Mad Men Review: The Power of the Poontang

It’s finally happened. I’ve been wondering all season if we would ever reach this point. In fact, I’ve recently started to suspect that we wouldn’t see it at all but sure enough, Don Draper is finally trying to get his act together.

But what does this entail? Well, for starters Don seems to be on to the fact of his alcoholism, stating that once you decide you need to drink less, you have a drinking problem. Seeing people boozing in office meetings now pushes him to a near state of vertigo and I actually see that as encouraging. He’s also working out at a local pool and collecting his thoughts in a diary, but will all of this help? Surprisingly, it seems to be. In this sober, calmer state he is able to handle an awkward restaurant encounter with Betty and Henry with ease and opts for coffee over liquor after a call the next day from Henry to remove his belongings from the house. Needless to say, I was impressed. Summer has arrived and Don is a better man for it.

The same cannot be said for Betty who became a complete, messy wreck upon seeing Don on a date with Bethany (Anna Camp) who could easily be a Betty clone. Henry naturally becomes annoyed with her reaction to the situation and they have it out in the car on the way home. Suddenly, this seemingly perfect relationship shows some cracks. Betty later mentions that her reaction was so strong because Don was the only guy she had been with and its clear that her feelings for him are still strong despite her drunkenly confessed hatred. But it was her look at the end of the episode when Don arrives at the house for Baby Gene’s birthday party that says a thousand words. Is she still in love with this man that hurt her so much or merely imagining what life would have been like in a perfect world? I personally hope that this isn’t hinting at a reconciliation. I’m all for love conquering all but I truly believe that Don and Betty are not a couple that was meant to be together. They just don’t epitomize a classic romance that ends happily and that’s partly why I enjoy watching it play out so much. They are real and like in real life, the beautiful couple doesn’t always end up happily ever after.

I could definitely be on board for Don getting to know Dr. Faye Miller a little better though. This episode saw him take her to dinner for the first time and as a pair they were quite charming. Shockingly enough, after dinner when Faye clearly wants to bang around, Don pulls the gentleman card and insists on showing her to her door only. I’ve never been more proud of our boy, and have my fingers crossed that his good streak will stick around indefinitely.

But not everyone is blooming like Don. In the office, relationships and personalities are regressing in the opposite direction thanks to a new vending machine that is encouraging office hi-jinx and pushing Joan to the edge of sanity. It seems to go without saying that the phrase “boys will be boys” was an excuse that helped a lot of guys get away with some very obnoxious behavior back in the 1960s and the boys of SCDP are no exception. The ring leader of such behavior though happens to be my personal favorite male employee – Joey Baird (Matt Long), often referred to by me as Dreamy Joey.

Dreamy Joey isn’t a bad guy. He’s just a little immature and proves that point by disrespecting and mouthing off to the women of the office and Joan is his favorite target. In his defense, Joan is completely on edge with the imminent departure of her sex-on-a-stick husband to Basic Training but Dreamy Joey certainly does cross a line when he sketches a cartoon of Joan and Lane Pryce in coitus and plasters it on her window.

I quite enjoyed Joan’s bitchy response to the incident by telling the guys how much she can’t wait for them to get drafted and sent to Vietnam. It was a firm response to be sure but good old Peggy didn’t see it as enough so she takes the issue to Don who refuses to get involved and instead gives Peggy the power to handle it. And handle it she does. When Dreamy Joey initially refuses to offer an apology, Peggy fires him on the spot. So much to my dismay, Dreamy Joey packed up his desk and left SCDP causing other male employees to take note of “the power of the poontang.”

Surprisingly though, there is one individual who resents the power of the poontang more than Dreamy Joey and I’m not talking about Salvatore Romano. When Peggy informs Joan that she fired Joey, the response is hardly a thank you. Instead, Joan berates Peggy for making her simply look like an overblown secretary and suggests that Peggy only did it to show her own power and authority. I’m not going to say that she is far off the mark on the last accusation but it saddens me to see Joan burning every bridge in the building. I like my girl feisty and all, but would it kill her to have a little fun every now and then too?

Joan’s hangups and Peggy’s power trips aside, what we really need to do this week is stop and mourn the loss of Dreamy Joey from the cast of the series. We’ve lost a very nice piece of eye candy and though my love of the show will never waiver, this injustice won’t be forgotten. Dreamy Joey will always be in our hearts…actually I can’t speak for the rest of you so he’ll just be in mine. Sorry, I’m selfish like that.

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Season 4, Episode 8: The Summer Man (originally aired September 12, 2010)

Sundays at 10PM/9C, AMC

Photographs courtesy of AMC and imdbpro.