# Mad-Men: 5.11 "The Other Woman" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296 "2012-05-28T00:21:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/101 "2012-05-29T05:53:55Z")
I can’t wait until Joan gets to cast a tie breaking vote on something. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/102 "2012-05-29T06:19:10Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I can’t wait until Joan gets to cast a tie breaking vote on something. How about on whether to shit-can Pete? 😃 Actually, thinking of the partners, I doubt he’d achieve a tie… ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/103 "2012-05-29T10:24:44Z")
I think it would have been pretty hilarious if the partners voted for Joan’s 5% to come entirely from Pete’s share. How bad do you REALLY want this, kid? ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/104 "2012-05-29T11:34:07Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > Don’s mother was a whore, and his father was her customer. He was raised by his father and his father’s understandably pissed off and bitter wife. Wonder if Joan becomes pregnant from this one off trick then? ---
**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:** [May 29, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/105 "2012-05-29T13:06:27Z")
Has Joan been feeling “single” enough to go back on the pill? If not, she probably looked for her old diaphragm. If she actually ended up pregnant from the encounter, I’m guessing she’d have no problem aborting… ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/106 "2012-05-29T13:21:15Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay. I like that explanation. I still feel they short-changed the audience with the two versions. Why they would do that is my biggest question. It’s not like we’ve been led to think Don is now some sort of saint or something. But to give the first impression that he was doing right by Joan, and then to show that we were misled with that interpretation is close to pissing in our face, as I see it. > > It’s awful close to the way _The Killing_ shit in their lunchbox. Perhaps we’re also supposed to see that, rather than thank Don for his support and explain to him that it is too late, she let’s Don think she is still going to go thru with it… in part for the good of the company. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/107 "2012-05-29T14:11:08Z")
The guy from the other agency is Ted Chaough. (Note spelling. Apparently pronounced something like “Shaw”.) The actor is Kevin Rahm who does regularly duty on one hour dramas. Anywho … Given Chaough’s history with Don, playing tricks and trying to sabotage SCDP, I think his offer to Peggy is “too good to be true”. He’s going to end up dumping her. He doesn’t want her. He just doesn’t want Don to have her. I don’t think Peggy has burned her bridge, but getting her back to SCDP is going to be interesting. Poor Joan, not only was she put into a horrifying situation, she also owns 5% of a firm that’s going to crash. I think the Lane storyline is nearing the end. What if Joan essentially takes over his managerial work? Time to prune the cast a little. No Betty and (more importantly) no Sally this week. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/108 "2012-05-29T14:30:11Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Poor Joan, not only was she put into a horrifying situation, she also owns 5% of a firm that’s going to crash. I don’t see this as likely. The Jaguar account is obviously a Big Deal, in both the literal and figurative sense. They’ve been saying that having a car company makes a firm, and so will lead to more business. They were going through a cash flow crisis because Mohawk has temporarily stopped advertising, but all indications were that the airline would have to restart its ads when its troubles were over. There are a number of smaller accounts. If anything, the show has tv lawyer syndrome - the one where one set of lawyers do a different murder case every single week even though in real life they would be stuck on one for months or years. There should be many creatives, one team on each account. Laine’s behavior is tv idiotic - any of the partners would understand his having a cash flow crisis if the firm is - but with the Jaguar account he can approach the bank for a new line of credit to get them over the expenses of start-up until Jaguar sends them money three months after billing. Something we don’t expect will undoubtedly appear. We didn’t see Joan’s dilemma coming, although in hindsight that’s obviously why there was that major scene with her and Don last week. That unexpected something may sink the firm. But we haven’t seen it yet. That the partners were willing to give away 5% of future earnings shows how big a deal Jaguar is. I know a real-life company where the Joan character equivalent (in truth, someone much more important) was given 1%. SCDP is now set. The old storm is over; the new one hasn’t yet appeared. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2012, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/109 "2012-05-29T14:30:56Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > she let’s Don think she is still going to go thru with it… in part for the good of the company. If that was her plan, it wasn’t a great one as Don obviously left with the impression that he had talked her out of it and was surprised to see her come in with the partners. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/110 "2012-05-29T14:52:46Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > They were going through a cash flow crisis because Mohawk has temporarily stopped advertising, but all indications were that the airline would have to restart its ads when its troubles were over. Yeah, it’s not until 1972 when the continuing labor problems result in Mohawk’s merger with Allegheny (now U.S. Airways). ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/111 "2012-05-29T16:08:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Poor Joan, not only was she put into a horrifying situation, she also owns 5% of a firm that’s going to crash. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I don’t see this as likely. The Jaguar account is obviously a Big Deal, in both the literal and figurative sense. I’ve felt all along the arc of the series was about the ultimate destruction of Don Draper, and that the trigger will be the destruction of SCDP. There’s a plethora of ways that can happen at this point. - In the process of routinely approving the larger line of credit, the bank discovers Layne’s shennanigans - Now that Joan is a partner, she gets to see _all_ the books and discovers Layne’s shenanigans - Pete and Roger get in a showdown and it tears the agency apart - Jaguar turns into a nightmare client, sucking up far more in resources than it gives back in revenue - Clients grumble as the creative suffers without a suitable replacement for Peggy. - Peggy takes Ken with her, which opens the door for other junior people leaving, which gives the agency a failure stink in the industry. The seeds may already be planted for any of these twists, or they could pop up, full-blown, without warning. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/112 "2012-05-29T16:24:33Z")
