Betty vs Megan, Don vs Michael

Mad Men, S05E09

Don started to see that Michael (not Max as I've been miscalling him) was starting to look like the most significant person in their creative department and pushed one of Michael's ideas aside for his own during a meeting with a client.  Betty began to compare her life to Megan's and tried to stir up trouble in her and Don's marriage out of jealousy.  Roger took his ex-wife to dinner in order to win over a client and ruined their amicable relationship by having sex with her in the new apartment he bought for her.

Truly, I expected Peggy would be the first one to butt heads with Michael in terms of who has the best ideas, but I guess things are going so well for her now that she can't be bothered to look at what he's doing.  However, Don hasn't had as much time to spend with Michael as Peggy has and probably hasn't noticed how another "Pete Campbell" has slipped into their company when he wasn't looking.  I'll admit that Michael does great work, but he's surely no Don when it comes to personality.  Michael's not just long-winded but he also seems to have this sense of entitlement and assurance that is puzzling at times.  He seems to think that his talent precedes his position.  Sure Don slighted him by not letting the client see his idea, but Don is unquestionably his boss and that means he gets the final say.  I am disappointed that Don didn't let his work speak for itself (perhaps the client would have been keener to his devil ad no matter what), but I didn't care for the way Michael starting stomping his foot like a spoiled child because his boss didn't use his work.

The scene where Don and Michael were in the elevator together was really great.  I think that Max should have the right to question Don as to why he didn't use his ad, but that wasn't what Michael did.  He was basically telling Don that he knew without a doubt that his ad would have won against his.  Really, Michael is so brazen.  He hasn't even been working there that long and he already thinks he's the shit.  Please.  I didn't buy that Don thought he would look weak (unless you mean his own talent) by going into a meeting with two ideas, but it was a reasonable excuse.  Still, Michael should have just been quiet and stopped bragging about himself.  I laughed when Don told him that it was a good thing he worked for him.  Emphasis on "worked for."  Whether Michael shines or withers is really up to Don, so he ought to not try to put Don down or find himself another damn job.  It was also funny when Don said that he didn't think of Michael at all when Michael said he felt sorry for him.  That little punk.  If Don was a pettier man, Michael's ass would be so fired!  What I like best about their conversation is that it suggests that Michael will no longer treat Don like he's his best friend.  It'll be interesting to see how he acts around the office knowing that Don isn't going to have his back.

Betty, like Don, was also seeing her life in contrast to a younger person.  Megan has a great apartment, a great body, and a great husband.  Her children also like her (not to say they don't love their own mother).  Why shouldn't Betty feel a little envious?  But I don't know why Betty dislikes her life so much when she has a nice house, a good husband, and a support system at Weight Watchers.  She's not living in the streets and is 400 pounds!  I think it was that really sweet note that she found from Don to Megan that sent her over the edge.  I bet he never left her such notes when they were married.  She shouldn't be that surprised--their marriage was based on lies and the superficial.  I wish that Betty could stop being so damn vicious when it comes to Don.  He did her wrong, but let bygones be bygones.

It was almost too easy for Betty to make Sally, who was pretty good friends with Megan, turn on her stepmother.  I was really disappointed in how she blamed Megan and threatened her after how well Megan has treated her.  Sally was acting like a brat, but I think that Megan did an excellent job of telling her about Anna when she was put in a difficult position about whether she was overstepping her boundaries or not.  I did blame Don for not telling Sally sooner and putting Megan on the spot like that, even though Betty was the one who brought up the topic.  Megan did even better when she realized that Betty was just trying to cause problems and prevented Don from calling Betty when he found out what happened.  I was pretty happy when he finally spoke to Sally and made her apologize to Megan.  Don shouldn't have kept Sally in the dark about it, but she didn't need to treat Megan like that.

The best thing was when Betty tried to find out if her little plan had worked and Sally made it seem like the topic of Anna was no big thing.  Sometimes Sally seems like more of an adult than Betty does!  I'm glad that Betty got angry and that she failed miserably to make Don and Megan fight and turn Sally against Megan.  Stick to your own damn life, Betty.  Maybe if you spent more time figuring out a way to make yourself happy, you wouldn't have to try to bring others down to join you in your own misery.

I was impressed with the way Roger and Jane were getting along until it was obvious that he was jealous of another man getting her attention.  Then he ruined her new apartment by creating memories of them together when they slept together.  It was wrong of him to open up that part of their relationship again, but Jane didn't try very hard to resist him!  She had a chance, but then she didn't say anything. Why did she blame him completely?  I honestly don't think that Roger meant any harm to her, but the way Jane was acting, it was like Roger planned the whole night to screw her over.  When Roger said that he felt terrible about what he had done, I believed him.  He's not a bad person, he just sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him.  It just bothered me that Jane made him into some kind of villain when he's being more a decent guy as a ex-husband than a lot of guys would be.

I love all the emotions that I can experience when I watch this show.  I want to yell at characters, I want to laugh, and most often I just feel bad for the way things turn out for just about everyone.  I'm eager to see what Michael will be like now that he isn't going to be the golden child in his mind anymore, and how Don better competes with Michael in terms of talent.  Don hasn't peaked yet, so there's no need for him to stomp on Michael when he could just outshine him.  Betty needs to get a life as always and keep her "fat nose" (as Don so eloquently put it) out of others' lives.  However, I'd like to see her try again to take a stab at them, just so I could see Megan and Don's love continue to triumph in the end.