TheConductorSix posted...
SPOILER FROM HERE ON OUT.
Ive been trying to have this discussion for WEEKS now. Let's do this
1.Season 5 might be the best season of Mad Men; it's either this or Season 3. The reason those 2 rank so high is because they involve change. Mad Men has such good characters and concepts that it begins to stagnate inside its own greatness. Season 3 brought a new setting and a change of roles(Don on top, Roger and Co. forced to appease to his ways) and Season 5 brought us Lane's Death, Don being married, Peggy leaving, and most importantly, Don Draper accepting Dick Whitman.
it's interesting that you say that seasons 3 and 5 are the 'seasons of change' compared to seasons 2 and 4. i think seasons 2 and 4 are interesting because they show the impetus of change, 4 in particular - we get season 5 as don attempting to redeem himself, but how was he able to do it? by having an entire season of tailspinning beyond belief. s&m, insanely heavy drinking, hitting on anna's nubile young niece, cheating on women in the most creative and abusive of ways (his secretary comes to mind), bullying peggy on the night of her birthday, and finally writing a self, self-destructive letter out of sheer vindictiveness... and then, in the end, he is saved by this angelic creature.
2. Megan Draper was probably this Season's MVP. We have spent 4 seasons with Don Draper being King ****, wiping his ass on everyone and everything and rarely having to apologize for it. The opening episodes of Season 5 were a shock to the collective systems of Don Draper Worshipers everywhere. The moment she sang Zou Bisou Bisou we knew something was up. Women had seduced Don Draper before but ALWAYS on his terms, ALWAYS in his privacy. People weren't allowed in his home, and co-workers, pssh, Don's happiness was never apart of their schedule. But Megan ended all that. When she got naked and cleaned the floor is when every man in America went "I get it. I understand." There was one girl in the universe who could do that to Don Draper and Megan was it.
... and what's so great about megan, as you've essentially nailed, is her ability to challenge don. she is sexually liberated, culturally hip, aggressively talented... beyond simply challenging don, i think she almost threatens him. don's always been able to justify joan's power by thinking of her as an ice queen/ruler of women, and he's never sexualized peggy making her easy to accept... but of the women don has encountered and/or slept with, megan is the only one who both is a good person (some of his mistresses are downright nasty) and is not broken down by sleeping with him (see rachel, faye, the schoolteacher, etc...)
3. Best episode was Codfish Ball. Period. That thing is going into the Mad Men All Time List right behind The Suitcase. Those last 15 minutes from Sally's Go Go Boots to Roger getting Dome are the best thing I've seen on TV this year.
i am partial to the episode where lane and pete throw down. the fight was hilarious (and the reactions too - 'i know we're supposed to let cooler heads prevail here, but am i the only one who wants to see this??) but the whole episode with the dinner party and pete's career ascension and downward personal spiral is fantastic. toss in high business stakes (a car company!), the continued early signs of lane's plummet, and the way it called back to prior episodes' setups so effortlessly, and this might have been it for me.
but tons of episodes were incredible. now i want to go back and rewatch/relive it again just to try to soak it in.
to be continued... might skip to the section on pete...
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Je suis toujours serieux. D'autrefois, personne ne me penserait serieusement.