At the Codfish Ball

The random number generator has given me two of the better shows from Mad Men back to back. Last weeks choice, Shut the Door, Have a Seat, was one of the very best episodes they did, possibly the best and certainly in the top three. With this week's choice it's hard to tell whether it was really as good as all that or whether it just stood out in the midst of the desert that was the last four seasons. The show lost its bearings after the third season and, while there were some good episodes like this one, it never regained its sense of purpose.

I looked up what I wrote on my other blog when the show was first broadcast and my reaction was positive. It's different to see it now with the benefit of hindsight. We know that Sally will grow up well. We know that Don will overcome the seemingly crushing barrier he is told of. We know that Pete will triumph. On the other hand, we know that Megan's choice to follow her passion will end with her being a mediocre actress and will destroy her marriage. We know that Peggy and Abe will not make a good couple. We know that Émile and Marie Calvet's marriage will fail. And, I suppose, we know that Roger and Marie will end up together. (I say, "I suppose", because, while they are a compelling couple in the long run, I find their actions in this episode unrealistic.

I think if there is one message to take from the episode it's, "Don't follow your passion". Find your direction in the challenges and opportunities that life deals you and not in silly fantasies. Probably the best part of the episode is that the impractical dreams come from the mouth of a Marxist.

It's an interesting example of hiding the truth in plain sight for most critics didn't see it coming. They only saw that lovely shot of Émile, Marie, Megan, Don and Sally all looking miserable at the end. As I was saying last week, however, Don has an amazing ability to restart that is the basis of his heroism. The important truth that shot really tells us is that Megan is a child, a woman who has never matured, and that Sally is in danger of failing in the same way.