There was a lot of lovely framing.

Indeed, she seems to be almost floating on the OB/GYN table.

Fantastic recap of the ep in the Chicago Tribune: [link]

I was just coming in to post that. Really good recap. And the subtext theater was hilarious.

A good, subtle, interesting writing tip by Matthew Weiner:

And then just stylistically I cannot pretend that working on “The Sopranos” all that time did not influence the series, even though I wrote the (“Mad Men”) pilot first. Making sure everyone has a reason for doing what they’re doing and not letting the characters help each other solve their problems - actually making them impediments.

I saw that too, Hec, although this was the bit that resonated the strongest with me, with respect to writing:

I was like “The show’s over, go home. I’m allowed to do whatever I want” (laughs). By the way, I’m allowed to do whatever I want anyway. Don could pull a cell phone out at some time. I don’t do that stuff because I don’t want the reality broken.

The American Airlines ad, that they were most critical of, had this very famous lettering and it was used by DDB about six months after the crash and we put it in our pitch and I was thinking “I’m sorry, I don’t have the freedom to do that with my fictitious ad agency? To have them get there before DDB did?” (laughs) Maybe American Airlines saw it and told DDB they wanted it. Who knows?

This is something that I've wrestled with, working on my sixties-era story, and it was just so, so striking to see this theory that I understood inherently, laid out so precisely. Taking ownership of your work as long as you understand exactly what you're taking ownership of.

This is something that I've wrestled with, working on my sixties-era story, and it was just so, so striking to see this theory that I understood inherently, laid out so precisely. Taking ownership of your work as long as you understand exactly what you're taking ownership of.

He goes into that point even more explicitly defending his use of non-period music in the show. He wants access to that dimension that those particular songs provide - both musically and lyrically. He's not just presenting the era - he's making plain that he's taking an aesthetic stance outside the era and commenting on it.

At the same time, he kind of earns that by not cheating the narrative or letting history do all the dramatic work for him. It's telling that he'd use Marilyn's death as a major arc turning point and avoid the JKF assassination.

He wants access to that dimension that those particular songs provide - both musically and lyrically. He's not just presenting the era - he's making plain that he's taking an aesthetic stance outside the era and commenting on it.

Exactly—he uses the music almost as an omniscient narrator. And I agree on what you're saying about his use of seminal events. It makes it all the more interesting to ponder where, exactly, he's going to pick up next season.

I'm'a stick with Clay-Liston. Not because I have any evidence, mind you.

oh, and did anyone else wince when Trudy said "If you loved me, you'd want to be with me" and Pete said "that's true" and then she just kissed him and they went to load the car. whoa.

But I think he was planning (or she was hoping he was planning) to come down on the train later anyway. He wasn't planning on going in the car with her. That's why she gave him cash in case the "trains aren't working."

I LOVED Duck being blindside by Don not having a contract. It was mentioned, but casually, a bunch of times and it just highlighted how out of place Duck is there.

Oh, also, it felt like they cut the show for it to run ads normally. There were some awkward transitions I thought (like Betty going from looking at the store window to being inside the bar).

Oh, also, it felt like they cut the show for it to run ads normally.

oh, yeah, they totally did. The transitions were very abrupt in places, but would have been fine for commercial breaks.