Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Mad Men 1x12 Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2025-07-20 23:36:20
Edited:
2025-09-05 00:08:25
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Files

Mad Men 1x12

________________________ patreon - https://www.patreon.com/LMreactions twitter - https://twitter.com/LMreaction tv time - lola - skysstillblue, milena - oneofthe100

Comments

fionan franklin

дерьмовое шоу! где монстр?!?

cheech

Galt's a thug

Erik D

12 and 13 are absolute bangers.

Mike

S-tier episode, easily the best of the series so far. (Until next week!) Man, I love everything about this one. The creme de menthe in the water coolers, Kinsey's play and his conversation with Joan, Sally getting to stay up late to watch the election returns, Pete's hamfisted blackmail attempt, and Cooper's *legendary* shrug at (we thought) the series-defining mystery. "Mr. Campbell... Who cares?" The show is at its strongest when the real-world history is working alongside the personal stories at SC to tell something greater, and using the election -- a coin-flip for the fate of the world, and all the knife's edge anticipation that comes with it -- while Don is literally in fight or flight mode, until that coin flip over his future in Cooper's office... *Chef's kiss* It didn't make the edit, but I love the woman on the train who gives Don his new mantra: "You've got your whole life ahead of you. Forget that boy in the box." He's trying, lady, but it isn't easy! (Speaking of not making the edit, it should be a crime to cut Trudy Campbell out of these things!) Edit: Coming back after watching the post-ep discussion. I think the question of whether Don is a "coward" is an interesting one. On one hand, when he goes to Rachel, he is running away from his "problems" -- a beautiful wife, two loving children, a high-paying job, a house in the suburbs... you know, the usual problems -- which yeah, that's cowardly. But he is also running away from (potentially) criminal prosecution as an army deserter, if Pete goes that way with the information he has. Don trading his life for a dead man's as a means to escape the tragedy of his own childhood -- is that a cowardly act? Or, like Cooper suggests, is it a heroic reinvention in the mold of other men who helped forge America? Is running away from the consequences of that act cowardly? Or is it natural self-preservation? Marching Pete into Cooper's office to call his bluff certainly wasn't a cowardly act. So yeah, like L&M said, a fascinating, complicated character. (And HOF performance by Jon Hamm, of course.)

Julien

Why do fans of other shows disrespect reactors and debase themselves in this fashion? GTFO here and go post in Monster threads.

Infode

"Nixon, a self-made man, the Abe Lincoln of California... Kennedy, I see a silver spoon; Nixon, I see myself". Knowing this, with the closing shot being Don watching Nixon give his concession speech mirroring how both men are dishonest as we the audience know Nixon in the future will be associated with being a "crook"

Zosko1

There's so many important and deep moments worthy of insightful discussion this episode. But Joan listing all the alcohol in the storage room is one of sexiest moments on TV. And women aren't even my thing

Kara

i was lowkey thinking "Dick" Nixon does have kind of a don draper-ish look to him in black and white on the TV too

Mike

"...dog biscuits." 🥵

Julien

Not always easy to discern at this stage but I think it's important to clarify the following: there are broadly two main teams in SC that work together: Accounts and Creative. Accounts folks are responsible for finding and bringing clients, and well as maintaining those relationships. It's a job that requires extraversion and knowing how to handle people. Roger was Head of Accounts. His surbornates in Accounts are Pete, Harry, Ken, and some others. Creative is exactly what it sounds like: they are the idea people. They are the ones that actually come up with the ads. Don is Creative Director. Reporting to him are Freddy, Kinsey, Sal (not an idea man but an illustrator), some others, and increasingly in this context, Peggy. The reason Pete nearly got fired earlier this season is that he, an Accounts man, independently pitched an IDEA to a client without the approval of Don, the Creative Director. That's a no-no. With Roger out, Don was given the task of hiring a new Head of Accounts - and brought in Duck Phillips. Pete feels he should have that job. I write this because you suggested Pete doesn't do anything or that Don brings in clients. But that's not really true. Pete's Accounts work is invisible to us but also Don's job isn't to bring in clients (of course, the company will take a client regardless of who brings it in). Hope this makes sense.

