Talkin' "Mad Men" Season Four, Episode 10: "Hands and Knees"

By PAUL RUSSELL and DANIEL P. FINNEY
TV Talkin’ Blog Staff Writers

Paul the accountant and Dan the newsman discuss the 10th episode of the fourth season of “Mad Men,” “Hands and Knees.”

PAUL: One thing "Mad Men" does is there will be a long stretch of episodes where not much happens, but there are tensions to distract us. Peggy is unhappy or Don is drinking and Betty gets a bug up her butt. So this episode, there was a tension related to the Beatles concert. You’re like, ‘Oh, I wonder how the Beatles thing goes.’ Do the tickets fall through and the Don’s daughter flips out. But that went fine and everything else that could go wrong did so.

DAN: This was the best episode of the season thus far. The last three episodes have been grand slams. Everybody is swept up in their secrets and lies. Don’s lie could crush his family and collapse the new firm. Roger’s and Joan’s lie results in an abortion. Roger’s other lie puts the firm on the brink. Pete’s lie saves Don but possibly wrecks the agency. And what a dramatic moment to have Don reveal the truth of his life to Faye.

PAUL: Also, don’t forget Lane Pryce’s storyline: he has a black girlfriend and his father hits him like a pimp would. That was a great scene. You wonder what will come out of it. Will Don address his past? Will Betty forgive Don? Will Betty grow up some? Will Joan look at her life differently? Will Pryce stand up for himself? Lee Garner Jr. saying to Roger that he inherited the account and Don telling Pete he can run the agency without him.

DAN: The Lee Garner Jr. moment is powerful. It’s basically saying Roger has never accomplished anything and rode his father’s coattails to riches.

PAUL: The great thing about the Garner deal is you always picture Lee Garner Jr. being immature and that immaturity or secret gay lifestyle will end up wrecking the relationship. But no, the company moved from a family business to a corporation and a 30-year relationship means nothing.

DAN: Sure, in the end, it’s Roger whimpering.

PAUL: What did you think of Roger talking to Joan about the baby?

DAN: Roger is a character I don't like. I should say, he's the kind of person I don't like. He's a character who behaves in ways I hate. But he's a perfectly created character. He rests on laurels earned by others. He’s a crap father, husband and business man. So, here, he's trying desperately to be a good guy. He probably loves Joan. But he's gotten her pregnant. Both are married to other people. He actually suggests, "Well, maybe your husband will get killed in Vietnam." The amazing thing is she doesn't flip out. Instead she says, "That's not a solution."

PAUL: He has that great line. He says something like “I think I just might love you.” Wow. How romantic.

DAN: I guess this is an upgrade from him saying “You’re the best piece of ass I’ve ever had.”

PAUL: Yeah, it felt like a downgrade.

DAN: Roger has been maudlin this season. Everything that gives him his identity is evaporating. Lucky Strike. His health. His World War II hero status. Nobody gives a flip about his advertising war stories book. Roger is in danger of extinction. Earlier in the series, he complained that no one respected the work he did. It turns out for good reason. He didn’t do any work. He’s a crummy person. Lucky Strike bolts. He calls old contacts. He learns they’re dead and he hasn’t bothered to keep in touch with them anyway. He’s accomplished nothing. His whole life is as much a lie as Don’s. At least Don has Faye. Roger wants Joan, but she is noncommittal. Nothing good has ever come out of Joan and Roger.

PAUL: A parrot. A fur coat.

PAUL: So the episode ends with Don looking at the new secretary, Megan.

DAN: Yes, this is ominous, I think.

PAUL: Well, this could mean many things. Don could be leering. He could admire her because she is an innocent unlike everyone else in the episode where they tested Pond’s Cold Cream with Faye. the secretary stood out there helpful, honest and earnest. She likes Don’s daughter. She is seen putting on her make up. No cares. She is leaving the office behined her. No secrets to keep her and no secrets to harm her. I feel like something is being built towards. Maybe Don hooks up with the secretary to punish himself for being happy with Faye.

DAN: I hope not. But then “Mad Men” excels at not giving the viewer what he wants. I hope it’s a ruse, like Beatles tickets.

PAUL: The secretary is a good enough actress to merit a bigger storyline. Don makes for a balanced character. You often have a show   with a charismatic bad guy who is revealed to have a good side to make him more appealing to the audience. Don could easily be a charismatic villain.

DAN: This is one of the running themes of this year’s season. There is a lot of long-term bad behavior finally reaching a comeuppance point. Don has lied for decades and it threatens everything. Joan and Roger rekindle previous bad behavior and it leads to an abortion and stirs up troubling feelings. There is also transitions and a meditation on modern aging, a changing of the guard sort of like Bob Dylan’s “The Times Are A Changin’.”

PAUL: So we are down to the final three episodes of the season.

DAN: That’s depressing. TV should be this good in six or seven slots on the schedule, not one. I mentioned before I have several new shows gathering dust on my DVR already. I was one-and-done for "Chase" and "Nikita." I want more shows that seem like they have a plan. I want more shows that don't do things to pander to the ratings. I want more shows that are good, that value character, story and acting. I want to enjoy more television.