Meaning, basically, at worst, the whole road-show lead-up to the IPO at $38 was essentially pump-and-dump with the average joe investor — those unlucky enough to buy on Friday — left holding the bag.

And the repercussions from this situation will be ugly. Here’s a Business Insider article about a pissed hedge fund trader stuck with fading Facebook stock that he couldn’t sell fast enough due to NASDAQ snafus. But what really stands out are the last few paragraphs, which sum up how I personally feel:

If there was any enthusiasm for this deal, that got wiped out. Think about a guy who was going to put five grand on this. You go to Vegas and put $5,000 on the roulette wheel and it breaks, it’s like, hold on, I’m not going to do that. Suddenly you’re like this is Wall Street and I hate Wall Street.

Exactly. I was once thinking about getting some Facebook shares myself. Now the more I read, the less I want any part of it. Let FB fall, hopefully take a bite out of some of those greedy insiders. And you bet any future IPOs from social media companies will bear some insanely heavy, deserved scrutiny. The damage done to tech sector investing as a whole rises every day FB falls below $38.

Where once I was thinking the Facebook IPO could have set off a new wave of tech IPOs, possibly juicing the economy — I now think it has the potential to be as bad mindshare-wise as the AOL / Time Warner merger — the laughing-stock go-to symbol of Web 1.0 hubris.

Hey Netflix, you may have some company soon…

So some are spinning this situation as good. Well, it’s good for certain parties, mostly the Facebook insiders who got to dump their shares at what may in retrospect be a really great price. Good for a few underwriters who can congratulate themselves on picking a sweet valuation and making those insiders happy.

But I don’t think anybody can say it went as planned. Maybe not a skyrocket shot to $70 like the dot-com days, but closing say in the low $40s.

So now the fallout: already folks are poring over Facebook’s valuation and trying to come up with the “why.” the entire family of Web 2.0 stocks is being called into question. Mainstream investors will now look upon any future tech IPOs with skepticism, after all, Facebook fizzled, and who will be any more worth than Facebook? The damage to the whole tech IPO concept has been tainted. The excitement is gone. The hype didn’t pan out.

Whether or not this is good or bad depends on what side of the bubble you’re on, but personally, with the economy already struggling to stay afloat, the thought that tech and Silicon Valley could lead us out the quagmire has now been bruised.

I’m still considering picking up some Facebook shares, but it’ll be at a much lower price point. $10 sounds fair. And that’s perhaps the most positive thing I can say about the “meh” Facebook IPO: a return to sanity. It went so poorly that we’re actually looking at its fundamentals — and may wait for the opportunity to pick it up at a more sane price.

Synopsis

Megan quits SCDP to pursue acting, Peggy flubs (another) presentation, and Pete meets a friend’s wife.

The Good

• Title comes from a Sylvia Plath poem about rebirth = Megan.
• Following the Heinz Beans debacle, Peggy seems to be on an oddly incompetent track — hope she doesn’t continue to screw up and strain things with Don.
• The Beatles first appeared last season with Don getting Sally tickets to their Shea stadium concert and an instrumental outro, but the Fab Four are about to shed their teenager image and become a cultural influence with the release of Sgt. Pepper in 1967 — already looking forward to it. I’ve always associated Tomorrow Never Knows as the dividing line between their earlier, mop-top period and the creative outpouring that would come with Strawberry Fields Forever and Sgt. Pepper a year later. Hearing the forward-reaching track play against the largely conservative Mad Men characters made them feel hopelessly out of date and behind the times; hopefully that was the intent.
• Pete’s throwing it all away.

The Bad

• Sad to see Megan leave the office; was personally hoping for more spouse-as-coworker dramatics.
• Personally disorienting to see Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls playing against type, but hey we’re all that much older; will get used to it. Hope that wasn’t a one-night fling and Beth becomes a recurring character.

Conclusion

Interesting episode with a genuinely jarring montage at its end. Megan’s line, “No-one can keep up; it’s always changing,” will surely prove prescient as we move into the season’s final stretch.

Next Episode: Dark Shadows
Previous Episode: At The Codfish Ball

Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin shared some initial thoughts about not treating the film as a straight, chronological biography, which alleviates some concern that the decades covered in the book would be too unwieldy for a two or three hour film. He’s looking for a dramatic even to hang the film on, which shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Meanwhile, the other Steve Jobs movie has announced the title of “jOBS” and will film in Steve’s original garage. Why do I have the feeling a IIc displaying OS 9 is guaranteed for that one…

= 3 stars

Starring Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Directed by Phillip Noyce

Synopsis

CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) may or may not be a Soviet spy.

