Mad Men Season 3 Recap

***Spoilers Ahead***


It still shocks me that there are people who don't like the third season of Mad Men, I mean to be fair to date there hasn't been an episode as complete as The Jet Set or Three Sundays or the first seasons Marriage of Figaro, but you can't say that there have been any weak episodes either. Indeed these episodes are in their way as ambitious as their predecessors. Personally My Old Kentucky Home would be my favorite to date, and I have high regard for the others as well. The comedy has been more pronounced and finds it greatest release in the cultural/business war between the British and Americans at Sterling Cooper, and it gets progressively more hilarious with each episode. Other achievements of the season to date have been the development of Sally Draper as a character, the arrival of Betty's father and his subsequent demise, the use of social touchstones like the self immolation of the Buddhist monk in Vietnam and the death of Medgar Evers, and Weiner and company's continued fascination with the identity's people construct privately and socially to deal with everyday life. Simultaneously Mad Men's rich gallery of female characters Joan, Betty and Peggy have taken fascinating developments, with Joan's realization that the American dream she's acquired is a trap, Peggy's further exploration of sex and self, and Betty becoming stronger if more superficial in her family life, while her and Don try and repair their marriage.

One quip it's that Bryan Batt hasn't been given enough to do after his excellence start in the premiere Out of Town, still his jaw dropping moment of fey to his wife in The Arrangements and his subsequent conversation with Don were excellent scenes. As well Betty's holy shit I'm stoned moments in My Old Kentucky Home were a little too on the nose, although her realization from the experience was wonderfully written.

Jet Set and Out of Town director Phil Abraham did some expressive work in The Fog, especially with Betty's hospital experience and that final shot was devastating. My Old Kentucky Home took brutal look at the sycophantic nature of Manhattan social life, with Roger's attempts at entertainment offensive and blatantly disregarding of the social changes he can't grasp, and Pete and his wife making a moving if ultimately sad attempt at showmanship with their Charleston. Guy Walks into a Bar was the perhaps the boldest in terms of plotting to date, with writers Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner and director Lesli Linka Glatter making the biggest and boldest attempt at historical/cultural symbolism to date with bloody black humor in tow. Of course in the end it's not Mad Men's social commentary be it subtle or broad that strikes me about the series as it's universal portrayal of human beings trying to adapt to cultural shift. Sometimes it's hilarious(Paul Kinsey being the most pretentious and pathetic example) and sometimes the way the individuals walk that line between self and their own social constructs is brilliantly realized(Don and Peggy). In the end perhaps the most painfully tragic characters are either the people who are out touch completely (Roger), or the ones who have the potential for more but whose fear and immaturity won't allow it (Pete).

There's much to look forward to with Don's continued relationship with Conrad Hilton to be developed, the Sterling marriage and it's likely ruin, Sally Draper's potential intellectual awakening or psychological destruction depending on her parenting, and the potential release for Salvatore whose own heterosexual persona is on the brink of collapse. But it's Don and Betty's attempts are reconciliation that are the most moving, as two people despite their relative unhappiness try to achieve success in the marriage by means which will never truly be compatible with who they really are. They both love each other, but in truth they don't know each other and for every affirmation of love(the ending of My Old Kentucky Home) there is also the sad fact of his past failures(the ending of Out of Town) but beyond that Don's attempts at spiritual fulfillment in Love Among the Ruins, where in place of his philandering, shows a character trying to make his life work and finding some degree of satisfaction.