Byebye, Sterling Cooper set! I think I'll miss you most of all.

Already?

Yep, this is it! And if I had time I'd go back and watch all 13 hours of it and see all the little pieces being put into place. The Draper marriage appears to be over, for reals this time, and I want to hug their children. And it was only a year ago that PPL swooped in and bought Sterling-Cooper, so when they learn it's up for sale again, our guys take matters into their own hands. It's a truly masterful episode about fighting for what you deserve, and knowing what - and who - is really important to you. It's about the dissolution of one family and the birth of a new one. Don and Roger kiss and make up, Pete proves he's indispensable, and Joan saves the day. All's right with the world.

Posted by Loula at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

Shit? Meet Fan.

Hello, and welcome to the EXACT OPPOSITE of last week. I was so happy with everything after the last episode, so I kind of set myself up for it, but the stark, gut-wrenching sadness of this one bummed me out in an unpleasantly visceral way. The JFK-shaped shoe drops, finally, and everything starts to unravel. Duck and Peggy are still at it, and they win Best "Where Were You When..." Story. Pete and Trudy have become the realest couple on the whole show somehow while we weren't looking, and they sort of decide together how to deal with Pete's ever-weirdening position at Sterling Cooper. Roger's daughter gets married, and we watch him regain respect for his ex-wife while he comes to terms with the reality of his new one, but it's still Joan he calls when he needs real comfort. And then Betty breaks my heart.

Posted by Loula at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Holy crap.

Seriously. Holy crap. So yeah, remember how last week I said the craziest most shocking thing they could do with this whole BETTY KNOWS! arc is for Don to sit her down and tell her the whole story? Well, it was! And remember a few episodes ago when I had that beautiful fantasy about Douchey Howser, MD going off to Vietnam to be a combat surgeon, and how everyone wins, because we get Joan back, and Dr. Rapey McFail gets to redeem himself and be/die a hero? Well, he is! And how all year we were all clamoring for Roger to have a real story instead of just showing up to make wisecracks and bitch at Don? Well, he did! This is the greatest episode in the history of ever, is my point.

Posted by Loula at 6:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Nothing like a cigarette, a glass of wine, and a shoebox full of your husband's darkest secrets to wind you down after a long day of being horrified and devastated.

So this is the week Betty finally gets a look inside Don's Mysterious Drawer of Secret Mysterious Mysteries, and what she finds is something she really has no idea what to do with. Whatever horrible things she's imagined over the years, I don't think she was prepared for deeds, divorce decrees and double dogtags. She has plenty of time to snoop around, because Don is spending an awful lot of time with Miss Farrell, who may very well just be some lady, but she's starting to get a little clingy and stalky for my taste. Peggy owns Paul in the copy department, which is old news to everyone but Paul. And Putnam, Powell and Lowe are celebrating Sterling-Cooper's 40th anniversary...by slapping a big "FOR SALE" sign on it. That sound you hear is the proverbial excrement zooming full-throttle toward the proverbial fan.

Posted by Loula at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

"What? I'm an asshole! That's the whole point! What show have you been watching?"

So hey, remember the past couple weeks when we liked Don cause he was all "I'm gonna comfort my daughter!" and "I'm gonna flirt with my hot smart wife and remember that she really actually is my dream woman after all!" Well, it's time for one of those episodes whose driving purpose is to remind us that Don is a complete tool. Roger, who is somehow capable of being full of shit and right about everything at the same time, says it: "You're in over your head." That Season 3 logo is making more and more sense. And what does Don do when things slip out of control? He bullies his way into bed with Sally's old teacher, who is initially reluctant but ultimately totally caves. Betty also gets annoyed when she doesn't get what she wants, even when it's pretty much exactly what she wanted. Sort of like her entire life. Throw in a few of the first rumbles of the Civil Rights Movement - the inspiring bits and the horrifying bits, which tended to come one after the other - and more references to Dallas as Autumn of 1963 settles in, and you have yourself one hell of a depressing episode. Also, Sal gets thrown under the bus, which seriously pisses me off.

Posted by Loula at 12:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

"Ding dong! Asshat calling!"

Oh, Pete. Pete Pete Pete. Not making it easy for me, are you? Let's get this out of the way first: There is a huge "Pete is a creep" vs "Pete is a creepy rapist" debate raging on the intertubes. It is my opinion that we don't have enough evidence to declare anything with certainty. Unless Matt Weiner comes out and clears things up, which I rather wish he would, it looks to me like she returns his kiss. And we don't know what happens next. We were treated to a full scene of Douchey Howser MD shoving Joan's face into the floor; there was no ambiguity there. In this case we're being asked to interpret things that happened offscreen. Sleazy and gross? Absolutely. Sexual assault? Not enough information, and if I'm left to fill in the blanks, I come up with "no," for a number of reasons I'll touch on but won't belabor.

And after that thoroughly unpleasant introduction, an episode I liked quite a lot. Betty and Pete are two of my favorite characters, for some of the same reasons - they're both petulant and bratty and whiny but their actions, even when they're spiteful or icky, always fascinate me. And this is their episode.

Posted by Loula at 1:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)

Isn't this so much better than waking up in your giant comfy bed next to your impossibly beautiful wife?

Posted by Loula at 2:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Raise your hand if you saw that coming.

Posted by Loula at 9:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Did you know that in the 60s, childbirth turned you into an impossibly beautiful Disney princess? This show is so educational!

Posted by Loula at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Thmile while you can, Thally.

Posted by Loula at 7:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)