The Good

• Tense person-on-the-run plot, reminiscent of North By Northwest. Salt’s true intentions are kept smartly vague.
• Jolie implements a cold, emotional distance which makes for a compelling action hero, which I preferred over others (Aeon Flux, Resident Evil) including Lara Croft in Tomb Raider.
• Little CG used for the obligatory stunts.

The Bad

• Overall implausibility and unintentionally funny moments: Salt singlehandedly taking out hundreds of armed men, steering a car by judiciously electrocuting an unconsious driver, and donning Ralph Macchio-like makeup to infiltrate the White House.
• Seem to recall Ejiofor chasing a trained assassin in another flick.
• Underwhelming ending unfortunately blows apart all the preceding to-do. And no, the alternate endings are no better.

Conclusion

Generally liked the first two-thirds, but it soon became a textbook case of a solid popcorn thriller unceremoniously marred by its last ten minutes. Rental material.

IMDB: Salt
Wikipedia: Salt
Rotten Tomatoes: Salt

I now hope this attracts some awesome director (Fincher, Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson) and actor (Daniel Day Lewis, Ryan Gosling). Once that happens, Jack Black could play Woz and I’d still see it.

Really looking forward to the Sorkin-penned board room battle (Scully cries. Steve Jobs cries. We all cry).

One of my all-time favorite movies by the way.

Synopsis

Megan’s parents visit, Don receives an award, and Abe asks Peggy to shack up.

The Good

• Megan’s sunny disposition may be a defense mechanism and not inherited from her parents, who turn out to be a pretty sour pair — mom Marie is a heavy drinker and embarrassing flirt with dad Emile wallowing in late-life obsolescence resulting in withering criticism of all around him. Things turn odd as mom meets newly-enlightened Roger, and the dysfunction is passed onto Sally, the younger generation, in a chill-inducing scene that had me thinking Mad Men can’t help but mix every drink with a strong twist of lemon.
• Really fun watching Peggy move from elated expectation when she thinks Abe will propose over dinner, to total deflation as disappointed mom advises to get a cat, or two.
• Don and Megan saving the Heinz account through original thinking and husband / wife chemistry. Fun seeing Don amazed at his wife’s natural talent at this advertising thing.
• The return of Glenn — much larger and still kinda creepy. Shudder to think what Sally may do with him plus new information. Watch out summer of love.
• No Betty / Henry.

The Bad

• N/A.

Conclusion

Solid episode. Had me contemplating parents unintentionally passing baggage onto their children through expectations, hushed words, and behavior.

Next Episode: Lady Lazarus
Previous Episode: Far Away Places

= 5 stars

Starring Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Synopsis

Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) uses a unique talent to break into the adult movie industry.

The Good

• Litany of classic movie techniques recycled and refreshed: a masterful one-take opening shot starting from the street and entering a night club full of patrons, underwater cameras, pinhole focus, cuts where the subject of one scene fades into another implying comparison (seated porn mogul Jack Horner [Burt Reynolds] dissolving to Dirk’s unaproving mother). The high number of cast members, multiple stories and constantly moving / zooming camera recalls Altman. The naturalistic direction is a great fit for the subject matter of untarnished innocence and natural (pre-silicone) looks of seventies adult stars.
• Scads of now famous actors: Julliane Moore, Heather Graham, Mark Walberg, John Riley, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Walberg in particular would go on to greater things, but here he laid the foundation that yes, he could really act. The older Reynolds turns in a late-career role comparable to Travolta in Pulp Fiction.
• Amusing nostalgia in the 70s / 80s time period: Peechee folders, roller skates, Cheryl Tiegs posters, seedy diners, cocaine, plus a truly horrid “Jump” style song sung by Dirk and co-worker Reed (John C. Reilly). Darkness takes over as the seventies seeds turn sour in the eighties, culminating in a really bizarre coke fuelled scene (featuring Alfred Molina) with firecrackers popping to Rick Springfield and 99 Luft Balloons.
• Twisted American dream / rags-to-riches poster as Dirk moves from teenage loser to porn star through natural talent, the nature of which is loosely treated like a Hitchcock Macguffin, not visually revealed until film’s end (lots of amusing reaction shots, though), and fades into the background as other plot points rise in importance. In fact, once Dirk’s talent is finally revealed, it comes across as an afterthought.

