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Mad Men: Season Five (1 Viewer)

joshEH

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Also learned from AV Club; this episode co-written by Weiner and Frank Pierson -- who wrote Cool Hand Luke and Dog Day Afternoon.
It's interesting to consider that Pete blamed his raping a young girl on his wife for leaving him alone. There was no turning point. He's a terrible person, and always has been. He's an antagonist within this show's world -- his purpose is usually to present an obstacle to the characters we like (Peggy, Don, Roger, and now Lane).
My favorite "Sleazy Pete" moment in that episode was the hooker running through characters with him, passing on each until she hit on "You're the king, baby!" That was the most pathetic thing I've seen in a long, long time.
I loved the staging of the fight; so anticlimactic. A lesser show would've had one of them flying through the windows, but instead they fought like the two awkward white guys they were.
I think the most astute observation in the whole episode was acknowledging the futility of anyone trying to resist Alison Brie. Even Don had to admit he likes Trudy. (Don, of all people!)
 

Aaron Silverman

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What, you don't think Don would tap that? (Well, old Don, anyway.) :D
When did Pete rape a young girl? Am I forgetting something?
You might be onto something with the idea of Pete snapping and shooting people, but I hope not. That would be too over the top IMO.
 

Patrick Sun

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It was only 8 years ago that Vincent Kartheiser was playing Connor on "Angel", and his action double know how to throw a punch or two. Hee hee.
Anyone else think they were trying to cast a Scarlett Johansson-lite young actress in driving school to tantalize Pete for a while before he realized that he was not going to tap that due to the arrival of Handsome?
 

ScottH

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Pete is a terrible person, but really, is he anymore terrible than say, Don or Roger? And when did he rape someone?
 

TravisR

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^ I don't even want to get into a discussion of what does and doesn't constitute rape but you could argue that he forces himself on the German maid who lives/works next door to him and Trudy back in S3.
 

ScottH

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I completely forgot about the maid. I don't remember the Trudy incident.
 

mattCR

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Originally Posted by TravisR /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/60#post_3917766
^ I don't even want to get into a discussion of what does and doesn't constitute rape but you could argue that he forces himself on the German maid who lives/works next door to him and Trudy back in S3.
I don't remember the Trudy incident, I'd have to check back, but once you said it I immediately thought of the thing with the maid.. it may be a bit overstated, as she gave grudging consent.. but she was definitely compelled into that situaton
 

ScottH

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Originally Posted by TravisR /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/60#post_3917821
I meant that the maid that lived next to door to Pete and Trudy in an episode that took place back in S3 (and not that he also raped Trudy). Sorry for the creepy confusion.
Haha! After re-reading your post I see exactly what you meant. Not sure why I interpreted it that way, but apparently so did mattCR.
 

Aaron Silverman

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ScottH said:
Pete is a terrible person, but really, is he anymore terrible than say, Don or Roger?  And when did he rape someone?
Yes, he is. They're all terrible in their own ways, but IMO Roger does terrible things as a result of his childish free spirit and Don does terrible things because he's a bit of a lost soul, while Pete is just a straight-up entitled prick. Roger means well and Don occasionally shows signs of remorse and/ or a desire to do better, and they both seem to display honest affection for other people, while Pete comes across as a sociopath who's incapable of truly caring about anyone but himself. Trudy's an angel but when she's not in the room, it's like she doesn't exist for him.
Now that you guys remind me, I remember the maid thing. "Rape" is a strong word, but it's in the ballpark.
 

joshEH

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I'm going back and forth on whether Don has really evolved. He resists temptation in the bordello, but then he's always been one to stand apart from the crowd. In fact, he's actually an unsociable guy, with his wife having to drag him to dinner with his colleagues.
It was fascinating how Pete is so desperate for Don's approval, and so pissed when Don refused to "partake" in the festivities.
Poor Lane: this episode was as much about Lane's emasculation as Pete's. Lane thinks he's got a major new account for the firm -- in fact, the only new piece of business, period. And in his own mind he's bringing it in brilliantly, only to see his colleagues, the "pros," screw it up. And then to be called out as useless in front of the partners by "the [pimp]."
His moment with Joan reminds us that Lane is also terribly lonely himself, has a distant relationship with his wife, and is starved of real affection, hence his move on Joan. (And remember he tried to put the moves on a woman via the phone, based on seeing her picture in a wallet he picked up, just a few episodes ago). I think he had a basic, almost instinctual, need to kiss Joan just based on her sympathy for him.
And Pete? Yeah, he's his own worst enemy, in spades. He actually gets along pretty well with his wife, better than most of the other men in the office. I think his misery stems from thinking himself above things like taking his would-be client to a whorehouse, so when he does so, he feels humiliated. You saw that in Season One too, where he had to take clients out, but clearly wasn't into it.
He's so at odds with the profession he's chosen, trying to live up to the image of what he thinks he should be, that the inner tension causes him to be King Ass.
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ScottH

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Originally Posted by Aaron Silverman /t/317541/mad-men-season-five/60#post_3918115
Yes, he is. They're all terrible in their own ways, but IMO Roger does terrible things as a result of his childish free spirit and Don does terrible things because he's a bit of a lost soul, while Pete is just a straight-up entitled prick. Roger means well and Don occasionally shows signs of remorse and/ or a desire to do better, and they both seem to display honest affection for other people, while Pete comes across as a sociopath who's incapable of truly caring about anyone but himself. Trudy's an angel but when she's not in the room, it's like she doesn't exist for him.

You might be able to convince me that Pete is a "bigger prick" than Don or Roger, but Don is every bit the sociopath Pete is...and then some.
 

TravisR

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If I had to pick the best person between Don, Pete or Roger, I'd say it's Don. They're all fucked up but I just see Pete and Roger as willing to cross lines that even Don, who is hardly an example of decency, wouldn't cross. Maybe it's just because he's the 'hero' of the series or because he has the most screentime but Don seems to have some positive aspects of his life while Pete has few redeeming qualities and Roger has almost none.
 

ScottH

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I think we can all agree that the guy we'd most like to go out drinking with is Roger.
 

Mikah Cerucco

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"I'm bleeding... help"

Don: It's not that bad. You should be able to handle that.
Roger: I was on my way to the elevator (indifferent to others)
Pete: I was on my way to the elevator, how could you do this now? (indifferent to others, and irritated that he isn't the center of the universe)
 

joshEH

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I want a .GIF of Peggy jerking off that beatnik in the theater STAT.
Wow, fantastic episode. Of course, liked the Trippin' Balls Roger-segment the best. Among other things, inspired use of the Beach Boys.
 

Patrick Sun

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I never know where this show goes each week, but I find myself laughing quite a bit: Peggy trying to shake down the Heinz guy, Peggy taking the afternoon to go to the movie, Peggy jerking off a stranger in a movie theater, Roger on LSD, Roger using the opportunity to ditch his current wife, Don ditching Megan at a HoJo, Don and Megan fighting. Genius writing.
 

TravisR

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That dude in the movie had a helluva day- he got to see a movie instead of going to work, smoke some pot and get jerked off by a random girl.
If I had heard that a character on the show was going to take LSD, I would have expected it to be Peggy, Don or maybe Megan but having Roger do it was a great choice. I loved the sound effect on the cigarette and when he saw Cooper on the money.
 

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