Mad Men: Three Sundays Rewatch
July 27, 2014 11:27 AM - Season 2, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Don and Betty enjoy a family weekend together. Sterling Cooper staffers work double time to prepare for a last minute pitch meeting.
The scene that breaks my heart every time: "We have to get you a new daddy."
posted by Sweetie Darling at 12:18 PM on July 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 12:18 PM on July 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Other observations:
- Peggy's mother asking Father Gill to say "real" grace after his improvised one
- Sally pouring a 3/4 vodka Bloody Mary, then giving it to Don saying "Here's #2!" (This must have been around the time that Weiner figured out what a gem he has in Kiernan - she couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 but is so charming and a good little actress - her scene with Kinsey cracks me up.)
- Don references the violet candies his father liked - there's a callback in season 5, maybe(?), where Peggy is looking for those candies before a big pitch because Don had given them to her.
- Don's framing of the American pitch - that the crash never happened
- Pete in his tennis whites, called into the office on Sunday
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:30 PM on July 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
- Peggy's mother asking Father Gill to say "real" grace after his improvised one
- Sally pouring a 3/4 vodka Bloody Mary, then giving it to Don saying "Here's #2!" (This must have been around the time that Weiner figured out what a gem he has in Kiernan - she couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 but is so charming and a good little actress - her scene with Kinsey cracks me up.)
- Don references the violet candies his father liked - there's a callback in season 5, maybe(?), where Peggy is looking for those candies before a big pitch because Don had given them to her.
- Don's framing of the American pitch - that the crash never happened
- Pete in his tennis whites, called into the office on Sunday
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:30 PM on July 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
Hey, just noticed the recap feature on the right sidebar - cool!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:43 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Sweetie Darling at 1:43 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
- Sally pouring a 3/4 vodka Bloody Mary, then giving it to Don saying "Here's #2!" (This must have been around the time that Weiner figured out what a gem he has in Kiernan - she couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 but is so charming and a good little actress - her scene with Kinsey cracks me up.)
And her clapping with glee when she gets to go to the office with Don! So great.
posted by ChrisTN at 3:34 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
And her clapping with glee when she gets to go to the office with Don! So great.
posted by ChrisTN at 3:34 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
This episode is chock-full of wonderful moments. In addition to the ones noted above:
"Daddy! You need a shave." "You need a shave."
Sally telling Joan that she has "big ones."
"She's here on a Sunday and I respect that. But you know she's making more than all of us."
The tableau of Sterling Cooper waiting for American Airlines, book-ended by Peggy and Joan.
Roger cracking his neck and back before the AA presentation.
The clothes!: Peggy's hat made of little gray bows. The prostitute's fabulous silver dress and jewelry. Bobbie Barrett's head-to-toe gold/beige outfit. Pete's tennis whites. Cooper's argyle socks.
- Sally pouring a 3/4 vodka Bloody Mary, then giving it to Don saying "Here's #2!"
Betty is also drinking a barely-pink Bloody Mary, so I *hope* that hers is #1 and Don's was #2.
posted by donajo at 4:37 PM on July 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
"Daddy! You need a shave." "You need a shave."
Sally telling Joan that she has "big ones."
"She's here on a Sunday and I respect that. But you know she's making more than all of us."
The tableau of Sterling Cooper waiting for American Airlines, book-ended by Peggy and Joan.
Roger cracking his neck and back before the AA presentation.
The clothes!: Peggy's hat made of little gray bows. The prostitute's fabulous silver dress and jewelry. Bobbie Barrett's head-to-toe gold/beige outfit. Pete's tennis whites. Cooper's argyle socks.
- Sally pouring a 3/4 vodka Bloody Mary, then giving it to Don saying "Here's #2!"
Betty is also drinking a barely-pink Bloody Mary, so I *hope* that hers is #1 and Don's was #2.
posted by donajo at 4:37 PM on July 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
Does Duck suck at business development, or is that just how it goes?
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:36 PM on July 27, 2014
posted by Sweetie Darling at 5:36 PM on July 27, 2014
Duck is good enough to get his foot in the door, but he's horrible at carrying it through. He tries to sell the agency (which he succeeds in doing) to try to get Don fired (only to get himself fired). He tries wooing American Airlines, and loses them and Mohawk.
