It’s probably a pretty safe bet that the Hare Krishna Wikipedia page has received more traffic in the past 24 hours than it has in quite some time, if not ever, right? With that said, I still have no freaking clue what a Hare Krishna is. And why aren’t they around anymore? (Or are they?) Didn’t they used to hang out in airports looking for people to convert? Were they replaced by the yoga movement or something?
Anyway, here are a few notes I made during last night’s Mad Men about characters, scenes, etc. I found interesting for one reason or another.
- Nice to see Harry Crane, arguably the most overtly horny Mad Men character, finally get some strange. I like how Matt Weiner let’s just about every character explore their tawdry fantasies. Can’t wait to see what he has in store for Rizzo and Ginsberg.
- I don’t know who she was (and was I the only one who thought she was Juliette Lewis at first), but that actress who played Paul Kinsey’s object of affection/scammer was a damn good actress.
- Now that I’ve got my obligatory Weiner praise out of the way, a criticism: what the hell is up with Lane having money problems so severe that he borrows fifty grand secretly so he can then embezzle money from the firm? I mean, where did that come from? Was there any groundwork laid on this storyline previously? It just seems to have come out of nowhere, as if Weiner was sitting around one day and suddenly he thought, “Oh sh*t we haven’t done anything with Lane in a few episodes,” leading him to dream up the tax thing. Frankly, Roger seems to me to be the most likely candidate to be faced with money problems. Also, why couldn’t Lane just go to Don or Roger or Bert or all three and ask for a loan, seeing as how he may have been facing prison time? It all just seems — dare I say it — like lazy storytelling to me.
- With all of that said, maybe it’ll be Lane and not Pete who’s gonna be the one to leap to his death from an office window?
- ROGER STERLING’S CHRISTMAS SHIRT FTW!
- I’m too lazy to research this, but I think Don has been shown napping in his office in every episode this season.
- Nice to see sh*t-faced Don Draper return to action, driving drunk and stumbling home. We don’t get to see that side of him much any more now that he’s happier and doesn’t live in the suburbs.
- It was also nice to see Megan fully embracing being an actress. If you’ve ever dated one, you though all-too-well that most women who call themselves actresses tend to be a little crazy, and Megan seems to swing wildly from being a rock of stability to being a fragile egg ready to crack at any moment. Remember the HoJo incident?
- Moar Joan going off on SCDP underlings, pleez!
- Also, I’m sure it wasn’t a coincidence that Joan crashed a model plane — likely a Mohawk Airlines one — when there’s a Mohawk airlines plane crash looming in the next few months. I suppose one could argue that it also foreshadowed the news later in the episode that Mohawk was suspending its advertising because of a strike.
- OH OH OH…maybe the receptionist whose desk Joan crashed a plane on will die in the Mohawk crash of ’67 and Megan will come back to SCDP to take her place?! Just a thought.
- Finally, we now know for sure that Roger knows that Joan’s baby is his. I take comfort in that.
- “The only sin she’s committed is being familiar.” — Joan Holloway
- Don and Joan make SUCH a great couple. Their chemistry in the rare occasions when they’re alone together is undeniably electric. (Remember them together in the hospital waiting room after the lawn mower incident?) It’s so good that I wish it would happen more often while also happening that it wouldn’t — for the sake of keeping such scenes kind of special occasions — at the same time. Does that make sense? One thing I am sure of: I do not want them to hook up. Ever.
- “My mother raised me to be admired.” — Joan Holloway
- Can I get in a quick word about Veep and Girls? First off, the delightfully profane Veep may be the funniest show on television right now. Seriously, that riff on fat people during the closing credits last night was f*cking gold. And about Girls: is Lena Dunham trying to break some sort of nudity record or something? It seems like she’s naked in every episode! Also, did we really need to see Peter Scolari’s goddamn penis? I can’t unsee that sh*t and neither can you. Thanks a lot, Lena Dunham!
“Last year at this time, whether you knew it or not, the survival of this company was on the line. I look at the faces in this room who have given their all to this tenuous recovery, and I say, prepare to take a great leap forward. Prepare to swim the English channel and drown in champagne. There are six weekends between now and the pitch. We are going to spend them all here. We are going to celebrate Christmas here. We are going to ring in the New Year, together. And in the end, we will represent Jaguar, and it will be worth it. Every agency on Madison Avenue is defined by moment they got their car. When we we land Jaguar, the world will know we’ve arrived.” — Don Draper
- Mad Men spinoff idea: “The Redemption of Harry Crane,” a show in which Harry Crane goes around righting all the wrongs he’s committed in his life.
Your thoughts/feelings/observations are of course welcome in the comments.
(GIFs via Chet Manley)
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You think Veep is that special? You should watch Episodes. Joey plays a guy called Matt Leblanc
Anna Wood in “House of Lies” (NSFW): [www.celebritymoviearchive.com]
I think part of the deal to bring the series back involved removing a few cast members, didn’t it? I guess if someone goes out a window that would be one person gone, and Lane’s legal trouble could be another character off the show.
Lane’s money troubles have been hinted at before. Several times I believe. But I do wish the writers had worked a better angle for his embezzlement. Roger easily spends 8 grand every few months on bribes to the office drones and new houses for his ex. Pretty sure he can help out the guy who introduced Pete to Jack Johnson.
