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mydarling*attempts to get this posted before tonight's season finale*
So the cool thing about Mad Men is that while the characters are entirely fictional, the context is not - the setting is the actual 1960s, not some weird alternative universe. One of the things I do during each episode is try to figure out when each episode took place, relying on clues from the episode and a little bit of Wikipedia searching. But it doesn't really hit you that this show is actual sort-of historical and real until they get to that episode where you have to address the JFK assassination - being 1963 and all, how could you not?
The thing is, I kind of wished this episode had been the finale - not just in the setup of the show (the premiere usually takes place around February/March and the season finale is set around Thanksgiving time), but in terms of leaving the audience hanging so you'd have to resolve it in next season's premiere (which really isn't Mad Men's M.O., given the whole fast-forwarding between seasons thing.) I really didn't think it would come up in this episode, but after the scene with Harry and Pete in Harry's office with the TV showing the "Breaking News Bulletin", I knew this would be it. After re-watching the episode, I think it was better to have this shocking event in the penultimate episode rather than the finale, as it provides more buildup - particularly in Don/Betty's storyline - for what's to come in the final episode of the season. (Like, you can sort of blame Betty's "I don't love you anymore" on the simple fact that she's traumatized by the JFK assassination or you can chalk it up to the fact that she's extremely upset over the fact that Don has been lying to her all these years and has started a romance with Henry Francis. It works either way.)
I did love how real they made it - even going so far as to use the footage of Cronkite reporting the news and of Oswald being shot by Ruby. Everyone from that generation can remember where they were when they heard the news; my mom was four at the time - FOUR! - and yet she still clearly remembers what she was doing at that moment. Meaning Peggy will have a pretty interesting story to tell her children and grandchildren when she's older. (Which, EW.)
On a final note, I really liked Pete this episode (surprising, I know, but those scenes with Trudy were just wonderful and so normal) and the little scene with Roger and Joan on the phone broke my heart (He calls her "Red"! I totally take back everything I said about how I hated their relationship back in Season 1, because obviously both of them can't do much better. THIS IS THE TRUTH.)
So the cool thing about Mad Men is that while the characters are entirely fictional, the context is not - the setting is the actual 1960s, not some weird alternative universe. One of the things I do during each episode is try to figure out when each episode took place, relying on clues from the episode and a little bit of Wikipedia searching. But it doesn't really hit you that this show is actual sort-of historical and real until they get to that episode where you have to address the JFK assassination - being 1963 and all, how could you not?
The thing is, I kind of wished this episode had been the finale - not just in the setup of the show (the premiere usually takes place around February/March and the season finale is set around Thanksgiving time), but in terms of leaving the audience hanging so you'd have to resolve it in next season's premiere (which really isn't Mad Men's M.O., given the whole fast-forwarding between seasons thing.) I really didn't think it would come up in this episode, but after the scene with Harry and Pete in Harry's office with the TV showing the "Breaking News Bulletin", I knew this would be it. After re-watching the episode, I think it was better to have this shocking event in the penultimate episode rather than the finale, as it provides more buildup - particularly in Don/Betty's storyline - for what's to come in the final episode of the season. (Like, you can sort of blame Betty's "I don't love you anymore" on the simple fact that she's traumatized by the JFK assassination or you can chalk it up to the fact that she's extremely upset over the fact that Don has been lying to her all these years and has started a romance with Henry Francis. It works either way.)
I did love how real they made it - even going so far as to use the footage of Cronkite reporting the news and of Oswald being shot by Ruby. Everyone from that generation can remember where they were when they heard the news; my mom was four at the time - FOUR! - and yet she still clearly remembers what she was doing at that moment. Meaning Peggy will have a pretty interesting story to tell her children and grandchildren when she's older. (Which, EW.)
On a final note, I really liked Pete this episode (surprising, I know, but those scenes with Trudy were just wonderful and so normal) and the little scene with Roger and Joan on the phone broke my heart (He calls her "Red"! I totally take back everything I said about how I hated their relationship back in Season 1, because obviously both of them can't do much better. THIS IS THE TRUTH.)