Of course Don’s going to blame himself. Everybody blames themselves when somebody they know commits suicide. It’s human to wonder, “What could I have done differently to prevent this from happening?” But that’s not a serious admission of guilt.
Were you expecting Don to keep a dishonest criminal working for the company while that person looked for different employment opportunities? Does that sound like a reasonable thing to do?
Don shoulders no responsibility, none whatsoever, for Lane’s suicide.
EDIT: The whole “Gift of the Magi” twist with Lane’s wife buying him a Jaguar was so ridiculously on-the-nose even for Mad Men.
The way she treated her beforehand, and then went running to her for help. I guess it’s nothing more than many teenage kids would do, but it’s still bitchy behavior.
She didn’t want to go back to the apartment and be there alone, with Glenn knocking on the door. Megan was gone, and she wanted her mother. She’s growing up, their relationship is rocky, and of course she’s been quite a little bitch, but Betty is her mother and one can be a bitch and STILL love their mother. I thought that was perfectly reasonable and their interactions very nice and well done. Though a $25 cab fare for Henry to pay was hilarious! What would such a trip from the city cost today??
I forgot to mention that I found the episode title particularly appropriate. I don’t neccessarily pay attention or analyze them but this one is a doozy. The way it tied together the partners’ discussion over the proposed payment program that Jaguar wanted with the deeper meaning - commission, as in acts committed, and fees, as in the price you pay for those acts- is downright poetic.
Also, I’m glad nobody is making an issue of the gasp brief shot of the bood on Sally’s underwear (I know **Don Draper **mentioned it but at least he didn’t belabor the point). It seems to be quite the big deal over at IMDB(yeah, I know, what do I expect)and all I can think is “how is that any worse than the obligatory vomit scene we have to witness every season?” At least Lane’s hurling mercifully took place behind a pole.
When push comes to shove, she recognized that home is where she wants to be. That’s the dynamic of adolescence- push and pull. Sally had a moment where she realized that she did need her mom and she let her mom take care of her. I was grateful to see Betty step up too, once she got over her shock of the hug!
Wow - two of the best episodes ever, back-to-back!
Does anyone else smell another Emmy Award coming?!
With the bombshells of the last two shows, I don’t have a clue where the season finale is headed.
My guess is Don is going to take this very badly and run off, and the rest of the firm is going to have to grow up really fast. Getting Dow Chemical will be a huge event and put them into a whole new level of playing with the big boys on Madison Avenue.
I am sure there are a few more surprises, but at this point, it is going to be hard to up the ante in this show.
Seeing that blood on your undies for the first time is a big shock. Even if you know it’s going to happen some day. Especially when you’re away from home. It can make a young girl run to the one person she knows will understand. Seriously. It’s a big deal. That’s why seeing the blood was necessary. If it shocked/grossed out some adults here, think of the effect on a young girl.
Can someone catch me up on why Ken is so opposed to working with his father in law and why this was a huge plot line? I seem to have missed/forgotten something.
I don’t remember it being anything more than Ken doesn’t want to mix business and family and doesn’t want to feel obligated by the company to leverage his family that way.
John as a guy you and I really have no idea, my wife made it perfectly clear to me what an emotional thing it is and going to her mom, despite hating her, was perfectly natural. Also, remember she thinks of Megan as her buddy, and she was VERY embarrassed, not something you want to stay “cool” with.
I really liked the last scene. I agree with the above who said Glenn came off far more sympathetic in this episode than previously. He complains about everything good turning to crap and then Don letting him drive, he smiled. I dunno, I kinda felt for the kid a little bit.
Also interesting about what Glenn said, Don tried to do a good thing for Pryce, under the circumstance, but it turned to crap. Also Don’s anger at the Dow meeting was … unusual. If I was Dow I am not sure what I would think of it, certainly emotional, but also very desperate.
I thought the whole sequence with Sally and her period was extremely well-done. I can’t imagine I’m not the only female with a similar story or two about periods coming at awkward times when I was still pretty young. It’s horribly embarrassing and confusing when you’re a young girl and new to it all. And I can’t imagine how much worse it must have been in the 60s, before tampons were widely available (right?) and the normal supplies were practically diapers.
Side note: how DID women deal with surprise periods back then? Pictures I’ve seen of those pads show them to be frikkin’ huge! Is that why women always had such big purses, they had to carry around pads the size of shoeboxes?
It’s ironic that the partners’ having to liquidate his assets to kick in extra investment is what killed Pryce’s finances. At the time, Pete bitched and whined to Don and Don took care of it for him. Pryce sucked it up, and now look at him.
Also, it’s interesting that Don told Roger flat-out to fire Ken, but Roger found a way around that.
I’m torn between anticipating the last ep and the disappointment that they in fact cannot up the ante, leaving me jonesing, and the equally dreadful thought that they’ll give us some really good shit and then leave us hanging another year and a half.
Can someone explain what the implications were with the Jaguar fee scheme? I assume it is going to result in something dire for SCDP, but couldn’t quite sort out what the threat was.
Maybe SCDP relies on slush funds and overbilling clients? Will they have to gasp cut down on the liquor budget? I’m guessing it was something that Lane could have explained or avoided the consequences of…
[QUOTE=corkboard]
Poor Lane. When the Jag wouldn’t start I expected him to break down in the car and complain that he can’t even kill himself successfully.
[/QUOTE]
Instead he remembered the lesson from the Little Engine That Could and persevered!
