You eat like a baby dinosaur.
Jan. 25th, 2011 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
Mad Men is a fantastic show, one of my favorites. I finished S4 last night.
The whole season kind of just went along, lalala, had that fantastic episode 7, and then the finale happened.
WHAT that Don proposed to his secretary!!!! Oh I'm sorry, she has a name. Megan. How? What? I mean, in a way, when it was happening, it wasn't that surprising. He'd inherited that ring from Anna, Megan was great with the kids, obviously Don found her attractive enough to sleep with, etc. But that the situation was even set up is what was shocking. Because MARRIAGE? After a couple of get togethers, but mostly Megan messing up up as his secretary?
I guess it's no less rushed than Betty's second marriage, but that doesn't make it okay. For two peole who were so recently married and who just had a new baby, this is all *ridiculously* rushed. I don't think it's because I marathoned it as opposed to watched week to week. At some point I think Betty said that Gene was only 1 1/2 years old!
The reasons for Don wanting to get married are not that surprising, I suppose. In fact, they pretty much hit every stereotype. Men are just overgrown children who want nothing more than a mommy. That being the case, Megan was a better candidate than Faye, a successful, ambitious woman -- the type Don likes to fuck, not marry. He wants someone who will be a good mother to his children, and who will provide him with a hearth and home the way he really wants it deep down. That's why he kept up the charade with Betty for so long. Plus, it was miserable for him to be a single man.
But I don't know if I like Megan enough to watch her as Mrs. Draper. Or EVEN WORSE, as a copywriter on Peggy's level. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE PEGGY. (BTW, I loved how Don explained his betrothal to her, and also how he took her into his confidence right away during the layoffs.) Megan should just not work and be a housewife, like Betty. That's really what Don wants. And considering Megan was a secretary, and accepted his proposal with such ecstasy -- even though she barely knew him, romantically -- I can't imagine she's really all that career oriented.
I have to admit that one of the reasons I was disappointed/angry about Betty's sudden marriage to Henry Francis is because I harbored the hope that she and Don would work it out -- they would slowly heal the wounds, come to an understanding, they have a shared history/children, etc. Looks like that IS happening -- they seem to finally see each other for who they really are, and are on an equal footing as they never have been before, and in the finale were able to even share a drink and a smile -- but with them both married I guess the getting back together isn't going to happen.
Seriously, I don't know what they are doing with their female characters (other than Peggy). They made Betty almost hateful (the way she fired Carla and then wouldn't provide her with a recommendation, her childish/ignorant way of handling things, her inability to recognize that she wants professional mental help, the way she treats the kids, etc.). Before, much of what we saw of Betty was her slow realization about her unhappiness, while still struggling to raise her family the best she could. We had the backdrop of knowing that she came from a sheltered family, and knowing that Don was off being a cad on the side and lying about his past, etc. Now she supposedly has a good husband and everything she wants, so she just comes across as a bitch. I'm not a fan of Glen, but his parting shot about her unhappiness was right on.
Joan ... she's so much less happy now that she was before, when she was a feminist and feminine at the same time (not that she considered herself a feminist). Maybe that's the point, now that she's married, she's both unempowered and unhappy. The rape by her husband was sort of the first sign of that. At least she's still respected and somewhat appreciated at work. And NOW -- she didn't abort Roger's baby after all. Which I can totally understand why she did it -- she can pass it off as her husband's and have the kids she wants and have Roger out of her hair at the same time. Except -- won't he realize that it's his baby and that she didn't get the abortion? He knows it can't be her husband's. Anyway, I was afraid the story was going to take a tragic turn, wherein she has the abortion then loses the ability to get pregnant, so this is a much more welcome storyline.
Then there's Midge, who was like the most empowered woman on this show... and they totally brought her down with a heroin addiction!
I also want to mention that in addition to the Don/Peggy relationship, I also love the Don/Pete relationship (and Peggy/Pete kind of breaks my heart, but they're both really mature about it). Pete was such a little weasel at the beginning, and now he's proving himself to be more competent, loyal, and decent than many of the other characters. For him it's still All About Pete, of course, but ever since his and Don's fortunes and fates became intertwined, he's been a lot more likable.
Anyway -- really looking forward to S5 and seeing what the fallout is from all this. I hope they don't deal with it the way they did SCDP and the Don/Betty breakup. I also kind of hoped/expected that Don would take Peggy's suggestion that they change the name (SCDP is kind of ridiculous -- and now Bert Cooper's gone, supposedly), and reinvent themselves again.
But I guess that's what Don is doing with HIMSELF -- reinventing himself again with this new marriage (I mean, are we supposed to believe that he's ACTUALLY in love with Megan, because that SO came out of nowhere, or that he's just manipulating her the way he manipulated Betty and practically everyone around him?). Poor Faye, btw. I didn't hate her and I didn't like her much either, but the way things went down was totally wrong, especially once/if she learns that the "someone" he "met" was just his damn secretary. She was just too strong a woman -- exactly the sort Don likes to have affair with, but he needs his wife needs to be the "little woman" sort -- and she knew about his past. And I think he ultimately couldn't handle that. There was a line he says at the end -- something about how Megan makes him feel the way he's always wanted to feel, how he *thought* he should feel, the "perfect life" he wants to lead in his head, which I think is what he was going for with his transformation into Don Draper in the first place. He doesn't want to be Dick Whitman. That's why he proposed with Don's ring. Which reminds me, it's really sad that Anna never got to meet the kids.
