# Mad-Men: 7.04 "The Monolith" (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 5, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681 "2014-05-05T01:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 6, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/41 "2014-05-06T01:39:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Her second job was office manager, which she have to Dawn. I knew that, I was wondering about her account beyond the shoe guy. Which was Avon. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/42 "2014-05-06T01:46:34Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Joan definitely has Avon. Was rewatching the premiere and when Ken calls Joan in, she is holding the file for Avon and asks Ken “Is this Avon related or did you need someone to hand you a tissue?” So I just missed it before. > > As I mentioned in the thread for that episode as well, Ken laments having no staff but when Joan walks up to his office, he’s yelling at four people in his office. So there must be some accounts guys? This whole season is sort of confusing from an office angle. No matter how many people you have working in your department, it’s never enough when business is good. Ken was likely mostly complaining of a lack of support staff, not AE’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/43 "2014-05-06T01:57:55Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I remember Burger Chef! Me too. He had a partner, too (Burger Chef & Jeff). I also remember H. Salt Fish & Chips, which was mentioned as well. Anyone else remember the chain? mmm ETA: Apparently H. Salt is alive and well in California. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/44 "2014-05-06T02:27:58Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > ETA: Apparently H. Salt is alive and well in California. They are at least two in Sacramento, but we’re pretty sure one of them is front for something shady. ---
**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 6, 2014, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/45 "2014-05-06T02:42:48Z")
Burger Chef was bought out by Hardees. There’s one two blocks from here that’s been there at least 45 years, first as a Burger Chef, then as Hardees. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/46 "2014-05-06T02:50:46Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > I thought someone said it had been three weeks. I think it was the humiliation and the rejection of his idea that pushed him to the edge. Yeah, they definitely said that Don had been holed up in his office for three weeks, doing nothing because no one knew what to do with him. I think Cutler is definitely waiting (and hoping) for a Don implosion, but if not, he’s fine with Don doing some grunt work. He’s playing the long game–he’s already won over Bert, Joan, and Harry. Roger and Don are the last drunken speed bumps on his way to reconstituting Cutler, Gleason & Chaough. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/47 "2014-05-06T03:41:55Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > They are at least two in Sacramento, but we’re pretty sure one of them is front for something shady. The one over on Auburn? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/48 "2014-05-06T03:56:17Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The one over on Auburn? Oh, I don’t know about that one. I was thinking of the one downtown at 16th and E Streets. The other one I know of is in Land Park. It looks Ok. ---
**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 6, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/49 "2014-05-06T04:03:34Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I also remember H. Salt Fish & Chips, which was mentioned as well. Anyone else remember the chain? > > ETA: Apparently H. Salt is alive and well in California. I’m from Southern California. I don’t have any memory of Burger Chef but I do remember H. Salt. I don’t think I ever went to one but I remember the jingle from the commercials. “H. Salt Fish and Chips because you sure love your fish” I had no idea that they were still around. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/50 "2014-05-06T09:58:03Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > I think the IBM is definitely supposed to be the 2001ish monolith (2001 came out almost exactly a year before this episode is set). Especially as the computer guy was explaining to Don how everyone projected their insecurities and fears onto it. There was also a lot of moon and astronaut talk between Roger and his daughter. Also, Roger made a comment about Don behaving himself: “He’s been in his cave, and he hasn’t bashed another ape’s head in.” And Lloyd, the LeaseTech guy, looked simian. **Rhiannon** , that’s funny, because I’ve long thought that the one in the San Fernando Valley was a front for something. It’s so hard to get in and out of by car, and the food is nothing special. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/51 "2014-05-06T11:40:16Z")
One line surprised me a bit. Roger’s daughter said something like “Do you think they’ll ever put a man up there?” (on the moon). By April 1969, wouldn’t people be commenting more specifically on the upcoming moon launch? ---
**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 6, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/52 "2014-05-06T11:52:07Z")
Cooper and Joan’s obstinacy toward Don is really not making sense to me. ---
