Mad Men 5x03 Reaction
Added 2025-12-17 23:27:19 +0000 UTC
Comments
I understand Roger has been handed his position and doesn’t contribute like the others but there’s a lot of nuance missed sometimes by LM when they continue to characterize him as useless. Roger makes the clients feel comfortable and at home. He makes them feel special and is always a good hang for them. That matters in a business that is built by interpersonal relationships. Its why he kept Lucky Strikes for as long as he did despite Lee Garner Jr being an asshole. I think its shown subtly I think in the last episode when clients were asking to see him.
Mack
2026-01-20 04:54:37 +0000 UTCIt's such a common thing IRL too. I can't think of another time a show explored "person gains weight as they age" without it being Secret Pregnancy (which they did lolllll).
Kara
2025-12-20 12:50:59 +0000 UTCThere were several comments talking about how The Suitcase was the episode that would be memorable, before they saw it. Im not going to say anything in expectation going forward.
tilden katz
2025-12-19 06:37:13 +0000 UTCWhat? You are giving them an unnecessary parameter. They shouldn't be going into individual episodes going "I know this one will be good" or "I know this one will be less good"
Kev
2025-12-19 05:06:42 +0000 UTCJust said they were great. I would never reveal a spoiler.
tilden katz
2025-12-19 00:59:15 +0000 UTCDon't talk about upcoming episodes.
Mike
2025-12-19 00:57:09 +0000 UTCNeither do I. Its true what I wrote, however unpleasant.
tilden katz
2025-12-19 00:43:46 +0000 UTCI don't even know what to say to this. I'm at a loss
Taya
2025-12-19 00:18:45 +0000 UTCThe next 4 episodes are as good a 4 episode run in Mad Men, and in TV history. Four episodes that will all be rated 15 out of 10.
tilden katz
2025-12-18 23:59:36 +0000 UTCMad Men is a super feminist show. Everyone has their point of view, and all points should be welcome. My contention is that the men are written as such horrible people, that its justifiable that Milena and Lola speak poorly of Don about 98% of the time. But, yet they say they love the character. HOW? WHY? And, it doesn't change. Harry (100% a sleaze) Roger (100% thoughtless) Pete (100% whining weeny) Don (100% TOXIC man). The guys are all cartoonishly insufferable, ( thank God for Henry Francis) and the women characters are absolute saints in comparison to them. I half expected Mad Men to do a cartoon episode and have Homer Simpson, and Peter Griffin from Family Guy stand in and represent a couple guys. By Season 6, I gave up. I stopped watching, but then came back because MM is the best written show Ive ever seen. The dialogue is TO DIE FOR. The acting of Hamm, Moss, Flattery is expert. And the attention to detail in the sets, and costumes is absolutely incredible. It is lazy to write characters (the men) that never change. That are always bad people. It's kind of soul-crushing to watch a relentless, non-stop attack on one gender. I think this show despises men altogether. MM is my favorite show. But, I do not love it. I admire its quality.
tilden katz
2025-12-18 23:57:13 +0000 UTCPutting in rot13 since it kind of implies where they're going with Dawn's character. V jvyy nqzvg Qnja'f pnfgvat srryf n ovg yvxr ubj fur'f uverq. Gur fubj trgf pevgvpvmrq sbe orvat gbb juvgr, fb gurl trg bar oynpx punenpgre jub'f avpr naq cyrnfnag ohg irel vabssrafvir naq abg cnegvphyneyl vagrerfgvat. Ceboyrz fbyirq.
Sebastian
2025-12-18 08:38:23 +0000 UTCyou already know im gonna feminist killjoy (by Sara Ahmed) but how can i ignore the stark contrast btwn how Ginsberg gets introduced vs. how Dawn is introduced? We skip her interview process, we get no hints of her personality, her longest scene is her enduring Harry while he talks at her :C In contrast, Ginsberg, in the same episode, was given such rich characterization. Multiple scenes where he was the center of the story. I can tell you, he's a bit odd, but in a fun, interesting way. He lacks a social life, he lives with his dad (who we can assume he takes care of), he's highly adept at masking, extremely talented, determined, and honest to a fault
on crip ...
2025-12-18 07:34:24 +0000 UTCLast comment from me, but I love how 5 seasons in their feelings for the characters are constantly developing and growing. If you think about Don, Pete, Betty, Peggy, Joan and Roger, I feel like they have all been their favorite character at one point, and it's still cycling. It isn't surprising for the show, especially because Season 5 might be Mad Men's most popular season, but I have been watching their Andor reactions and they mentioned something like "TV shows should end after S4, it does not need to go on to have 7 seasons" and I was like oh...
