Mad Men 4x04 Reaction
Added 2025-11-05 22:36:16 +0000 UTC
Comments
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cheech
2025-11-08 11:14:53 +0000 UTCI feel like you are saying two things as if they are contradictory without explaining how. The point of the Malcolm X line is it's a throwaway comment and it is nothing but fun trivia for these people. It is putting the burden on the audience to understand its weight. Medgar Evers' death making its way into Betty's unconscious in S3 is another example of this. Every uncomfortable pause as Carla tries to navigate socially complicated situations in her job working for two WASPs. The ever-looming effects of segregation on where and when we see black people in this story poised from the white characters' perspectives. I don't think Mad Men is trying to hide or "shy away from" the topic of race, it is just way more interested in exploring gender and patriarchy. The writers undeniably felt more capable of exploring that too. The Sopranos is an odd comparison because its narrative approach is a lot more descriptive; Tony is shown as racist but the show is using the mob life and this culture (and things like racism and sexism) as a proxy for human hypocrisy and immorality. Mad Men on the other hand *is* actually trying to say something specific about patriarchy, sex and power. That is one of the driving forces of the show.
Kev
2025-11-08 07:38:16 +0000 UTCSpoilers Ybyn nsgre Crttl ybbxf bire ure bssvpr vagb Qba'f... gnyxf nobhg Wbna naq "uvqvat n obql"... ure cerqvpgvba frafrf ner gvatyvat! Nyfb lrf gurer vf gur yhat pnapre guvat. Tynq gurl nera'g *gbb* ybpxrq va ba vg, ohg vg znl cbc hc va shgher rcvfbqrf. V qb guvax gur F5 sng fhvg jvyy qvfgenpg gurz sebz guvaxvat nobhg vg zber. Naq va ubarfgl vg qbrf xvaq bs znxr frafr sbe vg gb or Ebtre fvapr ur unf unq n oehfu jvgu zbegnyvgl nyernql, V guvax vg jbhyq or cresrpg vs abg sbe F5 juvpu tbrf va n qvssrerag qverpgvba sbe uvf punenpgre naq xvaq bs frgf hc gur erfg bs uvf nep.
Kev
2025-11-08 06:00:46 +0000 UTCMy biggest mad men hot take is I actually like Peggy and Pete together. Idk they have good chemistry sue me 🤷♀️
Elijah Hernandez
2025-11-08 04:35:05 +0000 UTCThe way the assassination of Malcolm X was dismissed in a throwaway exchange rankles. Yes, the Madison Ave crowd naturally wouldn't care for him but I would have expected a bit more of an impact (even if it's a celebration), given that it happened right here in the same city. Locally, it was a major event, with front page headlines and significant radio and TV coverage. One of my very few complaints about Mad Men is that while it is ruthlessly clear-eyed about misogyny, it gets the characters off the hook a lot on racism. With the exception of some naked anti-semitism in early episodes (and Roger's blackface and Joan's comments about Paul's girlfriend), the characters simply never express any racial animus. These were white people on or connected to Madison Ave, many of them rich. Their thoughts on black people (and other minorities) were not pretty. But the show rarely has to courage to face that reality upfront and instead often cops out. It's a shame. Contrats with the Sopranos, where Tony and his environnement were often shown as openly and unapologetically racist. I wish Mad Men were significantly more overt and honest about this simple reality of the 60s - especially since this is the single most pivotal era of race relations in this country since the Civil War.
Julien
2025-11-07 01:58:17 +0000 UTCDirect Marketing, i thought of that. Turns out it already existed, but i came to the thought independently.
Alex Bernier
2025-11-06 22:32:19 +0000 UTCI think Don is just the epitome of True-Neutral. Not good, not evil. Not lawful, not chaotic. Somewhere in the middle of all of that
windyMelon
2025-11-06 19:51:17 +0000 UTCI actually wouldn’t say this is a new development for Pete, although it’s certainly the best it’s ever played out for him. He has always been pretty shrewd in certain situations when it comes to business. Especially when he’s able to leverage information or his personal connections.
JJ
2025-11-06 18:10:19 +0000 UTCI think it's a bit of an oversimplification to just characterize him as "self-centered". He's much more empathetic and morally aware than that ...... but I think that's also the reason why he behaves badly, drinking and philandering help him (seemingly) escape from his own mind. Same as all the literal running away from things.
Nick P
2025-11-06 17:47:06 +0000 UTCLove Mrs Blankenship, Mad Men doesn't really start until she gets here. She reminds me of Roz from Monsters Inc with the glasses. I like seeing Pete and Ken put their differences aside too, and Harry kind of doing a Betty and leaving them together. Lola thinking Harry was bald was genuinely hilarious. Someone from another show maybe entered her mind randomly. I just love this season though, really feels like they hit their stride with everything. We know the characters now so the storylines are great, there's a lot of history there, the humour is great. Everything just feels fresh.
