Here we are, knee deep into Mad Men's 6th season, so of course it's time for another "Don Goes to California" episode- this time with Roger and Harry in tow. The historical backdrop is the Democratic Convention of 1968, and we get to see lots of characters watching TV footage of the infamous riots, and commenting on the upcoming election with naive pronouncements about things we, the audience can feel superior about already knowing (at one point a client proclaims "the Democrats are dead... maybe forever" - wink-wink). Of course, the show can never help when historical events intrude on the fictional world, but it's always a jarring collision, and this season, because it's 1968 the outside world is closing in ever more constantly.
While on the coast, the guys wind up at a Hollywood hippie party, which allows for the show's first full on depiction of late 60's counterculture. Speaking of jarring collisions, it's always been a bit awkward whenever Don interacts with a group of people who are fundamentally opposite his persona (think the beatnicks from season 1), and here it feels no more natural. But we do get to see him get high and hallucinate visions: first of Megan, who in his altered imagination has quit her job and followed him to CA in full hippie garb, with news that she's pregnant again and offering them another chance at happiness, and then the marine he met in the season premiere, who's now missing an arm and tells him to his face that he's been killed in action. I don't know about you guys, but this ominous vision coupled with Don and Megan's short, sad and somewhat foreboding phone conversation in this episode has me seriously worried about the continuation of Megan's corporeal self. I'm getting some anxious signals here, but hopefully I'm all wrong (sorry, but I'm not one of the Megan haters).
Meanwhile, back in New York, Joan accidentally stumbles on the chance to land a major client all by herself and seizes the opportunity, which would prove to everyone in the office that her contributions as a partner could be tangible and not just the lasting image of having bedded the disgusting Herb Rennett for a Jaguar account they no longer have. This storyline gives Christina Hendricks her best episode of the season and likely Emmy submission tape, as she and Elizabeth Moss show how great Peggy and Joan can be as a team, while exposing all the ways their relationship has evolved as both women have climbed up the ranks through different means. This is Joan as assertive and determined about her career and her worth as we've ever seen. Pete's not happy about this of course, throwing a fit over her worming her way into Accounts business, but well, Pete hasn't been happy about much of anything this season. As we see in the last scene, he goes down grumpily and in slow motion defeat to the tune of the great Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart," his protest having been futile.
Finally, the newly merged ad agency we've had for at least three episodes has decided on a name: Sterling-Cooper and Partners., or SC&P. Huh. For all the fuss they made about the name for the last few weeks, I expected something a bit less anti-climactic and with more pizazz, but hey, if it's the best they can do I guess we'll take it.
Character Notes:
Ginsberg- he continues to be my favorite secondary character, as he can wittily insult just about any random office member, this week targeting new boss Jim Cutler (whose name I can never remember and always just want to call Harry Hamlin while I keep having to look him up)
Bob Benson- ok, so last week I thought he might be a serial killer, this week I'm back to thinking he's just a corporate climber. I've pretty much given up on figuring out what's going on with this guy. He keeps vacillating between mysterious and creepy, to brown-nosy and interloping, so until Matt Weiner wants to tell me, I assume nothing
Sally- nope, she wasn't in this episode. And she wasn't in the last one either. Did you notice that too? They seemed to have decided to replace Sally's screen time this year with Bobby's, a choice that I'm completely baffled by. After being such a presence on this show for so many seasons, it's unfortunate that her becoming a teenager has for some reason coincided with the writers' decision that she is no longer interesting. Come back Sally! We miss you!
