Two years ago I made an absurdly long post about the fourth season of Mad Men. It was the best season of one of the best shows ever made, and I did it no favors by rambling on and on and on about it, so I'll keep this one brief.
As I said, Season 4 was Mad Men's best season, and Season 5 was better than Season 6, which means the show has technically been in a qualitative slide for a few years now. But I'd forgotten just how good Season 5 was until re-watching it these last few days. There's an awful lot of meat here, from Pete's dissatisfaction with living the American Dream - married with a kid in the suburbs - to Don's honeymoon period with his new wife to Roger's LSD-induced reawakening and new-found happiness. Peggy and Joan each make some bold decisions, Lane winds up in a financial pickle that turns tragic, and Sally continues to grow up. This season introduces us to the great character that is Michael Ginsberg and even revisits Paul Kinsey for kicks. And Betty got fat.
The season takes place between the summer of 1966 and the spring of 1967, and "the '60s" are very much in full swing. SCDP hires both a black woman and a Jew and even makes a woman a junior partner. Casual drug use is up, even for these Madison Avenue suits, and it's hard to believe sometimes that this is the same group of people doing the same job from the first season, which took place in the shadow of the dour and restrained 1950s. At any rate, it was a pleasure to revisit Season 5, and the episodes in general were stronger on average than I'd remembered. Here's hoping Season 6 can pleasantly surprise me too on the second time around.
I think I'm finally committed to slamming through this series. I find season 1 so hard to get through though.
ReplyDeleteIt's a slow show, especially at first, and you're not the only guy I know to struggle with giving a shit early on. Personally I found Seasons 4-6 much more enjoyable and watchable than Seasons 1-3, but I think that might be due to the '60s getting more vivid and exciting later in the decade than they were early on.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I think while the show definitely reached its peak in season four, I found season one to be pretty strong and if it didn't grab you, it might just not be a show you'll enjoy. The appeal hasn't fundamentally changed for me over the years, and season one is also the only one that comes with a real "hook" of sorts, with the mystery of who Don Draper really is. Basically I say watch through the entirety of season one, and if you don't like it by the end (it's got a very strong finale), then I'd bail, because season two is a good deal worse before rebounding in season three.
ReplyDeleteIf I know the big mystery, should I still watch this show?
ReplyDeleteYes. Or at the very least, you should try it. The Don Draper mystery arc is a hook, like Sweeney said, and not at all the point of the season let alone the show.
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