When I heard secretaries Dawn and Shirley each call the
other by their own name, I was confused at first. I can be slow on the uptake
with plot sometimes but I am pretty sure I can keep straight the names of two
separate characters. Then it dawned on me: The two women are making fun of how
the less-enlightened staff of Sterling Cooper and Partners can’t tell apart the
firm’s only two black employees.
Mad Men has often
faced criticism for eliding race relations and the civil rights battles of the
‘60s. Most black characters have been maids, elevator operators, the odd
burglar, etc. The relative invisibility of people of color made a certain
amount of sense because the show is the story of an advertising firm that would
have been insular and not feature many, if any, minority employees.
Last night the show was more upfront with addressing race.
Dawn’s new boss Lou Avery rakes her over the coals for something that isn’t her
fault (and they’re really setting up Lou as an asshole as he’s dumping on the
sweetest character of the series) so they have to demote Dawn to the front
desk. Then there’s an ugly scene in which ol’ Bert Cooper “suggests” that they
might not want to have a black employee visible in the lobby (what would people
think?!). It’s a nasty reminder of some of the attitudes of the old guard 45
years ago. In the end, Dawn wins out, getting a promotion to Joan’s position of
office manager, with her own office. I was happy to see Dawn get a break and
finally stand up for herself, especially after working so hard under the table
to keep the exiled Don in the loop. It was nice to see her flash a smile as she
sat at her new desk.
After a wacky mix-up with Valentine’s Day roses, Peggy
demotes her secretary Shirley, who appears to end up working for Lou. The thing
with the flowers was sitcom funny but also made Peggy come off,
uncharacteristically, like a real asshole. She complained that she didn’t get
anything done all day, but it was her own fault, spending the day livid at Ted.
She can’t lie on a couch drinking and stewing and then blame other people for her
lack of productivity. Peggy has become the establishment she once broke into.
Joan finally gets her own office upstairs with the big boys.
This is long overdue since even as a partner, she had been treated like a
secretary in the role she had long ago outgrown. Joan is in a precarious
position on the show. She is still haunted somewhat by the fact that she had to
sleep with the sleazy Jaguar guy to become partner. Even though she has proven
she is uber-competent over 15 years, there still seems to be an asterisk next
to her partnership. It was telling that Jim Cutler, who probably doesn’t know
about Joan’s date with the Jaguar guy, was the one who gave her the office. It
wasn’t clear whose office she took. Pete’s? Ted’s? Bob’s? If any person deserves
to come out of Mad Men as a winner,
it’s Joan Harris.
On the loser side, there’s Don Draper, sleeping til noon,
drinking again, eating crackers in front of the TV and putting on a suit only
at the end of the day to keep up appearances when Dawn shows up. In the
viciously accurate words of Jim Cutler, Don is “the ex-wife we’re paying
alimony.”
There is a little redemption for Don, though, in the way he
finally is honest with Sally after she catches him lying about still working at
Sterling Cooper. She has seen her father at his ugliest and Don drops the mask
just a little with her and tries to repair his breach of trust. God love
Kiernan Shipika, who has become one of the more fascinating actresses and
characters on this show, exhibiting traits of both her parents almost without
realizing it. I loved the subtle disgust in her voice when she throws Don’s lie
about “not feeling well” back in his face. Their exchange in the car was a gut
punch, with Sally getting across how hard it would have been if she’d gone to
Don’s apartment and had to share an elevator with the woman she caught her
father sleeping with (red handed). Don has no defense for this sort of thing. The
ad man has found some bullshit that he can’t sell to the client.
But yes, there is some redemption for him. Sally’s parting “I
love you” was devastating. Even after everything, maybe these two will finally
come to an understanding. Maybe that small gesture is the beginning of Don
getting his life back together.
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