Mad Men, S05E10
Lane struggled to get money he needed to pay off a tax problem back in England by extending the firm's credit but was unable to use Christmas bonuses as an excuse to give himself a piece of that money. Craine had to find a way to help Paul, who had become a Hare Krishna and wanted to sell a script to NBC. Joan got served divorce papers, and Don helped her blow off some steam. Pete tried to energize the firm about a possible contract with Jaguar, but no one was giving him much attention. There was some tension with Megan and Don that came to surface when she didn't know where he was for some hours.
This isn't the first time that Lane has been scrambling for some money, but this is the first time we've seen him on such a time crunch. I couldn't believe that he was so easily able to get more more for the firm on credit with a simple talk from his buddy from the bank. Especially since they don't have so many clients actually paying them for their work. That's worrying because he took out 50gs! Will they be able to pay that back?
It was smart that Lane wisely found a way he could get a piece of that extra money by distributing it as bonuses, but thanks to Don wanting to put them off for a while, Lane wasn't able to get his hands on it immediately. He was making me nervous in the way everything seemed to be working against him to get the money. I thought for sure someone was going to wonder why he was pushing so hard for those bonuses. But I guess they were too caught up in themselves to worry about any woes Lane might be going through.
The biggest surprise was seeing Lane forge Don's signature on a check to himself. I can't believe how desperate his situation has gotten that he needs to steal from his own company! He might have gotten away with it if Mohawk hadn't gone on strike; it would have just looked like he had gotten his bonus. But since it didn't go that way, Lane is in a whole lot of shit! I don't know how long he'll be able to cover it up since he's not entirely the only person who looks at the firm's books. I'm a little afraid what's going to happen to him.
Another person who was in a shitty position was Paul, who wanted to start a new life with his new sweetheart in his Hare Krishna group, but needed money to do so. I had forgotten that Paul even existed, much less how good of friends he and Craine were. Because if they weren't such good friends, I couldn't see him putting up with the the truckloads of shit that came pouring in when he decided to meet Paul for "coffee." It went from impromptu chanting to a discussion of his Star Trek script to being threatened by his girlfriend who willingly slept with him. It was just one crazy thing after the next! But the girl was definitely the craziest part of it. She acts like a psycho slut, slaps Craine for calling her out on her less than chaste ways, and then threatens him to stay away from Paul--what the hell is her problem?? I sort of wish that Craine had a little more backbone like Don and would have slapped the bitch back. He was only trying to help his damn oh-so-lost friend and his thanks for it is that.
I was touched that Craine didn't give up on Paul (which might have been the smart thing with that bitch on his trail) and gave him money to pursue his writing career in LA. I'm sure that Craine doesn't seriously believe that he'll make it, but I'm also sure that anything would be better for him than having to stick around that psycho. I just hope that this is the last time that Craine has to save Paul's ass. I don't know if I can handle another weird series of events that follow from extending a hand to Paul.
The absolute best thing about this episode was Joan and later Don. Joan is usually the one who has to come in and calm down others down when they lose they shit, but finally she was the one to do so (in the office, anyway). I absolutely loved when she took out her anger about being served on that insipid, little receptionist. She has no damn idea how to do her job! And she had the audacity to tell Joan that she wasn't allowed to treat her as she did or yell at her. Bitch was lucky that all she did was break a model of an airplane on her desk. She should have been slapped! I would have loved to see Joan slap the hell out of her.
Then Don swooped in like a knight in shining armor and took her out of the office for the day. I loved watching them play as a couple at the dealership and how easy it was for Don to write a check and get them access to that car. In comparison to Lane who was grasping at straws to get the money he needed, Don can write a check for 6gs like it's nothing. That's messed up. But it was also damn cool of Don to get them that car for the rest of the night.
Finally, Don and Joan were just chilling at the bar, basically flirting with each other and having a great time. I had forgotten that they have a good amount of chemistry between them. Their conversation was like magic. It just felt so right and made me wish they didn't have to change scenes to other people in the show. I was dying when Don had on the hat and was trying to get Joan to dance with him. That would have been a golden scene, but she wisely refused him, worrying what it would look like. I can't argue with her, but damnit, Don was looking good and offering you a dance! The hell with appearances--I'd go for it. I've been a supporter of Megan and Don, but after this scene, I really wonder if Megan is the one after all. Joan and Don would make the most attractive couple ever!
Later, Don finally gave Joan flowers, after he admitted he had been too afraid to cross her when he first came to the firm. He signed the card for it "Ali Khan" (someone he had thought she was dating in earlier years) and claimed her mother had done a good job with her (I'm assuming he was referring to being one who was admired by men). That was so adorable! Don has gotten so damn sweet lately. Didn't think he could be more charming than he already was.
Pete was still his less than charming self, practically crying for someone to praise him for getting the firm another chance with Jaguar. My favorite example of everyone ignoring him was when he asked Don to go check out Jaguar himself::
I was dying with laughter. I don't know if Don could have expressed less excitement about having to pitch to Jaguar if he took a nap on the couch in the middle of Pete talking. This is now one of my top favorite lines from this show.[Pete] Take Megan. See how they deal with a couple.
[Don] We'll see.
[Pete] You know, if I told you last December that we'd be in the running for a car, you would have kissed me on the mouth.
[Don] Maybe you and I should go as a couple.
What I didn't care for much was after Don had this incredibly wonderful night with Joan, he had to come home to Megan shouting at him like he was up to his old tricks. True, he should have given Megan an idea of where he was, but there was no need for her to be throwing plates and accusing him of misdeeds. See, if she had kept her job she wouldn't have to second-guess him about his whereabouts at night. I love how she is punishing for being on the outside of his world when she had a place before. And maybe if she was putting more of her time into acting like she claimed she would be, she wouldn't have time to worry about what the hell Don was up to. I'm really worried this is going to be her thing, eventually. Wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't find some acting work soon.
Love this episode. I definitely have to watch it again to listen to Don and Joan spend the longest lunch in history. On an unhappier note, I don't know what's going to happen to Lane now that he's gotten into forgery. He'll be lucky to stay out of jail, much less keep his job. Hopefully, they will overlook his less than honorable actions and keep him on. I also hope that Craine has seen the last of Paul and more importantly Paul's crazy girlfriend. I don't know how they will be able to top this episode within this particular season, but I look forward to them trying. Can't say enough good things about this one!
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