TV Review: Mad Men 5.4, 'Mystery Date'

rating: 4.5

Illness is an unhappy thing. I€™m not talking mental illness here; no, I€™m talking about the whole €œhack, hack, cough, cough, I am going to die,€ sort of illness, which Don (John Hamm) gets to deal with in tonight€™s episode. We start with him and Megan (Jessica Pare) going up to the office together. As they ride in the elevator, Don coughing his lungs out the entire time, a woman named Andrea, with whom Don had had an affair in the old days, joins them. She initially flirts with him a bit but backs away when he tells her he€™s married. This leads to some interesting looks from Megan who is clearly less than pleased. Meantime in the office, Joyce, Peggy€™s (Elizabeth Moss) friend from Life magazine, has turned up with crime scene photos. From what crime, you might ask? The Richard Speck murders. Yeah, I had to go look that up, too. Turns out he was€well, not a nice man, and his murder of eight young nurses in Chicago has gripped the nation, and our cast, in something betwixt fear and fascination. Next we catch up with Joan (Christina Hendricks), who is getting ready for the return of her husband, Greg. He€™s coming back on leave from Vietnam and is looking forward to seeing the baby he thinks is his. This, you may gather, is a situation rife with potential issues. Back at the Francis home, we learn that Sally (Kiernan Shipka) is being watched over by Grandma Pauline, Harry€™s mother. She€™s doing her best to keep the news of the Speck murders from Sally, and is also trying to introduce a little discipline into Sally€™s life. This latter goal she tries to accomplish by telling Sally about her abusive father, though she doesn€™t quite view him through that lens. Greg returns, and things initially seem to be quite nice between him and Joan, especially after they do what married couples do when they see each other again after a long time. Then things get rather nasty when we learn that he€™s heading back to Vietnam in a few days, and this time plans to stay there for a year. Then the news of his return takes a very unexpected turn. But things get even more unexpected with Don, who is at home sick when Andrea from the elevator turns up. He tosses her out, but she returns, and seduces him. Afterward, she seems quite pleased at the probability of it happening again. Don, however, seems a bit on the murdery side€ This was an odd episode. A good one, to be sure, but more than a little odd, especially given the scene I just described above. This is very much a story where death looms large over everything that€™s happening. The story itself was very good, and I€™m pleased to see that the series is moving full-bore on all fronts with the characters, as it should. It didn€™t feel like there was any real filler. I also really loved some of the scenes between Sally and Pauline, and I hope we get to see more of them together. The previews for next week tell us nothing of what to expect, but given where a couple of the storylines left off, you can bet I€™m looking forward to it.