"As a wise man once said to me, the only thing worse than not getting what you want is someone else getting it." — Roger Sterling
Despite Roger's seemingly intractable character flaws, there was a bit of thought (and perhaps hope) that Matthew Weiner and associates might have sketched out some sort of redemptive arc for him this season. Roger is so easy to hate now that it's making him one-dimensional — a charge not often leveled at the show or its characters. However, if the two-hour season premier is any indication, the author of "Sterling's Gold" will continue to be King Midas in reverse and earn weekly heaps of scorn from the viewing public.
Roger's coarse boorishness was in full bloom Sunday night, providing for choice moments of drama and plenty of comedy (he might be insufferable, but it's hard to dispute his humor). Whether he was ruining Don's surprise party (thanks to a debate over etiquette, no less), openly coveting the new Mrs. Draper during her chanteuse rendition of "Zou Bisou Bisou" to the chagrin of Jane ("Why don't you sing like that?"), or eyeing up he and Joan's newborn son like Narcissus looking in the mirror, it was classic Roger.
One standout scene occurs when Roger mocks Megan's Francophone song and dance routine in front of a not-so-amused Don (Don: "We don't make fun of each other's wives in this office"). Roger backpedals and offers Don some backhanded compliments of Megan while contrasting his own wife's stupidity and neediness to lighten the tension. It's trademark Sterling cruelty, but moreover it illustrates Roger's continuing resentment of Don's allure (just like Roger's toast at the party). Even in the young-enough-to-be-my-daughter trophy wife game, Don has emerged victorious over Roger. Look for this simmering jealousy to boil over throughout the next 12 weeks.
However, the most significant Roger subplot of the episode is his battle for power and prestige with Pete Campbell. With the loss of the Lucky Strike account last season, Roger lost his only true stake to relevance within the organization — something that Pete was happy to call him out on (and almost get punched for in the process). Now, with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce entertaining very few clients and little more to do than pout over his secretary's attention to Don's business, Rodger resorts to poaching Pete's accounts by lecherously hovering over Clara's desk to sneak a peak at Pete's meeting calendar (and despite Pete's later dismissal, probably Clara's breasts too). Pete is obviously infuriated when he shows up for the Mohawk Airlines meeting to find Roger in his old-boy boozehound element with the clients.
The power jockeying continues as Pete petitions the senior partners for Roger's larger and more prominent office space to entertain potential clients. Despite Pete's attempt to illustrate his portfolio of many accounts to Rodger's zero as justification for the office space, Rodger simply pulls rank on him and tells Pete that he can do business "in the crapper for all I care." The writing is on the wall, however, and Rodger sort of capitulates by forcefully bribing Harry Crane to trade offices with Pete. This tense Rodger and Pete interplay yielded plenty of comedic moments as well, especially when Roger took the bait regarding Pete's supposed 6 a.m. meeting with Coca-Cola on Staten Island.
Above all, the feud with Pete underscores Roger's growing sense of desperation. His name might be "on the building" as he used to brag, but claiming no major clients with whom to share booze and swap war stories, Roger will forcefully deny his irrelevancy and possibly sink to even lower depths than witnessed Sunday night. Whereas Pete seems concerned (at least on the surface) about the success of something larger than himself, Roger is stuck in shameless self-preservation mode. Will he legitimately reclaim his birthright through some redemptive act, or will Roger Sterling's "Mad Men" colleagues finally tire of his insufferable business as usual and drive him out of the agency? We know his association with Don and Lane is uneasy, and we know his only true ally, Bert Cooper, is fading into an irrelevancy of his own. Might we see the replacement of the "S" in SCDP with a "C" this season? I cannot wait to find out.
