Originally Posted by NewChief (Post 11425078)

Episode was okay. But holy shit... I actually got this since of nostalgic well being when the opening music came on. It was so weird.

Originally Posted by NewChief (Post 11425337)

My main issue with both Peggy and Joan (and I'm playing off memory here because I haven't gone back and rewatched all the seasons) is that they both showed a remarkable lack of loyalty toward Don. That being said, I'm not sure that Don is really worthy of that much loyalty, and I think it's also meant to emphasize that a woman has to be double Machiavellian to succeed in this world... but that just made me dislike both of them at certain points in the series.

That being said, I generally like both of the characters now. I just remember being pissed at them a couple of times.

Originally Posted by Brock (Post 11426593)

Joan is kind of a dumbass. She's a millionaire who became one by ****ing a whale client, so when she judges Draper, it's pretty humorous. When she stood there clueless about what to do about the topaz account, it took Draper all of 5 seconds to formulate a strategy. She should go back to herding secretaries.

Originally Posted by NewChief (Post 11426600)

I think Joan's character is supposed to make us feel sympathetic toward the limited options available to the women in that era. No matter how high she rises, she always knows that at the end, she got there thanks to prostitution. That's the irony of Peggy's line about her wealth. Peggy means it as a reminder that she doesn't have to do this, but for Joan its a reminder of her inability to rise in the corporate structure through any means other than sex. She's smart as hell, but her abilities lie in operations, not in accounts.

Originally Posted by mikeyis4dcats. (Post 11425111)

I think we will lose 2 main characters before it's over, not including Don. I think Don ends up washed up somewhere. But I bet Roger kicks the bucket - car crash? And Pete suicide?

Originally Posted by NewChief (Post 11425230)

Speaking of misogyny: the scene with Peggy and Joan meeting with the guys was ridiculously over the top and heavy handed.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 11428397)

Don is worth millions in an era where millions actually meant something.

Outside of Don's demons, he could live anywhere in world very comfortably so if he washes up anywhere, it's on a tropical beach,

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 11428398)

I think it was typical of that era. I saw it as a child when I was five in 1970 and it's stuck with me ever since.

If anything, I think the scene was understated.

Originally Posted by NewChief (Post 11428499)

I just can't imagine the constant sexual innuendo to women. Maybe it's because I'm southern and was raised in a conservative christian household, but damn... we might have made off color jokes and had a locker room humor with the boys, but certainly not right to a lady's face.

Originally Posted by SLAG (Post 11427844)

Overall Happy to be back, but also ready to wrap this ship up

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 11428746)

Yep. IMO, they've stretched out too far already. As I've probably stated earlier, I didn't need to see Betty, her weigh battle, her husband and his overbearing mother, nor did I really need to see Don's relationship with his daughter (while his relationship with his sons isn't even a footnote).

Six more episodes. Hope it doesn't disappoint.

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla (Post 11428784)

Betty and the kids have always been the worst part of the show.

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla (Post 11428784)

Betty and the kids have always been the worst part of the show.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud (Post 11428788)

Agreed. I never understood the reason for their participation in the show, especially since Don is almost never shown with his boys.

Originally Posted by Reaper16 (Post 11429192)

I think Weiner has a large deal of empathy for the kids since he's said in early interviews that the show is inspired in part on experiences of him & his parents. So he continues to write scenes for them even though his story outgrew that particular household.

Personally, I've always found Sally's storyline throughout the series (and Kiernan Shipka's performance, of a different energy than most of the other cast members') to be one of the parts of Mad Men that I'm most drawn to.