This will more or less be a Breaking Bad blog in the summer and a Boardwalk Empire blog in the fall.
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Well, this was obviously an odd one, and I expect that it’ll be quite polarizing. Overall, I think that I mostly liked it. I tend to really get into bizarre, surreal stuff, and most of it worked for me.
With that said, though, I’m a little tired of Don’s flashbacks. I guess we finally saw some more specific ‘evidence’ of why Don is the way that he is (with relationships, women, sex, etc.), but I also sort of feel like we basically figured that out for ourselves. Ah, I don’t know - I just don’t find Don as interesting as I used to, so I’d rather see more of the other characters and less of the same stuff with him. I admit that I’m biased!
Ken was super cute in this episode. His tap dancing was adorable. I also enjoyed Ginsberg being his odd little self, one of the only sober people around. Betty was only around for a couple of quick scenes, but she brought the sass. I missed Joan! I even missed that little weasel Pete Campbell and the mysterious Bob.
I sort of like the idea of Peggy/Stan, but I also just really like their friendship. Maybe I mostly just want Peggy and Abe to break up. I don’t think that it’s working. I feel like they want vastly different things in life and Peggy is far more compromising than he is.
I keep having this small fear that the show will try to do a Peggy/Don sort of thing or that they want to have some sort of weirdness with a Don/Peggy/Ted triangle and I’m just not really into that, personally.
I liked Sally at the end. It’s like she’s getting old enough to see through her dad and realize how absent he is. I mean, when the kids were younger, it was obvious that they idolized Don. He’d come home and ‘save the day’ and all would be well, but now Sally can start to see what he’s really like and she’s just over it.
Anyway, all in all, I think I mostly enjoyed this episode. It worked better for me than the surreal episode last season (with Don and his fever dreams). I keep wondering how this season will ultimately end.
This episode almost felt like a bit of a letdown considering how good the last two weeks were. It wasn’t bad or anything, but it was a bit, I don’t know, anticlimactic. Still, there was some good stuff in it, of course.
I loved the brief Peggy/Joan moment. I always love their interactions. I like that the writers have refrained from making them total BFFs. Their interactions are a lot more interesting than just gal pals around the office. They’ve always come from such different perspectives, but they also have had a handful of really endearing moments as well.
Don was disgusting tonight. He’s had flaws since day one and has been unlikable in the past, but it’s like almost unbearable now and I find it hard to imagine how anyone could still be on his ‘side’ for the lack of a better word. I liked that Sylvia was the one to walk away from Don. At least that’s something a bit different.
Suddenly I’m starting to really really like Ted. For the longest time I just really didn’t care about him (though I always dug the turtlenecks), but now I really like him.
I’m disappointed that we haven’t seen Betty in a while. I really hope that we’ll get to see her again soon. I know that it’s harder to tie her in to the main storylines now that she’s with Henry and off on her own, but it’d be nice to see her a little more often.
I’m still wondering what Bob’s deal is. He was cute with Joan. I wonder if it was genuine.
All in all, it was a fine episode - it just wasn’t quite as spectacular as the last couple.
Tonight I went to The Great Gatsby. I’d heard that it had been getting some mixed reviews, but in the end, I actually really enjoyed it a lot.
I haven’t read the book since I was in high school (though now I want to read it again) so I can’t exactly tell what was changed or omitted or whatever, but I really liked it. It’s very stylized, it’s very flashy, it’s very beautiful. I’ve read so many complaints about the soundtrack, but I thought that it was fine and kind of cool. Carey Mulligan was lovely - I really like her. Oh and then there’s Leo…one of my faves ever since I was like seven years old. :’)
All in all, I really enjoyed myself. I have hardly watched any movies lately and now I think I will start watching some more. I miss it!
I’d kind of been wondering if they were going to do a merger between the two companies, so I wasn’t super surprised that it turned out this way. On the one hand, it seems a little convenient (as a way to bring Peggy back in to the main circle) and predictable, but on the other hand, I guess it could open up some pretty interesting dynamics (particularly Ted/Peggy/Don). I just hope that Peggy will be able to maintain a sort of leadership position. I really feel for her - she’d left for a fresh start and now she’s been forced back into pretty much her old spot.
Pete was hilarious in tonight’s episode. I can’t get over him falling down the stairs.
