Season 6 Episode 13: In Care Of

The episode, In Care Of, centers on family relationships leading up to Thanksgiving. It is also plays on the phrase that the U.S. Postal Service uses for forwarding mail to another person or location. Part of the drama of the episode is finding out who will be moved (forwarded) out to Los Angeles to start a new life. Stan volunteers; Don decides to go; Megan wants to go; Ted wants to go to save his marriage; Don swaps places with Ted; Megan will go without Don. Then we find out that Pete will be going with Ted.

Don gets drunk on the fifth anniversary of the assassination of JFK. Don says that God must have had a bad year because of the assassination of JFK, RFK and Martin Luther King (God was not taking care of them). When the evangelist says that they were not true believers, Don (off camera) hits him. Don  spends the night in a drunk tank. In the morning, he quits drinking. Part of his "12 step program" is to tell the truth, which he does at the Hershey meeting and with his kids when he shows them where he grew up. Don's drinking is mirrored with Sally. Sally is caught drinking and being drunk at school. Both are suspended from their respective workplaces. Sally also uses a fake ID to buy alcohol. She, like her father, assumed another's identity. 

Before Don's turnaround, he hears Stan's pitch to go to California. When he stops drinking he tells Megan his idea for moving to California and repeats Stan's words saying that he would like to have a "one desk office" and "build it into an agency" and being a "homesteader". Don doesn't have his own dreams, he copies the dreams of others because he has not come to terms with who he is or what he wants.

When Dot is lost at sea upon the S.S. Sunset Princess*, Manolo, as a nurse (and we find out as a husband) failed to take care of her. When Pete and Bud talk about the expense it would cost to bring Dot's "killer to justice" they decide not to spend the money, justifying that "she liked water" and now she is "with Dad" who died in a plane crash in the ocean. Pete and Bud also did not take care of their mother in life, by out sourcing her care taking, and in death, by pursuing "her killer" (if indeed she was killed). 

Roger also does not take care of his daughter and son-in-law. When Brooks (his son-in-law) asks for money for a business venture, Roger declines. Margaret asks how to get on the "list of girls that you give money to." By not taking care of her family, she bans him from Thanksgiving. 

Roger and Ted are both mirrored in their jealousy for women: Roger is jealous of Bob when he sees them talking together. Ted is jealous of everybody and he shows up at Peggy's apartment saying that "I don't want anyone else to have you". What was humorous was when Roger is invited over to Joan's house for Thanksgiving and sees Bob carving the turkey. It is almost a scene from a Norman Rockwell painting except that Bob is wearing an apron like a woman.

When Don is told to "take time off" from his job, Peggy moves into his office. Peggy, Don's protege, will take care of the creative accounts while he is gone. 

During the Hershey meeting, Don says, "the wrapper looked like what was inside." Don came clean because his "wrapper" (persona) did not look like what was inside. It was not the Norman Rockwell family painting. The season plumbed the depths and darkness of Don's world. The final episode has Don looking up (hope), surrounded by his children. He has rediscovered that his salvation is through his sense and belonging to family, which for him, is a day of thanks.

* a fitting name for a ship for an elderly WASP matron to disappear from.

Season 6 Episode 12: The Quality of Mercy

"The quality of mercy is not strained; 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 

Upon the place beneath.

It is twice blest It blesseth him that gives and him that takes"

- William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

The episode begins and ends with Don in the fetal position: a symbol of his regression and depression. When he is not lying down, Don continues to disappoint the women in his life: Sally refuses to come visit any more and wants to go away to boarding school; Megan sleeps alone; and Peggy considers him a monster because he brought to Ted's attention Ted's infatuation with Peggy and it's impact on the firm.

Don also broke his promise to Ted by calling Harry back to pursue the Sun Kist account. Don only changed his mind after seeing Peggy and Ted at the movie theater and when Ted touched her waist during the play acting of the St. Joseph baby commercial. Don became jealous of Ted's attraction to her.

