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mad man 213

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Comments

bondbond53

This is the first episode on my rewatch that always makes me think "Ah this is why Mad Men is my favourite TV Show"

Kendall Roy 🇧🇷

just in time for dinner!! great episode and a really excellent season (just like the first one) but from S3 onwards was when I realized I was watching the best TV Show ever made, I can't wait to see your reactions

Jay Craig

It just keeps getting better too. Season 4 my God.

Darrach

The guy from Putnam, Powell and Lowe said Duck “never could hold his liquor”, a phrase meaning he can’t drink without becoming a mess.

Jenny D

I hold no compassion for Duck after what he did to Chauncey 💔

Taya

Agreed. The first two seasons are REALLY good, but... we haven't even begun to peak

Epileptic Trees

Chauncey fucking deserved it. You see the way he looked at Duck? You don't judge a man in his most vulnerable moments like that and not expect retaliation fr

Taya

Don & Betty's reconciliation set against the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis... damn. It's not a fresh new start. There's nothing happy or hopeful about it. It's heavy, oppressive. It feels doomed, just like the world felt at that moment in history. Such an incredible ending.

Eric (Rec B.)

"Mr. Campbell, who cares?" was where I thought Mad Men could be an all timer. The conversation between Peggy and Pete in this one cemented it.

Kara

If Chauncey is so great, how come he didn't knock the glass from Duck's hand and bark "Don't do it Dad!"

Kara

which is an insane thing to say about an alcoholic who imploded at your company due to alcoholism, who you sent a full crate of gin bottles to as a gift. me when I give the alcohol problem man alcohol and he becomes a problem: wtf????

Taya

I love Peggy's monologue because it has multiple meanings. On the surface she's talking about the baby. But I think she's also talking about loss of a different kind: loss of innocence, youth, the loss of certain hopes and dreams for the future, the irrevocable loss of a previous version of yourself through a traumatic event or perhaps just by the slow daily grind of real life. I think it's something we can all relate to as time passes and we get older and become jaded. "And you keep thinking maybe I'll get it back. And then you realize... it's just gone."

Kara

you know betty is the goat because she finds out she can't get pregnant (again) + immediately goes to a bar for the first time in 10 years, takes 5 paid-for gimlets to the dome then stumbles to the bathroom while STARING at a man until he follows her. call that the Housecat Rizz 😌🙌 A phenomenal episode and a phenomenal reaction. Choosing to set the chaos of the office politics and Don's family life against the backdrop of the Cuban missile crisis, where people in major population hubs like NYC literally thought they were going to die like Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is genius writing. It's such a "well-crafted" show, and this only becomes more apparent when you re-watch and know the 'twists' so can focus on the specific choices. Holyyyy. Every week I'm legit stunned we're witnessing this live lol and the "two episodes a week" format really makes you stop and appreciate each episode... usually I'm binging like a season a week minimum oop 😳 In season 1, Bert Cooper says to Don (about Pete) "One never knows how loyalty is born". 2 years later it pays off massively when Pete gives Don the key info he needs to 'take a stand' against Duck's new regime. I've seen people in the past misunderstand this, but you both outlined it: knowing in advance allowed Don to come up with a plan that leveraged his power in the agency, rather than being taken by surprise + not saying the right thing. Funnily enough I had a similar situation early in my career and I remembered this ep and did the same thing Pete did. I'm still friends with that person today. Thanks Mad Men! I've been looking forward to the Peggy/Pete scene for weeks. You're both spot on - she internalizes the priest's advice about telling the truth to free herself, but chooses to tell Pete a truth instead. In Mad Men everything is connected to everything else, sometimes directly, sometimes thematically. In the end montage we see she's still religious - she's accepted what she views as her sins and come to terms with her Catholic Christianity, she's incorporating it into her work (the popsicle ad), she's using its lessons with people she cares about. She's found a version of belief that works for her, with her desires + past etc. That's what all the religious stuff this season was about IMO. Bonus thoughts: IMO Lola is right, Betty was riding so much cuz she was hoping for an 'accidental' miscarriage that makes things a lot "easier". Pete knows how devestating nuclear missiles are cuz he met so many missile companies in California. Don says 1 thing to Roger after a 3 week absence + Roger immediately feels better about everything, Don is his bestie. Harry the head of the television department breaks his own television. Paul Kinsey has an earnest loyalty to the company Sterling Cooper has been for 2 seasons + 3 years of time, he doesn't want the format to change. Joan is simply pretending like Greg's rape never happened, so it goes. Don is if nothing else a great writer, and he writes a great letter.

