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lizbeeMuch as I like the portrait of Don Draper as an adult survivor of child abuse, and his (and society's) failure to cope with that, my great love is the ad agency stuff. And right now, I think SOMEONE has just shot himself in the foot.
That SOMEONE being Jim Cutler.
Since the merger, Jim has been quietly ensuring that, when Sterling Cooper & Partners goes down in a firey ball of death, he and his chosen few will come out winners. Notice how his name's not even part of the company? Not by accident.
But by making Harry Crane a partner, he has just shot himself in the foot, bigtime. He thinks Harry is loyal, that if he throws Harry a computer and a partnership, he'll have his support. But we already know that, like Pete, Harry's main loyalty is to Don Draper. So he's just added another member of Team Draper to the board.
And NOT ONLY THAT, but in the same move, he's pissed off Joan and Roger enough to seal the little rift Jim had nurtured between them.
I've seen people wondering why Joan isn't welcoming Don back, but to me it makes sense for her. She has grown a LOT as a person over the last six and a half seasons -- can you imagine the Joan of season 1 telling someone she wants to marry for love? -- but the cynical and mercenary Joan of season 1 is still in there. And Joan has experienced a bad marriage, independence, motherhood, and the terrible matter of securing Jaguar.
And while she may have once respected Don, by now, he's just another man who has let her down. He jettisoned Jaguar, after being the only partner who DIDN'T want her to prostitute herself to them. He decided on a whim to merge with the other agency, sending SCDP's planned stock float down the drain. He has cost Joan a lot of money, while also behaving very badly -- and worse, unprofessionally.
But it's not too late for Don to turn this around, especially now he's reconciled with Peggy, whose professional instincts Joan respects. (Obviously no one in their right mind would respect Peggy's personal instincts.)
Right now, the partners look like this:
Jim Cutler: Team Jim Cutler.
Bert Cooper: Team Bert Cooper and SC&P. He might be a big old Randasaurus, but he's rejecting even Don's good ideas, because he thinks Don will cost him more money in the long run.
Roger Sterling: Team Don.
Don Draper: Team Don. Obviously.
Pete Campbell: Team Don.
Joan Harris: Team SC&P.
Harry Crane: Team Don.
Ted Chaough: WHO EVEN KNOWS? Ted's the wild card in this, but I'm pretty sure he's going to make a come-back in season 7.2. He seems to be aware that the agency is in a creative slump with Don out and Lou in charge, but how he's going to play that is still a mystery.
That SOMEONE being Jim Cutler.
Since the merger, Jim has been quietly ensuring that, when Sterling Cooper & Partners goes down in a firey ball of death, he and his chosen few will come out winners. Notice how his name's not even part of the company? Not by accident.
But by making Harry Crane a partner, he has just shot himself in the foot, bigtime. He thinks Harry is loyal, that if he throws Harry a computer and a partnership, he'll have his support. But we already know that, like Pete, Harry's main loyalty is to Don Draper. So he's just added another member of Team Draper to the board.
And NOT ONLY THAT, but in the same move, he's pissed off Joan and Roger enough to seal the little rift Jim had nurtured between them.
I've seen people wondering why Joan isn't welcoming Don back, but to me it makes sense for her. She has grown a LOT as a person over the last six and a half seasons -- can you imagine the Joan of season 1 telling someone she wants to marry for love? -- but the cynical and mercenary Joan of season 1 is still in there. And Joan has experienced a bad marriage, independence, motherhood, and the terrible matter of securing Jaguar.
And while she may have once respected Don, by now, he's just another man who has let her down. He jettisoned Jaguar, after being the only partner who DIDN'T want her to prostitute herself to them. He decided on a whim to merge with the other agency, sending SCDP's planned stock float down the drain. He has cost Joan a lot of money, while also behaving very badly -- and worse, unprofessionally.
But it's not too late for Don to turn this around, especially now he's reconciled with Peggy, whose professional instincts Joan respects. (Obviously no one in their right mind would respect Peggy's personal instincts.)
Right now, the partners look like this:
Jim Cutler: Team Jim Cutler.
Bert Cooper: Team Bert Cooper and SC&P. He might be a big old Randasaurus, but he's rejecting even Don's good ideas, because he thinks Don will cost him more money in the long run.
Roger Sterling: Team Don.
Don Draper: Team Don. Obviously.
Pete Campbell: Team Don.
Joan Harris: Team SC&P.
Harry Crane: Team Don.
Ted Chaough: WHO EVEN KNOWS? Ted's the wild card in this, but I'm pretty sure he's going to make a come-back in season 7.2. He seems to be aware that the agency is in a creative slump with Don out and Lou in charge, but how he's going to play that is still a mystery.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-20 01:11 am (UTC)Very good point too about how Cutler shot himself in the foot by promoting Harry! I hadn't thought of it that way -- but yeah, he didn't get a real deep reading on Harry. He just determined him to be the most dishonest person he's ever worked with...and decided that made him worth promoting. :P
Very excited to see how the next episode plays out, though I'm chafing at the idea that we have to wait until we're a whole year older before we see the rest. SOME OF US MAY DIE IN THAT TIME. Uh, not to be morbid.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-20 06:14 am (UTC)Yes! He assumed Harry was exactly like him. Not that Harry ISN'T a gross sleazebag who just happens to be both ambitious and good at his job, but Harry does have certain loyalties.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-20 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-20 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-21 12:38 am (UTC)That said, I knew Joan would reject Bob, because a. been there, done that, survived the rape and raising the baby and b. Joan's motivation at this point is to become entirely independent. Like, if someone offered her a zillion dollars for her shares, she'd be gone so fast Peggy's hair would uncurl.
I am sort of fascinated and baffled at where this show will possibly end up at the season finale, however. Anyone remember that this is actually THE LAST EVER SEASON? I know Mad Men is normally pretty slow burn about the storyline, but: sheesh.