On the same night it won its second Best Drama Emmy, Mad Men showed one of its best episodes ever.
While I still think fellow AMC drama Breaking Bad was robbed, there's no denying the brilliance of "Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency." It was funny and sad, sweet and caustic, providing a nice showcase for nearly all of the cast (I think only Sal sat this one out.)
It was an episode about how our expectations lead to disappointment, and about how...You know what?
Who the hell am I kidding? All I want to talk about is the guy getting his foot hacked off by a lawnmower in the middle of a Sterling Cooper office party.
The guy is, well, Guy. Guy McKendrick, a rising star at Sterling Cooper parent company PPL, brought over from England to form the third point in a new triangle of leadership (the other two points are Don and Bert Cooper).
At least that's the plan, until a drunken Smitty and Hildy pilot the latest model John Deere-- a gift from the company, which Ken had signed as a client earlier in the episode -- through the office, with Hildy driving over Guy's foot, spraying several co-workers with blood and shoe leather.
He's saved from bleeding out by a quick-thinking Joan, although it looks like he'll lose his foot, along with his career. His fellow Brits seem to think very little of the idea of a hobbled ad exec. They're quite grateful to Joan, who not came to Guy's rescue but scored his bosses tickets to Oliver!
"A tragedy with a happy ending," one of them says of the play. Sadly, there's no happy endings here, except maybe for Pryce, who's spared from having to relocate to India by Guy's accident.
Don doesn't get his promotion, Pete is still in competition with Ken (and looking more and more like the runner-up) and Roger doesn't even appear on the new organizational chart. (And the moment when they literally pencil him in off to the side was just wonderfully pathetic.)
He still comes away the best lines, including the one about Guy losing his foot "Just as he had it in the door," and telling Ken,Pete, Harry, etc. "Somewhere in this business, this has happened before."
That's the great thing about the character: he seems like someone your parents would talk about when they got home from work.
Joan could obviously get her job back if she wants it, but she keeps quiet. A heartbreaking episode for her, and some fine work by Christina Hendricks, especially the quiet scene between her and Don at the hospital. (Have they ever been paired up together in a scene?) It was lovely work on both actors part, and maybe an indication that next year, I'll actually root for this show at the Emmys.
Other thoughts:
- Don's homelife was sort of backstage this week, but I have to say: Wow, he and Betty seemed like a real couple in that one scene. And Don seemed like a good dad. Betty, however, may want to rethink telling her children that babies have an army of fairies at their use.
- I realized watching this that I'm not really clear what PPL does. Is it just an ad agency, or do they have other interests? Because if it's the latter, sending a cost-cutting guy like Pryce to India makes more sense.
- The best sight-gag of the night: Paul playing the guitar.
- Great to see Conrad Hilton again, although I kind of wish a time traveller would show up and warn him about his horrible progeny.
Tom Coombe
>> "A tragedy with a happy ending," one of them says of the play. Sadly, there's no happy endings here.
I think you nailed the episode right there, Tom. There were many happy endings for the people we have come to know and love. Because of "Mowergate", the following things happened:
- Roger gets a second chance and we get more of Roger.
- Don continues to wield power (especially now with Connie on his side.)
- We don’t get an office dominated by Harry Crane.
- We get to keep Mr. Pryce – one of my favorite characters in a love/hate way.
All those things are good for the audience. Plus, Sally comes out of her funk because Don puts on his “good father” suit. Also, after Pryce’s eulogy, might he not be more open to Don’s ideas since he sees what toeing the company line gets him?
The mower incident was sickeningly funny. I was screaming and laughing the whole time. My wife thought that I hurt myself. Does it say more about the British or about the state of medicine that Guy’s career is considered over after losing a foot? It makes me think about “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and British Major Warden telling Shears (William Holden) to go on without him for the good of the mission (and he had a bloody foot, too.)
Nice line about the time traveller. Perhaps we could send Paris Hilton to the Dharma Intitiative?
I thought it was kind of glossed over that Don openly admitted hating Betty’s father.
Don seems to be winning this round of “Which of These Dysfunctional Individuals Will Be a Better Parent?”
Posted by: Mr. Whirly | September 22, 2009 at 09:24 AM
I'm not sure Harry's situation changes at all due to "Mowergate." (Nicely put, by the way).And speaking of national tragedies, here's a look at how the mower incident connects with the JFK assassination: bit.ly/kXUqB
But you're right, Roger is probably better off with someone like Pryce around.
I hadn't thought of "River Kwai," but that's an interesting connection. Isn't Warden the only member of the mission who's still alive at the end?
Posted by: Tom Coombe | September 22, 2009 at 10:05 AM