Kev
2025-12-18 06:21:34 +0000 UTCThis wasn't really a spoiler, but i still waited til the correct episodes. Don's silver and red 1965 Cadillac just sold for about $15,000 a few weeks ago. It's in pretty good shape and the person who bought it is apparently bringing it back to America from the personhe bought it from in England to have it properly restored. I wish i would have known about it before it was sold. I would have paid $20k for that car lol https://youtu.be/ySHShJb3OEY?si=M2keWFiSXPdeX6cu
Alex Bernier
2025-12-18 05:37:32 +0000 UTCI also saw Ben Feldman first on "Superstore", so it is WILD to see him here on this show now. There's actually some fascinating parallels between Michael Ginsberg and his role on "Superstore", but they're very different characters. Remember in the first episode when Roger asked if they ever hired any Jews, and Don said "not on my watch"? And now we're here. With Dawn as well! I don't want to give Henry's mother any praise -- because she was truly awful to Betty here -- but it does seem like she has at least realized that Henry does honestly care for Betty. The last time we saw her, she said that Henry was only interested in Betty for sex, and he didn't need to marry her to get it. Now she's accepting that Betty is really a part of Henry's life, and it's not just a fling or something shallow. When it comes to Roger's depression and feeling of powerlessness, I have some minor sympathy, but not much since he has the power to change it. If he wanted to, he could DO HIS JOB. Go out and make connections with prospective new clients, or do research on market trends, or converse with the copywriters to understand their current campaigns, etc. Nobody is blocking him. Not even Pete. But instead of doing that, he's just playing power games in office politics and trying to piggyback on Pete's work. So he's not somebody who has tragically been sidelined by the world moving beyond him, he's somebody who is CHOOSING to stand still while everybody else keeps walking forward. If he tried and failed I would have more understanding, but he has never tried at all. As a bit of locale reminder, Asbury Park (Where Harry says the Rolling Stones are going next) was featured frequently in "The Sopranos". Several sequences were shot there, and it was referenced several times in stories about Tony's childhood.
JBK405
2025-12-18 05:20:51 +0000 UTCThis storyline with Betty is also set up so well because we hear multiple times about how she used to be fat as a kid and her parents scolded and shamed her into being skinny again, and how she is afraid of Sally gaining weight. She also says in one of the first few episodes of the show that she wants to die while she's still pretty, so that might explain why she was so frustrated to find out she wasn't actually dying; while of course it was laying heavy on her, I imagine she thought part of it "made sense" (as she says in S1), and that way she wouldn't have to live with being fat.
Kev
2025-12-18 05:02:30 +0000 UTCI've never seen Lola crack up as hard over anything than "Darkest before the Dawn", I'm gonna get you canceled!
Nina
2025-12-18 05:00:07 +0000 UTCI love how fortune telling is used in this episode, the woman says a generic uplifting thing that's meant to make people feel good but it happens to be the worst thing Betty could hear at that moment So in this episode Betty has a dream amidst her fears around dying, and in S3 she has a dream amidst her fears of giving birth. It's interesting to me that we get such abstract and bizarre scenes for Betty, whose exterior is so traditional and mundane. While other characters may talk openly about their feelings, Betty is much more internalized, so these dreams give us a peek into her subconscious.
Kev
2025-12-18 04:59:03 +0000 UTCSeconds before Ginsberg showed up I remembered that the actor is in some sitcom people like so they might recognize him, but I didn't expect it to give his character such a head start in them liking him lol
Kev
2025-12-18 04:55:49 +0000 UTCThey don't need to know this. If the writers wanted the story to just be a cover-up for January Jones being pregnant that had no concern for the story or characters then they would've put a disclaimer at the beginning of the episode that says "Pretend that Betty isn't pregnant" or something. Obviously Betty gaining weight is meant to work in story, so I don't see how external circumstances "explains her change" or why we need to tell them this.
