"Mad Men" Week 6 and 7 Recaps

I've sucked at keeping my personal blog up to date with these "Mad Men" entries. If you've followed this blog in weekly anticipation of my thoughts on Roger Sterling and have been disappointed, I apologize. (Remember that you should read it here first anyway.) On second thought, I'm pretty sure you people don't exist. 

Week 7: "Lady Lazarus"

"It's what I've always wanted. Sit back and watch the business roll in while you pass the jug with some shmoe from Lutherville, Maryland." — Roger Sterling

Roger wasn't much of a prime mover this week, having but a few minutes of screen time (thus making this week's blog post for some shmoe in Frederick, Maryland, a little less fun). While the "previously on" teaser suggested viewers would be treated to another skirmish in the Roger versus Pete feud, their interaction ended up on the lighter side. But as with almost any "Med Men" scene, it was not lacking in subtext.

Roger summons Pete to his office to present him with a pair of skis, courtesy of Roger O'Hara at the Head ski company. He informs Pete that the client specifically asked for Pete to handle the account, even as they dined with Roger. Naturally, Pete is wary of Roger's generous handling of this situation, but Roger isn't being magnanimous so much as being mischievous. It's clear from the above referenced quote that Roger could care less about this particular client, even if they were the leading ski manufacturer in the U.S. and UK at the time (thank you Wikipedia). From his  non-X-rated adventures at the cancer society ball last week, we know Roger is set on capturing the prestigious accounts, the accounts that will not only fill the coffers of SCDP but wholly restore his importance in the agency. If Pete is occupied with small fish like this, that keeps him out of Roger's impeccably silver hair. And besides, Roger doesn't know a damn thing about skis (and we see that Pete, in most comedic fashion, doesn't either). From a metaphorical standpoint, the skis could also symbolize the downhill descents experienced by Roger and Pete this season (and throughout the series, for that matter).

Roger's only other scene involves another heart-to-heart with Don (booze in hand, of course) regarding Megan's exodus from SCDP. Both men are stupefied by youthful Megan's desire for self-actualization, with child of the Depression Don viewing aspirations as impractical flights of fancy, and Roger unable to relate to them because his vocation was determined by his father. Roger's theory that Megan is acting out because she wants a baby is dismissed by Don, but not without Roger providing a little comedic irony for the viewer ("Jane wanted a baby, but I thought, why do that to somebody?"). In the end, Roger's advice for Don is to go home and impose some sort of routine "to keep you both out of trouble," which is advice that came from Mona's father, of all people. Not surprisingly, Don tunes out this tenuous piece of advice just like he does the Beatles at the end of the episode.

A random side note: Why weren't we treated to Roger taking another hit of LSD during the "Tomorrow Never Knows" montage? Would that have been too spot on?

Week 6: "At the Codfish Ball"

Roger Sterling was the only member of the "Mad Men" ensemble to not to be confronted with an unpleasant turn of events this week. After a "life-altering" journey to the center of the mind with LSD and the end of his tenuous union with Jane, Roger is full of an infectious joie de vivre that endears him to Sally Draper and especially to Mrs. Calvet. He's isn't really a new man, but seems to have reclaimed the confident swagger that he's lacked since losing Lucky Strike.

Even if he is in the honeymoon stages of divorce with Jane, Roger does understand the "expensive" implications that she warned him of last week. Thus, he needs to sink low once again by taking advantage of spurned ex-wife Mona's connections to powerful business executives to gain a foothold on leads at the upcoming American Cancer Society ball. Mona's conciliatory response to Roger's fishing for leads is out of pity, but ultimately pragamatic. After all, he is still financially supporting his first family and new advertising clients would ensure that she will continue to live comfortably. As for pity, Mona tells Roger "I thought you married Jane because I had gotten old, and then I realized it was because you had." With a glint in her eye that suggests she too uses carnal knowledge as currency, Mona assures Roger he'll be "suprised" at the info she can find out by Friday.

Roger's renewed sense of confidence is put to great use at the Cancer Society ball and the scenes leading up to it. Not to get hung-up on the whole "like-ability" issue once gain, but Roger Sterling hasn't been this fun to watch, since well, ever. From the moment he strolls in to the Drapers' apartment with an undone bow-tie hanging around his neck like some annoying but endearing child, his charisma buffs a likeable shine on his often rough exterior.  His avuncluar bonding with Sally Draper as his "date" is heartwarming and begs the question as to what kind of father he was to Margaret at the same age. For Marie Calvet, Roger's impish charm stands in stark contrast to the (figurative) impotence of her husband, thus ratcheting up the sexual tension between them. From the moment they meet eyes, we know it's but a matter of time.

The illusion of like-ability is ultimately shattered when Sally, in an attempt to find the ladies' room, instead finds Roger in a particularly jarring sexual situation with Mrs. Calvet. Now that Marie has gotten a taste (for complete lack of a better word) of Roger, might she pursue further trysts with him? It would be bad enough for Don and Megan to discover what happened at the ball, let alone the makings of a full-blown affair. To paraphrase Roger's musings on Jane earlier in the episode, he's now in a position to seriously blow up Don and Megan's lives.