Adam and Don at lunch on Mad Men
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.
Thought’s on Mad Men’s fifth episode “5G” coming up as soon
as I get myself published in the Encyclopedia Britannica…
“I miss you… I miss being with you.”
-Charlie
Missing and being missed whether by a long loosed brother or
some creepy publisher named Charlie is the core element of Mad Men’s finest so
far this season “5G.” “5G” is the most emotionally raw and powerful episode of
the opening bunch. For the first time in the series we understand just how deep
and emotional the series can go and just how broken these characters can be.
The power of “5G” is a true testament of what the show can be at its very best
emotionally. For me “5G” was a series seller and easily one of the best
episodes of a great season.
Let’s start right at the heart and soul of this episode,
that being Don’s encounter with his long lost brother Adam. First off let’s get
this out of the way after this episode that Don Draper was originally Dick
Whitman. There is no question after Don’s encounter with his long lost brother
that this is true as it’s referenced numerous times throughout the episode. Any
suspicions of Don’s old identity are out the window now.
With that out of the way, man that encounter was devastating
in every way. The way that Don is so cold towards his former brother is
absolutely crushing, not only for Adam but for the audience that is watching.
It’s so devastating because Jon Hamm plays the scenes with a constant twinge of
regret in his eyes, and we know that Don is regretting every step of the
process. It’s easy to tell just by looking into Don’s eyes that deep down
somewhere he would love to have Adam back in his life. It’s a phenomenal piece
of acting by Jon Hamm the best he’s done so far in this opening season (and the
best part is his acting will only get better which is saying something) as he
gets so much out of just glances and body language. Hamm elevates the scene to levels
of emotional devastation that could never been achieved with even a slightly less
spectacular performer playing the role.
The reason why the acting is so important is that the scene
is so rife with internal conflict on Don’s end it’s unbelievable. The first
thought that races through Don’s head isn’t a happy one, not of a love or
relief to see a long lost sibling. Instead it’s grief and fear, as if Don’s
seen the personification of the life he left behind. Don’s over protectiveness
of his new life – and for that matter his hatred for his old one – causes him
to instantly attempt to dismiss the existence of his brother, even though his
eyes and expressions make it clear that he knows perfectly well who this ghost
of his past is. Even when Don allows himself to recognize and communicate with Adam
he is constantly pushing him away allowing only conversations about the deaths
of his old family (presumably so he never has to worry about seeing the rest of
them again).
It all leads to Don’s final push away, one met with great
conflict and resistance, not only from Adam, but from Don’s internal emotions
as well. Every time we see Don pushing Adam away whether it’s the burning of
the old photograph or the concluding conflict, it’s rife with a conflict within
Don. It’s easy to see that Don in any other situation would want his brother to
catch up and maybe even introduce him into his life. If Don didn’t want to
protect his life so badly it might have worked. Instead we get the devastating final
conflict inside Adam’s apartment (which gives the episode it’s name) where Don
tells Adam that he needs to make his own way and gives him $5,000 to leave New
York and never speak to him again. It all climaxes in an emotional hug with
both brothers ending up broken via the conflict. It’s clear, especially on poor
Adam’s end, that this is not what either brother wants and both of them will
walk away changed in some way. The scene is so emotionally devastating and the
climax of the episode makes me cry (having a little brother who I care deeply
for) nearly every time I watch it.
To offset the intense emotional conflict Peggy is shown to
be interoperating Don’s leaving as part of his affair with Midge after
overhearing a call between Don and Midge earlier. This leads to quite a comical
scene in which Peggy has to let go of her moral values to protect her boss once
Betty cones looking to do the family portrait and Don is not there (with Adam
but hey Peggy doesn’t know that). It all leads to Peggy trying to “entertain”
Betty and the children and looking a little bit stupid in the process (of
course she has no help from Joan in the matter) but ultimately charms Betty
(who is otherwise uncharmed by her husband’s lack of care for the portraits) .
The sequence provides a great lighter plotline to latch onto.
The other subplot in the episode revolves around Pete trying
to get published after Ken gets published in the Atlantic. The subplot is
simple but it involves Pete ultimately being a jerk and trying to in the end
hoar out Trudy to good old creepy publisher guy Charlie. It all leads to a
great, uncomfortable dinner sequence where Pete only gets published into a
smaller magazine and gives Trudy crap for not sleeping with Charlie. Even after
humanizing Pete a little on the last episode we are slowly learning that Pete
really isn’t a good person and puts himself into his own messes.
“5G” is easily the best episode of Mad Men season one so far
(and truly one of the best of the series), one that finds emotional depth that
the series has yet to tap over the course of its first four episodes (not to
say that they aren’t great but they just haven’t reached the magic level of
this episode). On every great television show there is an episode early in the
first season that shows the greatness of the series, whether it be “College”
from the Sopranos or “Walkabout” for Lost. For Mad Men “5G” is that episode and
the best part is it will only get better from here.
Some other musings:
- Again that final shared scene between Don and Adam is one of
those few television moments that makes me cry every time.
- Again Joan doesn’t come off that sympathetic here as she
seems a little snake like when dealing with Peggy
- Ken gets to be published! Yay Ken! Unfortunately for Ken it
seems to bring out every young office member’s inner writing urges.
- Poor Betty kind of gets abandoned throughout the middle of the
episode and is paralleled with her poor neighbor and her husband.
Coming up on Wednesday: “Babylon” in which Peggy proves to
be more than just a secretary in a variety of different ways…
That’s just me though. What does everyone else think?
