Mad Men Review: Christmas in August

Silver bells are ringing in the halls of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce this week and its not just the ringing in your head that comes with a raging hangover – its Christmastime and the struggling new company has to find a way to celebrate in style and under budget. This is the holidays – Mad Men style – and like any good holiday things get awkward real quick.

Things get kicked off with the return of a former Sterling Cooper employee who we last saw pee himself right before a big presentation. Yes, that’s right, Freddy Rumsen (Joel Murray) is back and he’s all sobered up, which is great for him personally but sad for us as viewers, comically. Nonetheless, SCDP welcomes him back to the fold due to his possession of a $2 million client that he begins to work on with Peggy. The two of them clearly have a sort of fondness for each other based on their previous work experience together but Peggy has grown in her profession by leaps and bounds whereas poor old Freddy is a bit old fashioned so they clash over style immediately. I really enjoyed though how Peggy stands her ground and doesn’t give in to her male partner’s ideas simply because he is the male of the group.

On a personal front though, it would appear that Peggy isn’t standing as strong. Her new boyfriend is pressuring her into having sex but she is understandably resistant considering her past experiences with men. The shocker though is that the boyfriend is under the impression that she is still a virgin. Oops. Not so much. Let’s not forget Pete Campbell’s baby and those rolls in the hay with Duck Phillips. Peggy has been around the block. I respect her new resistance I think it is clear that something is churning inside Peggy’s brilliant mind regarding relationships and I don’t foresee this current boyfriend being around for long.

Speaking of messy relationships, no one continues to spiral downward faster than Don Draper. In this episode we see that he is basically stumbling home drunk every night of the week and unwittingly preys on his sweet neighbor, Phoebe, who helps him do simple things like unlock his door and take off his shoes when he is too wasted to pull it together on his own. So far she has avoided his sloppy attempts to get it on but the same cannot be said for Don’s poor secretary, who stops over to bring Don his keys that he left at the office and ends up falling prey to his lusty attack on the couch. I watched this scene with near-horror; both for the  sexual harassment but almost more just knowing how far Don has fallen. He has almost always been a man in control and careful to avoid dalliances with those that he works with but now he appears to just not care. He is getting sloppy and the next morning when he doesn’t acknowledge the event to her (memory lapse or not) is tough to watch particularly when she opens up her christmas bonus to find $100 in cash. This sweet, sweet woman has probably never felt so cheap and if your heart can’t go out to her you likely do not have a pulse.

Earlier I mentioned the office Christmas party, which due to budget restrictions was being kept to a bottle of gin and some Velveeta under the stingy orders of Lane Pryce (Jared Harris). All of this changes though when Roger Sterling learns that Lee Gardner Jr. (Darren Pettie), their biggest client from Lucky Strike, is in town and looking for a party. Roger demands the party be bumped up in status from “convalescent home to a Roman orgy” and he gets his wish with buckets of booze and a groovy conga line led by Joan. What he wasn’t counting on though was Gardner taking complete advantage of the fact that SCDP is his bitch and acting like a complete jerk at the party. Not only does he walk in like he owns the place but he forces Roger to dress up as Santa and gets friendly with Roger’s wife at the same time. For a few moments I lived in fear that Roger would blow and they would lose the firm’s biggest asset but disaster was averted…for now.

But now let me address the elephant in the room for everyone who saw this week’s episode. That creepy little devil, Glen Bishop (Martin Holden Weiner) who you may remember from Season One when he had a disturbing crush on Betty Draper, is back and has his gaze fixed on another member of the Draper/Francis family – Sally. Obviously the last thing Sally needs is another crazy person in her life, but alas here he is wooing her with phone calls and gifts on her pillow after trashing the rest of the house. No good can or will come of this and I will be a nervous wreck from now until its resolved.

In general I continue to love the way that this series continues to weave characters in and out of the storylines regardless of the actor’s stature or previous importance. Real life isn’t limited to a cast of six or seven individuals, so it’s refreshing to see a show where the most minor character like Don’s secretary can be lifted up and featured prominently in an episode and leave us emotionally affected. This adds a sense of realism and depth to the world of Mad Men that is unparalleled on television and one of the many reasons why I look forward to Sunday nights at 10 with relish. I already can’t wait for the next!

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Season 4, Episode 2: Christmas Comes But Once a Year (originally aired August 1, 2010)

Sundays at 10PM/9C, AMC

Photographs courtesy of AMC and imdbpro.