Far Away Places (22 Apr. 2012)

A peaceful hotel getaway ends in disaster for Don and Megan, an LSD trip could have a disastrous effect on Roger's marriage, and Peggy loses her cool after an unsuccessful pitch meeting.

Director:

Scott Hornbacher

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Semi Chellas,

Stars:

Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Hamm	...	Don Draper
Elisabeth Moss	...	Peggy Olson
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Pete Campbell
January Jones	...	Betty Francis (credit only)
Christina Hendricks	...	Joan Harris (credit only)
Jared Harris	...	Lane Pryce (credit only)
Aaron Staton	...	Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer	...	Harry Crane (credit only)
Kiernan Shipka	...	Sally Draper
Jessica Paré	...	Megan Draper
Christopher Stanley	...	Henry Francis (credit only)
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Stan Rizzo
Robert Morse	...	Bertram Cooper
John Slattery	...	Roger Sterling
Peyton List	...	Jane Sterling

Storyline

The same day is seen through the eyes of three people: Peggy, Roger and Don. The start for the day is the same for all three: Roger invites Don on a boys only romp to visit the business of a client - the Howard Johnson's in Plattsburg - so that Roger can avoid an evening out with Jane later that evening. Don instead invites Megan to go along, which means that both Don and Megan will be abandoning the Heinz team at their pitch meeting that day, leaving that responsibility to Peggy, and that Roger is left out in the cold with regard to the Howard Johnson's outing. An incident at the Heinz pitch meeting leaves Peggy contemplating both her professional life at SCDP and her personal life with Abe. A second incident at Don and Megan's outing leaves Megan wondering if she can have both a professional and personal life with Don, or if she even wants anything to do with Don, while Don tries to regain some lost control over the situation and a situation brought to his attention the following ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate Television, Weiner Bros.

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the "Inside Episode 506" video produced by AMC, showrunner Matthew Weiner says that Peggy's actions during this episode (pitching a campaign to a client; insulting the client's taste in a confrontational way; going to a movie in the middle of the workday; having an anonymous sexual encounter) represent her idea of what a typical day in Don Draper's life must be like. Weiner says: "Peggy has this moment where she tries to be Don and fails, and then goes and has Peggy's version of Don's day: sexually irresponsible and drunk and working."

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Connections

References The Naked Prey (1966)

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Soundtracks

"I Want to Hold Your Hand"
written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney
whistled by Jon Hamm
originally performed by The Beatles

User Reviews

A brilliant episode showing three separate story lines all stemming from one minor event

What an interesting week we had with the ad men at Sterling/Cooper/Draper/Pryce. In an episode that felt like "Run Lola Run" where we reset back to a specific point in time during the show to tell a different story, this week's episode of "Mad Men" gave us a look at three major story lines separated by three different characters.

First off, we had Peggy's storyline. Peggy has really been frustrated the last few weeks of the show as she feels she is disrespected as a woman and a young copy/writer. Most of her frustration stems from the Heinz account she is dealing with. After Don pulls Megan out of the office for the day (remember this scene), Peggy is left to do the presentation with only one other partner. Though she has put together a very strong campaign on two separate occasions, she cannot please her client. She gives him what he wants, but he is never satisfied. Angry about the constant negative answer with positive feedback, Peggy lashes out at the Heinz chairman. She is kicked off the account and decides to leave for the day and see a movie.

Going to the theater alone, although her boyfriend had suggested seeing the movie together earlier in the day, Peggy smokes some of the wacky with a stranger in the theater and before you know it she has her hand down his pants. This seems to be the outward demonstration of Peggy enjoying the feeling of satisfying people and being in power. Afterward, she washes up, goes back to the office, falls asleep, and is awoken by a phone call from Don who asks her if she has heard anything. Peggy assumes this is about the Heinz debacle, but it is not at all.

We go back to that moment when Don pulls Megan from the meeting when we start to follow Roger. Roger leaves the office after talking with Don and goes to a party with his wife where a group of adults will take LSD together. At first very tentative to go through with it, Roger ends up taking the drugs and starts to have some crazy things happen to him. In one of the funniest scenes in "Mad Men" history, Roger hears Russian vocals blare as he opens a bottle of vodka, smokes an entire cigarette in a one second drag, and sits in his tub laughing as he thinks he is watching the 1919 World Series. Finally, as the trip starts to settle down, Roger and his wife talk in each other's arms, both admitting that they had once loved each other, but that they need to move on. Their marriage is over.

The next morning, the couple awakes and Roger explains what they had talked about the night before. Remembering, his wife realizes that their relationship really is over. They quietly sit before Roger stands and leaves.

To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/mad-men-5-6-far-away-places/