Mad Men: The Summer Man Rewatch

November 9, 2014 6:14 AM - Season 4, Episode 8

Joan and Peggy deal with hijinx in the office.
posted by tracicle (10 comments total)

If I had to find five sections of film to tell someone about Mad Men, it would be that shot of Don outside the Athletic Club, putting on sunglasses and lighting up a smoke while "Satisfaction" plays in the background.

Or Betty shooting the pigeons.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 9:00 AM on November 9, 2014 [4 favorites]

AV Club Summer Man Review.

This episode feels slightly off, though enjoyable. I think it's that Don's narration isn't something common in the series.

This episode makes me think that if Don dies or kills himself before the end of the series, it’ll be via drowning.

I really think Bethany might have the same background as Betty, but is a very different person (but Don might think otherwise).

There's some incredible camera work while Don watches everyone drink.

Steggy foreshadowing? "You love her."

Peggy channels Don when she fires Joey.

Henry begins to show his flaws in this episode.
posted by drezdn at 9:40 AM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Betty became so flustered when encountering Don and Bethany on a date. She hasn't sweated that much since her mother made a chubby Betty walk home from shopping trips.
posted by cwest at 1:22 PM on November 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

Wow, was Joan pissed. Her speech to the boys in the creative lounge about how she "can't wait until next year when all of you are in Vietnam" and that they should "remember you're not dying for me because I never liked you" was just what Stan said it was. "Scorched earth." And rightly so.
posted by cwest at 1:28 PM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

Dammit. Now I wanna try a Mountain Dew and vodka.
posted by ChrisTN at 2:12 PM on November 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

Was Joey like this before Stan got hired?
posted by drezdn at 6:53 PM on November 9, 2014

Joey only pre-dated Stan by like, three episodes, so he didn't really have much of an established character.

I feel for Joan. Despite all of her "there have been a lot of complaints" machinations to get rid of Joey and/or the vending machine, she comes up short, and then has to go home to Pvt. Rapist. It's been a rough year for her.
posted by donajo at 8:17 AM on November 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

This episode to me highlighted Joan's and Peggy's differences. Joan is comfortable in and a master at the old structure, the old ways. She has access to power, because she has the ear of powerful men. Peggy, on the other hand, is working her way up the traditional power structure. She has power, in her own right.

Joan is mostly right - they are still limited by the greater social structures. But the Peggys of the word are coming.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:49 PM on November 12, 2014

The first time I saw this, I thought Joan was right and that Peggy had been displaying naivete and clumsiness in outright firing Joey. On this rewatch though, I think Peggy's only mis-step was having not quite the right motive in firing him and not ALSO demanding (or at least expecting) respect from Joan having done so.

As the man of t&t states, Peggy does have some power here. Her motive in firing Joey should have been that he was an asshole (and that was disruptive to the work), not that he was an asshole to Joan. Peggy only displays her feeling that she was doing Joan a favor, and is minimizing the fact that she improved the whole work environment by having gotten rid of him.

And she should have poo-pooed Joan's stated strategy of getting rid of Joey - Peggy does everything else for herself; why would she butter up someone else to get rid of Joey for her? (That's exactly what Don refused to do).

So, she's learning - I'm sure she'll get that eventually, but I thought it was interesting how much had changed in my head on the rewatch.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 12:41 PM on January 24, 2015 [2 favorites]

Her motive in firing Joey should have been that he was an asshole (and that was disruptive to the work), not that he was an asshole to Joan.

IIRC, she fired him because he was an asshole to her, not to Joan. Peggy pulled him aside to talk to him and he continued his assholery, so she fired him.

BTW, I loved the "Let's see what Don has to say about this/Don doesn't know who you are" exchange." That was awesome.

I'm not sure what the point would be of Peggy arguing with Joan about how to deal with Joey. Joan has her arsenal and Peggy has a different one, but Joan is right in that at the end of the day, they are both still women in a man's world.
posted by donajo at 9:06 AM on January 26, 2015 [1 favorite]