MAD MEN Final Season ~ APRIL 2015 ~

[momrek06]

We have to stop meeting like this in these tv show threads.

HIYA LOVIE!!!

This episode was weird. Why was Betty stalking that girl and talking about her husband raping her? That was just disturbing.

That whole rape dialogue was soooo strange. I was actually doing dinner dishes and trying to watch that part and thought, HOW ODD OF BETTY.

 

[NotUrsula]

Weiner does this kind of season premiere every time that there is a time jump. It was meant to be expository, to catch us up on what has happened in the two years since we left SCDP. Unfortunately, exposition is almost always dull, even when Weiner writes it.

The Daily Beast has an interview with Weiner today, in which he explains a lot of the odder things in "Doorways" ... even Betty's macabre joke.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...e-matthew-weiner-on-the-the-doorway-more.html

As for Sandy, yes, she is a friend of Sally's; perhaps a little bit older, and possibly one who occasionally babysits the boys. Her mother has recently died, she is caught in a HUGE lie, and she is looking to Betty for maternal guidance about what to do about the situation, which as we all know is never a good idea, Betty being Betty, after all -- a woman whose maternal instincts are always a bit off. I think that Betty's trek to St. Mark's Place was her trying to prove to herself that she *could* be a good mother figure, and that she could find Sandy and bring her back to her conventional life. However, when she got there she realized that it was beyond her, so she settled for the little that she could do: help make goulash.

Sandy is an unconventional girl for her time -- she wants a real career, she has studied since she was small to get it, and now she is convinced that it is out of her reach. The telling part is her speech about settling -- where she describes Betty's path to her life in Ossining, and condemns it in no uncertain terms. (The irony, of course, is that only a kid raised that close to NYC would think that there was no hope for playing professionally because Juilliard didn't take her. In the 1960's she could have played for any number of small-city orchestras even without a conservatory degree, but that wasn't on her radar at all. It was either Carnegie Hall or three kids in the suburbs, she couldn't imagine a middle ground.)

 

[LexiC123]

I definitely didn't expect Don to hook-up with that women. The fact that he seemed to admire her husband made it that much worse. And I certainly didn't recognize the "other" woman, until I saw her name in the credits...Linda Cardellini, previously on 'Freaks and Geeks' and 'ER'.

My favorite line of the night was at Roger's mother's wake, when one of the guys - not sure if it was Pete or Ken - said to an obviously drunk Don "how many funerals have you been to today?"

 

[nathalee81]

HIYA LOVIE!!!




That whole rape dialogue was soooo strange. I was actually doing dinner dishes and trying to watch that part and thought, HOW ODD OF BETTY.

I thought that was incredibly bizarre. I don't even know where they were going with that conversation? I mean are we just supposed to think "well, that Betty, she is sure a strange one". Because that conversation went beyond strange...it made ME incredibly uncomfortable.

I was a little disappointed by the episode.

It was slow and to find out Don is back to his old ways-well, it was a little trite, you know?

 

[honeydiane1953]

Last nite's MAD MEN was plain pitiful. ?? tooooo many gaps and so run of the mill. Weird conversations and Betty trying to be a good "mom" was crazy. I would knock Sally across the head sometimes if I were there. Hated the show. SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!11111

 

[CaliBear]

My husband actually thought maybe there was something in the news at that time that made Betty think of rape, but it turns out she was just being playful in a perverse way according to Weiner? I love this show in a way, but sometimes I think that man is touched in the head.

Also between Roger's "This is MY funeral!!" and Don's Hawaiian suicide ad campaign, I think we're in for another bleak season. At least Megan's happy. For now.

 

[gometros]

I definitely didn't expect Don to hook-up with that women. The fact that he seemed to admire her husband made it that much worse. And I certainly didn't recognize the "other" woman, until I saw her name in the credits...Linda Cardellini, previously on 'Freaks and Geeks' and 'ER'.



My favorite line of the night was at Roger's mother's wake, when one of the guys - not sure if it was Pete or Ken - said to an obviously drunk Don "how many funerals have you been to today?"

No way! That was Linda Cardellini? Now I have to go back and look. I loved Freaks and Geeks. She was also on the last few seasons of ER.

Sorry, you already said ER. Sometimes reading these threads on the DIS app are hard to read.

 

[SpecialK]

No way! That was Linda Cardellini? Now I have to go back and look. I loved Freaks and Geeks. She was also on the last few seasons of ER.

