Mad Men Episode 504: Recap & Review

Episode 504 “Mystery Date” was a resounding clap of thunder that I’m sure, quickly silenced all the haters who have said that there hasn’t been much going on in the show of late. Murders, violence, meeting the many women of your new husband’s philandering past, deadbeat rapist husbands, racism, terrifying step-mothers, its got it all.

For Don, his past has come back to haunt him. The very first scene of the episode is of Megan and a cold-ridden Don stepping into an elevator, where Andrea a former fling, soon steps in and starts openly flirting with Don until he introduces Andrea to his less than pleased wife. As Andrea steps off the elevator, Megan exasperatingly says “How many times is this going to happen?” During an aspirin raid in the kitchen, Don tries to talk to Megan about the incident. Don explains that  “It was a long time ago and I was unhappy.” Megan cynically retorts “Because you were married”, and follows up with “You’re married to me now…and that kind of careless appetite, you can’t blame that on Betty.” She calls him on his bull, stating that regardless of the state of his marriage, Don still sexed up the majority of women found in Midtown. After a meeting with a client, where Don sits back and lets the newest rising star in the office, the newly hired Michael Ginsberg of the last episode, make a pitch. Afterwards, he calls Megan where she tells him to go home and rest.

The moment after he flops on the bed the doorbell rings and Andrea is at the door. Panicked, he shoves her to the service elevator to avoid anyone seeing her, and heads back to bed. He wakes up again, but this time with Andrea sitting on the bed, and Don succumbs to his sexual desires. He immediately regrets it, and Andrea goads him saying that its just his nature. Don tackles and strangles her, figuratively strangling his own guilt. He stuffs her under his bed, shoving his demons into the dark recesses of his mind. His desires come and go, but they will always return and even if he thinks it is under his control, its always poking out, like Andrea’s leg sticking out of the bed.  He then wakes up and sees Megan at the bedroom door. He’s confused and asks where she was, and spies the empty space on the floor where Andrea’s leg should be. Megan tells him that she’s been in bed next to him the whole time, and it is revealed that the entire sequence was a fever dream.

The looming atmosphere of social unrest hits a majority of the characters in this episode. In the creative department, Joyce, Peggy’s friend from Life Magazine, brings photos of a massacre that’s been the latest gossip fodder. In Chicago, a mass murderer found his way into a student nurse dormitory and raped, bound, and killed 9 nurses. While Don’s type was psychological horror, the creative team is presented with horror in the form of physical violence.  The majority of the creative team saw horror’s entertainment value, with expressions showing a blend of shock, awe, and interest as they passed the photos around. Only Michael was disgusted by the massacre and their reactions, but even he himself displayed fascination in the darker aspects of human nature when he pitched a stalker-type Cinderella scenario during a client meeting.

Peggy, after bribed with $400 dollars from Moneybags Roger Sterling, stayed late at the office working on a pitch for Mohawk. After literally hearing a bump in the night, she walks the dark corridors of SCDP and finds Dawn, Don’s new African-American secretary. After working late Dawn had resigned herself to staying overnight at the office. With the massacre, and the race riots,  it’d be quite dangerous for a female person of color to traverse the subway late at night. Peggy, sympathetic and also fearful of traveling alone, invites Dawn over to her apartment. The two quickly bond, and Peggy tells Dawn that “We have to stick together. We’re not really the same situation, but I was the only one like me there for a long time.” Peggy then in a bout of drunken introspection, asks Dawn if she thinks she’s manly. Being a copywriter is tough, especially for a woman, and Peggy admits that “I try, but I don’t know if I have it in me. I don’t know if I want to.” Regardless of her innate talent, she was only recognized because of Don, and she is still often ignored because of her sex while good-for-nothings like Harry reap the benefit. While courageous, standing alone in a male-dominated workforce is taxing. The Peggy & Dawn lovefest is quickly broken when Peggy announces she’s off to bed and  spies her purse sitting on the coffee table between them. Her long stare makes Dawn uneasy. Like the men at the office towards Peggy, Peggy still sees Dawn as different. The scene was tense, natural, and perfect. It’s only natural that you’d want to keep your $400 (around $2000 nowadays) close regardless of whoever’s staying over, but the fact that Dawn’s there brings a different dimension to the scene. Peggy realizes her mistake in the morning when she finds an empty apartment and Dawn’s thank-you note atop her purse.

Sally Draper is forced to spend her time with Pauline, the beast of a step-grandmother while Betty and Henry are away. I wonder if Sally’s being set up with dealing with an eating disorder as last episode she was seen barely touching her sundae and in this episode refusing to eat a sandwich. It wouldn’t be surprising, as she’s living with a former beauty queen, and I’m sure Betty has instilled some ideas about feminine beauty in Sally. Pauline is a strict disciplinarian who’s trying to instill rules while the parents are away. She views Sally as an unruly child, as Betty never cared enough to establish any rules whatsoever. Pauline however turns out to be worse than Betty. She tells inappropriate and terrifying stories with proficiency. She fondly recalls her father kicking her across the room “just because,” and tells her about the nurse massacre with gusto, all within the backdrop of the Francis “haunted house”, full of dark shadows and looming spaces. Frightened and unable to sleep, she ends up talking to Pauline on the couch (who she herself was full of paranoia and was sitting with a kitchen knife beside her), who gives her some prescription meds and the two get knocked out. The two are still asleep (Pauline on the couch and Sally under it) when Henry and Betty return home in the morning.

My favorite part in this episode was Joan’s story line. Greg’s coming back from Vietnam for 10 days before he finishes the remaining 40 days of his deployment. As so far we’ve been able to hint from Joan and her mother’s interactions, Joan’s father skedaddled early on in her life, causing Joan to have daddy issues (hint: Roger Sterling) and the mother to be overly invested in making sure that her daughter’s marriage goes well. The visit goes well, until he says he has to go back to Vietnam. The shit really hits the fan during a family dinner with both sides of the family, where it was revealed that Greg had volunteered to go back to Vietnam. An accordion player immediately appears at their table, where in an attempt to break the bad air, a comment is made about Joan’s proficiency with the accordion.  The statement is clearly marked for the audience to recall when Greg forced Joan to play the accordion during a house party. They fight when they return home, and he tells her that her opinion doesn’t matter in his decision, and that “it’s an order”, sparking memories of when he raped her at the office.   The next morning, she coolly tells Greg that she wants him to go and never come back. The scene was so epic it’s better to just write it out the lines since I couldn’t find a video:

Joan: I want you to go.

Greg: I’m glad you came around. Its only a year.

Joan: No. I want you to go and never come back.

Greg: Damn it Joanie, they need me.

Joan: Well then it works out, because we don’t.

(Grabs Joan’s arm forcefully)

Greg: I’m very important there. I have 20 docs and medics relying on me. They look to me for skill and leadership.

Joan: I’m glad the army makes you feel like a man, because I’m sick of doing it.

Greg:  The army makes me feel like a good man.

Joan: You’re not a good man. You never were. Even before you were married and you know what I’m talking about.

(Joan takes her arm back)

Greg: If I walk out the door, that’s it!

Joan: That’s it.

Greg was great on paper, but was a total dud in real life. She was fine without a father, she was fine when she was single, and she was fine when she was caring for her newborn while he was gone. The times she was truly unhappy was when Greg was around. Why should she go back to a man who’s worth less in ability and brains than she is? Her horror of a husband left and is never coming back. Go Joan!

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By Contributing Blogger:  M. Do.