“You’re in their country. Learn to speak the language.” – Joan to Peggy
“Maidenform” is the sixth episode of Mad Men Season 2. What’s new and what’s happening?
- It’s always fun to get a sense of time and place with Mad Men, and we learn that it’s Memorial Day, 1962 in this episode. This is highlighted by Don and Betty attending a super throwback (by our standards) country club party during the holiday weekend.
- It’s another episode where we get to see what various characters are up to at specific times of year. Pete and Trudy host a barbeque at their apartment (purchased at the end of “New Amsterdam,” in Season 1) in Manhattan, with Pete’s brother Bud and his wife attending.
- It’s clear that Don’s resentment of Duck has not abated, and it’s on Roger’s radar enough that he forces the two to have lunch to make peace. Instead, Don engineers a quick sit down with Duck in his office, accepts Duck’s offer to try and work together (after telling him that he feels like being pitched to by Duck more than the clients are), and then bails on work for the afternoon to be with Bobbie Barrett.
- Duck Phillip’s ex-wife, Pauline (Alexandra Paul), and kids (Mark, played by Darian Weiss, and Patricia, played by Gina DeVivo) show up at the office. But that’s burying the lead, as they say, as we’re also introduced to sweet, doomed dog Chauncey! Super Messed Up Thing, Part I: Mark and Patricia later tell their dad that 1) their mom is getting re-married and 2) sweet, doomed Chauncey is getting handed off to pops. The latter bit is the tipping point for Duck, which leads to Super Messed Up Thing, Part II: Duck proceeds to 1) almost but not quite break his sobriety and then 2) he literally kicks sweet, doomed Chauncey to the curb, letting his loose outside of the Sterline Cooper office building. Not cool, Duck, not cool at all!
- Things go real sour, real fast with the Don/Bobbie affair when the latter accidentally reveals that Don has something of a “reputation” among a certain circle of ladies of New York City. Don, none too pleased, literally leaves Bobbie tied up.
Mad Men, “Maidenform”: do we meet anyone new?
- Crab Colson (Matt McKenzie), a PR guy who works for Rogers & Cowen, shows up at the country club party.
Things you might notice after watching the entire Mad Men series a bunch of times
- The opening scene montage features the song, “The Infanta,” by The Decemberists. It’s a really good song, but it’s a rare thing where it feels like a slightly off choice for the show as it “feels” much more modern than the show’s sensibilities (which was by design in some sense as the song, off of the album Picaresque, was released in 2005).
Mad Men, “Maidenform”: other things happening at Sterling Cooper
- There’s lots of advertising-centric stuff going on in this episode. Peggy and Pete are getting along at the moment, especially as her creative expertise is on point with the Clearasil account. She develops the concept of “Mrs. Fresh Face,” with Pete insisting that the tag line should be, “Thanks, Clearasil.”
- Sterling Cooper client Playtex wants their ad creative to be more like that of their competitor, Maidenform. Don, noting that Playtex’s market share is both large and stable, initially scoffs at this notion. Don is not a progressive dude in many respects – he’s usually hostile to the notion of change (except when he decides to blow up his life, I suppose).
- While out with the boys, Paul gets has his best creative idea that we’ll ever see him have (even if it’s a bit sexist by modern standards): every woman breaks down as a “Marilyn” (Monroe) or “Jackie” (Kennedy, later Onassis) type, and so these “two characters” become the basis of a new pitch for Playtex. The client absolutely loves the pitch – it’s a huge homerun… except they decide they’re actually perfectly happy with their current creative. Paul is bummed, and we’re reminded that being a “creative professional” isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.
- Speaking of which, Peggy feels left out of the boozy social sessions with colleagues that she’s left out of. By the episode’s end, she boldly shows up to a burlesque show at the Tom-Tom Room that Pete and Paul have taken the Playtex executives to. When she’s pulled onto the lap of one of the execs, it seems Peggy’s gambit has not helped her to be seen as an equal with her co-workers.
Mad Men, “Maidenform”: odds and ends
- It’s hilarious when Sal randomly says, “Those kids are drunk,” when American Bandstand is brought up.
- “Whenever it’s this hot, I think about that summer they executed the Rosenberg’s,” someone at the country club party says. This refers to the execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in the summer of 1953, who were convicted of spying for the Soviet Union.
- Betty bumps into Arthur at the same party. She admits that she changed her horse-riding schedule to avoid him, but then says, “Let’s be friends,” and gets slightly flirty for a moment… until Bobby and Sally run up to her, embarrassing her.
- Don heads back to the house after attempting to make plans on the sly with Bobbie Barrett but learns that a) she has plans with her son and b) that he has a son. It’s an incredibly rare moment where we see Don alone in his own home.
- Don doesn’t like having a mirror held up to his actions – and his life – it seems, and this is emphasized at episode’s end when he’s shaving at the end of the episode.
People on Mad Men are often awful (new feature!)
- Pete is clueless on the most important things: he talks casually with Peggy about starting a family and having no idea of the turmoil she’s gone through after bearing his child.
- Pete is also clueless on the little (but still important) things: he spoils the ending of The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to Peggy (of course) and then has the neve to say, “I hate people who do that.”
- Pete is not so much clueless as creepy when he 1) picks up a young model on the way out of a Sterling Cooper casting session 2) heads right over to her apartment to have sex on the couch… while the gal’s mom is in the next room, behind a flimsy-looking screen.
- Don coldly tells Betty that she looks “desperate” in a bikini that she’s planning to wear to the public pool on a hot day. The ironic thing is that she does feel desperate… within her own marriage.
Mad Men, “Maidenform”: fun quotes
- “Has your wife seen that yet? Do me a favor and let me be there when it happens.” – Roger to Don, on the arrival of his secretary, “new girl” Jane Siegel
- “You’re in their country. Learn to speak the language.” – Joan to Peggy
Some stats and info about Mad Men, “Maidenform”
TV SHOW – Mad Men
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 6
AIRED ON – August 31st, 2008
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FX
GENRE – Drama, Relationship Shows, Office Culture, Period Shows
CREATED BY – Mathew Weiner
CAST – Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Staton, Rich Sommer, John Slattery, Kiernan Shipka, Robert Morse, Christopher Stanley, Jessica Pare, Jay R. Ferguson, Michael Gladis, Bryan Batt, Alison Brie, Jared Harris, Kevin Rahm, Mason Cotton, Ben Feldman, Mark Moses, Anne Dudek, Maggie Siff, Joel Murray, Harry Hamlin, Talia Balsam, James Wolk
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.