Grid Effect

I think we’re going to keep this short due to time constraints. Really we’re just trying to post something to say we posted something. It’s one less thing for us to do for when we get back.

So, who didn’t love this episode? And is it me, or is season two topping the groundbreaking season one? Good golly this is a helluva series. The only downside to this episode is that we didn’t get much Pete Campbell. I mean, he’s a scumbag but Vincent Kartheiser enhances the quality of every scene he is in. I can’t say this enough.

Man, if only Jimmy had confronted Betty and Don together, its like he just wanted to add to the withheld tension that exists between the two of them. As peaceful as they’ve seemed over the past few episodes (ever since the fight over how to punish Bobby, actually), that will all come to a hilt. Maybe it won’t be spoken, but the resentment from both ends will be palpable. Someone should tell Don if he is really intent on keeping that car spotless, he should keep his indiscretions more discrete. Or drop them altogether, whichever seems more convenient.

The Sal-Ken-Kitty storyline is as funny as it was devastating, and Sal as the tragically closeted gay man of the early 60’s is probably one of the more painful things to watch in this series. There was so much discrimination and societal conformity back then, but Sal isn’t even allowed to conform to his group of choice without severe persecution that would result in his life falling apart. Kitty, probably the sweetest character on this show seemed to effect Sal as much as the audience. And Sal is all too certain of the effect his…proclivity are having on his wife.

One of the things that is great about this series is the levity they occasionally provide in extremely tense situations. And in this case it was Ken’s casual approach to everything circling around him. He knew there was something behind the curtains taking place, but he wasn’t sure of what it was and chose to not give a shit. It’s like this mixture of indifference and cluelessness. The best example of this is when he confided to Sal the following day after dinner at Sal’s house that what he had with Kitty is what he wanted for his life, and Sal took off in a secretly devastated hurry. Ken knew there was something abnormal about it, couldn’t fathom what it would have been, shrugged it off and went about whatever he was doing with his day. He is probably my favorite side character on the series. Blissful ignorance is probably the best way to float threw an office as fucked up as that one.

At least no matzah balls were left hanging.

Of course, his one obsession outside of work and writing seems to be Jane, the ice-queen secretary that we can’t determine if we like or not. But regardless of our opinion she definitely brings a new element to the show: a rival for Joan. Or rather, someone Roger can use to piss Joan off:: a youthful version of herself. For that reason and that reason alone, Jane is competition for Joan’s reign as queen bee, even if she isn’t as cunning or intelligent. We love the prospect of this and we actually think it will (unfortunately) turn out badly for Joan, just to keep with the theme of the series. It will either result in her hurting herself, getting fired or quitting and doing the Betty Draper routine.

Other notes:

-Speaking of that car, could it make anymore sense that Don was a used car salesman? Is anyone else curious as to who that woman was and what Don had to keep her quite about not actually being who he now is? Did that last question make any sense? Has there ever been a better cliffhanger for future episodes that took place in the first five minutes of one? The debate rages on.

-The break in to Bert’s office was indicative of a lot of things, especially of Jane’s approach to her job vs. all the executives. In other words, she knows she can get away with just about anything via looks, charm and manipulation. Whether anyone likes it or not, she was proven right in her scene with Roger, and we suspect he knew what she was doing.

-Duck seems to really struggle being in the presence of alcohol, which is unavoidable in the halls of SC. Being looked over for the meeting with Roger and Bert isn’t going to help his cause.

-The picnic scene is going down in history as one of the most ham-fisted on this series. We follow it with the littering and everything else. The most memorable part of it was Bobby running up to his parents ecstatic that he managed to urinate behind a tree, and they barely act like they would have left him there if he didn’t hurry back.

-We know Harry was always low man on the todem poll, but when did he turn into a babbling moron?

This wasn’t exactly short and there is still plenty we didn’t dissect (especially subtext), but this episode kept everything rolling smoothly and presents some great prospects for the last four or five episodes of season two.

Since we won’t be able to recap the following episode at the same time as the last one, we’ll sort of do a two in one deal with Sunday’s episode and the one to follow it. This is the last post until at least Monday, if not later.