Mad Men: "Commissions and Fees" Review

Note: Full Spoilers follow for this week’s Mad Men episode! If you haven't seen it yet, beware...

“I feel a bit lightheaded.

“That’s relief. I’ve started over a lot, Lane. This is the worst part.”

If only Lane Pryce were as strong as Don Draper. Look, it’s not like Don is Superman (jokes aside both on and off the show) and we’ve seen him at very, very low points… But it is also true that he’s been resilient and he’s been nothing but determined when he’s needed to reinvent himself. But Lane didn’t see any options. He couldn’t possibly look at this as the “new door opening” that Don was going for.

This was a sad, ignoble end for Lane Pryce, in the midst of another terrific episode of Mad Men. All season, as things got crappier for both Pete and Lane, it’s been hard not to wonder if one of them would hit their breaking point. And we got our answer with Lane here.

Lane tried to give his death a bit more symbolism by killing himself inside the Jaguar his wife had just got him – and while it was predictable that the car wouldn’t start (there had been so many references this season to them being great looking but unreliable), on another show, that failed attempt might have resulted in Lane’s wakeup call and ultimately saved his life. Not here. It was just a cruel final joke on Lane, who simply went to the office and finished the job there – and yes, he “finished the job” in a very literal way, as he left his letter of resignation as a suicide note.

It’s brutal that Don will, presumably, now have guilt over this. Yes, you could argue that he could have looked the other way about what Lane had done, but he really was being pretty damn fair with a man he just found out had embezzled from the company – letting him resign rather than be fired and offering to cover the money Lane had stolen. But considering Lane said the reason he simply didn’t ask Don to loan him the money in the first place (that it would be a “humiliation”) and you have a guy who just couldn’t face looking like a failure, even a temporary one, to his wife, son, father and anyone else of importance in his life.

I’ll certainly miss Lane Pryce and the excellent Jared Harris on this series. It’s easy to forget Lane wasn’t even around until Season 3, as he became such a natural part of the series.

Obviously, Lane’s death dominated this episode, but there was other events going on…

It’s funny how uneasy I get whenever Glen is around, thanks to the creepy scenario he was involved in with Betty years ago. But this episode did a nice job of reminding us that he is a kid – even if he might be a screwed up one. Him confiding in Sally (via attempted nonchalance) about some rather horrible bullying was very well done and helped add some layers to his little insults at her earlier, as he said she looked the same and that his friend had a bigger and better apartment than Don’s.

It was also oddly entertaining to simply have Glen and Megan in a scene together, as they represent very different eras of this show. Of course, that being said, the second Megan started being kind and comforting to Glen, I wondered if he would begin to transfer his revolving door crush on the women in Don Draper’s life to her. But at least this episode ended with a nice moment for Glen, as Don – in the midst of his grief over Lane – let the kid drive his car, after being told that was what Glen wanted to do more than anything.

I’ve noted a couple times this season Mad Men feeling a bit more “TV” than it has in the past, and I’d say that again about Sally getting her period. No, I’m not saying doing a story about Sally getting her first period was what felt a bit contrived, it was more it happened – during her secret date with Glen, as they snuck off together after having not seen each other in over a year.

It’s a minor quibble in an otherwise excellent episode though – and yes, it was amusing to see the continually-thinner Betty first get a semi-sweet moment with Sally, as she comforted her daughter… and then be predictably Betty by lording it over Megan - “I just think she needed her mother.”

The follow up to what happened with Joan last week was very interesting, despite not being a huge part of the episode. Don’s snarky, “Should I leave, so you can all do whatever you want?” during the partners meeting was the most direct reference. But what really intrigued me was the scene with Ken that evoked it…

Ken remains a supporting character on this series, often only popping up for a scene or two. And indeed, he was only in two scenes this week (one of which – the discovery of Lane’s body – he was merely an observer in). But his one big dialogue scene, with Roger, was fascinating.

Ken seems like a really nice guy. Perhaps one of the “best” guys left in the increasingly morally bankrupt Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. And last week, think about the couple of notable scenes Ken was involved in: He was there when the Jaguar guy made his “I bang Joan or you don’t get us as a client” proclamation and then later, his buddy Peggy was incredibly cruel to him, while she was dealing with her own crap – and then went and quit to go to another firm, obviously not honoring their “pact” to stick together. So it was good to see a tougher-acting Ken this week, as his line, “No, I don’t want to be your partner. I’ve seen what’s involved,” to Roger clearly let us know he could put two and two together based on what he’d seen happen with Joan. And then he played some real hardball when it came to how to deal with his father-in-law, including some old-fashioned blackmail and specific demands about leaving Pete out of any dealings. It was very cool to see, and hopefully is setting up some big things for Ken down the line.

Also, the horrible nature of how Jaguar was landed as a client, mixed with the discovery of Lane’s embezzlement, clearly was weighing on Don as he was hitting a “Why do we do this?” crisis he unloaded on Roger. And then… He began to get his fire back again. He talked about how much he wanted to go after true big fish clients and then played things incredibly tough in his meeting with Ed Baxter (Ray Wise) in one of those could-torpedo-things/could-totally-get-them-hooked big moves. But with what happened to Lane, who knows how he’ll process it and whether it will strengthen his resolve to make SCDP more worthwhile or simply make him want out. But I sure am curious to find out.