cheech

Milena’s smile after “who cares” that’s what it’s all about folks 👍

Kara

When I was reading the episode descriptions for S1 to remember what happened + I got to this one I was shocked. what do you mean the election + pete revealing don + korea flashbacks + rachel showdown all happen in the same episode??? I'll say it again: Mad Men accomplishes so much within a 44-minute, 4-act 'old' TV show structure. With every reaction I am more and more vindicated by secretly thinking this would become one of your fav shows 🥺 and we're not even at peak yet!!! "Mr Campbell, who cares?" is an all-time TV moment and something I think about constantly. A worse show would string along the "Pete knows Don's secret" storyline for 3 seasons, teasing you, "when will they find out oooohhhh". Not Mad Men. like the girls here you think there's nooo way they'll reveal this, its career ending... and then they just do. "oh my god, he admit it!". this is what "subverting expectations" is supposed to be like - when the end result is something you didn't expect that somehow makes the show + its characters BETTER. holyyyy Lots of good side stuff here too. Rachel reading Don 'to filth' to quote Lola, absolutely. Peggy trying to play office cop and getting 2 innocent Black (? one at least) workers fired with no way to stop it, that's a hard lesson you learn only once. Don being led away on the train from his past by an attractive women who wants to buy him a drink... the tight 1960 election between a (flawed) beacon of progress and the conservative who will later win and be impeached, so much subtext. I forgot that Bert alleges the democrats got dead people to vote, some things never change 💀 I've said before that I thought Mad Men was perfect for the "project" of this channel, and episodes like this are why. There are many more to come. bonus: Lola being a Vonnegut fan is like the least surprising development ever. so it goes.

Mike

The parallels here to, uhh, more recent elections were pretty striking. It reminds me of Tony Gilroy saying that he wasn't writing Andor to comment specifically on the current political climate so much as he was simply pulling inspiration from history, and that it would inevitably resonate with whichever fascist shitstorm happened to arise when it was airing. (Don't know if it still needs saying at this point, but count this as another vote for them watching Andor, which rocks.)

Kara

I'd eat the dog biscuits soaked in creme de menthe if Joan told me to

Kara

A reaction is whoever is in this room and right now, Mad Men is in this room.

Kara

Your outline of the company is accurate (bearing in mind there's a Media team too, its more like 3 teams) but Don does "bring in accounts" because to quote a previous episode "Half the clients at this firm came for Draper". I think that's what the girls mean / are referencing. Lots of clients come to stuffy old fashioned Sterling Cooper solely because they have Don Draper and/or his creative work (even if they don't know his name, they know the work).

Sami

For me, this is THE EPISODE.

Kara

i loved the season already but this is the first episode where i was like "what tha fuck am i watching" and it permanently changed my brain chemistry

Kara

@Mike 100% yeah, I'm sure there will be more parallels too sadly. To quote Andor, "everything old is new again" 🤮 cant wait for the girls to get to Andor

Zosko1

I'm glad you both understand.

Sami

Same, Praising this episode doesn't take anything away from the previous ones, but finishing it raised the bar and made me realize that I'm going to witness something special, to end up being my favorite show of all time.

Kara

@Sami same, it's #1 all-time for me, and hasn't declined on rewatch (only gotten better really). Random but have you seen Andor? It's different but I absolutely loved it and was blown away - we think the girls might watch after The Bear - might be my #2 fav show after Mad Men, or #3 after BCS.

Julien

Don isn't wrong about Nixon. Unlike Kennedy and many others, Nixon genuinely came from nothing and rose to the top of the world thru hard work, smarts, and grit. Yet even when he became the most powerful man in the world, he never was able to shed his resentment of the old money elites, who he felt never accepted him and were always working to undermine him. That insecurity and resentment bred a paranoia and venality that would prove to be his downfall. He was a fascinating man.

Taya

Love Sal's face right after kissing Joan. Smiling at the crowd all proud of himself like "Look at me everyone, I just kissed a woman! I'm so totally straight and masculine!"

Julien

I knew should should have added a disclaimer about Don. 😂 I added the parenthetical about how SC will take clients however they come in but clearly that wasn't enough! I added it precisely because of Don. Yes, Don "brings in" accounts but that's not his job. And in the context of my explanation, I don't think people coming to SC because of Don's creative talent means Don's brings in accounts. Not in the context of explaining roles at the company. It's literally Pete's job to go out there and find clients. Not Don. But yes, Don is the creative heart of the company and of course people come there because of him. And yes, as a partner, Don now has some responsibility in doing whatever it takes to grow the firm, including going out there and schmoozing. But it's literally the job of Accounts Services to bring in clients, not Creative.

