Yeah, we’re there. The long and lonely Mad Men offseason has begun already, with many months of quiet contemplation, waiting, longing, and lamentation ahead (I respite in a dark and drafty 12th Century mansion outside of Brussels, for instance).
So it helps just a little to head back and remember some of the things that made the recent season special. And I think we can all agree that four seasons in now, Mad Men is operating on unique levels, challenging its audience as it took the story and characters to places we could scarcely have imagined.
But let’s start on some of the lighter notes, or lines, as it were. One of the reasons why Mad Men is great is that it generates a goodly amount of hilarity (or at least levity) out of often tense and dramatic situations.
The Comedy
Some of the comedy comes out of the casual sexism and boys-will-be-boys-ism (is that an “ism”? Well, I just made it an ism) that still flew in the 1960s, though it’s fascinating to note that in the 1965 that Season Four takes place in things have shifted a bit from the 1960 of Season One. Still, in private conversations there are very few restrictions, such as:
One of the funniest and most sexist lines of the season came in “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword,” where we saw Honda executives from Japan visit Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. We learn via subtitles that one of the Japanese execs brazenly muses in front of much of the office with regard to the buxom Joan (Christina Hendricks):
I likely have more sympathy than I should for Roger Sterling (John Slattery) because he always seems to issue the funniest line of each episode. What’s great is that he can go subtle or big with his comedy. For example, he can target the dense and dumb without their realizing it, such as this line, issued during a meeting with someone taking liberties with the office furniture:
Lucky Strike and cigarette advertising played a large role this season, which allowed Roger to fire up (sorry, pun intended) some great lines:
And, in a bit where we only hear one half of a phone call, Roger says to Lee Garner, Jr.:
At the end of the season, after Don pulls off his “why I’m quitting tobacco” move in The New York Times, the American Cancer Society ironically shows interest in working with SCDP. Therefore, after Don meets with the non-profit board, Roger says the following with a glimmer in his eyes:
Then you get your observational humor:
And one more from Roger, to show his range. He’s even funny when he doesn’t mean to be, such as here, dictating his banal memoirs (which will be spun into the perhaps self-published Sterling’s Gold):
Okay, here’s another bonus (we can’t get enough Roger!):
Let’s stay with the food funny for a moment. Well, and booze, when the normally buttoned down Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) gets tanked with Don, and then decides to brandish a large piece of steak in a restaurant, yelling:
And Freddie Rumsen (Joel Murrary) made a (sober) return this season. He’s always great, such as here when he’s observing a focus group, but is more focused on other things on the far side of the false mirror:
Let’s close out the comedy with several random lines that struck me during the season:
The Drama
Now, let’s cut to the dramatic stuff, which is of course at the heart of what has us addicted to Mad Men and keeps us coming back for more. A clear theme of this season was identity, both with Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and others central to the story. It begins with the first episode of the season, “Public Relations”:
And then on the other end of the season:
And throw this one in for good measure:
Don becomes revealed to those around him more than ever before, but it’s nonetheless shocking when freelance copywriter Joey casually tells others in the office the following, with regard to Don’s increasingly drunken and sloppy behavior:
Drinking certainly comes into focus throughout the season (with much less glamour than in the past), with Don having to admit some uncomfortable truths.
Drugs also get a brief spotlight in the form of Midge’s (Rosemarie DeWitt) brief and depressing return:
Don was also more open than he ever has been before about who he is, his past, and his relationships. He’s most revealing with Faye Miller (Cara Buono), though we know where Don chose to go by season’s end. Still, here he is to Faye on his failed marriage with Betty (January Jones):
Don goes from realist to dreamy dreamer with new fiancé Megan (Jessica Pare):
And I love juxtaposing that line against what he tells her a short time later:
Anna Draper (Melinda Page Hamilton), the woman who became the idealized (and perhaps ideal) mother figure in his life, passes away. Before she does she tells Don:
And go back a little further too for some insight:
Don of course has quite an impact on the lives around him…
Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) boils down how most of those in Don’s orbit feel about him:
And yet here’s Don at his most vulnerable:
The Office
The sadly departed Miss Blankenship (Randee Heller) pins down the ad business perfectly:
And Roger (selfishly) reflects on his life and career after Miss Blankenship dies at her post:
More Roger, on hearing from Lee that Lucky Strike is pulling the plug on SCDP:
Later, Don allows himself a bit of self-righteous sulking:
Peggy zings Don but good after the “why I’m quitting tobacco” stun0074:
Sexist Attitudes
While we saw some comedy stemming from sexist attitudes, it certainly wasn’t all played for laughs:
With that kind of thing going on, it’s perhaps understandable that Peggy’s new friend Joyce tells Peggy:
Civil Rights
You have to love Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), who manages to be obnoxious and perceptive at the same time:
Peggy points out the tension between the Civil Rights movement and women’s’ rights:
And Peggy’s love interest Abe (Charlie Hofheimer) represents the gathering counterculture movement:
Vietnam
Vietnam is certainly on everyone’s radar by 1965, but it only affects the characters peripherally this season. That is, except for Joan and Greg, the latter of whom gets shipped off to be a surgeon in a place where they will be needed in droves.
Don v. Betty
Divorce wasn’t the end of the Don/Betty relationship of course, and we even see an odd détente come about by the end of the season. In between though it got pretty ugly.
And one final bit from Glen Bishop (Marten Holden Weiner), who oddly seems to know Betty better than anyone:
Don v. Roger
Don and Roger are mostly simpatico this season after the major rift of Season Three. Roger can’t help himself though after he gallantly congratulates Don after learning of his engagement… to his much younger secretary:
Roger v. Joan
Major developments on the Roger and Joan front are boiled down beautifully in one line:
