“After all,” we might imagine Bert Cooper saying. “Who is really leading Don Draper’s life anyway?”
Mad Men Season 1 Rankings: where did “Long Weekend” rank?
Mad Men’s “Long Weekend” came in as the #7 ranked episode of Mad Men’s 13 Season 1 episodes! Find more Mad Men rankings here.
Here’s why “Long Weekend” was ranked as the #7 episode of 13 Mad Men Season 1 episodes.
CATEGORY – TV
SHOW – Mad Men
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – AMC
GENRE – Drama, Period Show, Relationship Drama, Office Culture
EPISODE – “Long Weekend”
BEING RANKED FOR – Mad Men Season 1
RANK – #7 of Mad Men’s 13 Season 1 episodes
Mad Men, “Long Weekend” (S0110) review
As Sterling Cooper shuts down for Labor Day weekend, 1960, Roger Sterling engineers a get together with Don Draper and the new models of Cartwright double-sided aluminum (and suffers life threatening results) while Joan and her roommate make their own time on a hot night in the big (and lonely) city.
When model Mirabel alerts Don and Eleanor (Mirabel’s twin) to the fact that Roger is suffering from a heart attack (after she and Roger were attempting a second romp), Don’s professional (and perhaps survival) instincts take over and he quickly has the two girls call an ambulance and leave. As the EMTs are taking Roger to the hospital, Don gives him a good hard slap to the face to remind the muttering Sterling Cooper partner that, ”Mona, your wife’s name is Mona!” Don’s intense tone here is somewhat reminiscent of when he tells an institution-bound Peggy “how much she won’t remember” in a Season 2 flashback just after she has given birth to Pete’s child, a condition she could not consciously accept. Don’s ability and capacity to compartmentalize is lockbox strong, and he occasionally will dole out his methodology to those close to him when the situation calls for it.
At the hospital, we see a very different Roger: gone is the effortless satirical tone, the world weary charm, the nihilistic appetite for life and women and booze. He’s had a major coronary, and he’s scared. He takes a moment to venture into brave new ground with Don, who is by his side. “Do you believe in energy? I don’t know, a soul?” he asks. Don for his part answers in a way that is core to his own personality and makeup: “What do you want to hear?” Roger then reveals more about himself: “God, I wish I was going somewhere.”
Before Don can respond, Mona comes in and Roger not only remembers to use her name, but breaks down and cries, telling her how much he loves her. We believe that he does in this moment, just as wholeheartedly as he enjoyed his romp with Mirabel earlier in the evening. It’s an honest moment that while funny and tender and sad and slightly confounding is strikingly true to the real world at the same time. And it’s a lovely televised moment in showing off how gray the tones of real life often are.
As Margaret is brought in and husband, wife, and daughter embrace, Don is shown looking in from behind glass. Once again, he’s observing his life as though from afar. The implication is that while he has mastered almost all of what it takes to be a high powered New York City executive with its trappings and excess, he hasn’t a clue about how to take true ownership of his own life. “After all,” we might imagine Bert Cooper saying. “Who is really leading Don Draper’s life anyway?”
This review was originally published on TV Geek Army.
Mad Men, “Long Weekend”: episode and cast info
Air date – September 27, 2007
Mad Men creator – Matthew Weiner
Directed by – Tim Hunter
Writing credits – Matthew Weiner, Bridget Bedard, Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton
Cast
Jon Hamm – Don Draper
Elisabeth Moss – Peggy Olson
Vincent Kartheiser – Pete Campbell
January Jones – Betty Draper
Christina Hendricks – Joan Holloway
Bryan Batt – Salvatore Romano
Michael Gladis – Paul Kinsey
Aaron Staton – Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer – Harry Crane
Maggie Siff – Rachel Menken
Robert Morse – Bertram Cooper
Anne Dudek – Francine Hanson