What a horrible Mother’s Day for Sally. This week’s Mad Men Stood on some great and sad moments but was also filled with its fair share of what seemed like filler so they could air out the season finale next week. Pete’s job journey with Duck was a bit annoying at times, sure seeing Drunk Duck again was nice, but ultimately it got probably more set up than needed. And even Don’s Journey through the Motel life dragged a bit. What Mad Men does so well is the fact that it doesn’t force characters down your throat week to week. But not having Roger, Joan, Peggy, or anyone other than Pete involved in its story was a bit of a hindrance. But with those things were missing we had Betty to take that spot.
Right off the bat that sounds like trouble. Betty and the viewing audience have a contentious relationship. I like January Jones, and I think her cold, stoic portrayal of Betty is an excellent depiction of a pseudo step-ford wife. And once you see her fall on those stairs as she struggles to climb them to get to class, my immediate thought was cancer. And the show goes a long time until they say the word cancer but I thought Betty and everyone reacting to the news was great this week. Of course, Sally was upset but then eventually butted heads with her mother over the fact that she thinks she’s giving up. And Francis’ reaction was also very sad to see. Watching him give the bad news to Sally and then breaking down in front of her was one of his best moments on the show.(granted he doesn’t have a lot.) Betty talking to Sally as she sat on her bedside was very touching, saying “I don’t want you to think I’m giving up, I’ve fought for plenty in my life.” it was very sad but also respectful to see her so calm and stoic as she always is.
I bet you can’t tell its the 70’s
Another great moment of this episode was the interweaving of Trudy and Pete, obviously any seen with Alison Brie in it is great but seeing her fight Pete’s advances towards rekindling their love life was a good way to show a backbone. I really felt for Pete at the end, professing his love and wanting to start over. He has been painted in a much better light this last season than previous almost to the point of a total character change without us seeing that, but he has seemed to have matured a bit. But none the less seeing Pete and Trudy back together makes me wonder if they are just stepping into the same old thing they did way back when. And, on the other hand, who on earth would cheat on Trudy in the first place she is the definition of likable.
Don’s Road trip had some fantastic moments and some annoying ones. Like him watching the beautiful woman out by the pool or him fixing a Coke machine. Now I know Mathew Weiner has meaning shoved into every aspect of this show, and I love that about this show, but those scenes, in particular, felt like strange fills. Which is even weirder knowing that this particular episode went eleven minutes long. The episode didn’t need all those moments with Don, in fact, we could’ve used more Betty. But the parts that Did work included the VFW, and the Hotel maid. The VFW first off looks like every other VFW today, so I suppose things haven’t changed that much. And seeing him open up to these other veterans about what happened to him in Korea was a beautiful thing to watch. Granted he was light up but still after that old man told his story about those German soldiers I trust those men with most things. And besides he will never see them again. Watching Don get tortured (sort of) over the money stolen from the VFW was a strange scene I liked it but it was obvious as soon as I heard money had been taken that the maid kid did it. So seeing him give the kid his car was a strange turn I didn’t see the episode ending on.
“What do you mean this tie is to big?”
Granted I feel that way about a lot of things Don does but maybe that why I love this show. With only one episode left you have to imagine, we won’t see Betty or Pete much in the finale. But what a beautifully written end to these characters. –As long as Pete’s job holds– watching Betty’s face as the doctor tells Francis she has cancer was a heartbreaking scene. And her letter to Sally at the end was equally sad as we watched her climb those stairs to class because “Why was I doing it at all.” I could ramble on about how awesome I thought Betty was and its true she held this episode afloat and made it that much more memorable. But with only one episode left we will have to see if Don gets a ride on the bus after ditching his ride mid-road trip.