The Bad

• Subject matter may be off-putting to some.

Conclusion

Further seals my impression that Paul Thomas Anderson knew what the hell he was doing since the start, displaying a masterful knowledge of film technique to tell a compelling story, on par with Scorcese, Altman, and Tarantino. But the best thing is the tact with which the adult situation is handled — the subjects never seem exploited by the film itself, just their hapless industry. Highly recommended.

IMDB: Boogie Nights
Wikipedia: Boogie Nights
Rotten Tomatoes: Boogie Nights

• Biggest justification floated is to compete with the Kindle Fire, yet there’s speculation that sales have fallen quite steeply following the introduction of the iPad 3. But a stealth reason may be the cheaper iPad 2 at $399.
• Also can’t forget the iPod Touch at $199 which should be placed below a smaller iPad in the price matrix — $299 makes more sense.
• Fragmentation of different screen sizes needs to be avoided. I don’t want to see iPhone / iPad / iPad Mini apps in the store.
• Am reading more iPad magazines, and the font size can’t get much smaller. Moving to a 7″ size might drive some magazine apps to go with iPhone styling which would degrade the appeal of the device as an e-reader.

Lastly, the biggest issue I have with the iPad Mini is the idea that Amazon’s Kindle format is enough of a market for Apple to release their own dedicated e-reader device. I feel like the biggest reason for the success of the iPhone / iPad is as a convergence device — the iPhone is a great phone, iPod, mobile Internet device, camera, etc. The iPad is a great browser, email client, video player, digital photo frame, etc. And an e-reader is yet another device that falls under that iPad umbrella.

So, don’t think we’ll see a 7″ iPad Mini.

Essentially Adobe just released Creative Suite 6 (YACSVODV: Yet Another Creative Suite Version Of Dubious Value) that I’ve been on the fence about getting, despite its necessity to the day job. Neither the new features or subscription / cloud based version have  me chomping at the bit to pony up yet another several hundred dollars.

And so, this Security Bulletin seems to be a deeply cynical upgrade prod — essentially a scare tactic. CS5 is insecure! You must fix this! But also annoying is high cost of this upgrade — you must buy CS6. And doubly annoying is how this security update reminds one of how often Acrobat and Flash require security updates. Yet all those are offered for free. There’s some unwritten rule of software ethics that if something is screwed up in the security of software, there should be a free software update.

So this whole CS6 as a security update drifts from annoying to downright insulting, and I feel like putting off the CS6 upgrade indefinitely.

The dude could very well be outta there. There’s precedent — a past RadioShack CEO resigned after a claiming non-existent degrees. And Yahoo!‘s woes continue… will definitely be entertaining to see how the board and PR folks try to wheedle out of this one.

= 5 stars

Starring Mark Hogancamp, various dolls
Directed by Jeff Malmberg

Synopsis

Brain damaged after a violent attack, Mark Hogancamp builds and photographs elaborate World War II themed dioramas featuring dolls loosely based on real-life acquaintances.

The Good

• Deeper meanings: Mark’s pre-attack personality was dark, alcoholic, and violent, so his current innocent, insular state plays like a rebirth, or an unsettling silver lining.
• Admirably hands-off direction: Mark’s odd behavior and his obsessive photographs can tell their own stranger-than-fiction story. Mark’s fantasy world provides a parallel, fictional plot to the documentary, made odder that it stars a doll representing Mark himself.
• Contemplates the purpose and meaning of art: Mark’s hobby is both an unconscious compulsion and fractured genius, an unsettling mish-mash of Joseph Cornell and photographer Nan Goldin, used to piece together a fragmented past (Mark’s memories return as “stills”), therapy (his fantasy world’s gruesome violence largely falls on Nazis), or escape from grim, uncertain reality. Mark’s photographs are actually quite brilliant, informed by an eye living in the simulated reality of the miniatures.
• As the film heads to the climax of Mark’s first photography show in New York, a darker undercurrent emerges, as Mark’s obsession with female dolls and women’s footwear hints at other wayward fantasies — playing out as if Corky St. Clair hailed from Twin Peaks.

The Bad

• Some gruesome doll-on-doll violence.

Conclusion

The way in which one man’s tiny, insular world  manages to comment on the world at large makes this a must-see. Highly recommended.

