Just before season 5 began, Josh and I powered through the first four seasons of Mad Men.
At first I couldn’t stomach much of it, then I tolerated it, and eventually I devoured it.
Until recently.
This season has lost me a bit. I just think they’ve lost the plot.
Friends that I know that watch the show watch for one (or a combination) of the following reasons- the 1960′s nostalgia, the ridiculously amazing clothes, the office camaraderie, the fascinating car-accident-like self destruction of Don, the sardonic wit of Sterling, and the empowerment of Peggy.
Lately, it seems as though they’ve lost these core reasons for their viewership and are floundering to make up for it. With boobs.
Sex has always been an integral piece of the show. The only reason I could stomach so much of it in so many forms is that it always seemed to contribute in some way to the character development or plot progression. Lately, sex hasn’t been a building block of who these people are or how their story is being shaped. It’s more of a distraction from the lack of direction. For example, since Megan’s become Don’s love interest, nearly every episode has featured her in her panties. Not with a purpose. Don is helping her zip the back of her dress as they get ready for dinner and chat. Just because she’s thin and hot, I’m assuming. Could we understand that they’re getting ready for a party without seeing her in her panties? Yes. Do they still manage to show her bending over in them? Of course. And Megan is only one character- I’m not even mentioning Jane spilling out of both ends of a bathrobe while holding a serious conversation or the prostitute posing and preening for Pete.
Beyond the bland and pointless sex- a seeming desperate plea for attention- I’ve lost interest in the characters. Each of the core reasons for watching that I mentioned above are waning. The nostalgia is less of a focus (particularly as Betty and the family are less central to the story). We’re inching into the late 60′s and away from all of the flattering fashion in favor of go-go boots and white eyeliner. The guys of the office have sort of disbanded and their interactions serve as less of a focal point. But the real disappointment is the shift in direction for Don.
I hated hated hated the things he did. But I watched with a sort of marvel. I longed for his redemption- one of my main reasons for watching. But now that he’s… come around, I guess? It’s sort of fallen flat. Because there was no real redemption. As far as I can tell, there was no struggle away from the grip of his vices. No epiphany, no turning point, no triumph. There’ve been several points in the series wherein I thought, “Yes! This is it! Don realizes he’s losing Betty, he’s totally gonna right the ship…. Oh. He’s sleeping with a 20 year old in California. Nevermind… WAIT! He doesn’t remember what happened last night! He’s realizing the control alcohol and sex have in his life! Whoops, just kidding, there he goes again…”
More recently, nothing really seems to have happened to flip that switch. He married Megan. That’s about all I can come up with. And, to be honest, that doesn’t sit well with me. Are we to believe that Don’s vices aren’t his personal issues but are wrapped up in the woman to whom he’s married? That’s what it seems when we’ve watched four seasons of blundering through his relationship with Betty but then he’s suddenly not just a great husband, but also a great father (“Take off that make-up, young lady!” Really? Up until this point, he’s never said more to Sally than, “Go watch TV.”) because he’s married to Megan. I don’t buy it. I don’t think that’s realistic. I don’t like the statement that makes about marriage. And I don’t think that does justice to the internal struggle we’ve witnessed in Don for several years.
So! I’m definitely no TV critic. What are your thoughts? Am I totally reading this wrong?
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May 3, 2012 9:35 pm
I never wanted Don to be redeemed. I wanted him to represent the American culture/society’s general decline and fall and have him crash forward into the Patrick Bateman 1980s. Mostly because that storyline makes sense to me. I can see how a Draper —> Bateman world happens. Also I like stories of people behaving badly. But this Megan = redemption thing is total crap to me too, coming from the other side. It feels false and not earned and pointless. I signed up for destruction and implosion and the fall of America, not this midlife crisis, blame it on the bitchy ex wife crap. That was NOT the story they were originally telling.
May 3, 2012 9:44 pm
I can understand that angle- sort of relishing the downward spiral.
The one thing I keep wondering is if this is all false, and we’re going to find Don lashing out in bigger more self-destructive ways after stifling himself for so long.
May 3, 2012 10:06 pm
I don’t think we’re seeing Don’s redemption but rather a Don who *thinks* he’s been redeemed when really he hasn’t changed at all. (Hence the crazy domestic violence in “Far Away Places”) He might think that if he’d met Megan first, everything would have been different in his life, but he’s deluding himself. She definitely understands him better than Betty did and plays him more deftly, but the moment she asserts any kind of independence or disagreement that doesn’t end with mock-angry-sex, he freaks out. And let’s not forget that Betty was young, beautiful, career-driven (modeling), and worldly (spoke Italian) when he met her. I’m wondering if we’ll see him break Megan’s spirit too.
It’s also interesting that his work life is suffering – this week we hear that no one wants to work with him, Bert gave him a dressing down about not being able to manage his creative team, and Megan came up with the brilliant Heinz pitch, not Don. Don might think he’s entitled to a honeymoon phase or that he doesn’t care about work anymore, but I think in the next few episodes we’ll see him come to a realization about what that really means (i.e. he’s not the golden boy anymore).
I’m not sure why all the sex all of a sudden, though….