Lastly, I want to mention the complete lack of Peggy this week. I was talking about Peggy leaving SCDP with IGN’s Matt Fowler the other day and I theorized that while I still firmly believe Peggy will be a part of Mad Men going forward, I could see Matt Weiner leaving her out of these last two episodes of Season 5, as she begins her new job. We’ll see if that continues to be the case next week – though perhaps if Lane’s funeral is a part of the season finale, we will see her. I would certainly hope so, at least…

Source : http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/06/04/mad-men-commissions-and-fees-review

Uncharted and Uncharted 2 Coming to PSN

If for some ungodly reason you still haven't played Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the PlayStation Network shall be your salvation. June 26th, both games from developer Naughty Dog hit the store for undisclosed prices.

No word if these digital goodies are coming to other countries, but if you are here in the United States, heads up that all the Uncharted 2 DLC is free on the PlayStation Store right now. The freebies end on June 26th, so download the multiplayer packs now if you're planning on downloading the games then.

While you wait, watch these and marvel at how awkward IGN video reviews were before we used written scripts. Mainly me. Roper was fine.

Source : http://www.ign.com

House "Everybody Dies" Review

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't seen the final episode of House, please watch before reading this review. Full episode spoilers follow.

One of the most difficult things in television is to deliver a series finale that summarizes the message of an entire show, ties up loose ends, and gives a satisfying conclusion to the folks who have poured hundreds of hours of their lives into following the story. With that much pressure on a single episode, it's no wonder that many series finales are often divisive or mediocre.

That said, it's doubtful that the final episode of House will inspire much controversy, and that's a bit of a shame. For a show that often pushes buttons and boundaries (or at least features a title character that does), the series finale played things very safe. It didn't ultimately betray the time investment of its audience, but it didn't take any risks, either.

After a prank that threatens to put House back in jail after violation of his parole, House finds himself in a burning building next to a dead body. The episode constantly returns to this location as we flash back to find out what put House in this situation. The gist of the main story is that House takes one last case, a drug addict (James LeGros) who finds more joy in taking drugs than living. House saves the addict (momentarily) even though the man, thinking he has nothing left to lose, offers to take the fall for House's prank. In saving the patient, House damns himself, proving he is less selfish than he claims... at least for the time being.

House takes up with the addict and eventually ends up waking from a heroin haze to find himself in the abandoned building with the dead addict. The main problem with this story line is that ultimately, House's bad behavior end up killing the patient, which undercuts his sacrifice back at the hospital (a main motivating factor in his decision making later in the episode). Of course, it's all just set-up to put House in a life-or-death situation in the burning building (it's never explained why the building is on fire), so he can start reflecting back on his life as the flames creep closer.

This allows the show to trot out a litany of familiar faces in a Scrooge-esque analysis of House's life: each ghost emerges to dig deeper into House's motivations for self-destruction in light of Wilson's impending death. The carousel of guest stars has long been a series finale cliche, but here it feels unnecessary. For some, it may provide closure to see Kal Penn or Olivia Wilde or Andre Brauger return, but it feels like a move that is made purely because this is the last episode of the series, and not because it is essential to bring these characters back to tell this story.

Having everyone back also puts a harsh light on the absence of Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) in this finale. She exited the series between seasons and never got a satisfactory farewell, so it was disappointing that among all of the characters we see, the one who needs her story wrapped the most, and one of the folks who could have helped explore House's fractured psyche the best, does not get a swan song of her own.

Then there's the matter of the ending. Again, if you do not want to be spoiled, do not read further. Just as House has chosen to live, and change his life (it's Scrooge's revelation without the happy running through the streets hugging Tiny Tim bit), the building he is in explodes. Wilson and Foreman have tracked House to the warehouse and are there to see it go up, and by the time all the flames are out, virtually the entire staff is collected outside the smoking building waiting to hear House's fate. Eventually, a stretcher is wheeled out and later House is identified as the body. Dental records confirm it. But it's a little too coincidental that there was another body in the building that is never discovered, and so by the time we get to House's funeral, it's already pretty obvious he is pulling a Huck Finn.

Of course, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the false ending, or with House faking his death to avoid jail time and hang out with Wilson in his last days... it all just feels a bit tidy and safe. There is a braver ending out there, but not one that is as audience-pleasing, perhaps.

And the mere fact that the episode is safe does not make it bad; it just does not make it transcendent. But it does cap a comeback season; after getting bogged down in some wacky, wayward episodes last season, House snapped back to form this season and delivered a solid suite of farewell episodes.

This show has been a great success due to clever writing and great performances, especially the anchoring presence of Hugh Laurie, who has been excellent throughout the show's run. House has become one of the most memorable and unique characters in TV history, in large part due to Laurie. Despite a somewhat disappointing finale, the show will be missed. There's nothing on TV quite like it.

Source : http://www.ign.com