**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 6, 2014, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/53 "2014-05-06T12:16:51Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Yeah, they definitely said that Don had been holed up in his office for three weeks, doing nothing because no one knew what to do with him. > > I think Cutler is definitely waiting (and hoping) for a Don implosion, but if not, he’s fine with Don doing some grunt work. He’s playing the long game–he’s already won over Bert, Joan, and Harry. Roger and Don are the last drunken speed bumps on his way to reconstituting Cutler, Gleason & Chaough. Do we think Lou assigned Peggy the lead role as part of a larger conspiracy among the partners? I was surprised Don reacted the way he did rather than first make sure it wasn’t a rogue move by Lou or a misunderstanding by Peggy. … but I was totally wrong about how Don would handle coming back in the first place so what do I know! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/54 "2014-05-06T12:22:53Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Peggy and Joan need more screen time together. I would like to see them work together to win over a client or something similar. > > My favorite line of the episode: “Well, Peggy, I don’t know if this will make you feel better, but I don’t think they thought about it at all.” > [@What\_the](#): > > **Do we think Lou assigned Peggy the lead role as part of a larger conspiracy among the partners?** > > I was surprised Don reacted the way he did rather than first make sure it wasn’t a rogue move by Lou or a misunderstanding by Peggy. > > … but I was totally wrong about how Don would handle coming back in the first place so what do I know! My bold. I think Joan got it right. No one considers Peggy a serious player in this drama. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/55 "2014-05-06T13:23:27Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > My bold. > > I think Joan got it right. No one considers Peggy a serious player in this drama. I think this is right. Lou very understandably fobbed it off on Peggy because he didn’t want to deal with Don and is probably a bit scared of Don flying off the handle. Did you see that gif of Don staring daggers at Peggy when she’s assigning him the tags? I wouldn’t want that anywhere near me, either. ---
**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 6, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/56 "2014-05-06T13:23:47Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Do we think Lou assigned Peggy the lead role as part of a larger conspiracy among the partners? > > I was surprised Don reacted the way he did rather than first make sure it wasn’t a rogue move by Lou or a misunderstanding by Peggy. I think Lou didn’t want to work with Don so shuffled the project off to Peggy with the added knife twist of putting Don under her. Lou didn’t give a crap about Peggy personally, he’s just trying to keep Don under heel and preserve his (Lou’s) place in the company where he probably still feels threatened. The most he did for Peggy was try to buy her loyalty. And by making Peggy the lead, he can have Peggy report to him and avoid having to deal directly with Don. Peggy’s already been a push-over for Lou, Don would likely make an argument in the meetings. I don’t think Lou was conspiring with the other partners so much as the other partners don’t care what Lou does with Don. Aside from Roger, none are thrilled to have him back or know what to do with him and feel that they got pushed into his return. So if Lou wants to put Don under Peggy, they don’t care but they weren’t directly part of that process. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/57 "2014-05-06T13:33:58Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Did I miss a reference that explained the episode title? I know _Mad Men_ likes being oblique on it’s titles, but this one was just opaque. Something computer-related, I’m guessing. Good article in the [LA Times](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-mad-men-recap-monolith-computer-20140505-story.html#axzz30txzzc00&page=1). > [@](#): > > Matthew Weiner owes the estate of Stanley Kubrick a few royalties. > > “The Monolith,” an episode about technological anxiety that draws both its name and its central metaphor from the enigmatic 1968 sci-fi classic\* (which was, in turn, based on a short story by Arthur C. Clarke). All that’s missing is “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” on the soundtrack, and a few dozen ape-like hominids. Scratch that – “Mad Men” actually has plenty of those… \*As mentioned elsewhere, 1968 film [_2001: A Space Odyssey_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/?ref_=nv_sr_1) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/58 "2014-05-06T15:35:40Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That line was a gem. Usually Roger gets the best lines, but this time it was Joan. “I would say she’s brainwashed but there’s nothing there to wash” “These people are lost, and on drugs, and have venereal diseases” – Mona. I thought these quotes were awesome too. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/59 "2014-05-06T15:54:09Z")
I would like to have seen the hippie colony be _not quite_ so filthy and disgusting. It would have been interesting if the commune could have been neat and clean and simple and completely out of touch with reality _along with_ the drugs and free sex. Then it would have been easier to see why she wanted to live there. Also, I didn’t think the position “my kid won’t miss me because you were never around, Dad” rang true one single bit. If anything, kids who were neglected tend to overcompensate by wanting to be on the spot. It would have made more plot sense for her to bring Ellery to the commune and Roger and Mona wanting to get him back to the city and civilization. I loved my IBM Selectric typewriter. Mine was brick red. It had the long carriage, not the short one like the one Don pitched (hehe) at the window. ---
**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 6, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/60 "2014-05-06T16:11:23Z")
Lou didn’t assign Peggy to the account, the partners did. Now Lou agreed, but he did so before Roger even brought up Don (or was it someone else). I think Weiner is making sure he doesn’t make Lou into some sort of cartoon character. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681.md?page=4)