Kara

I think many of us have experienced something where after it feels like there's less of us somehow. She's talking about the baby but she's talking about.... everything.

on crip ...

wow the way peggy just don'd (son'd) pete

cheech

If I'm going to die, I want to die in Manhattan.

Kara

We'll have Manhattan The Bronx and Staten Island too...

Nina

Don't get it twisted, you SHOULD drink, you HAVE to drink. But be chill yo, don't be a weirdo about it.

Josip

Mad Men was primarily written by its creator, Matthew Weiner, he previously worked on Sopranos

Epileptic Trees

Everyone should have at least one major substance addiction in their lifetime; it builds character.

Mike

You know, I'm beginning to think these characters don't have a healthy relationship to alcohol.

Mike

I guess I'll go against the grain and say I don't love this episode. It's still a good hour of TV -- the Peggy & Pete scene is stunning -- but it doesn't work as well for me as other season finales, and can't help feeling like a comedown after that terrific California two-parter. I think of the show as operating on three axes -- the personal (in these past few episodes, Don & Betty's separation), the professional (the merger), and the historical (the missile crisis). When Mad Men is at its best, all three elements are resonating with each other. The past few episodes have had Don running away from "the end of the world" in all three spheres, though he wasn't actually aware that Duck was running this merger end-around on him. Interestingly, all three stories end in anti-climax: His marriage is "saved" by Betty's pregnancy. The merger situation is saved by Pete confiding in him. And the world is saved from nuclear holocaust by... well, it just kind of doesn't happen. None of these stories are what I'd call a dramatic conclusion. Don is barely an active participant in some of those climaxes. On a thematic level, I guess I appreciate the symmetry. But on a dramatic level, "protagonist is in triple jeopardy and survives because of... outside factors" doesn't exactly make for compelling television.

nzm

Enjoying the best America has to offer.

Mark M

I love the parallels with this episode and episode 12. Pete comes to Don's office blackmailing him for head of accounts vs Pete comes to Don's office giving him info to blow up a deal that would make him head of accounts. Just a nice confirmation of what he really wants. Glad you had some sympathy for Duck too. He reminds me a bit of Chuck McGill. Tries to lawyer his way through a personal beef and ends up losing his temper and embarrassing himself when he gets exposed. Not surprising when his pitch was just 'fuck Don, fuck Don, also fuck Don'. I Iike how he says 'I will honour the founders of Sterling Cooper.' Very subtle Duck. The final comment of him being unable to hold his liquor is quite sad.

Kara

"I will honour the founders of Sterling Cooper" while looking at Roger and Bert + ignoring Don is extra funny when you remember Roger isn't even a founder, his Dad was (the original Sterling).

Kara

I think your summary is missing a key element - that all 3 storylines are about being "saved" but thrust into a world where this devastation is possible and an active thought. On the macro level - the threat of nuclear war looming for decades - on the micro level, the knowledge that your marriage or workplace is now on new terms where everyone knows what happened and can happen. It's less about the saving and more about what comes after being saved: the bombs may be defused for now, but everyone now knows the bombs are there and ready to explode. I think you're underrating Don's active participation - he's obviously active when he pulls together his plan/speech for the meeting (using info that Pete gave him because he chose not to fire Pete, and to make him feel trusted over California, all conscious actions). And when Betty is truly unsure of what to do regarding her pregnancy to the point of legitimately considering illegal abortion, Don takes all his California experiences, mixed with the chaos of work and the world, and he returns home. He asks Betty what she wants, does what she says re: visiting the kids, gives her space, then writes a really good letter that essentially wins her over (or more realistically, gives her a slight push off the fence). You can't get more active than that, he literally wrote his way out - if he doesn't return home and act that doesn't happen, and it might have worked even if Betty wasn't pregnant (plenty of marriages have). tbf it is probably my least favourite finale but only by default since every other finale is so good 😅

Sebastian

He doesn't even promise to honour them. He says "I will treat the founders of Sterling Cooper with the respect they deserve." I suspect after the chewing out Roger gave him, Duck doesn't feel Roger deserves much respect at all.