I wonder if Lou was part of an attempt by Duck to get revenge on Don. If so, so far that has backfired too.
posted by drezdn at 7:20 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I wonder if Lou was part of an attempt by Duck to get revenge on Don. If so, so far that has backfired too.
posted by drezdn at 7:20 PM on July 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
This is the first time Sally walks in on Don in bed with a woman.
posted by Pendragon at 4:05 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Pendragon at 4:05 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
drezdn, yes, Duck made one vital mistake, besides resuming drinking, and that was assuming that Don had a contract. He thought Don would have to either honor his contract, thereby coming under Duck's authority, or refuse and be out of advertising. I tend to think Duck thought for sure that Don would bend, honor his contract, and Duck would be cackling with relish at having accounts controlling Don and creative. The thing that was most interesting to me was that Duck's resentment of creative, and in particular Don, seemed more important to him than gaining new business. More about the power politics than the money.
The seeds of the future sale of SC are shown in this episode and the next, despite Duck not yet having the idea. Roger, at dinner with his wife, daughter, and future son-in-law, was definitely not thrilled to hear Mona bringing up the memories of their wedding and how happy she was. Roger is in a full blown mid-life crisis. He learned nothing from his heart attacks. Next ep. Jane Siegel is Don's new secretary and the writing is on the wall. Roger is going to need some cash to get out of his marriage with Mona.
And yes, I imagine Duck must have felt some satisfaction at being the headhunter who brings in Lou as Don's replacement.
posted by cwest at 4:35 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
The seeds of the future sale of SC are shown in this episode and the next, despite Duck not yet having the idea. Roger, at dinner with his wife, daughter, and future son-in-law, was definitely not thrilled to hear Mona bringing up the memories of their wedding and how happy she was. Roger is in a full blown mid-life crisis. He learned nothing from his heart attacks. Next ep. Jane Siegel is Don's new secretary and the writing is on the wall. Roger is going to need some cash to get out of his marriage with Mona.
And yes, I imagine Duck must have felt some satisfaction at being the headhunter who brings in Lou as Don's replacement.
posted by cwest at 4:35 AM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
I've always liked that Matt Weiner never shied away from showing the toll alcohol can take on people. Duck. Freddy Rumsen. And of course Don's alcoholic demons, which we will get more than a thorough look at in later seasons.
posted by cwest at 4:41 AM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by cwest at 4:41 AM on July 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
I always wondered how anybody could drink so much alcohol. I tried a glass of whisky once, and I could drink only little sips. I guess it's something you get used to.
posted by Pendragon at 5:09 AM on July 28, 2014
posted by Pendragon at 5:09 AM on July 28, 2014
It's so obvious they aren't getting American. Why can't Duck see that?
Dinner with Father Gill takes me back.
Ken the pimp. "I've got lots of numbers." I'm starting to realize - that's Ken's function. he's the one with the numbers, the visiting cousin, the friends at a party uptown, the little black book.
Don looks like he's in an ad for something. Heineken, or a trip to Israel, maybe.
Don's "there is no such thing as American history. There is the frontier," pitch is particularly insightful.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Dinner with Father Gill takes me back.
Ken the pimp. "I've got lots of numbers." I'm starting to realize - that's Ken's function. he's the one with the numbers, the visiting cousin, the friends at a party uptown, the little black book.
Don looks like he's in an ad for something. Heineken, or a trip to Israel, maybe.
Don's "there is no such thing as American history. There is the frontier," pitch is particularly insightful.
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:11 PM on July 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
"Lets pretend we know what 1963 looks like." - nice line from Don, breaking the fourth wall?
I have to admit I like the Amazon video player better than Netflix, I can zip forwards or backwards 10 seconds. I know when Megan and Bobbie are on the screen I want to just zip zip zip through them.
I love Peggy hopping on the counter in that dress to get the Sherry. I always think about those form fitting clothes and how hard it might be to move in them (I'm a chunky elastic waistband kind of gal).
Anyone else catch Sally sneakily reaching for a not quite empty glass of brown liquid in ... what is that, a lowball glass?
Interesting, Peggy's line about not understanding the service. Wasn't Vatican II and the conversion of services into English already happening?
Why was mom fasting? It wasn't yet a holiday sunday ....
And her sister with the passive-aggressive snaking in Father Gil to the drama via confessional.
