TV Review: Mad Men 5.7, "At the Codfish Ball"
Things I learned in tonight’s episode of Mad Men...
rating: 5
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(WARNING: Significant spoilers follow!) Things I learned in tonights episode of Mad Men: 1. Beans can be awesome 2. Quebecois French is an interesting thing when you only know Parisian French 3. Blowjobs predate Monica Lewinsky We have several stories tonight. Stories about Sally (Keirnan Shipka), Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) and Don (John Hamm). Lets start with young Sally, whos been keeping in touch with creepy former next door neighbor, and prime Zodiac Killer suspect, Glenn. To be fair to Glenn, he seems to have mellowed somewhat, and also appears to be off at whats either a summer camp or a boarding school. Either seems odd to me. Anyhow, while Glenn and Sally are chatting, Sallys grandmother comes by to tell her that dinner is ready, and then trips and falls over the phone cord, breaking her ankle in the process. Poor woman. At least it wasnt her hip. This gives Sally and Bobby a chance to end up at Dons place just as Megans (Jessica Pare) parents (including her mother, played by Julia Ormond), are in town for a visit. While with them, Sally gets a nice new outfit (albeit one that makes her look like a character on a Troughton-era Who episode), and then goes to her fathers award dinner where Roger (John Slattery), first keeps her entertained and then inadvertently demonstrates what a trouser-friendly kiss is. Poor Sally. No one should walk in on that. Shipka continually demonstrates that shes a very good actress, and her appearances in this episode did not break that trend. She did a very good job of conveying a little girl on the cusp of being a little woman (her communist intellectual step-grandfather says of her, One day your little girl will spread her legs and fly away); one who clearly adores her father and is anxious to grow up, but still has a lot to learn about the real world. Her final word in the episode sums up her experiences in the city quite well. Then we have Peggys story. It seems that her relationship with Abe iswell, shes not sure what it is. Shes also very unsure what to expect when he pressures her to a dinner; a dinner where he apparently has plans. Peggy thinks hes going to break up with her and seems to be ok with that, but then Joan (Christina Hendricks) suggests that perhaps hes actually going to propose. Peggy gets thrilled, buys a new dress, gets a new hairdo, and then meets with Abe only to learn that he wants to move in together, but not get married. Peggy is initially very uncertain about this idea, too, but Joan again talks her around and says that, hey, what the hell, it might work out. Might as well give it a go. Peggy agrees, and soon she and Abe are living in domestic bliss. Then they invite Peggys mother around for dinner, and her mother, a conservative Catholic woman in the 1960s, acts exactly like youd expect her to. I really enjoyed the clear sense of conflict that Peggy was experiencing. Obviously she is ambivalent about her relationship with Abe, and I think its clear from what she says in the episode that at least part of why she moves in with him is out of a fear of being alone. This seems very real to me. Then we have Dons story, or rather the story of Don learning that Megan can indeed be useful at work. She comes up with a very good baked beans ad idea and helps Don to pitch it at a dinner that could have otherwise ended with SCDP getting fired from the account. She does this with all the grace and élan weve come to expect of the character, and when this happens, its like Don is seeing her for the first time. He seems to have finally realized what hes got on his hands and how wonderful Megan is. I hope it sticks. Of course I do need to give mention to Roger. Seems like the old dog is back. First he flirts with Megans mum, and then gets what he gets. Its nice to see him have his mojo returning, but one could hope for better ways for that to happen. It was nice seeing him hustling accounts and meeting up with his ex-wife. Perhaps were going to see a different, more interesting Roger thats a combination of the little boy we grew to love in the first couple seasons and a more mature man. One can dream, anyhow. Overall this is another big win for the Mad Men team, even if it was a bit depressing that Roger didnt drop acid again. Maybe next week.