Mad Men: The Beautiful Girls Rewatch

November 12, 2014 2:57 AM - Season 4, Episode 9

Peggy receives a romantic gift that could compromise her career.
posted by Sweetie Darling (9 comments total)

Bert Cooper's line about Miss Blankenship's death ties in so well to his own death.

Oh Dr. Faye, Don may have not meant it as a test, but that was totally the moment he started moving on to Megan.
posted by drezdn at 6:41 AM on November 12, 2014 [3 favorites]

Here's the AV Club Review

With the question: How long will Megan last as Don’s secretary? Should we take some bets?
posted by drezdn at 6:46 AM on November 12, 2014

I always cringe at "Hi! My name is Faye", because I sooo used to be that person. Had no interest at all in children, made no effort to relate to them.

They sent Miss Blankenship off with a bang, didn't they? First she gives Peggy some valuable advice - "It's a business of sadists and masochists, and you know which one you are" and schools Cooper on the crossword.

How weird would it be to have two Swedish massage therapists show up at your door? I'm not sure I would've let them in.
posted by donajo at 7:17 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bert Cooper's line about Miss Blankenship's death ties in so well to his own death.

That's the kind of genius Bert Cooper has. And he no office for ruminating!
posted by the man of twists and turns at 4:44 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Here's the AV Club Review With the question: How long will Megan last as Don’s secretary? Should we take some bets?

Well, Ken's taking that bet: "I say we start a pool on whether she's fired, quits, or dies."

Also: Megan begins her bonding with Sally.
posted by ChrisTN at 8:12 AM on November 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

We couldn't hear what Pete said when Joan asked him to move poor Miss Blankenship. In my mind he said, "Hell's bells, Joan! Me?"

Caroline, Roger's secretary, flies under the radar most of the time, but she really knows how to handle Roger. She doesn't let him get away with much.
posted by cwest at 4:09 PM on November 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

Harry: "My mother made that blanket!!"
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:26 PM on November 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

"Hell's bells, Joan! Me?"

"A thing like that. With a kid on the way."
posted by drezdn at 5:44 AM on November 15, 2014 [6 favorites]

Good god. What an episode.

I'd been wondering why, with how much sense Don and Dr. Miller make, we start Season 5 with Don married to Megan (whom I like. I've seen the series before and just don't remember the details well) and this gives Don at least one positive reason.

There's a "Sports Night" episode where Dan's soon-to-be therapist calls him out on how he can be "good for five minutes" before he has to run away or maybe throw up. And I think here we see that with Don and Sally. Don loves Sally. Of course he does. And he appreciates Sally wanting to stay with him and understands that. But, beyond the realities of Sally having to stay with Betty and Henry, he knows he can't keep that up. His form of love is performative, and can't be sustained without breaks in it. The same reason Sally wants to stay with him is one reason why she can't. And also a reason why she hates Betty in comparison. (There are, of course many other reasons for all of this.)

This episode gives us a good reminder of why Joan and Roger are kind of the fucked up OTP of this show. But for bad timing and office scuttlebutt they absolutely would be with each other but also would they enjoy things as much that way?

I still don't know what to think of Zosia Mamet, but the shot of all the SCDP women lining up to make sure Sally is okay as Betty takes her is amazing and telling. And whatever one thinks of Megan, "I fall all the time" was such a perfect thing to say in that moment that it kind of makes sense of everything that follows.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:41 PM on February 16, 2020