Fave quotes from the season:
Don: Miss Calvet and I are getting married.
Roger: Who the hell's that?
Roger: Well, I gotta go learn a bunch of people's names before I fire them.
Don: I wouldn't be good company anyway.
Roger: That's never bothered me before.
(I like Roger best when he's not being a sad little man and is making me laugh.)
Don (to kids): Pick me up and move me to my bed.
Pete: Great, Don saved the company. Now let's go fire half of it.
Peggy: You know, I just saved this company. I signed the first new business since Lucky Strike left. But it's not as important as getting married... again.
Don: My Uncle Mac said he had a suitcase that was always packed. He said a man has to be ready to go at any moment. Jesus... maybe it's a metaphor.
Don: It's your job. I give you money, you give me ideas.
Peggy: And you never say thank you.
Don: That's what the money is for!
Faye: I hope she knows you only like the beginnings of things.
Glen: Just 'cause you're sad doesn't mean everybody has to be.
Joan: I'm not a solution to your problems. I'm another problem.
Joan: No matter how powerful we get around here, they can still just draw a cartoon. So all you've done is prove to them that I'm a meaningless secretary, and you're another humorless bitch.
Academy Award nominations are out! I'm going to do a poll in the next few days so we can see who amongst us is the best guesser. :D Jade is ridiculously good at these games, so she's going to be the one to beat. Looks like there are some surprises in the nominations, especially in the acting categories. Also, I'm not a fan of the expanded 10-film Best Picture category. That is just WAY too many, and it's pathetically obvious which ones aren't actually in contention. It's great that they wanted to acknowledge more good films, but you know what, that could be said of just about any category, so why just expand this one? Either expand them all or keep them all short and sweet, just the cream of the crop.
It's strange that it's only Tuesday but I keep thinking the weekend is coming right up (and then being disappointed when I realize I'm wrong). :/
D/G gals -- Feb. 19 is the potential date thrown out for our next get together, but a few of you haven't responded. Why aren't you showing us the love? Why?
Meanwhile, I've seen the pilot episode of Being Human (British version) and was less than enthralled. It felt like every mediocre show/movie ever done about vampires/werewolves/ghosts put together. Don't find any of the main leads compelling, nor their storylines. However, I will give it a few more episodes before I decide if it's a show I can continue on with.
The whole season kind of just went along, lalala, had that fantastic episode 7, and then the finale happened.
WHAT that Don proposed to his secretary!!!! Oh I'm sorry, she has a name. Megan. How? What? I mean, in a way, when it was happening, it wasn't that surprising. He'd inherited that ring from Anna, Megan was great with the kids, obviously Don found her attractive enough to sleep with, etc. But that the situation was even set up is what was shocking. Because MARRIAGE? After a couple of get togethers, but mostly Megan messing up up as his secretary?
I guess it's no less rushed than Betty's second marriage, but that doesn't make it okay. For two peole who were so recently married and who just had a new baby, this is all *ridiculously* rushed. I don't think it's because I marathoned it as opposed to watched week to week. At some point I think Betty said that Gene was only 1 1/2 years old!
The reasons for Don wanting to get married are not that surprising, I suppose. In fact, they pretty much hit every stereotype. Men are just overgrown children who want nothing more than a mommy. That being the case, Megan was a better candidate than Faye, a successful, ambitious woman -- the type Don likes to fuck, not marry. He wants someone who will be a good mother to his children, and who will provide him with a hearth and home the way he really wants it deep down. That's why he kept up the charade with Betty for so long. Plus, it was miserable for him to be a single man.
But I don't know if I like Megan enough to watch her as Mrs. Draper. Or EVEN WORSE, as a copywriter on Peggy's level. THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE PEGGY. (BTW, I loved how Don explained his betrothal to her, and also how he took her into his confidence right away during the layoffs.) Megan should just not work and be a housewife, like Betty. That's really what Don wants. And considering Megan was a secretary, and accepted his proposal with such ecstasy -- even though she barely knew him, romantically -- I can't imagine she's really all that career oriented.
I have to admit that one of the reasons I was disappointed/angry about Betty's sudden marriage to Henry Francis is because I harbored the hope that she and Don would work it out -- they would slowly heal the wounds, come to an understanding, they have a shared history/children, etc. Looks like that IS happening -- they seem to finally see each other for who they really are, and are on an equal footing as they never have been before, and in the finale were able to even share a drink and a smile -- but with them both married I guess the getting back together isn't going to happen.
