Now, Lane could go to the partners and explain his predicament and ask for their help. But Lane has never completely felt at home in the firm that bears his name. He knows he was given the partnership and his name on the masthead because he was instrumental in helping them extricate themselves from the old firm. That is, alas, not the same as being a partner because you are considered an invaluable member of the team. His spat with Pete Campbell was emblematic of his role at the company, he feels. He's not one of them and never will be.
But Lane is the chief financial officer for the company and it is his job to, among other things, get extensions on lines of credit for the firm. And so he devises a plan. He gets their bank to extend a line of credit to the firm, based on anticipated future revenues; the company does well in 1967 and he repays the credit and no one is the wiser. In the meantime, the firm will have an "extra" $50,000 which they can spend on bonuses and his share will be, coincidentally, just enough to pay his tax debt. What could go wrong?
Back in Episode 5, "Signal 30," Lane had tried to help the firm snag the Jaguar account. Then, Lane had arranged a meeting with Edwin Baker from Jaguar to discuss business. It did not go well, but a follow up meeting sans Lane and avec a trip to a local brothel went much better. That is until Mrs. Edwin Baker discovered where her husband had spent his business dinner. Well, Edwin is out and there is a new account exec at Jaguar and Pete Campbell has been hard at work getting Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce a meeting. A car client is the big white whale of advertising and every firm without a car wants in on Jaguar. Don thinks its a pipe dream, but Pete thinks they have a real chance. And if they land Jaguar it would be thanks to Pete's hard work and not Lane.
Elsewhere, a blast from the past returns in the form of a be-robed Paul Kinsey. Paul, the former wannabe hipster, has now become a Hare Krishna. Harry Crane thinks it's a joke at first, but then decides he understands Paul's motivation when he see the lovely Mother Lakshmi. Surprisingly, Harry actually gets into the chanting and later reveals to Paul that he had a vision of his daughter. Paul is surprised and we eventually learn that he is not a true believer and he hasn't had a spiritual awakening. He's there out of loneliness and desperation to belong. But what he really wants to do is write.
At the partner meeting, to which Joan was not invited, Lane announces that the firm has a $50,000 profit. Of course, we know the "profit" is a line of credit from the bank and not actual income, but Lane convinces the partners that they've had an outstanding year and are flush with cash. Bonuses for everyone. Immediately. Like, now, cut the damn checks. But Don thwarts his plan, suggesting they hold off on the bonuses until after the Christmas party. The rest of the partners agree and Lane is shocked and shaken that this his financial troubles are not going to be erased as he had hoped. Meanwhile, oblivious to Lane's problems, Pete wonders why no one is as excited as he about the prospect of landing Jaguar.
It's December 7th, the 25th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. And with that solemn reminder, old memories boil up for Roger Sterling. He found in WWII, in Japan, and he has carried the psychological wounds of battle with him in the form of strong anti-Japanese bigotry ever since. On this day, he will drink too much and say things he shouldn't say. Joan knows this and tries to get him to stop. They are connected as never before because of her son, their son, but Joan wants her independence and does not want to be reliant upon Roger's largesse.
Megan drags Don to the theater where he is insulted by the anti-advertising theme of the play. Or, Don and Megan attend the theater where they watch a new satirical play about excessive consumerism. It's all a matter of one's perspective. And Don's is that Megan hates everything about what he does except the money it provides them, and he's not a happy camper. And Megan's is that she can't do anything without being criticized by Don and he doesn't care about what's important to her. And she's not too happy either.
Paul isn't happy, even with his peaceful new religion and its consciousness expanding, spiritual awakening. He feels as unappreciated as he did as a young ad exec at Sterling Cooper. Which reminds me of the old adage, wherever you go, there you are. Paul is the same Paul, even with the shaved head, soothing demeanor, and flowing garb. He still wants to be somebody, he still thinks of himself as an undiscovered genius. He presents Harry with a spec script for Star Trek, a then-new series airing on NBC. Harry has ins at the network and can get the script seen. Paul asks him for that favor.
