What an odd, unexpected and totally pleasing tonal shift this season finale of Mad Men instigated. After 12 weeks of episodes that were steeped in anxiety and misery, this wacky exodus from Sterling-Cooper was the most lighthearted episode of the season.
The episode’s plot sort of reminded me of Ocean’s Eleven, with Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Price releasing themselves from [...]

One of the questions that has lingered in my mind since the beginning of Mad Men was how the show would handle the JFK assassination, arguably the biggest news story of the decade. Now that the event has come to pass, I am pleased that the creative forces behind the show tackled the subject matter [...]

“Happy Halloween, everyone!” That was the first message I received from last night’s episode, when we saw Sally and Bobby Draper excitedly prepare for some trick-or-treating. This episode unfortunately did not revolve around Halloween (though it did return to the holiday for one spectacular closing scene, which I will get to later). Regardless, this was [...]

At the conclusion of this week’s episode of Mad Men, a friend of mine turned to me and said sarcastically, “Well, we found out that Sterling-Cooper is being sold…again.” While I don’t think this week’s episode was completely devoid of interesting events, it definitely felt a little deflated. But this episode certainly wasn’t pointless, as [...]

Mad Men has really been experimenting with its own formula lately. Last weekend found the show adopting a nonlinear formula; this week saw almost every major character on the show (yes, even Don Draper to a certain extent) pushed to the periphery to make way for a focus on Betty and Pete. Furthermore, the show [...]

Not even a televised interruption regarding a tornado raging through Cook County could draw me away from this fantastic episode of Mad Men. If tonight’s episode had only proven that Don Draper is all too vulnerable to changing times, it would have still stood as a pivotal turning point in the series. Yet we were [...]

I love Mad Men. I love its witty dialogue, authentic sets, wonderful acting and winning blend of melodrama and high comedy. I love the show so much that I am spending my penultimate night of Wildcat Welcome week writing about this episode. But all that love will be put to the test if Christina Hendrickson’s [...]