IMDB: Marwencol
Wikipedia: Marwencol
Rotten Tomatoes: Marwencol

The TL;DR version:

• They’ve essentially won social networking.
• Absolutely huge brand awareness; the vast majority use it, and even if you don’t, you’ve heard of it.
• Totally addictive; know so many who are on this giant time-sink almost 24/7. In fact for some it’s justification to get a smartphone.
• One of the few companies to earn praise from Steve Jobs himself.
• With Google as a shared enemy, can see Apple integrating Facebook sharing features into iOS (like Twitter) sooner than I could ever imagine happening with Google+.

Clicked on “All Posts” and was greeted by — nothing. Everything written over many years, gone. WTF. Hacked? No new users. When was the last time I backed up? Can’t remember. Other blogs on the server are fine. Visiting the blog reaffirmed my worst fears. Everything gone. Panic enters my mind. Should I restore from a backup? Maybe just declare the whole blog toast and start a new one. A strange sense of relief washes over me.

Grasping onto that calm feeling, I fire up phpMyAdmin. I’m no php expert but I know enough to see if the database containing all the posts has been wiped out. The mouse hovers over “wp_posts” and a strange message appears, saying this table has crashed and needs to be repaired.

Oh, repair a table, I know how to do that. Box checked, run repair. Glorious double rainbow appears as the blog returns to working order.

Disaster averted. Time to back up…

Oh, maybe the path of least resistance is to just call up Comcast, wave the white flag, put on those cable package handcuffs, get a DVR and be done with it. But this is becoming a battle of principle, not just shows to watch. Some companies need to learn the lesson that making customers pay for things they don’t want in order to get what they do is just dumb. I’m not gonna pay over a thousand dollars a year just just so I can watch two or three shows on my computer. It’s as stupid as paying for a print magazine subscription in order to get the iPad version.

With Hulu about to eat it and Netflix increasingly a lost cause, maybe Apple is our only hope. I’ll put my money where my mouth is and buy more shows via iTunes (as I have with Mad Men), and use the ever-living crap out of video AirPlay from the iPad and the upcoming Mountain Lion. And pray that there’s some truth to Apple landing some content deals for the mythical Apple TV proper. Oh, and buy one of these things.

Synopsis

Peggy botches a pitch, Roger takes a trip, and Don and Megan visit Howard Johnson’s.

The Good

• Three stories told sequentially but happening in parallel, and the simple, effective indications of a jump back in time: Don pulling Megan out of Peggy’s office, and after Roger’s journey, the scene of Roger leaving Don’s office is repeated, but switches to Don’s point of view.
• Having waited a long time to see the social changes of the late sixties work their way into the show, was really happy to see acid make an appearance — but the real surprise was Roger taking the plunge, as opposed to one of the younger characters like Peggy or Harry. Loved the surreal, yet matter-of-fact treatment with time gaps and simple, disorienting film techniques.
• Don’s tricky situation of wife as co-worker caused some entertaining conflict as he whisks Megan away from a crucial presentation, resulting in stressed-out Don helplessly searching for Megan while Heinz Beans dies on the plate. Loved how Cooper reasserted himself at episode’s end — he’s seemed increasingly marginalized and useless throughout the first few episodes, but we can’t forget his investment in the company itself and decades of experience. And he’s right — the honeymoon needs to end so Don can get back to work.
• Don and Megan’s disagreement; stressful to watch, but played out in a logical manner. Don drove away to teach Megan a lesson, but underestimated her independence that she would find her own way — something Betty would never have done. Don chasing her around the apartment indicates just how much Don wants to be with her, but it’s sadly unclear they’ll be able to hold things together.
• Never been to a Howard Johnson’s; now curious about clam strips and the 28 flavors (fruit salad?).

The Bad

While seeing Peggy botch a presentation and go on a bender was wholly entertaining, it seemed a little out of character for her to crash and burn in that manner — insulting a client in particular.

Conclusion

Really liked this episode. So far, my score card is three thumbs up and two meh (Tea Leaves, Mystery Date). More orange sherbet, please.

Next Episode: At The Codfish Ball
Previous Episode: Signal 30

= 4 stars

Starring Axel Jodorowsky, Blanca Guerra, Guy Stockwell
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Synopsis

Child circus performer Fenix (Axel Jodorowsky) witnesses a grisly conflict between his parents.