Sami

Couldn't agree more, mad men is a show that you have to rewatch it because it easy to miss a lot for shadowing in your first time that will blow your mind on how good the writing, like here where harry glasses got broken which I think it's resembling to him cheating & breaking his marriage, and to be fair it took me a couple of rewatch to cement this show as my #1. It's a shame that there's almost no reaction to this show on YouTube, I can only think of one reactors that did the show justice but I need to look up the name of their channel lol. I haven't watched andor because I didn't watch anything related to star wars but thanks to one of my friends praise and obsession with the show I'm willing to get into the whole universe.

Kara

you can take the theater kid out of high school but......

Kara

@Sami Joe and Kevin are the only channel I've seen cover Mad Men well yeah, maybe you're thinking of them. two white american guys. the few other reactions are all kinda mid. maybe we'll see more now!

Julien

@Sami Please find that channel. I've looked far and wide for Mad Men reactions and the very few I found were not great.

Sami

Yes it's them.

Sami

@Julien As Kara mentioned just type Joe and Kevin mad men and the playlist will show up, but bear with the low quality camera because they are really good and they understand the characters and the story really well.

Michael M

I dislike Star Wars more than the average person. I think the original movies are nice and fun but nothing special. I haven't even seen the last two movies. Andor is a Top 5 show I've ever watched.

JBK405

To answer one question you asked in the outro, so far Pete has been presented as being generally okay at his job. Good enough to be kept employed, but nothing more than that. He hasn't shown himself as being better than any of his co-workers, or having any unique talents. To be blunt, he hasn't earned this new job. So for him to think he deserves this promotion is the epitome of entitlement, and that's why Don is so particularly hostile to him. Even leaving aside the way Don dislikes him anyway. I absolutely love the scene between Don and Rachel, and the way she pegged him EXACTLY. She saw his panic and his moral cowardice, and she realized exactly how she figured into that for him. She shows that she has all of the character which he lacks. The election happening in the background is fascinating all on its own. To tie back what Bert Cooper said to organized crime and some things that were referenced in "The Sopranos", there were allegations at the time (and still happening now) that Kennedy used connections with the Mafia to rig the election in Illinois. There has never been any evidence to support these stories. Evidence has been found of minor, individual instances of fraud in Illinois during this election, but even if ALL of them were "stealing" votes from Nixon the state STILL would have gone for Kennedy. And even if somehow the state as a whole was stolen and really should have gone for Nixon, the election overall still would have gone for Kennedy. So all of the conspiracy theories ultimately come to nothing. But they're a good way to shift the blame.

Julien

About the edits, this is the rare show where I'd prefer to watch the full reaction but have been significantly struggling with those: the volume is too low and things get out of sync after a while. Am I the only one?

Scott (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-19 14:00 You two are SO fucking adept at analyzing these shows...bravo.
2025-07-21 02:24

JojoPotato

Agree that Pete is just ok at his job to this point. He’s not bringing in accounts, he’s gleeful when Dr Scholls leaves because of creative, and he’s not really selling Don’s ideas (Bethlehem Steel) which makes him a bad match for Don.

Kara

@Julien you set your own volume for whatever copy you're playing so idk how the volume is wrong. for me the reaction gets very slightly out of sync, i just pause and resync, maybe twice an episode. if it's going out of sync within say 10 seconds, your copy isnt at the same framerate as the girls. otherwise you can also download the MP4 from vimeo and there should be zero sync issues (minor sync issues come from Vimeo micro-buffering during streaming, or your copy if you stream off amazon or w/e) open the vimeo link open your copy play both, make the volumes good so you can hear the girls (use the episode dialog to match) (optional) download the MP4 from vimeo to avoid buffering

JojoPotato

Mad Men is the only full reaction of theirs that isn’t out of sync for me. Others have explained how to sync the full reaction but I can’t remember what the process is.

