Monday, August 23, 2010

Mad Men Live Blogging - Season 4.5: The Chrysanthemum And The Sword

Donny Advertising is plummeting into the abyss. Can anything be done?

1:00 - Don's old secretary is still there! Good for her. But not such a good sign for him. At least he gets some more face time with the hot Freudian.

3:15 - Bert isn't so delightful when he's arguing against civil rights. He also looks pretty beaten down. I wonder if going barefoot all the time is giving him static electricity poisoning?

4:30 - Who is Dr. Lyle Evans? According to Google, he was no one until this episode -- 9 of the top 10 hits are variations on this question. The other is the head of the Sasketchewan Public Library. Also, Roger is still bitter 20 years after WWII.

6:20 - Don has the kids for a night so he goes to Benihana? Is this research for the meeting with Honda? At least it gives Sally and the nurse a chance to bond.

8:00 - Hey! It's Thanksgiving girl! And she knows how to use chopsticks! I hope Don hires her so that he can hook up with her.

11:00 - Wait. Don paid the nurse and didn't have sex with her? He's totally lost his mo-jo.

13:00 - I like how Henry takes a second to throw Don under the bus before he actually acts like a decent person. Sneazy*! I like it.

15:00 - I like the translator. I hope they get the gig.

17:00 - First, Pete gives the cheapest gift to the boss. Then he can't keep Roger away.

19:00 - Ooooh! The boys are fighting!

21:30 - "Playing with herself"? Did they say that in 1965? And WTF? Remind me to never have children in the 60s.

24:30 - Apparently being interrupted with your child's public display of masturbation kills the mood.

29:30 - Remind me not to get divorced, too.

31:00 - Don is also sneazy!

33:30 - $3,000 is too much for a test commercial? They should get Samberg and Parnell to do it.

36:00 - "Why does everyone need to talk about everything?" I ask myself the same thing during team meetings.

37:00 - Psst, Don, you're doing that whole talking-about-everything thing you were just whining about. If you don't have your steely gaze, you're opening up to (instead of hitting on) her.

38:00 - "Fake dinner plans with your fake husband?" Not your best line, Don.

39:45 - "I was private and I mostly outgrew it." Key word is "mostly".

41:00 - The therapist is officially the most normal person on the show.

43:00 - Don uses Chemical Bank! Just like Nana on Seinfeld!

44:00 - Nice work, Joan! Talking Roger off the ledge of self-pity. Or, possibly, shoving him off the ledge.

46:30 - I take that back. Carla is still awesome. The lesson? The less we know about characters, the better.

So? I especially liked the end, keeping the therapy private. It's insane, but it would feel like invading Sally's privacy. And even though she's a fictional character, she's still a 10-year-old going through therapy.  But the whole bit the Honda rocked, and it's kind of cool to see Pete stepping up.  Is he about to change from Fredo to Sonny?

Grade?

B+

* Sneaky-sleazy.

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