[kittenb]

I finally picked up the DVDs for this show and I get the appeal now. I watched the first three episodes and I really want to watch all the rest right now.
I am suprised at how much I started to care about Don Draper considering he is not what I would consider an ideal man but the performances on this show are just about perfect. The only exception is Vincent C (whatever) from Angel. His acting never struck me as stagey before but it feels like he is struggling with the time period. Hopefully he will get more with the pace of the rest of the cast.
That being said, I cannot figure out why Peggy slept with him in the first episode. Even as a bad choice it just didn't ring true.

Don't worry about spoiling anything for me. I won't come back in this thread until I want to know something.

[girltrouble]

meh. after the fireworks of the last episode, last night's seemed..... boring.

maybe it's just me. 60's domestic harmony makes me drowsy. it was only towards the last part that it became interesting.

[Gypsymoth]

I was really shocked when Don grabbed that woman by the hair & then shoved his hand up her crotch. I know she was being a bitch and horrendously unreasonable, but wow. I felt my guts twist as I watched that. As soon as I start to sympathize with that man, he pulls something like this & begins to scare me again.

That's one of the things i really like about the show, it doesn't let you make up your mind about any of the characters. It always challenges the audience's assumptions and none of the characters is easy to pin down.

[girltrouble]

i was talking to a friend last night about the show-- she got me into it-- and she said it's official, mad men is bring back the suit & skinny tie. i just googled this: "mad men" trend suits and their are lots of articles about it...

the other line i loved was how the asshole comedian called the waiter in the french resturant "Mr. LePew."

i watched the the horse riding scene, and mrs draper was shaking as she left the stalls...ooooooo, she riks him a rot!

[missladyj]

gotta agree with GT about that line. We were crackin up!

Don Draper or Double D Money is the baddest mofo!

[roseviolet]

Another great episode. GT, that was definitely one of my favorite lines, too.

I wonder if they'll convince anyone to sponser that "abortion" TV episode. That would be pretty controversial today so I can't imagine how hard it would have been to sell it in the '60s.

I like Harry. He's flawed like everybody else, but at least he feels guilty about it. I was so glad he got up the guts to ask for a promotion.

I was really shocked when Don grabbed that woman by the hair & then shoved his hand up her crotch. I know she was being a bitch and horrendously unreasonable, but wow. I felt my guts twist as I watched that. As soon as I start to sympathize with that man, he pulls something like this & begins to scare me again.

[girltrouble]

i like the power dynamic between the two of them, i hope she stays around. she seems to be don's match.

i also love that lady draper purposefully had don watch her kids while she was playing icy for that guy, telling don it was just the ladies riding, when the ladies were no where to be found... she wants him, she's exploring her power, it's fun to watch...

[thirtiesgirl]

Wow. I was thinking... "hm, wonder why Draper seems "soft" this season?" Then, this epi, I realized its the whole thing is that DOn't "badness" makes him good at his job, but he WANTS goodness. So subtle, yet so effective.

Interesting point. Although I wouldn't say Don's gone 'soft' this season. Not when he grabs a woman's hair and hooks her by her nether lips to make sure he gets his point across, and his point is "do what I say." I had a Tony Soprano moment, watching that.

[candycane_girl]

Rosev, thanks for clearing up the whole Peggy thing, I was just about to come in here and ask about her as well. I was watching season one online and during the season finale there were a few scenes that wouldn't load so I didn't know what the hell was going on. Season two is airing here in Canada but I think it might be a week behind, I'm not sure.

[moxiegirl]

Wow. I was thinking... "hm, wonder why Draper seems "soft" this season?" Then, this epi, I realized its the whole thing is that DOn't "badness" makes him good at his job, but he WANTS goodness. So subtle, yet so effective.

Harry's saying "we need a TV department" reminds me SO much of my moxieman...he's been at the forfront at his ad agency with the whole digital/social media/user experience thing, and his group is almost running the show now...just like the TV departments did in the 60s.

[kari]

Gt, I know! That whole scene was great.

I thought the episode was really good. Don is trying hard, but couldn't quite do it.

I like that they focus on different characters each episode. Keeps it fresh.

[girltrouble]

"you are profoundly sad."
"no, my people were nordic."

freaking hilarious episode.

[roseviolet]

The biggest clue that two years has passed is the televised tour of the White House that was featured in the first episode of this new season. That aired in February 1962 ... two whole years after JFK became president. It doesn't feel right, though. It certainly doesn't feel like 2 years have passed in the lives of these characters.

Back to potential spoilerage.



Thirtiesgirl, that whole psychology comment was a new one on me, too. It's one of those little peeks into a bigger mystery that this show is famous for. I think it means that maybe possibly Peggy wanted to keep the baby and raise it herself but the state of New York wouldn't allow her. But that's just a guess. You're pretty much up to date on Sterling, too. He was terribly sick at the end of last season but now he seems fine.