Julien

I think Pete is more than just OK at his job, even Don said he was good. But obviously he is not "Head of Accounts" good. He hasn't remotely earned a promotion of that magnitude. But he thinks he should have it because he is a smarmy, entitled fuck who's been bred to believe that everything he wants should be his. He is the very embodiment of unexamined and unearned privilege.

cheech

There was some discussion of other MM reactions when ep 1 was posted. Joe and Kevin, Terabyt and KrautWatch were the only ones but it made me go back and look again and I found a guy named “Drunk Reactions” and he’s exactly how it sounds and he did the whole series lmao. It’s kinda terrible and mostly just him yelling but still oddly entertaining. He seems like he likes the show at least. I used to hate the fact there was none out there but now that LM are doing it I don’t care as much.

cheech

I stole your blouse

Eric Viola

I feel the part that is not discussed enough about what happened in Korea was that Don's CO is killed because he dropped his lighter after trying to brush off that he pissed himself in the middle of combat. It wasn't just an accident, it stemmed completely from how scared he was. That aspect had to weigh heavily on Don, it wasn't just his fault, it was directly related to how (understandably) cowardly he was being in that moment. A whole identity built on "I got a clean slate because I killed a man while shitting myself in combat" is an insane burden especially in that world.

Eric Viola

Loved the Nixon/Kennedy metaphor in this episode. Through the season, Don saw himself, like Nixon, a "self-made man", while Pete hinting a likeness towards and supporting Kennedy, probably because he was younger and JFK had a similarly wealthy, blue blood background. As Pete is pleading with Don to make him head of accounts right before he's about to go into Cooper's office, there's a TV with Kennedy delivering a passionate address. Kennedy is described by Cooper/Sterling as "a boy" and that's exactly what Pete looks like as he trails behind Don. By the final scene, as Nixon gives his concession speech, you get the sense that even though Don outlasted Pete, Don does not emerge unscathed.

Mark M

My other favourite episode of the season, tied with Shoot. Really enjoyed the commentary, great understanding of Don and Pete. Makes me more excited for future episodes, including the next one.

Mark M

Definitely agree on subverting expectations. It's not done as a cheap rug pull, but to deepen your understanding of the characters. Like the writers leave Don's past a mystery in a way that suggests something potentially overtly nefarious. But instead the reveal is both very tragic and sympathetic, but also still at its core a self serving lie that leads to further lies and inability to deal with things. The expectation still probably could be a fun narrative, but what we get is far more human.

Sebastian

They really are so far above other reaction channels. It's real time, high level tv criticism, not just "Oh wow that's crazy".

Sebastian

Joe and Kevin are great! Similar analytic minds who are great at picking up subtext.

cheech

"When you threaten someone in this manner, you should be aware of the fact that if your information is powerful enough to make them do what you want, what else can it make them do?" “If that's true... If you don't know who I am, then... maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.” 😮‍💨

Sebastian

It speaks to the insanely high quality of this show that this is arguably the WEAKEST season. Also, love how much the girls are into Pete as a character already. A lot of people are too distracted by hating him to appreciate what an incredible, ridiculous character he is on the first watch. Best character in the best show.

Erik D

It's a shame the popular image of him is so cartoonish because he's a fascinating character study, a real Greek tragedy, driven by spite and vanity, and a huge chip on his shoulder.

Stan the Man

The weakest season? Wow. I definitely think that’s a minority opinion. Or maybe I’m crazy. How would u rank them? Personally I’d say 4, 3, 1, 5, 2, 6, 7. I find the last 2.5 seasons to be a steep decline. Granted the show is so strong that even those weak seasons are above every other non Sopranos, Deadwood, Wire show. I’ve always thought season 5 would’ve made the perfect series finale.

Stan the Man

It’s kind of hilarious seeing Bert talking about Nixon throwing in the towel because of the optics. Now when certain Presidents don’t win they have their followers storm the Capitol, calling for the death of the vice president as a literal gallows is erected to hang him. People die as a result. Assault police & when that that man gets reelected he pardons them all. Yep. What fun.

Erik D

According to the website ratingraph, which is based on IMDB ratings, it goes: 4: 8.7 5,7: 8.6 3: 8.4 6: 8.3 2: 8.2 1: 8.1 Granted, there's probably some survivorship bias there (people who rated season 1 poorly aren't as likely to continue watching)

Thomas Fahey

The reason for the unusually high number of votes cast in Cook County was the hotly contested race for Cook County State's Attorney. I only mention that fact because Bert is showing a propensity for repeating conventional wisdom as fact, which it seldom is. Whether or not he knows the truth isn't clear at this point.

