Mad Men: 1.01 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - 1.03 Marriage of Figaro

[snick_backup]

You guys, this show is so smart, so meticulous, and (I realize this is entirely missing the point) so pretty. The acting is excellent and the writing is sharp (but not too sharp). And it's got great music.

1.01 Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

So clearly this is a show setting itself up to talk about gender issues and particularly gender (and to a lesser extent racial) inequality in the 60s. In this first ep alone, we implied this intention almost too many time to count. I think that would be my complaint, actually: the baldness with which we state, in every setting visited, our social expectations for women felt a bit much. I think we could have made half as many sexist comments and gotten our point across sufficiently; what we actually get feels like overkill.

In this morass of infuriating misogyny, it's a little difficult to address the actions of any particular character with much focus. There isn't a single male character on this show that invites a shred of sympathy (except possibly the one tall guy with the dark hair, and he chucks it all a couple of episodes down the road). As an illustration of the social conditions, I suppose that's fair enough (although I am skeptical that this is wholly representative of the times), but it means that Don Draper comes off better than he ought in this episode simply by comparison.

Speaking of, I fibbed; Don does seem set up to invite sympathy. He's a war hero (under another name, we learn a couple of eps down the road), and, per his conversation with Rachel Menken, he's apparently in a constant state of low-grade existential crisis. Aww.

I quite like how we're given this treatment of him the whole episode, in which he seems to be interested in only one woman at a time, sticks up for Peggy, and skips the bachelor party, only to discover at the end that he's married, with a beautiful house in the suburbs. All that angst, that lovely artist gal he keeps company with - all cast into a whole different light. Very smoothly done.

I've heard warm things about Joan, and she's definitely not lacking in charisma. I'd be curious to see her first introduction with Peggy, and what it was about Peggy that made Joan take her under her wing (as she clearly doesn't do this with everyone). Nothing more to say at the moment about Joan.

Peggy I have a lot more to say about in the next ep. I will say that I'm not certain exactly what motivated her to sleep with Pete Campbell. Roommate (who watched the first ep with me and tells me she's hooked) thinks it was because Don gave Peggy the brush-off, and she slept with Pete to make herself feel better. However, I have trouble imagining how sleeping with the guy who criticized one's clothes as soon as he met one and then shows up one's doorstep steaming drunk would improve anyone's day.

On first watch, I thought it was more deliberate - that she decided if she couldn't get the in with Don that she thought she should aim for, she should take what alliances she could get. Since it's clear (to me) that her move on Don was deliberate, I could see her making that decision.

Speaking of Pete, you guys, CONNOR. Man, this is the weirdest thing. Vincent Kartheiser does not look old enough to be wearing those suits - he has such a baby face. Also, I spotted Anna Milton! Good thing I knew to look for her, or else I'd have missed her.

In other notable people in this ep, I quite loved every word that came from Rachel Menken's mouth. She was flawless. "You thought I would be a man. My father did, too."

--

1.02 Ladies Room

Definitely my favorite episode so far (out of, uh, three), pretty much solely because of Peggy. I was intrigued by Peggy in the first ep, but despite the trip to the doctor's office for the contraceptives, despite the play for Don, she's so mousy in dress and manner (and oh heavens, those bangs) that I was willing to believe her as the slightly-awkward new girl on her way to getting chewed up and spit out by the system.

But here we see both her naivete of thinking that a man might eat lunch with her for her and not for sex, but we also see in the bathroom, watching some other woman crying, and deciding that would not be her. I can't get that scene out of my mind. That other woman (and I'm pretty sure it's a different one in each of the two scenes), Peggy says, isn't going to be me. There is so much more steel to this character than we see on the surface. The word I keep coming back to is deliberation. She doesn't have Joan's smirking confidence, but she is nonetheless determined to survive and quite willing to do quite un-mousy things - get contraceptive pills, say - to do that. And I love that: determination that isn't stereotypical Strong Female Character.

I expected Peggy to be, you know, cute. So far, this show seems determined to turn that on its head. I'm very curious to know what kind of home life she's coming from, to get this determination, and also to know what her long-term goals are.

Meanwhile, Betty Draper breaks my heart. She seems really sweet, and completely caught in the lifestyle she's told over and over again is the perfect one. She has no reason to be anything but thrilled with her life.

I'm unconvinced that this problem with her hands is "a nervous condition," at least as they mean it here. I'd expect it to be neurological. It is not at all obvious to me that that's something that's going to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist.

