If Problems Were Rotten Teeth...

Mad Men, S05E13

Megan was asked by a friend to use Don to get a part in a commercial, but Megan asked for herself instead.  Pete saw Beth again and met her a hotel before she went to shock therapy.  Don's guilt at his past made him see visions of his brother, and he avoided going to the dentist to fix his toothache.

Maybe it was just me, but I felt like this episode didn't have as much punch to it as I was expecting.  I suppose that's not necessarily a bad thing because I was a little scared what other horrible things might happen that hadn't already.  Luckily, there was just a general sad cloud hovering over the whole episode, but nothing that happened was particularly too bad.

I thought nothing good could come from Emily asking Megan to ask Don to help her get the part, but I never thought that Megan wouldn't even do it and ask for herself.  Wow.  I'm not sure whether to call her determined in her acting career or a bad friend.  It just made her asking Don to pull strings for her even shadier, for some reason.  I dunno.  I was glad that he pointed out that commercials weren't anything like the kind of acting she really wanted to do because I didn't want him to help her, but I also felt like he was purposely trying to get in her way.  A commercial could at least get her name out in the public and open doors for her.  I think that Don is a little afraid of helping her, like he's helped others, and them moving on without him.

Case in point, Don ran into Peggy at the movies.  He could barely hide his disappointment that things were going so well for her because their paths no longer intersected.  Peggy is proof that if Don supports someone's dreams, they may become so successful that they will just walk away from him.  So, I'm surprised that Don broke down and helped Megan get the part.  But I'm sure it was after seeing his wife drunk, miserable, and devaluing herself that made him change his mind.  That, along with some other things like Marie saying that Megan basically was just an artist in mind but not in talent, surely helped him come around.  But there was something so lonely about when Don left the set where Megan was getting prepared for her role as Beauty and he was walking into the darkness.  It was as if he would never see her again (hopefully not, though).

Another pretty sad moment was when Don thought he was doing Lane's wife a favor by paying her back Lane's investment into the company, but she was less than grateful and accused him of putting Lane into a position that was above his talents.  Furthermore, she accused Lane of having an affair with the woman whose picture he kept in his pocket and demanded that Don tell her who she was.  I'm not saying his wife was out of line, but I'm saying that she shouldn't have dumped everything that went wrong with Lane's life when he joined SCDP on Don.  No one else would have dared come visit her in person (perhaps maybe Joan), and I'm sure that the money he gave to her would have been kept in the company if Don didn't see to it.  I just wish there was something else he could do besides hand out checks--he seems to think that will always smooth things over.  I knew it wouldn't, but I still appreciate that he can even bother to do something.  It's just too bad that his efforts were a bit meaningless.

The only thing that did get taken care of easily was Don's toothache. He got it removed before he even knew it, thanks to the gas.  It was crazy, with his kind of money, that he was so stubborn about taking care of it.  He just kept saying that it would go away on its own.  I'm guessing that's what Don hopes a lot of his problems will do.  Like the hole in the office that has been created now that Peggy is gone.  Clients, who want a woman's opinion, are unhappy with pitches that an all-male staff have come up with.  It's obvious that he needs to replace her in someway, but he's dragging his feet about that too.  And with Joan reporting that they are making the most profit they have ever, it's ridiculous that they don't hire someone else.  But despite this is a problem for Don, I liked seeing Michael being pissed off that his ideas were treated like shit.  Glad there are limits to his genius.

The Pete and Beth story was just as irritating as it was before.  The only thing that was good about it was that Pete admitted his affair with her to Howard and their fight helped Pete get kicked off the train (and punched by the conductor).  Also, Beth has no memory of him, so that works out as well.  I can't feel bad for Pete when he has more than most people will ever have.  I just can't.  Even if he's always been unhappy and was just fooling himself with his life with Trudy, I can't look past that.  I didn't want to see him happy with Beth or anyone, especially after he treated Joan so shabbily in another episode.  Pete can stand to be more miserable, and I hope that he gets a little more in the next season.  Oh, and Pete had the audacity to tell Howard that he was the most disgusting person he's ever seen--has Pete ever looked in a mirror??  If he hadn't gotten punched in the next seconds after saying that, I would have been so pissed off.

At the very end, Don was hit on by some attractive woman, and I wondered if the recent events would make him go back to his old ways.  I don't know if I could blame him, but I'd still disapprove.  He should know by now that sleeping around on his wife doesn't really fix anything.  I'm just in awe in how easy it is for him to meet women.  It's just amazing sometimes, even with his charm.  If only temptation wasn't walking around him all the time maybe he would stop trying to distract himself from his problems with random women.  But then it just wouldn't be Don Draper.

This was an impressive season overall.  My hatred of Pete has deepened, but at least he's gotten beaten a few times this year, so I can stand to see his stupid face for another season.  It's going to be weird to see the company without Lane or Peggy, but I'm hoping that this change will bring someone else new who can spice things up.  I'm not sure if I want to see Megan make her mark into the acting world, but whether she does or not, I hope that it won't make things too strained on her marriage with Don.  Don just needs to find something to cheer up with soon.  I doubt he'll find it within his work, but who knows?  He just better not find it with another woman.  I liked the improved Don in this season, and I want to see him continue to change for the better.  Whether or not the situations around him will encourage him to do so is yet to be seen.