Meanwhile, after hours, alone at the office, Lane can only think of one solution to his dire financial situation. With the agreement that the partner's bonuses will be delayed, and with the fact that he needs to send the money to England NOW to take care of his tax woes, he feels he has no choice. He grabs a check from the firm account, finds an old check signed by Don, and forges Don's signature onto a bonus check to Lane. He probably assumes that when the real bonus check comes in he can rip it up and no one will notice. So long as the real bonus check does come along.
Harry reads Paul's script and it's terrible. He doesn't want to shoot down Paul's hopes and dreams but lying to him won't help either. But while he's considering how to handle this, he gets a visit from Mother Lakshmi. She seduces Harry who is naive enough to think that they had a "moment" together and she was there because of his irresistible charm. After they have sex in his office, she drops the bombshell She's not into him, she set him up to blackmail him from staying away from Paul. Paul is one of their best recruits and she doesn't want Harry giving him a way out of the movement. Tell him his story stinks and send him back to the Krishnas.
Joan is surprised by a process server who hands her divorce papers. She doesn't even get the dignity of being the one to make it official. She takes her anger out on the poor, sweet, woman-child at the front desk, Meredith, and then Don smartly removes her from the office to get her mind off of whatever provoked her. They pretend to be a married couple looking at the new Jaguars then head off to a bar to drink and talk away their problems. Joan thinks Don has it all, perfect wife, perfect life. Don thinks that Joan is better off without her abusive husband and that things will get better for her, because women approaching their 40s who are unmarried with a child have it made in the shade in the mid-60s.
Both of them are wrong. Don does not have it all. Maybe he does, but he doesn't want it or appreciate it or nurture it. He does everything in his power to push Megan away. He comes home late, drunk, and Megan has been waiting for him for hours. She doesn't care that he was comforting Joan or test driving the Jaguar, she does care that he never thought to tell her any of that ahead of time. She does care that he thought he could just stumble home whenever he wanted, plastered, and she'd be waiting patiently for his arrival. This is not the life she wants.
Harry Crane is not perfect, not by a long-shot. He's arrogant and obnoxious. He cheats on his wife. He can be an ass. But he doesn't have the heart to just shoot down all of Paul's dreams. And so when faced with giving the harsh reality to Paul and sending him back to a woman who wants to use him and a movement that doesn't care about him, Harry can't do it. So he lies to Paul, tells his his writing is brilliant and gives him some money to move out to California and live his dream of becoming a writer. No one has ever shown any faith in Paul, no one has ever done him any favor. But Harry doesn't want his old friend being used and having his hopes crushed any more. And maybe he's spiteful that Lakshmi seduced and blackmailed him. Whatever his true motivation, he sends Paul off to an uncertain future in Los Angeles that still looks a hell of a lot better than anything he has in New York.
While things are steadily improving for SCDP, of course there are stumbling blocks. Mohawk Airlines is experiencing a strike which means they won't be flying which means they won't be buying advertising for their flights. That will hurt the firm's bottom line and so the anticipated partner bonuses will have to be tabled. Which is unfortunate for all but deadly serious to Lane who was hoping to have that money to cover up the bonus check he forged for himself.
It's time for the big announcement. The staff and the partners are in the conference room and Lane lets them know that because of Mohawk, the partners agreed to forgo their bonuses, but the rest will be honored. Apparently, that wasn't in plain enough English because the staff showed no reaction until Roger said "you're all getting bonuses and we aren't." That they understood. And just to further hammer home how it's not the message but the messenger, but when Pete tells all that they're in the running for the Jaguar campaign there is zero reaction. But when Don does his Don thing and pitches to the staff that they will be sacrificing their next six weekends to try and land Jaguar, they break out in applause.
Observations:
According to Wikipedia (and why would they lie to us?): "America Hurrah" is a satirical play by Jean-Claude van Itallie, which premiered at the Pocket Theatre in New York City on November 7, 1966. Directed by Jacques Levy and Joseph Chaikin, the play was an early expression of the burgeoning 1960s counterculture, expressing discontent with American consumerism and involvement in the Vietnam War.