Joan was amazing. Everything she’s done this season has been amazing, but I feel like she only gets little snippets in the episodes. I want more Betty too.
It was another solid episode. It’ll be interesting to see how things go next week.
I started watching it from the beginning about a month or so ago. It took me a little while to get through the first two seasons, but then tonight I watched all of the season three episodes (thus far). This season has just really grabbed me for some reason. I look forward to the rest of the episodes!
I haven’t read too many reviews/reactions to this episode yet, but the few I’ve read have been pretty mixed. I’ve even read a few articles saying that this is the “worst Mad Men episode to date.” Now I feel weird because I really enjoyed it!
I loved the scenes with Ginsberg on the date. He was hilarious, and I loved his anxiety-fueled ramblings.
I loved the scene when Pete yelled at Harry.
I’m curious to see more of what Peggy’s feeling. She had some kind of odd facial expressions when she was in her apartment with Abe, and I can’t quite figure them all out. I can’t imagine their relationship lasting much longer.
The look on Betty’s face when Henry was saying “I want them to see you, to really see you” was so sad and I could really relate to it. Her line to Don about how he’d crawl on his knees to Canada for his girlfriend but can’t even pick up his kids was great, though!
Don pouring his heart out to Megan was one of the first times in a while I’ve cared about Don. I don’t have kids and I don’t want to have kids, and part of it is because I have this fear that I’d be like Don (without the staggeringly late epiphany).
All in all, I really enjoyed this episode and it’s probably my favorite of the season so far.
Tonight I went to an opera for the first time. It was The Magic Flute and it was put on by my college. It was a lot of fun!
In the fall I want to go to the opera that my city’s professional company will be doing (The Barber of Seville).
I’d always been somewhat interested in opera but just had never had the chance to see one. I’m glad that I went tonight! I had a great time.
I was so glad to finally see more of Joan. It was about time that we got a little update on her life and got to see her again.
I also really liked that Dawn was given a chance to have her own storyline. That was a pleasant surprise.
Don was awful in this episode. I’ve been tired of him and his antics for a while, and I’ve always thought that he had a streak of asshole in him, but he wore it in full force tonight. I couldn’t stand his hypocrisy with Megan. He treated her badly about having to do a brief love scene for her job (of which she had the decency to be totally honest about) but yet he goes off to cheat on her every five seconds.
Harry was awful too. His comments to Joan were disgusting. She deserved recognition and being made partner long before last season. I also just was a bit baffled by how whiny Harry was. Does he just think that everyone who tries a little hard in the company ought to be a partner? He wouldn’t even have the job that he has without the luck and Joan’s help in the past.
I took one brief scan through IMDb’s Mad Men board and was just disgusted by the nasty comments about Joan and the various “GO HARRY U DA MAN” sentiments. To be fair, I didn’t expect it to be any better. It never is.
I really liked this episode. It went by so quickly, especially after we wer spoiled by the extra-long premiere!
Pete was so incredibly sleazy and gross (as usual, I guess?). I’ve never really cared that much about Trudy, but she was on fire last night. I definitely felt for her. I’ve read some people’s comments saying that they don’t really feel for her since she was willing to look the other way on his cheating if he did it in the city, but I still feel for her. I think she knew what she was marrying and I think that she’s mostly just embarrassed. She was willing to look the other way because she wanted her life to be a certain way, but Pete couldn’t even give her that. He’s very disrespectful toward her and seems to feel little shame or regret.
I loved Peggy and I’m excited to see where she goes in her new job. Will ketchup be a success? Hopefully it won’t spoil her adorably fun phone conversations with Stan! I love those. While I’m uncertain about how I feel about her new boss, I do like the relationship they seem to have. The way Don treated her last season was pretty awful most of the time, so it’s refreshing to see a boss treat her better. He seems to look at her as an equal and he seems to admire her talent.
While I don’t condone Don’s cheating and while I worry about it becoming repetitive, I have to say that I’m rather fond of Sylvia. A lot of it is probably due to Linda Cardellini - she’s fantastic. I wonder how long that’ll last. I loved her scene with Megan. Even though it was Megan’s scene, I still felt like Sylvia/Linda stole the show.
I’m glad that we got to see Joan a little more, but I hope that she’ll get a more substantial part next week. I miss her!
All in all, it was a good episode. I’m already excited for next week. :)
