Mad Men

Season Two, Ep 7. Could that car salesman have bigger ears? Don used to be a car salesman? Peyton List looked mazing. "Wait until she finds about your Cadillac? She'll be waiting naked underneath that window." Has poor Harry been duped by Roger thinking there really is a television department. Did I miss it, or has it veer been explained why shoes are not allowed in Cooper's office? Are Duck and Don related? "Philanthropy is the gateway to power." I wish for once Cooper would say exactly what he means. Christina Hendricks nailed that scene with Jane. Just what this show needs...more Joan. Am I the only one who doesn't understand why Don would cheat when he has Betty at home? Jane is good. She knew Roger would save her job. Roger wants Jane so bad he can taste her. So is Kitty in denial about the fact that Sal is gay? Sarah Drew was excellent in that scene. Hated her on Grey's Anatomy but really liked her here. Ken clearly doesn't have a clue. m Christina Hendricks and Peyton List nailed that second confrontation between Joan and Jane. Betty looked absolutely stunning at the party. "The drunker you are, the funnier I become." I guess Jimmy and Bobbie have an open marriage. Jimmy was WAY out of line with Betty. Loved what Jimmy said to Don but didn't realize he said it in front of Betty, that was great.

Cooper is eccentric: hence the bare feet in his office. Never explained.

Don is a serial adulterer. Makes no difference to him who he has at home.

I think Sal is in denial that he himself is gay.

__________________
I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

I would agree with you regarding Sal.

Season Two, Ep 8. So Don and Betty are just not talking about what happened with Johnny? Why is Peggy being so distant with Father Gil? Duck was way too hard on Harry...Duck needs to take that stick out of his butt. Why is Harry acting like a brat? "There's Maytag in there, they're very sensitive to Communism." Duck pontificating about the beer...he needs to get over himself. Seemed like Peggy was taking it on Father Gil that the committee didn't like her poster. "I thought you just walked around with people looking at ya." Don is actually still trying to deny his affair with Bobbie? That scene of Betty going through Don's clothes brought a pathetic factor to the character she doesn't deserve. Loved the referencing of Love of Life and As the World Turns. Joan's going to be a big asset to Harry, she might even end up being his replacement. Why is Harry replacing Joan? She handled it very professionally though. "God is bigger than what we were raised on." Peggy was totally offended by Father Gil's use of the word "sin."

Season Two, Ep 9. Don and Betty separated? Who would have actually been thinking about Joe DiMaggio when they heard about Marilyn's death? Was Jane actually fighting tears over Marilyn's death? Well, at least Don appears to be attempting to keep things professional with Jane. So Freddy just urinated because he's drunk? He didn't even realize he was doing it. I don't believe the phrase "Don's perfect" was actually uttered in this episode. Wasn't expecting Joan to take Marilyn's death so hard. I'm getting the parallel between Marilyn's death and what Betty is going through. "We're lucky the bench is loose." I don't like the way Peter, Stirling, and Duck are making light of what could be a serious medical condition with Freddy. There's definitely some chemistry brewing between January Jones and Gabriel Mann. There's a line, Fred...you wet it." Really liked that scene with Don and Roger firing Freddy. An actually underground casino, like during prohibition, how cool was that? "Do you want to be right or do you want to be married." Betty stood him up....or she caught her head. Roger is such a dog, perfectly embodied by John Slattery.

Season Two Ep 10. "This is a business trip, I don't want either of you coming back tan." I didn't realize that it had been definitely confirmed that Trudy can't have children. Betty's dreaming about a suitcase? Dwayne Hickman as Betty's father? Don't recognize the actress playing Betty's mom. Cannot believe Peter asked his brother to get Lincoln Center to refund a charity contribution. OK I guess that's Betty's stepmother. "Stop counting other people's money!" What did Dad mean when he said Don "had no people." "It's suitable for sum, but you're pulling from the discards." Loved Don and Betty getting going too bed. Who did Gene think Betty was at the breakfast table? Betty is really all over the place right now nd I understand it. Does Peter even know about the baby? Joan still seems to be stinging from her fling with Roger. This Betty and Glen thing is all kinds of wrong, they need to end this storyline, I hate it. "Sometime I'll feel like I'll floaty away, if Don isn't holding me down."

