Last Night's Season Finale
Oct. 18th, 2010 12:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ceebeegeeAs soon as it ended, I turned to Tesse and said "The fandom will be screaming about this--I guarantee you that we'll read the inevitable 'Worst. Episode. Ever' post, or maybe the ever-original 'Worst. Finale. Ever' post." Lo and behold!
Coupled with the nonstop ragging on Megan's teeth (references to Seabiscuit, suggestions that Don should've offered her braces instead of an engagement ring) and the truly repellant post "I can't wait until he cheats on her" and yep, Mad Men fandom misogyny is alive and well!
Faye deserved better and I was a little nervous about Don's treatment of her--Don, she KNOWS people, remember? She has CONNECTIONS. And actually she doesn't even need to go there--not only does she KNOW people, she knows YOUR SECRET. All it takes is one phone call, and you're being hauled off to Leavenworth for desertion.
(And no, anonymous fan, when Dr, Faye said "you'll be remarried within a year" she was not hoping it would be she. If you recall, Don hit on her in that conversation--he asked her out to dinner--and she turned him down. Stop trying to shoehorn every female character into the designated slots of Needy, Bitchy and Stalker-y.)
(And no, second anonymous fan, Betty wasn't "hinting" at anything in the last scene. She has chemistry with Don, they were married for years and years. She was being nice. God knows, if she isn't everyone screams at her for being a bitch.)
I didn't think Betty handled the Carla thing very well but it also isn't Carla's place to go against Betty's orders regarding her own kids. Glenn is a creepy little kid--he broke into and trashed the house, remember! Betty's instincts are dead on--also remember that back in Season 2 when he "ran away," hid in the backyard and eventually Betty called his mother, he said he hated her. But I still feel bad for Carla--she has been great except for that one slipup, and she deserves a recommendation.
Someone posted that they kind of wanted to see Don and Betty have sex in the last scene--that would've been AWESOME. And very true. They share a secret, after all.
Loved the Joan and Peggy snark. "Why, whatever could be on your mind!" Love you, Joan! That said, I am a little disgusted that yet AGAIN no one on TV ever actually goes through with an abortion. They always pay lip service to it but no one ever actually DOES it. To some extent I understand why, because Christian fundamentalist freaks are going to show up on their doorstep with pitchforks screaming at them. But still. You can't cater to the extremists. If you're trying to reflect real life--well, newsflash guys, people really DO have abortions. Every day.
How cute were the kids singing in French? Dites-moi, pourquoi/la vie est belle/dites-moi, pourquoi/la vie est gaie. The engagement did surprise the hell out of me but Matthew Weiner is such a genius that I'll follow him wherever.
And--wait. Didn't I hear a rumor that Sal was supposed to be somewhere in this season? Where the heck is Sal?! Lee Garner "Puddit awn, Roguh" is gone--bring back Sal!
Loved Ken and Peggy's interaction--they had all these quick little glances to each other during that pitch. And yay for signing new business! Oh Peggy, you are such a rock star.
Someone posted this about Joan's baby:
Little silver haired embryo is probably having a cocktail and cigarette, hanging out in uterus-a-go-go.
Hilarious!
Coupled with the nonstop ragging on Megan's teeth (references to Seabiscuit, suggestions that Don should've offered her braces instead of an engagement ring) and the truly repellant post "I can't wait until he cheats on her" and yep, Mad Men fandom misogyny is alive and well!
Faye deserved better and I was a little nervous about Don's treatment of her--Don, she KNOWS people, remember? She has CONNECTIONS. And actually she doesn't even need to go there--not only does she KNOW people, she knows YOUR SECRET. All it takes is one phone call, and you're being hauled off to Leavenworth for desertion.
(And no, anonymous fan, when Dr, Faye said "you'll be remarried within a year" she was not hoping it would be she. If you recall, Don hit on her in that conversation--he asked her out to dinner--and she turned him down. Stop trying to shoehorn every female character into the designated slots of Needy, Bitchy and Stalker-y.)
(And no, second anonymous fan, Betty wasn't "hinting" at anything in the last scene. She has chemistry with Don, they were married for years and years. She was being nice. God knows, if she isn't everyone screams at her for being a bitch.)
I didn't think Betty handled the Carla thing very well but it also isn't Carla's place to go against Betty's orders regarding her own kids. Glenn is a creepy little kid--he broke into and trashed the house, remember! Betty's instincts are dead on--also remember that back in Season 2 when he "ran away," hid in the backyard and eventually Betty called his mother, he said he hated her. But I still feel bad for Carla--she has been great except for that one slipup, and she deserves a recommendation.
Someone posted that they kind of wanted to see Don and Betty have sex in the last scene--that would've been AWESOME. And very true. They share a secret, after all.
Loved the Joan and Peggy snark. "Why, whatever could be on your mind!" Love you, Joan! That said, I am a little disgusted that yet AGAIN no one on TV ever actually goes through with an abortion. They always pay lip service to it but no one ever actually DOES it. To some extent I understand why, because Christian fundamentalist freaks are going to show up on their doorstep with pitchforks screaming at them. But still. You can't cater to the extremists. If you're trying to reflect real life--well, newsflash guys, people really DO have abortions. Every day.
How cute were the kids singing in French? Dites-moi, pourquoi/la vie est belle/dites-moi, pourquoi/la vie est gaie. The engagement did surprise the hell out of me but Matthew Weiner is such a genius that I'll follow him wherever.
And--wait. Didn't I hear a rumor that Sal was supposed to be somewhere in this season? Where the heck is Sal?! Lee Garner "Puddit awn, Roguh" is gone--bring back Sal!
Loved Ken and Peggy's interaction--they had all these quick little glances to each other during that pitch. And yay for signing new business! Oh Peggy, you are such a rock star.
Someone posted this about Joan's baby:
Little silver haired embryo is probably having a cocktail and cigarette, hanging out in uterus-a-go-go.
Hilarious!
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Date: 2010-10-18 05:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-18 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-18 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-18 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-10-19 03:12 am (UTC)When Claire told her ex-boyfriend about the abortion, he flipped out (since he hadn't even known she was pregnant), and in the midst of yelling, demanded, "Did you even cry?" She yelled back something to the effect of, "I cried more than you'll ever know!"
Also, when she dreamed about meeting her recently deceased sister-in-law, who left behind an infant daughter with Claire's brother, she saw her SIL carrying a baby. It's only at the end of the dream that Claire realizes the baby isn't her niece. Her SIL smiles and tells her, "I'll take care of yours if you take care of mine." (And I burst into tears at that part, by the way.)
So I wouldn't say that Claire didn't feel any guilt over the abortion, but she dealt with her feelings and moved on. I think she knew she made the right decision, even though it caused her some measure of pain and grief. But the abortion was never presented as a mistake, and I think that's the major point the show made.
Another example: In Sex and the City, Samantha mentioned having several abortions, and Carrie said she'd had one years before. Samantha didn't seem to regret hers at all, and Carrie seemed sad when she talked about her own, though it was made very clear that she made the right choice for her life.
And then there's Maude, of course.
And finally, I'd argue that Joan has had two abortions already, and just made a different decision with this one. I certainly understand--and agree with--your frustration at women in movies and TV always making the same decision, but there have been a few notable exceptions to the rule. Hollywood writers just need to start acknowledging that women do make different choices, and that all of those choices can be valid.
Okay, I'm done. Who else needs the soapbox?