I eat Pop Culture.

This turned out to be one heck of a season of Mad Men, and last night’s finale did not disappoint!

****************SPOILER ALERT**************

After the big confrontation two episodes back we knew it was coming, the end of the wedding-cake-topper couple, and it did, with Don moving out and Betty on a plane to Reno.  I think it’s fascinating that the two of them didn’t really attempt to fight for each other, for the marriage, for the family, yet they were both relentless in going for what they really wanted, a divorce and a new agency. It will be interesting to see how the writers handle the new dynamics, Betty playing house with Henry, the kids with a new father-figure, Don living on his own in Manhattan.  There hasn’t really been any character growth with these two, just that they’ve changed their environments to suit them…we’ve watched two of the main characters of this show go through three seasons of life happening around them, and yet they both remain completely flawed. Full of fairy-tale endings, Mad Men is not. Which is why we love it.

And now on to Sterling Cooper 2.0–Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.  I thought the whole sneak in and take everything and everyone over the weekend brought the show a unique energy.  Mad Men is almost entirely dialogue-driven, so to see Draper kick in the Art Department door, the plot to get the files, watch the boxes be carted away and the new firm’s  relocation to the Pierre, there was something so exciting and urgent about it all. Don typing on the coffee table, Harry stationed in the bedroom, and Joan explaining that meetings were to take place beyond the hotel lobby, it was kind of like watching foreign correspondents in a make-shift news bureau (complete with exquisite window treatments, lovely teacups and lush upholstery).  Of course, the intensity was slightly interrupted when Trudy arrived with all kinds of sandwiches! Ah, she means well, and she’s proud of Pete–and their marriage just might make it. For now.

A few more nuggets I cared about from last night’s show…Don’s speech to Peggy, Peggy refusing to get Roger coffee, JOAN COMING BACK and saving the day (naturally), Lane getting a little revenge on PPL.

So, it’s going to be an interesting new season ahead. I’m going to keep a look out for any spoilers, leaks, predictions, etc. and post something closer to the premiere of Season 4. Until then, we wait and go back to a life without Mad Men…*sigh*

I know, I know, I’ve been a bit absent these past few weeks with the Mad Men recaps, I just needed to take a little break from writing about the show, but of course this week’s episode was just too big to not write something…

…so, now that Betty knows about Don, not only should we be asking “who are you supposed to be?” but also “just what the heck is going to happen now?”

Will Betty forgive Don, or will she seek a divorce?  Yes, he has lied to her every day as she pointed out, but is it enough for her to now know the truth? And for Don, once again his past has collided with his present. He knows he can’t really run again, but his alternative escape, other women, will have to end, and more than just an episode or two. He knows he has to be on his absolute best behavior if he wants to salvage his marriage.

Jon Hamm and January Jones both put in knock-out performances—and the added suspense with Suzanne waiting in the car was just one more example of why this show will go down as one of the best in TV history. The production was phenomenal, from the minute Don walked through the front door and was startled by his family’s unexpected early return home—it took me back to previous sequences where Don came home and imagined being greeted by his family—to all the movement through out the house, each location establishing the mood. The altercation in the office, to the sit down at the table, and finally the intimacy of the bedroom, going through the photos.

I imagine with JFK’s assassination coming, the  writers are setting up the parallel “end of an era” in Mad Men land…Sterling Cooper’s up for sale; Don finally told Betty the truth; Betty might now have the upper hand; Roger Sterling doesn’t feel the need to stray; and Joan’s husband will probably be shipped off to Vietnam.

I think Peggy’s quote during the focus group summed up all the tension quite nicely:  “I can’t turn it off, it’s actually happening.”

So, two more episodes to go…I’ll definitely write post-finale, and of course do an overall wrap up about the season.

Italy never looked better!

It was nice to get away from Sterling Cooper for a bit…August in New York may be slow and empty, but for the Mad Men kids there is still plenty of drama to be had!

