'Mad Men': 'Thank you for bringing my keys'

Leave it to “Mad Men” to air a Christmas episode in August (alas, one day late for “Christmas in July” puns), and to make it the exact opposite of heartwarming.  Instead of easy platitudes about the joys of giving, we got an episode about the dangers of giving too much.  Lest things get too heavy, there were some light moments: There was Joan, gamely leading a conga line through the office; Pete Campbell wearing a double-breasted maroon blazer straight out of Carnaby Street; and Harry Crane sitting on Roger Sterling’s lap.  Still, for Don at least, this was a Christmas to forget. As he put it, "I don't hate Christmas.  I hate this Christmas."

A clear theme emerging this season is the dysfunction of the men in power at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, in contrast with the agency’s extremely capable and consummately professional women.  Of course, as contemporary viewers, we’ve known all along that Don, Roger and Pete are cads and that Peggy and Joan are the real go-getters, and we've watched Don and Roger’s carousing from the disdainful perspective of our politically correct and well-behaved era.  The difference this season is that the people within “Mad Men” are starting to see things the way we do.  In tonight’s episode, Roger returns from a client lunch, wasted, and Peggy expresses weary disbelief.  “I can’t believe that’s his job.” She’s been at the agency for five years, but the absurdity has yet to wear off; I suspect that it’s only gotten worse.  

After his drunken lunch, Joan reminds Roger to wipe a milky glob of Maalox from his lip.   Especially in the midst of the Christmas party crisis, which Joan handles with her aplomb (of course), Roger’s come-ons are tiresome and inappropriate.  What once seemed like a charming flaw now seems like a waste of time, a distraction.  Don’t get me wrong — I’d love to see these two back together. But it’s Joan who is essential to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, even if her name’s not in the lobby (yet).  Roger treats Joan like a show pony, telling her to wear a certain dress to the party in order to charm Lee, but it’s Roger who has to put on a red Santa suit and perform for the client. Can you say "emasculation"?

Peggy’s confrontation with Freddy embodies the shifting gender dynamics at the agency.  Sure, Freddy is slightly more evolved than Don or Roger, at least in the sense that he’s no longer wetting his pants at the office.  But in most other ways, Freddy’s outlook is stubbornly antediluvian.  His ideas for the Pond’s campaign are dull, uninspiring; not coincidentally, they’re also sexist.  “If young women started using it, maybe they’d find a husband and they wouldn’t be so angry,” he tells Peggy.  Then again, Peggy’s ideas are not exactly progressive — she recoils at the suggestion that young women might consider older women beautiful — but her attitude isn’t so much ageist as it is a response to the client’s wishes.  Freddy cuts short his meeting with Peggy for an emergency counseling session with a Pond’s executive for whom he is (presumably) acting as a sponsor.  Everywhere, men are messing up, and it’s the women who are holding down the fort.

The male indictment doesn't stop with the usual suspects.  Even Bert Cooper, whose most conspicuous trait is usually his eccentricity, comes off as hopelessly backwards in this episode.  “Civil rights is the beginning of a slippery slope,” he complains to Geoff (John Aylward) the bald guy from the consumer research firm, who couldn’t agree more: "If they pass Medicare, they won’t stop until they ban personal property." Leave it to the career woman to be the voice of reason.  Faye (Cara Buono), stuck between these two boors, makes light of their complaints about government overreach (ones that, no doubt, are meant to sound eerily familiar), telling Don “I can’t leave until Jeff and Bert Cooper figure out how to take food from children.”

Another male to distinguish himself this week was Peggy’s pug-nosed boyfriend, Mark.  His mental bullying couldn’t get Peggy into bed, nor could his reference to an article called “The Swedish Way of Love," which is why I can’t decide what motivated Peggy’s decision to sleep with him.  Nor, for that matter, am I sure why she decided to “revirginize” herself in the first place, though I’m guessing Peggy believed that in order to have a real relationship — and not a fling with Duck or Pete — she had to play by “the rules.”  Freddy tells Peggy that she shouldn’t sleep with Mark if she wants to marry him, so how are we to interpret the fact that she does sleep with him?  Does  Peggy decide that she doesn’t want to marry Mark?  Or, more likely, is she just rejecting Freddy’s old-fashioned attitude about sex and wanting to make Mark happy?   I tend to think it was the latter: If Freddy can be so wrong about cold cream, he’s got to be wrong about sex, too, right?  Either way, Peggy didn’t look sure that she’d made the right decision. 

