Mad Men – Miss Blankenship!

This week’s episode is all about the women of SCDP. Or more specifically, the women in Don’s life. My favorite episodes of Mad Men tend to be the ones that focus on the ladies — Joan specifically, so I adored this episode. Before we get into the nuances of it, we need to talk about one of two huge events: Miss Blankenship!

“She died as she lived — surrounded by people she answered phones for.” I loved Miss Blankenship. Her line from last week still kills me: “Would you like me to buy a gift for him or her?” She’s the best possible secretary that Don could possibly have. She’s hilarious, terrible at her job, and he’s not going to bang her. After all, Don is certainly no Roger Sterling. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and this poor woman’s end came on top of her desk blotter, wrapped in a blanket that Harry Crane’s mother made.

The other “oh my God!” moment was of course Joan and Roger in the alley. Roger constantly flirts with Joan, but it always seemed like a jokey thing among former lovers who are now friends. Roger, however, has clearly started joking less and less. Joan’s a smart cookie, so it’s pretty clear that when she agreed to go out with him after work, cherry cheesecake wasn’t going to be the only thing on the menu.

What I didn’t see coming, was the reenactment of the beginning of Crash, with Joanie in the Sandra Bullock part. Right after she comments about how they’re not walking through a very nice neighborhood, they get robbed at gunpoint. The thug apparently has no sense of chivalry, or of the sanctity of marriage, because even after Roger empties his pockets, he asks for all of Joan’s stuff, including her rings.

I thought that ol’ Roger was going to have his third heart attack right there, but luckily, he handles the situation as gracefully as anyone could be reasonably expected, and he and Joan both make it out alive. It’s obviously a traumatic situation, and with Joan’s adrenaline rushing, she decides that no rings = no marriage, and she and Roger have dirty alley sex (it was so Grey’s Anatomy).

I’m very curious to see where their relationship goes from here. Roger apologizes, and while Joan says she isn’t sorry, she gently reminds him that she’s married. Although, with her husband being called up to Vietnam, who knows how long that will last. I’ve never gotten why Roger married Jane in the first place, so perhaps now that Joan is taken, he’s going to realize what he gave up.

While Joan may be going back to an old flame, the other ladies of the episode are attempting to move onto new ones. Peggy meets up with Abe, the guy from the loft party at the beginning of the season. I had high hopes for them, now that Peggy’s officially single (as opposed to just single in spirit), but poor Abe turned out to be kind of a douche.

I don’t blame him for questioning the companies she represents, but the whole derisive, “we’ll have a civil rights march for women” thing was so, so tin-eared — as was his, “you’re better than this” nonsense at her office. I love that Peggy has grown enough to stand up for herself.

Faye and Don’s relationship is progressing, and I’d imagine that cutting back on the drinking has a lot to do with that. His head isn’t cloudy, and he’s finally able to start making some good decisions (something which Mr. Draper isn’t historically known for). Faye is his equal, and it’s so much more interesting to see him in a relationship with a smart, independent woman than it is to see him bedding the latest twenty-something model. Don needs someone who will challenge him, and not just in the bratty way that Betty did.

Speaking of brats, hoo-boy. Sally certainly is something, isn’t she. I don’t blame her for not wanting to return to Betty’s house of horrors, but Don’s place certainly isn’t any better — what, with all of the sex and the rum-drenched breakfast foods. Something big’s going to happen to her by the end of the season. I’m not sure what it is, but I’m convinced that everything that’s happened with her so far is leading up to it.

The episode ends with the three central women of this season: Peggy, the young woman standing up for herself trying to make a career; Faye, the woman searching for love after choosing her career over a family; and Joan, a woman who wants to have it all, and who sometimes does. I can’t wait to see what happens to them in the final episodes.

Clacked by Kona Gallagher
on Sep 20, 2010 @ 21:44 EST5EDT