Under the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Don returns to New York just as Betty finds out that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, everybody at Sterling Cooper contemplates their futures as ne... Read allUnder the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Don returns to New York just as Betty finds out that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, everybody at Sterling Cooper contemplates their futures as news of the merger slowly leaks out.Under the backdrop of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Don returns to New York just as Betty finds out that she is pregnant. Meanwhile, everybody at Sterling Cooper contemplates their futures as news of the merger slowly leaks out.
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Did you know
- TriviaThis episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing of a Drama Series. The cast and crew were shocked, when the following year, writer Kater Gordon was abruptly dropped from the show despite her Emmy win. In 2017, she revealed that she had been sexually harassed by Matthew Weiner during her tenure on Mad Men (2007) and this was the reason for her sudden departure.
- GoofsWhen Pete is telling Don that Duck will be the new president of Sterling Cooper, Don's tie changes position multiple times, even though Don is sitting still and not moving.
- Quotes
Peggy Olson: One day you're there, and then all of a sudden, there's less of you. And you wonder where that... part went; if it's living somewhere outside of you. And you keep thinking maybe you'll get it back. And then you realize, it's just gone.
Pete Campbell: Why would you tell me that?
Peggy Olson: I'm sorry Pete.
- ConnectionsFeatured in 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2009)
It took a couple of episodes but there does seem to have been some improvements made to the show because this season worked a lot better for me than the first. I'm sure part of it is that I'm already familiar and invested with the characters to some point, but this season does a much better job of engaging the viewer and producing stories and characters that engage emotionally. In terms of the appearance of the show, it is as it was in the first season. The atmosphere of the time is there, with the inbuilt bigotry and sexism of the time and place laid out but this time it is not a matter of these things being whacked down on the table as an obvious thing but rather something that is engrained in everything to a point. Likewise the "times they are a-changing" moments are part of season-long threads rather than specific "look at this" moments in the plot.
All the characters from the first season are here but this time I did seem to care about them a lot more. They all seemed to be used much better than they were and be much more human, which improved upon the situation in the first season where the writing kept the majority of them at the same level as the sets and costumes – important and well done, but still a little superficial in terms of providing more than a bit of colour. This widening of the show and improving of the emotional depth drew me in as it went along and produced some very strong episodes indeed – a nice surprise considering that I spent the first season "interested" more than "engaged".
In the first season I felt the cast were all good and that they were not the ones limiting my engagement in the show, and season two sort of confirms that as they all continue to be good again, just this time with improved material. Hamm continues to be a charismatic focal point and he does well with the complexity of his character and the fact that he is not particularly likable. Moss is my favourite character and her rise within the company is cheering to watch, just as it is contrasted with Hendricks' secret frustration and feelings of losing her worth (she is acting with more than her figure this season). Jones benefits from much better material thanks to the way the plot goes for her. The show is stronger for having better material for the supporting cast such as Staton, Gladis, Batt, Sommer and others, while Slattery and Kartheiser are both good again.
The second season of the show appears at first glance to be the same as the first – the place is the same, the characters are the same, the costumes etc but the writing makes for a much better season as it has more going on that engages emotionally across the whole season.
- bob the moo
- Apr 21, 2010
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