A few brief thoughts on Mad Men -- another solid episode Thursday -- and I'll open the floor up to you.

Peggy: Our plucky secretary's weight gain came front and center this week, as did her budding skills and confidence as a copywriter. Somehow, they don't seem unrelated.

I'm inclined to think that the guys in the office didn't realize they might be hurting her feelings by throwing the quacky weight-loss belt her way, because A) when have these guys ever really considered the feelings of a secretary?, and B) Fred Rumsen actually seemed to think she might do a good job with it.

And, after getting past her good-girls-don't trepidations about telling Don what the belt actually does ("It vibrates, and that coincides with how you wear it"), she actually made a decent presentation, earning herself a raise, relief from her secretarial duties and, best of all, the chance to tell Joan that she needs someone to cover her desk. It made up for the incredibly awkward date she had with the truck driver (set up by her mother) -- though it seemed like, as she left in a huff and told the guy that Manhattanites are better "because they want things they haven't seen" -- that she was realizing that it was OK for her to want things too.

We've seen in the past that food is Peggy's go-to when she's trying to tamp down other desires (as noted by her lunch-cart binge after hearing Pete's hunting story a few episodes back). As she becomes more sure of herself, does that stop?

Don: His rise continues, as Bert Cooper makes him a partner in the wake of Sterling's second coronary episode during the meeting with the Lucky Strike people (good to see John Cullum, again, incidentally). Away from the office, though, he's kind of stuck: He tells Rachel he's right where he wants to be, but "I just haven't figured out what to do yet."

He's also increasingly frustrated with Betty's progress, placing another exasperated call to her therapist and worried about salesmen in his home (Betty, not so much. She doesn't have a "Rejuvenator," but she found something else around the house).

And, biggest of all, there's that package from his little brother -- who committed suicide at the top of the episode -- that landed on his desk. Which brings us to:

Pete: My Campbell sympathy needle is back on the "evil little twerp" side again after he absconded with Don's package. This seems like leverage in his quest get Don to promote him, but just -- ick. Pete is obviously a reasonably smart and occasionally insightful guy. If he could just stop trying to prove that, he'd be better off.

I'll leave it to you to discuss the weirdly tender moment between Roger and Joan, Bert Cooper's Ayn Rand fixation and Rachel's can't-end-well fantasies about Don. Your thoughts on this week's Mad Men?

Comments

It was a fine episode ... could've been called Good Vibrations .... http://paullevinson.blogspot.com/2007/10/mad-men-11-heat.html

Paul Levinson | Oct 5, 2007 7:19:57 PM | #

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I believe Paul is an evil little twirp, I still haven't gotten over how he slept with Peggy right before his wedding. Can't believe he took that package right off Don's desk!

Kathie | Oct 12, 2007 7:30:18 AM | #

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