So this episode was all about the women in Don’s life (except for Betty) basically not “listening” to him. In Joan’s case of course it is more the impression that she ignored his advice. In Peggy’s case of course he basically just lost her over time. And Megan of course represents a younger generation, the anti-Betty, who do not put their family or their husband first. This of course was mimicked in the Jaguar campaign, you can own the Jaguar and control it, unlike the women around him. BTW, I really think it was either odd or shitty the way Megan dropped the fact she would be in Boston for two three months or whatever. It’s like she thought he knew, because she initially just said “Promise you’ll come visit every weekend.” And Don acted like it was the first he had ever heard of it. Weird. I think Peggy is going to try and bring Ken along, especially after Ken puts two and two together with respect to Joan. With Peggy gone and with the prostituting of Joan, I can just see Ken desperate to get out of there and I just don’t see Peggy completely abandoning him. So Peggy leaves, Ken leaves, Lane gets found out, Roger and Pete boil over (especially after Joan), Ginsburg probably leaving (He is just to self-centered to last), and Don losing a grip on everything around him. The firm is going down, no doubt. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/113 "2012-05-29T16:30:07Z")
nitpick: the Y is in Pryce, not Lane. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/114 "2012-05-29T16:38:48Z")
Best episode in a very long time! How does this change the dynamic of Joan with other partners? They all know what she did to get her 5% and seat at the table. Is she an equal now, or will she become the whore who fucked her way in? Talk about an ethical question! Good for Peggy -sure, Don would have matched or upped her salary - but after his throwing the money at her in a rage and his other recent antics, she would be an idiot to stay there. BTW, ages ago when I lived in NYC I had an old skeevy boss who was trying desperately to get into my Gay pants. Never happened and I was not that hungry for money. However: I hated that job but every time I quit - skeevy boss and his brothers would up my salary and I stayed, and stayed and stayed (at least five raises in less than a year and a half when I finally did quit for good). There was a sweet, young black woman who worked next to me - single mother of a cute little boy. I once mentioned I tried to quit and they gave me another raise. She started to fume - she had been there 5 years or so and never once got a raise. She finally got the guts to go in and ask for one. When she came back to the desk, I said, “How did it go?” She had an odd look on her face and it was a combination of bitter and happy. “I got it. They said it was about time I came in and asked for a raise.” She was pissed that they never offered and pissed that she had spent five years waiting for some act of kindness, and then realized she was working for assholes who would never reward her unless she pushed them. So I guess it was a bittersweet life lesson for her. ---
**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:** [May 29, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/115 "2012-05-29T16:47:34Z")
Well, with the possible exception of Cooper, they’re all whores after a fashion. Not that they can see it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/116 "2012-05-29T16:50:57Z")
Great ep. Very funny when Joan walked into the partners’ meeting and the room went into a momentary stunned silence (which is what happens to me every time Christina walks into a scene: the woman is spectacular). I don’t think it occurred to them that she might actually want to participate in company decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/117 "2012-05-29T16:56:40Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > The guy from the other agency is Ted Chaough. (Note spelling. Apparently pronounced something like “Shaw”.) The actor is Kevin Rahm who does regularly duty on one hour dramas. I was trying to remember how Roger used to pronounce it- something like ‘chah-[cough sound]-ow’- just to piss him off. The actor is best known for playing the doctor cousin in _Judging Amy_ and was in one of those “I’m a Mormon” commercials. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/118 "2012-05-29T17:10:27Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I was trying to remember how Roger used to pronounce it- something like ‘chah-[cough sound]-ow’- just to piss him off. The actor is best known for playing the doctor cousin in _Judging Amy_ and was in one of those “I’m a Mormon” commercials. He was also a semi-regular on _Desperate Housewives_. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/119 "2012-05-29T17:31:03Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > BTW, I really think it was either odd or shitty the way Megan dropped the fact she would be in Boston for two three months or whatever. It’s like she thought he knew, because she initially just said “Promise you’ll come visit every weekend.” And Don acted like it was the first he had ever heard of it. Weird. I also thought that was weird of her. I don’t think Don was trying to control her, I think he (legitimately) thought that she was in NY, which is the center of the theater world, she was auditioning in NY, it seemed sensible that if she got a play, it would be in NY. “Surprise, I’m going to Boston for 8 weeks” was not fair of her. Neither was throwing another mini-tantrum when he didn’t like the idea (though at least this time, it was a teenager’s tantrum instead of a 4-year-old’s tantrum). I really don’t like Megan. ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296/120 "2012-05-29T18:06:02Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Anywho … Given Chaough’s history with Don, playing tricks and trying to sabotage SCDP, I think his offer to Peggy is “too good to be true”. He’s going to end up dumping her. He doesn’t want her. He just doesn’t want Don to have her. I don’t think Peggy has burned her bridge, but getting her back to SCDP is going to be interesting. I disagree. He desperately wants Peggy. That’s _because_ of her relationship with Don, but it doesn’t lessen how much he wants her. Remember, he even kep around those two loser art guys that nobody bothered to bring along to SCDP. Also, I don’t think Chaough really plays tricks. He wants desperately to beat Don, but he’s extremely open about that. He taunted Don when Chaough assumed he had torpedoed his own career with the tobacco letter, and he poaches Don’s employees, but he doesn’t really scheme. He’s just a braggart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-5-11-the-other-woman-open-spoilers/623296.md?page=7)