May 3, 2012 10:42 pm
But Betty was never Megan. She needed approval and validation and Megan doesn’t, she wants equality. Betty would have loved to be whisked away from work on a holiday as the boss’s wife. Megan wants to work and be a valuable member of her team. I don’t think Megan will be Betty 2.0 at all. If anything, I think Don will struggle with her being more of an equal, someone he cannot quash. He could always shut Betty down in a second with a mean comment. Maybe that’s where they’re headed with it, but for me that’s not the character theyve built.
May 3, 2012 10:48 pm
I don’t know… we never got to see the Betty that Don married, only the Betty she was after years of living with him. I’m hugely not a fan of Betty and I do think Megan is different in significant ways (i.e. not passive-aggressive), but I can very easily imagine a scenario in which Don and Betty had an idyllic first year of marriage as well. In the 50s Don had the Grace Kelly 50s princess. He then decided he wanted the 60s liberated career woman, but what will happen to Megan if she doesn’t stay in that neat little box?
May 3, 2012 10:59 pm
I just don’t buy that Betty ever wanted more than the wife and mother thing and we’ve seen that Megan insists on a real career despite what Don says. He thinks her friends are weird and she laughs it off. Don yelled at Betty over a bikini and thinks nothing of what Megan wears (or doesn’t). I think the two women represent their time periods/generations and we’re meant to see if Don can move into the future (with Megan). I just don’t see him breaking her. I think she would leave him before that happened. He needs her far more than she needs him.
May 3, 2012 11:01 pm
I have no doubt he thinks he’s moving into the future with Megan. I’m just not convinced she’s going to stand for being placed on a pedestal like that.
May 3, 2012 11:07 pm
I agree with that! I just don’t think this is a “Don breaks Megan” story. I think this is a story where Don tries to have a Betty do-over, but Megan is not Betty and so that approach does not work. Whether or not he is able to see that and give Megan what she needs is a sign of whether or not he will be able to move forward with his career and life or if he’ll be left behind. I don’t think this is the same as the times he resolved to “do right” by Betty and then failed. I think this is a new direction, not a retread.
May 4, 2012 7:57 am
Interesting – so far this is one of my *favorite* seasons, because I feel like the show is intentionally pushing me to lose faith in the pretty consistent stories and character love that I had before.
Like you said, I had become quite comfortable (if not in favor of) Don’s philandering genius ways, and so now watching him act like a weenie is painful, and I think that’s exactly what the writers want. I think they are purposefully staying away from any sort of redemption, because redemption and Don don’t mix, and anyway how many people really experience such a thing in real life? Fewer than we’d like to believe, I’m sure.
My past cheerleading for Pete and Peggy is being thrown in my face now that they are acting like a weird combination of the old Don. And I am practically licking my TV screen during every single scene involving Sally and/or Roger this season- two characters that used to routinely annoy me, but are now pitch-perfect.
I haven’t noticed or been bothered by the sex-non-sexiness of this season, probably because I’m always too busy staring at Megan’s fascinating mouth.
Great post!
May 4, 2012 9:02 am
I can get on board with this not being redemption and just being sort of Don as a different kind of ass. I guess it’s entirely possible, too. I’m just so afraid that it’s becoming, “Look! Don is a good guy now!” And… ick. No he’s not.
May 4, 2012 9:52 am
Agreed – I would totally feel the ick factor if I felt I was being steered toward true Don sympathy.
But I do believe that the way in which the writers are crafting Don’s new life – many little steps forward combined with a few giant steps back, the in-your-face faithfulness, his starry-eyed Megan obsession – is meant to make us think. “Hm. This is just not right. Something feels weird and distasteful here.” I’m personally preparing for a major weird and distasteful disaster to come soon for the Drapers.
May 4, 2012 7:55 pm
“I’m personally preparing for a major weird and distasteful disaster to come soon for the Drapers.”
I haven’t gotten to watch this season yet, but ever since Don met Megan, I’ve been preparing for that. It seemed like he saw her as his chance to “do marriage better,” but he hasn’t worked through his OWN demons yet–he’s still seeking distraction–so I feel like the relationship is doomed to fail.
May 4, 2012 10:10 am
Aw, man, Kerry NAILED IT.
I also have this theory about the sex that it’s supposed to juxtapose Don’s perceived motivations with his actual motivations. His words are meant to paint him as a morally superior person, but in reality his relationship with Megan (as far as I’m concerned) is just a really drawn-out version of what he had with every other woman he ever slept with. Except he’s trying to convince himself it’s more than that.
But really, I’m in this season for liberated Joan. She’s coming. Just watch.
May 4, 2012 10:27 am
YES JOAN.
May 4, 2012 1:54 pm
I named my bike after Sally Draper. Love love love love love love that girl. And the “date” between her and Roger this week? Totally amazing until it went so, so wrong.
God, I love me some Sally Draper.
May 4, 2012 9:27 am
I can stay on board with the story, and with Don not really changing or redeeming himself remotely. That’s what happens in real life, especially with narcissistic personalities like Don in situations where their narcissism is encouraged or rewarded.