*********************SPOILER ALERT, so  for the love of Betty’s magnificent updo and dangerously-sexy Italian make-over, please don’t read any further if you don’t want to know what happened in Episode 8

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RECAP:

• Don is now traveling quite a bit for Hilton Hotels, he takes Betty on a two-day trip to Rome
• Betty gets Henry Francis to speak on behalf of the Junior League and their development-halting efforts at a local hearing with the town mayor and trustees. Henry presents a memo, from the Governor’s office, insisting that more research needs to be done. Oh, and at the end of the evening Henry kisses Betty, she doesn’t stop him.
• Pete decides to be neighborly and help out the Au Pair living down the hall–she had ruined one of her employer’s dresses (that she had borrowed without permission). He takes the dress to a department store to exchange it, and runs into Joan, who is now working there. Later, Pete gets drunk and forces a kiss on the nanny, which leads his neighbor to tell him to back off. This all occurs while Trudy is vacationing with her parents.
• Sally kisses Ernie (Francine’s son) and then beats on her little brother for teasing her about it. Carla tells Betty about Sally’s anger issues  (and the kiss).

SUMMARY:

I’m still recovering from that whirlwind trip to Italy, hot! hot! hot! Let’s first discuss Betty… she’s got that Henry Francis in the palm of her hand…but it’s the attention and respect from her husband she so desperately wants. The happiness and satisfaction she felt after the success at the hearing,  she was so giddy and confident to speak with Don about something important and worthy, and outside their household.  It was interesting how she shared all the details with Don, when he doesn’t tell her anything about his job, but she was able to conceal the kiss she had with Henry (a technique she picked up from Don, perhaps?).

But as we know, Betty’s heightened sophistication and power didn’t stop there–it continued in Italy–which, if I’m not mistaken, I believe that’s where the Drapers went on their honeymoon. She spoke the language fluently, she indulged at the salon, where she emerged looking like a fashion model (which we know she used to be). She was flirtatious and aggressive with Don, it was as if they had gone back in time, before the house in the suburbs and the kids, when they were just newlyweds in Manhattan, madly in love.

And then it was back to reality…and that morning-back-at-the-house scene, with Don heading to work and Betty in a simple summer dress and her hair in a headband, she was so irritated, wiping at her dress and so obviously miserable being back in her kitchen, my heart just broke for her. Italy wasn’t just a romantic getaway for her, it was a two-day delay from her life…

…”When you have no power, delay”…which is what Henry said to Betty after the hearing, and we know it stuck because she repeated it back to Don. At the end of the episode she says to Don that she “hates this place, our friends, this town.” Don giving her the charm from Italy didn’t help things either, the souvenir of another life, another path, a reminder of what she doesn’t have, “then I can have something to look at when I tell the story about Rome.”

And finally, to wrap up Betty, let’s delve into that heart-to-heart she had with Sally, about kisses.  I felt like Betty was talking to herself, and Sally was just there to help absorb her thoughts:

Betty: I don’t want you running around kissing boys (which Betty has now done twice, the guy in the bar last season, and of course Henry)...and you don’t kiss boys, boys kiss you…the first kiss is very special.

Sally: But I already did it, it’s over.

Betty: You are going to have a lot of first kisses. You are going to want it to be special so you remember. It’s where you go from being a stranger to knowing someone. Every kiss with them after that is a shadow of that kiss.

So, what does this mean for her and Henry? It’s like the child in her and the adult in her are wrestling for control…she loves the idea of first kisses, but they also mean something to her, they have significance, it’s more than just being whimsical. Did she convince herself not to let things with Henry move forward?  I would guess that based on her conversation with Francine about the water tower, and the possibility of seeking further help from Henry, her quick “I’m done with that” response had double-meaning. Yet, it seems that Henry’s attention gives her confidence, fills that void from Don, and then when she approaches Don she feels more in control. But of course, this is Mad Men, and they are constantly making us guess, so we who knows what that Betty Draper will do?

And speaking of people surprising us, and then not surprising us: Pete Campbell. I was so touched that he was compelled to help out the neighbor nanny. And then of course, the old drunken obnoxious thoughtless conniving Pete Campbell came back.  He just can’t pick a side, can he? With Trudy gone, no social life, sleeping in front of the TV, he easily dwindled back into a Pete completely out of control, fueled by loneliness and fear.

One last thing I want to cover: Joan…working in the department store, helping out Pete. She appeared to be composed, and in charge, but we know she was suffering inside–this was not the life she had hoped for. I’m glad they gave us a glimpse of Joan, just to remind us that she’s not gone, but I’m so concerned for her. She’s always taking care of everyone else, making concessions for everyone else…please tell me the Mad Men kids have something good cooking for Joan somewhere down the line.

All right, that’s enough rehashing for now…this Sunday’s episode, “Wee Small Hours” features Betty hosting a fundraiser (so, maybe Henry isn’t bye-bye just yet?).

