# 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:** 5
**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 7, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/81 "2014-05-07T14:34:22Z")
I think the obvious intent was to have Don leading it by the end of the phone call. Lou did an end-run around it (probably knowing that none of the NY partners would fight him on it). Peggy just got shuffled around like a pawn by everyone – Lou using her to block off Don, Ted using her so he could stay in CA. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/82 "2014-05-07T14:35:00Z")
I think they were talking about who would take the lead. Lou manipulated the situation as much as he could. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/83 "2014-05-07T14:49:33Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > [Mad Men: The Monolith - Tom + Lorenzo](http://tomandlorenzo.com/2014/05/mad-men-the-monolith/) > > This mini review has the sharpest criticisms of what the show has become. I don’t know if I agree that the partners have no real reason to hate Don. This question seems highly debatable. But I find myself enjoying Don’s story this season so much, that I really don’t care about the answer. Even if the partners’ hate for Don is illogical in real life, I’m willing to roll with it just to see what happens with Don. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/84 "2014-05-07T15:29:56Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 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. Also, wasn’t Roger just typically absent for a man of his social class? I don’t mean to defend Roger as a great father, because he wasn’t. But his divorce didn’t happen until she was an adult. When she was Ellery’s age, (1940s & 50s) he was at work (or at war) and probably came home reasonably often. He didn’t disappear altogether the way she’s doing with her kid. > [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I think that this trip to visit “Marigold” is going to force Roger to recognize how ridiculous his own life has become. His daughter sleeping around was the final straw of a “Oh my God, she really is turning into me” moment which is why he turned so cold on the situation in the morning. I predict we’ll see Roger straighten out a bit going forward. I think he was trying to play good cop to Mona’s bad cop, he never had any intention of leaving her there, it was only a matter of time, and he was done. ---
**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 7, 2014, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/85 "2014-05-07T15:38:39Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > For making media buys. In the United States at that time there were thousands of independently programmed and priced newspapers and television and radio stations. If an advertiser wants to do a national campaign that means looking up thousands of separate schedules and price listings. > [@Fair\_Rarity](#): > > Sounds daunting even with a computer of that era. I know it’s a huge PITA now and we have google and right-click-save-as. > [@kunilou](#): > > Back in those days there were directories of newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, etc. with advertising rates and contacts. Each directory was hundreds of pages and full of information that was constantly out of date or listings that read only “contact directly for rates.” > > That was _really_ where the 15% commission for advertising agencies came from – the service of selecting and purchasing media for the advertiser. A few years after the Mad Men era, agencies would make a big deal out of divorcing media buying from creative and production services. Welcome to my world. Right now I have media buys on my desk for five different markets for different clients and I need to get rates from every radio and TV station in each market (well, not every radio station - but the top 10 ranked or so). I have different sales reps at each place though some are groups/clusters of stations that have one rep to cover all of their offerings. Still though, my contact sheets are ridiculous. Add to that that some stations give me a different rep depending on who the client is. So it’s still a huge pain in the ass even with computers. ---
**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 7, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/86 "2014-05-07T15:44:08Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I think the obvious intent was to have Don leading it by the end of the phone call. Lou did an end-run around it (probably knowing that none of the NY partners would fight him on it). Peggy just got shuffled around like a pawn by everyone – Lou using her to block off Don, Ted using her so he could stay in CA. Exactly. Pete and Roger might be upset if they find out what happened but what the hell are they going to do? ---
**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:** [May 7, 2014, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/87 "2014-05-07T16:38:21Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Exactly. Pete and Roger might be upset if they find out what happened