Mad Men Season 4, Episode 11: "Chinese Wall"

This episode was almost entirely focused on the agency, as Lucky Strike's decision to take its business away from SCDP got out (given what we already know about Lee Garner Jr., did you really think he would keep his 30-day promise to Roger?) and began to affect their relationships with other clients. Only two episodes left--wait, what?

[Standard disclaimer: I have avoided reading any other recaps, writeups, or other commentary on this episode before writing this, so if I express something similar to thoughts you've read elsewhere, it's entirely a coincidence. If you have not watched the episode, assume there are spoilers ahead and act accordingly.]

After this dramatic development emerged last week, I was thinking that I would have expected it to ramp up closer to the end of the season, as has been the case with the agency storylines in the past two seasons, so I guess we should be expecting at least one or two more twists in the story before this season is done.

The other thing I thought of after last week's writeup is Conrad Hilton: Hilton Hotels would be a large enough client to keep the agency afloat. I admit that it seems sort of obvious, but Hilton did tell Don that he hoped they could work together again at some point, and the show has a tendency to revisit significant characters, so maybe Don reaches out to him.

If you're the sort who likes to dig really deep for possible signs or clues, let me point out that when Roger called Joan during his faked trip to try to salvage the Lucky Strike account, he told her he was staying at the Statler, the full name of which at the time was the Statler Hilton (it's now the Hotel Pennsylvania, across from Madison Square Garden).

Speaking of Roger, he's a mess. The loss of his only real work-related responsibility has left him questioning his identity, his self-worth, and his very existence (he made vague noises about ending his life last week) and his partners certainly feel that he has let them down. Even Joan, who probably understands Roger better than anybody, is no comfort to him when he needs her--she has her own reasons for feeling that way, but she made it clear she's with the others regarding the agency's situation as well, and she sees what I think maybe Roger doesn't, at least not yet: that he brought this on himself.

When Roger finally goes home, to the person who should be his primary source of comfort, he looks and acts like he doesn't even want to be there. Jane shows him his memoir (vanity published, it would seem)--well-intentioned, but at the worst possible moment. And it's obvious he hasn't told her a thing about what's going on at work. I couldn't help but think that if Roger had stuck with Mona (and stayed faithful to her), she would have been able to give him the support and comfort he so desperately needed at that moment.

Don would have liked some comfort from Faye, but they had a disagreement about business ethics, which made his behavior with Megan even more ethically questionable than it would otherwise have been. I'm not necessarily trying to be a defender of Don here, but I could see how Faye might have made him think she wanted to break up with him, and Megan really threw herself at Don, and he did make at least a token attempt to resist, but can a man really resist a woman in that situation?

Megan made it clear that she knew what she was doing. She is certainly more self-possessed than lovestruck Allison; in fact, she acted like a man, and on some level I think that bluntness, that open display of her desire, was what Don was responding to. But I suspect Megan wants something, in the way that Jane wanted what Roger could give her.

And then Don goes home and finds Faye in the process of slipping a note under his door, so of course we're supposed to think she is breaking up with him, but no--she's arranged a meeting for him with a potential client. Now Don has to lie to another woman, after he's tried to be (at least partially) honest with her, and after she's decided to breach her Chinese wall for him.

Parallels again: both Faye and Megan seem to be trying to help Don keep his drinking under control. Jane snugged up against Roger on the sofa, then in the next scene Faye did exactly the same thing with Don.

Meanwhile, Peggy takes it to the next level with Abe, who still hasn't quite learned when to keep his mouth shut (she points this out to him), and floats into work late the next day, all dreamy until she learns what's happened. She reacts as though it's some sort of punishment--Catholic guilt, still undefeated--but that struck me as somewhat out of proportion. Peggy's had four or five lovers that we know of, so does she always feel this way the first time she has sex with someone?

To the surprise of exactly no one, Stan manages to be an even bigger jerk. Payback's a bitch, buddy. Plus, Lucky Strike's exit--assuming the agency survives--opens the door for the possible return of Sal Romano. Who would you rather work with?