Mad Men Season 7

[AgentC]

We are already move than half way through the first half of season 7 and we've had no discussion.

So who is watching? Are you liking it? Are you annoyed that we will have to wait until 2015 to get the second half?

[Melanie]

Babbling thoughts coming - I am watching. You know I love it. I don't like what Peggy has become (or has she become Don?). I've been wanting her and Stan to get together, but now I think he's too good for her.

I hated the way Peggy and Joan treated Don when he came back. Joan of all people? Don was good to her and I feel like he considered her one of his only true friends, unless I'm forgetting something.

Bert, what a jerk! Roger, wow. The only episode this season so far to feature Betty was weird. We get it, she's a terrible mother. I haven't missed Megan and hopefully we see very little of her going forward.

What do you think?

[AgentC]

I'm sad, sad for Peggy. I think she is like another Don in many ways. Instead of becoming an example of how things could be she just brings more of the same bad management. I agree with you on her and Stan. I always wanted them to get together but she has just become nasty. I think she was much more likable before her whole story line with Ted.

I was surprised about Joan too. On TV board someone mentioned that Don had lost the car dealer she has slept with and by doing so blew the public offering which would have made her rich. To me her reaction after all that has happened was still too strong. Don was always the most concerned about her.

Bert - Yuck! That dead man line was just cold. Then again I think he was always just in it for money. He doesn't really care about anyone.

I'm not too surprised about Roger. Everything he does seems in character to me.

I love Freddy as the one who is there for Don and inspiring him to move forward.

Megan- the less I see of her the better. And wow that was a short skirt she wore in the first episode.

The Betty scene was weird. Even for Betty her reaction seemed overboard.

Oh and I loved Don and Sally together.

[Melanie]

Oh and I loved Don and Sally together.

I really love where their relationship is going.

[PirateLover]

This season has been bittersweet. It's nice to be back, but it's such a tease- The split season was purely a ratings ploy and is the antithesis to how this show has always worked. It's always a slow build through the season. Now that we are only getting 7 episodes, it feels slower than ever. My favorite episode so far was the 2nd episode (the one with Sally). Really good acting in that episode.

I am also disappointed in Peggy and Joan. Peggy blames Don for Ted going to California, which is silly and petulant. Joan did get upset with Don over the Jaguar account and blames him for losing her potential money, but that whole scenario was a big shady misunderstanding. Pete has obviously moved on but Joan is acting so cold towards Don, after all he's done for her. The best she could muster was "He's a creative genius."

Poor Bobby is going to have so many issues. Betty is so twisted.

Bert-I think I'm finally ready for him to keel over, haha

[Melanie]

Well, last night was one of those jaw dropping moments for me. We've seen this coming on some ways with Ginsberg, but holy cow. I thought the acting was really good, and I was touched seeing how affected Peggy, and even Stan, was. Sad. I could have done without seeing that though.

Please, please come back to us, Don. I'm seeing strides! I can't stand Jim and Lou.

Question, do you all dislike Harry?

I don't even care about the Megan stuff.

[AgentC]

Well, last night was one of those jaw dropping moments for me. We've seen this coming on some ways with Ginsberg, but holy cow. I thought the acting was really good, and I was touched seeing how affected Peggy, and even Stan, was. Sad. I could have done without seeing that though.

One word- Yuck! But I agree beautifully acted vy all.



Please, please come back to us, Don. I'm seeing strides! I can't stand Jim and Lou.

Question, do you all dislike Harry?

I don't even care about the Megan stuff.

I agree on Jim and Lou. I can't find anything redeemable at in in either of them.

On the other side, I am really starting to hope they let Don be redeemed. I have a bad feeling they won't but I think it could be done believably.

I go back and forth on Harry to disliking him and thinking he's scum to thinking he is doing what he has to do to survive and brighter than anyone gives him credit for.

Megan- What was the whole point of the story line with her and Stephanie? It felt really forced.

What did you think of the Betty parts? Are we going to see Senator Betty next?

[PirateLover]

Well, last night was one of those jaw dropping moments for me.
Definitely very unsettling. :(


Question, do you all dislike Harry?

I've always seen him as a pathetic character, but I don't *dislike* him, per say.



Megan- What was the whole point of the story line with her and Stephanie? It felt really forced.
I think it was meant to play up Megan's insecurities. The first thing she notices is Stephanie's beauty. She tries to play the nice host but when Stephanie mentions she knows all of Don's "secrets" I think that pushes Megan over the edge of jealousy. Then she "gives" Don the, shall we say, "experience" that she thought he'd want and he's just kind of Eh, whatever about it, but the minute he starts talking on the phone with Stephanie his face lights up. Would this relationship just end already?