We finally got the answer why Don never went after Joan. There is undeniable chemistry between the two of them and they're make a gorgeous couple, but I think Don was telling the truth when he said Joan scared him. Especially when we first met Don, he was with a more subdued, traditional woman and not a firecracker like Joan.
Aly Khan was a socialite who was once married to red headed actress Rita Hayworth, with whom Joan shares some familiarity. It was a nice touch that Don finally sent Joan some flowers, signed by the late Prince.
Pride goeth before the fall it is said and Lane Pryce is in perpetual need of someone to feel proud of him. He never had that with his loathsome father, he doesn't feel it at SCDP despite all that he's done for the firm, and he's hasn't felt it with his wife either. He has been a great disappointment to his wife, forcing her to give up her life to live out his dream of living in Manhattan. But with the little white lie that he has to stay in New York to help land the Jaguar account, that he is indispensable, he for the first time hears her say that she is proud of him.
There are usually through lines, themes, connecting each of the storylines. But I'm not sure it's that clear here. Perhaps it's un-fulfillment and dashed dreams. That things do not turn out how we imagine they will and how each of us handles it when that reality hits home. Joan will not live happily ever after with Mr. Right. Roger will not get that fountain of youth woman he's always dreaming of. Don and Megan won't get that perfect marriage. Harry will never be the sexy guy that some woman throws herself after. Paul will never be a famous writer. But those are the normal realities we all face, that live is messy and not perfect. But for Lane, it's something more. His failure is at a deeper level which is why, out of all of those un-fulfilled souls, he's the one who fails to open up, to try and connect with someone else, but instead keeps his demons locked deep inside.
Quotes:
Harry: l don't know what the Russians are going to do. We may be living underground by Lincoln's birthday.
Don: l don't mind picking up the check for your friends, but not if they insult me first.
Don: No one's made a stronger stand against advertising than you.
Joan: Do you understand having you out here is the same as having no one?
Salesman: l'm thinking about paying to have you drive around in this.
Don: Those flowers God, my first week here l thought you were dating Aly Khan.
Joan: My mother raised me to be admired.
Joan: And who do you think's waiting at home? l bet she's not ugly. The only sin she's committed is being familiar.
Harnry: You don't understand what it's like out there. This failure, this life it'll all seem like it happened to someone else.
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Spoiler-y Observations (Don't read until you're watched the whole series):
Poor Lane. In some ways maybe what ultimately happens to him was foreshadowed from the beginning. He never fit in, he was never happy in his own skin, and he was constantly searching for someone to tell him he was special. He was not valued by his original bosses, nor by his new partners, nor by his father, nor by his wife. It was completely understandable that this would take its toll and that the facade he created of a happy life would crumble.
Joan does eventually learn that she doesn't need a man in her life and that she can be happy and successful all on her own. And Roger does learn that he doesn't have to keep chasing youth or someone to save and that he can have a happy mature relationship with an equal.
This is but the start of many fights between Megan and Don. He drinks too much and holds on to anger too long. She isn't happy with the role society wants her to play, the dutiful wife. Don is only really alive when he's making a pitch and in that brief speech to the staff at the end of the episode, he is more alive than any other time in recent memory. Would they have lived happily ever after if she'd been content with working as an ad exec? Who knows. Don has a self-destructive streak that can't be ignored and Megan wasn't satisfied with being great at things that came naturally.
Let's talk Meredith. The sweet, simple receptionist who goes on to be the best secretary anyone could ask for. Devoted, sincere, lovable, we're all very lucky she didn't quit after the airplane incident.
Thank you so much for posting these analysis! Hope you keep it up, I love mad men and it’s so interesting to read what others are thinking as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I only have three more episodes from season five and then I'll be done with the whole series. I did seasons six and seven when they aired, so they're here. You can use the search box to find them!
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