Another week, another belated “Mad Men” post. I don’t know why I can’t get these up on Monday morning. Maybe I just need a little time to process what I saw. “Mad Men” will do that to you, force you to think. For me, the symbolism and subtleties become suddenly apparent while I’m driving home down a darkened Highway 101 at midnight.
Anyway, to keep this short and sweet, here are my five favorite moments from Sunday’s episode, “My Old Kentucky Home.”
5. “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.” Grandpa Gene making little Sally read him that massive tome just killed me. Nice bit of light children’s literature there. Sally totally deserved that $5.
4. Roger in black face. “The darkies are gay” . . . Oh. My. God. I don’t think my jaw was the only one that dropped. Welcome to country club life in 1963. Between that and Gene’s suspicion of Carla the maid, we’re finally getting a glimpse into race relations. And it’s cringe-inducing.
3. Joan vs. Jane. I felt a chill from that little showdown in the office. Smug Jane’s perfectly targeted barbs — having to reduce her ring size since she keeps losing weight, looking down her nose at Joan’s apartment, ordering Joan to call a girl to fetch her ride — seemed to rattle Joan and remind her of her place, well down the social ladder. Ouch. Between that and the awkward dinner party (not to mention the humiliating accordion performance), it seems like Joan’s grand plans of marrying a rich, successful doctor and moving to the suburbs aren’t turning out quite the way she hoped.
2. Don sliding over the bar. How cool was that? Don made a pretty impressive impromptu cocktail too. “You look like you know what you’re doing”; yeah, ya think? Verrrry interesting conversation between Don and Connie, the other refugee from a fancy party. Seems like Don has always had a little problem with authority. And while he might not be peeing in the trunks of high-society folks anymore, he still feels like he doesn’t belong. It’s the story of his life.
1. “I’m Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke some marijuana.” Most awesome line of the season. Nice moment of empowerment as Peggy jumps in head-first and becomes accepted as one of the boys.
Ooooh, and breaking news alert: “Mad Men” has been renewed for a fourth season. Not a big shocker, but comforting to know.
