Mad Men – Joan makes a big decision

While everyone is talking about Don’s fevered nightmare after this week’s Mad Men, I find myself firmly believing that this episode was all about Joan. Mad Men has always excelled at the long game, dropping one shoe and waiting years for the other one to drop. This episode was yet another example. Way back in season two things were set in motion for Joan and Greg’s break up in this episode as Greg raped Joan in the old offices of Sterling Cooper. That story line was finally paid off this week.

The episode was set again the backdrop of the rape and murder of eight women in Chicago. It seemed like the atrocity was on everyone’s mind. Even Sally, abandoned at the Francis mansion with Henry’s mother Pauline, was fascinated by the tragedy. I found Sally and Pauline’s time together very interesting. There’s no doubt that Betty is not the best mother in the world, and I can’t blame Pauline for trying to show the girl a little discipline even if it’s not really her place. There was a certain hypocrisy in the whole situation, however. Pauline was adamant that Sally learn to act like an adult, but at the same time was shielding her from the stories about the murders. It seems that maybe Pauline realized this at the end of the episode, or maybe she just figured it was too late after Sally had already read the newspaper. In any case, there was an almost perverse pleasure that Pauline seemed to take in talking about the tragedy. It was unsettling.

I think it is safe to say that the horrific rapes and murders were knocking around in Joan’s head too, and I can only imagine that they were stirring up memories of her own encounter with Greg years ago before their wedding. I was almost a little spooked with how calm and collected Joan was at the breakfast table as she ended her marriage, referencing, however obliquely, her own rape. The Chicago massacre wasn’t even the only touching stone for Joan’s troubled marriage. When Joan and her family were out to dinner, who should come up and play them a song? A man with an accordion. Even Joan’s mother mentions how Joan played the instrument herself, harkening back to the awkward dinner party where Greg forced an embarrassed Joan to pull out the old accordion and play for his friends. The whole episode seemed built around Joan’s life and the end of her marriage, and I thought it was very well done. Maybe all these events triggered her subconscious, making Joan realize that, gee, Greg really is a creep. With Joan unattached, I can’t help but wonder how Roger will react.

Of course, Joan’s break up wasn’t the only thing happening this week. The other big news was the bizarre fever dream that Don experienced, including cheating on his wife with an old flame and then strangling her to death and shoving her under the bed (another repeating theme this week). The dream and murder sequence was near Lynchian, and I wonder if the producers intentionally cast former Twin Peaks star Madchen Amick in the role of Don’s ex-lover. Whether they did or not, I’m always happy to see Amick on my TV screen. As for the dream itself, I actually found it encouraging. It seemed to me that it symbolized Don genuinely wanting to change his ways. He wants things to work out with Megan, and even went so far as to symbolically murder the philandering side of himself in his dream. At least that’s how I read it. We’ll see if he can stick to it.

Finally, there was Peggy and Dawn. Mad Men continues to explore the racial situations of the time, and this episode was a little heartbreaking. Peggy caught Dawn sleeping in the office and brought her back to her place to spend the night. After getting drunk and doing a little gossiping, the racism of the day reared it’s ugly head. It would have been so easy to have Peggy be the heroic liberal, after all she was also an outsider fighting prejudices. Unfortunately, when her drunken eyes spotted her cash-stuffed purse lying on the table in front of the couch that Dawn was going to sleep on, the two of them shared an uncomfortable look. Words didn’t need to be spoken, and they only could have made things worse. I appreciate that Mad Men rarely takes the easy way out. These characters have to earn their reputations, and as liberal as Peggy may be, this was still the mid 1960s, and prejudices were a lot more difficult to overcome. I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of that as the season continues.

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Apr 09, 2012 @ 19:11 EST5EDT