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| January Jones |
Welcome to Mad Cap: a daily rundown of every episode of the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. During this time, I will be compiling my thoughts and highlights as we travel through every moment and season of the Emmy-award winning drama that has come to define modern TV. The goal is to be a refresher on every moment for Don Draper and his band of advertisement executives leading up to the final season. Stay for all of the shocking moments and the brilliant acting performances, and make sure to chime in with your thoughts and criticisms on why the show means something to you.
Season 1, Episode 9
"Shoot"
"I used to be a model, you know."
- Betty Draper (January Jones)
Plot:
After attending a big meeting and getting complimented on her looks, Betty Draper (January Jones) decides to return to modeling. Meanwhile, the family dog attacks the neighbor's bird causing the kids to be traumatized and threats to shoot the dog to run rampant. Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) continues to see Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), though he denies it to look cool. It gets Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) to throw her some cautionary advice, which she doesn't accept. Pete and Don Draper (Jon Hamm) are trying to close an account to get Kennedy recognized against Nixon by selling goods that would appeal to voters. This gets everyone excited. Upon Betty working for the Coca Cola team, she becomes enthused, only to have her heart shattered when they drop her and move to a different "look." She ends up taking out her frustration by shooting the neighbor's birds.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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| Elisabeth Moss |
MVP:
Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss)
It is the tale of two women: Peggy and Betty. While Betty is getting her affirmation for life done through modeling, Peggy is starting to guide her way through the career ladder. She is not only seeing Pete, but she is gaining an unnerving amount of confidence. She is talking back to Joan, which is causing problems. Pete is ignoring her in the workplace, and she is forced to develop a hard-outer shell. She wins solely because while we continually discover more to admire about the other characters' past, she is starting to create her own myth around her and make the secrets into the intrigue. While the audience is already aware of all of them, things are starting to get complicated here, especially as we don't see a lot of details, but understand everything that is going on. She is sassy, confident, and potentially on the fence of either being great or bad.
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| Left to right: Moss and Christina Hendricks |
Best Scene
Upon ripping her skirt for the second time, she gets into a confrontation with Joan. Where Peggy once turned to her as a source of wisdom, this is the first time that any hostility is raised. Peggy is going to strike out on her own. It doesn't matter if Joan's advice holds merit. In the scene that reveals all of her sensuous undertones, she opens up and begins to create her own persona away from the new girl with innocence that everyone takes her for. She is going to turn tragic and try to be Joan just to spite Joan. It is a vicious circle and one that is likely to backfire. Either way, it makes her character arc way more interesting than it has been, speaking as we have mostly focused around the other characters and their choice to make identities that aren't authentic to their core selves.
UP NEXT: "Long Weekend"
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