--

1.03 Marriage of Figaro

An episode examining marriage from all angles. Don Draper seems to find his marriage - his dutiful wife, his children - too much for him. Pete Campbell, in the first flush of honeymoon glow, may be turning over a new leaf. Peggy Olsen is left to deal with the fact that her one-stand is going to remain that way, which I suppose whether she slept with him out of emotion or calculation would be a disappointment either way. And Helen Bishop, divorcee, gets the treatment from every woman in the neighborhood, despite coming from the same background as them. I'm very interested to see where we go with her.

I find myself with less to say about this episode. I continue to enjoy; I look forward to seeing what happens next.

Original entry posted at Dreamwidth. Feel free to reply here or there. ( DW replies)

Comments

[silverusagi]

only to discover at the end that he's married, with a beautiful house in the suburbs. All that angst, that lovely artist gal he keeps company with - all cast into a whole different light.

Yep.

I still have no idea why Peggy slept with Pete, TBH.

It took me FOREVER to regognize Pete as Connor. Probably because I've blocked AtS S4 from my mind.

Good thing I knew to look for her, or else I'd have missed her.

She looks quite different.

[snickfic]

I knew Connor was going to show up in this, and anyway I recognized his name in the credits.

I liked McNiven quite a bit as Anna Milton, so I'm hopeful of more Hildy. (But no telling!)

[upupa-epops.livejournal.com]

Dear Lord, you already have thoughts! I'm mostly just amazed by Betty Draper and Rachel Menken. I hope that after two or three more episodes I'll stop going: "HI, CONNOR!" every time I see Pete ;).

[snickfic]

Betty Draper breaks my heart. That poor woman. And I want MUCH MORE Rachel Menken.

I hope that after two or three more episodes I'll stop going: "HI, CONNOR!" every time I see Pete ;).

YES. :p

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried to watch Mad Men, figuring if I lived it, I didn't really need to watch it. lol But you've got me curious about the first episode and whether it really is overkill, or just the way things were, which might appear to be unreal to someone who'd never been there. Of course, this is Hollywood, so it's entirely possible and even likely that they're beating people over the head with the obvious.

[snickfic]

I'd be very interested to hear the perspective of someone who lived it, as you say. Although, as I pointed out to someone else, this is the 60s in the fast lane in NYC; even if it's an accurate portrayal of the setting, I expect it will be quite different from the experience of someone who was living in, say, small-town California, like my mom was at the time.

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

Probably so, although the attitudes may not be that different. I'd be comparing it to DC and Northern Virginia, though - so not all that dissimilar, perhaps. :)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

So... you're completely unspoiled? *rubs hands, cackles gleefully* Really looking forward to more of these. Plus it's been years since I saw season 1, so it's nice to be reminded. Man, this is a good series. Yes, it tips its hand a little too much sometimes re: gender and other social issues (which obviously doesn't stop a lot of people from seeing it as nothing but nostalgia for the good old days), but it works in some really subtle and creepy ideas as well.

I still think the epigram for the first episode is one of the most brilliant summaries of a show ever:

Mad Men: A term coined in the late 1950s to describe the advertising executives of Madison Avenue.

...They coined it.

It's about the construction of a false image which is then used to sell itself.

[snickfic]

I am completely unspoiled. I know nothing. It's not like all the SFF shows where I hear about the big spoilers as they happen ("so-and-so jumped into hell to save the world," etc), just by fannish osmosis.

Basically, I know character names. And I know Joan is still around after five seasons, because I saw someone mention her the other day with reference to the latest season.

I still think the epigram for the first episode is one of the most brilliant summaries of a show ever:

Agreed.

which obviously doesn't stop a lot of people from seeing it as nothing but nostalgia for the good old days

*facepalm*

[pocochina.livejournal.com]

Rachel Menken is perfect, omg. I love Betty, too. Not easy being Betty.

I will say that I'm not certain exactly what motivated her to sleep with Pete Campbell. Roommate (who watched the first ep with me and tells me she's hooked) thinks it was because Don gave Peggy the brush-off, and she slept with Pete to make herself feel better. However, I have trouble imagining how sleeping with the guy who criticized one's clothes as soon as he met one and then shows up one's doorstep steaming drunk would improve anyone's day.

I thought that was very much an assertion of independence thing. She's throwing herself so hard into proving that she can be someone she wasn't supposed to be, and she's all geared up for "sex is part of being in the workplace."

[snickfic]

She's throwing herself so hard into proving that she can be someone she wasn't supposed to be, and she's all geared up for "sex is part of being in the workplace."

Very true. Like, for example, with her insistence on borrowing Lady Chatterly's Lover. That's a very good point.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

I think my single favourite thing about Mad Men is that there is no character who you can simply sit back and like. They all have flaws, and not just little cute ones. It makes them far more real. But there are few that you can't find sympathy with, at times.

