It wouldn't be Mad Men if the show didn't pick up its fourth season almost a year after the last one ended. When we last saw our ad crew, Sterling Cooper - that is, Sterling Cooper Draper Price - was operating out of a New York hotel suite. But the air was hopeful, and almost a year later, that is still the case. As Don glides down the hall to an appropriately snappy score, we see that the business is off and running. There is a quick glance of some familiar faces - Peggy, Joan, Roger, Pete - and some new ones (who is this Joey kid?). It's not an insignificant reinvention. It promises to deliver some juicy storylines.
Don and Betty are now divorced, and Don is getting by in a seedy apartment, shining his shoes, barking orders at his maid, enjoy slaps from prostitutes. Betty, on the other hand, must endure a Thanksgiving dinner with Henry's mother, who treats Betty with about as much respect as she does the dead turkey. Sally, thankfully, is in one of those filterless pre-adolescent dazes, spitting out sweet potatoes like they're hot tar. The bottom line: Mommy Dearest thinks the divorced Betty - scandalous! - doesn't have a handle on her kids, which is not an entirely fair judgment, accurate as it might be.
In terms of minor plot points, Don messes up an interview with a journalist by revealing too little - which he later makes up with an end-of-episode tell-all. Pete and Peggy come up with a kooky campaign for ham by planting two shoppers to go at it in a diner - a ruse that prompts a delicious scene where Peggy must knock on Don's door to ask for bail money. Harry comes back from LA with sunburn that looks like teenage acne. Don confronts Betty about moving out of the house (and Henry actually agrees!). Joan has her own office. Oh, and Don goes on a date with a friend of Jane's, a seemingly bright, young ingenue who puts him in his place when she doesn't fall into bed - or his backseat.
It's a lot of change to take in, but creator/writer Matthew Weiner has a knack for not bogging us down with huge plot points to make it an overwhelming experience. Mad Men is a rare show that is true character study. Somehow, we don't care during the episodes where not much happens. Granted, sometimes it seems to take 12 episodes just to build up to the events of the finale. But that's fine by me, if the show can live up to it.
Tidbits:
-Where are Paul and Ken? Will they be back, or are they gone for good?
-Where are Paul and Ken? Will they be back, or are they gone for good?
-It would seem that Sal is, well, still sacked. I guess they were serious about showing true discrimination against gay people in the workplace.
-I'm still not sure if Joey will be annoying or not, but I'm glad he brings out Peggy's playful side.
-Speaking of Peggy, what should we make of her "fiance"?
-Is it my imagination, or do some of the characters - Roger included - seem a bit more crude this season?
-Is Joan still in her hopeless marriage? Is she still forced to play her accordion in awkward situations? Inquiring minds want to know!
The preview for next week revealed basically nothing. What a tease! The premiere: B+
