The ever-captivating Embeth Davidtz. I always notice her when she turns up on something I’m watching. “Honey, you got reeeal ugly!”
Lane has been moonlighting as a pretty good villain on Fringe.
Wasn’t he also Moriarty in the latest Sherlock movie?
Well, he admitted to Peggy that he’s been changing his client dinners to drinks only so he can go home and write. I think it wouldn’t just be Roger who would consider that dereliction of duty.
I think it was Peggy who told Roger about Ken’s short stories, not Pete and I think Ken suspects the same thing. I don’t recall Ken’s pen name being brought up at the dinner party, so there would be no reason for Ken to change his pen name. The only person who did know it was Peggy.
It didn’t occur to me. That’s definitely a possibility. But I would be very disappointed if it turned out that Peggy did it. Anyway, Ken played it safe by not telling her that he was just switching pseudonyms; he told her he was quitting. So maybe he suspects it too.
But as far as Ken’s pseudonym not being mentioned at the party – this isn’t an Agatha Christie murder mystery. Not every bit of conversation has to be revealed on screen before we can take it as given. It’s perfectly possible that Ken did tell them his pen name but the only indication would be Ken’s implication in his conversation that Pete knew what it was and told Roger.
Also, if Pete’s rifle is not a Chekov’s gun then I don’t know what is (although maybe it will be the poison fountain pen, the cap falls off that thing for like, no reason).
It’s probably sadly revealing that I find Pete highly sympathetic. He’s a smart, hard-working guy who’s being broken by constant reinforcement of his impotence. He’s losing the ability to feel anything but pain, loneliness, and resentment. He’s surrounded by people who are better at everything than him. He can’t even get his boss to visit his house without his wife pulling the strings.
Once promising and determined, now withering.
Yeah, I feel for Pete too, especially since I think he’s going to blow his brains out with that rifle they keep mentioning. He’s pretty much turning into a sadder version of Don Draper from S1 which is saying something.
FUCK PETE.
He’s such an asshole. I feel like they are trying to make him a sympathetic character, but it isn’t working for me. I hope that rapist shoots himself and it hurts.
Yeah, they made him more sympathetic in seasons past, but he’s a total dick this year. Way, way too big for his britches.
Did Roger mention Ken’s pen name? I don’t think so. In my mind, it was obviously Pete who did the telling. Ken just changed his pen name to be safe. (Also, because he changed genres.)
I don’t think Pete was any less of a dick in previous seasons. From his first appearance on the screen, he’s been an asshole. Occasionally, he has displayed a few admirable qualities, but he’s never been sympathetic in my eyes. That doesn’t mean that Roger or Don is better than he is. But I definitely don’t feel sorry for anything bad that has happened or will happen to Pete.
Not short stories, but in 1962, FS&G did publish a science fiction novel by an unknown author named Madeline L’Engle named “A Wrinkle in Time”.
In the past couple of seasons, he just got to work. Now, he’s really, really rubbing it in.
On another note, I’m going to go on record as saying that Roger isn’t the total dumbass people here think he is. He’s going to prove his worth.
I’m on board with that. I like Roger. I can’t put my finger on why. I also think (and hope) that he’s going to redeem himself.
No, Roger didn’t mention Ken’s pen name, but Ken did tell Peggy he was going to stop writing, so he seems to not fully trust her.
At the end of the episode, did anyone else think that Ken’s voiceover was from the Twilight Zone? For just half a beat, I thought they would cut to someone on Mad Men watching an episode. It seemed like a call back to the episode in season one, when Paul in a fake Rod Serling voice says, “submitted for your consideration, one Pete Campbell,” as he is showing Peggy around the office.
Children’s literature was and pretty much is an entirely separate field from adult literature in American publishing. It’s hard to express just how alien the worlds were at that time.
And even if this weren’t so, novels and collections of short stories were and are just as far apart. And both of them are not as distant as genre short stories were in 1966 for a literary house.
You’ll think this is hyperbole, but honestly, having an actual spaceship land outside the offices would be more realistic than this. We’re talking about something that literally never happened even once in publishing of that era. I think it’s literally never happened to this day.
After dinner Trudy asks about dessert and subsequently Pete says he’s having too much fun for coffee.
This jarred with me, and the only way it makes sense is if coffee were thought to send you to sleep in 1966! Is this true?
People upthread have said how they enjoyed the direction, but i found 3 transitions really off-putting . There was someone opening a door that cut to Lane opening his office door; camera panning upward from Don and Megan in the car - cut to continual panning up Roger’s desk, and a dissolve to Pete in the last high school scene that made it look like a dream sequence was starting. It looked showy to me, and out of place in Mad Men. Reminded me of some of the shots in Blood Simple.
And while I’m ranting about direction… every now and again an episode will show a scene in the normal way then throw in an absolutely square on shot, then cut back to how it was, never to be square again. Don sat at his desk talking to Dr whatsername was one. Betty at home when the guy tried to sell her a/c was another - there are lots more; and it looks like Hitchcock is setting them up to be killed and it really takes me out of the drama!
I’ll stop typing now but am I the only one?
MiM
It is commonly believed that coffee will make you sober if you are under the influence of alcohol.
Also, at dinner parties, it’s common to have coffee right before leaving, so as to be more alert when driving home.
I’ve never been bothered by such edits.
Pete meant that he wanted to continue to drink alcohol, not switch to coffee. Coffee is often served at the end of the meal with desert.