but what the hell are they going to do? Pete will throw an ineffective tantrum, and Roger will make a witty quip. And that’ll be the end of it. For all that Roger wanted Don back, he’s not been too useful to Don. Roger basically got what he wanted (Don back), and doesn’t care that Don isn’t getting what Don wants. ---
**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 7, 2014, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/88 "2014-05-07T17:04:17Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Also, wasn’t Roger just typically absent for a man of his social class? I don’t mean to defend Roger as a great father, because he wasn’t. But his divorce didn’t happen until she was an adult. When she was Ellery’s age, (1940s & 50s) he was at work (or at war) and probably came home reasonably often. He didn’t disappear altogether the way she’s doing with her kid. The actress who plays her, Elizabeth Rice, is 28 which is probably what Margaret’s age is. So she was born in 1941. I don’t think her problem with Roger stems from being Ellery’s age, but from her teen years. That’s when Roger was running the agency and running around generally. He met Don in the fur store in 1953 while shopping for a coat for Joan, who is already his mistress at age 22. He’s drinking so heavily that Don cons his way into the firm by pretending that Roger had hired him while drunk and doesn’t remember. We can assume that Roger never changes after that. He’s shown as being an out-of-shape drunk who has a heart attack in the first, 1960, season, when Margaret is still a teenager. Margaret gets married in 1963 at 22, hmmm, to one of the first men she knows. The Mad Men wikia says that “Roger jokes to Don and Betty that once Margaret stopped eating, Mona stopped cooking food,” implying a serious eating disorder. I’d say that Margaret has instead had a bellyfull of Roger and Mona all her life. She’s cracking in the way that does the least actual damage to everyone. You’d really rather she’d take the bottle of gin route? Elizabeth Rice is tiny (5’2") and the scenes with Roger and Mona emphasize her petiteness even against Talia Balsam, who isn’t tall. There’s lots of imagery on screens about the physical disparity of men, but not much about women\*, even though Mad Men makes a point of this. To deliberately use male iconography, the scene between Joan and Peggy was like that of a battleship and a PT boat. Joan’s size - and prow - is shown as physically overwhelming and she uses it in all her interactions with female characters. Size is power, and power is used brutally. Most of the women will never have that. Peggy especially needs to find a different way to cope and do non-power power. \*The [SNL skit](http://thegrio.com/2014/05/05/leslie-jones-snl-skit-slave/) that’s roiling the intrawebs is a good example. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2014, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/89 "2014-05-07T23:53:49Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I agree with every word of it. It explains in detail what I’ve been uneasy with all season – the other partners’ treatment of Don doesn’t make sense for their characters. > > And a nice tip of the hat to Freddie: Ditto. ---
**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 8, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/90 "2014-05-08T03:56:10Z")
When Freddie said “do the work,” it sounded quite 12-steppish. In 1969, the [“Human Potential Movement”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Potential_Movement) was just oozing out of California and hadn’t swept across the country. Terms from that period that are now common in conversation weren’t common then. Sensitivity sessions, sayiing “I hear you” to indicate you got someone’s point, support group jargon, “relating” to people," affirmations, “owning” your feelings, the vocabularies used by Carl Rogers, Werner Erhardt, Alan Watts, Ram Dass-- this stuff wasn’t heard around the water cooler in offices. But a 12 Stepper might use the term “do the work.” So… do we know this about Freddie? Is he in AA? Actually, I’m guessing not, because he probably would have suggested it to Don. ---
**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 8, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/91 "2014-05-08T05:20:25Z")
I think he is in AA and it has come up a couple of times. ---
**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 8, 2014, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/92 "2014-05-08T06:07:08Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > When Freddie said “do the work,” it sounded quite 12-steppish. In 1969, the [“Human Potential Movement”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Potential_Movement) was just oozing out of California and hadn’t swept across the country. Terms from that period that are now common in conversation weren’t common then. Sensitivity sessions, sayiing “I hear you” to indicate you got someone’s point, support group jargon, “relating” to people," affirmations, “owning” your feelings, the vocabularies used by Carl Rogers, Werner Erhardt, Alan Watts, Ram Dass-- this stuff wasn’t heard around the water cooler in offices. But a 12 Stepper might use the term “do the work.” So… do we know this about Freddie? Is he in AA? Actually, I’m guessing not, because he probably would have suggested it to Don. He was being literal. Do the work. Write the tags. Bootstraps, etc. ---
**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 8, 2014, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/93 "2014-05-08T12:54:33Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > He was being literal. Do the work. Write the tags. Bootstraps, etc. True. ---
**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 8, 2014, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/94 "2014-05-08T14:03:10Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > And a nice tip of the hat to Freddie: I’m surprised the writer’s didn’t follow thru and make more of Don and Freddie’s working together that was revealed in the first ep. … or did I miss it? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/95 "2014-05-09T06:15:44Z")
What was the painting in Don’s office? The abstract blue/gray diamonds. I think my parents had a copy of that. ---
**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 9, 2014, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/96 "2014-05-09T08:33:49Z")
I don’t know about Don’s painting, but somebody at Tom & Lorenzo identified Roger’s poster as Seymour Chwast’s [The End Place](http://blog.threestepsahead.com/general/seymour-chwasts-dantes-inferno-the-end-place-poster-on-mad-men/), from Dante’s Inferno. Roger’s a man of wealth & taste, too… Chwast worked with Milton Glaser at Push Pin Studios, back in the day. That psychedelic art for this season of _Mad Men_? Weiner _hired_ [Milton Glaser](http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027424/graphic-design-god-milton-glaser-on-creating-an-ad-for-mad-men)… ---
**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 9, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/97 "2014-05-09T15:41:09Z")
> [@Mad-Men: 7.03"Field Trip" (open spoilers)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-03-field-trip-open-spoilers/687142/163): > > Great post; I find most of the MM commentary here a little glib and kneejerk, so thanks for such a thoughtful post. > > I don’t think anyone denies that Jon Hamm is very good looking. But he’s such a good actor, he makes it believable that Don Draper isn’t always so attractive these days. Half the time he’s a sweaty mess who looks like he reeks of booze. About Draper’s looks, aging, and weight gain: Season 1 Don - note the jawline [![](https://i.imgur.com/SWi4OSq.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/SWi4OSq.jpg) Season 6 [![](https://i.imgur.com/4pGaHVo.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/4pGaHVo.jpg) Season 7 [![](https://i.imgur.com/H7W2YGd.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/H7W2YGd.jpg) Season 7 - very unflattering angle [![](https://i.imgur.com/CW3Tqqf.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/CW3Tqqf.jpg) To be clear, no blame. Aging happens, and the guy still looks handsome. He knows how old he is too. There was a serious fan push to cast Hamm as Clark/Superman for the Man of Steel reboot. Hamm was quoted quipping about how he’d be perfect for the part if they wanted to make a movie about an old, retiring Superman. Don Draper would never grow a beard, but have you seen Hamm with one? It seems like whenever he’s not filming Mad Men, he knows that his beard compliments his jawline very well. It’s a great asset for many middle aged men, and it’s a hell of a more masculine alternative for actors than a facelift - which is seen on male celebrities way too often. Andy Richter has said that years spent sitting behind male celebrities on Conan, it was suprising how many actors had tell tale scaring from face lifts behind their ears. Jon Hamm rocking his beard: [![](https://i.imgur.com/OZOodPu.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/OZOodPu.jpg) [![](https://i.imgur.com/ONgX34D.jpg) ](https://i.imgur.com/ONgX34D.jpg) ---
**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 9, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/98 "2014-05-09T16:03:30Z")
That last photo looks like Don Draper in a dime store disguise trying to infiltrate a rival firm 😛 ---
**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 9, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/99 "2014-05-09T16:37:47Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > That last photo looks like Don Draper in a dime store disguise trying to infiltrate a rival firm 😛 I see tropical island dictator. Generalissimo Hamm. ---
**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 9, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681/100 "2014-05-09T16:47:54Z")
I much prefer this picture of [Hamm rocking a Sklarbro Country](http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0100/4462/products/jonhamm_1024x1024.jpg?v=1385618029) podcast t-shirt. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mad-men-7-04-the-monolith-open-spoilers/687681.md?page=6)