1. (CORRECTION: In the original post I identified the setting of the season premiere as the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve 1968. I was critical of what I thought was the choice to skip the entire year, one of the most turbulent in American history. The episode itself keeps the date somewhat ambiguous. I based my dating on a New York Post preview that cited a news paper headline Don reads while he's at the beach to reach the December, 1968-January '69 time frame. It seems after investigations made by the various bloggers out there, putting the clues together as only those intrepid guys and gals with even more time on their hands than I do can, that I'm a year off, and we have not missed out on all the fun and frolic of that volcanic year of 1968 [and looking a the episode again on demand makes me want to kick myself for missing the Green Bay - Oakland Super Bowl reference, that as a sports fan should have been the dead give away].
First, I'm embarrassed at the flub. Secondly, I'm glad that I was wrong. Third, in light of the earlier start date, it seems really quick for so many of the "straights" at SCDP to have gone all groovy with the hair and cloths. These trends take time to bubble up in the culture, and while it's certainly not completely out of place, with this revised timeline the changes seem more radical than at first blush.
I read one article that argues that all the obsession over such details is silly, and I'm not going to dispute the fact that as a bit of a history nut I probably pay too much attention to such things. But I do think the context matters, even if you can enjoy the show without it. Most historical dramas use the past as a way to comment on the present. A film like M*A*S*H was really talking about what was going on in Vietnam at the time and bore no resemblance to the Korean Conflict. A Man for All Seasons, while taking it's setting in Tudor England much more seriously, was exploring very twentieth century notions of conscience. I would argue Mad Men does the same in reference to our consumeristic society. But unlike M*A*S*H it does take it's historical setting seriously to the point of making it almost another character. I disagree with critics who say the show works well the least when the stories interact directly with the events of the time. I find Matthew Weiner and his writers are actually pretty subtle in that department and the detail only adds to he experience. As I observed about Season Five I felt there were times the story could have taken place at anytime, which loses some of the magic. I will admit that there is a balance to be struck between letting the story unfold naturally and forcing it to follow historical events in a contrived way. I think Mad Men does it, and here's to hoping they continue)
2. The Old Don Draper is Back, Sort Of. When last we saw our anti-hero he was sitting at a bar being hit on by proxy; one sweet young thing making a pitch on behalf of another. Don had been faithful to his second wife up to this point, but the look in his eyes said the streak was about to end. While we go the full length of the season opening two parter without a hint of infidelity, the closing scene brings us the ugly truth. Not only is Don cheating, but he's doing it with the wife of a close friend; a neighbor, even.
I did read one blogger who was surprised he was cheating again. I wasn't (I can't see how you could read the season 5 finale any other way than that this was the road he was taking). Who he is cheating with did catch me by surprise. Don hasn't had many (any?) real friends out side of Anna Draper, his "widow." Now he seems to have a real respect for Dr. Rosen that is contradicted by this most wretched betrayal.
But there is a difference. Don seems guilty, something he never did before. The season one or two Don saw life as now and death is the big sleep in which there are no dreams and from which no one wakes. So take what you can when you can and make sure you have a clean path to the door if a jealous husband shows up. Now he's reading Dante and wondering about hell. When asked by his illicit love what his New Year's resolution is he replies, "to stop doing this." The old Don may have said these words, but with a twinkle in his eye and an inch of irony covering the words as he demonstrated the very thing he was going to give up. Now he is a man conflicted; still in love with his wife but struggling to put on the new man.
3. Betty Francis is Wacked. I came in last night after the first commercial break, so when I saw Betty get all up in Henry's grill about his response to a teenage violinist I didn't have the context for her putting him on the spot until I caught the first twenty minutes on the replay. It still didn't make any sense. And maybe it wasn't supposed to. Otherwise she tries to mentor the young musician, essentially trying to help her not make the same mistakes she made as an aspiring model. She goes looking for her after she runs away and winds up on the set of Midnight Cowboy (not literally, of course) with a bunch of hippie squatters in an abandoned New York building. Can you say, awkward? To be honest I didn't really get who the house guest was and why they were responsible for her. Even after she runs away Betty seems to be the only once concerned about a 15 year old wandering in the City. What this character's journey is supposed to be, I'm not sure. But it seems Weiner and his crew are setting her up for a wild ride.
4. A Pleasant Surprise. Usually when a character leaves SCDP they are off the show as well. That was a fear when Peggy Olson jumped to a rival agency. Not only was she in the show last night, she got a considerable amount of story time. Here's hoping the trend continues.
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