Excellent dialog. Unexpected twists. Smart writing. Stunning performances.
Don Draper is a monster. The scene where he's waiting for his keys, you keep thinking the nurse is going to pick him up. But no, it's his secretary. Completely blindsides the audience. And when he finally makes his move, the look on his face, the way the light catches the angles on his face and he loses himself to his lust. That dude is one bad man. And then to cap it all off, he gives her the Christmas bonus he promised her at the beginning of the episode. Talk about irony. When he first mentions it, he sounds like the most awesome boss in the world. When he gives it to her at the end of the episode, it reduces her to what essentially amounts to prostitution. What is she typing at the end? Is she writing her resignation letter? Is she going back to work? The audience is left hanging.
The other story lines were also pretty crazy, Peggy's dialog with the old copywriter, how the old guy is such a loser, but when he finally gives her some solid advice, she totally goes against it. Roger really buckling down and turning the other cheek to the Lucky Strike client, man, what a bastard. And all the little one liners, all under the backdrop of a Christmas party. A lot of shows draw a parallel between the seasons on the show with those happening in the audiences'time to make the show feel more real. Mad Men does the complete opposite, to draw a stark contrast between what we as an audience hope for and expect, versus the bitter reality of what we get.
That episode almost makes me want to watch it again, it was that well done. Mad Men is one of my favorite shows, ever.
2 comments:
Mad Men > LOST ?
Oh yes, by a long shot. I think towards the end of Lost, I was just watching it to finish it. There were just too many glaring plot holes and missed dramatic opportunities. That said, there were definitely episodes that I enjoyed, including the finale, but it did lose its steam, the first season was clearly the best.
Mad Men, on the other hand has almost none of those faults. It's extremely well written, the characters are involving and deeply complex, and it does more with a lot less, it's filmed on a much smaller set, had lesser known actors, and continues to impress me more each season. Love it.
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