episode is one of my favorites thus far. Don, Ted, Peggy and Roger’s confidence contrasts Pete, Joan and Bert’s conservatism to make the alliances within and without the firm stronger. 

What can we expect for next episode?

The teaser foretells a darker, more serious tone. Peggy’s moving back into the SCDP offices, will she be welcome? And, what’s Ted doing there? Mad Men Season 6, you are continuing to keep us excited!

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

MAD MEN: "The Flood" S6 E05 (review) - FORCES OF GEEK

A time of tragedy and catastrophe strikes the nation and the world in the latest episode of Mad Men.

Echoing the feelings evoked by present day headlines these past weeks, we see how everyone reacts to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in “The Flood”.

The serious tone of the crisis seeps through everyone’s dialogue in this chapter as some choose to carry on, whereas others are deeply affected and influenced by the shocking news.

We open on to a realtor showing Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) an Upper East Side apartment. Boyfriend Abe Drexler (Charlie Hofheimer) shows up late and confuses the realtor. Abe’s not the buyer, but we see another empowering gender role reversal as Abe is reduced to apartment consultant.

Actor Paul Newman speaks at the awards for The Advertising Club of New York, where both Megan (Jessica Paré) and Peggy are up for nominations.

The usual pleasantries and Roger Sterling (John Slattery) client appeasing happens over drinks as the ceremony starts with Newman endorsing Eugene McCarthy for President. His speech is interrupted by someone calling out to Mr. Newman the news that Martin Luther King is dead. They all take a break from the celebration and we see the look of surprise and disgust from the tables.

In Brooklyn we cut to a virgin Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman) on a set up date with his dad’s friend’s daughter. In the diner, the radio broadcasts the news and black dishwashers take time to sit speechless.

Over at the Betty Draper (January Jones) household, Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley) leaves to attend to city business, a calling of his profession as the Director of Public Relations. Fearing riots, he vocalizes his worries and scares the kids Bobby (Mason Vale Cotton) and Sally (Kiernan Shipka). Betty refuses to watch the TV, scared of the things they may show. At bedtime, Bobby exhibits some at the time was probably misdiagnosed bad behavior by peeling the wallpaper off of his wall because they patterns did not align. Seems more like an OCD symptom than anything else.

Pete’s (Vincent Kartheiser) returned to his Siberian exile in his Manhattan apartment, calling Trudy (Alison Brie) to check in on his family. Trudy appreciates the call but stands her ground by not letting the womanizing husband back to the homestead. In a time of crisis, Pete is looking for the support of home, but the consequences of his actions are that he needs to stay away, with only Chinese takeout as his only friend.

At Don Draper’s place, Megan argues with her Marxist father over the phone, as Don stares deeply into a bottle of Canadian Club whiskey as he watches the news of race riots on national news coverage.

Megan won the award that night for her Heinz Beans campaign. In light of the news, no one really gives a bean, including Megan, who left the award on the couch with her jacket.

An awkward day after happens at SCDP as well as at Cutler Gleason and Chaough, both firms have black employees. Peggy is slightly better at consoling her secretary than Joan is of trying to give Don’s Dawn (Teyonah Parris) an unwanted hug.

Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) breaks up a yelling match between the hurt Pete and Harry (Rich Sommer). Harry is concerned about the loss in advertising sales because of the tragedy, and Pete calls him a racist. Bert cannot seem to diffuse the tension.

Down in Draper’s office a meeting with a new client has everyone confused. An insurance man claims he was visited by Dr. King’s spirit last night and has a bizarre idea for a campaign that involves a molotov cocktail. Don’s not impressed, but hey, his own work hasn’t been much better lately!

Home early from work, Don is back at the TV with the brown stuff. He’s forgotten to pick up the kids from Betty’s, and his relationship with his kids is suffering.

Megan takes Sally to an MLK vigil in the park, and Bobby feigns illness to stay home with Dad. The two boys play hooky and check out a matinee of Planet of the Apes.

In between the first and second showing, Bobby has a moment with the black usher that’s the highlight of the episode. He asks the usher if he has seen the Ape movie, and recommends it to the gentleman. “Everyone likes to go to the movies when they are sad”. This from the mouths of babes moment is evokes emotion in Don, something we see little of.

At the end of the episode we have Harry announcing his bid for state Senator and taking more of a leadership role in his career.

In all a dramatic episode, with diamond facets of how different people deal with tragedy and loss. As truth is stranger than fiction, the timing of this episode being released so near to a time of a tragedy in the Boston really hits home. Another way for us to lose our selves in a television show about the past here, as we switch to national news coverage ourselves and keep our loved ones close by.

