Before We Were Bloggers

We began discussing Mad Men during Season 3 (originally aired August - November 2009) in a series of emails. Below are a few of our comments from the last two episodes (312 and 313), before we began this blog. We look forward to discussing Season 4 this fall!

READ TOP TO BOTTOM FOR CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Holly’s thoughts, written 11/3/09, after Episode 312/The Grownups

There is some thought in the cyberworld that this episode was originally the finale but they scrapped the real episode 12, made this one 12, and reshot the finale (which means the finale is actually 14, not 13). Wonder if there will be a "lost" episode when Season 3's DVD comes out?! If you look at on demand, the description of Episode 312 (this week) is different from what actually happened. Also, the title of the finale is supposed to be "Close the Door. Have a Seat." Lane said that to Pete before he told him that "Kenny and his haircut" got the head of accounts job. Interesting.

How little does Duck ("Mr. Herman") care about Peggy?! He unplugs the TV so they can have their throw-down but then has to call his kids (who we know from last season don't even like him) when he finds out Kennedy died. What a contrast. Wonder if he will go look for Chauncey, too?

How long till Paul turns on Peggy with the intelligence about her "nooner"? Is he smart enough to figure it out?

Trudy needs her own storyline. I wouldn't mind seeing more of Mona, either - she really is a lioness.

Is there anything hotter than Roger and Joan? They can create more sparks on the phone than most people can in a sex scene! Once Dr. Cutup ships off to Vietnam, these two will have lots of time for chats. Here's hoping Jane continues to be a heavy drinker.

I want Sal back!

Henry is sticking around. Apparently Rockefeller is prominent in the '64 elections. Crap. He is so boring. The only thing that would make him interesting is if he and Betty couple swapped with Roger and Joan.

Who thinks Jane will commit suicide? Who wishes Jane would commit suicide? What was that comment from Roger about when she locked herself in the bathroom?

Has anyone noticed that Don's hookups he cares about are always brunette (Midge, Rachel, psychoteacher), but he had to be dragged into the fling with the blonde stewardess. Wants his mommy but doesn't want Betty?

What was the hot/cold thing about? That has been going on somewhat all season. Also references to ice cream. Enough already.

Wonder if Carla will keep the Drapers together (for the children or some such rationale) by letting Betty know she is on to her tricks with Henry?

Is there anything funnier than Peggy telling her roommate, "I'm glad you decided to be picky, finally."

Did anyone notice in the first scene that Pete's secretary (name?) was doing the sophisticated mink collar coat with the kiddie mittens while she was mothering Pete? Nice costuming and setup to highlight the theme of the episode, "The Grownups."

Chip’s response, written 11/4/09 (Ep. 312/The Grownups)

I agree that Roger and Joan have chemistry, but he never seemed worthy of her either. Why doesn't Don go after that? Blondes, brunettes, peshaw. Everyone knows redheads are the hottest. Seriously, they do seem to have a history at times.

"Who are you supposed to be?" asked the person when Don took the kids Trick or Treating. Kind of the theme for the season. Ironically, anyone of any real import now knows his secret. His boss, his wife. Now that he has come clean with Bets, she does not want anything to do with him. It has more to do with the deception than the actual facts. If she follows through with the divorce, he will want what he can't have...her. Just like mommy. I also think their separation will really mess with Sally. She is one troubled girl. Definite future LSD user.

Psycho teacher seems far more likely to commit suicide than Jane. That would really give Don some grist for his angst mill. I don't think Jane is capable of suicide. She might try to overdose on baby aspirin. She just needs to run off to Vietnam with Dr. Dipshit.

What I don't get is why Roger did not boink his old dog food lover when he had the chance. Not only was it a sentimental screw, it also meant an account for the firm. Was he really being loyal to Jane, or was that his best revenge for how she dumped him before?

Bets hooking up with this politician is about as creepy/believable as it was for Gabby on Desperate Housewives to hook up with "Roger" on that show. If there is anyone personifying Holly's notion of hot/cold it is her. I still can't get over her hot overseas trip turning to ice the minute they get home. I would love to see Don pop Henry right in his Pete Townsend nose. He could take him down without even taking off his hat.

Sal and Joan must unite to storm the castle. Surely something will happen to kick the Brits out leaving the door open for their return. Girrrl power!

