So, I have to admit I was somewhat underwhelmed by the episode this week, which spent an awful lot of focus on a character I was so sure wouldn't be back I didn't even bother to learn her name. At this point in the series, with five episodes left, I didn't think I'd need to know any details about yet another Don girlfriend, but here we are, being forced to care about the sad demeanor of Diana, the waitress from the diner. Not a lot of meaning there, at least for me. On the bright side, there was some more humor tonight than usual.
Let's get the Don stuff over with. He and Megan (she's back this week) are getting divorced, he's still sending her "allowance," and even though they had seemed to part on good terms last season, that's all over with now, because Megan is disappointed with how her own life's going, and very ready to blame Don for everything. Roger warns Don she'll do this (Jane did the same to him), but Don doesn't believe it. He will by the end of the hour. Megan brings her mother Marie and sister (never before seen) back with her to New York to take her furniture out of the apartment, and the three spend lots of time badmouthing Don in French for what he's done to Megan, and Marie decides to get back at him by stealing all of his furniture from the apartment while Megan meets Harry for lunch. Marie then calls Roger to come bail her out of giving the movers more money, and the two resume their on/off affair, but Megan walks in on them after her mood has been worsened from being propositioned by the disgusting Harry, who won't help her find a new agent unless she sleeps with him. Megan then takes her anger out on Don when they meet the divorce lawyer, blaming him for ruining her life, just like Roger said she would. Don reacts by handing her a check for a million dollars, which Megan reluctantly decides to take as she gives back his engagement ring. You'd think this would all be a final sendoff for Megan, but I get the bad feeling it's not. I've got to say though, although we've seen Marie in the past, I don't care about her that much, and I care even less about this never before seen sister of Megan's, especially when there's other characters I'd prefer to be spending time with in the closing hours of Mad Men as a whole.
Meanwhile, Don tracks down Diana, who's now working at a new restaurant, finds out she's divorced and running away from a bad situation, they sleep together, and then he finds out the truth, which is that she has a daughter who died and came to New York to wallow in her grief. By episode's end she confesses she has another daughter who's alive, but wants to spend no more time with Don because he makes her forget her misery which she doesn't want to do. So I guess that's the beginning and the end of Diana, but...who cares? Seriously, I was sick of Sylvia in season six (whom they have an awkward encounter with in the elevator this week), the last thing I wanted was another sad Don mistress who reminds him of the others. Back at the office, Peggy and Stan deal with a new woman photographer on their account, who calls herself Pima and is played by Mimi Rogers. Stan wants her to approve his work, but she seduces him in the darkroom instead, while Peggy also wants her approval and she herself is nearly seduced by the older woman, but stops herself. When Peggy finds out Stan slept with her she reacts in a slightly jealous manner (although I couldn't actually tell if she was jealous of Stan or Pima), and remarks that Stan's nurse girlfriend Elaine (also never seen before this episode) probably wouldn't like it. So, there's probably more focus on Stan tonight than there has ever been, and as much as I've always liked him, again, why the attention on him in these final episodes? Unless they're hinting at a Stan/Peggy final pairing? Could it be possible? Hmm.
Notes:
-We see Betty tonight for all of about three minutes, as Don drops the boys off at the Francis home and she mentions she's now pursuing a master's degree in psychology. She seems uncharacteristically happy about it too, but I'm sure that will change before season's end. She's also wearing a very groovy, Mrs. Brady/Partridge style long and flow-y dress that reminds me this particular era is absolutely wack when it comes to fashion.
-Pete's also in this episode just long enough to be forced to wear an embarrassing golf outfit and commiserate with Don about the annoyance of divorce where the wife blames you for everything (although in all of Don, Roger and Pete's cases, he's right of course).
-No Joan, no Ken, and still no Sally tonight. I'd prefer any of them show up in place of Diana the sad waitress and Megan's bitchy French-speaking sister. Seriously, why the waste of screentime on people no one cares about? This is it people, the final stretch and we're still introducing new characters? For what purpose except to upend expectations, but frankly, this was in a bad way. Not my favorite episode.
