The Televangelist: ‘Mad Men’ Season 5, Ep 12

There is no more volatile compound known to man than that of decorum and despair.

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“What is happiness? It’s a moment before you need more happiness.”

And what is sadness? This episode of “Mad Men,” for starters.

NOTE: Since this review is now on the main News site and I acknowledge some people may not have seen this week’s episode yet, I will discuss the spoilery stuff under the cut.

First, there was Sally and Glen Take Manhattan. Their excursion felt very grownup, as did their conversations at the museum. Amidst the visually stunning dioramas, Glen cracked jokes and Sally calmly told him to tell his friends what he wanted about them having sex, but she wasn’t ready to do it. These are mature things for a 12/13 year old to say, but Sally reverted to childhood when she bolted home to Betty after her period started. And Betty, miracle of miracles, actually acted like a decent mother. Sally is already learning to play Megan and Betty off of one another, though her comment to Glen about wanting Henry to leave Betty felt sincere. Still, as smug as Betty was saying it to Megan, there was (and is an eternal) truth to the comment “she needed her mother.” It was a sweet way to end Betty’s arc this season (January Jones is not listed as appearing in the finale), and shows some actual growth from a character who has been marginalized and much maligned.

The brightest spot of “Commissions and Fees” was mostly certainly Ken Cosgrove (Accounts!) and all that happened with Dow Chemical. I was disappointed in Kenny last week for going along with Pete in entertaining the notion of prostituting Joan, but really it seems he was just acknowledging his place in the company, and knew that once Pete started with it there would be no stopping it. Further, Ken is not a voting partner, so frankly, his opinion doesn’t matter. It all became very clear this week when Ken spoke both of his disdain for being a partner (“now that I’ve seen what’s involved”) as well as his distain for Pete. Cutting Pete off from Dow was a slick move, and one that Pete utterly deserved.

Speaking of Dow, the Creative Department was mostly missing this week, but they weren’t particularly missed - Don is revving back up into his magical spiels and spellbinding pitches that, to quote a commenter from another forum, “probably made every man in that room hard.” Don is tired of languishing and feeling the responsibility of The Letter. It’s time for SCDP to take another turn, this time, with the upswing.