I thought it was even funnier when Peggy's roommate found out that Duck was not married and she asked, "Well, then why are you with him?"

I'm worried. Are there any other straight men into this show? I just watch for the literary references and random lawnmower gore. At least I do not have any comments about the wardrobe.

And Holly’s response back, written 11/4/09 (Ep. 312)

Psycho teacher will never take the easy way out and kill herself. Also she has that nutty brother to take care of. One of the blogs I read suggested "Shut the Door. Have a Seat." might be her convening a parent/teacher conference with Betty re the affair. I doubt it - Betty already doesn't care so I don't know why the writers would bother. I can see the nutty brother putting an almighty beatdown on Don for breaking his sister's heart. That might be cool. Don does seem to get his butt kicked on a regular basis.

Don't know if Joan is too good for Roger or not. We saw another side of him twice now -- he clearly loved Horse Meat and got his heart ground into dog food, and he seems to have some sort of connection with Mona, however bad their marriage must have been. I wonder if he would behave for Joanie. Did he ever cheat on her? Were the twins after the Roger/Joan era? And yes, redheads are the hottest.

With respect to why he didn't get busy with Horse Meat, I think it might have been because he could. He loved flirting with her in Burt's office (that was a GREAT scene, btw) but once she put her agenda on the table, he was peace out. Or maybe he's just not into age appropriate women. I don't think he would throw down for an account. He doesn't care about the firm anymore. He only goes to work to eat ice cream sundaes and get away from Jane. He doesn't get to have fun pitching to clients with Don like the old days because no one is getting any joy out of being jai'ali boy and Connie Hilton's b!tch.

Did you see the cobra over Pete's shoulder when Lane was giving him the bad news? Nice touch.

Someone pointed out that Sally will be 18 when Woodstock happens. I think you are right about her future with LSD, Chip.

If we must continue to see Betty on a regular basis, she needs to do something interesting like go Valley of the Dolls on us and get a nice seconal/vicodin/"vitamin shot" thing going on.

I think someone will buy S-Coop this week and Sal will already be working for them.

What did Duck's tattoo say?!

I go back and forth on whether Betty is really mad about the deception - it is not news to her that Don is a liar - or if that is just the moral high ground she is claiming because her real problem is that she is from society and ended up married to Dick Whitman. I wonder sometimes if that is what she sees in Henry (as well as a father figure because she is a daddy's girl without a daddy).

I wonder if Trudy's daddy has enough money to set Pete up in his own shop? Or to buy SC? Supposedly the big shakeup in the ad industry in the 60s was youth vs old guard. Pete has more vision than anyone at SC realizes, even if he can't relate to people as well as Ken. I loved that scene of him reading Ebony an episode or two after the Admiral TV debacle. He knows where to find Joan. He knows that short sleeves/bowtie in TV (what's his name?! I can't think of it) is on to something big. He just needs to go down to the park and pry Sal away from the Village People. He might even take Peggy, even though he resents her, because she would be working for him. Hmmmm......

Sally, bring me an old fashioned!

Holly’s Take on Season 3 Finale, written11/10/09 (Ep. 313/"Shut the Door. Have a Seat.")

I am woman, hear me roar!

How about all our little feminists last night? If Don Draper got kicked in the business one more time by a budding bra burner, he might not have been alive to eat that cake Trudy baked for our heroes (mere days after her great "Peter, may I speak with you a moment?" admonition). I thought Peggy and Betty gave Don the works, but it was little Sally who delivered the near-fatal blow (notice the parallels between the beatdown Don took from the women in his life and a mare finishing off no-good Archibald - karma's a b!tch). And let's not forget our beloved Joanie -- when you want to pull off the impossible, no one like a Bonwit Teller shopgirl who has already proven her mettle through amazing feats such as triaging lawnmower victims and helping Pete Campbell wander the Bavarian Forest.

And how about my man Burt Cooper? Don't mess with that bad boy or you will find yourself locked in a storage closet till Monday! He will remind you of the nobody you really are and have a sundae before Roger has poured himself a refreshing breakfast beverage. ("Have another. It's 9:30 for God's sakes!")