TylerNorCal

Idk why you got annoyed by the doctor, he is completely right...unless you're just a completely selfish person. She is already a mother/married and has plenty of money, it was her decision to have sex with Don that night. It should be a last option.

Darrach

I get the impression Lola and Milena aren’t familiar with the unique historical context this episode took place within, as Lola said that threats of nuclear missiles are just standard fare these days. The 13-day ‘Cuban Missile Crisis’ is widely considered to be the closest humanity ever came to a full-scale nuclear war. It remains a uniquely dangerous moment in history where people truly thought that the world was about to end, and not without good reason.

Infode

When I watched Succession's Tom & Shiv's final scene, it always reminded me of MM S2's final shot with neither partner wanting to be there but had to, due to circumstance

TylerNorCal

This is actually where I officially started hating Betty haha. She waits until Don gives her what she wants and apologizes, rejoins the family pretty much and has his child inside of her...THEN she decides to go and fuck some random guy in a bathroom. Truly disgusting behavior. She stooped lower than Don's level imo.

Jay Craig

Not everyone agrees with your narrow view of what type of Abortion is ok.

TylerNorCal

That's fine but to scoff at the doctor and his opinion is also narrow minded, acting like he's an asshole for having a basic/normal response.

Julien

I got the same feeling. I'm sure they know about the Cuban Missile Crisis but I don't think they realized that this was it. It's a shame because that event is literally the opposite of routine, and knowing that is critical to fully understanding our characters behavior in this episode. People in this episode are facing the very real possibility of a nuclear holocaust. And they are acting accordingly. For example, it's very possible that Betty wouldn't have cheated otherwise. It's almost certain that she wouldn't have called Don home that night (maybe later, maybe never). And it is 100% certain that Pete wouldn't have confessed love to Peggy. And maybe she wouldn't have made her own confession either. All these are the actions of people who are staring at the very real possibility of the world ending, and acting accordinly.

Boomzone

I dont know why but youtubes auto-translator tries to make the Title German and calls the series "Food Man"

bondbond53

Nice now we know where you stand on abortion. 'Last option'? I think not

bondbond53

You just keep dropping stinkies all over don't you Tyler. How the fuck is what Betty does lower than what Don does in 60's American society context as well?

TylerNorCal

Well I'm glad to disagree with you then and that's fine...that's why the show is good, they present complex characters and situations fairly (good or bad) and you can draw your own conclusions.

Julien

Like most, I adore this episode. But in terms of realism, that boardroom scene could never have happened. It's completely impossible that PPL would acquire S&C without doing the most basic due diligence, which includes reviewing the partners contracts. It's 100% impossible. Yes, 100%. I'm using absolute language on purpose because it is that absolute. But most people don't know this (nor did I when I first watched the show). So it makes for a wonderful bit of television and storytelling.

Mike

Agreed that the world is only "saved" temporarily (or that nuclear annihilation is only put off temporarily) in each case. That's kind of my issue. None of the resolution in this episode feels particularly definitive or paradigm-shifting for the series moving forward. The "I don't have a contract" scene is great, but the net result is... the merger is still going to happen, just without Duck's involvement? And I don't think the letter/voiceover apology is an especially strong choice to resolve the marital stuff. Frankly, the show just has an impossibly high bar to clear, considering the quality of the other finales and the episodes immediately preceding this one. It's still a fine episode. It's just not my favourite 🤷‍♂️ Bs pbhefr V'z nyfb guvaxvat nobhg ubj nyy guvf *qbrf* pbzr gb n urnq arkg frnfba. Znlor gung'f abg snve, naq jr fubhyq whqtr 213 ba vgf bja zrevgf, ohg vg pna'g or urycrq: Orgjrra gur Xraarql nffnffvangvba, "Jub gur uryy vf Urael Senapvf?", naq fgrnyvat gur ntrapl bhg sebz haqre CCY bireavtug, vzb gurl qb n orggre wbo bs nyy gurfr fgbevrf va Frnfba 3 svanyr.

