Season four of Mad Men ended last week, surprisingly on a happy note. It's been a turbulent season for all concerned, including me. Unusually, it's been an edge-of-the-seat kind of series, will S/C/D/P go under? In reaction to Lucky Strike's departure, Don takes out a full-page ad in the Times in the form of a letter damning the advertising of cigarettes, thus destroying any chance the firm has of obtaining any future tobacco accounts. A risky move that affords them a meeting with the Cancer Association. 'Did you get cancer?' Roger quips on Don and Pete's return.
Elsewhere, the Francis residence is being relocated and Glen pops over to say goodbye to Sally. These two young actors have been brilliant this series playing out complex emotions with excellent maturity. Unfortunately, their goodbye is interrupted by Betty's return. Of course she flips out and yells at him to get out to which he retorts, 'Just because you're sad, doesn't mean everybody else has to be.' Betty seems to think that Glen is only friends with Sally to get to her and poor Sally seems to have given up on standing up to her mother: either she knows it's useless or she's biding her time and will explode spectacularly in a future series. I'm hoping for the latter. Betty's childish temper tantrum continues when she fires Carla, who has been the children's Nanny all their lives, for allowing Glen into her house. In true spoiled-brat style, Betty doesn't allow Carla to say goodbye to the children.
Don is taking the children to California and has to find some help after Carla's untimely dismissal so he enlists the help of his secretary, Megan. She's been an intriguing character ever since she tuned up in one of Dr. Miller's focus groups early on in the series. Since then she's replaced the formidable Miss Blankenship as Don's secretary and slept with Don but she was professional and savvy enough not to let it affect her work and didn't show her feelings, if she had any, for Don. In California Don discovers Anna has left him the engagement ring that the real Don Draper gave to her and Don seems to take it as some kind of sign, using it to propose to Megan.
In sunny California Don sees how she Megan is with his children and becomes beguiled by her. She is pretty amazing, beautiful, bright, artistic and she speaks French, hell, she's my dream woman. The question 'who is Don Draper?' comes up again, to which Megan replies, 'I know who you are now.' Maybe she really wouldn't care about his dark secret, he certainly forgets himself and announces their up-coming nuptials to the whole office on their return. Unlike what he had with Fay Miller, this relationship won't be secret. Fay doesn't react well to the news, understandably ('I hope she knows you only like the beginning of things.') and of course she does know his secret. Will she keep it? Probably, but maybe it's too early to tell.
Peggy and Joan play out a great little scene, reacting to Megan and Don's engagement. They've seen it all before, as Joan says, 'they're all just between marriages.' Joan's been given a promotion with no pay rise and Peggy, along with Ken, has landed the first new account since Lucky Strikes departure, which is overshadowed by Don's good news, so both are prickly about the announcement. In more Joan news we discover that she did not have the abortion and is having the baby, passing it off as Greg's. How will Roger take that?
One of the final scenes sees Betty bumping into Don accidentally/on purpose at their old family home. It's clear she has designs on Don, checking her make-up before he arrives. Then Don drops the bombshell. She seems to take it maturely, wishing them both well. Of course she'll probably take out her jealousy on Henry or the children later.
The episode ends with Don alone in his apartment to the strains of 'I Got You Babe.' For such a negative, tense series, the ending is upbeat and optimistic. Although I now have a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach caused by the Mad Men shaped hole in my life. Come back soon fellas.
No comments:
Post a Comment