Tyrone Tyrone

Don isn't a coward, but he's a sociopath or high on the scale.

Tyrone Tyrone

I feel Pete did the right thing because he wanted the job now, first and foremost. And Don had no choice but to call the bluff if he wasn't going to run. Pete still holds the advantage because if they fire him, he can still destroy Don and hurt the company by spreading the word to other clients and the Army because nobody is going to hire/work with a known deserter in 1960. Don has to worry now that Pete and Bert will keep his secret.

Kara

Sterling Cooper is a known, respected firm and Bert Cooper alone can basically end Petes career if he leaks anything. That's why he told Don "fire him if you want". If Pete says anything then Bert refuses to give him a reference and makes it known in the industry that Pete won't keep your company's secrets, when the job involves leasing with clients who are cheating on their spouses and trying to undermine US government regulation re cigarettes etc. E.g nobody will hire a senior accounts person who is known to leak damaging secrets. Basically Pete doesnt have as much power as you think, he can kill Don but its a suicide blast that kills his career (or kills momentum at least).

Sebastian

I think it's really hard to rank the seasons, though 2 would probably be bottom, not because it's bad, just that I'm not as invested in several of the main plotlines that season. 1 is just a bit too on the nose at times. Plus I think it's just the kind of show that really benefits from having the baggage of previous seasons to further inform the characters. It's all a matter of preference though, because the show's so consistently good all the way through. I don't see 6 and 7 as a sharp drop-off, even if the middle stretch is probably the highest peak.

Kara

I'm intrigued and I like Rhea Seehorn and the ABQ crew have earned my trust but I'm surprised its a sci-fi show. Feels like a big departure, very interested to see what its like tonally.

Eric Viola

@stantheman oof no last three seasons are excellent

Truemeathead

It is a departure from Br Ba for sure but he is getting back to his roots with sci-fi. He was a writer on the X-Files and the showrunner for the failed spinoff X-Files show The Lone Gunmen so it will be nice to see him get back to some far out shit. Fun facts, he cast Cranston as Walt after he was in an episode of X-Files vince wrote where he played a white supremacist. That’s why he knew he would be perfect and didn’t just see him as Hal from Malcom in the Middle…also, Chuck was in a few episode of both those shows that Vince wrote as well. Nice to see Vince has a knack for continuing to work people he likes over the years as far as cast and crew. I’m so stoked for this.

Eric Viola

Pete trying to blackmail Don is definitely in the morally and (probably?) criminally wrong. I think he did it to show how he'll literally do whatever it takes to improve his status, self-worth. He can't blab to anyone else about Don either because he'd destroy his own reputation.

Tyrone Tyrone

I agree Pete would suffer and would never get his name on anybody's door, but he would survive, but Don (once he got out of prison) would be back to selling used cars. It's Pete's impatience that made the threat backfire, he should've waited.

Eric Viola

He wouldn't be back to selling cars even if he somehow was imprisoned dude. Don's a genius at what he does lol. Capitalists don't care if you're a criminal if you can make them money.

Tyrone Tyrone

Tell that to Sal and Admiral TV or any woman at the time, it's 1960 and most capitalists at that time still believed in America. The name-dropping of Ayn Rand shows it's early in the revival of the pursuit of profit regardless of anything else, that comes back to the forefront for America later.

Eric Viola

Sal isn't on the same level as Don in terms of creative genius in any way lol. And we also have no idea what happens to Sal, nor is that an analogous hypothetical because Sal was not publicly outted.

Kara

I value your input my friend but you cant be posting that stuff in the comments of episode 1x12, its legit spoilers

Tyrone Tyrone

Sal helps them make money, or they wouldn't have him on the team, but he is closeted because he and everybody knows he'll be let go despite helping them make money because of their bigotry and not for economic or merit reasons. And for Admiral TV or any woman at the time?

Mike

Don is definitely not a sociopath.

Mike

For me it's gotta be 5, 4, 3, 6, 7, 1, 2. Season 5 is my favourite season in all of television.