Mad Men Retro-Perspective: S6:E3

Welcome back! Don't read this if you haven't seen all of the Mad Men episodes available. Just saying.

This is probably one of my least favorite Mad Men episodes of all times. That probably has to do with my general lack of enthusiasm for Sylvia Rosen, and this is the first time we get a defining look at her character. There's a lot going on in terms of dynamics in this episode, so keep an eye out for adultery. 

Some people may differ with this assessment, but if there's one theme this episode, it's prostitution. 

And with that, let's watch... 

S6:E3 The Collaborators

Judging by what you knew of the Campbell marriage, did you ever expect them to split? Judging by the beginning of this episode, with Pete and Trudy entertaining other couples, how surprising did you find it that they spilt?

Compare Trudy's flirting to Pete's. Do you think she has ever or would ever cheat on Pete? Please recall the situation with her ex, Charlie in Season 1. Do you think this Trudy would have handled the situation differently?

What do you think triggered Don to go back upstairs and sleep with Sylvia the morning he caught her arguing with Arnie in the hallway? Why do you think he gave her the money? How do you think she interpreted this action?

Now that you've seen a season worth of Sylvia and are taking a look back, what do you make of her character? What would you call her reaction to Megan's miscarriage? Harsh? Fair? How would her reaction have differed if she wasn't sleeping with Megan's husband?

How do Don and Sylvia differ in the way they view their relationship?

How awesome is Peggy's secretary? Considering her tendency to copycat Don, do you think her choice to hire a black secretary was influenced by his decision to hire Dawn?

Compare the way Peggy deals with the copywriters to how Don dealt with the creative department at SC. Is she being too harsh? Would anyone on that staff have ever pranked Don the way they did Peggy in this episode?

What exactly do you think motivates Brenda to sleep with Pete? What can we assess about a woman who falls for the line, "It's been known to get hot"?

Jesus, does Heinz Baked Beans EVER stop being such a pain in the ass?

Why do you think the characters mention maids so many times this season? Does it have anything to do with Megan playing a maid on TV? What purpose does this serve?

What would Betty's reaction be to Megan's feelings about her pregnancy? Recall that Betty went riding immediately after learning she was pregnant in S3:E13, despite the doctor's advice to avoid it. Do you think she would have felt the sort of relief Megan does in this episode if she had miscarried and never had Gene? How might her marriage/divorce with Don have turned out differently?

How do you think Don's reaction to Joan's liaison has been influenced by his upbringing in the brothel?

How different is Peggy's interaction at CGC different from her experiences at SC and SCDP? In the past, was she part of the group as a whole in general? Is this new interaction shocking, in other words?

 Compare Don's capabilities in regard to his infidelities with Pete's. How are these showcased in this episode?

How well have the writers handled the Don/Sylvia affair? Do you consider it as well written or well developed as his other affairs?

How did you react to the scene in which Don seduces Sylvia with rough words over dinner? Do you recall Don ever having to seduce anyone? How does the dynamic between Don and other women usually go?

Do you think Don and Betty ever discussed whether they wanted to have children the way Don and Megan (sort of ) did? How different are the two marriages so far? How similar?

How have Don's pitches to clients been this season so far? Do you think they are a sign of the disastrous Hershey's pitch to come? If you could sketch an arc of the quality of Don's work over the course of the series, where does this season fall?


What do you think Don gained by growing up in the brothel (other than a few complexes)? What is the significance of the song "Just a Gigolo" playing at the end of the episode?

• Green and blue is a major color scheme in this episode, and continues over the course of the season. A few examples: Pete's apartment/love den is decorated with green and blue glass screens, Sylvia and Megan are wearing blue and green respectively when Megan talks about her miscarriage, Trudy is dressed in green and framed against blue curtains on the morning she confronts Pete, and Peggy and Ted are in green and blue when they discuss going after Heinz Ketchup. Tom and Lorenzo speculate that green and blue signals adultery this season (in addition to being a very hot color combo during this period). Check out some of their analysis here and here. 
• We've never seen Megan smoke until this season, and this is the first episode it's noticeable.
• Peggy seems to blend right into her new position at CGC: her purple and blue ensemble in the scene she tries to go easy on the writers is the exact same colors as the building behind her, but the background is shrouded in horizontal blinds. As we learn in this episode, she's having a hard time fitting in, despite her skill and talent.
• Despite this, Peggy has developed a new power color this season: purple, which happens to be the exact opposite on the color wheel from her original mustard yellow. There was a hint of this last season, when she gave Don her notice.
• Pete grabbed a baseball bat when he heard Brenda screaming through the neighborhood. Really, Pete? You couldn't take Lane Pryce in a fistfight, but you think you can handle a baseball bat? You do you, boo.
• Did anyone else see that killer teal damask in the Campbell house? Killer!
• Megan and Sylvia are wearing almost the same shade of light blue on the night Don has dinner with Sylvia alone.
• The Campbells have the same yellow phone Peggy had in her single-gal-in-Brooklyn apartment in Season 2.
• Megan says she feels "so shitty" because of her relief that she doesn't have to make a decision about her pregnancy, which she feels is a betrayal of her marriage. Don uses this same phrase to describe how Sylvia feels about their affair up to the point he takes off her dress.
• Don makes a sarcastic comment about used cars sales during the Jaguar meeting, but we all know that Don himself once sold used cars ( though probably not as greasily as Herb, bot even counting the Brylcreem).
• Don wouldn't shake Herb's hand when he came in to discuss his idea, but he sure as HELL shook it after the meeting with the Jaguar corporate honchos.
• Roger is sporting his blue accent with his grey suit again...a sign of things to come?
• Pete still has his picture of Trudy on his desk from Season 1.
• Bob Benson calling Pete "chief" is very reminiscent of Pete calling Don "buddy" in S1:E2, when Don says he doesn't want to wake up pregnant. Pretty sure Pete feels the same.
• Don tells the madam in last season that he "grew up in a place like this". Now we know it's true!