Kev
2025-12-18 04:55:02 +0000 UTCLmao. I like how you omitted Harry’s lusting after teenage girls, not taking any food home, and then his weird little monologue about how much he wished he got to fuck around before getting married (understandable, but come on, we know he’s still fucking around). I’m surprised by how fast & much they turned on Harry - but he’s a worthy enough target.
ruseka
2025-12-18 04:16:42 +0000 UTCAnother ten-bell quote unfortunately lost to crosstalk: "You know, your book really does have a voice." "That's what they said about Mein Kampf." Vs V unq n avpxry sbe rirel gvzr Znq Zra tnir Orggl fhecevfr pnapre, V'q unir gjb avpxryf. Juvpu vfa'g n ybg, ohg vg'f jrveq gung vg unccrarq gjvpr. (V npghnyyl guvax gur unaqyvat bs Orggl'f raqvat vf ernyyl ornhgvshy. Ohg lrnu, gurve pbairefngvba urer vf ernyyl shaal, pbafvqrevat.)
Mike
2025-12-18 03:19:04 +0000 UTCHenry needs Betty at a political fundraiser: "Aww, you're sweet." Don needs Betty at dinner with Jimmy & Bobbie Barrett: "Hello, Human Resources?!" (OK, so Henry isn't secretly cheating on Betty with the Junior League of New York, but the contrast is still funny.) In other news, I'm fascinated by the cut from Don worrying to Roger about his kids growing up without a mother... to that really arresting tableau at the Ginsberg apartment. The contrast between Michael's father suggesting they find some prostitutes and solemnly blessing his son is really something. And after that conversation about Harry not being likeable or relatable... Excuse me, he got too high at the concert, accidentally signed the Tradewinds to do a beans commercial, and then ate twenty cheeseburgers on the ride home. What more can he do to win our hearts? Oh, and Jon Hamm directed this episode! Cool!
Mike
2025-12-18 02:54:48 +0000 UTCIsn't it just a fat suit and prosthetics? I don't think they "made" her gain any weight, just wanted to utilize her pregnancy in the story line.
Jacob
2025-12-18 02:53:39 +0000 UTCHenry stays winning!!! Love him so much. I would marry him in a heartbeat too. Harry & Don's interaction at the office after the concert is so funny but it looks like you guys missed it. "I had a great time this weekend!" "Ok." *walks away* You guys are gonna love Ginsberg. One of my favorite side characters for sure. Whfg fvggvat urer areibhfyl gjvqqyvat zl guhzof yvfgravat gb gung ragver cbfg-rc qvfphffvba... ubb obl, gurl ner ABG tbaan or unccl.
Taya
2025-12-18 02:50:17 +0000 UTCFunny, that's not the music cue I most associate with this episode... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulC0Lerkkbc
Mike
2025-12-18 02:17:06 +0000 UTCLola laughs at Roger like I do...the man is a GOAT
Scott
2025-12-18 01:54:29 +0000 UTCWhen this storyline originally aired, there was this whole fan narrative that the writers were punishing Betty or something. I never understood that sentiment. I agree with LM that all it does is make Betty more empathetic. Some viewers took it as a “haha, that’s what you get” - some viewers should not be allowed to watch television. And yeah as someone mentioned earlier, this storyline started because JJ got pregnant and it was more interesting than writing a fourth kid in. But if we go back to earlier seasons, Betty mentions being overweight as a child and it’s something her mother specifically ridiculed out of her. She hasn’t been able to relax since. I like the idea that she gained weight again in part because she is able to relax with Henry. The amount of weight they made her gain though is kinda nuts, lol. But perhaps the alternative was to not have Betty in the season much. Rot13 - Areibhfyl tevznpvat urnevat gurz gnyx nobhg ubj gurl pna'g npprcg n pnapre/qrngu/onq raqvat sbe Orggl.
Jamie
2025-12-18 01:53:15 +0000 UTCI really like the needle drop for this one: “You wait, little girl, on an empty stage For fate to turn the light on. Your life, little girl, is an empty page That men will want to write on” Doubt I’ll hear that song again and not think of Mad Men now, and specifically Betty.
Darrach
2025-12-18 01:21:15 +0000 UTCI wonder if she thought they were talking about Don instead of Dawn? They seemed confused when Harry was joking about the name similarity.
Jen H.
2025-12-18 00:20:53 +0000 UTCI can’t believe “Darkest before the Dawn” broke Lola the hardest I’ve seen since Pine Barrens
Darrach
2025-12-17 23:48:08 +0000 UTCAnd I love this ep introduces both Dawn and Ginsberg, some of my faves :)
Ewan C
2025-12-17 23:34:48 +0000 UTCJanuary Jones who plays Betty was pregnant at the time so explains her change :)
Ewan C
2025-12-17 23:33:37 +0000 UTC
