# Mad-Men: 4.11 "Chinese Wall" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 4, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961 "2010-10-04T00:55:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/1 "2010-10-04T00:55:34Z")
> [@](#): > > An all-hands meeting is called for the employees. Gee, I wonder what this meeting could be about? Roger lost Lucky Strike last week, judging by AMC’s preview scene (Peggy & co at the beach) it’s still summer so the 30 reprieve is about to expire. The only logical conclusion is that the meeting is about installing that _sandwich machine_ Lane wanted. 😉 Without Lucky Strike they’ll sure need the extra revenue even if the secretaries do get fat. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/2 "2010-10-04T01:33:32Z")
I’m curious while waiting: why the dash in the title? I’ve seen it as [Mad Men or MadMen](http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/), but not as “Mad-Men”. and every time I search for these threads I end up perplexed. … and _obviously_ the meeting is about those peaches. Or pears. whichever. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/3 "2010-10-04T02:20:45Z")
If you search for either “mad” or “men” you get nothin’ on account of the words are too short or too common, or both. (Or something. Anyway that’s what I get when I try to search.) ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/4 "2010-10-04T03:11:07Z")
Yeesh. Roger is a loser of epic proportions. I was cringing all through Don’s last two scenes… and am now expecting that shoe to drop from great heights in one of the next two episodes. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/5 "2010-10-04T03:36:35Z")
I thought Roger was heading for a window when he came home, but he doesn’t live in a high-rise, so it was probably to the medicine cabinet for pills. I almost felt sorry for him. Megan’s teeth are distracting. I’m always bitching about too-perfect people on TV though, so I should just shut up. I’ll bet she can spit really good. Peggy’s story line was a nice counterpoint to all the gloom and doom. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/6 "2010-10-04T03:58:36Z")
I bet Roger does live in a highrise. But every window is festooned with the voluminous window treatments contrived by Jane’s decorator; interesting that she went for a variation on traditional at home & kept the spacey modern for Roger’s office. The vanity press edition of his autobiography distracted him–for a while. With her mouth shut & her hair pinned up, Megan seemed so young & innocent. We saw a different side to her tonight! Is she really just hot for Don or does she have some nefarious scheme? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/7 "2010-10-04T04:00:31Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Megan’s teeth are distracting. Thank you. Now I don’t feel so bad for having thought the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Spyro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/54ee81/32.png) [@Spyro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spyro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/8 "2010-10-04T04:26:48Z")
What Faye must have said after the hand holding: Don, why do you taste like vinegar _down there_? :mad: ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/9 "2010-10-04T06:36:19Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Megan’s teeth are distracting. I’m always bitching about too-perfect people on TV though, so I should just shut up. I’ll bet she can spit really good. She is a little toothy, though I think it’s quite cute. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/10 "2010-10-04T06:49:54Z")
[QUOTE=Bridget Burke] The vanity press edition of his autobiography distracted him–for a while. [/quote] I think it actually depressed him more. Now that he’s lost a $20 million+ account his autobio’s a joke- sort like John McCain looking at his inauguration speech. [QUOTE=Bridget Burke] We saw a different side to her tonight! Is she really just hot for Don or does she have some nefarious scheme? [/QUOTE] I really hope not since there are only 2 episodes left. Did anybody else think that Young Mrs. Sterling was going to announce she was pregnant? Even in 1965 wouldn’t Pete have been considered something of a dicktard for hustling clients rather than being with his newborn daughter? I don’t quite understand how losing Lucky Strikes would hurt SCDP so much in the eyes of their other clients. You’d think they’d all understand the “consolidating all advertising” explanation- that it’s not a reflection on SCDP’s competence, and especially so if their own campaigns are working okay. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/11 "2010-10-04T11:12:35Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [QUOTE=Bridget Burke] > The vanity press edition of his autobiography distracted him–for a while. I think it actually depressed him more. Now that he’s lost a $20 million+ account his autobio’s a joke- sort like John McCain looking at his inauguration speech. [QUOTE=Bridget Burke] We saw a different side to her tonight! Is she really just hot for Don or does she have some nefarious scheme? [/QUOTE] I really hope not since there are only 2 episodes left. Did anybody else think that Young Mrs. Sterling was going to announce she was pregnant? Even in 1965 wouldn’t Pete have been considered something of a dicktard for hustling clients rather than being with his newborn daughter? I don’t quite understand how losing Lucky Strikes would hurt SCDP so much in the eyes of their other clients. You’d think they’d all understand the “consolidating all advertising” explanation- that it’s not a reflection on SCDP’s competence, and especially so if their own campaigns are working okay. [/QUOTE] I think the issue for many clients is if they are going to go bankrupt from losing such a large chunk of business. Clients apparently had quite substantial sums on account with the agencies for ad buys and ongoing creative work. Plus I’m sure other ad men were calling pointing out how crippled they were by this and trying to get business. No one wants to have their business with a company of questionable staying power. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/12 "2010-10-04T11:17:49Z")
