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Mad Men Episode #402 Open Thread — Xmas Partytime!

2010 August 1
tags: ,
by TopIdol

It’s Sunday night, which means it’s time for Mad Men. Celebrate Xmas early this year with the fine employees of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and let’s talk about how much we hate that evil, closeted Lucky Strike asshat, Lee Garner, Jr. as we wonder (sadly) what Sal Romano is doing for the holiday. And let’s see how Betty Draper ruins Xmas for poor little Sally & Bobby, because you know it’s inevitable.

So discuss! Merry Xmas, everyone! (Reminder — don’t throw out today’s Parade magazine. And if you haven’t seen it yet, go find it and savor all the Hamm-y goodness.)

Spread the word. Do it.
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from → Randomness

  • Verbally Dyslexic

    Not related to the episode (or the season, for that matter!), but a friend of mine was thoughtful enough to send me this link of a Jon Hamm interview by Paul Rudd. Am I the last to know that Paul and Jon have been friends for about 20 years? This is important information!

    Oh, link! http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/jon-hamm/

    • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

      It’s the power of Missouri.

  • FreeDavidCook

    I wanted to shake Freddie Rumson with all his ‘madonna-whore’ hinting speeches at Peggy. Then I remembered that people actually did believe idiotic crap like that in the past.

  • Verbally Dyslexic

    Late to the Christmas party because I am entirely dependent on the goodwill of people to upload it as fast as possible on megavideo but I sooo wanted Lee Garner Jr. to get super drunk at the party and then accidentally slip and fall off the building for being an A-grade dick. And I (predictably) screamed my protest when Don started putting the moves on his secretary. He is such a hot mess over the divorce!

    And I don’t know if I’m the only one here who thinks this but that actress playing the doctor has an annoying bobble-head! It bugs me, because Drew Barrymore does the same thing where she keeps shaking her head while saying her lines.

    • JaneRochester

      That’s it. From now on, she’s Dr. Bobblehead. Now I hope she comes back, just so I can call her that.

  • JaneRochester

    There will never be another Rachel Menken, and we are all the worse for it.

    This show is so deep, and I am so old, that I have a hard time remembering everything that has happened in the past. So I was wracking my brain throughout the episode to remember exactly what they had done to Lee Garner Jr. to make him so mad at everyone. As soon as the ep was over, I rushed to my computer to study recaps and learned that nothing happened. He’s just an asshole.

    Joanie looked absofuckinglutely MAHVELOUS in that red dress. Damn. Saffron, you clean up real good, honey.

    Roger & Don with their German accents were priceless. I will need a few days to process the state of Don’s private life, however. Oy to the vey. He doesn’t need Acapulco. He needs a monastery.

    The nurse was ok. Did not like the doctor. I don’t know why no one can ever write a woman who holds her own in a man’s world without turning her into a cranky bitch. Except Joan, of course. And the secretary deserves better, even if she should know Don well enough by now to see that he would never pull a Roger and marry her.

    *sniff* I miss Sal.

    Our early Christmas present: now we know for sure what Joey does for a living.

    • jukejoint

      Did you catch where Joan said her husband is?

      • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

        “Saving lives.”

        In Nam, I assume? For those few months, you know…

        • Dickory Dock

          Would it make the the worst sort of person if I hope he doesn’t make it back alive? Because I do. Joan is far too amazing to be wasted on the likes of him.

          • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

            NO ONE wants Dr. Rapist to make it back from Nam alive! This is the CORRECT feeling.

            Plus, Vietnam is the perfect way to get him out of her life.

      • JaneRochester

        I believe she said, “Off saving lives.”

    • jukejoint

      Oh, and why Lee Garner Jr is mad at them also figures into DeeDee’s question about who Sal is. Sal is their former art director. He’s gay, except nobody was supposed to know that, not even his wife. (She figured it out when he was acting out a Patio soft drink commercial, when he sang and danced around in the Ann Margret role from Bye, Bye Birdie, and he was a little mincy, and his wife was all Dawn Comes to Marblehead. But I digress.) While working on an ad, Lee Garner Jr. cornered Sal and got all handsy, and Sal pushed him away, so Sal got fired, because Lee Garner Jr. is important and Sal was not and Jr. wanted him fired, so he was fired. I think that makes Jr. kind of hate them all because he may or may not know that they know what happened with Sal. And also because he is a major dick and clearly likes being a dick and making people jump when he tells them to.