What did you think of the Betty parts? Are we going to see Senator Betty next?
Doubt it, but wouldn't be surprised if this marriage falls apart as well and she ends up doing something outside the home. One thing I keep seeing is people want Betty to become a feminist... ummm ok? I feel like that would be totally out of left field at this point. Yes she has her moments of speaking up and wanting to have a say in things, but she is a truly conservative woman. I would find that kind of transformation unbelievable.

[AgentC]

Doubt it, but wouldn't be surprised if this marriage falls apart as well and she ends up doing something outside the home. One thing I keep seeing is people want Betty to become a feminist... ummm ok? I feel like that would be totally out of left field at this point. Yes she has her moments of speaking up and wanting to have a say in things, but she is a truly conservative woman. I would find that kind of transformation unbelievable.

I was on a tv board and saw a real interesting comment on this. A woman mentioned who she could relate to the Betty storyline because she saw her grandmother as Betty (beautiful and intelligent woman who had no role beyond being an accessory) and her mother as Sally (a woman who was seeing that she had different opportunities). She had more compassion than many for Betty because she saw her as a product of her times.

I thought it was interesting because when I look back at my twenties/college years, the expectations for women are very different than they are now.

[MissMaryPoppins]

I'm watching and enjoying this final season so far. I don't like Harry, haven't for a while. There isn't one specific reason I can point out, I just don't like him. I hope they let Lou go soon, for the third time. I don't like how Peggy and Joan are towards Don. He was part of launching Peggy's career and Joan has no room criticizing anyone after what she did to be a partner. I wasn't surprised to see that Bert is a racist but I was still bothered by it. Betty is still crazy and I think she's sorry she left Don. I wasn't surprised about Ginsberg, I suspected something was up with him for a while, but it was still sad. I felt bad for Peggy, wanting to help him but not wanting him mad at her. I'm looking forward to rest of the season and I'm not annoyed with having to wait. It's something to look forward to and it's not as long of a wait as Sherlock.

[Melanie]

Oh my goodness, episodes like this are why I watch and love Mad Men. Peggy and Don together are GOLD. That scene at the end with Pete was awesome.

[PirateLover]

Hands down best episode so far this season. We needed that after last week's trip to crazy town! And the return of Bob... Wasn't sure if we'd see him again.

[PirateLover]

Thoughts on the mid-season finale?
Here are some of my bullet points:

Peggy back to herself! Loved the pitch
I Know she has to do the best for her and her child, but I'm really not digging money-hungry Joan
Loved the extended coverage of the moon landing and how it played into the Burger Chef pitch
Go Rodger! At the same time, didn't quite buy Cutler giving in so easily
And finally... Burt's song and dance????

Let me expound upon that last item. Robert Morse is a great Broadway actor. I was very familiar with his talents from the movie version of "How To Succeed in Business without Really Trying." There have been a few nods to that show throughout the series, but last night was sooooo heavy handed and really out of place. Yes, Don has hallucinated dead people before. But never did they perform full on song and dance numbers! It seemed more of a tribute to Morse and H2$ rather than a tribute to Burt. Also, the song? "The Best Things in life are Free?" Unless Burt was awakened on the other side or Don is projecting his feelings about the buyout, it doesn't make much sense. Burt was a practical businessman who always followed the money. He loved his paintings and artifacts and certainly enjoyed the finer things in life. I dunno. It just felt out of place to me in an otherwise fine episode. Already I'm seeing comments about "If you don't like the ending, you don't get Mad Men." :confused:It's OK to tell the Emperor he has no clothes! ;)

[Melanie]

I'm with you on most everything, Maryanne. The ending was definitely odd and out of place (regardless of the tie-in with the actor), but hey, we've had odd stuff before, so I'm willing to overlook it. I think more telling in that scene was the set up for the final episodes, with Don, looking perplexed in front of his old office, possibly coming to some sort of realization. What? I'm not sure.

Money hungry Joan (Benedict Joan - ha!) is definitely unattractive and I'm just really despising her as of late. That whole "I'm tired of him costing me money!" UGH. On the other hand, because of her attitude this season, I'm thinking of going back and watching the entire series and trying to get a better handle on why she is so anti-Don. I get the money thing, but he's shown throughout the series how he cares for her. It's frustrating for me, because I want them to get along.

