Mad Men 5.1 "A Little Kiss"

"The soulless eyes of capitalist marketing!!!"

A lot of things have changed in the lives (and the world) of our favorite advertising agents in the 17 long months Mad Men has been off the air.


After tying the knot, Megan and Don have moved into a high rise condo and go to work together arm in arm. As Joan predicted, Megan is now a copywriter, working under Peggy. Megan and Don are still trying to figure each other out, even if they are still in their "honeymoon phase". Megan discovers this after throwing the surprise birthday party (and doing a hot performance of  for Don (turning 40) at their new place. His rebuff of her, even after she shut him down about his past (I found her knowledge of Dick Whitman pretty surprising. He never told Betty, but he's straight up with Megan. Maybe she is good for him.), gave her an eye opening look at the moody, brooding Don Draper that the fans have gotten ample view. When Megan has her mini-breakdown in front of Peggy ("What is wrong with you people? You're all so cynical. You don't smile; you smirk."), I got the impression she may have gotten in over her head. It's confirmed somewhat with her conversation with Don after angry/make-up sex when she tells him she doesn't know if she likes the people at the office. Of course, Don assuages her fears by telling her that he likes to go to the office not because he likes work, but because he likes to go with her. This was a very Megan-centric episode, which I actually enjoyed because I think she is a compelling character.

Joan is finding out that raising a baby with her husband on the other side of the world is exhaustive and lonely, even with her over bearing, bitchy mother helping (probably more harm than good). When SCDP takes out the "Equal Opportunity Employer" ad, Joan begins to feel like the office doesn't respect her for what she did before her maternity leave. Her fears are misplaced, though, because the office can't run without her.

With the loss of Lucky Strike, Roger is becoming more and more of an unnecessary fixture around the office. His marriage to 20 something Jane was showing signs of slippage near the end of season four and is now on a "damn the torpedoes" path towards destruction. His showing up at Pete's meeting with Mohawk Airlines and running out to Staten Island at six in the morning shows how desperate he is to get back the life he thought he was going to have.

"The Game is the Game."

The biggest change doesn't deal with the office directly. By Memorial Day weekend of 1966 (when the premiere first starts), the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. After Roger and Don take out the EOE ad in the Times (as response to rival firm Y&R waterbombing protesting blacks outside of their offices), the firm finds itself with a lobby full of black applicants.

Some things are also still the same. Pete is still overly ambitious, gunning for not just a bigger office, but Roger's office because Pete feels he's entitled to it because he's head of accounts and brings in the most business. (That scene in Pete's piss poor office was great, from Roger and Don walking in and only being able to see each other's respective arms around the pillar (which Pete bashed his nose on earlier) to Roger telling Pete they should take their little dispute about the office outside.) Pete ends up in Harry's office after Roger does what he does best and bribes Harry to switch.

Harry is still a slimy guy. It was hilarious, though, how he went around the entire day worried Megan was going to rat him out to someone (mainly Don) about his little "I wanna sex her up" comments.

Lane is still unhappy with his marriage, and barely managing to keep things afloat on the books. Also, I got a hint of racism with black cabby over the left behind wallet, though that just might be uneasiness with cabbies. 

Peggy is still seeking Don's approval, as noted by the Heinz "Bean Ballet" pitch that was accepted well. She also may feel a bit put out by the fact that Megan is a copywriter. Her comments at the party show through as both, though I don't think she really holds any animosity towards Megan.

I thought this was another spectacular premiere for arguably the best show on TV and possibly ever (in running with fellow AMC juggernaut Breaking Bad, in my opinion). The two hours ran seamlessly together even though both had their own distinct feel. With the Civil Rights movement seeming to play a significant part of this season's backdrop (black secretary?), we should be in for a fantastic ride.

Things of note:

• Bert Cooper might be going insane. Not sure, but it is distinctly possible. His "Did you get him a pony" was hilarious.
• No Betty this episode. Very little kids, but we saw of Sally gave the impression that she isn't all to fond of the idea of Megan being married to her father.
• "You're a dirty old man." - Megan to Don after he propositions her in his office. I don't really blame him for wanting office sex all the time.
• "Stable is that step backward between successful and failure." - Pete to Ken while bitching about Roger after bashing his nose on the pillar. I think this quote epitomizes Pete's ambition.
• "I've got two tickets to the bean ballet and the curtain is about to go up." - Stan to Peggy. Stan is still a juvenile, but a funny one.

What did everyone else think?

All pictures owned by AMC.