Sorry, you already said ER. Sometimes reading these threads on the DIS app are hard to read.

I recognized her from ER right away. She was also Velma in the Scooby Do movie.

Funny how the other woman at the dinner party was trying so hard to flirt with Don and the normal one ends up being his partner in crime.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

So, what did everyone think? I thought it was boring. The first hour especially. Hopefully, it will get better as the season progresses.

I was not impressed at all by this episode. If it doesn't improve, I can stop watching.

 

[Brancaneve]

I agreed that the episode was boring but the scene was "being set" and there are many juicy segments when you look closely.The essence of the characters had to be shown for those new to the show, and major changes/events happened to our lead characters. Again, symbolism was at play with the presence of the soldier's lighter. The lighter seemed to haunt Don because it clearly Represented something ominous. Does it mean death for Don by simply holding onto it? With the heart attack of the doorman, is Don plagued by death(literally sick at the funeral) and in fear of being next? And imagine the irony if his mistress' husband has to save his life?

Betty! Wow! Let's not forget that she had that weird relationship with Sally's boy friend. She seems to do a better job of mothering other8 people 's children. Brown hair....not sure what that means. One thing though, she was pretty tough and held her ground with the "commune" in the abandoned building. Let's give her props for that one!!

 

[FloraFauna]

I re-watched the show yesterday, and I noticed some things I didn't notice the first time watching it. Sylvia's (I think that is Don's new girlfriend's name) religion popped up a few times. She is wearing a crucifix each time we see her, she makes the sign of the cross when the doorman has a heart attack, and later, in her bedroom, there is a crucifix hanging on the wall and I think, a statue of the Blessed Mother right next to her bed.

When she asked Don what he wanted of the new year, he said he wanted to stop doing this, and she looked like she understood and was very peaceful about it.

It could have nothing to do with the plot line, but something I noticed

 

[lttlmc3]

I re-watched the show yesterday, and I noticed some things I didn't notice the first time watching it. Sylvia's (I think that is Don's new girlfriend's name) religion popped up a few times. She is wearing a crucifix each time we see her, she makes the sign of the cross when the doorman has a heart attack, and later, in her bedroom, there is a crucifix hanging on the wall and I think, a statue of the Blessed Mother right next to her bed.

When she asked Don what he wanted of the new year, he said he wanted to stop doing this, and she looked like she understood and was very peaceful about it.

It could have nothing to do with the plot line, but something I noticed

When he sad he wanted to stop doing this, she said "I know," actually. It made me think she wants the same thing.

 

[NotUrsula]

I re-watched the show yesterday, and I noticed some things I didn't notice the first time watching it. Sylvia's (I think that is Don's new girlfriend's name) religion popped up a few times. She is wearing a crucifix each time we see her, she makes the sign of the cross when the doorman has a heart attack, and later, in her bedroom, there is a crucifix hanging on the wall and I think, a statue of the Blessed Mother right next to her bed.

When she asked Don what he wanted of the new year, he said he wanted to stop doing this, and she looked like she understood and was very peaceful about it.

It could have nothing to do with the plot line, but something I noticed

I can't remember exactly what the line was, but Sylvia's husband at one point made a joke about his being Jewish and Sylvia being Christian. I think that the point we are supposed to get is that times have changed so much from Season 1 that being friends with a very establishment couple who have a mixed marriage is no longer a big deal, whereas in Season 1, the folks at Sterling-Cooper apparently didn't know any Jews at all.

As for the lighter, that one is a HUGE anvil. It is symbolic of Don's whole charade, and the method by which he became Don Draper. In the incident in Korea, he and Draper experienced a near-miss mortar attack. Afterward, Dick Whitman (our Don) was terrified and shaking so badly that when he went to light a cigarette he accidentally dropped his lit cigarette lighter -- into a large puddle of spilled gasoline. It was the gasoline explosion that killed the real Draper. Now another soldier has Don Draper's army lighter, and Don got one that "demoted" him back to the rank he had when it all happened: Private (as opposed to the Lieutenant that the real Don Draper was, and that the fake Don Draper became when he took on his identity.)

BTW, If you want to watch the episode where the identity switch happened, it is Ep. 1x12: "Nixon vs. Kennedy".

 

[wiigirl]

Last nite's MAD MEN was plain pitiful. ?? tooooo many gaps and so run of the mill. Weird conversations and Betty trying to be a good "mom" was crazy. I would knock Sally across the head sometimes if I were there. Hated the show. SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!11111

Ughh...hopefully they are building to something.

