Mad Men: Season Five (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

So has it been said how many more seasons we will have?

If I remember correctly when Matthew Weiner signed back on, a sixth season was a definite and there was an option for a seventh year. I think a seventh season is all but guaranteed and according to Weiner, that would be the end of the series.
I read an interview with Weiner today and he said that the writers already go back to work next month.

 

[Sam Favate]

Originally Posted by Jason_V /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/270#post_3937531
Personal opinion: Don is going back to his old ways because that is, truly, his dream. His thought process is "everyone else is doing exactly what they want, why can't I?" Megan got the commercial she wanted, Betty got what she wanted with Henry, Lane presumably got what he wanted, the firm is getting another floor, Roger got Megan's mother again. He's been trying-valiantly-to be what everyone else expected of him: strong, smart, upstanding. But that's not really Don. He wants two lives, like the song says. He's going to try to meld them again. Can divorce #3 be that far off?

It seemed clear to me that Don wasn't going to say yes at the end. That's just what I took from it. "What Don wants" is not the same thing as being able to have a fling in a bar. He's done that repeatedly in his life and what did it bring him? He wasn't happy. If you look at last season, he was anything but.

I thought season 4 was the best of the bunch but season 5 makes a case for the best year of the show. No doubt season 6 will move into 1968 with all of that year's turmoil.

I still remain unconvinced that Lane's death was a dramatic necessity, but nevertheless, this is still the best thing on TV in many years.

 

[Matt Hough]

Originally Posted by ScottH /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/270#post_3937544


So has it been said how many more seasons we will have?

Two more, I think.

 

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by Sam Favate /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/300#post_3937621

It seemed clear to me that Don wasn't going to say yes at the end. That's just what I took from it. "What Don wants" is not the same thing as being able to have a fling in a bar. He's done that repeatedly in his life and what did it bring him? He wasn't happy. If you look at last season, he was anything but.

Granted, the show likes to keep things ambiguous a lot of the time, but considering the final act of the episode, I don't think Don says no nor do I think he's actually happy right now. He's been in a miserable mood the last few episodes-he had reason, no doubt-but Happy Happy Husband does not square with Don Draper. If Weiner wanted to come down firmly on the kind of man Don has changed into, we would have seen his answer to the proposition. We didn't see it, leaving it to our imagination to figure out what he did and why.

Instead of watching his wife shoot the commercial and be proud of her, he walks away. When he watches her reel-for the first time, I suspect-he tears up. Why? Not because she's dazzlingly beautiful or immensely talented, but because he isn't doing what she's doing. What is she doing? Pursuing a dream.

What does Megan's mother say about her? She's essentially not good enough to follow her dream of being an actress. When that dream is squashed, she'll be exactly what Don wants.

What was Pete doing all episode? Pursuing his "dream" of being one of those men who has an apartment in the city and doesn't bother coming home.

What was Roger doing with Megan's mother? Clearly he had designs on more than conversation the minute they started talking. He wanted to take LSD with her-Roger's dream.

It's no coincidence in my mind why You Only Live Twice was played at the end of the show. This is Don/Dick's second chance at combining his dreams with reality. I think the actual question, therefore, is what is Don's dream. Is it Megan and the kids and being home at 5 pm to be a father/husband? Or is his dream to be the high-powered exec who schmoozes and wines and dines everyone but come home to an empty home? I don't think we, or Don, actually knows.

 

[Sam Favate]

Not to take away from the episode - which I thought was great - but it seemed odd to me that last week, the firm's finances were so precarious that bonuses couldn't be given and Lane was so desperate as a result, he killed himself, and then this week, they're flush with money. Seems like Lane would have known that kind of money would have been coming in, even before he gave himself that check several weeks back.

 

[Joe_H]

Not to take away from the episode - which I thought was great - but it seemed odd to me that last week, the firm's finances were so precarious that bonuses couldn't be given and Lane was so desperate as a result, he killed himself, and then this week, they're flush with money. Seems like Lane would have known that kind of money would have been coming in, even before he gave himself that check several weeks back. 

Part of the reason they were flush with money was due to the insurance policy they had on him though.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I'm guessing insurance companies got wise (later), and put in riders for non-coverage in the case of suicide on life insurance policies. Because they did get $125,000 from the pay-out (after taking out the $50,000 Don handed over to Lane's wife).