Nice to see the kids at Mad Men shaking things up a bit with those dramatic future-forward clips at the beginning:  Peggy sleeping in a fancy hotel suite, Don face down on the floor of a motel room and Betty draped over a plush chaise lounge–and then the episode cuts backs to the present (or day before, however you want to look at it), with Don getting ready for work…And by the way, was it just me or did anyone else think for a split-second Peggy was in bed with Don?!

************************SPOILER ALERT, so for the love of not looking directly at a solar eclipse, please don’t read any further if you don’t want to know what happened in Episode 7*****************************

RECAP:

• Don brings in the New York Hilton Hotels account, Sterling Cooper makes him sign a three-year contract.
• Duck continues to woo Peggy and Pete, sending expensive gifts. Peggy visits him at his hotel suite to return her gift and they end up in bed together.
• Betty, fresh from redecorating her living room, decides to get involved with the Junior League and local politics. Her first assignment, as secretary, is to attempt to halt the production of a large, unsightly water tower.  She reconnects with Henry Francis, the same handsome, distinguished-looking man she met at Roger’s garden party, who just happens to work in the Governor’s office.
• Sally’s teacher continues to put herself out there for Don to pursue and he continues to avoid going there…but he will drive drunk and pick up young hitch-hikers, hang out with them in a road-side motel, take some drugs, and then get knocked out and robbed.

SUMMARY:

Let’s start with Peggy…and DUCK! Did anyone see that coming?? I sure as heck didn’t. Yet, now that it has happened, it totally makes sense. The two of them are using each other…

Duck wants to poach Don’s talent to get back at him. I have no doubt he thinks Peggy is talented and ideal for the female-geared clients at his agency, but he must still be angry over how things went down when PPL merged with Sterling Cooper…and Peggy…well, Peggy is going through all sorts of phases and trying to figure out who she is as a woman and how to conduct herself in a man’s world. Remember the advice Bobbie Barrett gave her: “You can’t be a man. Be a woman. It’s powerful business when done correctly”…prior to their afternoon delight Peggy told Duck she wants to be Copy Chief…and…well, I guess it could be said that she’s trying out the “sex gets you things” tactic. We will just have to wait and see how that works out for her.

Moving on to Betty…she’s really fighting for some independence isn’t she? She’s involved with the Junior League and dabbling in civic issues; she reached out to Henry Francis, so now she’s making her own connections. And although I think there is some chemistry between Betty and Henry, I also think she just appreciates having a man treat her like an adult, she wants to be respected and considered interesting and intelligent. Unlike Don who never speaks with her about things beyond the home, he doesn’t even discuss his contract with her.  Did you notice that after she spoke with Henry on the phone, in the study, she yanked at Don’s locked desk drawer? She must do that every time she’s in there.

…And then that antique fainting couch…she didn’t care if she “ruined” the modern scheme of her recently redecorated living room. She plopped that enormous chaise lounge right in front of the fireplace, because according to her interior decorator, “the hearth is the soul of your home. People gather around a fire even if there isn’t one.”

And finally, Don…and that damn contract.  Now we know the origin of the episode title: 7/23 is the day Don finally committed to Sterling Cooper. Roger’s tactic was to go through Betty, follow up with the lawyer; Bert’s was to bring up the past, that he knows Don isn’t really Don, “when it comes down to it, who’s really signing this contract anyway?”

But the night before he signed it, he had one of his “I have to get away drives” after his fight with Betty, which involved that whole motel-thing. And as scandalous as all that was, the most interesting thing was his hallucination of speaking with his father. The conversation touched on Don’s guilt for what he does, “you grow bullshit,” which gives some validity to Roger’s concern, “I don’t know if you don’t want to do this here or you don’t want to do this at all.” But alas, Don isn’t privileged like Roger, so he has to work and stay where he is, trapped once again. And as he signed the contract he told Bert he wanted no more contact with Roger. I guess Don feels he needs some power somewhere, and between the three men running his life right now–Roger, Bert and Connie–Roger is the only one who didn’t overtly exert dominance by helping himself to Don’s office and Don’s desk chair.

Next week we have Episode 8, “Souvenir”–Don takes Betty on a business trip…hmmmmm. Oh, one last thing: I’m getting anxious that we haven’t seen or heard from Joan…I really hope she pops up soon, I’m going through serious withdrawals.