Just saw the last half. God… he… really does not deserve a family. There is no line he will not cross in search of poon. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/13 "2010-10-04T11:30:25Z")
Clients are freaking out because they don’t know if the firm will survive. It’s a new, small firm and Lucky Strike is a _huge_ percentage of its annual income–somewhere in the neighborhood of 70% last time I heard them discussing it. That’s probably shifted some, but probably still above the halfway mark. Not a lot of businesses can lose half their income without at least some belt-tightening. Nobody wants to be stuck in the lurch if the people on their campaign get laid off or let go and a few people being let go is looking like best-case scenario right now. Plus, if the whole company dissolves they don’t want to be caught in the crowd of new business hitting the other firms. Of course, every client who freaks out and jumps ship makes it far more likely they’ll have to start letting people go, or will go under entirely. And the more likely it seems they won’t make it, the more clients will jump ship. It’s like a bank run–they could most likely survive the initial shakiness, but when everyone starts panicking and pulling out because of the perceived instability, things become completely destabilized and the whole thing goes down. That’s the real bitch of losing a huge account like Lucky Strike. ---
**Author:** ![monkeylucifer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@monkeylucifer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeylucifer)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/14 "2010-10-04T11:56:29Z")
One of the weaker episodes of the season even though it was packed with dramatic moments. Still, it is the best hour long show on basic cable or the major networks. Boardwalk Empire is quickly coming up as my new favorite. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/15 "2010-10-04T13:00:50Z")
So…Don. He actually makes me sick. All his endless sleeping around prior to this episode made sense when you knew that he never felt like he was entirely himself with any woman in his life, but he has Faye now, Faye who (like Anna) knows who he is and loves him anyway. Now, apparently that means nothing. Ugh, I feel like I’m the one who has given him one chance too many. He’s despicable. And since I’m already cross, I have to say – if you complain about Megan’s teeth, you sound just like those internet neckbeards who bitch about a woman’s elbows being too pointy. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/16 "2010-10-04T13:08:57Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Just saw the last half. > > God… he… really does not deserve a family. There is no line he will not cross in search of poon. Really? Because of all the crap that Don has pulled, this… was fairly unoffensive. He’d basically broken up with Faye as far as could be told at the time, and Megan was _literally_ throwing herself at him _and_ overriding all of his warnings. And none of this will impact his family, anyway (any moreso than the firm going under will, of course). And it wasn’t so much that he was crossing a line in search of poon, but that Megan was crossing that line to get a grip on Dick. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/17 "2010-10-04T13:15:41Z")
To be fair, Don did put up a half-assed protest. But the toothpick-arms Megan was too strong and overpowered him! Don is a guy that just can’t say no, very loudly. I thought it was hilarious at the company meeting, they asked “any questions?” and you see one little hand raised and ignored - poor little Danny (?) - no one likes or respects him at all! ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/18 "2010-10-04T13:39:56Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I thought it was hilarious at the company meeting, they asked “any questions?” and you see one little hand raised and ignored - poor little Danny (?) - no one likes or respects him at all! Loved that- but I don’t think anyone in the front of the room could even see his hand. Megan- I love a girl with a big overbite. I don’t think there’s anything nefarious there- she knows what she wants and is patient and smart enough to wait for the right moment and tell him what he needs to hear: “I’m not going to run out of here in tears tomorrow.” Translation- I just want to fuck you. I can compartmentalize that and still be your secretary. I like how Don flipped his feelings toward Pete- in the boardroom after he lost the Glow-Coat account, he somewhat accused Pete of torpedoing the deal. Then when they were ganging up on Roger, Don accused him of not doing enough to keep Lucky Strike, and said it wouldn’t have happened if it were Pete’s account. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/19 "2010-10-04T13:57:52Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > I like how Don flipped his feelings toward Pete- in the boardroom after he lost the Glow-Coat account, he somewhat accused Pete of torpedoing the deal. Then when they were ganging up on Roger, Don accused him of not doing enough to keep Lucky Strike, and said it wouldn’t have happened if it were Pete’s account. _That_ was the thing which was really annoying with Don this episode. He was basically accusing anyone and everyone of failing the firm… except himself. Of all the partners except maybe Burt, he knows how fallable Roger is. And yet he and they blithely let Roger go on his merry way with Lucky Strikes. … and I just wanted Pete to go “_You_ are doing this to _me_? Is that it, _‘Don’_?” ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961/20 "2010-10-04T14:08:35Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > … and I just wanted Pete to go “_You_ are doing this to _me_? Is that it, _‘Don’_?” At the partners’ meeting, he _does_ ask Don “Who in the hell do you think you’re talking to?” after Don blames Pete for losing Glo-Coat. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-4-11-chinese-wall-open-spoilers/555961.md?page=2)