Mad Men – Fast cars and angry women

This week Mad Men took the focus off many of the main players to check in with some of the other folks at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Harry, Lane, and Joan were in the spotlight along with a familiar face that we haven’t seen in quite some time. I have to say that the episode was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Joan’s story was great and Harry’s was ok (it was nice to see Kinsey back, at the top of his game), but Lane’s was troubling. Plus, characters like Pete and Peggy barely even showed up, and Betty was a no show again (not that I’m complaining about that one).

Through the run of Mad Men, I can’t remember Joan and Don ever having a lot of interaction. They have always had a good relationship, but it was never at the forefront like it was this week. It was nice to see Don in full on nice guy mode. We don’t really get to see it all that often, but at times he is capable of great kindnesses and support. I loved seeing him give Joan exactly what she needed after she was served divorce papers by her no-good husband. The bouquet of roses from “Ali Kahn,” was the perfect touch.

It is growing increasingly clear, however, that there is something wrong with Don. Joan told him that he probably didn’t get excited about the Jaguar because he was happy, and that he didn’t need it. At the end of the night, though, we saw him driving the hell out of the car. Perhaps he did need it after all. When he returned home to a very angry Megan (which is becoming a more common occurrence), he admitted that he just didn’t love his work as much as he has in the past. He claimed that things were different in the office, and I don’t think it is just that Megan is not there anymore. We saw his lackluster work last week; I’m wondering if Don has lost the spark for advertising. Hopefully this big pitch for Jaguar will be the thing that he needs to reignite his fire.

This week also marked the return of a familiar face — none other than Paul Kinsey. Knowing the character as well as we do, it was no surprise at all to see him as a member of the Hare Krishna movement. It also wasn’t a surprise to see that there was a woman behind it, or that he was looking for a handout. Poor Harry is just too nice of a guy for his own good (aside from the whole cheating on his pregnant wife thing). Instead of telling Kinsey that his spec Star Trek script was the piece of crap that it was, he urged him to continue on with screenwriting, even funding his move to Los Angeles. Certainly, he was trying to get him away from Lakshmi, whose intentions may not have been so good, but the false hope for a future is not really going to help Kinsey out in the long run. With so many familiar faces from the earlier season having popped up (even Freddy Rumsen), I’m wondering if we are ever going to see Sal again. It would certainly be a surprise, as he and Don obviously ended things on a very bad note, but I would be curious to see where the character is now.

Lane hasn’t been given a whole lot of story this season. He has been a great character in the past, and I would like to see him return to form. Everything this season, though, has painted him as a pathetic fool. There was his bumbling of the Jaguar account to begin with, the whole ordeal with the girl from the lost wallet, the embarrassing kiss with Joan, and this week it was his tax troubles back in the United Kingdom. He is a man full of secrets (although aren’t all these characters full of secrets?). At some point, however, something has to break his way; he need’s some good luck. He’s just a little too pitiable for my taste these days.

I have to take a minute to point something out that has been driving me nuts all season. Has anyone else noticed that the previews for next week’s episode that AMC runs each week is the most uninformative, incoherent preview on television? Who is making these things? It’s like they flip through the script at random to pick out lines to include. There is never any hint about the plot line, never any context, only random, one-line snippets of people being dramatic. Frankly, they make the show look a little ridiculous. Am I the only one who sees this?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on May 20, 2012 @ 23:36 EST5EDT