Warning: Some spoilers follow!
Well for those waiting for something to finally happen this season on Mad Men, Sunday’s episode delivered. Mrs. summed it up best by stating, “If we were watching this on DVD, I would make you put on the next episode just to see what happens next.” And I agreed. To me it was the best episode of the season (although obviously set up by previous episodes). For the first time this season I found myself anxiously looking at the clock to determine how much longer we had until the end. I kept thinking, “Is Peggy going to have her meeting with Don?” And then I was at the edge of my seat when they went into his office. Just a fantastic scene in a great episode.
So you can imagine my surprise on Monday when I started reading that there were mixed feelings on the episode. This season as a whole has had a lot of divided opinions and many more negative comments that I remember from previous seasons. But I really thought everyone would love this episode as much as I did. And while plenty of people seem to agree with me, with a few even going as far as saying it was one of the best episodes of the entire series, an equal number of people seemed to have serious problems with the episode, some flat out hating it.
So why the large difference of opinion? Well, the naysayers seems to fall into two categories:
1) Those who are hell bent on hating this season no matter what. They seem to want to punish the show for the long layoff or they just want to express a contrarian opinion for a show that has received so many praises. Either way, I’ll continue to enjoy the show even if they don’t want to.
2) Those who didn’t feel that the actions of Joan and the partners were true to character. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but I can see this complaint. Pete is Pete, so I understand his motivation. Lane’s money problems forced his hand, although I do think Lane’s story has been the weakest this season (what ever happened to the wallet guy?). Roger is the one I might have a small problem with because of his relationship with Joan, but who knows what motivates Roger now that he’s had his LSD trip. As for Joan, I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision, but I don’t think it’s as big a stretch as others seem to think that she would go through with it. She saw a way to secure her future and that of her son. And as a single mother in the 60’s maybe she felt this was her best chance. I think that we grow so attached to these characters that we hate to see anything bad happen to them, but I’m willing to go with the writers on this one.
There are also a few comments I’ve seen that think Peggy is going the way of Betty and we’re either going to see a lot less of her now or that she’ll be off the show entirely. I don’t see this at all. Don might be #1 on Mad Men, but Peggy is definitely #1a. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Peggy as soon as the opening scene of next week’s episode. Getting rid of Peggy? Now that would be something I would have a problem with on Mad Men.
Even though Sunday’s episode felt in many ways like a season finale (between Peggy's decision and the push for the Jaguar account), I’m glad we weren’t left hanging like that. I can’t wait to see what the last two episodes bring. I’m excited to see what else the writers have planned for Season 5 and curious on how they decide to leave things.
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