The Good

• Largely avoids bizarre for shock value’s sake (later David Lynch), as even the strangest visions bear a deeper symbolic meaning, the most apparent being a twisted Freudian story of parental conflict and a wounded, controlling mother — Fenix literally becomes his mother’s arms in a grotesque pantomime that is at simultaneously horrifying, funny, and beautiful. Certain odd moments with a psychological underpinning bear a primal visual poetry not unlike Bunel. These same subconscious themes also make the horror all the more frightening.
• More emotionally compelling and character driven than Jodorowsky’s other incomparable work, largely due the collectively shared familial theme and some solid acting by the director’s own son, Axel.
• Long list of chillingly unforgettable images: a tattooed woman licking knives, an elephant spouting blood through its trunk, the grim story of the Santa Sangre temple featuring a girl with no arms and a red swimming pool, a funeral procession with a grey-blue American flag, a man playing the piano for an armless mannequin of his mother, and the iconic mute girl in whiteface and black dress.

The Bad

• Long list of off-putting and potentially offensive content: religious satire, blood / gore, castration, perversions, incest, and pointless nudity. The one scene that personally crossed the line: giving Down syndrome children cocaine and hookers. Definitely not for everyone.

Conclusion

Even for the jaded cinephile, this straight-up bloody cocktail of Fellini, Bunel, Lynch, and Argento paints some truly unforgettable images on the screen. But what makes for an unforgettable horror experience is the unsettling realization that many of those images were already buried deep in one’s subconcious — merely brought to light by Jodorosky’s penetrating visions. Recommended.

IMDB: Santa Sangre
Wikipedia: Santa Sangre
Rotten Tomatoes: Santa Sangre

• Overseas made up a big portion of the bottom line, China in particular. Check #8 off the list.
• While all the focus is on newest products, a stealth profit center to watch will be the cheaper, older iPhones and iPads — Apple continues to sell the iPad 2 and iPhone 4 at lower price points with the subsided iPhone 3GS for free.
• The share price dip of last week is sure to be ancient history, personally lending ample evidence to JC’s manipulation theory. Someone just made a pile, here.
• Tim Cook put a damper on a personal fantasy of a MacBook Air that transforms into an iPad, saying “you can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those aren’t going to be pleasing to the user.”

I personally think things can only get better for the rest of the year. The entire Mac line is due for a refresh, iPhone 5 is certain to be a redesign as opposed to a “S” incremental upgrade, iPad will continue to hold off the tablet competition, and there’s a good chance of an entirely new product.

Because of its YouTube nature you should be able to play right here.

And so the speculation begins — if these new chips are to be slipped in via an “incremental” upgrade I could see new Macs being silently released this week just after earnings. But if rumors about a case redesign or retina display MacBooks are true, expect a longer wait.

I personally have my eye on a new Mac Mini so I hope that oft-neglected Mac receives an upgrade soon.

= 4 stars

Starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas, Zamira Saunders
Directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Synopsis

A Christ figure is recruited by a mystical alchemist to visit a holy mountain in search of enlightenment.

The Good

• Biting satire — capitalism, religion, and politics are amply skewered in segments intertwining mass production of religions icons hence watering down the original message, or creation of war toys to indoctrinate youth for future wars.
• Ends on a surprisingly high note just when I thought the whole enterprise was about to run out of steam, as one wonders how anything satisfying could await at the top of the mountain to outdo all the sacred and profane beauty that came before. Jodorowsky found a personally satisfying out.
• Bizarre imagery: soldier frogs buried under rivers of blood, a room lined with jars containing testicles, and birds and fruit emerging from wounded protesters. Occasionally, the surreal imagery becomes deeply symbolic and poetic, not unlike Bunuel.
• I was offended by particular moments like the Christ figure eating the face of a mannequin copy, but started to question why, as one of the core Christian beliefs is Christ’s disciples eating his body and drinking his blood at the Last Supper, which is an unsettling act if you think about it objectively. Another scene features wealthy capitalists reluctantly burning piles of money. We’re offended by the desecration of sacred images, but they’re just images — the nonsense tarot cards in the alchemist’s home indicate an image may only be sacrosanct due to context; its social significance.

The Bad

• With every institution torn to shreds, one wonders if Jodorowsky takes anything seriously.
• Gratuitous nudity and nefarious objects poking into unmentionable orofices.
• Character development and acting itself is buried beneath the surreal imagery.

Conclusion

Holy Mountain’s core contemplation is on the nature of religion itself, through symbolism, ritual, protection from evil and calming our deepest fears. Its ending provides the best justification for religion of all — an explanation for a world existing outside of what we consider reality. As Jodorowsky breaks through that fourth wall of cinema, he does something all religions strive to do — reveal the hand behind creation.