Mark M
2025-11-06 16:52:29 +0000 UTCJr unir n arj gurbel gung Ybyn vf n cerpbt naq vf frrvat shgher zrzbevrf bs onyq Xvafrl
Kara
2025-11-06 13:52:06 +0000 UTCWe don't know what happens yet. Maybe he invites Miss Blankenship over to bring him his apartment keys 👀
Kara
2025-11-06 13:49:17 +0000 UTCI don't know if I agree but I do enjoy the idea of "Everything thinks I slept with him anyway, I might as well have gotten this famous Don Draper treatment" 💀
Kara
2025-11-06 13:48:30 +0000 UTCit's giving naive working class white girl goes to university and learns about politics like wait they did WHAT?? I think (I hope!) she's still excited, she's just becoming aware there's 1000 things happening she never heard of cuz it's not related to consumer product advertising or the Pope didn't say it.
Kara
2025-11-06 13:47:17 +0000 UTCOn the commentary, show creator Matthew Weiner actually confirms that the pears are.......... i'm kidding. Great ep. I love when we dip into counter-culture stuff, I just love any time we see the straight-laced 50's (not everywhere) run headfirst into the rambunctious 60s. The deceptively "simple" cinematography sells the performances even more. Clever, slow, informed camera placement + movements beats flashy in-your-face cinematography (which I also enjoy!) every time.
Kara
2025-11-06 13:41:33 +0000 UTCResearch has its purpose but I agree with Don here. People can't want what they don't know, especially young women in a changing 1960s. It's a good tool for the toolbox though. Peggy seems to like Faye a lot, nice for her to see a (slightly) older successful business woman. The Peggy and Pete scenes ARE emotional because we know them so well! They have a connection + have 'come up together' in the same orbit. We know them and what they've been through and this state they've settled into. All this is aided by David Carbonara's touching score that "Makes your heart hurt" as Don says. Speaking of Don, how can someone so thoughtful be so thoughtless. Imagine your Boss who is famous for being a Genius Writer telling you to "write your own recommendation 🙂" pisses me off just thinking about it. Don is now staying in his office drinking until the sound of the floor buffer makes him go home 😬 bet he misses the carpets from Sterling Cooper. I think the final scene is Don craving that "live together til we're 90yo arguing about pears" love, that pure uncut real real love, the type he couldn't build with Betty, the type he fears he'll never build with anyone. Peggy going to exactly 1 alternative party and then excitedly telling everyone at the office about politics that she's just learning for the first time is so funny. For 4+ years now she's been enmeshed in her career with office-people + her very Catholic working class family. I agree it could be really nice for her to meet more types of people than just those. Bonus Thoughts: Ken on Harry "He's like that and everyone who knows him knows that" everyone thinks Harry is a nasty gossipy bitch 💀 Joyce makes her move then takes the hint and pulls back + enters chill friend mode, proving you can push without being 'pushy'. Peggy banging head on desk, peeking over wall at Don, most relatable character for sure.
Kara
2025-11-06 13:37:07 +0000 UTCI think it's interesting how positive everyone seems to be towards Pete pushing his father-in-law to give them his whole business. I've always seen it as a scummy move that risks destroying his personal relationship with a man who's always been supportive towards him. Like a "Pete gives up a bit of his soul to prove himself at work" type thing. Maybe I just don't have the killer instinct needed for that job though.
Sebastian
2025-11-06 12:37:20 +0000 UTCThis is the moment Harry becomes irredeemable
Sebastian
2025-11-06 12:30:20 +0000 UTC“Caesar salad - No dressing”.. Who hurt you Harry?
windyMelon
2025-11-06 12:00:48 +0000 UTCThis is one of my personal favorite episodes of the show, especially with such a heavy Pete and Peggy focused episode which we don't really get much of. I love how Pete deals with Tom since Tom wasn't letting Pete get a word in it made Pete bring Tom down to his level. Pete just shrugging off the "you son of a bitch" comment is also the best. I think Peggy gets so angry with Allison because of Allison jumping to the conclusion that Peggy and Don slept together which is something that has lingered over Peggy's career since she first became a copywriter. She made a joke about it to Pete after Peggy got her office in season 2 but its still something that comes up every now and then. The reintroduction of Ken is also really well done here with him and Pete clearing the air a bit. Season 4 in general is a real highlight of the show and this and thenext two episodes in particular are a big reason why
Richard Welch
2025-11-06 05:22:08 +0000 UTCSpeaking of John Slattery, I was National-posting last episode and completely forgot he was in the insane Conversation 16 video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg5geyUlU4Y
Jamie
2025-11-06 04:20:53 +0000 UTCAh, the classic pears episode. Did she get pears? We'll never know. Inception, The Sopranos, Before Sunset... all of it crap compared to *this* ambiguous ending. I'll reiterate my (gentle) amusement at how they are clinging to the idea that Peggy -- who didn't even realize that Malcom X had been assassinated! -- is "progressive". She's obviously more open-minded than most other characters (though we shouldn't discount Harry's apparent interest in Puerto Rican girls) but she is riding the revolutionary wave, not leading it. The Warhol shoutout, and Peggy's broader brush-up against real counterculture at Kellogg's party, is fascinating. Previous comments have suggested that the 1960s as we know them didn't start until Kennedy's assassination, and that's broadly true, but it bears remembering that these folks in advertising generally aren't on the bleeding edge of the culture -- they're chasing it, despite Don's protests to Faye. The "1960s" have already been happening on the fringes of society -- I'm talking about civil rights and Malcolm X just as much as I am "Campbell's Soup Cans" and Kenneth Anger -- but it's taken until 1965 for it to end up in the lobby of an advertising firm on the 34th floor of the Time & Life Building. Anyway it's another gorgeous episode. Love those twin Pete/Peggy storylines, culminating with that sliding doors moment in the lobby. This is the kind of moment that only longform television storytelling can pull off. Before the episode, they were complaining that we haven't seen much of either character lately. By the end, we are crushed under the weight of their shared history.
