Don (Jon Hamm) and Sally (Kiernan Shipka) at the party that turns melancholy in the "Mad Men" episode, "At the Codfish Ball."In Sunday's episode, "At the Codfish Ball," Megan's mere et pere came to visit Megan and Don (Jon Hamm), and the duo put on a display of marital discord, simmering resentments, outright fighting, emotional undermining and wandering eyes -- among other indiscretions.
Marie (Julia Ormond), in particular, joined the hall of shame of "Mad Men" mothers, whose inability to love their offspring is matched only by their selfishness. But the episode as a whole dealt with daughters and their disillusionment. Sally, Peggy and Megan all had hopes of making connections with their parental figures (in Sally's case, she momentarily basked in the glow of Roger's cool-Uncle-style attentions, only to find him getting some inappropriately intimate attention from Marie).
In fact, once again, Don came off as the only responsible parent in the vicinity, pulling the reins back on Sally's attempt to wear too-mature-for-her-years make-up and go-go boots with her futuristic party dress.
Though the mothers came up short in the supportive department, that's not to say that Megan's father, Emile (Ronald Guttman), is much of an improvement. Another in Matthew Weiner's gallery of pompous intellectuals, Emile's professor is obsessed with a book he's been working on, cries to his "latest" graduate student over the phone after a publisher rejects it, can't be bothered to hide his dislike of Don, flaunts his Marxist beliefs as justification for disapproving of what Don does for a living, and attacks the choices made by his supposed favorite daughter.
"Don't let your love for this man (i.e., Don) stop you from doing what you want to do," Emile windbags at Megan. What does she want to do, though? That is the question. Well, it's one of many questions.
Other notable moments:
* Sally's Growing Pains: Though the episode moved around between characters and storylines, Sally was the throughline. The episode title, "At the Codfish Ball," comes from a cheerful tune performed in 1936's "Captain January," by Shirley Temple, that junior trouper who always seemed older than her years. Sally (Kiernan Shipka, who just gets better and better) frames the episode, in phone conversations with Glen (Marten Weiner, Matthew's son), her former neighbor whose own growing pains contributed some memorably strange moments. Glen's at boarding school now, but he's still Sally's confidant. She's at home with her loathed Grandma Pauline, or "Bluto," as Sally calls her. In a bit of unintended sabotage, Pauline trips over the cord of the phone that Sally has taken into her room, and breaks her ankle. So Sally gets what she wanted, escape to Don and Megan's apartment. Baby Gene is off on a trip with Betty and Henry, and her brother Bobby comes along, though he's again the Invisible Boy for all the screentime he gets. Note how when Don encourages Sally to share her story of how she rose to the occasion to call the police for Pauline, Sally casually lies: Pauline tripped over one of baby Gene's toys, she says.
When Sally comes out to show Don, Megan and Megan's parents her dress for the Cancer Society party -- at which Don is being honored for his flipping-the-bird public letter to Lucky Strike on the evils of tobacco -- she's ultra-modern in a silvery dress. At the party, though she's served fish, which we earlier heard she hates (and which prompted Megan's save-the-Heinz-account brainstrom), Sally is enjoying sitting with the grown-ups. Roger (John Slattery), split from Jane and still radiating the afterglow of his "life-altering" LSD trip, is charming to Sally, calling her his date. But Roger has also been exchanging flirtatious moments with Marie, and Sally -- unbeknownst to them -- gets a peek at Marie pleasuring Roger in a room away from the party. Her face reveals this is the latest bit of her youthful innocence that is now history.
Have you considered getting a cat? Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) isn't getting much maternal support from her mother, Katherine (Myra Turley) in the "Mad Men" episode, "At the Codfish Ball."At the office, Joan reacts to Peggy's news with a quick reference to "shacking up," then recovers and does her best to buck Peggy up. "I think you're brave," says Joan. "I think it's a beautiful statement." Joan has come a long way since we first met her when it comes to forming bonds with her female coworkers. Peggy doesn't get this support from her own mother, who reacts to the news of the moving-in together with the not-too-surprising "living in sin" remark, after Peggy says she thought her mother would be relieved she's not marrying "the Jew." Whoa. Peggy's mom then delivers another of the episode's sure-to-be-quoted speeches: "You know what your aunt used to say, if you're lonely, get a cat. They live 13 years, then you get another one, and another one after that. Then you're done."
Peggy also shows sisterly bonding with Megan, who comes up with the idea to save the Heinz beans account. Megan suggests the campaign be a mother serving beans to her child through history and to the future, with the slogan, "Some Things Never Change." This works for the hard-to-please Heinz exec, particularly the last part: "The future -- that's all I ever wanted." Instead of making some snide remark, or letting jealousy get the best of her, Peggy congratulates Megan, saying it reminds her of when Peggy first got a break.
* How's the City? Dirty: On one level, things are looking up for many of the characters, especially as compared with last week. Megan gets to show her stuff at work, Don recognizes her accomplishment, Peggy and Abe are getting along, Roger is feeling enlightened and reborn, Sally gets to be with her dad and not with Bluto, Don is honored by the Cancer Society. But there's more to the story, as always. What are these "dreams" of Megan's her father is saying she's abandoned? Will Peggy remember her mother's warning that Abe is using her for "practice"? When will Roger's LSD high wear off? How will Sally process the glimpse of adult behavior she shouldn't have seen? And, after Don accepts his award, he finds out that the bigwigs assembled for the event aren't the hot business contacts Roger has been hoping for. Why should they do business with Don, when he "bit the hand" of Lucky Strike?
At the end of this supposedly glorious evening, we see Don, Megan, Megan's parents and Sally all sitting at the table, a group portrait of disillusionment. Back at the apartment, Sally gives Glen a call. "How's the city?" he asks her. "Dirty," she says.
Thoughts about "At the Codfish Ball"? Bets on how soon Sally will be starting therapy? How long Peggy and Abe will cohabitate? How soon Roger will come down to earth?
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