IMDB: The Holy Mountain
Wikipedia: The Holy Mountain
Rotten Tomatoes: The Holy Mountain

I do agree the season so far has been littered with violent imagery, death scares, and historical references to murder and shootings. Something’s coming to push the social changes of the late sixties into the SCDP offices. And we do have the ever-present man-falling-from-a-building in the credits that at some point, it would be cool to explain.

That said, near the end of season 4 there were predictions that Roger Sterling was not long for this earth, and that didn’t pan out. In fact, nobody saw Don marrying Megan. And there were clues indicating that development, however cleverly subtle.

I don’t think Pete will die. Lots of places his character could still go — conflict with Roger, he knows Don’s secret, his past with Peggy, and that self-awareness.

And there are plenty of other characters that seem better headed for the chopping block. Greg (100% lock), Betty, Cooper, and yeah, even the aforementioned Roger. All the old-fashioned folks that are more of the previous generation than the new.

Synopsis

Pete and Trudy throw a dinner party in the suburbs, and Lane tries to land a new client.

The Good

• Pete — the young, immature man-child from earlier seasons — now finds himself caught in an awkward middle age, too old to land a young college-age blonde, yet still young enough to be put in his place by someone older — either in basic plumbing or defending one’s honor with fists.
• Amusing comment on the city vs. suburbs — the American dream of moving away to raise kids, enduring a commute, worrying about crime — in a way, Pete is where Don was back in season one.
• Lane’s amusingly incompetent attempt to prove he’s more than just a numbers guy.
• Ken’s writing career seemed loosely related to the episode’s other themes, but came together nicely in the end with Roger’s advice that work should occupy him completely (just before Pete is shown how wrong that assumption is) and his odd story of a robot sabotaging a bridge.

The Bad

• Lane and Joan — oh please don’t make Joey’s porny picture a reality.

Conclusion

While I generally dislike Pete (“smarmy” is my best term) and feel he got what he deserved by episode’s end, I still felt sorry for him. The pummeling wasn’t enacted upon a hated, secondary character, but more importantly, Pete has shown some glimmers of self-awareness; that he knows what kind of man he’d like to be (glimmer of gratitude when Don covered for Pete’s share of the sinking company), but he can’t figure out how to rise above his baser, arrogant urge to be “the king.” It’s self-awareness that Don grasped onto in the middle of last season, making him want to better tomorrow than yesterday, or self-awareness that Betty completely lacks and hence leads her to blame everyone else for her unhappiness.

So this conflict within Pete makes him personally interesting. Maybe this is the bottom he needs to reach before taking things to a better direction, or perhaps he’ll self-destruct and lash out in some smarmy manner at the office (I’ve long had a bad feeling he’d use his knowledge of Don’s real identity as sabotage). Either way, it’ll be entertaining to watch.

Yeah, I wonder if Pete could be the robot who pulls a screw from a bridge.

Next Episode: Far Away Places
Previous Episode: Mystery Date

Yeah, I know it would be pretty shady of Apple to “borrow” some small company’s idea, but that’s happened before.

Synopsis

Don’s bad cold results in equally nasty dreams, and news of Chicago murders scare Sally.

The Good

• Don’s active past understandably weighs on his new marriage — Megan is justifiably nervous and the ball is in Don’s court to be faithful. Megan finding an old fling in their apartment creates a really spooky, horror mood, and there’s enough doubt as to whether the visits are real until Don does something uncharacteristic and unthinkable. But Don is no Speck murderer — the fever-vision represents his desire to destroy his womanizing past.
• Joan and Greg’s relationship finally ends, particularly cutting was that accordion, and Joan’s comment that Greg was never a good man — no doubt in reference to that uncomfortable office wrestling match. The stage is now set for a grisly end overseas.
• I wonder if Michael’s off-script presentation bothered Don not only because of its insubordination, but because Michael’s storytelling really grabbed the client’s attention in a Draper-esque way. Ginzo’s got something.
• Hardly any Fat Betty. Sally’s introduction to drugs may lead somewhere.
• Roger and Peggy’s “do something for me” conversation — his wad of money sure is thinning.

The Bad

• Expected the end of Joan and Greg’s relationship to be more drawn out.
• The overall creepy feel: scared to watch this episode ever again.

Conclusion

Creepy sexual violence connections the plot lines — all smart and psychologically fascinating, but the uncharacteristically scary vibe of this episode frankly, freaked me out. More Zou Bisou Bisou, please.

Next Episode: Signal 30
Previous Episode: Tea Leaves