Even the non-adult males were behaving badly this week.  Freddy Rumsen wasn’t the only blast from the past tonight.  Super-creep Glen Bishop — last seen at the end of Season 2, lurking in the Drapers’ backyard — also made his triumphant return.   Glen’s mother, once the Hester Prynne of Ossining, is now remarried, just like Betty, so Glen is now the self-appointed broken-home expert who’s there to show Sally the ropes.  “I saw your new dad.  My mom said that would happen.  After they’re married for a while, they’ll probably have another baby,” he tells Sally, then adds “I’ll call you.”  Well, well.  For a moment there, I thought Sally might have her first date coming up soon, but let’s not forget — Glen always had a thing for Betty, not her daughter.  Anyway, true to his word, Glen — a.k.a. “Stanley” — calls Sally to talk some more about the divorce.  “Every time I go around the corner, I keep thinking I’ll see my dad,” she says.  Glen tells her not to worry, they'll decide to move one day soon.  Later in the episode, Glen raids the Francis/Draper household, dumping the contents of the fridge all over the place — everywhere but Sally’s room, that is.  Sally wants them to move from their house, and Glen, it seems, is trying to hasten their decision as some kind of elaborate Christmas wish-fulfillment. The whole thing was a little contrived for my taste, but I was still happy to discover that Glen is still a weirdo.  

But when it came to retrograde behavior, Don Draper had everyone beat this week.  With Christmas on the horizon, we have to assume that Don is missing his family, and Sally’s heart-wrenching letter, complete with adorably misspelled words, certainly couldn’t have helped.  Don deals with the pain the only two ways he knows how: drinking, and then hitting on everything that moves.  Don’s always been a drinker, but until this season, we never really saw him get out of control.  His tumbler of rye used to be a sign of virility, now it’s a sign of weakness. At this point, it’s almost boring to talk about what a remarkable actor Jon Hamm is, but his “angry drunk” Don is truly frightening — even his face seems to change shape.  It will be interesting to see how Don’s increasingly problematic drinking will affect his stature at the office.  Don used to hold a powerful mystique, and now he’s just “pathetic,” as the new guy Joey calls him.

Of course, it doesn’t get much more pathetic than drunkenly groping your young, kind and extremely competent secretary, but that didn’t stop our Don from breaking all kinds of sleazy records. Don first strikes out with Phoebe, the elfin nurse down the hall; then he tries his luck with Faye, the consumer research specialist.  So maybe I should have seen it all coming — throughout the episode, Allison was noticeably attuned to Don’s every need, from ice to Christmas presents — but I didn’t. I just assumed that Don had finally ended his “Murphy Brown”-like quest for the perfect secretary, and would go home alone. When he finally put the moves on Allison, I was so shocked that I responded physically — covering my eyes and flailing my hands in the air, as if trying to shake the image from my mind.  There may even have been some screaming.  

My thrashing-about was justified, though, because another huge boundary was crossed in this episode: For the first time ever, Don sleeps with a co-worker.  Sure, he’s had affairs with clients and been caught in flagrante delicto by colleagues, but until now he always managed to (pardon the expression) keep his pen out of the office ink.  The morning after, Don is well aware of the enormity of his transgression, but in a trademark Don Draper move, we see him repress the memory right before our eyes.  “I really overdid it,” he says, pausing, while Allison looks at him expectantly.  There’s a fleeting instant when you think he might address the elephant in the room, but just like that, it’s gone.  “I just wanted to say, thank you for bringing my keys."  Really?  "Thank you for bringing my keys."  Have six crueler words ever been spoken on television?  It's doubtful.  Don hands Allison a Christmas card, with her $100 bonus inside.  Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $700 Don paid Allison for “bringing his keys.”   When Peggy was in the hospital, Don told her “This never happened. You'll be amazed how much this never happened.”  We just got to see Don’s willful amnesia in action, and it was not a pretty sight. 

We've got 11 more episodes to go.  Just when will Don hit rock bottom?

What did you think?  What do you make of the changing gender dynamics at SCDP? Why did Peggy sleep with Mark?  How much worse can Don (or Roger, or Freddy, or Glen) get?

— Meredith Blake

twitter.com/MeredithBlake

Related:

'Mad Men': Top ten unsolved mysteries

'Mad Men': Who is Don Draper?

'The shocking moments' of Sally Draper

Television review: 'Mad Men'

'Mad Men': Sterling Cooper Draper and Pryce

Photos:

Top: Don (Jon Hamm) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) are filled with Christmas cynicism.

Middle: All Sally (Kiernan Shipka) wants for Christmas is to open presents with Dad.

Bottom: The jury is still out on Pete Campbell's (Vincent Kartheiser) double-breasted maroon blazer.

Credit: Mike Yarish / AMC

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Comments

[djr]

This writer is a hater...Don hasn't realized it yet, but he has a wonderful life. He is finally rid of his boring wife, has a hot nurse living next door, has money, hooking up with his naughty secretary, has a maid and has a short commute to work (secretary wasn't more than an hour round trip from Madison ave.). If only he could see his kids a few more days a week and this would be perfect, perfect, perfect....

[Frank]

Peggy wants to be "Don"...........i.e. sleeping around and a power in advertising. Remember, she followed him to the new firms and owes her position to him in a sense.

I suspect Allison may be pregnant (whether she resigns or not) and that eventually Freddy falls off the wagon and does more than just embarass himself.

The new "psychological profiling angle" has so many ways to go I can't wait for the writers to run with it.