I've often wondered what Gil was for except to maybe show more of Peggy's home life (compared to Don and Pete and Sterling (except for occasional mentions of Montana and Ms Blankenship and one shot of Bert and Hattie(?)). That and to show her how far she is getting from how she was raised and she doesn't mind it one bit. He acknowledges and uses her uniqueness but wants to use it as the hook to bring her back into the fold, literally and figuratively.
Was tough to get a line of the episode, though I think it goes to Roger: "Love that frozen scrod." Probably not how he meant it, but scrod has always felt like a slightly dirty word to me.
posted by tilde at 7:16 AM on July 29, 2014
I have to admit I like the Amazon video player better than Netflix, I can zip forwards or backwards 10 seconds. I know when Megan and Bobbie are on the screen I want to just zip zip zip through them.
I love Peggy hopping on the counter in that dress to get the Sherry. I always think about those form fitting clothes and how hard it might be to move in them (I'm a chunky elastic waistband kind of gal).
Anyone else catch Sally sneakily reaching for a not quite empty glass of brown liquid in ... what is that, a lowball glass?
Interesting, Peggy's line about not understanding the service. Wasn't Vatican II and the conversion of services into English already happening?
Why was mom fasting? It wasn't yet a holiday sunday ....
And her sister with the passive-aggressive snaking in Father Gil to the drama via confessional.
I've often wondered what Gil was for except to maybe show more of Peggy's home life (compared to Don and Pete and Sterling (except for occasional mentions of Montana and Ms Blankenship and one shot of Bert and Hattie(?)). That and to show her how far she is getting from how she was raised and she doesn't mind it one bit. He acknowledges and uses her uniqueness but wants to use it as the hook to bring her back into the fold, literally and figuratively.
Was tough to get a line of the episode, though I think it goes to Roger: "Love that frozen scrod." Probably not how he meant it, but scrod has always felt like a slightly dirty word to me.
posted by tilde at 7:16 AM on July 29, 2014
Why was mom fasting? It wasn't yet a holiday sunday ....
Strange thing is, as far as I know, fasting on sundays isn't allowed.
posted by Pendragon at 7:59 AM on July 29, 2014
Strange thing is, as far as I know, fasting on sundays isn't allowed.
posted by Pendragon at 7:59 AM on July 29, 2014
I was thinking about it some more. There is no way they could land American. SC is a boutique Northeast firm (really NY, as evidenced by the hiring of a Dyckman), known for their creative brilliance and charismatic pitchman. They are not a national firm, which is why they have Mohawk and Utz. Later on, I recall them getting called to some other national account (a car?) And it's remarked that they are going so the marketing staff can say they consulted a cutting-edge firm, and then take SC's brilliant pitch to a big firm like BBDO. Is this where they learned that lesson?
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:45 AM on July 29, 2014
posted by the man of twists and turns at 10:45 AM on July 29, 2014
They never learn that lesson. In fact, Don & SC/DP/&P continue to go after the big fish that they don't have a chance of landing.
posted by donajo at 1:53 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by donajo at 1:53 PM on July 30, 2014 [1 favorite]
Don's trying not to make the same mistakes as is father. Considering how awful that man was, you can not hit that line and still be a terrible person.
Poor Bobby. Betty is so hateful towards him, trying to get Don to step up.
posted by RainyJay at 11:34 PM on July 31, 2014
Poor Bobby. Betty is so hateful towards him, trying to get Don to step up.
posted by RainyJay at 11:34 PM on July 31, 2014
Oddly enough this came up over dessert recently.
Eucharistic fasting - Vatican II council changed the requirements. But this/then/there/here - it's still a thing.
More on the subject.
posted by tilde at 7:28 PM on October 11, 2014
Eucharistic fasting - Vatican II council changed the requirements. But this/then/there/here - it's still a thing.
More on the subject.
posted by tilde at 7:28 PM on October 11, 2014
I'm late to the party but I wanted to chime in about the fasting. My mother used to have to do this growing up in the 50's and 60's. The family would all go to confession on Saturday evening and then no eating from that point till after they had had Communion. My mother remembers fondly all the Sundays she felt faint all through Mass. Evidently my grandma was quite the hardass about it.
Peggy's family scenes is pretty much exactly how I picture my mother's young adulthood, although I feel my mom would identify way more with the sister.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:01 PM on January 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
Peggy's family scenes is pretty much exactly how I picture my mother's young adulthood, although I feel my mom would identify way more with the sister.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 10:01 PM on January 5, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by cwest at 11:52 AM on July 27, 2014 [2 favorites]