TV Review: Mad Men 5.10 - "Christmas Waltz"
Our review of the 10th episode in season 5 of Mad Men. Significant spoilers follow.
rating 4.5
(WARNING: significant spoilers follow) Well, you knew it was only a matter of time before Star Trek got mentioned on this show. I wasnt at all surprised to hear the series get a shout-out, but I was somewhat surprised at the context and who was behind it. Lets start, though, by talking about Lane (Jared Harris). It seems Inland Revenue wants a cut of the money hes been making overseas; a cut to the tune of about 2,900 pounds. Lane doesnt have this kind of scratch lying about the house, so he has to think of a plan. First we see him extending the firms line of credit and then telling everyone at the board meeting that they can use that as a Christmas bonus. Problem solved, except that Burt (Robert Morse) wants to hold off until the office Christmas party. Lane tries to object, but gets cut off at the knees by Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) who has news about the firm standing a chance of signing Jaguar. This leaves poor Lane in quite the pickle, and the next thing you know, hes forging a check to get the money he needs. Then he finds out that the partners wont get bonuses at all, so essentially hes just stolen from the company and now wont be able to pay it back as hed planned to. Is it just me, or does this whole subplot seem unnecessary? I mean, I know Lane has his pride and all, but why couldnt he just ask the bank for a loan of the money he needs? Surely he has good enough credit. Failing that, why didnt he just ask someone at the firm? Don (John Hamm) has proven to be discreet and willing to help on more than one occasion in Lanes life (an eventful Christmas a couple years ago comes to mind), so why not just ask him instead of stealing? Aside from that weak storyline, we did have two strong ones. The first strong one was Joan (Christina Hendricks) getting divorce papers served. Yes, it seems that her husband is finally untying the knot. Shes angry and embarrassed and lashes out inappropriately. Don calms her down and takes her down to the Jaguar dealership. He then cuts a check for $6,000 to test drive a Jaguar XKE and tells the salesman if he doesnt return it, then the check is theirs. The two then have one of those great conversations the writers of the show do so very, very well, where they have a heart-to-heart about divorce and how this might be a very positive change in Joans life. She seems somewhat unconvinced, but I think Dons right. I also say here and now that I expect shell wind up spending moreerquality time with Roger. But lets get to the best of the storylines. The return, however briefly, of Paul Kinsey (Michael Gladis). Once a strange, bearded fan of The Twilight Zone, he is now a member of the Hare Krishnas. No, really. Im not joking. Hes also, apparently, a fan of Star Trek. That last part comes into play when he finally gets Harry (Rich Sommer) to meet with him and talk Krishna while meeting a woman that Paul has the hots for. This goes reasonably well, though after the meeting, Paul tries to get Harry to accept a screenplay hes written for Trek; something called The Negron Complex, which from the description sounds like its akin to Let this Be Your Last Battlefield. The problem is that the screenplay sucks (again, rather akin tooh, never mind). Harry cant figure out how to break it to Paul, and then has the choice essentially made for him when Pauls weird, vaguely psycho girlfriend shows up and the two have an encounter. After that, he gives Harry money and a train ticket, lies about the quality of his screenplay and tells him to go to LA to chase his dream. Lets hope it works out well. I very much liked this turn of events. It was good to see Kinsey again and it was good for Harry to finally get his own story. I also loved that Kinseys interest in science fiction has continued and seeing the Krishna movement rear its head was just fun. Really this whole episode was quite good from start to finish. The only real complaints I have center on Lanes storyline, just because it seemed more likely to me that hed ask someone for the money or take out a proper loan than it would be for him to steal from the company, however he might to try to rationalize it. Still, when thats the only thing I have to complain about, well, thats not bad at all.