Re. Trudy: "Confirmed" in that we know their fertility issues aren't Peter's fault. But I don't know that we've gotten any more information than that. Keep watching.

Betty's dad meant that Don doesn't seem to have any family, which her dad finds a bit suspicious. (As well he should.)

Gene thought Betty was her mother. Awkward!

As far as we've seen, Peter does not know about the baby. I think that, in the office, only Peggy (who's suppressing it) and Don know about the baby.

Betty and Glen: I agree. It was just a weird, weird storyline that went on way too long.

__________________
Linda's Author Website
Linda's Amazon Author page

Season Two, Ep 11. Did Roger actually just propose to Jane? Isn't this the first time they've slept together? "I don't like the idea of making you older." Does Roger actually believe all the crap he says to these women? That woman's resemblance to January Jones was incredible, the could have been sisters. Don needs to get away from these people. Joy's instant obsession with Don is a little squirm worthy for my tastes. Duck and Roger are sharing a divorce lawyer? Did these people drug Don? And what was that guy going to inject Don with if he hadn't woke up? This Joy woman is apparently someone not accustomed to hearing the word "no." Can't believe Kurt came out in front of all those people in the break room. "I knew queers existed. I just don't want to work with them." Charles Shaughnessey as the new villain of the piece? "My father will take care of you, he likes having you around you're beautiful and you don't talk too much." Why do these people keep calling Don beautiful? Nobody questioned Duck receiving a case of gin at the office? Peter left Don in California? "No...let them open the kimono." Wow, who was Don calling using his real name? Did not see that coming. Don's suitcase?

Season Two, Ep 12. Did not see that Carrie/Mommie Dearest opening with Betty and Sally coming. Don and Betty need to clarify things for their children. Trudy made an appointment with an adoption agency without telling Peter? "Let Roger have what he always wanted, to die in the arms of a 20 year old." Liked that scene with Cooper and his sister. Don stole someone's identity? So this woman has the ability to blow up Don's life whenever she wants? Peter threw dinner over the balcony! That was awesome! Joan and the doctor don't seem happy at all. I always felt we met so that both of our lives could be better." Loved the adding machine on Cooper's desk...can't remember the last time I saw one of those. Peter's father-in-law is a douche. Dick and Anna never divorced. Elisabeth Moss was terrific in that scene where she asked Roger for her own office. Did Greg actually rape Joan? Don told those mechanics he was looking for work...is he not planning to return to New York? Glad to see Betty try to be a little more honest with Sally. "The only thing that is keeping you from being happy is the belief that you're alone." Really don't like where this Dick/Don and Anna thing is going. Loved that Peggy told Peter that she's sleeping with Don. The final scene had me flashing to the '54 version of A Star is Born.

OK, it's the Season Two finale. Have a hard time that a woman in the 1960's like Betty would be considering an abortion. Don came back home? Just like that? I'm glad Betty is not just buying Don's load of crap. If he can't say exactly what he id, he's going to do it again. I hope Duck isn't getting too ahead of himself since Don seems to nothing about this merger. Don took the news of the merger better than I expected. "Kennedy's daring them to bomb us...just when I think I've got a second chance." Wow, nurse of this merger is getting around the office quickly. "If any of you stay, one of you has to take me off the switchboard."

Not sure why you would say this.

Because it takes place sin the 1960's. During the 60's, Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen made a movie called Love with the Proper Stranger where they played a couple who have a one night stand and Wood's character ends up pregnant and decides to have an abortion. The word abortion is not even used throughout the movie.

I think Betty's thought process should be very telling, in how desperate she feels about her current situation, to even consider such a thing in the 1960s.

As for Don coming home, remember that he's wanted to be home, not living in a hotel. And a pregnant married woman in the 1960s, who does not have an outside job and who has two other children and already feels a little overwhelmed, would have asked her estranged husband to come home. Easier for her to overlook his indiscretions and have him there.