How funny was it that Harry missed out on the partner thing and how they kept shooing him out of the partner meetings? Ken's reaction in the background of one of the scenes last night was priceless.

Roger Sterling is the bomb! I love him, and love how he took charge and orchestrated that buyout. Cutler was knocked down a few, Ted is a wimp (and what he did to those clients was much worse than what Don did) and hopefully Lou is gone.

[AgentC]

I agree with both of you about Joan.It makes me sad. I've always seen Joan as a woman of her times who does what she has to to survive, but constant emphasis on money seems out of character and inconsistent. Last week she doesn't want to have a fake marriage with Bob that would gibe her security because she wants love. Also I'm sure Roger would be happy to support his son. Now if the real issue is she wants to not have to depend on men and the need for money is to get that I could buy it, but unfortunately they have not been successful at showing it.

I loved Roger in this episode too. I like when they show him to be a smart businessman.

Peggy was great and the scene with her upstairs neighbor was poignant.

Buh bye Mega. Oh please let it be true. I think the end was fitting for them. Don and Megan never really belonged together and were thrown together by circumstance and Don's fears. It made sense that they just slipped away to different lives.

What did everyone think of the scenes with Sally and Betty. I always enjoyed Betty but I am finding the scenes with them really not resonating with me unless their is a tie in to Don.

[Melanie]

What did everyone think of the scenes with Sally and Betty. I always enjoyed Betty but I am finding the scenes with them really not resonating with me unless their is a tie in to Don.

I think it's kinda cool that they showed pretty much everyone central to the show watching the moon landing. I think we're really seeing Sally morph into Betty. Upon watching again, I really saw how much Sally looked like Betty after she lit that cigarette in the backyard.

Anyone recognize Kellie Martin as Betty's friend? Hadn't seen her in forever!

[MNNHFLTX]

Money hungry Joan (Benedict Joan - ha!) is definitely unattractive and I'm just really despising her as of late. That whole "I'm tired of him costing me money!" UGH. On the other hand, because of her attitude this season, I'm thinking of going back and watching the entire series and trying to get a better handle on why she is so anti-Don. I get the money thing, but he's shown throughout the series how he cares for her. It's frustrating for me, because I want them to get along.

Roger Sterling is the bomb! I love him, and love how he took charge and orchestrated that buyout. Cutler was knocked down a few, Ted is a wimp (and what he did to those clients was much worse than what Don did) and hopefully Lou is gone. Yes on all these points! Joan has definitely gone to the dark side lately with her attitude, she's given me very little reason to like her this season, aside from her gentle let-down of Bob and his marriage proposal. And Lou--his feeble attempts to manipulate and control office politics (and court Peggy's influence over Don's) are yawn-inducing.

I actually liked the ending, whatever the meaning behind it was. A last word of advice to Don, or maybe Bert was enlightened when he passed to the other side? It's got everyone talking, that's for sure. Don does seem to interact with a lot of dead people on the show.

One last thing--I could have done without the scene of Don on the phone with Megan. They could as easily wrapped that up in the last episode, but now I'm wondering if they cemented the end of the marriage to free Don up for a greater purpose (or person) next year.

[MNNHFLTX]

Anyone recognize Kellie Martin as Betty's friend? Hadn't seen her in forever!
It was good seeing her again. I was a fan of hers back when she was Becca on "Life Goe On".:)

[PirateLover]

How could I forget to mention Ted? I agree, cutting the engine mid air with clients is worse than what Don did!
And did anyone else catch Pete's face when Peggy said "I'll be coming home to a 10 year old in front of my TV?" Lol!

I definitely saw bits of both Don and Betty in Sally this past episode. The poor attitude and smoking the cigarette down to the stance she took was very Betty, but after she talked with Don and he cautioned her about being cynical, she kissed the boy with the telescope (Neil?) and not the hunky one, because he was waxing poetic about the stars, which I saw as the Don side coming out.

And Meredith!!!! "Tell me what you want." "I want you to get my lawyer on the phone" LOL

[Melanie]

Oh my goodness, Meredith. I was laughing out loud!

[PirateLover]

BUMP for the second half of the season! I'm sad that we are almost at the finish. The past two episodes have been SO GOOD in my opinion. I've been with this show since its premiere back in 2007 and I'm really going to miss having new episodes, but it couldn't go on forever.

There is so much to say about this season, but as far as the most recent episode, I'll just say one word- PEGGY!!!!!! :cool::smokin: