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Mad Men, Season 5, Episode 9 (Patreon)

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2024-01-25 01:58:58
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Dark Shadows

Comments

Actuarial Lurker

In case Joe or Kevin didn't know- Dark Shadows was a REAL soap opera from the late 1960s based on Dracula, set just as Bram Stoker intended around 1898 as in Francis Coppola's movie. The episode titles not only refer to some aspect of the show like The Suitcase or Signal 30, there is always a deeper meaning- that the suitcase carries one's emotional baggage and breaks open or that Pete's life was the car wreck like the Driver's Ed movie. "Barnabus Collins" is the vampire in the 60's soap opera and there are various women in peril, so when Mad Men was running live on TV people were speculating who the vampire was and the identity the damsel(s) in distress. Is Ginsburg the vampire? Is Don given his power over Ginsburg, is Betty the "monster" trying to wreck Don's marriage with Sally's family tree project and the Ana Draper revelation?

Actuarial Lurker

Don's hangup was that GINSBURG was on almost every story board, so when he is "worried" where Peggy is on al of this- it really is that HE isn't on ANY of them. It's hitting home that he has fallen off at work as you pointed out in the pre-episode banter

Actuarial Lurker

Overeaters anonymous was founded in 1960 modeled on AA. So Betty finally IS seeking help like Sally's child psychiatrist "Dr. Edna" had suggested- does address her eating disorder but of course not the dysfunction in her life that leads to the binge eating and then skipping meals

Actuarial Lurker

Roger strikes again- "cheap Jewish wine for normal people" and says it to a guy who was born in a concentration camp

Actuarial Lurker

Sally was born in April 1954 so at Thanksgiving 1966 she is 12 and a half years old- for perspective on how old she might be in Season 7 and her current maturity to deal with being caught between the divorced parents

Actuarial Lurker

Megan's father is a tenured professor and Catholic French Canadian so basically well-educated and upper middle class with traditional values but ee don't know if her mom is rich so she is well-bred and artistic. Definitely mature

tom

Man, this Season is such a tease. Every time I think a certain scene/line/moment/subplot is happening in the upcoming episode and then the episode ends and it doesn't happen and I realize it's not until the next episode. And then I wait a week and it happens all over again with another new thing! It goes to show how much great stuff is in this one, and I can't wait to hear your overall thoughts on S5 once you finish it compared to the stellar S4. I find it interesting how often we see Megan from another character's perspective. There's always something so ethereal about those candid moments in time. To Don in S4 she's an encapsulation of the perfect life he can have, to Betty this episode she's an encapsulation of the perfect life she potentially missed out on. It goes to show how fragile a state of mind can be -- she smugly says "We have everything" when she feels more powerful than Don, but then he finds someone and the insecurities begin to emerge. I actually hate what she does this episode more than Carla being fired, the petty way she uses Sally as a pawn to hurt Megan and forces her to be the bigger person is just so cowardly. Sally having her mother's verbal cruelty but with the unyielding ego of a child instead of a housewife's timidity makes her truly nasty, as Megan put it. I love how over the top her delivery is when she tries to be sassy to Don/Megan, like "Are you done?" and "Are you going to make yourself cry". The words are dripping with venom but the way she says it is so clearly a child trying to be an adult. I also love the way she handled Betty with her lack of a reaction, as you mentioned, but I'm more partial to her saying "She's hungry, Bobby" in the dinner scene. It's soooo fucking catty (and so subtle that not even Betty catches it) but there's a weird feeling of pride I feel in witnessing her growing up and beginning to understand how to perfectly use underhanded sass like the adults do, but it's also unfortunate watching her becoming toxic like everyone else in this show. I really like the Jane subplot and the unconventional way this show portrays relationships/romance/intimacy. Roger and Jane have a beautiful moment together on LSD where they've probably never been so emotionally open, and then they decide to get divorced, and then they go on a date and hook up, and then they both feel awful. It's so weird and nonlinear, but instead of milking emotional drama like a soap opera it's this understated empty feeling that's so realistic to these characters and the human experience. On Roger, he has some funny moments too. I always get a laugh out of his quick "Stop talking" to Ginsberg, and his "Were we married?" to Peggy. On Peggy, I find her anger at him so funny and endearing, but I think my read on her character is much more socially awkward than most, so I can just enjoy the moments when she's clearly being irrational. On a more serious note though, I think she's a person who has only recently come into her own as a human with confidence, and like any newly confident human she sometimes overshoots and asserts herself more than is reasonable. I don't think it's as straightforward as her being insecure over Ginsberg's talent, at least not in the same way Don clearly is. Keep in mind she doesn't get jealous over his Sno Ball pitch at all, despite him not only outshining her but making fun of how bad her pitch was. It was the Roger thing that pissed her off, and I think it ties into what I said earlier: that whole Mohawk Airlines scene earlier in the season was a big showing of confidence for her, so I think finding out it could've been anyone made her second guess the ego boost she got from that whole moment and the natural reaction to that is defensiveness. "I don't think about you at all", oh but you do, Don, and you're so full of shit. Like you both noted, it's a classic Don Draper line, and another one of those "unhappy male character that people glorify because they ignore context" situations, too. A great one-liner, Don, if only the whole episode didn't tell us the complete opposite. But I disagree on how upfront he was being. To me he was definitely exaggerating how much better he thought his pitch was, to the point that maybe deep down he even knew Ginsberg's was better. His ego would never let him admit that, though, not to himself and definitely not to anyone. Also, the cat showing up in the reaction for a few moments was a pleasant surprise.

