MAD MEN: "A Tale of Two Cities" S6 E10 REVIEW AT FORCES OF GEEK

MAD MEN: “A Tale of Two Cities” S6E10 (recap)

The firm is still quibbling over naming rights as some partners go for business trips and Joan (Christina Hendricks) expands her horizons at the office with Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) as a companion and accomplice.

Will Bob Benson’s (James Wolk) enthusiasm and inserting himself into every situation finally give him the leg up he’s been waiting for? 

We open to a partner’s meeting that Don arrives at the end of. The merged firm’s name “Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Cutler Gleason & Chaough” or “SCDPCG&C” is agreed to be a mouthful, but the subject is tabled as Ted (Kevin Rahm) leaves for Detroit to handle Chevy and Don and Roger head to L.A.

In this John Slattery (Roger) directed episode we’re treated to a bit more color—from the wardrobes of the stars as they visit California—to the color television set coverage of the Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention, 1968. National television and Hollywood take center stage as Don (Jon Hamm) and Roger visit Los Angeles to woo West Coast clients.

Slattery shines on the plane with Hamm as the two go back and for the about the trip. Roger wants Don to be the self-assured east coast business man that he knows he is, and not to be an over-prepared worry wart. Roger knows that the New York confidence and swagger will get the job done, not reading about Carnation Instant Breakfast and Sunkist on the flight.

Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) is aplomb as he dons a scarf and sunglasses to check Don and Roger into the hotel.  Roger heads to the Sunset Strip for a Steak, Don orders room service in the hotel and sees the riots on TV. He gets a phone call from Megan, who, as we are reminded of, cannot vote in the election because of her Canadian citizenship.

When Joan’s friend Kate was visiting, she made the connection with Avon Cosmetics to Joan directly. Looking to expand her role or define herself as a partner, Joan takes a meeting with the Avon executive, on the pretense that it was a date.

Joan returns to the office (having picked up the tab) with a hot lead on the company and tells Peggy. Ted is excited but takes Joan off as the contact and assigns partner Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) to the job, frustrating Joan.

In an act of defiance and claiming her own stake in the company, Joan takes the next meeting with Avon without inviting Pete. Peggy is along for the breakfast meeting, and Joan leans on her for the heavy questions. Joan handles the meeting well but deals with the consequences later. Back at the office, Peggy is convinced that Joan has made a mistake by breaking protocol, but Joan firmly explains herself and asks for support.

What about Bob Benson, you may ask? He may be found listening to “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling” on phonograph in his office, or breaking the tension between former Air Force officer Jim Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman). Cutler puts Bob to the test as Roger is out of town to take care of the Manischewitz account. The account puts the firm under review, so Benson had best give that record another spin.

Out in Beverly Hills, Harry, Don and Roger hit up a pool party with hot men and women, no shortage of dope and they run into an old friend, Danny Siegel (Danny Strong). Danny is a failed copywriter and former employee of SCDP. Roger jabs at Danny’s height and tries to steal his girl, Lotus. Lotus is tripping and high as a kite, but as we know, Roger is ‘experienced’.

Don makes his way to the restroom but is distracted by beautiful ladies smoking hashish out of a hookah. When the stuff hits him, it’s bad news. He hallucinates a pregnant Megan stalking him, and Private Dinkins visiting him from Vietnam, missing an arm. Cut to Don being fished out of the pool by Roger. Never trust a hookah nipple from a stranger!

Back at the firm, Joan’s secret Avon meeting is exposed to Pete and Ted. As she’s asked to repent for her crimes, and Pete is dressing her down, Peggy saves the day by lobbing a fake phone message into the conference room by way of her secretary. The Avon rep is calling for Joan, so Ted demands she take the call. Where Peggy did not agree with how Joan took her piece of the pie, the women stick together to change are changing the sexist workplace environment together.  Gender roles are expanding and now Joan has an account she is responsible for. Since Lane’s suicide, Joan’s partnership has been purely as a figurehead.

All partners except for Joan meet in Don’s office upon everyone’s return. Ted is excited that Chevy’s approvals will come easier now, Don and Roger’s trip may or may not bear fruit, and Manischewitz goes away. 

Jim Cutler and Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) reveal the company name to be reduced to Sterling, Cooper & Partners. Jim says this is the only way because it is equally offensive to members of both firms. Don and Ted drop the fight about the name and all agree that SC&P will look good on the stationary. The partner with the most to say about the change is the resistant Pete, to whom Don invites to leave if he doesn’t like it. Pete storms out of Don’s office to steal a joint from Stan’s mouth and mellows out on the couch.