Megan Quits And Pete Cheats (Again)

Mad Men, S05E08

After going to an audition for an acting part, Megan realized that she could never get the same satisfaction from advertising and spoke to Don about quitting.  Don agreed and Megan said her goodbyes, but her absence at the office began to eat at Don's own satisfaction at work and opened up conflict between he and Peggy.  Pete met Howard's wife Beth that Howard had been cheating on and ended up sleeping with her after giving her a ride home one night.  Pete enjoyed the affair so much he tried to continue it, but Beth only pushed him away, even though she seemed to share his passion.

At least it wasn't a shock that Megan quit advertising.  She was leaving clues everywhere that she was unhappy.  It was just Don who really couldn't see it until she spoke about it.  And I can understand why Don might have had trouble seeing her own problems when her skills at work seemed to be bringing them closer and making Don happy about his job that he probably likes less than he's good at it.  I don't think that Megan needed to apologize about wanting to pursue her dreams (even Don agreed that he had no right to stop her), but she was given a lot of opportunities she wouldn't have gotten (especially as a woman) if she hadn't been married to Don.  Because of that fact (and the fact that she was good at advertising), her quitting the job leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  Plus, anything that makes Don unhappy bothers me a bit.

One of the funniest things in this episode was when Don kept calling the office to find out where Megan was.  I was worried then that Megan was sneaking around (which would be pretty good karma for Don), but it didn't turn out to be that way.  It was great how Peggy was annoyed to be questioned about Don's wife when she was trying to get work done.  I mean, she actually left the office just to avoid talking to him again.  He was being really persistent (possibly a little too overprotective of Megan), but Peggy didn't have to run away like that.  Cracked me up.

Another part that was funny to me was when Pete was calling Beth on a payphone.  He happened to see Crane coming into the office and Pete opened the door.  Crane came over to see what he wanted and Pete said nothing and said he was the one that came over to him.  I had the same complaint as Crane--he was the one who opened the door!  What the hell was that??  It was so awkward, but funny.  Crane is seriously the comedy relief in this show.  I almost always laugh when he has a scene with someone else.

Something that wasn't so funny was Pete's infidelity with his friend's wife.  I can't forgive Pete for his actions no matter how much of an ass Howard is.  He and Pete are about the same.  The only difference is that Howard is cheating with a girl (who may or may not be single herself) who isn't connected to anyone he knows personally.  Maybe Pete did connect with Beth on some level, but I feel like it was less that he wanted to continue a special relationship with her and more of an ego thing.  She basically just used him for his body (not unlike what he's probably done many times) and then wanted to go back to her "normal" life.  He couldn't handle not being able to set the terms for one of his flings.  I wish he would just get over it and concentrate on something more important.  So Beth is playing around with him by telling him to stop but sending signs like she loves him (with little hearts drawn on windows)--so what?  Go home to your wife and baby, Pete.  I'm not ready to play any violins for his damn story.

Another thing that wasn't too funny was Max talking about how Megan owed him money.  He's a master of saying inappropriate things!  Then he had the audacity to say she was probably quitting because she didn't want to pay him back.  If he wasn't joking, I wish someone would have punched him in the face.  Who says that kind of thing?  Even if Megan was purposely borrowing money from him with no intention to pay him back, keep that to yourself.  Just makes him look like a dick to complain about that right after she quit.  But it does show that Megan won't really be missed by any of her coworkers.  Possibly Peggy will miss her, but I don't think any of the women will.

I get the feeling that among the women, Joan most resents Megan.  It doesn't surprise me because in a way Megan got to climb the ladder of success in an easier way than Joan ever did and she tossed it away just as easy.  If she didn't have these feelings I don't think that she would have made such comments that suggested that Megan was sort scheming like a typical "second wife."  She, unlike Peggy surprisingly, didn't have much confidence that Megan would make it as an actress, but made it seem like she would be all right because she has a rich husband to keep her afloat.  If that wasn't meant bitterly, I don't know what it was supposed to mean.  And Joan also pointed out that Don was the type to marry models and actresses.  Why does she care about that?  Is she just annoyed that she didn't end up with someone like Don (or Don himself)?  I wouldn't blame her, though.  I wish she wasn't so calm and collected at work and would voice a little more about her displeasure about girls like Megan.

Lastly, I just have to say how horrible it was to watch Don and Peggy do their little Cool Whip banter with each other instead of the version Don did with Megan before.  It was just so uncomfortable to watch that I had to look away.  It did lead to some heated words between Don and Peggy, and I had forgotten about how they used to get into it with each other.  I don't think that Peggy has ever told Don to shut up, though.  She's lucky that she's too talented for him to fire her (plus, I think Don thinks of her somewhat of a friend).  But it was wrong of Don to take out his frustrations about Megan's quitting on Peggy.  She certainly did bend over backwards to make Megan feel like she was an important part of the copywriting team.  It's true that Megan said that she hated how everyone at the office were so cynical and jaded, but I feel like she had just started to get along with everyone just before she quit (another shame).  Guess the days of the calm and easy-going Don are over now.  It'll be back to him yelling at Peggy for things that aren't even her fault.

I wonder how Don will cope with Megan being gone at the office and how he'll adjust to Megan being gone at night with her acting classes and auditions.  I worry that she may start hanging out with some questionable characters that might cause a rift in their relationship.  I'm sure Don will try to be supportive, but he has his limits (probably more than most men), so I'm sure that Megan will eventually use up his generosity soon.  Don't care what happens to Pete, though.  For all I care, I hope that him sleeping with Beth blows up in his face.  I'm tired of him getting away with screwing this woman and that.  He ain't Don, after all.