 

[JenM]

I can't remember exactly what the line was, but Sylvia's husband at one point made a joke about his being Jewish and Sylvia being Christian. I think that the point we are supposed to get is that times have changed so much from Season 1 that being friends with a very establishment couple who have a mixed marriage is no longer a big deal, whereas in Season 1, the folks at Sterling-Cooper apparently didn't know any Jews at all.

As for the lighter, that one is a HUGE anvil. It is symbolic of Don's whole charade, and the method by which he became Don Draper. In the incident in Korea, he and Draper experienced a near-miss mortar attack. Afterward, Dick Whitman (our Don) was terrified and shaking so badly that when he went to light a cigarette he accidentally dropped his lit cigarette lighter -- into a large puddle of spilled gasoline. It was the gasoline explosion that killed the real Draper. Now another soldier has Don Draper's army lighter, and Don got one that "demoted" him back to the rank he had when it all happened: Private (as opposed to the Lieutenant that the real Don Draper was, and that the fake Don Draper became when he took on his identity.)

BTW, If you want to watch the episode where the identity switch happened, it is Ep. 1x12: "Nixon vs. Kennedy".

Yep. I noticed a few connections to season one in the premiere this week:

-The thing with Sandy reminded me of Betty's creepy connection to Glenn in the first season.

-Megan used the carousel slide projector to show their vacation slides. When Don pitched that in season 1, he said that people looked back to when they were happy. When Megan turned it on in this episode, Don complained that they were having a good time.

-Don was fooling around with Midge in the pilot, and it was only in the last scene that it was revealed that he had a wife and kids. In this episode, the opposite was revealed in the last scene.

I also thought the newspaper headline was a bit of an omen, as it said that the "world bids adieu to a violent year". It's only going to get more violent, as 1968 is going to bring the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy, the Tet Offensive, among others.

I did like the episode. I've been re-watching from the beginning in the last few weeks, so the pace didn't really throw me at all. I'd read the reviews, so I knew in advance it was going to be a downer.

My favorite part of the episode was Peggy. She has completely turned into Don.

 

[Brancaneve]

As for the lighter, that one is a HUGE anvil. It is symbolic of Don's whole charade, and the method by which he became Don Draper. In the incident in Korea, he and Draper experienced a near-miss mortar attack. Afterward, Dick Whitman (our Don) was terrified and shaking so badly that when he went to light a cigarette he accidentally dropped his lit cigarette lighter -- into a large puddle of spilled gasoline. It was the gasoline explosion that killed the real Draper. Now another soldier has Don Draper's army lighter, and Don got one that "demoted" him back to the rank he had when it all happened: Private (as opposed to the Lieutenant that the real Don Draper was, and that the fake Don Draper became when he took on his identity.)
.[/QUOTE]

Ahah! Thanks for the insight into the lighter.

 

[lisaviolet]

What no comments on -

NOT GREAT BOB.

Priceless Pete.

Many lines from the finale. Peggy's "it must be nice to have decisions". And her rise to the seat so to speak. Unreal where they've taken her. From insecure secretary to possibly the big office. And how they placed her like the intro and had her in pants.

The finale, the last minute, Sally and her father touched me greatly. Still think about it. I honestly think that minute might be top five for me TV moments ever. No dialogue just a look. No better for me. I sat someone down, who doesn't even watch regularly, just to share that last minute.

 

[cluvsdisney]

What no comments on -

NOT GREAT BOB.

Priceless Pete.

Many lines from the finale. Peggy's "it must be nice to have decisions". And her rise to the seat so to speak. Unreal where they've taken her. From insecure secretary to possibly the big office. And how they placed her like the intro and had her in pants.

The finale, the last minute, Sally and her father touched me greatly. Still think about it. I honestly think that minute might be top five for me TV moments ever. No dialogue just a look. No better for me. I sat someone down, who doesn't even watch regularly, just to share that last minute.

One of the best lines of the season!!

 

[lisaviolet]

One of the best lines of the season!!

I have it available still on demand. And I rewind it just to hear that one line again. It gives me great joy.

 

[Muushka]

I see Mad Men and House of Cards both got nominated for Emmys. I'm torn, love them both!

I can't wait for Mad Men's last season to be released on Netflix. I want to see them again, sans commercials.