"This is the executive floor. That is ridiculous." Oh really?
Don cooks for his kids, it's adorable.
Sally is such a good older sister.
I'm not sold on New Bobby yet. Old Bobby (Bobby #3) was the best! This was great, though:
"When you're 40, how old will I be?"
"You'll be dead."
"Why don't you buy yourself a fancy hat...or a mask, or something?"
Although I love that black dress of Peggy's I was hoping for something newer. And what is up with her obnoxious attitude? "I was here." That sounds like Season One stick-in-the-mud Peggy.
Pete and Lane's progressive feelings of disgust at the water bomb incident are a sharp contrast to Roger and Don, the good ol' boys.
God, Megan is FABULOUS.
"Men hate surprises. Didn't you have 'Lucy' in Canada?"
"What birthday is it?" "(Forty)" And then she makes this face! In fact, that whole scene with Peggy and Megan is just great.
Sorry, dude. Beans will never be cool. Baked beans are gross. Maybe you should advertise them without actually showing what they look like.
Clara! I love Clara and that double-buttoned dress.
"They love his pickled nuts."
"Maybe just a beagle to scare off gophers."
Stan's cousin is the best. "I thought there were gonna be girls here."
Peggy and Abe dancing! Wish I had a gif.
It's interesting to see Pete and Trudy at the party - whereas previously they've always coordinated so well, here they are horribly mismatched. Trudy's dress is possibly the worst dress ever made. It really shows how their priorities are diverging.
OMG the party! The apartment with the sunken living room, the mod band, the "Zou Bizou Bizou", and the CLOTHES. Man, the clothes.
"Why don't you ever sing?"
"Why don't you look like him?"
I could do without the entire Lane plot. First he's kind of racist when he refuses to give the cab driver the wallet, and then he is a HUGE, GROSS CREEP with that girl's photo. BUT the actress who plays his wife is fabulous and I'm glad she's back but I would love it if Lane could stop being super gross just when I start to sympathize with him.
Totally gratuitous, minute-long scene with Jon Hamm shirtless putting on shaving cream. Like, that scene had absolutely no point and I absolutely do not care.
"You are making this very painful for me!" Ugh, manipulative guilt-trip mothers are The Worst.
Caroline is amazing. More Caroline! "It's a plant."
Eeeeewwww Harry. Ten times as gross as Lane. It's times like these that I really miss Paul Kinsey. I wish we could bring back Paul and Sal, even though I don't have my hopes up. Remember when Paul and Peggy got high and Paul sang and we all loved it so much? That was the complete opposite of Harry being the most disgusting creepazoid ever.
Joan's dress! Joan's dress Joan's dress Joan's dress. WANT SO HARD.
"The two of them together couldn't operate a parking meter!"
Joan is so great and I love how much she loves her job because she is so good at it and damn you Christina Hendricks for being even more beautiful when you cry and I can't wait to see Joan Harris, Fabulous Working Mother in action.
Lane dancing almost makes up for his earlier grossness.
Okay, and now I get to talk about Don and Megan and how I was SO RIGHT. After the Season 4 finale, everyone else was talking about how Don's proposal proved that he hadn't really changed and was still just giving into his basest impulses that were going to lead him down yet another path of misery. And I was just like, "Huzzah! Don is happy! And being honest! And marrying a woman who isn't a horrible succubus and/or The Worst With Kids." It was so nice to see Don being happy and seeming comfortable in his own skin that I had a feeling that marrying Megan would be an incredible force for positive change in his life. At the time, I said, "I think part of the change in Don when he's around her is that he's not Don, not Dick, but both finally existing harmoniously together." I think that has definitely remained true - Don seems more himself somehow, actually at home in his own life instead of just a transient always ready (and almost eager) to go on the run. Tonight in the premiere we got to see the ways (and the reasons why) their marriage really works. To start with, there is the honesty (on his part) and the lack of judgment (on hers). Then there is her warm and easy attitude with the children; she's obviously not trying to be their mother, but she seems like the most kick-ass stepmom ever - Sally clearly idolizes her, and why not? Megan is the Anti-Betty. Their sex life is demonstrably phenomenal - with honesty comes the ability to ask for (and receive) what you really want in bed, and what Don wants is to be berated by and then overpower his women...and Megan is totes into it. Don has finally prioritized what he wants over what's expected to him, with remarkably healthy results. The weak spot in their relationship seems to be work. Megan looks to be pretty good at her job, even when Peggy's being cranky, but does Don value her work as much as he values the rest of her? That is unclear. His own passion for work has been somewhat eclipsed by his passion for her. But Don is happy, and if he and Megan continue to have such open and intimate conversations about their issues as this episode showed (and if their sex life continues to be crazy sexy), I think their marriage will stay solid. Some people might be disappointed with this direction for the show to head in, but really, I think it's about time that SOMEONE on Mad Men has a successful relationship, and if it's Don and Megan, so much the better. I've been rooting for those two since the beginning.
Ooooooh, I hope that dumb-dumb receptionist gets replaced with a fab, kicky black chick. JUST what SCDP needs. And what Mad Men needs is a character who can show us this world from a black perspective and bring the conversation about race and civil rights to the forefront. Whereas Season 4 was a bit of a pity party for Don, Season 5 promises to look outward, connecting our characters to the rest of 1960s America in a way it never has before. One thing's for sure - Mad Men continues to be The Best. At everything. Twelve more weeks of this artistic miracle on my screen - I can't wait!
Image via TomAndLorenzo
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