Hey guys, apologies for this review going up so very late – a full week after the episode aired! Thanks to my time in New York covering Upfronts, I only just was able to watch it.
This was an interesting episode for Don. All season (but it began earlier, of course), he’d been so checked out of work. And here he is, getting back into things, but obviously also very insecure. He was inspired to pitch his own take on the Sno Ball campaign when he snuck a look at Ginsberg’s pages in the first place – but clearly didn’t like the fact that while everyone genuinely liked his devil idea, Ginsberg’s played a bit better.
Don had a great, cold retort to Ginsberg at the end – “I don’t think about you at all” – but it was a lie of course. He’d been thinking about him the whole episode. This is a very interesting new side of Don, as he is trying to prove he’s still got it, and has his (valid) concerns about these young hotshots who may be on their way to surpassing him.
Insecurity was a big theme in "Dark Shadows" (yes it was funny timing to have this air the weekend the Dark Shadows movie opened), as we saw it also explored with Betty. I felt the moment where she saw Megan changing in her bedroom was a bit too convenient – We already understood how uncomfortable it was for Betty to see this oh-so modern new apartment of Don’s and be in the presence of his young, beautiful wife, while she was struggling with her weight. But Betty’s response was oh-so Betty, which is to say, awful.
Betty throwing a bomb into Don’s life by revealing who Anna was to Sally was “Classic Betty.” And while I feel like we have a good handle on who Betty is and how and why she does a lot of the cruel things she does, it still was pretty satisfying to see it ultimately backfire on her. Sally realizing it was true that Betty was trying to sabotage things and calmly telling her mother, “Yes. Daddy showed me pictures and they spoke very fondly of her,” was gratifying. I don’t hate Betty, but I don’t want to see her win this petty battle either, that’s for sure. Betty’s final hollow, boastful Thanksgiving dinner thanks was both amusing and sad, as she struggles to convince herself she is happy "And no one else has anything better."
I wish the story with Roger and Joan had resonated a bit more. I did like the continued look at the “new” Roger, as he said he was over hating Pete and we learned he will not stop bringing up his LSD experience. But we’ve never known Jane well enough to really feel her pain when she told Roger he’d ruined her new apartment by seducing her in it. I guess the question is whether Roger truly learned something from what happened – he obviously was motivated by his jealousy at her semi-flirting with another man – since he’s the character we’re invested in of the two.
Pete didn’t appear a ton in this episode, but when he did, it was all about his continued (and increasingly worrisome) obsession with Beth (Alexis Bledel), despite her having ended things. I find myself very nervous where this is going…
Meanwhile, Lane Pryce continued to be MIA this week – a very odd, long absence from the show. I’m very glad to see him in the previews for the next episode!
Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/05/20/mad-men-dark-shadows-review
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