Mad Men: Waterloo

When it was over, I said, "Well, that was shameless."

And the Lemon Girl said, "In a good way or a bad way?"

Very much in a good way.

They faked us out. They certainly faked me out. I could see nothing but darkness. And I'm just thrilled for having been fooled.

I have nothing but stray bullets this week

• One of the things about the 1960s, if you were a kid like me, Matt Weiner or James Lileks is that the experience we lived doesn't match the PBS documentary, the Time retrospective or what you would get if you took one of those easy-credit courses on the culture of the 1960s at college. We lived a different life that revolved around school, girls, the usual challenges of adolescence, syndicated TV shows that we watched after school, moon landings and fast food chains. That is the 1960s we see on Mad Men, especially last night.
• I love Don's visions and have missed them now that he doesn't have flashbacks anymore. Bert's song and dance number was perfect.
• Did you notice, by the way, that Weiner did with the whole show what Don does with the Carousel pitch? The show connected with us on an emotional level using the pain of nostalgia. Perfect!
• There is something about Harry. Everyone acted in their own interest last night. There was a moment just before takeoff, when Peggy makes the sign of the cross. Harry beside her, thinks she is worried about their safety. Peggy is actually worried about the astronauts but not, as we might guess, for their sake. What worries her is that they'll have to postpone the campaign if the moon mission fails. If the roles were reversed, we'd see it as more reason to hate Harry.
• The pilot of the plane talks just like Neil Armstrong. He uses that same flat delivery. We know why, of course, because we've all read The Right Stuff.
• It never but never occurred to me to think of Bert as the Napoleon character until the shot of Roger removing his name tag. At the same time, even though it never occurred to me, it made perfect sense in retrospect. That's good story telling. I love being taken for a ride like that.
• I'll also admit that I like it when the people I like, and the moral views I endorse, are vindicated by my favourite show. I was thrilled to see Roger take charge. Roger is my favourite character for the very simple reason that he and I have a lot in common.
• On that subject, might I point out how good a man Don Draper is? They, meaning people who do recaps,  just hate him all over the Internet but he is a good man. By that I mean three things:

1. He's is good.
2. He is good at being a man
3. He reminds us that a man is a good thing.

• Final note for now: I'll also claim complete vindication on Peggy's religiosity. It's not just the sign of the cross on the plain but the complete Burger Chef pitch. It's a religious view of life she pushes in her pitches and her campaigns.
• The most uncool thing of all, when it comes to Mad Men, is to keep talking about it a week after the season is ended. I, of course, will do that either later this week or next week.