I ...hated this episode. I don't think I've ever hated a Mad Men episode, but I had a hard time understanding what was going on in this one and why certain scenes existed. It was written, shot and put together so weird I feel like it's missing a bunch of pieces, which is weird as last week's episode was my favorite of the season so far.
1. Why was Pete meeting up with the guy who was obsessed with Peggy? What were they talking about? Is Pete trying to leave the agency or something?
2. Where was Don going when he was driving? And why does he conveniently stop at a gas station that Betty just happens to be? Why isn't Betty angry at him? Literally every episode prior when they talked to each other she had visceral hatred of him and now she's smiley smiley. I don't understand where this change came from, how, or why. It's just a complete 180.
3. Why were they meeting up in that cabin in the first place? What is going on here, what are they singing, is it some bible camp. Was it like custody weekend for Don or something? I swear I thought this was a dream or some kind of flashback but I know that wasn't the case because he mentioned Henry already. Again why is Betty acting nice. And where was Sally?
4. Don sits towards an empty chair and looks at a happy Betty. Was this meant to be as least subtle as possible? This is like Smallville writing for teenagers.
5. What's up with Roger's daughter going ape shit (no pun intended) over some nightmares and basically killing what seemed to be a normal relationship between a grandfather and grandson. Why was this storyline even in the episode to begin with? What was the point?
6. Is Ted the dumbest, most oblivious person on the planet when it comes to women or is he really genuine about staying faithful to his wife (or girlfriend whatever he has I don't know)?
It just felt like such a disjointed mess compared to the slick, ball rolling feel that recent episodes have had.
Wow...how should I address this?
1) Pete feels like his role in the company has diminished because of the merger, so he's seeking new opportunities where he'll be allowed to shine.
2) Betty's anger is rooted in her jealousy of Megan and her own waning self-confidence. Now that she's back to her old self physically, and has seen how pathetic Don's become (passing out in his own living room, for instance), and has a successful husband on the political rise, she has everything she could ever want (insofar as this is possible for Betty, anyway). All the insecurities she had in S5 have been vanquished, but in any case, she does acknowledge her anger in the cabin.
3) Camp for Bobby. Betty is surprised that Don arrived as early as he did, so it's not like she was expecting the romantic evening. Betty's "acting" nice because she feels she finally has the power in her relationship with Don.
4) There have been far more blatantly obvious visual metaphors on the show. One, for instance, closes the episode. But that just comes with the territory in Mad Men. What a random time to complain about it.
5) The underlying motif of the episode is sort of "retreating" into old relationships to help you get over the failings of your current ones. Roger feels like he's a failure as a grandfather, so he goes to Joan for security only to be shut down. Don goes back to the Betty well, except she knows his number now and tells him in no uncertain terms that it won't happen again. Peggy thinks Ted will be her savior after her breakup with Abe, but he obviously has other ideas. Basically, it's about the folly of trying to fix your problems by running to the past.
6) Ted seems genuinely sorry about what happened. Maybe it'll come up again in the future, but he seems to have taken Peggy's advice to heart. The only problem is that now Peggy's the one who doesn't want to forget.
And as for this being the worst episode of Mad Men...have you seen Tea Leaves?