My boyfriend was convinced it was Juliette Lewis and I thought so at first too. Had to really stare at the face to realize it wasn’t.
I don’t think it was a Christmas shirt Roger was wearing; his early-morning binge was brought on by it being Pearl Harbor day. Roger was a Navy man, it’s got to be a Hawaiian shirt worn in commemoration.
As for Don’s end-of-episode pep talk, it made me think of only one thing: it will all end horribly.
Hare Krishna still exists. they have random parades and show up at protests
[www.facebook.com]
The actress’ name is Anna Wood.
[www.imdb.com]
And I thought Colbie Smulders from HIMYM.
Hare Krishnas are basically Hindu/Buddhist versions of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I like the “666″ in the background of the Joan gifs.
Totally did not see that before I saw the GIF. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!?!
666 Fifth Avenue: future site for the offices of DC Comics, proving once and for all that Joan is the inspiration for Power Girl and her amazing boob window.
I actually thought Kinsey’s return was really well-played for the character – and his Star Trek script made me laugh so hard I woke up my girlfriend who was sleeping upstairs…
The Don/Joan scenes were the winner, though; and no, they’ll never hook up – there’s too much respect between them for either of them to run their game.
Lane still has that black playboy-bunny girlfriend, right? He does seems like the kind of drab and boring guy that can only get girls by buying them expensive stuff.
Also, his forgery of Don’s autograph was horrendous.
I know I’m late on this (traveling today), but it seemed like Megan’s tantrum gave some of the power in the relationship back to Don for the first time in a long time.
Also, why was he so pissed driving home from the bar?
Buyers remorse.
At least in the Bay Area you still see Hare Krishnas dancing around the Mission district in San Francisco and the occasional Berkeley/Oakland sighting as well. And they still always look like Kinsey.
Kinsey said that Lakshmi had a history of prostitution and drug addiction, so I can’t help but think that Harry’s got some VD in the future.
Excellent point. Dude’s got the clap coming to him, at least.
I like how you didn’t find the return of Paul Kinsey “interesting”
….as it should be.
Is that a subtle commentary on my alleged overuse of the word “interesting?”
I nearly choked on food when he said I don’t have any things…
GIF makers clearly aren’t as cruel as I am.
The check that Don wrote for the E-Type would roughly be 40K in today’s dollars…
FUN FACT!
- Also, I wonder if Don being the voice of Mercedes posed any problems for him talking about Jaguar? Also, Roger is the spokesman for Lincoln..
I really thought that was Juliette Lewis too!
I too also was waiting for the uproxx review haha!
The plane Joan crashed was indeed a Mohawk plane — the same one that Pete unveiled when he announced the airline was back at the agency.
The Don/Joan scenes were fabulous, and if it were another time, I could see them hook up (glad they didn’t though).
So, is plain spaghetti the only thing Megan cooks?!?
HAHA…seriously, make some goddamn red gravy to pour over that pasta. Even if it’s out of a can, that better than plain spaghetti. Geez.
I figured they were buttered noodles…A little love note to Alison Brie.
and she was all like, I kept it warm in the oven waiting to eat it with you. Byatch, please. That sh*t would be as hard as a rock and it’s not like it didn’t take 8 minutes to make. If she wants to stay a rich housewife, girl better enroll for some culinary classes.
I was first upset because I was getting tired of waiting for the Uproxx review buy that anger went away the moment I saw the headline and saw it was NOT “hare Krishna” like it is on literally 20 other blogs…
–Lane’s money problems were never that big of a suprise between the not being able to pay for school or the awkward exchange between him and the wallet guy about a reward, but i agree I do think the extent was very out of the blue- but i fell like every seaoson there has to be a secret that Pete learns about his enemy that year that he chooses to do the right thing and neglect-and this may be it…
—also on another side note about Lane: does this mean that th black resturant playmate Naturi Naughton played had a higher credit score? (I’m black I can make that joke)
—I know its only May but the airplane line from joan is already on the list for the year’s best…
—finally, Megan done lost her mind-that is all
Took a while for me to knock the cobwebs out today.
“Take Me Like This” FTW
Mother Lakshmi was played by Anna Wood.
I don’t recall seeing her in anything previously but man are her Google image search results fun to look at. [www.google.com]
Wasn’t there an issue a few episodes back about Lane not being able to pay for his kids school tuition?
Now that you mention it, I do kinda remember that, but it’s been so goddamn long that it’s not exactly fresh. Lane has been AWOL for weeks.
Chet, that top GIF is a thing of beauty.
The fact that Hare Krishnas were a part of this episodes presents me a great excuse to post this video.
Oh man I forgot about that scene!
Not sure but, I think Lane’s money woes stemmed from back taxes owed to the British government. Sounded like it was a problem due to his status as an ex-patriot.
Lakshmi reminded me of that girl from How I Met Your Mother that’s in Avengers.
Taran Killam’s fiance, Cobie Smulders.
I have answers!
from the grantland recap, apparently the lane thing is supposed tied to the beatle’s taxman and british gov’t crazy tax policies…