One thing about Mad Men, which is somewhat obscured by the period attention to detail, the way it evokes the intricacies of the advertising world and the subtlety of the acting - is that they've always dipped into the tropes of melodrama.
I think that was a conscious choice to link the work to things like the movies of Douglas Sirk and Peyton Place.
But I remember my first reaction to Don's stolen identity was that it was a bit far fetched, a Hollywood movie plot from the 40s. Same with Peggy hiding her pregnancy.
And in melodrama plot drives the characters. It's always amping the emotional content, the breakdowns and the tragedies.
I feel like Lane's storyline was properly set up, so I do not feel any part of that was shoehorned. Even from the season premiere, they established his problems (ongoing) with money and that he considered, for a moment, stealing.
So nothing that he did for the season seemed shoehorned in. at all.
I am not sure I ultimately think that Joan's actions were something she would not have done, but they needed to put in a bit more work (like they did with Lane) to get her there.
Megan is a bit of a blank slate. Her actions and motivations seem to change every 2-3 episodes if it serves a particular storyline, so I expect zero consistency in her characterization.
Speaking of the acting, our little YoSaffBridge has been killing it this year. But it's not just Christina, there've been amazing performances by Moss, Hamm, Slattery, VK, Kiernan this season.
Her actions and motivations seem to change every 2-3 episodes if it serves a particular storyline, so I expect zero consistency in her characterization.
I find her consistently torn by conflicting motivations. That look she gave Don when she was walking out the door with Sally so he could work? She's not resigned to giving up her own dreams and her own work quite yet. But she is a born caretaker, so once she's out with Sally she slips into that protective older friend role completely.
So, is Peggy not going to be on anymore? I saw some Q&A with Jared Harris (Lane) and he kind of alluded to it. To this I say AW HAIL NAW!
ETA link to JH interview: [link]
So, is Peggy not going to be on anymore?
That wouldn't make any sense. Her character is one of their best narrative assets.
Seriously. I've always viewed her as equal in importance to Don in terms of the story they're telling. I thought her leaving was totally in line with the story and character, and that happy grin as she got on the elevator was one of my fave scenes of the season. But DO NOT WANT that character to be gone from the show.
Yeah, I saw that and am hoping he's just mistaken. Because...no.
Yeah, I saw that and am hoping he's just mistaken.
Well, he said he doesn't know right in the interview. I think he was making a presumption.
I find her consistently torn by conflicting motivations. That look she gave Don when she was walking out the door with Sally so he could work? She's not resigned to giving up her own dreams and her own work quite yet. But she is a born caretaker, so once she's out with Sally she slips into that protective older friend role completely.
Yeah, I think that's right -- it's less that she's inconsistently written (although I haven't analyzed it in any serious way) and more that she's conflicted.
On a much less serious show, I was thinking a similar thing watching all the Necessary Roughness last weekend -- it makes perfect character sense that Terrence flips back and forth between "Help me, I'll be good" and "fuck you, I can do what I want."