Taya

I agree this finale is the worst out of the 7. And I still love it lol. That's just a testament to Mad Men's quality

Taya

Nah no one should be forced to be pregnant and bear a child if they don't want to. Being married, rich, single, poor, desperate or privileged has nothing to do with it. No one should be forced to undergo the physical toll, trauma and actual risk of death if they don't want to. But I assume by your name Tyler that that's not something you'll ever have to worry about.

Mike

Well, it is the "last option". You don't test drive an abortion to see if you like it. (I understand that the doctor's attitude is mostly what people are taking issue with here.)

TylerNorCal

She's already had 2 children, clearly having a 3rd isn't some life threatening situation...she doesn't want it out of her own self interest. If you support her feeling that way, fine...but don't act like it's a death sentence.

TylerNorCal

I just wrote why? She did it vindictively, Don does it bc that's just how he is...he's not purposefully doing shit to spite Betty, he's just a hedonist. (Which I'm not saying is right either) Either way 2 wrongs don't make a right, I don't understand this rooting for Betty to cheat and get even side. If what Don does is disgusting and horrible, then why would you want Betty to do it aswell? And yeah my 'stinkies' - sorry I hold every character accountable for their shitty actions...not just the men.

Taya

@TylerNorCal, have you had children? It is never NOT a big deal. It's life changing and a huge undertaking even if it's not your first. Also, remember these are bad circumstances. Betty is not happy in her marriage. She's uncertain if they're even going to stay together. Then she'd have to raise THREE children by herself. She feels depressed, miserable, trapped, unsupported by her husband. That is not a good time to be pregnant and have another kid that she doesn't even want. So are you saying, if you're married and well off, you should just keep being forced to have kids? Why stop at three? Why not four, five? What's the difference? Obviously there's birth control, but it fails. Ask me how I know lol. Also it literally IS a death sentence for some, women die in childbirth all the time.

TylerNorCal

Yes I understand that and I don't really disagree with the valid points you're making, obviously it's life-changing and she has reasons for why she wouldn't want to...that doesn't change my opinion that it should be a last option or that what the doctor said was offensive. Either way it's an opinion on a tv show, i don't want go get in an abortion debate...I just gave my opinion to their reaction in that scene, we just disagree. That's fine. And yes I'm a man, and a big reason I enjoy watching their reactions is to hear their female perspectives and opinions on it...I just don't agree with 100% of everything they say haha.

Taya

@TylerNorCal, I actually agree with you, I don't think the doctor said anything wrong by 1960's standards, and it seems he would've allowed her to pursue that option if she insisted on it. I also agree it should be a last option and not something to be taken lightly. It deserves a lot of careful thought and consideration, it shouldn't be an impulsive snap decision. I just don't think it's wrong or selfish to choose that option, no matter what your circumstances are.

TylerNorCal

Ok cool, yeah it's obviously a very touchy subject so I understand ppl disagreeing with me and having strong feelings...but hopefully they are reasonable like you and can express their own perspective and possibly accept a different one. I respect your opinion 👍

Taya

@TylerNorCal, here I go disagreeing with you again lol. I actually don't think what she did was that bad. I think she needed to do it to feel psychologically equipped to take Don back. She needed to feel some kind of agency in her life, and she needed to "get even" otherwise the resentment of Don would continue to eat away at her. I don't think her fucking a stranger once is morally worse than Don's many affairs and fucking ?? probably dozens of women over the years. edit: whoops I didn't see there were two other replies

Taya

All good, I respect your opinion as well!

bondbond53

See the thing is, it was the 60's so you'd be absolutely shocked about what was allowed back in the day or how business was conducted so I'd actually not entirely call bs on it.

windyMelon

How on earth you know what contract law was like in the 60s? I can't believe that the history books document how important it was to have a contract back then

Julien

@bond: No. Just, no. There is no scenario where that scene was possible in the 60s, period, point blank. The legal field of mergers and acquisition has been a thing since the 19th century. The deal between PPL and S&C would have been handled by an army of lawyers on both sides. Only after they had combed thru every part of S&C to ensure that the company is worth the price (due diligence), would that meeting have taken place. "Aw shucks we didn't know the partner doesn't have a contract" is as silly as believing that on the day of closing on a house, long after inspection and everything else, one of the parties would be like "aww shucks I didn't know the house doesn't have a roof." That scene is completely silly and 100% impossible. 60's has nothing to do with it.