I also love many other things - the framing and direction, the strength of characters (several of them women), the pace at which some plot points unravel (so slow, or so sudden, or a combination of both, with an ongoing undertone that suddenly explodes). I also like that they show awkwardness; people not knowing what to do with themselves, being bored, being embarrassed... Great stuff. I hope you continue to enjoy!

[snickfic]

I think my single favourite thing about Mad Men is that there is no character who you can simply sit back and like.

*nod* The show doesn't seem to be designating good guys and bad guys, which I appreciate (although some are significantly more sympathetic than others).

I can't say much to your other points yet; I shall have to watch more. What hardship. :)

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

It's been ages since I watched season one, but I'm glad you're enjoying! I'm having fun reading your reactions.

Another cast member that took me a while to recognize is Connor Pete's wife, who is also Annie on Community.

[snickfic]

I'm glad you're enjoying! And I just got to the episode where we meet Pete's wife. I'm glad you mentioned where she was from; it'd have taken me a long time otherwise, as I watch very little Community.

BTW, where's your icon from? You and Poco both have those nifty stylized icons, from the same source, it looks like.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

It was a promotion on the website for Madmen It ironically enough actually does look like me!

[ever-neutral.livejournal.com]

\o/ @ this show.

it means that Don Draper comes off better than he ought in this episode simply by comparison.

ha. I actually find Don to be the most obnoxious of the menfolk generally, purely because he seems to actually be glamourised BY the show a lot of the time? IDK, what you say about him coming off better "in comparison" -- I get the impression that that's often the INTENT, which infuriates me. I do feel better about this in later seasons, but I can't really talk about that yet.

Peggy sleeping with Pete has always seemed pretty straightforward to me, actually. It's not about HIM, it's about her doing something forbidden because she can. As strange as it seems, she's not actually a vulnerable party there.

Vincent Kartheiser does not look old enough to be wearing those suits - he has such a baby face.

lol, right?

Y E S to your Peggy thoughts. You have good things ahead of you.

[snickfic]

Keep in mind that I haven't seen much of the show yet, so I don't have any strong opinions about Don yet. Although heavens, the existential angst in The Marriage of Figaro (which I just rewatched with the roommate) - he's in such despair over, I dunno, the difficulty of taking movies of his kid's birthday party that he walks out and doesn't come back. That's real despair, right there, folks.

Also, I think half the point of Don being set up the way he was in the first episode was to pull the rug out from under us when he gets home and we meet Betty.

As strange as it seems, she's not actually a vulnerable party there.

*nod* She's being very intentional about this, which is still heart-breaking, that she feels she needs to, but is still a different kind of heartbreak than I was maybe expecting to see from this character. If she's being victimized by the system, she's also taking what small control she can. She's meeting things head-on.

I commented to the roommate this morning that VK is just not blessed with a face anyone could take seriously.

[penny-lane-42.livejournal.com]

Enjoyed your thoughts a lot! I don't feel like I can say anything else without spoiling you, but this is definitely a show where your feelings about characters will shift and develop as you learn more about them, so seeing it through your eyes should be fun.

Also: it is stunningly gorgeous, isn't it?

[snickfic]

SO PRETTY.

I look forward to watching characters develop! Roommate and I were giggling/sighing a little bit over Don Draper's Mysterious Past, as hinted at in 1.03, because: we don't know anyone's past! We haven't been told it! So making a big deal about his seems silly.

[lettered.livejournal.com]

I'm really excited that you're watching this show! It's cool to see what someone thinks about it starting from the beginning. When it first started, just me and a couple Angel friends from online (and my mom ;o) were watching, and I was like, ".............uh hey, this show is brilliant! Too bad it won't become popular!" Luckily I was wrong ;o)

It is weird seeing Connor, but I luff VK. And I love Pete Campbell. And I have no idea why Peggy slept with him.

What struck me most about the show was how much I liked it, right from the beginning, without liking any of the characters. Usually I need to like at least someone. The beautiful thing about this show is I still don't like any of the characters--that is, I don't want to be friends with any of them and I don't really root for any of them--and yet, I still care about them. A lot.

I'm so interested to see what you think.

[snickfic]

I'm really excited to be watching, too! I've been hearing about it pretty much since it started and figured I'd try it sometime, and then lately I've been suffering from TV ennui and needed something completely different. And lo!

What struck me most about the show was how much I liked it, right from the beginning, without liking any of the characters.

I know what you mean. I still find Peggy sympathetic and I quite like Rachel, although Betty has now moved from "likable" and firmly into "interesting." But I do very much appreciate that the show sees no need to pander to me in the way it writes and presents its characters.

I'm so interested to see what you think.

Yay! Me, too. :D

[lettered.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really liked Betty in ep 2, but later on it's definitely interesting rather than likeable. But definitely interesting!