On the next Mad Men, we are teased with Peggy being annoyed by someone’s presence, more steamy silver fox bedroom scenes with Roger, and Peggy’s boss Ted Chaough possibly up to no good.  These teasers are harder to gauge or extrapolate as we get later into the season. Lots of Don opening his office door and Roger on a payphone.

We hope to see more Joan next episode, of course, with her hair down.

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Mad MEN: "To Have and To Hold" S6 E04 (review) - FORCES OF GEEK

Am I reviewing for Soap Opera Digest, or is this Forces of Geek?

The latest episode of Mad Men has the ruffled blankets of a torrid daytime affair and heightened tensions of day to day business.

Joan (Christina Hendricks) is in the spotlight once again, her first episode of the season, Megan (Jessica Paré) gains more exposure on her own soap opera and Harry (Rich Sommer) scores a major deal for the firm, increasing his value.

Also, the secretarial pool is shaken up by false time punches…can this be trouble for Dawn (Teyonah Parris)?

The elevator of Don Draper’s (Jon Hamm) building holds Don on his way home from work, and Sylvia (Linda Cardellini) hops on for the ascent for one floor. Their affair revealed over the last few episodes is put on the back burner but not before Don hits the emergency stop switch and the two embrace, making plans later in the week.

A secret business meeting occurs between the firm and Heinz Ketchup executive Tim (Kip Pardue) at Pete’s apartment with Pete and Don. The men tackle the ketchup branding in secret, and though I thought Stan was shooting up, last week as the teaser implied, he is merely working on “Project K”. Stan is smoking grass with Don in the private supply room to clear out the cobwebs and talk hot dogs. Stan holds the partisan opinion that ketchup belongs on hot dogs, because of the squiggly line it makes. Let’s hope these guys get some munchies soon and get back to work. This season, as partner Don has made some bad business decisions and needs to get back to his Kodak Carousel days, wowing clients with his savvy.

Out in the secretarial pool, Scarlett (Sadie Alexandru) asks Don’s secretary Dawn ( Teyonah Parris) to punch her out as she runs an errand. Noticing that she is not at her desk when needed, Joan catches confronts Sadie and eventually fires her. Dawn is spared the discipline.

Harry returns from a successful meeting with Dow Chemical, scoring a $150,000 supplement for the company. He notices Scarlett leaving and asks for her to fetch champagne. Harry re-hires his secretary on the spot and confronts all of the partners in a meeting to defend himself and ask for a spot at the table. Way to go Harry, this is the only time we have seen him be assertive. The bad news is that Joan realizes she doesn’t have as much power as the men do in this company. She retains partnership, but her pride is certainly hurt.

Megan is delivered news and new script pages for an love affair role on her soap, “To Have And To Hold”. Her boss Arlene (Joanna Going) and husband Mel (Ted McGinley) take Don and Megan out to dinner, but with strings attach. The swingers propose an after-dinner grass and sex session, a ‘chemistry experiment’. Don and Megan deny their advances, but stick around for dessert, just not the kind Mel and Arlene had in mind.

Don shows up on the set on the day of taping the kissing scene and hypocritically accuses Megan of being a whore and enjoying the scene. As a man, he is cheating on his wife. As a husband, he outwardly is acting like a man of his time. He’s jealous, overbearing and not supportive of Megan’s job. The submissive wife lashes out at him as he leaves her dressing room, telling Don it isn’t fair that she is made to feel the way she does. A small victory for Megan, but an important one.

Joan has a friend visiting and applying for a job as an Avon sales representative in New York. Kate (Marley Shelton) and Joan go out for a night on the town and are courted by two gentlemen to the proto-disco Electric Circus on St. Marks. The psychedelic nightclub was once host to the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead.

While there, both girls have some make-out fun with some boys on the couch before headed home to face a severe hangover in the morning. Kate looks up to Joan and tells her so. But Joan is a bit disenfranchised with her position at SCDP, mostly because she is being ignored by some at the company.

We close this episode, with what Ted (Kevin Rahm) has called “The War”. SCDP represented by Pete, Stan and of course Don pitch Heinz a minimalist campaign to Tim for their ketchup. Pictured are singular pictures of french fries , steak, and a hamburger, with the words “PASS THE HEINZ” typeset in Helvetica. Tim is not impressed by the ethereal nature of the campaign, and wants to see the bottle in the picture. As SCDP leaves the hotel room they are confronted by the competition. Peggy, Ted and another gentleman holding the artwork have an advertising Mexican standoff in the hallway.

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