After last week’s odd but entertaining acid trip, I was looking forward to seeing “Mad Men” get back to what it does best – simple, straightforward character drama. This week’s episode, “At the Codfish Ball,” didn’t disappoint.
Sadly, this episode began with one of the show’s worst characters, Glen Bishop. The character is played by Marten Weiner, the son of creator Matthew Weiner. There’s no easy way to say it – the kid’s a bad actor. Perhaps it’s because he’s surrounded by some of the best talent in Hollywood today, but he can’t seem to deliver a line without making it sound like he’s reading it right off the page.
Anyway, Glen talks to Don’s daughter, Sally, in the opening scene. While I may not care about Glen, I’m interested to see where his relationship with Sally may go. Glen and Betty had an odd interaction in season two, leaving Betty to hate Glen and forbid him from speaking to Sally. Of course, the two still speak and will likely have a romance sooner or later. But while Glen and Sally are on the phone, Henry Francis’ mother, who’s watching the kids, trips over the phone cord and breaks an ankle. Sally and Bobby are forced to stay with Don in Manhattan.
Much of the episode revolved around Don and Megan being visited by her parents as well as Don’s kids. Don is being presented with an award from the American Cancer Society after writing the terrific “Why I’m Quitting Tobacco” letter back in season four. Megan’s parents are an interesting addition to the proceedings. Her father is a Communist professor, while her mother seems to be almost the exact opposite, a socialite who enjoys luxury.
While previous episodes have been hinting at Don losing his place in the industry, “At the Codfish Ball” hits us, and Don, straight in the face with the realization that he may not be on top of the game anymore.
Early in the episode, Megan comes up with a brilliant idea for Heinz Baked Beans, a campaign the firm has struggled with since the beginning of the season. Megan initially wants Don to pass the idea off as his own, but he refuses, as she deserves the credit.
Later, Don, Megan, Ken Cosgrove and his wife are at dinner with the Heinz rep and his wife. After a conversation with the Heinz rep’s wife in the bathroom, Megan realizes Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce is about to lose the account. She whispers this to Don, who, in typical Draper fashion, swoops in and convinces the Heinz rep to stick with SCDP.
However, he passes the idea off as his own, saying Megan gave him the inspiration for it. Megan seems fine with this, as she just wants to keep the account, but it’s a sign that Don might be slipping a bit.
The awards ceremony sequence that followed was top notch. I’ll have to go character by character to cover what happened.
First, Don accepts his award and feels confident, meeting plenty of people who can boost SCDP’s business. But, in a scene that again shows he may not be the top ad man anymore, he’s told by one of the men he meets that no one wants to do business with him anymore. After Don lost the business of Lucky Strike cigarettes and wrote a letter blasting them, it was seen by many as biting the hand that feeds, as the man tells Don. In a rare moment, Don looks a bit worried at hearing this news.
My prediction is that once the brilliant Heinz commercial runs, Don’s stock will go back up. However, the issue is, it wasn’t Don’s idea to start with, it’s just being sold as his idea. That opens up a lot of interesting doors for the rest of the season.
While Don is doing his thing, Megan is speaking with her father. Given his Communist leanings, it’s safe to say he hates Don. Not personally, but he hates what Don stands for and his materialistic identity. Megan’s father chastises her for getting married so young, as he believes she can go farther than where she is now. Megan passes this off as him being upset about her upper-class life.
But as their conversation deepens, her father seems to genuinely worry that she’s compromising in terms of what she wants out of life. Megan tells him to stop speaking about it, to which he obliges. But the look on her face seems to say she believes he’s right.
I always thought Don would be the one to end this marriage, but as the season has progressed, it seems more and more likely that Megan will leave him. Remember, we’re in the late ‘60s and this is about the time that divorce laws were passed, making it possible to dissolve a marriage without a reason. I get the feeling that, by the end of this season or the next, Megan will be the one to leave Don.
Lastly, the episode’s most shocking interaction was between Roger and Megan’s mother. From the first time we see her, Megan’s mom is flirtatious, almost to the point of being slutty. At the ceremony, she makes eyes at Roger all night. This culminates with Roger getting a blowjob from her in a deserted room during the event. Pretty standard for this show.
But here’s what makes it interesting. Sally, who is growing up right before our eyes, has accompanied the adults to the ceremony. She’s looking for a bathroom when she stumbles into the room where Roger and Megan’s mother are getting busy. Neither of them see her, but she witnesses the act straight on.
It’s been great to watch Sally grow up over the course of this show. She’s becoming a woman now, as evidenced by her putting on a fancy dress and attending Don’s event. We get the hint that she and Glen, once they’re old enough, will get together. But after witnessing the interaction between Megan’s mom and Roger, all of her notions of sexuality must be kind of messed up. Roger’s like an uncle to her, so to see her grandmother cheating on her grandfather with him will have a huge impact on Sally that we’ll likely see later in this season or the next.
The episode’s subplot wasn’t all that interesting. Unfortunately, Peggy hasn’t had the most exciting plotlines this season, which is a shame, because she’s a great character.
Anyway, following her threat to break up with her boyfriend, Abe, and her tryst with the guy in the theater, Abe takes her out to a nice dinner. Peggy and Joan both believe he’s going to propose, but he doesn’t – he tells Peggy he wants to move in together.
Maybe Peggy’s plot didn’t seem like a big deal to me because these days, it’s not a big deal when a couple has been dating for a while and moves in together. But, as evidenced by her mother’s visit later on, it was a big deal in the ‘60s. Peggy’s devout Catholic mom reacts to the news exactly as we would expect her to – she flips. Peggy makes it clear that she’s an adult and can make her own decisions, so her mom storms out of the apartment.
That’s about it for Peggy’s plot. Like I said, not all that interesting. However, what will be interesting are the interactions we’ll see between her and Abe. Hopefully this means we’ll get to see more of Abe, as he’s a great mixture of comedic relief and dramatic seriousness.
This season has a great new trend – amazing final scenes. With nearly every episode this season, the final scene has been the best. “At the Codfish Ball” was no exception. In the scene, Glen and Sally are talking over the phone again. The conversation is short, but wonderful. Glen tells Sally the other boys at his boarding school think she’s his girlfriend (again, a hint towards their likely future relationship), a notion she laughs at.
Sally tells him she’s in Manhattan with her dad and Glen asks how it is. Sally, having just seen her grandmother blowing another guy, almost gleefully says, “Dirty.” And then the credits roll. The way the line is delivered says a lot about where Sally is going. It seems she wasn’t horrified by seeing what she did, but intrigued. All of this will remain to be seen, but Sally won’t likely grow up to be the innocent little girl she is now.
While the subplot failed to impress me, “At the Codfish Ball” was a great episode. The rest of the season is now set up for some wonderful revelations about our main characters. Don and Megan’s relationship seems to be in a constant state of flux, while Roger is back to his womanizing ways and Sally is growing up.
Also, while it may be too early to call it, I think season five is on track to be the best season of “Mad Men” yet. So far, each episode has had a near-perfect mix of comedy and drama. With only four episodes remaining in the season, we’re in for plenty of great stuff. Check back next week for my recap of episode eight, “Lady Lazarus.”
Joey Groner
Entertainment Writer
