Mad Men *spoilers*

[pescalita]

Eh, I think Megan did the best she could on the spot. She wants the kids to like her, that's human. I was afraid she was going to assume Sally knew more than she did.

The fight between Sally and Don was well shot, nice use of the sunken living room and lighting to make it look like Don fighting with Betty.

Tom & Lorenzo mentioned something about Don dropping these little lies now that he doesn't have another outlet for his pathological lying. The way he described the marriage to Sally, that it was because of a law, that was a nice half truth.

Once again, WHERE IS THE REST OF THE CAST?!?!

[ceejay]

I felt for Betty. She feels like she "bet on the wrong horse", like Henry.

I know her and Don weren't good together but how awful must it feel. He loves Megan in a way that he never loved Betty (love notes, tells her the truth about himself from the jump-off, etc.), Megan is younger and beautiful, she has this amazing full lifestyle in a beautiful apartment, the kids can talk to Megan in a way that they won't talk to Betty because she is their mom, and well just because. And I'm sure this all does make Betty feel bitter and jealous. This woman got the life Betty wanted, the Don that Betty wanted and I'm sure she realizes that some of that is due to her own personality. She wasn't able to bring out the Don that Megan was. That must suck to realize about yourself. And that's partly why she started eating, right. She didn't gain weight until after Don got remarried, right?

That was kind of effed what Don did to Ginsburg, but that's what bosses do I suppose. Ginsburg doesn't hold his tongue though. I'll be interested to see how he gets back at Don for this.

I loved when Roger asked Peggy, "were we married?" Classic, Roger.

It was surprising to see Roger actually feel bad about what he did to Jane. And he knew it was only out of jealousy, because that other guy was paying attention to her. Though I only have so much sympathy for someone who can just say, "buy me a new apartment" and they get one.

[ceejay]

Oh, and as an emotional eater, I TOTALLY related to Betty coming home from seeing the beautiful apartment and skinny wife, and downing that spray whip cream.

[dev22]

May 14, 2012 7:39:34 GMT -5 ceejay said:

Oh, and as an emotional eater, I TOTALLY related to Betty coming home from seeing the beautiful apartment and skinny wife, and downing that spray whip cream.

Ditto! I adored the weight watchers part of this episode, and happy to have Betty back as a main part of an episode again.

I also thought that Megan did the best she could in that situation. That is a hard thing to try and handle. And yes, she let Sally manipulate her, but she has only been a step mom for a short while -- she doesn't have the whole parent thing down quite yet. I actually really like Megan, and I like Don with her.

It was interesting to see Don try to stay relevant this ep. He realizes that Ginsberg has overshadowed him talent wise, and it seems to finally really get to him that he is not at the top of his game anymore. The article in the paper about the cool ad agencies just highlighted that, so he had to prove himself.

I want more Peggy and Joan though.

[sporky]

May 14, 2012 7:39:34 GMT -5 ceejay said:

Oh, and as an emotional eater, I TOTALLY related to Betty coming home from seeing the beautiful apartment and skinny wife, and downing that spray whip cream.

omg me too. i really felt for her with the all of the WW scenes and that pitiful thanksgiving dinner. i think anyone who's ever had weight issues can totally relate to that storyline.

[verypunny]

I felt bad for Betty, she is obviously unhappy and trying to convince herself otherwise. That whole "Im thankful nobody has anything better than me" Just highlights it. I still think think the whole Anna thing was so childishly manipulative but she is not in a good place. She does look like she is losing weight though.

I liked megan this episode, I think she did do the best she could given that she was kind of steamrolled by Sally.

Pete is creepy.

I dont really blame Don, he is the boss, if he wants to go with his idea he can.

[pescalita]

Also, Don is actually invested in work again, going in on the weekend and then stating late actually doing work. Interesting that happened not when Cooper told him to, but when Megan quit.

[josieposy]

How about Pete's comment to train dude (whatever his name is) "I'll screw your wife."?

[sbp not logged in]

May 14, 2012 8:26:58 GMT -5 dev22 said:

Ditto! I adored the weight watchers part of this episode, and happy to have Betty back as a main part of an episode again.

I also thought that Megan did the best she could in that situation. That is a hard thing to try and handle. And yes, she let Sally manipulate her, but she has only been a step mom for a short while -- she doesn't have the whole parent thing down quite yet. I actually really like Megan, and I like Don with her.

It was interesting to see Don try to stay relevant this ep. He realizes that Ginsberg has overshadowed him talent wise, and it seems to finally really get to him that he is not at the top of his game anymore. The article in the paper about the cool ad agencies just highlighted that, so he had to prove himself.

I want more Peggy and Joan though.

