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 9: The Better Half

"It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."

- Roy Disney

The episode is called "The Better Half" and the main characters are given sexual, emotional and work choices within their triangles: Don with Betty and Megan; Betty with Henry and Don; Peggy with Don and Ted; Peggy with Abe and Ted; Joan with Bob and Roger; and Joan with Bob and Pete. Megan also has the distinction of playing two roles on the TV show, a brunette and a blond against Arlene, a bi-sexual, who chooses pleasure between a man and a woman (or perhaps both at the same time).

There is no surfeit of conflict here: it begins and ends with Peggy between the two creative heads Don and Ted. She does not take sides and is criticized for it by Don, and later by Abe who calls her "complacent". Peggy later accidentally stabs Abe but does not blame her, yet calls her the "enemy". Roger and Pete are bookends to each other and are both estranged from their families; Betty and Don rekindle their sexual attraction to each other; and every time we see Don with Megan, we hear police and / or ambulance sirens, signaling trouble. 

At summer camp, Bobby teaches Betty and Don a song, "Father Abraham had Seven Sons." When they sing, they raise their right arms, which is the symbol of the raised fist, a gesture used to signify unity, solidarity and resistance. It was most famously used in 1968 (the year of the episode) during the Summer Olympics, when the African American athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, stood on the platform and received their gold and bronze medals with their fists raised and heads bowed while the Star Spangled Banner played. At the time, this gesture was a symbol of Black Power for African Americans. Their non-verbal communication became front page news around the world.

We are also given an abundance of political references to external conflicts: when Duck Phillips is talking to Pete about a potential job, Pete asks a question instead of answering one. Duck calls it a "Yankee wrinkle" a reference to a New Englander from a Southern perspective. The Civil War is also brought up when Arlene is rebuffed by Megan and says "status quo ante bellum, everything as it was" a reference to a time before the (Civil) war. Race too is referenced with the mention of the Planet of the Apes movie, a parable about race relations in America, and when Abe reminds Peggy that the neighborhood youth (criminals to Peggy) were brought to America in slave ships. And as Abe becomes more radicalized, he calls a NYPD officer a fascist and voices his solidarity with the May strikes in Paris (France) and the Prague Spring (Czechoslovakia) against the Soviet Union. When Don comforts Megan on the balcony, she is wearing a t-shirt with a red star, which is the trademarked symbol of Macy's department store*, but the red star has also been associated with Socialism and Communism since 1917**. When Abe agrees to move from their neighborhood and sell the building, he says "not everyone is a pioneer." While we take this to mean a reference to their failed attempt to gentrify the neighborhood, we should not forget that the "pioneer" movement was an organization for children modeled on the Scout movement and run by the Communist Party. The Vietnam War is also obliquely mentioned when Joan reminds Roger that Kevin's father is an Army doctor "a hero over there" and the nurse that Bob Benson recommends to Pete is "Army trained."

The conflicts of East and West (Cold War and Vietnam War), Black and White (race relations in America), Culture and Counter Culture (Tradition and non tradition) and the rising emergence of women breaking the glass ceiling in corporate America are the recurring sub themes of the show. And while we shouldn't give too much weight to these signs and symbols, we should acknowledge them as cultural shadings for the overall development of the plot and tension between the characters.

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* When R.H. Macy was a sailor, he received a star shaped tattoo. He used this symbol as branding when he opened his eponymous store in 1858.

** Megan's father is also a Socialist / Marxist.

Season 5 Episode 11 The Other Woman

"That place is my baby and I would prostitute myself for it" Walt Disney

Advertising and prostitution have been synonymous since J. Walter Thompson created the first "sexual sell" for the Woodbury Soap Company in 1911 ("The skin you love to touch"). The metaphor becomes real in this episode with Pete, the skilled salesman with no moral compass, metamorphoses into a panderer for an influential car distributor who will help decide on which agency lands the Jaguar account. The episode also explores the multiple roles that women have in society: wife, mother, co-worker, partner, prostitute and actress. It is also about the women close to Don who are and may be leaving him.

In the opening scene, the Jaguar creative team comes up with the brand idea that it's a "mistress that will do what your wife doesn't". During lunch with the married car dealer, Herb Rennet, Herb mentions to Ken and Pete of his desire for Joan. Ken's initial reaction is to reject it outright. Pete's is to run with it. In fact, it is Pete that makes the fantasy come true. Without him promoting and pushing the idea forward, what might have been considered guy talk during lunch becomes real. This display of raw male power, of trading women and sexual favors for business advancement, ultimately spoils the pleasure of winning for Don. For a brief moment, Don was becoming re-invigorated in his job. Yet the interference by Pete made him doubt if they won the account on merit or because of Joan's sexual favors. Pete has also destroyed one of Don's few core beliefs, which is motherhood. Pete prostitutes motherhood in this episode, which is symbolized by Joan.

Joan's ascension to partnership by sex instead of by her work ethic, job performance or loyalty also shows the moral corruption of the firm. Lane's advice on asking for partnership instead of cash is her way to be equal among the men. It also buys time for Lane to further hide his embezzlement from the firm. Joan is already perceived by the super's wife to be a "loose" woman as she doesn't have a husband any more. As a result the super's wife won't let her husband come over to fix the refrigerator. Peggy's pitch to Chevalier Blanc includes Lady Godiva, the legendary noblewoman who rode through Coventry naked on a horse to shame her husband and to save the populace. But Joan is not altruistic. Joan shames her husband (revenge) and saves the firm on the alter of consumerism for a percentage piece of the business. She becomes a partner where Peggy does not.