Andrew

Does it also auto-dub the video for you, and start it with a robotic "Hallo Leute, ich bin Lola..." before you turn it off, even though you already turned it off, for the past 5 videos, but Youtube doesn't care?

Clay F

I tend to agree with Julien (especially w/PPL failing to know that Don had no contract), but PPL does come across Mickey Mouse. Plus, due diligence during the 1960s was significantly less sophisticated than modern standards. It was a far more manual, time-intensive process that focused almost exclusively on historical financials. It lacked the technological capabilities and broader scope of risk analysis seen in today's M&A transactions.

Kara

My bad, the point still stands. He looks at Bert and Roger when saying "founders" as if they both founded the company. It's an intentional slight on Don. (but yes, I doubt Duck would be very respectful of Roger lol, only to the extent he holds the Lucky Strike account goodwill).

Kara

@Mike yeah I hear you. it's nice to read dissenting opinions regardless, always interested in where people see the cracks in this near-perfect show.

Kara

In 1988, Haagen-Dazs acquired Martin Ice Cream Co (an ice cream distributor and supermarket chain they'd worked with for years), then later found out that one of its founders had no employment contract or noncompete. A court case found that all the handshake distribution deals the founder had made were not saleable property by the company, since there was no contract + he was free to walk away and take those relationships if he wanted. There are two followup cases that ran headfirst into the same issue: H&M, Inc. v. Commissioner (2012) and Bross Trucking, Inc. v. Commissioner (2014). In both cases, partners/founders had 'personal goodwill' that was a non-contractual asset the courts decided was not a saleable good, that were missed during audits or diligence. If something seems unrealistic in a show it's almost certainly happened at least once. And we only know about the issues that reached court or public filings, not the 100s or 1000s of issues nobody outside the companies ever found out about.

Kara

I had the same thought when watching yesterday.

Mr Mutant

Same in Spanish hahaha

Julien

@Kara: I looked up the first case and your summary is quite inaccurate. The fact pattern and issues of that case can be readily distinguished from Mad Men. (I'm a lawyer and while M&A isn't my practice area, I have done some diligence work in the past for people who run deals like these - as a cog in the machine, if you will). First, there were many more layers of transactions than were portrayed in this Mad Men plotline, complete with multiple intermediate entities. This is very different from directly buying a company expressly to secure the services of the principals. More crucially, the related issue in that MIC case wasn't ignorance of the lack of formal contract. There is no indication whatsoever that anyone was surprised by the lack of contract. Rather, it is the assumptions (particularly, tax-related) they made with that knowledge that proved to be wrong. Based on your description of the other two cases, they don't seem particularly relevant either. So I maintain my position. This is just not possible. People fuck up, but there are too many people involved and too redundancies in a deal like this for an error this basic and this catastrophic to be made.

Julien

I'm sure someone somewhere has been dumb enough to buy a company without checking the employment contracts of the principals, the same way I'm sure some idiot somewhere has bought a used car for personal use without turn it on once. But not at the level shown in Mad Men, not with a deal of this size and the resources involved.

Robert Dirk H.

Have the same problem. I loved to hear the discussion and read comments on Patreon, but I cant do that anymore on my smartphone, because I have to open YouTube to change the audio track. At least it works on the PC.

JJ

I’m surprised you guys didn’t have a reaction/say anything about the letter. Aside from it maybe being the final thing that gets Betty to take Don back (on top of everything else), I thought it was quite significant for Don who barely *talks* to Betty let alone honestly, to write such a heartfelt letter. I agree Don wasn’t thinking of Pete at all when he ditched him, but I don’t think he’s lying when he says he thought Pete could handle it. If you recall it was supposed to be Paul on that trip instead of Don, and Pete was the one who was going to be doing the talking. Cuban Missile Crisis. Other comments have mentioned it but it really is crucial context to the episode. The “nuclear” word might get thrown around a lot these days, but no time in the last 30+ years did people or the world at large *actually* think it was going to happen. This wasn’t that. I agree with all your thoughts on Peggy at the end except her situation in relation to Don’s. She is definitely beating him in the mental health department and I know there are parallels and you are linking them because of the “how much it never happened” moment, but they really are in completely different situations. Don’s is… just so singular by nature. Peggy might feel guilt and shame because of the times and her religious beliefs, but she has literally done nothing wrong. This show really is just too good. And I think the biggest testament to that is that you will probably get “this is the episode that..” type comments on 50+ episodes of the show.