      To recap, Lee Garner Jr. = Major Dickus Assholus. Sal = Sexual Harrassment Victim Who Dares Not Speak His Name.

    • Verbally Dyslexic

      *sniff* I miss Sal.

      I’m still hoping that he’d make an appearance somewhere down the season. I mean, if they can show us Freddy Rumsen post Sterling-Cooper, why not Sal? Why not Sal?

    • Dickory Dock

      I weep bitter tears over Rachel Menken. Mr. Draper, you are a jackass for letting her go. Enough with the WASPy blondes with pinched faces and empty heads already.

      • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

        She dumped him!

        I still believe Rachel and Don can be together. I’m not gonna write fan fic or anything about it, but that’s just the way it should be.

        • Dickory Dock

          I know (she had him sussed but good)! But he should have … done something; fought for her, realized she was his equal and could make him happy. Or something. Although this would have maybe not been good for the show, but still. Oh, poor boneheaded Don.

          I’m with you on them being together. It can happen. I believe!

  • cc

    This episode is kinda depressing. The only brightside is watching Joan leads the conga line. As for Glen, um, I don’t mind NOT seeing him again. And I prefer a drunk Freddy.

    • maturin

      KINDA depressing? It managed to make sex, Christmas, parenthood, drinking, and good deeds look deeply miserable.

      That’s some hardworking downers, there!

      • JaneRochester

        LOL! And very true.

      • cc

        :lol:

  • On The Edge

    I’m so happy…I just found out that my favorite “Lost” blogger, Jeff Jensen, will be writing regular columns about “Mad Men” for EW!

    Just watching the encore now…came in late from out of town and missed the first part.

  • jukejoint

    This episode seemed to be about the return of people I don’t like, while the only one I really want to come back — Sal — is nowhere to be seen. So we get Glenn the creepy boy! Freddy Rumsen the sad and pathetic! Lee Garner Jr. the shitheel! I really could’ve done without any of them on my screen again.

    I didn’t hear where Joan said her husband was, but she certainly does know how to lead a conga line.

    Didn’t like the perky little nurse, don’t like the secretary, but kinda liked the blonde guru lady, if we’re keeping track of the myriad potential love interests for Don Draper. The secretary schtupping was awkward as hell and I don’t think the you-are-now-officially-a-ho angle was lost on anybody. Don is really the ho, not the poor secretary.

    This was a very disquieting episode. Seeing very little Betty is good, but the secretary thing and Glenn the psychopath and Lee Garner Jr. was a lot of loathsome to handle. Oh, and I am not all that happy that Peggy’s boyfriend looks like David Archuleta. I guess that’s supposed to be the contrast — that she is more mature at work and competent and confident, but in her personal life, she’s settling for a twelve-year-old. And maybe this whole episode was about not getting what you want and not wanting what you can get. Complete with cigarettes and sex-bonuses for Christmas. So… Hey, Merry Christmas, everybody!

    • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

      I found it was also interesting how Roger had to play the role of Garner’s bitch. Because no matter how cool Roger is, he’s still an accounts man and has to bend over backwards (or even dress as Santa) to please the client. Lee Garner, Jr. is a first-rate prick and I really hope Sal makes his return at some point. Perhaps not this season, but we still definitely have two more. I trust we haven’t seen the last of Mr. Romano.

      Glenn the creepy boy is actually Weiner’s son in real life! But I actually loved having him back because of his bizarre/creepy relationship with Betty during Season 1. I liked seeing Freddy again, too, and I think his return (as well as the standard of feminine hygiene. HA) is just showing how the world is changing very rapidly. Freddy is a sympathetic sort and I’ve always had a soft spot for him.

      I actually hated the blond Dr. She reminded me of Kristin Wiig. And she’s no Rachel Menken, dammit!

      Poor Don. Poor, poor Don. As far the secretary…what did she think was gonna happen?

      • DeeDee

        Ok I only watched the marathons of the first 3 seasons. Who is this Sal Romano you guys keep talking about? I admit I felt sorry for Don’s secretary even though she should have known better. However, how many women could resist Don?