What I can’t get on board with is Megan as Don’s savior. That’s boring for me as the viewer and a totally unfair standard for marriage. Marriage can’t turn a raging alcoholic who’s an emotionally, sometimes physically, abusive womanizer into a saint.
If Don continues to be a giant ball of sleaze, but in a different way, I’ll buy that. I won’t like him or find him sympathetic, but I’ll believe his character would behave that way. I just don’t want to watch Megan lose her spirit and spend the rest of her life playing mother to Don. That would be tragic!
May 4, 2012 10:16 am
GAH! I can’t wait for Liberated Joan!!!!!!
May 4, 2012 10:23 am
This is the best season yet. The sex seems equal to past seasons. And how could you gloss over the slow motion train wreck that is Pete! That’s the greatest part. The little turd is finally getting what he deserves after all this time. Also, why can’t a divorce and a new powerful woman turn Don around? He actually has a challenge in front of him and he realizes he likes the challenge and doesn’t want to lose it. Betty was a flat, boring pushover.
May 4, 2012 10:28 am
Nah, Don’s issues are just that- his issues. Whatever woman is next to him won’t change the fact that he’s a broken, messed up guy.
May 4, 2012 10:30 am
but they can make him change. I’ve seen it in real life plenty of times.
May 4, 2012 10:35 am
Yeah, that’s my point, though! If he’s going to change, he should have a *moment*- a personal, introspective change. Not a change as a result of sleeping with a different woman. TRUE change doesn’t happen that way.
May 4, 2012 2:04 pm
Second to Pete. That is the storyline I am most relishing so far this season. Well, that and the crafted pounced of liberated Joan!
Pete has everything you are supposed to want (just like Don had). In a way, it seems like Pete and Trudy are showing us the beginning of Don and Betty’s marriage. They had an ok foundation when they first married, they seemed to genuinely care for one another and enjoy each others company. Trudy was supportive and Pete wasn’t a giant turd to her like he is to everyone else. But now he has a house in the suburbs (just like Don), a new baby (just like Don), is moving up at work (just like Don) and is increasingly unhappy (just like Don). It’s not difficult to see Pete spiraling into a world of philandering and lies, especially now that he has a drivers’ license!
The Trudy-Peggy contrast never ceases to fascinate and amaze me. Pete chose one path and I don’t think he necessarily regrets it, or would ever say those things out loud, but they are incredibly useful foils.
May 4, 2012 2:35 pm
Pete cheated on Trudy right before and right after their wedding! I don’t think Pete Campbell has ever cared about anyone.
May 4, 2012 6:39 pm
True, true. But there were some genuine, tender, intimate moments between the two of them. And Trudy really does try to be a loving and supportive wife in a way Betty had probably lost the spirit to be.
I hate Pete most of the time but not all the time.
May 4, 2012 3:19 pm
YES. I love hating Pete. And relished the irony of Don scolding him for throwing his life away. Loved it!
May 4, 2012 2:58 pm
It’s so interesting to hear you describe Don as reformed – that’s not at all how I’ve seen him this season. I see him as struggling constantly with his inner demons – as portrayed very well in the episode when his past comes to haunt him in the form of an ex in his fevered state and he is kills her. I didn’t see this as him “killing his urge to cheat” but rather as him not being in control of himself. I think he has vowed to do better, but as all the fights with Megan show, he is not at peace.
And about him stepping up as a father – I think that’s just him being forced to step up in Betty’s absence. Before he could just pass off ALL the parenting to her but now he is forced to at least do it part time. Also with Sally, it may be that he is starting to recognize that she’s growing up and will soon be subject to the objectification he is very familiar with.
All in all, I am LOVING this season. Joan is wonderful as always, I love watching Peggy navigate a man’s world while still trying to be a woman too, and everytime Roger speaks I just want to clap.
May 4, 2012 3:22 pm
Ah, but that’s one of the scenes I had in mind in particular! Was that him struggling against or vanquishing his demons? The fact that he killed her made me wonder if it was supposed to be the latter, and it was sort of… anticlimactic. I’m hoping you and Kerry and everyone else are correct that they’re not trying to present a “reformed” Don so much as a dormant one. That I can handle.
GAH, Roger may be my favorite on the show. He’s always had that, “I really like this guy, but I just can’t stand him…” to him, and as time has gone on, the liking has overwhelmed the can’t standing.
May 4, 2012 3:33 pm
I think the way the scene unfolded, with him so out of control and desperate, made me think it wasn’t about him conquering his demons, but rather that he couldn’t deal with them properly. That they were still haunting him. If he was dealing with them in a reformed/controlled way, he would have just firmly escorted her out with signature Don authority.
At least I really want to believe that the writers of the show wouldn’t sink to such an anticlimatic way of him “killing” his demons. That would suck.
May 9, 2012 9:28 am
All the reasons you named are the reasons why I never really got into the show. To me, it was just hard to ignore the blatant disregard for things I hold precious (marriage, for one). After watching a few episodes the first season, I found I was always left with a vaguely unsettled feeling. I can’t really join in the lauding of Don Draper. Whenever people say how awesome he is, all I can think is how happy I am that I don’t know him.
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