Talking ‘Mad Men’: A Plot for Dawn

Every Monday morning, Sloane Crosley and Logan Hill will be offering their post-”Mad Men” analysis here. Read on and share your reactions to Joan vs. Harry, Don vs. Paggy, and Dawn vs. her dialogue, in the comments:

Sloane Crosley: Well, it looks like things are picking up slightly from last we left off. I wonder if each episode will feature an Attack of the Underdog. First Trudy and now Harry. What did you think of Harry’s Take-Your-25-Thousand-And-Shove-It revolt?

Logan Hill: Yes! Trudy’s rant was my favorite bit last week, and I felt like this week’s episode was an improvement, partly because of Harry’s subplot. Though I worry that Broadway Joe on Broadway will be a catastrophe â€" how could it be otherwise? â€" and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce will never see that $. I almost hope this is Harry’s swan song.

SC: If Roger has anything to do with it, it will be. All the “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and Notre Dame fight song sing-alongs won’t save Harry or Dow Chemical from Kenny’s beautifully big-eyed assessment that “if he wants people to stop hating him, maybe he should stop dropping napalm on children.” Harry, as a character, is a penny that should be left under the mat. I like, him, I do, but I was never frustrated by his lack of success or gumption as I have been with other characters. Thus I was not rooting for this. I think he’ll get the axe.

LH: It’s funny we agree on this â€" I loathe Harry, but my “Mad Men” plot predictions are always guided by Peggy’s line, “Every time something good happens, something bad happens.” The last guy to land a big account was Lane. And Joan! Congrats on the partnership: Now everyone’s going to call you a prostitute when they disagree with you. What did you make of that?

SC: I thought it lacked oomph. But we have to remember that a pretty significant amount of time (in day-to-day office years) has passed and so I don’t think it’s supposed to have the emotional gravity it had last season when Joan emerges from the bedroom, having already slept with Herb from Jaguar, Don too late to stop it. It’s not even being churned out by the rumor mill anymore. It’s part of the mill itself. So the fact that Joan would feel bad enough to be unable to enjoy herself with Katie seemed off. How Joan got where she is is almost a side note. At this point, she’s been working at the agency for 15 years and she’s the only partner who the secretaries refer to by her first name. That would tick me off.

LH: I was thrilled to get more of Joanie (ahem) but as her pal demonstrates, the reality of her life is much less appealing than the fantasy of it and her perfect image: I saw that theme in the plotline of Dawn, who’s disappointed by Madison Avenue, in SCDP’s fantasy of the Heinz account, and in that way a foursome always sounds more fun until it’s actually proposed across the dinner table. Did you see a parallel between Joan and Megan this week?

SC: Ha. Does it, Logan? Does it always sound more fun? Maybe when Ted McGinley from “Married With Children” is doing the asking. I think there’s always a parallel between the women and Matthew Weiner, the show’s creator, does a marvelous job of showing us how the women on the show have to be just as ingenious and scheming as the men but do it with one hand tied behind their backs. I didn’t see a direct parallel beyond that, but I was more interested in Megan this time around. I like how she’s become a walking symbol of Don’s hypocrisy. Do you find her remotely interesting?

LH: Skipping your first question! I actually think Megan’s a wonderful character â€" a fun, smart woman caught up in this madness â€" but, yes, I’m worried she’s becoming nothing more than a foil for Don. There’s that moment when Don says seeing her make out is “a helluva lot worse than letting my imagination run wild.” You think: Don, your whole career and personal philosophy is built around running away from reality and living in your imagination. Though the prostitution theme (Don’s flashbacks, Joan, Megan) is a little heavy, no?

SC: Well, there’s certainly a deflation rate. “From Dollars to Cents: The ‘Mad Men’ Story.” Megan has become more like his third child. He’s concerned for her but long gone are the days of her scrubbing the white carpet and telling him he doesn’t get to watch. I thought it was a very important moment for their relationship when he follows her into her dressing room. Either they were both going to be aroused or both going to be upset. Obviously it was the later.

LH: Great point: She’s become a person in Don’s mind, and not a fantasy anymore. So the kink is gone. Despite the French maid outfit!

SC: The bangs ruined that outfit for me.

LH: I have no criticism of that outfit. But I did hate the way the show cut directly from Don and Megan to Don picking up the penny and entering Sylvia’s apartment. It felt clumsy. I was on board with that episode until that last scene. It was almost as stiff and on-the-nose as Dawn’s dialogue.

SC: I was just going to bring up Dawn! The bad job she’s doing is not that of “Maid of Honor” but of “Actress”! Though maybe that’s because Mr. Weiner’s handing her some seriously bum dialogue? But yes, to your point, that was my issue with Sylvia as well. Unlike the heavy-handed prostitution theme, her religious conflicts are not prominent enough for her dialogue to carry any weight.

LH: I may file an equal-opportunity suit against Matthew Weiner demanding better lines for Dawn next week. And the line about taking off the crucifix seemed ludicrous, especially coming from Don. And though I really liked this episode until this scene â€" that last line killed me. Really, Sylvia, you’re praying that Don will “find peace” after he leaves? Ugh.

SC: Let’s make it a class-action suit. Pretty sure we can get some of the commenters on board. Anyway, Don is supposed to be all about what you don’t see, right? Like a failed ketchup print ad. Their whole bit was just as transparent and disappointing.

LH: Yes: So let’s wrap up with a few questions for the comment section: Will Broadway Joe’s football musical revue be trouble with a capital TD? Will Joan have her revenge upon Harry? And do readers agree with me that this episode was an improvement upon the first two?

SC: This was the first time we saw Don and Peggy go up against each other for an account. And both of them failed. Was this a warm-up for a more definitive battle down the road? And, of course, the question that’s been at the forefront of our minds: Why does Stan feel the effects of marijuana faster than any human on the planet?

Sloane Crosley is the author of “How Did You Get This Number” and “I Was Told There’d Be Cake“; Logan Hill is a journalist who has contributed to The New York Times, New York, GQ, Rolling Stone, Wired and others.