Yeah, I thought the episode was interesting for that aspect. I think someone last week pointed out the the series as a whole is supposed to depict the fall of the ad man, and I think we're definitely beginning to see that. The young hip talent, the inability to understand the music, the inability to remain relevant in the main stream - like the one agency that was featured was two young men and a woman. Of course the New York Magazine was going to show that. Why would they show Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Pryce. What's ground breaking about that?

[moreace01]

Glad to see Don back at work finally. Kind of surprised he left an ad in the taxi in Manhattan for anyone to find... it would have been a heck of a lot easier to go to the meeting with both ads, prsented his and try to sell it and only use Ginsberg's as a backup. Kinda ballsy of him not to bring the backup anyway - they need the work.

Sally. Wow. Cannot believe some of her lines last night. Megan was a little out of line - could have said "talk to your father" and left it at that. Don calling Betty to yell instead of deaing with his daughter was also a bit out of line.

Betty's weight watchers meetings were so sad. As was the steak Henry made cause he was starving... I wonder if Betty will start to recreate any of the recipes from the famed weight watchers recipe cards? Cause those are classic (and hilarious).

And Jane - who knew Jane likely loved Roger? I've never really disliked Roger until last night.

[ESF]

May 14, 2012 6:40:16 GMT -5 ceejay said:

I felt for Betty. She feels like she "bet on the wrong horse", like Henry.

I know her and Don weren't good together but how awful must it feel. He loves Megan in a way that he never loved Betty (love notes, tells her the truth about himself from the jump-off, etc.), Megan is younger and beautiful, she has this amazing full lifestyle in a beautiful apartment, the kids can talk to Megan in a way that they won't talk to Betty because she is their mom, and well just because. And I'm sure this all does make Betty feel bitter and jealous. This woman got the life Betty wanted, the Don that Betty wanted and I'm sure she realizes that some of that is due to her own personality. She wasn't able to bring out the Don that Megan was. That must suck to realize about yourself. And that's partly why she started eating, right. She didn't gain weight until after Don got remarried, right?

I agree with all this. I actually loved this story line last night. It was so spot on. I find Betty a much more interesting character than Megan, and I thought think this whole new Betty story line is great.

I also really love the three copywriters - Peggy, Ginsburg, and that other guy. They have a great dynamic, and I wish they'd show more of them.

Pete is so creepy.

Finally, the scene with Roger and Ginsburg - OMG, priceless. Roger Sterling is my favorite.

[moreace01]

May 14, 2012 10:38:01 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

May 14, 2012 10:24:53 GMT -5 @majorwife said:

I think she always loved him but was being a fucking child last night.

I don't think she loved him. I think she wanted a certain lifestyle and went after it. I mean, she STILL wants money and a certain lifestyle, that's why she went to the dinner - to get a new apartment. I think her "sadness" comes from the fact that she's been cast aside and it's wounded her ego.

Ok, I'll buy that. And both apartments are the reminder of the lifestyle she no longer has.

I have to wonder what an apartment is worth vs client revenue. One would think Roger would not come out on top in this arrangement.

[pugz]

kind of off topic, but did anyone see that the actress playing Megan has entered herself for best lead actress, not supporting actress (for the Emmys)? I don't think she is a lead even though she gets lots of screen time.

[pescalita]

May 14, 2012 10:00:09 GMT -5 @soudesafinado said:

I'm likely reacting to Megan based on the way that I was parented. I wasn't friends with my mom or my stepmom -- they were parents. We are friends NOW that I am an adult, but as a kid, my stepmother would have never let me mouth off at her or handled that situation like that.

I think this is a big difference between Betty's generation and Megan's.

May 14, 2012 10:47:25 GMT -5 moreace01 said:

I have to wonder what an apartment is worth vs client revenue. One would think Roger would not come out on top in this arrangement.

Except it wasn't about client revenue at all, it was about Roger asserting power. He doesn't actually need to do anything to make money, he doesn't even need to work to support himself and his ex-wives. He's willing to spend boatloads on feeling relevant.

The WW stuff is kind of fascinating just from a period standpoint, and at this point of the series they're kind of running out of things like that (the drinking and smoking is old hat). But in general I'm not a fan of the Fat Betty storyline or meme, and I think it's kind of a lazy way to write around a pregnancy.

[ceejay]

It's interesting to me how well Peggy plays with others. She seems to one of the only ones who enjoys working with really talented people. She doesn't seem to get intimidated or anxious about other people's talent. Ginsburg doesn't scare her the way he does Don. And she worked well with Megan also, except when Don pulled her away all the time. I would have thought being the only female copywriter she would be worried about her job. I think it's great that her character isn't written that way.

I'm really interested to see what happens with the Ginsburg character.

And Pete seems like he's just waiting to go off on someone. I wonder what will happen with the baby he and Peggy had. Will that come back up somehow for either one of them?

