Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 10: "Hands and Knees"

“How is it that some people just walk through life, dragging their lies with them, destroying everything they touch?” - Pete

Mad Men has always, since the very beginning, been a show about lies. Its characters work in an industry predicated on telling half-truths, and exist in a world where a restrictive morality still just barely reigns, forcing people to live furtive double lives. The most notable of these secret identities, so to speak, is Dick Whitman, the out-of-his-depth farmboy who learned to dress up and play Don Draper as his vision of the ideal '60s man. But Don's not the only one. Last week (OK, yesterday on this blog), we saw that the ladies of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce have all had to hide to a greater or lesser extent. This week, we're seeing the ways that other characters butt up against these secrets and lies, and how they handle the consequences.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 9: "The Beautiful Girls"

"Men never know what's going on." - Vivian Winters


For a show that often gets tarred with the "But nothing HAPPENED..." brush, Mad Men sure knows how to fill our an episode when it has to. Following, as it has, the wanderings of an unmoored Don Draper, this season hasn't always felt focused. But over the last few weeks, I've felt as though the season has hit its stride and started putting the various subplots and storylines to good use. And, seeing how "The Beautiful Girls" centers largely on the women of the Mad Men world, I thought the quote above was an appropriate one to lead off my review of this busy episode.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 8: "The Summer Man"

Before I get started with this week's recap, I just want to apologize for turning this site into a Mad Men-themed blog of late. As I've said before, I'm in the midst of a difficult and uncertain relocation period, and while I've certainly had to cut down on my movie and TV watching, there's also just not enough energy left most days to take notes and write up those things I do get around to watching.

Hopefully, I'll figure something out soon enough and get back to posting with a bit more diversity, here. Until then, well, I'm honoring the commitment I made to myself and writing about each episode of Mad Men this season. Anything beyond that is just gravy.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 7: "The Suitcase"

Peggy: “It's personal.”
Don: “We have personal conversations.”
Peggy: “No we don't. And I think you like it that way. I know I do.”


First off, before I say anything else, I have to give credit to Matthew Weiner for his great writing on this episode, and to both Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss for turning in, potentially, their best performances to date. With lesser actors, this episode might have fallen apart, but those two were up to the task. The result is the most emotional, and probably best overall, Mad Men episode so far this season.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 6: "Waldorf Stories"

“My mother always said, 'Be careful what you wish for, in case you'll get it. And then people get jealous and try to take it away from you.” - Roger

It's pretty common, when talking about Mad Men, for commentators to note that the characters behave like children. I've done this myself, particularly when describing Betty, a character who has been rendered almost unbearable by her childish petulance. The characters even see this juvenile streak in each other. How many times has someone called the Creative Department "children?" "Waldorf Stories" proves to be no exception to this. Lane calls Pete out when he throws a "tantrum," but also says that "Roger Sterling is a child." Roger, Don, and a cameoing Duck also act like children before, during, and after the Clio ceremony. Based solely on their behavior, it's a wonder that these people have found so much success.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 5: "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword"

Quick Programming Note: I apologize for not posting more last week; as some of you know, I'm moving this week and have had a ton of preparations to make. Also: next week's Mad Men post might be a bit late. My sister is getting married on Sunday, so I MIGHT be a little busy. Also, after next week, I'll have no fixed address, so posting might become more sporadic. But I'll try to keep things going smoothly here and will (hopefully) get next week's recap up by Tuesday.


"Why does everybody need to talk about everything?" - Don Draper


This week's episode, "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword," takes its title from a 1946 book by Ruth Benedict, referenced several times throughout the episode. Chrysanthemum is a popular, influential, and (some would say) deeply flawed anthropological study, commissioned during WWII as an attempt to understand Japanese society (thanks, Wikipedia!). From my (admittedly scant) research, the most important theme to emerge from the book is its characterization of "guilt cultures," like the US and Europe, versus "shame cultures," such as Japan. This theme also winds its way into this week's episode, which focuses on how we deal with guilt, shame, multiculturalism, and competition.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 4: The Rejected

"You can't tell how people are going to behave based on how they have behaved!" - Don


At one point in "The Rejected," after a focus group for Ponds Cold Cream devolves into tears, Freddy Rumsen asks, "How the hell did this get so sad so fast?" We can ask the same question about this season of Mad Men, and about this episode in particular. What was once -- on the surface, at least -- a show about a philandering family man and his too-cool-for-school colleagues has taken a very sad, very introspective turn.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 3: The Good News

"Nobody knows what's wrong with themselves. I mean, everyone else can see it right away." - Stephanie


Happy New Year, and welcome to 1965! This week, we break open our new calendars and find a Mad Men episode jam-packed with thematic importance. "The Good News" continues to develop this season's stories, applying pressure to a select few situations while an astonishing number of main characters sit on the sidelines. This episode is all about Don, Joan, and Lane -- who finally gets to do more than tut at the others and fret about money. The other characters barely enter into the picture, and some (like Roger and Pete) don't even get lines. And while this is a deep and quoteworthy episode (even with no Rogerisms), not much actually HAPPENS. For that reason, a straightforward recap would be ill-suited, so I'll just talk a bit about Don and Joan, and then touch on Lane, whose story overlaps with the other two.

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 2: Christmas Comes but Once a Year

"In a nutshell? It all comes down to 'What I Want' versus 'What's Expected of Me.'" - Dr. Faye Miller


It's Christmas at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and two episodes into this season, Santa has brought us a few subplots starting to bloom in interesting ways. I know times are tough, so let's just tighten our belts and jump right in!

Mad Men - Season 4 Episode 1: "Public Relations"

Hello! Welcome to the first (and hopefully not last) of my weekly posts about Mad Men. I'm still getting a feel for how I want to structure these recaps/reviews/observations, so I suspect things will evolve with time. But there's one thing I can guarantee right off the bat: I'll never post spoilers about a given week's episode before the cut. As my previous post will have made clear, I have total sympathy for people who choose to fit TV to their schedule rather than the opposite. If you've got something to do on a Sunday night that's more important than watching television, you should be able to do it without sacrificing the pleasure of finding things out as they happen.

So what's become of Don Draper, his colleagues, and his family since we last left them in mid-December of 1963? And when exactly do we rejoin them?