Mike
2025-11-06 04:16:48 +0000 UTCPeggy may be more progressive than the rest of the characters, we mustn't forget she's still a Catholic white lady in the 60s. Her progressive attitude only extends so far
dandelions2
2025-11-06 03:51:30 +0000 UTCThis episode is the first of five John Slattery (Roger) directed eps. There’s so many great little character moments in it. We spend so much time at SC(DP) and the characters’ homes, likely due to the fact that dressing a set or city to look like 1960s New York on television is no easy feat. I really appreciate the Peggy party scenes in this one. They make the show feel even more real.
Jamie
2025-11-06 03:11:07 +0000 UTCI feel like Pete somehow manages to be both the most despicable and the most endearing character in the show for me. He’s constantly in conflict with himself — he does awful things, but you can always see where those actions come from. It’s also pretty clear that Pete hates himself more than anyone else possibly could. There’s definitely a degree of self-awareness in there, and because of that, he sometimes ends up surprising people in genuinely positive ways — almost despite himself.
Julmor
2025-11-06 01:39:57 +0000 UTCI approve of you both being suspicious of everything we say. Never trust us. ESPECIALLY not this sentence! I think this is the most honest that Peggy and Pete have ever been able to be with each other. Pete has learned the truth about Peggy having his child before, and she knows that he is going to have another child now, so she is able to give him an honest "congratulations" and he is able to accept it with full knowledge and appreciation. There isn't even the secret of Duck offering them both jobs like we had last season. For the first time, there's nothing 'between' them. I was honestly impressed at how well Pete managed this situation. This is almost the first time in the series that we see him really turn a situation to his advantage instead of just coasting along in mediocrity. If he'd been this good all along, he may have deserved the promotion to Head of Accounts before. I don't think I'd agree that Pete treats Trudy like a partner, but I do think that he is the CLOSEST of all of our characters to treating their spouse like a partner. Definitely closer than Don or Roger ever were.
JBK405
2025-11-06 01:33:32 +0000 UTCWhat happens to Peggy the day after going out is so relatable. You go out, you broaden your horizons, you meet new people and you do exciting things. The next day you still have your head in the clouds and suddenly you get hit with something that reminds you of who you are, where you are and what you did, completely deflating you. After that she lost almost all her excitement when Joyce called her for lunch.
Nina
2025-11-06 01:16:05 +0000 UTCI think part of Peggy snapping on Allison also has to do with Don never showing any romantic interest in Peggy when she was his secretary. Remember back in season 1 when she put her hand on Don's and said how greatful she was? Don shut that shit down immediately, and he almost scolded Peggy like she was a child. So not only does Peggy have to walk around having everyone think she slept with Don, but as an added insult, the person everybody thinks she slept with actually rejected her in humiliating fashion.
Father of the Year
2025-11-06 01:02:01 +0000 UTCThe Peggy peek and the Pete shrug all in one episode
Scott
2025-11-06 00:45:27 +0000 UTCThe last two minutes of this episode are so beautiful and significant. Great reaction.
Juanma88
2025-11-05 23:49:15 +0000 UTCSmart move for Joan to assign an elderly woman (Ms Blankenship) as Don's new secretary lol. Post-divorce Don is MESSY, let's keep him away from the pretty young women for a while.
Taya
2025-11-05 23:45:03 +0000 UTCI always loved the ending of this eps with Peggy and Pete. It feels like a moment to let them move on but without resentment.
Patrick
2025-11-05 23:35:56 +0000 UTCLola in season 7 episode 1: "Did Don have hair before? Wasn't he bald?"
bondbond53
2025-11-05 23:12:24 +0000 UTCeverything is one day earlier except monster thats still coming on monday and that way we can actually start the week on a monday and sunday is off
LM Reactions
2025-11-05 23:07:01 +0000 UTCIt feels like 2024. Is everything one day earlier again, or did only the break day move for this week? :D
Robert Dirk H.
2025-11-05 22:42:42 +0000 UTC
