After Betty sat out the two hour premiere of Mad Men last week she was back in the forefront this week, and there was more of her than ever. As I was watching the larger Betty getting tested for possible thyroid cancer and panicking about her own mortality I couldn’t help but wonder if the writers were trying to take some desperate measures to make the character sympathetic again.
After the past couple seasons it seems like the fan base has been strongly anti-Betty. For me, I really liked the character in the early seasons of the show when she was a wronged housewife trying to find herself. It’s an odd thing, and I can’t quite put my finger on when it happened, but even as Don continued to cheat on her and lie to her she became completely unlikable. Of course, by the end of the episode we learned that Betty did not have anything seriously wrong with her. It would seem that her weight gain has much more to do with psychological issues than physical ones. I would love to see her become relevant to the story again in an effective way. It’s just starting to feel more and more like Betty is unnecessary to the stories being told.
Meanwhile, things at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce headed down the path that was set up in the premiere. Namely, Pete and Roger are continuing to battle. I don’t think I have a horse in this race. Pete’s a snake and Roger is nothing if not affable, but let’s face the hard truth: Roger’s only real value to the firm was Lucky Strike, which is why he turned into a lying wreck at the end of last season. Without the huge cigarette company, what does Roger bring to the company? As much as I don’t really want to see Pete become a superstar, he is the one who’s bringing in clients. Luckily, I don’t actually have to root for either of these guys. I’m just rooting for them to keep taking potshots at each other, because that is entertainment.
Pete’s latest project, bringing Mohawk Airlines back into the fold, necessitated a new hire for the firm. I’m curious to see how much attention Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman) gets as we move through the season. On a show that is already pretty full when it comes to characters, do we really need new ones? I’m all for filling out the staff, but the fact that we even saw some of his home life leads me to believe that Michael is going to be playing a large role this year. The fact is that in this episode alone we were without Joan (always a fan favorite), Lane, and Ken. I’m concerned about overcrowding. The show has never let me down before, though, so I’m staying optimistic. Plus, if it means more screen time for Peggy, I’m on board.
I so enjoyed Don and Harry’s trip to the Rolling Stones concert. The amount of contempt that Don has for Harry, along with Harry’s puppy-like eagerness to please (and seeming inability to accomplish that) is a winning combination. Whether it was Don quickly dismissing Harry’s suggestion of dinner or just trying to get him out of his car at the end of the night, I really enjoyed watching those two together. Harry is a buffoon who fell into his job and he never ceases to be a goldmine for comedy — almost as much as the secretarial pool at the office. After the comedy stylings of Mrs. Blankenship last season (and Lois before her) we now have Dawn working the desk outside of Don’s office. That’s going to be fun.
Matthew Weiner has always brought an HBO mentality to Mad Men. The impeccable production value, subtle writing, superior acting — it’s all there. The one problem that I’ve noticed, though, is that episodes are not written around ad breaks at all, which would be fine for a show on HBO, where there are no breaks for ads. I’m not sure if I’ve noticed it more during these first two weeks of the show being back or if it’s actually worse, but the breaks for commercials have been downright jarring. It’s a touch ironic, this being a program based in the world of advertising and all.
Did you notice the swipe at Romney that Henry Francis took in this episode? Of course it wasn’t at Mitt Romney, but his father, George, who was governor of Michigan in the mid 1960s. I thought it was a fun little wink at the audience.
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Apr 01, 2012 @ 23:33 EST5EDT
I can understand the dislike of Betty, but I don’t know if I’ve ever disliked her anymore than most of the characters on this show. I’ve never quite gotten the hatred people have for this character compared to the rest of them, especially Roger who has creeped me out more than once on this show.
As far as Michael Ginsberg, was his father supposed to be Russian? I’m working if they’re going to bring in the red scare stuff, although I’m not sure when that started to slow down. I feel for Peggy, who has always feels like she has to continuously fight for the authority and respect she has earned time and time again.
Also, I am very glad Don did not sleep with the 14(ish) year old girl. I kept thinking he wouldn’t do that, but I’ve overestimated Don before. Maybe because he saw his own daughter in her? Also because maybe even he has some limits?