What can we expect from the preview of next week’s episode?

Megan’s got a surprise visitor or two, Peggy and Ted have more than a drink together, Betty returns and Don pays Pete a visit to his desperate bachelor pad. We’re also reminded of the countdown. There are only three episodes left this season before we see the summer of love in 1969.

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]

MAD MEN: "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" S6E06 - FORCES OF GEEK

There’s a shakeup at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.

Roger’s liaison with a stewardess may affect the company’s future as Mother’s Day approaches and Pete is left in the cold with his baby mama.

A well timed strategy from the top brass of these ad agencies shakes up the office by returning a prodigal daughter to the copy chief desk of a huge firm.

We don’t get to see any Don and Sylvia action this episode, but there is plenty of activity of note here.

Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) Joan (Christina Hendricks) and Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) are having the firm audited to go public.

While they await the results, another partner, Roger (John Slattery) has shacked up with a Northwest Orient stewardess, Daisy (Danielle Panabaker). The charming blonde comforts Sterling (in a very adult manner) before leaving for work, as it is Mother’s Day weekend and his mum has just passed. 

Pete returns home to Trudy (Alison Brie) to carry on the charade of his marriage and hopes for some comfort of his own. No dice, Petey.

Though Trudy seems to appreciate the effort he is putting in, sex with his wife is not in his future. Trudy in her full length flowy nightgown, though really is a thing of beauty.

Megan’s mother, Marie (Julia Ormond) continues the matriarchal theme upon visiting Don and Megan for the weekend from Montreal. She encourages Megan (Jessica Paré) to reinvigorate the heat between the sheets after she confides that something may be wrong in the Draper household. Maybe she can borrow some lace from Trudy?

 

Peggy’s (Elisabeth Moss) world is only grazed by any mother talk. No mention of kids with Abe this episode, quite the opposite. After a life affirming peck on the cheek from her boss Ted Chaough (Kevin Rahm), she wishes that her boyfriend Abe (Charlie Hofheimer) was instead Ted in her fantasy. The two are settling into Peggy’s new apartment.

Ted and Peggy’s firm is in upheaval. One partner Frank has fallen sick with Pancreatic Cancer and does not have long to live. It seems to be at an inopportune time, as they try to hone in on the Chevy account.

Speaking of Chevy, there is a comedic sidebar with Pink Panther music as Roger and Daisy turn up the heat. Roger rushes to the airport to trap a client. A businessman headed for Detroit turns out to be a Chevrolet executive and is ensnared by Daisy and liquored up by Roger.

Later we find the both the SCDP and CC&G reps en route to the motor city to land the account. The car is not even revealed to the agencies, just a code name (XP-887). And this is to be the biggest car announcement in years. Both teams have their pitches.

Don (Jon Hamm) has just lost the Jaguar account over an hilarious and ill-fated dinner with Herb, his wife, Megan and Marie. Marie insults Herb’s ditzy wife in French before the ladies excuse themselves. Alone at the table to discuss business, Herb (Gary Basaraba) suggests bringing in someone else to help write copy. Don leaves the table, offended and down a major client.

This episode is fast paced and full of surprises. Pete encounters his father-in-law at a cathouse with a black prostitute, and loses that account (Vicks Chemical). It seems the firm is in trouble before going public and everyone is trying to save face. 

After landing in Detroit, before the pitch meetings, Don does what he does best (or, arguably one of his finest traits) by sitting at the hotel bar downing scotches. He’s joined by Ted who stops the binge as the two leading men come to some realizations about their two companies. The reveal that comes in the third act may just land the Chevy account, but for which firm?

I’m happy to say that I fully enjoyed the action, comedy and the behind the scenes business acumen displayed in this episode. Sure, I’ll take a tawdry affair with the neighbor and noir drama and high fashion highlighted in the other episodes this season, but this episode is one of my favorites thus far. Don, Ted, Peggy and Roger’s confidence contrasts Pete, Joan and Bert’s conservatism to make the alliances within and without the firm stronger. 

What can we expect for next episode?

The teaser foretells a darker, more serious tone. Peggy’s moving back into the SCDP offices, will she be welcome? And, what’s Ted doing there? Mad Men Season 6, you are continuing to keep us excited!

[READ MORE at FORCES OF GEEK]