Holy crap!! That scene when the new British account person Guy MacKendrick gets his foot sliced was simply unbelievable. I've watched lots of violent shows and movies with exceedingly bloody scenes, but this had to rank near the top. This was more shocking than anything on Fringe whose first intent is to be shocking. Driving a lawn mower in an office was never a good idea, and I knew something bad might happen, but that? The blood and the screaming was so overwhelming I had to pause it, recollect myself, and rewatch the 10 seconds. I would like to add an addendum to the episode title: Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency and Gets His Foot Chopped Off. The discussion of the incident after, priceless.
We got to see the consequence of Eugene's death on Sally. She shows an obvious dislike of baby Gene not wanting to touch him or even look at him. Sally had this weird notion of reincarnation regarding the baby. Same name, same look. I guess it would be reasonable for Sally to be frightened of the aspect. The most difficult parts of the episode to watch was when Betty tried to deal with Sally. First, she shows Sally a present from "Gene," and tries convincing Sally it's really from Gene and not from her. She's so cold in the scene with her blatant lie and absolute lack of effort to connect on an emotional level. Her words in the end sum it up perfectly "She's a child, she'll get over it."
Sorry Betty, but I think it's time for you to get over it. Her insistence of calling the baby Gene even though it upsets Sally is childish. Yes, it keeps the memory of Gene alive, constant reminders of name should do that, and that's fine. The problem is that because the name upsets Sally, she should talk to Sally and explain things to her. That's why Betty is a parent and Sally is the child. Even so, she makes no effort to comfort Sally and in the end, Don is the savior.
Joan's troubles finally come to a head as she prepares to leave the agency. Her husband doesn't get chief residency and will never become a surgeon unless he practices in Georgia, and no one wants to work there. If they are to survive financially, Joan needs a job. Unfortunately, there's no way she could take back her job. The shame involved would be too great for someone like Joan. By the way Joan saved Guy, she's probably not going anywhere, but I wonder how far her home life has to slide before she tucks her tail and comes back to Sterling-Cooper.
A large part of the episode dealt with the British executives taking a trip over the pond. Cooper is speculating of what will happen and tells Don they have been paying close attention to him and even suggests of a London job for Don. The whole time, Don has a WTF look on his face, clearly not understanding what is going on. It turns out that there is a restructuring headed by Guy MacKendrick. As we know, his foot gets cut off, and his career is also cut off. I guess someone else is getting a promotion. Don perhaps?
Six episodes in and lots of people including me have been talking about the pacing which has kind of been aimless. It looks like there's going to be changes at SC including possibly courting Conrad Hilton whose identity was confirmed this week. Fresh off an Emmy win, Mad Men is doing great and still impressing me.
Score: 9.4/10
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