        • JaneRochester

          Sal is/was a deeeeeeeply closeted gay man who worked as an Art Director at Sterling Cooper. He was played to absolute perfection by Bryan Batt. I can’t recommend him highly enough. You should definitely seek out the eps he was in. He’ll break your heart.

          • jukejoint

            Considering his, er, relationship with the room service waiter, I would maybe not say he was that deeply closeted. At least he wasn’t denying what he wanted. Or becoming an anti-gay rights Baptist preacher or anything.

          • JaneRochester

            That’s true. I guess was thinking of him at the beginning of the series. For the first few episodes he appeared in, I wasn’t sure *he* even knew he was gay.

          • DeeDee

            Oh ok thanks. I remember him from the episode with the hotel room service guy. Didn’t know his name or what happened to him.

      • jukejoint

        In the scene with the secretary, I was actually thinking of the SNL parody on how to get women like Don Draper. Cause he sure doesn’t have to do a lot to have them falling at his feet, just like in that parody piece. I agree that she should’ve considered what would happen if she fell into sex with him, but still… All the power in that relationship is on his side. Just like with Roger and the odious Jr.

        I wasn’t exactly sure what the whole Glenn/Betty thing was about in Season 1. Just that she was so desperate to be admired or adored that she would hang out with a strange 10-year-old just to make it happen? I had no idea that was Weiner’s real kid! That’s kinda creepy, too, that he would write that role for his own son. Not sure what I think about that! What do you think about Sally in that plotline? Is she creepy, too? She seems more centered than icky Glenn, anyway, but she wasn’t exactly outing him, either. Glenn having access to sharp objects worries me. I wonder if he’s had any pets and what happened to them. I’d like to find out before we let Sally anywhere near him.

        I don’t mind Freddy, either. I like the Murray family in general. They’re always fun to see. But I’d still rather see Sal, and the return of all three of them — Glenn, Jr and Freddy — makes me want Sal back that much more.

        And, yeah, Roger really did have to be Lee’s butt boy there, didn’t he? It made me wonder what he would do if Lee Garner Jr. demanded sex from him like he did from Sal.

        I’m still trying to figure out how I would sum up this episode or what the throughline is. It’s like, everybody is being pushed up against walls and we’re seeing just how far they can be pushed before they get crushed.

        • http://topidolblog.com TopIdol

          I like the secretary. Can’t say I would not have done the same thing.

          Did anyone else feel all warm & fuzzy when Don called Peggy sweetheart? Because I did.

          • JaneRochester

            Yes, I felt *very* warm and fuzzy. I love their relationship.

          • DeeDee

            Yup! Sometimes I think Peggy is the only person Don is actually real with. She seems to be the only one that stands up to him and yet she is quite clear that she also adores him.

          • FreeDavidCook

            I went all ‘aaaawh!’ when Don said that. Almost paternal there for a moment.

          • Dickory Dock

            I will admit to the warm fuzzies. Watching Don and Peggy interact is one of the great things about this show.

        • parsenip

          Oh, and I am not all that happy that Peggy’s boyfriend looks like David Archuleta.

          Peggy’s boyfriend did look disconcertingly pre-pubescent. He reminded me of the Tom Hulce character on Animal House. I love Peggy’s honesty and hope we get a clue as to the thought process behind sleeping with Lawrence “Pinto” Kroger.

          • jukejoint

            Better Pinto than Archie.

      • deez

        I thought Roger was on the verge of telling Lee Jr. to fuck off. The first big account they land, I think it will happen. (I liked the Hitler reference afterwards, lol)

        Glenn. Yikes. I’m a little uneasy as to where his Betty-revenge is going.

        NO PEGGY!!!! DON’T SETTLE!!! JUST WHEN I WAS STARTING TO LIKE YOU!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

        (I feel I must watch this again before I comment further)

        • Verbally Dyslexic

          The minute Roger fired Sal, Lee Jr. knew Roger is his little bitch. But I think Roger still won’t want to mess with that dickwad even if SCDP reels in a bigger fish. Lee Jr. looks like the type to hold a grudge forever.

          The bit where Glen breaks into the house is just so disturbing. It’s like when you watch a horror film with your hands covering your face and you peek through your fingers. I am uncomfortable at the stuff he’s doing and how obsessed he is with the Draper girls but at the same time I want to know where it’s going. He is such a creepy little boy!

          Peggy needs a less morally-dubious version of Don. (Not shipping, I swear!)