Mad Men Recap: Episodes Five and Six

Well, it's been an eventful two episodes. In both, we see the steady decline of the once boisterous Roger Sterling. I found this really interesting. It has seemed in the past that despite it all (heart attack, divorce, annoying shrew of a wife) Roger is able to be lighthearted and carefree. These last two episodes have seen the tide turn. He is frighteningly morose and even desperate. In the first, SCDP is working with the Japanese owners of Honda. Roger's hatred of the Japanese supposedly stems back to WWII, but I have to wonder if Pete wasn't right that perhaps Roger is concerned that having another big client would take away from Lucky Strike, which happens to be the only thing Roger has any hand in at the moment. In the second, we see him desperately ask Don to say the Clio award was somehow in part due to Roger's mentoring. I want the old, fun Roger back!

I really enjoyed the flashback in Episode Six. I've often wondered how Don became Don. I get how he physically made the switch, but how did he emotionally wrap his mind around becoming another person? In the flashback we see it was not an overnight success. Don Draper the fur salesmen is completely different from the Don we know today. He is still Dick Whitman in so many ways with the goofy grin and the earnestness oozing out of his ears. An interesting point mentioned in The Slate was that Roger's biggest claim to fame in his career is hiring Don Draper. We see what actually happened in the flashback and it appears the real story is that Don hired himself with the aid of a few martinis and a little white lie.

Aside from Roger, another thing that seems to be suffering of late is the Draper charm. Maybe it's due to the fact that he's on the cusp of some serious Duck Phillips-style alcoholism. The waitress who calls him "Dick" was interesting. It makes me think that the reason why Don was so jubilant about winning the Clio may be because as Faye Miller pointed out "that commercial is about someone's childhood." Perhaps it really is Dick Whitman's childhood and Don's happiness is due to the fact that he genuinely produced something from that life. And speaking of Faye Miller, perhaps she won't be seduced by Don so easily. She was able to resist this gem of a pick-up line: "You smell good." Sheesh.

Until next week...

Photo via AMC.