 

[TravisR]

There's also the possibility that Don, Roger, Cooper and even Pete are wealthy enough that they could have easily pulled together $50,000 to give to her but didn't want to think she was getting charity.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Absolutely it was weird that after the storylines about the firm's tight finances, non-payment of bonuses, etc., suddenly they're flush with cash. And it wasn't the insurance payout; Joan made it very clear in the meeting that they were raking in receipts from clients. It really made the whole suicide subplot feel even more like a contrivance to reduce the cast budget.
As for the insurance money, what did Lane's wife mean when she implied that the firm owed him more than $50,000? Was she simply referring to his personal (as opposed to financial) investment? And did anyone recognize the photo she found in his wallet? I don't think it was anyone we know, but I'm not sure.
Megan's mom's line about ballerinas, while classic, was followed up by an even better one -- "That's what happens when someone with an artistic temperament isn't an artist." Did that not strike a chord with everyone who's ever slaved over a crappy screenplay?
Now to figure out how Peggy will get "You've come a long way, baby" from humping dogs. . .

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I'm guessing insurance companies got wise (later), and put in riders for non-coverage in the case of suicide on life insurance policies. Because they did get $125,000 from the pay-out (after taking out the $50,000 Don handed over to Lane's wife).

Insurance companies were wise to suicide long before the mid-'60s (think Willy Loman), but it's fairly standard to have a time limit on the exclusion -- I think usually two years (i.e., if the covered person commits suicide more than 2 years after taking out the policy, it will pay). I guess that's why they had the 17-month hiatus between seasons.

 

[Jason_V]

/t/317541/mad-men-season-five/300#post_3937712
And did anyone recognize the photo she found in his wallet? I don't think it was anyone we know, but I'm not sure.

It was from a wallet Lane found earlier in the season. He took the picture and kept it.

 

[Doug Smith]

I thought the most interesting part of the last show was when Pete bared his soul to his lover in the hospital. I felt, he was for once being honest - even for a weasel. Even when he confronted her husband on the train, his reasoning had a moralistic slant attached. A very poignant moment. However he still got "speed bagged". This guy seriously needs some self-defence lessons.
And how about his "excuse' when he gets home - he looks like he'd gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson but tells his wife "but there's no damage to the car, I just put it in the ditch". I wonder what kind of car she thought he was driving - obviously not a Jaguar. And in the end she gives the weasel what he wants - an apartment in the city. I should try that one on for size with my wife.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Is Trudy really that innocent, or does she just relish the thought of not having to see his weasel face every evening?

 

[Sam Favate]

Maybe next season Trudy will get her turn to punch Pete in the face.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Maybe next season Trudy will get her turn to punch Pete in the face.

Viewers could turn this into a drinking game...

 

[Rob Willey]

I look forward to seeing Roger as a middle-aged hippie at Woodstock in season 7.

 

[joshEH]

Viewers could turn this into a drinking game...

So...between Pete and Joffrey, are the two of them about tied for this season, now? I think they each got two apiece; plus Joffrey got at least one more in the first season, which makes him current champion. But there's always next year.
Also, am I the only one who thought Don was going to get a hand-job from Peggy?
"Look, I keep telling you guys, no more hand-jobs; it was a one-time thing! I was stoned, and... Oh, Don!"
"Peggy?"
"PIZZA HOUSE!!"
(Peggy runs for the door)

 

[MishaLauenstein]

Also, am I the only one who thought Don was going to get a hand-job from Peggy?

I didn't think it would happen, but the thought occurred to me.
And afterwards, Peggy would whisper to Don, "You've come a long way, Baby."

 

[Dheiner]

At some point I expect Don to tell Peggy. "You've come a long way, Peggy."

 

[Quentin]

My friends and I have a bad habit now of always answering phone calls from one another with the most possibly outrageous PIZZA HOUSE!
Weiner has proclaimed Peggy will NOT come up with the Virginia Slims slogan. So, scratch that. In the same interview with Sepinwall he also said that if you wanted to know what the season was all about just listen to the lyrics of You Only Live Twice. If you do, you may think (as I do) that the final actions of Don may be more positive than originally thought. Perhaps he really HAS found love and is willing to 'pay the price' to keep it.