Weird Magic

Am I the only one thinking that despite his behavior for four "seasons", that Don has actually changed? People/characters do do that, and sometimes it's so that they can fall again for storyline purposes, but sometimes it's also that they grow and change. Right now I'm giving full credit to Don for his S5 reactions to situations that in the first four seasons he would have reacted differently and hoping Megan has created the permanent behavioral changes in Don Draper. Originally airing on May 13, 2012, 'Dark Shadows' is Episode 9 of Season 5 of Mad Men. It is the 61st episode overall and has an IMDB rating of 8, placing it as the #12 ranked episode of this season and #46 out of all the episodes shown so far.

Actuarial Lurker
>>127875833

The last thing we want is Sally to pick uo the worst traits of both parents. You make a great point about how Sally's cutting remarks are brutal and she is learning to be like the housewives in Season 1 Marriage of Figaro- where Don builds the playhouse for Sally's birthday, and the various neighbor housewives ask Glen's mother why she walks around the neighborhood while in the yard the children ape the snotty fights between their parents and Don says to Helen Bishop something like "Not Much different out here than in there". In Season 1 this was innocent imitation but a warning that kids DO hear what people are saying. The question is does Don put 2 and 2 together and see that a 12.5 year old might MEAN some of these things....

Actuarial Lurker
>>127906335

I always viewed Don as a "dry drunk". That is AA speak for an alcoholic who no longer drinks because he is following a recovery program BUT doesn't address the flaws that LED him or her to drink- so the other shoe is always just waiting to drop. Is Don just luckily acting better - YES due to Megan's presence- but just when she is around, and will his inner devils win and cause a relapse since HE isn't trying to change but Megan is just rubbing off on him...you have to bottom out and want to change not just "try"

Weird Magic
>>127906335

agree with your sentiment - would like to point out in a slight rebuttal, we have a scene from earlier this year where they went to a brothel and Don was the only one not to cheat....and Megan was not there I'm probably just naive about hoping for character growth instead of plot devices...I know.. :)

Youtalkingtome
>>127868472

I didn't realize it was a soap opera until after this episode. I knew it was a tv show and that it got a pretty terrible remake with Johnny Depp. In terms of who the vampire is? I'm really not sure. It's a little bit Roger for sure. Pete certainly is predatory and delusional right now. Don, is very much a grump, but it could be that he is the vampire and Ginsburg is the damsel? Very interesting read.

Youtalkingtome
>>127870128

Gotcha. I did think it was Peggy at first but when he stepped in and stole the show, I read it as him being insecure.

Youtalkingtome
>>127874005

Either way she came from more money than Don ever did. Never anticipated loving her character as much as I do.

Youtalkingtome
>>127875833

Yeah this episode really does highlight that this behavior is generational and it's a cycle. Sally has been poisoned and I really like how you put that. Don is SO full of it. Of course he's thinking about Ginsburg. I don't know, obviously using your child as a pawn is terrible but the firing of Carla was awful. I felt more bad for Betty in this situation. Like how broken of a person do you have to be to do that? At least in this episode her pettiness didn't work.

Actuarial Lurker
>>127906335

You are correct- the question is "how long is Don's fuse"....the longer he is "good" and the longer he cannot control Megan OR his work life the more risk he will relapse

Youtalkingtome
>>127906335

Yeah I absolutely think that he has changed. However I don't think it's for good. He's meaner now, but in some ways more understanding. I'm just waiting for the moment that sets him off.

tom
>>127875833

Oh yeah, I agree what she did to Carla was worse but I meant to say that even if it doesn't make sense I'm more bothered by her actions this episode. I think it's because there's at least a logical link when you take Betty's irrational hatred of Glen into account. She sees what happened as one of the worst case scenarios and Carla is directly responsible for that (as inexcusable as not letting her say goodbye and the lack of recommendation letter were). But this episode, she just gets insecure about her weight and manipulatively comes up with a scheme, using Don's secret and Sally's innocence as collateral to hurt Megan who did nothing to her besides being a bit prickly when she visited.

tom
>>127906335

@Weird Magic I don't think the brothel scene means he's grown, and I think he wouldn't cheat if he was married to Betty there either. That's just not who he is and it wouldn't appeal to him. Actually, isn't it in S1 when he and Roger pick up those twins from the audition and he's not interested in doing anything with her? Same situation. I think his marriage with Megan is indeed different (though he was probably faithful to Betty in the beginning too, so who knows), but the brothel situation speaks more to the fact that he's a private person.

Actuarial Lurker
>>127874005

I was a Faye fan and suspected Megan knew that Don and Faye were involved so when SHE moved on Don that night saying she wanted to be in advertising when we learn later that she wants to be an actress made me actually hate her since Faye was a better match...so is Megan as innocent as you think or was she cunning enough to get a rich husband who could fund her acting career so she wouldn't have to wait tables like he friend auditioning for Dark Shadows?

Actuarial Lurker
>>127875833

If Don had NOT told Megan about his past she might have divorced him over that revelation....so it was a VERY low blow by Betty...

Scott Pearson Eberly

Joke is definitely the wrong word to use how people see him on Madison Avenue. Prospective Execs no longer trust him, they see a talented creative director who will bite the hand that feeds him.