What's interesting in this episode is the dual roles the characters play or how other character's mirror one another: we find out that Bob is also a fiction like Don, with a made up family and work history; Don watches Megan's dual role of the French blond maid on her television show. Sally is becoming the consummate liar like her father, when she tells Betty in the car that the reason she wants to go to boarding school is "to be an adult" as opposed to telling her the truth that her father is a adulterer. Don and Megan discuss Jackie Kennedy who became Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who with a name change became the wife to two different famous men. In the background we have on the TV set, Patty Duke, who played two roles as identical cousins on her name sake TV show.

Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice, is (among other things) about justice and revenge. In this episode, Ken shows mercy to Pete when he transfers the Chevy account after the hunting accident and Pete feigns reluctance to accept it. In reality, both are benefiting from the transaction and it is not "pure". Pete sort of shows mercy to Bob, when he finds out that Bob is a fraud, but we don't trust his motives. Don shows justice but not mercy to Ted (and Peggy) when he embarrassed him* during the client meeting with St. Joseph**.  Byron, the executive from St. Joseph, shows mercy to SC&P, by increasing the ad budget after Don tells him it was the idea of Fred Gleason before he died. Only Glen and Sally show the true spirit of Shakespeare's quote, as giver and receiver both benefit without it being one sided for either one.

The current crop of death and accident references: Bataan Death March while hunting; Megan tells Don to "pull back on the throttle" a flying  reference, which may signal an accident for Ted; references to the Kennedy's; Roll yells at Glen "are you suicidal?"; Ted asked Don to attend the meeting to provide for more "firepower"; Pete cleaning his rifle at the office.

* In Christianity, St. Joseph is the father of Jesus.

Season 6 Episode 11: Favors

Favors is at once complex on many emotional levels for the characters but simple enough to move the plot forward.

Roger's juggling at the beginning of the episode represents the upcoming conflict with the Sunkist and Ocean Spray accounts.

For Sally, her continued education into the realm of the sex is tainted by adultery and betrayal. As a favor for Sally, her friend, Julie, forges her name on a note listing the reasons why she and Julie admire Mitchel. This betrayal leads her to the Rosen's apartment where she sees her father having sex with Sylvia. Sally had previously come upon Marie Calvet, Megan's mother, performing fellatio on Roger at a wedding reception. Both of these were adulterous affairs. When Don tries to convince her that he was just "comforting" Mrs Rosen, Sally knew he was lying, but she lied also by agreeing with his story. This does not bode well for Sally first sexual experience or with her relationships with boys.

The funniest part of the episode is when Peggy offered sexual favors to Stan if he came to remove a dying rat. When she asked Stan why he was using his "sexy" voice, she realized that he was not alone but with his girlfriend. "You can bring her too, if you want," she says. Peggy at that moment embodied everything her ex-boyfriend hated about Madison Avenue: that she was willing to sell herself and her self respect. In fact, the image of the blood trail under the couch as a reminder of the previous episode when she stabbed accidentally stabbed Abe with her homemade spear. 

As predicted, Bob came out of the closet to make his move on Pete and Pete rejected it. What are the chances Pete will respond to Bob in the future? And regret it? Pretty high. The favor that Bob did for Pete by providing a nurse for his mother was initially welcomed but now rejected. But Pete has become completely isolated from family and associates at work. Even his mother described him as unlovable and sour. It would not be surprising if he turns to someone who shows him affection, like Bob.

Don's change of heart to offer a favor to Mitchell after having a drink in the bar with Arnold Rosen (with the boxing photos over both of them) makes one wonder if his decision to help was for Sylvia or himself. I was under the impression that Don felt guilty for his actions in Korea and his subsequent life lie (when he assumed another man's identity) was his reason for helping. It was an act of selfishness and not because of concern for Arnold's and Sylvia's child. Don's relationship with Sylvia has always been sexual, but his affection is more rooted with his need for a mother figure than another sexual partner / conquest. 