[ESF]

May 14, 2012 12:36:33 GMT -5 asdfjkl said:

May 14, 2012 11:37:14 GMT -5 pescalita said:

I think this is a big difference between Betty's generation and Megan's.



Except it wasn't about client revenue at all, it was about Roger asserting power. He doesn't actually need to do anything to make money, he doesn't even need to work to support himself and his ex-wives. He's willing to spend boatloads on feeling relevant.

The WW stuff is kind of fascinating just from a period standpoint, and at this point of the series they're kind of running out of things like that (the drinking and smoking is old hat). But in general I'm not a fan of the Fat Betty storyline or meme, and I think it's kind of a lazy way to write around a pregnancy.

Oooh, I disagree. I think the lazy way to write around a pregnancy is to have the pregnant actress always carrying a box or a bag of groceries or some giant purse in front of her otherwise obviously pregnant belly. This story line gives them a chance to explore another interesting cultural aspect of that time which is the emerging junk food and diet industries - as well as noting the differences between the way we view food now and then. Like now, Betty would eat steak. She'd probably be on some version of atkins or south beach.

I completely agree. I don't know if I've seen a TV show where a character struggles with weight gain. Sometimes people are already overweight, and that's their character. What's interesting about Betty's character is that it is new weight. I don't see it as lazy at all, particularly because it I think it fits into such a great plot line. I thought the scene with her in Don's apartment was one of the best scenes all season.

The other thing that stood out to me about the Weight Watchers part is that exercise and fitness weren't really mentioned. This was really before women were playing sports, so weight loss is all just "eat a grapefruit."

By the way, if anyone has not seen this website --- it's amazing and hilarious.

www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

Weight watcher recipe cards from 1974!!!!

[basilosaurus]

Once again, I see my grandmother in Betty. She's also done all those diets. The good unsaturated fat thing is definitely new, like only in the last decade new. Back in Betty's day, Crisco and margarine were considered good fats.

I still dislike Megan and hate that she's now the focus of the show, but I think her conversation with Sally was doing the best she could. I saw my (adopted) mom's struggle in that interaction. Coming in as a new parent, you do have to be a friend to be accepted (and acceptance is key to not having all out hell), more than a parent from birth would have to be. And b/c you don't have a history, every exchange is more difficult to know how to navigate.

Overall, I'm not thrilled with the last few episodes. It seems far too scattered, trying to weave all these different people together.

[sb]

I also really liked the weight watchers meeting as a contrast to Betty's therapy in the first season. There, she was laying in a room talking to one guy, it was very private, he didn't even talk back.

Here, she's in a room full of women, sharing her emotions (or struggling to at least), and it's all very in your face and public. I think it mirrors how people were becoming more open and it shows how the older generation (Betty, Don, Roger, etc.) were struggling with that a bit.

Another example is that Megan's instinct was to talk to Sally about Anna, at least a little bit, whereas Don wondered why she talked to her at all. He wants to keep everything secret while Megan wants it to be in the open.

Also, they're hitting us over the head with Pete going down the same destructive path as Don. In his fantasy, Rory Gilmore WAS Betty from ten years ago, even in a fur.

[ceejay]

How old is Betty supposed to be? 10 yrs older than Megan?

[basilosaurus]

May 14, 2012 16:23:38 GMT -5 ceejay said:

How old is Betty supposed to be? 10 yrs older than Megan?

Roughly. I think she was 23 or so when she had Sally who's now 11? Is that right?

[sb]

Betty was born in 1932. So in the current season she's 33/34,

[mx27]

yay for betty screen time!

ditto everything SBP said, especially @ finding betty more interesting than megan. betty's also better looking

i agree with the majority, i thought megan did the best she could and she was definitley right when she told don NOT to call betty.

jane gets no sympathy from me.

[Deleted]

I lOved the scene between Sally and Betty at the end and how Sally played it. She is a lot like her mom.

[heyjude]

All I could see was product placements everywhere! It was a boring episode. I fell asleep in the middle of it. That has never happened!

I hate Megan. I predict she becomes her own spoiled version of Betty.

[heyjude]

May 14, 2012 11:23:32 GMT -5 pugz said:

kind of off topic, but did anyone see that the actress playing Megan has entered herself for best lead actress, not supporting actress (for the Emmys)? I don't think she is a lead even though she gets lots of screen time.

What a douchecanoe.

[ttt]

I was glad to see slightly less Megan in this episode, and I actually feel sorry for Betty now.

I can't stand Ginsburg - I find him so obnoxious. And I'm disappointed that the whole civil rights storyline just kind of petered out. I was hoping we'd see more of Dawn and how she's treated and how she feels about working at SCDP.

And where is Lane?? I miss him!