With only one episode left to go this season, "Mad Men" is officially on a roll. These last two installments have been the season's best -- as strong as anything the show has ever produced -- and expectations have been duly raised for next week's finale.
For an episode that begins with Don taking a sick day, much of the action in "The Quality of Mercy" takes place in the offices of Sc&P. Even as Don attempts at first to hide from his problems and then to bury himself in work, he can't help but face reminders of what he's done.
The episode's most dramatic sequences rely on the audience's knowledge of not just what happens throughout the hour, but what has transpired over the course of the series -- from Pete finding out Don's secret to Peggy quitting Scdp to Sally catching Don. These characters and this show are rich in history,...
For an episode that begins with Don taking a sick day, much of the action in "The Quality of Mercy" takes place in the offices of Sc&P. Even as Don attempts at first to hide from his problems and then to bury himself in work, he can't help but face reminders of what he's done.
The episode's most dramatic sequences rely on the audience's knowledge of not just what happens throughout the hour, but what has transpired over the course of the series -- from Pete finding out Don's secret to Peggy quitting Scdp to Sally catching Don. These characters and this show are rich in history,...
- 6/17/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Wanna know how amazing and intriguing this week’s episode of Mad Men is? Ken gets shot in the face in the first few minutes… and that’s one of the least interesting events to take place during the hour. Don meddles, Sally interviews, Ted and Peggy make googly eyes at each other and Pete gets to the bottom of this Bob Benson business. Read on as we review the finer points – and one big reveal – that happen in “The Quality of Mercy.”
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Sour Love Hangover | In the aftermath...
Related | Cable Renewal Scorecard: What’s Coming Back? What’s Cancelled?
Sour Love Hangover | In the aftermath...
- 6/17/2013
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Review Frances Roberts 10 Jun 2013 - 21:00
Just when this season of Mad Men had begun to motor forward, it goes right back to the beginning. Here's Frances' review of Favors...
This review contains spoilers.
6.11 Favors
Did Andy from Avon ever call? Mad Men left that, and a number of other questions hanging this week in favour of forty minutes of characters wringing their hands about Vietnam, butting heads, and scratching each other’s backs. Favors picked up more or less where Man With a Plan left off, with a reprisal of the Don and Ted power struggle and the Don and Sylvia affair. Pete too, was back dealing with his mother’s senility, while Peggy was living in a UB40 song.
A moment’s silence before we begin though, to mark the passing of Sally Draper’s sexual innocence. First came her public indiscretion in front of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,...
Just when this season of Mad Men had begun to motor forward, it goes right back to the beginning. Here's Frances' review of Favors...
This review contains spoilers.
6.11 Favors
Did Andy from Avon ever call? Mad Men left that, and a number of other questions hanging this week in favour of forty minutes of characters wringing their hands about Vietnam, butting heads, and scratching each other’s backs. Favors picked up more or less where Man With a Plan left off, with a reprisal of the Don and Ted power struggle and the Don and Sylvia affair. Pete too, was back dealing with his mother’s senility, while Peggy was living in a UB40 song.
A moment’s silence before we begin though, to mark the passing of Sally Draper’s sexual innocence. First came her public indiscretion in front of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,...
- 6/10/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Mad Men, Season 6, Episode 11: “Favors”
Written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner
Directed by Jennifer Getzinger
Airs Sundays at 10pm Et on AMC
The final ten-minute stretch of “Favors” consumes everything that came before it. A tender scene between Pete and Peggy, undercurrents of war and disfigured mice, they all scatter as Sally drops the doorman’s keys to the floor. Angles and approaches, ways into the episode are tainted by that moment. The discussion Don and Arnold share concerning the innocence of youth, how children make the best soldiers because they’re unaware of their own mortality, suddenly seems to presage this moment—a daughter instantly dispelled of all illusions pertaining to her father.
There have been many echoes of previous episodes ringing through the halls of season six. Sally’s realization clearly recalls the moment she witnessed Megan’s mother going down on Roger Sterling. She understood...
Written by Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner
Directed by Jennifer Getzinger
Airs Sundays at 10pm Et on AMC
The final ten-minute stretch of “Favors” consumes everything that came before it. A tender scene between Pete and Peggy, undercurrents of war and disfigured mice, they all scatter as Sally drops the doorman’s keys to the floor. Angles and approaches, ways into the episode are tainted by that moment. The discussion Don and Arnold share concerning the innocence of youth, how children make the best soldiers because they’re unaware of their own mortality, suddenly seems to presage this moment—a daughter instantly dispelled of all illusions pertaining to her father.
There have been many echoes of previous episodes ringing through the halls of season six. Sally’s realization clearly recalls the moment she witnessed Megan’s mother going down on Roger Sterling. She understood...
- 6/10/2013
- by Justin Wier
- SoundOnSight
This is why "Mad Men" is still TV's best drama.
My confidence may have been shaken by last week's uneven installment -- one of three average, momentum-stunting, episodes this season along with "The Flood" and "Man with a Plan" -- but as we've seen repeatedly in the past, be patient with "Mad Men" and you will be rewarded.
"Favors" was downright masterful in its confluence of storylines, major reveals and welcome callbacks. This was "Mad Men" craftsmanship at its finest, and while it provided several miserable developments in the characters' lives, it made us incredibly happy as viewers.
[Note: In the spirit of showrunner Matthew Weiner declaring that this season is about Dr. Arnold Rosen telling Don, "People will do anything to alleviate their anxiety," we're tracking the happiness of key characters week by week.]
The "Mad Men" happiness index, week ten:
1) Roger (last week, #1): This hasn't been a sterling season for Roger, who is reduced to juggling oranges and apologizing for courting possible conflicting business (Sunkist versus Ted's play for Ocean Spray). John Slattery must have needed a break after directing last week's episode.
2) Megan (last week,...
My confidence may have been shaken by last week's uneven installment -- one of three average, momentum-stunting, episodes this season along with "The Flood" and "Man with a Plan" -- but as we've seen repeatedly in the past, be patient with "Mad Men" and you will be rewarded.
"Favors" was downright masterful in its confluence of storylines, major reveals and welcome callbacks. This was "Mad Men" craftsmanship at its finest, and while it provided several miserable developments in the characters' lives, it made us incredibly happy as viewers.
[Note: In the spirit of showrunner Matthew Weiner declaring that this season is about Dr. Arnold Rosen telling Don, "People will do anything to alleviate their anxiety," we're tracking the happiness of key characters week by week.]
The "Mad Men" happiness index, week ten:
1) Roger (last week, #1): This hasn't been a sterling season for Roger, who is reduced to juggling oranges and apologizing for courting possible conflicting business (Sunkist versus Ted's play for Ocean Spray). John Slattery must have needed a break after directing last week's episode.
2) Megan (last week,...
- 6/10/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Two rats get caught in this week’s Mad Men… and the rodent that meets a writhing, bloody, screaming end on Peggy’s floor gets off far easier than the Brylcremed one who can’t keep his fly zipped. Elsewhere in the episode, Bob shows his true, rainbow-hued colors and Ted does a Sc&P partner a solid – for a price. Sweetheart, hold my calls, because we’re going to review what happened in “Favors.”
Related | Mad Men’s Kevin Rahm Talks Ted Vs. Don, the Peggy Kiss and a Satisfying Bob Benson Reveal
It’S Getting Drafty In Here...
Related | Mad Men’s Kevin Rahm Talks Ted Vs. Don, the Peggy Kiss and a Satisfying Bob Benson Reveal
It’S Getting Drafty In Here...
- 6/10/2013
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
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