Julien

@Clay: Sure, everything was less sophisticated in the 60s but not so much that something that insanely basic would be missed. This is a malpractice-level of oversight. And it's a catastrophic one. As in, the law firm that PPL hired might actually go under because of it. Yes, even in the 60s.

Julien

It's amusing how "the writers' room sometimes/often had more women than men - to an unusual degree in this industry" somehow became "Mad Men was written by women."

Kara

I work in a law adjacent field and have been party to several acquisitions. You're right, in the case I linked the key issue wasn't the lack of employment contract (Pillsbury did think they were buying the relationships, and did think they could be transferred, but they don't indicate that's the reason why). There are a lot of close examples of bad diligence (facebook>oculus, google>motorola, plenty of existing contract assignment rights issues) but no public case that specifically says "company A acquired company B thinking an employee was contracted but wasn't". I still think it's crazy to say "this cant happened and has never happened", crazier things have happened in multi-million dollar deals, let alone in 1962 across country lines but yeah, I hear you. Regardless I rewatched the scene and have a new take: you can read it as Saint John and Alec (PPL) giving no indication that Don's at will employment is a surprise. Duck is surprised (why would he know that?) and they turn to look at him curiously when he's surprised, but that look could be read as "you didn't know that?" as opposed to them learning it in the moment. When Roger explains "we're close" he's looking at Duck. It would be somewhat unlikely for PPL to happily acquire SC knowing Don is at-will with no noncompete, but that could have been priced in + they assumed he was happy with it based off Duck's feedback and plan. Worth noting they proceed with the merger knowing Don is at will and can walk at any point with no material changes to the deal (whether they found out in the moment or earlier). Again this situation isn't super realistic but probably more realistic than PPL legal not checking Don was contracted lol, perhaps makes me feel better about the whole thing and reframes their confusion at Duck as being like "you planned to be the president of sterling cooper shitting on creative and you didn't even check?" etc. I would LOVE to read the script, usually the Mad Men scripts have little tonal indicators that tell you what the writers think is happening. But you can only read this episode's in the Writers Guild in LA. If I'm ever in LA I will go read it and let everyone know what it says haha.

cheech

lane pryce gang assemble

Mike

Especially because Weiner was kind of notorious for doing final passes on the scripts (which is normal for showrunners) and giving himself as a co-writer credit (which is not). Look at how many Mad Men scripts are credited to "[writer] and Matthew Weiner". He has a co-write on *every* script in S3 except one -- "The Fog", which happens to be written by Kater Gordon (see below). That is not how most series operate. I haven’t seen much (any?) conversation on here about Weiner’s toxicity in the room and on set — it’s in the news again today, actually! — but between the Kater Gordon incident and other stories that have filtered out about the show in the years since the finale, we probably shouldn’t be holding the series up as a shining example of equality in the workplace. (Not to discount the fine work done by the many women who were involved in the series.)

TylerNorCal

Yeah what youre saying is correct, I just think her 'getting even' is still wrong and the way she did it was more vindictive as I said. That's just in terms of my subjective opinion tho, I still think she's an amazing character and it's understandable from her side...I just don't like it. She already has done alot of weird/petty things to others that bothered me but this was the last straw of her likeability for me.

Kara

GRIMY LITTLE PIMP watch begins NOW!

Darrach

Very good, Happy Christmas!

liminal rinds

I think the key point is that the doctor is confusing judgment for medical counsel. The fact that there is even a discussion here means that any assumption of "should" that isn't about Betty's health going forward is inappropriate. Was it rampant? Of course. Women weren't even seen as capable of having credit cards etc, so the societal treatment of women as second-class citizens informs the doctor articulating his own position as though it should supersede Betty's.

Boomzone

HAHA yeah it does a male voice for Lola too !

Chris Truex

Was a fav character of mine the first time through. I'm interested to see if that opinion holds up with a rewatch!

Mike

That'll be enough of that.

Patrick

For some reason, and I have no idea why, I would have bet good money that that conversation between Peggy and Pete happened in like season 4. Weird how the memory works.