Peggy and her Weight Loss machine/vibrator on Mad Men
Photo Credit: AMC TV
It’s
rewatch time!! For the first time ever this summer we will be watching an old
season of a television show over the course of several weeks. Installments will
be posted Sundays and Wednesdays with the posts spoiling only the episode that
is being talked about. This summer the rewatch is on the first season of Mathew
Weiner’s 1960’s period piece Mad Men, one of the great first seasons of
television.
Thoughts on “Indian Summer” just as soon as I steal my
Boss’s ID in a box…
“You are your own worst enemy.”
-Fortune Cookie
I popped in the DVD for Mad Men’s 11th hour and
within 2 minutes of the episode I was reminded, hey it’s the vibrator episode. The
vibrator weight loss machine is a great source for some jokes, both throughout
this episode and probably throughout this review (sorry in advance). What
“Indian Summer” should actually known for is being the actual plot episode of
Mad Men. Mad Men has never been known for its plot as often time the show is
focused on characters or atmosphere. That’s not the case in “Indian Summer” as
a lot happens throughout the course of an hour. The show moves through a lot of
plot in “Indian Summer” to help set up what’s coming in the last two episodes.
Ah where to start, oh yes Adam hangs himself! It’s so
devastating how the show just casually puts that at the beginning of the
episode. Sure Adam is a really minor part of the overall Mad Men machine but
it’s still devastating for him just to be dumped right at the beginning. All he
wanted was for Don to be a part of his life and in the end Don’s refusal is
directly responsible for his ultimate fate. The hanging is only a brief part
of the episode but it leaves a giant emotional impact as Adam has been in the
back of the mind since the pivotal “5G.”
The plot certainly doesn’t stop there though as Roger comes
back to work… …Only to have another heart attack! Yes after coming back to a
large fan fair (and telling Joan that she was a nice piece of ass) Roger has
yet another near fatal encounter with heart failure right in the middle of a
meeting with Lucky Strike. Roger’s heart attack opens a new door for Don
becomes promoted when it’s clear that Roger isn’t going to be back anytime
soon. Don eagerly celebrates by again having sex with Rachel (whose sister’s
skeptical fortune cookie provides the quote at the beginning of the review) and
afterwards telling Betty with somewhat muted enthusiasm (probably because he
would rater be having sex with Rachel).
Don being made a partner sets up Pete’s push for the
position of head of accounts, which also ends up pushing Pete into stealing
Don’s ID in a box. Adam, after hanging himself, left Don behind a box of
assumingly personal things revolving around himself and old Dyck Whitman. Pete
has been looking for a way to slither into the position of head of accounts for
a while now and trying to suck up (and eventually rob) Don who is now a partner
seems the way to go. Pete seems so confident that he begins sitting in Don’s
desk at the end of the episode (and steels things) after don shows him up by
saying that maybe he like Roger’s office (which in reality he doesn’t). Pete
may have something with the ID in a box which may be his next step towards
account man domination.
Finally we have Peggy and the vibrator/weight loss machine.
Peggy gets her second account after the guys can’t figure out what the dang
appeal of the thing is (or what a new name for the stupid thing is). Peggy ends
up figuring out, after trying it out with her door locked, that the thing gives
her the good vibrations. What follows is both a hilarious and ultimately
triumphant arc for Peggy, as she is forced to explain how the thing is
appealing without embarrassing herself (this is the early 1960’s the concept
was hard to talk about she couldn’t just say “it gives me pleasure dang it!”)
and ultimately make her first ever big add pitch. The result is cute and funny
in its awkwardness yet triumphant and enjoyable as ultimately she does a very
good job with the pitch and ends up getting a nice little raise out of it (in
an absolutely great scene of mutual understanding between Peggy and Don as they
both leave having had great days). Ultimately we see Peggy celebrating with by
having a night out with just her and her vibrator and allowing the good
feelings to come rushing in (again I apologized earlier).
“Indian Summer” got through a lot of plot over the course of
about 48 minutes. It sets up many pieces of plot that should be pivotal in the final
two episodes. Plus it had a vibrator weight loss machine, so everyone wins!
Some other musings:
- Who knew Betty had strange dryer enabled fantasies about salesmen. Such a strange and very telling scene that shows just how lonely Betts is at the moment. Someone needs to get her a weight loss machine stat!
- Poor Joan gets the “best piece of ass I’ve ever had” treatment from Roger!
- Poor Bert gets slapped for no reason! No one slaps Bert Cooper!
Coming up Wednesday: “Nixon vs. Kennedy” Election time!!!!!!
That’s just me though. What did everyone else think?
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