Who wants that plane to Reno to have mechanical failure somewhere over the Rockies? Why did poor Baby Gene have to go? I'll bet he's jealous of Sally and Bobby getting to stay home with Carla, the "fun mommy" at the Draper residence.

Speaking of our future juvenile delinquents, could Sally and Bobby watch more TV? How many channels did they have in 1963, and were they really that interesting? Maybe I was just dim as a child, but I recall banging my head against the wall as a preferable antidote to the boredom of the broadcasts of the Big 3 back in my early years.

Poor Paul Kinsey, never a bridesmaid, never a bride. Even Peggy gets to smoke MJ with the big boys these days, while Paul is left back at the office to, ahem, do whatever it is he does when he's trying to get creative.

Which leads me to ask, is Aristotle or Plato or what's-his-face the janitor going to be cleaning up after hours at the Pierre? And what happened to Hollis, Pete's friend from the elevator? He wasn't in the elevator toward the end of the show. Did I see him in the background setting up shop for the crew at the Pierre, or was that too many old fashioneds having their way with me?

Very good. Happy Christmas!

More from Holly on Season 3 Finale, written 11/9/09 (Ep. 313)

I don't mind to lose Betty and the boys, but if Sally and Carla are gone for good I am so NOT going to be ready to set out the chip-and-dip and call it a party just because Roger and Don are coming over. As I said last week, I am ready for Betty to go Jacqueline Susann on us with a nice "mother's little helper" addiction! Does anyone else remember that in Susann's book "Once is Not Enough" the main character's name was January Wayne, a little girl lost with a daddy fixation? Unfortunately, I think Susann didn't really hit the big time till the 70s, so maybe not..... But it would be a good way to keep Sally and Carla in our lives. And I kind of like the Cindy McCain ice princess parallels to Betty Draper and Henry, the aide to the politically ambitious governor. And don't even get me started on Betty in the psych ward.....I have a dream!

Chip’s take on the Season 3 Finale, written 11/10/09 (Ep. 313)

I believe my point about how these characters are archetypes played out nicely in the finale. Don represents "America" in the most general sense. Perhaps American business. Slick, powerful, seductive, but his success has come with a few skeletons in his closet. In him we are seeing a time of great transition in America. With the Civil Rights movement, political assassinations and the rise of feminism, Don's and our world is changing forever. He alternately fights it and concedes it.

Peggy represents "feminism" in the clearest sense. Being in the secretarial pool is not good enough for her. She has made inroads through the years (*with great assistance from her surrogate father Don*) and now has reached a point in which she is ready to challenge being taken advantage of at worst and taken for granted at best. "*Can you get me some coffee, Peggy?" "No.*" Don comes to realize he cannot ignore this little voice and cannot do without her contributions. However, his "heartfelt" confession that he would spend the rest of his life trying to hire her still smacks of his smooth pitchman closing on what he can't have. It works on Peggy still, but not Bets.

I was noticing the parallels with Don and his father in a slightly different way. No matter how "no-good" Archibald was, I think Don still respected his stance on going his own way when others were taking the weaker easy route. Don is leaving the "Co-op" (*or huge, safe corporation*) also and going on his own. The prize pig does not want to work for a sausage factory. This again coincides with a father leaving his son. Here is where their paths diverge, though. This memory stirs Don to climb in bed with (Sally?) and to hold Bobby tight when breaking the news of the divorce. For all his faults, Don is truly trying to overcome being Dick Whitman. The episode begins with Don losing another "father" in Connie Hilton. Or is Connie trying to prod him into becoming the man he could be.

I don't know what kind of feminism Joan represents, but I am just glad Her Hotness is back. I am still waiting for rape payback for Dr. Dipshit.

For all his beatnik posturing, Kinsey is not the voice of a new generation. It's Pete, by gosh. He is ahead of the curve (*aeronautics! Negroes! teenagers!*) and now even Don realizes it. Better subscribe to Jet magazine by the time the new firm has a lobby again. I have come to really like this character that I wanted Don to throw out the window in Season 1. Hells bells!

The most entertaining character of the night was Mr. Cooper. Old school still has a thing or two to teach the little whipper snappers. I kind of wish Harry had said "No" just so he would have been locked up in the storeroom for the weekend. You don't get to be able to demand people take off their shoes in your office by not being able to push people's buttons.