[thirtiesgirl]

Okay, let's see if I can clear things up for you.

First of all, Peggy does not work in the basement. She has been promoted from secretary to writer. She is the first female copy writer the company has had since before WWII. This is a move up. However, we get the feeling that Joan (the red head) is jealous which is one of the reasons why the new copy machine was put in Peggy's office. She shares that office with another writer, but that's the case with most of the writers anyway.

Peggy did not even realize that she was pregnant until she gave birth (in the final episode of last season). There were subtle clues that she was gaining weight, but I just took it as that. She certainly didn't look pregnant. She just looked like she may have gained a few pounds. She started having sharp pains in her abdomen, went to the ER, and was told she was having a baby. We suspect that it's Peter's baby, but we don't know.

So. She lost weight because she gave birth. She isn't Don's secretary because he promoted her. And she does not work in the basement.

Ah. Ok, thanks for the info. Glad to hear she's moved up. I guess I just assumed it was the basement because in the final scene of last night's episode, the other girls were reading stuff on the bulletin board in her office and I usually associate bulletin boards with supply rooms or basement offices; plus, with the copy machine there... so that's where my brain went. What about that thing her sister said when she went to have dinner with her family, something about Peggy being deemed psychologically unhealthy by the state of New York or something? Do we know anything about that?

And I can only imagine how it rankles Joan, that one of "her girls" who she was so nasty to has moved up in the company and is doing something other than secretarial work. Love it.

Another question: what happened with Don's boss Sterling's heart attack? That was the last episode from season 1 that I saw. I remember Joan was all upset and Sterling was suddenly the grateful family man... but it really looked like he wasn't going to make it. And now it seems he's back, all hale & hearty as usual.

[kari]

wow! 2 years? I assumed it was like 6 months or so. They should have put a caption of "1962" on the inital episode to clue us in. Peggy's baby looks to be about 6 mos, not 2 years. Hmmm.

I know, GT! Joan is a real biatch.

[girltrouble]

it might also help to know between season one and season 2 is, according to the website, a two year leap. so that would explain some of the changes....

[roseviolet]

See, this is what I get for missing half of season 1. I didn't even know Peggy was pregnant. And then all of a sudden she's not Don's secretary any more? What happened? Is it Peter's baby? The last I saw, she was getting shit behind her back from the 'men' because she gained weight, and Don was asking for her 'female opinion' on certain products, so she used that weight loss belt thing that was a vibrator in disguise. Now she's lost the weight, is no longer Don's secretary, works down in the basement and apparently had a baby. Wha'happen??

Okay, let's see if I can clear things up for you.

First of all, Peggy does not work in the basement. She has been promoted from secretary to writer. She is the first female copy writer the company has had since before WWII. This is a move up. However, we get the feeling that Joan (the red head) is jealous which is one of the reasons why the new copy machine was put in Peggy's office. She shares that office with another writer, but that's the case with most of the writers anyway.

Peggy did not even realize that she was pregnant until she gave birth (in the final episode of last season). There were subtle clues that she was gaining weight, but I just took it as that. She certainly didn't look pregnant. She just looked like she may have gained a few pounds. She started having sharp pains in her abdomen, went to the ER, and was told she was having a baby. We suspect that it's Peter's baby, but we don't know.

So. She lost weight because she gave birth. She isn't Don's secretary because he promoted her. And she does not work in the basement.

[roseviolet]

I'm not going to use spoiler bars, so skip over my post if you don't want to know anything!


Holy god, that meeting with the guy from AA ... I knew that Peter was weasel-y, but wow. You gotta admit, though, that it was an excellent hook. AA may move the account to them out of guilt if nothing else.

This show is so brilliantly sadistic.

I'm really surprised that Peggy didn't give up the baby for adoption.I mean give it up to strangers, not just letting her family raise it for her.

[thirtiesgirl]

See, this is what I get for missing half of season 1. I didn't even know Peggy was pregnant. And then all of a sudden she's not Don's secretary any more? What happened? Is it Peter's baby? The last I saw, she was getting shit behind her back from the 'men' because she gained weight, and Don was asking for her 'female opinion' on certain products, so she used that weight loss belt thing that was a vibrator in disguise. Now she's lost the weight, is no longer Don's secretary, works down in the basement and apparently had a baby. Wha'happen??

[girltrouble]

oh i did. the plot thickens! i love that don seems to be finding his soul while little weasel boy is losing his-- and i love that you don't particularly feel sad that his dad died cos he was an ass, but you still feel like his pushing for the american airlines account is sooooo sleazy. and i was shocked by the total bitchyness of the redhead.... wow.

...and the line that one girl gives the guy about his presentation was a riot!