 |
| Elisabeth Moss |
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 4, Episode 1
"Public Relations"
"Who is Don Draper?"
- Reporter (Sean Blodgett)
Plot:
It's Thanksgiving time and it's time to give Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce some promotion. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) has a chaotic interview with a reporter that causes a newspaper article to paint the company in a rather uninteresting light. Roger Sterling (John Slattery) gets upset and demands that he start actually trying. He even hires a woman to date him with hope that it will get him out of the funk. Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) throw together a ham advertisement that ends up selling well. Don's life is going okay, though Betty Francis' (January Jones) is doing a lot better, as she is married to Henry Francis (Christopher Stanley) now. Don only gets to see the kids one day a week and gets frustrated when Betty and Henry show up late after he drops them off. During a meeting for bikini sales, Don flips out and makes something highly risque for a family company. Realizing his fault, Don decides to attempt to reestablish his image with another interview and look like the savior of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Rating: 4 out of 5
 |
| Jon Hamm |
MVP:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
There's a lot of fascinating things going on during the first episode of this season of Mad Men. For starters, it is an entirely new setting. Betty is married and the AMC series just entered a new decade. So many milestones at once. However, how does Don handle the bachelor life? Not very well. He sees random women who doesn't want to spend time with him on account of it being Thanksgiving. He is a loving father, but he still cannot get over Henry and Betty's marriage. He is bitter in ways that are more abundantly clear. He has advertisements reflecting his own secret sexual prowess and desperation. Sterling recognizes that and wants to help him out, considering his own recent change of significant other. Still, this is an introduction to a new, different Don that can do whatever he wants and redefine his personality in exciting ways. Here he is, everyone. The man whose myth was destroyed and now needs to be built back up again.
 |
| Left to right: Hamm and January Jones |
Best Scene
While everything else seems normal, there is one jarring thing about the episode that reflects a big, big change. Don and Betty live separate lives now, but that doesn't mean that they aren't dishonest. Don desperately wants her acceptance still while she is clearly a lot happier with Henry. It is a tragic sign that despite similar subject matter being addressed in season 3, it actually has changed this time. The kids may be starting to become a little deranged from things, as there's indication that Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) doesn't like Henry that much. However, it's still tragic to see, for the first time, the loving couple who started off the series, separated and still bickering over the same things. It seems sadder and with Betty seeming more confident, Don has nothing to offer, which only adds to the overall deeper sensibility of him having to start up from the ashes this season.
UP NEXT: "Christmas Comes But Once a Year"
Comments
Post a Comment