Mad Men Season 6 episode 7 Man With A Plan

Mad Men, Man with a Plan opens with Don ease dropping on Silvia and Arnold in a huge fight. From there Silvia calls Don at the office and says she needs him and "nothing else will do" This, he likes and tells her to meet him at the Sherry Netherland. Once there we watch 50 Shades of Draper. He could have been a great S&M dominatrix. Silvia goes for it, why she doesn't hurl his shoes in his face, when he tells her to crawl on her hand and knees to find them for him, I have no idea. By the end of the day, Silvia realizes that this relationship has run it's course and tells Don so. Then something unexpected happens, Don begs just a "Please?", but still it was shocking.

I loved seeing Joan showing Peggy around the office again. Only this time Peggy knows what's going on and they are equals. Peggy's fears are realized when they get to her office and the "boys" have labeled it Peggy Olsen Coffee Chief, she's back to fighting for respect. It's not going to be as fun, but I'm sure she'll handle it.  Especially, if the way she deals with Don is any indication. When she goes in to talk to him about his stunt with Chaugh. He tries to shut her down with his usual put downs but she serves it right back. Good for Peggy!

Don vs Chaugh reminds me so much of the time Don got Roger ruined at lunch on oysters and martinis and then made him run flights of stairs to a client meeting. Like Chaugh's dying partner says, Don wins the early rounds, but when Chaugh gets Don in his plane, it's no contest. Chaugh takes it hands down. Don's going to have to work out some kind of peace or this is going to get ugly.

I love the partner meeting. They start normally but it quickly devolves into a fight about all the things the two firms have hidden from one another. They are still two separate entities they better resolve that. The only two who seem to have become one is Roger and Jim. They have gotten Leica to send them to Germany and they are smiling at each other like they are in love.

Joan and Bob at the hospital was charming. Bob is so smooth. He knows he's last hired and the person he's reporting to has been fired. He sees Joan and knows if he plays it right she will be a word for him in the partner meeting. I want to think he is also just being nice but I think he is a pretty calculating guy. Joan knows too of course, but she does save his job in the end.

Pete's descent into hell continues. Pete's brother and sister in law have had it with their senile mother. Pete's sister in law left his address in the city on mom's bed side table, so she shows up there. Pete's brother refuses to take her back. So now Pete is living with his mother, which is only increasing the speed of his decline at work. Rolling in late to the partner meeting there is no chair for him and Roger relishes the opportunity to point out that Don got the last seat which means even Don got to the meeting before Pete. As I said last week Pete better get it together, quick.

The show closes with Robert Kennedy's death. Things are not looking up.

This and That:

Roger firing Bert Peterson...again.
Bert " You're a prick."
Roger "You stole my goodbye"

Don and Chaugh flying. Don says he is relaxed so Chaugh makes the plane bump to scare him again.

Harry gets bumped down to a smaller office so Peggy can have his.

Pete saying his mother can go to hell and Ted Chaugh can fly here there.

All of Chaugh's hip speak- groovy, free associate, and wrap session.

Silvia is reading THE LAST PICTURE SHOW. Perfect for Mad Men so far, just a bunch of messed up people trying to figure out who they are as everything comes down around them. Hoping our Mad Men characters get a happier ending, but I doubt it...

For all my Mad Men posts

Mad Men Episode 8 Season 4

Mad Men Episode 8 The Summer Man, boy am I happy to see you. It's June 1965 and Don is taking control of his life. The show opens with him literally getting back in the swim of things at the New York Athletic Club. Then we go directly to Don talking about smelling corn, a symbol of plenty. I can only hope that the long dark haul that was the first half of this season is over!!!
I think Don's "60's radicalization" has begun. Don't get me wrong I don't think he'll be showing up in a paisley shirt any time. He has however begun to look inward. Writing a diary is a sure sign of that. I think he's finally stopped believing who others tell him he is(ie. a whore child), and stopped trying to be who he thinks he should be(a philandering schmuck). Don/Dick is going to try just being himself. He doesn't have to bang every girl anymore and if he wants to go to his son's birthday party he can go.
Betty is regretting (just a little) marrying the perfect Henry Francis. I think she's gotten tired of the big strong man telling her what to do all the time. Don's imperfections are looking less like failings, now that she sees she has some of her own.
Henry is definitely dealing with the fact that Betty is not Grace Kelly. I'm guessing they won't be paying Don rent much longer. He's feeling the squeeze and getting Don's boxes out of the garage is only going to go so far.
At the office feminist issues continue. A woman's only choices are meaningless secretary or humorless bitch or of course sit there and take it. After Joey's umpteenth disrespectful exchange with Joan, Joan loses it and basically tells him, Rizzo(whose stolen Mrs. Blankenships cataract surgery googles), and some third banana she'll be happy when they are all drafted and die in Viet Nam. Then Peggy fires him, love it, especially her "Don doesn't know who you are".
In office decor news, love Harry's office with the autographed Jed Clampett picture from The Beverly Hill Billies. The americanisation of Lane Pryce continues with his office decor of a Mets Pennant, Chrysler building, and the statue of liberty. He may be forcing it a bit.
We finally got our date with Don and Dr. Fay. I loved Don listening in to her break up call. She said exactly who she was, a women who gives a man a key to her home, but tells him to pick up after himself, and possibly above all she DOES NOT COOK! I thought Don was going to melt when she said her father was affiliated with the mob.

Things are looking up all over and we got to see Francine.

Mad Men Episode 7 Season 4

Mad Men Episode 7 Season 4 The Suitcase felt so connected to the first episode of the show for Don and Peggy. Many things that started there came back around. After Peggy's show of strength last week, this week we have her crying in the bathroom. Something I think she promised herself she would never do, in the first episode. The other thing was Don taking Peggy's hand. In the first episode Peggy tried to hold Don's hand and he pushed her away. Now they care about each other and know one another for who they are.
I think this episode underlines how much Don and Peggy have in common. Both of them feel like no one really understands them, neither of them feels they can be themselves, they both watched their fathers die, and of course they both have a secret. I don't think we'll see them become a couple. Though they have slept together now. Even if it was fully dressed on the couch in Don's office. They may become one anothers closest friend, and confidant. Maybe Peggy can get Don off the sauce.
I loved the scene when Don says that The only person (Anna) who really knew him had died and Peggy said that wasn't true. Also Don consoling Peggy on her break up with mark, saying "as Danny would say Don't cry over fish in the sea". But maybe the best thing in the episode was a shot of Don and Peggy on bar stools, in a bar listening to the Liston Ali fight. It's just their backs and everyone else in the bar is on their feet yelling at Liston "get up, get up!" they are both so still it felt to me like it was directed at them. Don't just lay their Don and Peggy get up and be yourselves.
The episode was full of information too. For example, we now know Dr Lyle Evans is the doctor who cut off Cooper's balls and who Cooper may or may not have had killed. I can't believe that Mrs Blankenship and Roger had a fling back in the day. I feel like Roger's book could be a series of it's own.
It was sad to see what a disaster Duck has become. Hopefully the fact that someone that messed up could get Don to literally say uncle, will wake Don up to how far down the rabbit hole he is. Pretty much everything in Don's life is screaming at him to get it together. Maybe next week...