When Pete Campbell slipped in this episode, fan response suggested that it was a comedic moment, that may be true on some level. But I think it represents the moment that Pete Campbell fell from his high perch (on the second floor with the same view as Don) and lost the last bits of power and control in his life. Dow and Jaguar, his babies are gone. Trudy has ended their marriage once and for all and any chance Pete had of going to the next level is gone too. I doubt Pete will have his name on the door, I doubt that Pete will ever be in a position of power again. From now on in Pete will have to fight day and night to keep what little he has left, the sad thing is he just does not understand that he is losing everything, he never respected or enjoyed what he had and now it is all gone.
Don may seem like he is on the up, but that smile he had when he got Chevy was telling. Yes, he always wanted Chevy, but this is yet a new beginning, we all know how Don loves beginnings. How long until he gets bored and starts causing more shit? Peggy knows that this is all going to go to shit, the look on her face said it all. Now not only are the people at SCDP fucked, but so are all the people at CGC.
This is not going to end well for anyone.
Joan had every right to be angry with Don, she has been around from the beginning and knows just what Don is capable of. I fully understand her explosion, he cost her close to a million dollars (a shit load in todays money), losing Jaguar cost her a meal ticket that would have meant she never had to rely on a man again. Don lost her independence, he lost her the chance to take care of baby Kevin, to buy a nice apartment in Manhattan, to finally not feel just like a secretary.
Just who the fuck does Don think he is? not everyone can keep starting over and over and over again. They do not have that luxury as Pete so pointedly remarked towards the end of the episode. I can understand on some level that by losing Jaguar and Vic's and CGC on the brink with the imminent retirement of Gleason and the loss of Alpha that this was the only solution offered to them. I mean they went through with the loss of Ketchup and had to up their game but as history shows time and time again this will be a complete and utter fuck up.
Watching this episode I got the caper vibe that made me so happy in Shut the Door and Have a Seat, but 3 seasons later and I am wiser to how this will end up. Also Matt Wiener last show was all about how no one changes and it all gets worse and worse until death (RIP Sopranos), so this is going to fail. Too bad. SCDP's clients are telling. Dow is in the shit because of Vietnam, Lucky Strike like all cigarette firms of the time were labeled as murdering people and the Chevy Vega is considered the worse car ever produced in the history of the automobile industry. None of this bodes well for the future.
I have not reviewed this show for a time because I have had this sinking feeling, that this will end up with everyone jumping off of the Time-Life building but I had hoped they could fix some of this shit. I seriously doubt they will, ugh. Cable shows like this and The Wire, The Shield, Sons Of Anarchy, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, etc all show that the end is going to be a downbeat and dire affair, that is ok, I understand that. But that is why Network shows will always have a place in my heart. Quantum Leap ended on a downer, but what came before was brilliant and heart warming and gave me incredible hope. Sam saved his brother and saw his family again and saved Al's family and although he was stuck leaping forever....the high's that came before made up for this ending. Chuck was not perfect and ended on a kind of downer but what the show demonstrated before was that things were going to be ok, Sarah would remember and I believe that kiss worked. The show over 91 episodes showed that everything would be ok. They showed deep down that Sarah could not help love Chuck, it showed the power in giving characters their wins it gave them hope.
I have no problems with sadness or drama but I do need some hope, this is not hope it is schadenfraud and it is getting too much. I think the ratings are indicative of this, I hope cable shows can evolve or they will start to realize what Roger Sterling realized....they will start to lose everything.
Episode Grade: C-
Shawn Mahone
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