When Don is in the living room pouring a drink, what is on TV? Run for Your Life. The series which ran from 1965-1968, was about a man who had only one to two years to live, and decides to go experience life before his death. These continued signals to Don's demise are also pointing to other characters in the series. More death references: Ernest Hemingway's suicide by shotgun during the dinner with Chevy; Ted's wife reminding him that their pastor told them that "God can turn out your lights at any time." Mitchell becoming 1A in the draft ("his number is up"). Pete's father dying in an airplane crash. The bloody rat. 

Season 6 Episode 10: Tale of Two Cities

“There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.”

- Charles Dickens "Oliver Twist"

I've always felt that this series (as well as the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire) suffer from a creative malaise: three to four well crafted beginning and ending episodes but the middle ones just meander. This was one of those middle ones that feels like filler until the end approaches. The only interesting developments were from the supporting characters: Joan's ambition; Ginsburg's (possible future) breakdown, and the continuing ambiguity of Bob Benson's sexual orientation.

The episode is titled "A Tale of Two Cities". Dickens's novel of the same name was about the class system in France leading up to and after the French Revolution. The theme of revolution is played out in this episode with the Chicago Democratic National Convention of 1968 as political background. We have multiple characters following the convention and subsequent protest on TV. In real life, the protesters in Chicago chanted "the world is watching, the world is watching" as the police beat the non-violent protesters. This gives some interesting depth, as we watch the characters watch the riot as the protesters chant. It is a history lesson with touches of voyeurism. The 1968 convention witnessed the fracturing of the Democratic Party which in many respects echo the fracturing of the Republican Party today: old alliances and deal makers were pushed aside by younger and more vibrant participants. 

Ginsberg begins to echo Abe, Peggy's ex-boyfriend from the last episode, with his wild rant on the corruption and decay of the corporations they represent. Ted describes Ginsberg as "lightening in a bottle" when Jim wants to fire him. While Ted means that Ginsberg has a spark of creativity, lightening also represents a volatile, dangerous and unpredictable substance. Of interest to us, is Ginsberg's mention of "the destroyer" a reference to the god Shiva in Hinduism. Eastern philosophy is also represented in Hollywood with Lotus, the girl that Roger and Daniel fight over. The lotus flower is revered by many Eastern religions as a physical form of beauty and purity.

One thing we have learned about Ginsburg is his sharp and intuitive perception (and judgement) of people. When he asked Bob Benson if he was a "homo", Bob did not answer directly: he said, "there's your sense of humor" as though it was a joke. Since we haven't had a gay character for awhile, I'm guessing that Bob will come out of the closet, which will cause some problems, probably with Pete.

In Homer's Odyssey (one of the keystones of Western literature), Odysseus tries to return home to his wife after ten years of war. One of his many experiences (obstacles) was when he visited an island inhabited by the Lotus eaters. When the lotus flower was eaten, the sailors discovered that it was a narcotic and made them blissfully apathetic to life and their journey home.

The Hollywood party that Harry takes them to, may reference this, as well as Alice in Wonderland. When Don meets Daniel (Roger's in-law and ex adman) Daniel mentions that there is a movie being made called Alice in Wonderland. A few minutes later, Don goes into a room where people are smoking hashish from a hookah, a scene from Alice in Wonderland (with the caterpillar). Don's interior journey has him see and talk to Megan (who quits her job and is barefoot and pregnant). He also talks to the soldier that he met at the bar in Hawaii where he gave away the bride.

When Don is floating face down at the pool, it's seems like a nod to the film, Sunset Blvd, which is narrated by the deceased screenwriter, played by William Holden. But there was a foreshadowing before, when Joan and Peggy were arguing back in the office and Joan says to Peggy that Don carried you "down to the deep end of the pool." The floating figure is more of a visual reference than a direct connection.

Joan's ambition to become a participating player at the firm is welcome but threatens Pete. Pete is the quintessential WASP. In the final sequence, he is ogling the legs of a secretary in a miniskirt, a vision in which he only sees her as a sexual object. He like Don's vision of Megan as barefoot and pregnant, is out of step with the times.