At first viewing I was disappointed in the episode, but after further pondering all the plotline possibilities I have to conclude it was another brilliant piece of writing
and acting.

[Jack Scribe]

I think the Christmas/Allison moment is close to the bottom for Don. He's got to rebound, if only for the success of the fledgling agency and the show. The women will save the day, regardless of Sterling and crew.

[Paul]

I found this show depressing - the usual wit and humor were lacking. The men are self destructing and pathetic.

[Stindy33]

Don's apartment is just plain depressing. Dark browns. No light.

Great art direction, this show.

[James]

Was the secretary typing a letter of resignation at the end? Wasn't the card with the Christmas bonus already made out and sealed and in his desk drawer when he entered that morning?

[Mumma2]

I assumed Peggy slept with what's -his-name because she realized she didn't want to end up with him permanently. I am curious why they cast someone so youthful looking in that part? He seems so "beneath" her, and he is a stark contrast with the men at the agency, except for possibly Pete. I love the Sally/Glen storyline. Those young actors are compelling in my opinion, and she is taking on the eerie qualities of Betty.

[KarenJ]

Glen give me the creeps. Always has. And Betty's response to him was creepy also. I can see Sally turning to Glen for affection in the absence of her father... how sad.

I don't find Don's apartment 'depressing'. Just the usual male kind of decor. Yes, the colors are dark, but it's a great contrast to the chrome and white office. Aren't those antiques in the bedroom?

I also was saddened when Don hooked-up with the secretary. That was one of the things I always admired about him - staying away from he hens in the work coupe. His drinking and loneliness has sunk him to new lows!

I also felt horrible for Roger stooping to the Lucky Strike man's every whim. How humiliating would that be? They need Lucky Strike THAT badly. 61% is a lot! I'm worried that they won't find more income soon. (so - was 'Tobacco Road' a foreshadowing of this show?)

Peggy's boyfriend? Ugh... the whole thing's kind of 'easy' for her isn't it? She was a virgin - and he's a pushover. It won't last. I doubt that he's compelling enough.

[Natalya]

Viewers are so fickle.
Matt Weiner is a writer - and a genius one at that. He's created a slow, simmering, delicious story arc since 2007 that has not even reached its peak yet. He's not trying to write about bright, sunshiny apartments or hilarious, witty co-worker banter for another three years. He's writing about the systematic breakdown of a social ideal that our grandparents tried to hold onto during one of the most tumultuous decades in socio-political history.
Does anyone who watches this show even know a damn thing about the 60s? I'm from the generation of Sally's would-be daughter, and even I get the show's direction.
Don is the single most iconic figure from that generation - he resists change just as much as Betty does.
Doesn't anyone spend any time with their grandparents these days? My grandmother can't even watch the show because she'd need a "nerve pill" to get through it.
I wish people would watch and learn something from Mad Men, rather than projecting their 21st century standards onto the show.
Isn't Peggy teaching you anything?

[Noelle]

I thought that Peggy's boyfriend assumed she was a virgin, and she didn't deny it. I hope that she slept with him because she knew it wasn't going to last. As stated, she deserves better. (However, perhaps she also recalled Freddy's ridiculous comment about how physically uncomfortable it can be to lead a man on. "It's no joke.")

I think they are doing well at subtly showing changes in gender dynamics. Peggy doesn't feel inhibited about rolling her eyes at Freddy's ideas about marriage. On another note, Glen being a creepy "knight" for Sally was quite resonant.

My reactions to Don sleeping with his secretary and then giving her the bonus were similar to the author's. Eek. And the new guy calling Don pathetic... surprising and sad.

[Noelle]

Sorry for posting twice, but I forgot to mention some of the most uncomfortable and amusing moments: Lee forcing Roger into a Santa suit and taking photos of the men sitting in his lap. Don's expression was hilarious.

[Diana]

I'm pretty sure Peggy is engaged to Mark and that's why they slept together. Did anyone else notice the ring on her finger when they zoomed in on her sad expression while lying with Mark in bed?

[Robert]

You refer to men repeatedly as males
and never once refer to women as females.
This is symptomatic of your prejudicial view.
Through your prism Mad Men are not understood.

[Fulana]

Brilliant review! Better written & more insightful than Salon, WSJ, HuffPo et all. Will look for more of your writing on other topics. Posted this in an impromptu discussion on FB. sparked by some scientific research, when on friend gave a MM example. Thanks! A pleasure to read!

[cherie]

Don has a wonderful life? He is the weakest link in the agency who also happens to have the most power. Let's see the company fall down around him.
Glean is meant to be creepy but Sally is the scariest little kid in the world. Why do I have a feeling she is going to be an axe murderer? I do hope to see more of her and her mother this season; although I don't see the point of new dad. He should have left her after the divorce as a person "not quite good enough for him" (the old double standard) and she spends a couple of years regretting her choices only to find empowerment the being single brings. The beginning of womens lib right before our eyes.