Megan's rejects Don's "mistress" theme for Jaguar when Don discusses it with her at home. But her visit to Don at the office where they have sex, is more in keeping with a mistress than a wife. Her friend Julia's performance on the conference table in her short dress and exposed underwear doing a sexy tiger dance also reinforces the perception that actresses are prostitutes. When Megan gets a call back to the producers of the play everything has to do with looks. We never hear her try out her lines. She is simply told to "turn around, honey".

In contrast to Joan, we have Peggy who did not use sex for advancement. Her prior relationship with Pete did not result in any favoritism or promotion. When she talks to Freddie, he treats her like a friend and equal. The same with her meeting with Ted. He treats her with respect for her work and offers her a job at a higher salary than she has asked for. He makes her feel better about herself. In her relationship with Don, Don has given her power, but not respect, especially in this episode when he throws money in her face.

From the male perspective, we have Herb who thinks he is a sultan in a harem when Joan comes for sex. In a Norman Rockwell tableau, Pete is a doting father reading to his daughter with no remorse for pimping Joan to a stranger. Pete, who wants to be sexually free, lies to his wife by suggesting he get an apartment in the city. Even the partners show no little thought for the consequences of their decision. Don is the lone outcast. Joan calls him the "good one" for being the only partner to not want her to prostitute herself. But Don is the embattled monarch trying to understand the changing roles of women. Don is the former used car salesman who has risen to the heights Madison Avenue but with old fashioned values. When Peggy gives notice to Don, he is the supplicant kissing her hand showing respect like a son or a servant to a monarch. It is at the same time quaint and vulnerable.

1. The car dealers name is Herb Rennet. One of the properties of rennet is that is coagulates milk, causing it to separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey). Perhaps Herb is a metaphor for being the catalyst for the break up of the agency?

Season 5 Episode 8 Lady Lazarus

A disappointing episode with too many rapid cuts between characters which did not allow the viewer to immerse with the development of the story lines. While I enjoyed the contrast between Megan's quitting the business and pursuing her acting career with Pete's personal family crisis of wanting to be single, neither story really mattered to me, which I attribute more to the editing / directing than the story telling. What I did enjoy is Peggy's growing self assurance (yelling at Ginsberg and Stan to let them know that Megan is talking, and the two of them responding like two cocker spaniels by snapping to attention; getting into an argument with Don (like a married couple) after the failed Cool Whip repartee goes south in the test kitchen). Peggy can hold her own. She enjoys her work and career and she thinks Megan is brave because she is pursuing her acting dream. What is touching is that Peggy is by far the braver woman with her personal work achievements and independence but is not aware of it. Megan, moves from the support of one father figure to another with her marriage to Don and is one of the least brave and the most girlish of all the women represented on the show. As for the men, I'm enjoying the metamorphosis of Roger who is leaving behind the pettiness and competitiveness of the firm and becoming an ethereal and spiritual guru like Bertham Cooper. This is in contrast to Don, who is becoming more staid, conservative and fossilized.

Howard, the life insurance salesman from the commuter train (and the reminder of Death), has started a hidden and double life with an apartment and young girlfriend in the city, leaving his wife alone at home (with an off screen child). When Howard's wife Beth (played by the doll eyed Alexis Bledel) locks her keys in the car, Pete gives her a ride home. She mentioned that she doesn't like the city as it is dirty and there are homeless people. Pete's response is that "you are not suppose to see them".  When Howard's wife and Pete have sex, they share a post coital tristesse and in their sad conversation she compares his eyes to pictures of the earth "blue and round and surrounded by darkness" and the earth as "tiny and unprotected". Her melancholy echos later when Pete talks to Stan and says the same thing. But his melancholy is not the same as hers. Hers is based on rejection by her spouse, the resulting loneliness and the meaning (or lack of it) of life. Pete's is lonely too, but his loneliness is because he is not honest. His life is composed of social maneuvering, mis-truths, false advertising, pitches to men for sales and for women for sex. Pete's isolation is self inflicted where Beth's is not. While Pete wants to have an honest relationship, he looks everywhere but home, to his wife who has been the most supportive and instrumental in the development of his career.

Megan wakes Don up at night and tells him she is not interested in advertising. She rejects Don's world forcefully. He is visibly hurt and later as he escorts her to the elevator, he forgets to get in with her as he says goodbye. As he waits for another elevator, the doors open and he looks down an empty shaft into the void. Is he looking at the emptiness of his life? His work? That Megan has left?

Don is also getting out of touch with the times and with youth "when did music get so important anyway?" he asks. Later, Megan gives him the album Revolver by the Beatles to listen to. And the episode starts to close with Don listening to the Beatles song, Tomorrow Never Knows. In closing, Don turns off the song before finishing, learning nothing from the experience.

1: The song lyrics to Tomorrow Never Knows, was based on the book, The Psychedelic Experience, by Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert. Their book, in turn, was based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

2: Maybe it was the skis that Roger gave Pete, but all of a sudden I got the impression that Megan's character was based (ever so slightly) on Claudine Longet.