Remember the earlier episode where they were having trouble with TV sponsors due to an episode that used the word "abortion" X amount of times? So again, it's either the writers of this show extending their own modern sensibilities onto the past culture (which is rare for this show, but not impossible) or it's Betty's feeling of desperation at her current situation.

I have seen this movie.

Or a little but of both...I can definitely see Betty not being crazy about having another of Don's babies right now.

OK, gave myself the weekend off, but back to work. And now the Season Three opener. So was that Don being born in the opening scene? No one remembers being born, who was that? So , it wasn't so much of him remembering as it was a fantasy sequence? Anybody tell me where this myth of warm milk helping sleep came from? Not surprised that Betty kept the baby I just hope it's not a mistake. Love Jared Harris, hope he's going to be around for awhile. Bert's little tantrum was unnecessary, he just left the room of people he should be angry at. "Don't go to the well, there's no water there.' OK, what exactly is this guy doing, telling Peter and Ken they both got the promotion? Didn't get all that with Don, Sal, and the stewardesses and the guys pretending to be someone else. That stewardess wasn't even subtle, even admitting to being engaged. Loved the look on Sal's face as the bell boy started removing Sal's clothes. "I don't want to sit listen to someone talking about their water retention." "He's the guy with the marker who always does what I say." Why weren't Peter and Ken informed hey were sharing the new position? Not sure why they are reacting to it so differently? When Trudy came into Peter's office, she looked just like Barbara Parkins in Valley of the Dolls. I only like about 50% of the advice that Peter gets from his wife. Interesting that this head of accounts thing came strictly from Lane and that Roger, Cooper or Don had nothing to do with it. The Peter/Ken competition and Sal and the bellboy were fun, but otherwise a rather unremarkable season premiere.

You're right that it didn't really feel like a season premiere, but it does start to segue us into a lot of things that are going to stir up trouble now that the merger has happened. I'm a few episodes ahead of you at the moment.

And yeah, some of those moments of Don thinking about his childhood are weird. Clearly he was just imagining what it must have been like and how he got his first name of Dick. But they never differentiate between the two types of imaginings: actual memories versus fantasizing.

I remember the warm milk thing being a "thing" when I was a kid, but I'm glad my parents never tried to pull that with me.

Also, the episode I'm currently watching finally does explain the no-shoes-in-Bert's-office thing, although it's a bit of a throwaway line. The hints are there, though, in earlier episodes.

As for Pete/Ken: I just find that whole bit of tension comical, which is how it's supposed to view, I think. They're both somewhat silly figures (especially Pete), so the tension is funny.

It just seems strange to me that the TPTB would set up that kind of tension between Ken and Peter on purpose. It also seems strange that one has no problem with it and the other is furious...just very contrived to me.

Season Three, Ep 2. LOVED that they mentioned Susan Watson originated the role of Kim in Bye Bye Birdie on Broadway because the role is so associated with Ann-Margret. Wow, Peggy really seems threatened by Ann-Margaret for some reason. So Don has officially returned home? "I've met the opposition...I know crazy." "Oh, look, princes Grace just swallowed a basketball.' Betty's pregnancy hormones definitely seem to be kicking in. So Betty's dad is moving in with the Drapers permanently? I can't believe Roger is indignant because his daughter doesn't want Jane at her wedding. Is Betty's dad really playing with his family regarding his mental faculties? I hate when older people do that. Now Roger is concerned about what his family thinks of him? I'm beginning to wonder how Roger became a partner in this company. He doesn't seem to do anything. Looked it up and found out that is not Dwayne Hickman playing Betty's dad. The actor's name is Ryan Cutrona. Is Betty right about her brother? "You're not an artist Peggy, you solve problems, leave so tools in your toolkit." Don handled his brother-in-law, that was awesome. Gene looked so ambushed when he learned of his fate. Interesting that when Peggy told that guy where she worked, he assumed she was a secretary and didn't correct him. Did Gene just flashback to Prohibition?