Seriously, I don't know what they are doing with their female characters (other than Peggy). They made Betty almost hateful (the way she fired Carla and then wouldn't provide her with a recommendation, her childish/ignorant way of handling things, her inability to recognize that she wants professional mental help, the way she treats the kids, etc.). Before, much of what we saw of Betty was her slow realization about her unhappiness, while still struggling to raise her family the best she could. We had the backdrop of knowing that she came from a sheltered family, and knowing that Don was off being a cad on the side and lying about his past, etc. Now she supposedly has a good husband and everything she wants, so she just comes across as a bitch. I'm not a fan of Glen, but his parting shot about her unhappiness was right on.
Joan ... she's so much less happy now that she was before, when she was a feminist and feminine at the same time (not that she considered herself a feminist). Maybe that's the point, now that she's married, she's both unempowered and unhappy. The rape by her husband was sort of the first sign of that. At least she's still respected and somewhat appreciated at work. And NOW -- she didn't abort Roger's baby after all. Which I can totally understand why she did it -- she can pass it off as her husband's and have the kids she wants and have Roger out of her hair at the same time. Except -- won't he realize that it's his baby and that she didn't get the abortion? He knows it can't be her husband's. Anyway, I was afraid the story was going to take a tragic turn, wherein she has the abortion then loses the ability to get pregnant, so this is a much more welcome storyline.
Then there's Midge, who was like the most empowered woman on this show... and they totally brought her down with a heroin addiction!
I also want to mention that in addition to the Don/Peggy relationship, I also love the Don/Pete relationship (and Peggy/Pete kind of breaks my heart, but they're both really mature about it). Pete was such a little weasel at the beginning, and now he's proving himself to be more competent, loyal, and decent than many of the other characters. For him it's still All About Pete, of course, but ever since his and Don's fortunes and fates became intertwined, he's been a lot more likable.
Anyway -- really looking forward to S5 and seeing what the fallout is from all this. I hope they don't deal with it the way they did SCDP and the Don/Betty breakup. I also kind of hoped/expected that Don would take Peggy's suggestion that they change the name (SCDP is kind of ridiculous -- and now Bert Cooper's gone, supposedly), and reinvent themselves again.
But I guess that's what Don is doing with HIMSELF -- reinventing himself again with this new marriage (I mean, are we supposed to believe that he's ACTUALLY in love with Megan, because that SO came out of nowhere, or that he's just manipulating her the way he manipulated Betty and practically everyone around him?). Poor Faye, btw. I didn't hate her and I didn't like her much either, but the way things went down was totally wrong, especially once/if she learns that the "someone" he "met" was just his damn secretary. She was just too strong a woman -- exactly the sort Don likes to have affair with, but he needs his wife needs to be the "little woman" sort -- and she knew about his past. And I think he ultimately couldn't handle that. There was a line he says at the end -- something about how Megan makes him feel the way he's always wanted to feel, how he *thought* he should feel, the "perfect life" he wants to lead in his head, which I think is what he was going for with his transformation into Don Draper in the first place. He doesn't want to be Dick Whitman. That's why he proposed with Don's ring. Which reminds me, it's really sad that Anna never got to meet the kids.
Fave quotes from the season:
Don: Miss Calvet and I are getting married.
Roger: Who the hell's that?
Roger: Well, I gotta go learn a bunch of people's names before I fire them.
Don: I wouldn't be good company anyway.
Roger: That's never bothered me before.
(I like Roger best when he's not being a sad little man and is making me laugh.)
Don (to kids): Pick me up and move me to my bed.
Pete: Great, Don saved the company. Now let's go fire half of it.
Peggy: You know, I just saved this company. I signed the first new business since Lucky Strike left. But it's not as important as getting married... again.
Don: My Uncle Mac said he had a suitcase that was always packed. He said a man has to be ready to go at any moment. Jesus... maybe it's a metaphor.
Don: It's your job. I give you money, you give me ideas.
Peggy: And you never say thank you.
Don: That's what the money is for!
Faye: I hope she knows you only like the beginnings of things.
Glen: Just 'cause you're sad doesn't mean everybody has to be.
Joan: I'm not a solution to your problems. I'm another problem.
Joan: No matter how powerful we get around here, they can still just draw a cartoon. So all you've done is prove to them that I'm a meaningless secretary, and you're another humorless bitch.
Academy Award nominations are out! I'm going to do a poll in the next few days so we can see who amongst us is the best guesser. :D Jade is ridiculously good at these games, so she's going to be the one to beat. Looks like there are some surprises in the nominations, especially in the acting categories. Also, I'm not a fan of the expanded 10-film Best Picture category. That is just WAY too many, and it's pathetically obvious which ones aren't actually in contention. It's great that they wanted to acknowledge more good films, but you know what, that could be said of just about any category, so why just expand this one? Either expand them all or keep them all short and sweet, just the cream of the crop.
It's strange that it's only Tuesday but I keep thinking the weekend is coming right up (and then being disappointed when I realize I'm wrong). :/
D/G gals -- Feb. 19 is the potential date thrown out for our next get together, but a few of you haven't responded. Why aren't you showing us the love? Why?
Meanwhile, I've seen the pilot episode of Being Human (British version) and was less than enthralled. It felt like every mediocre show/movie ever done about vampires/werewolves/ghosts put together. Don't find any of the main leads compelling, nor their storylines. However, I will give it a few more episodes before I decide if it's a show I can continue on with.
