The Good News (S4x03)
Airdate: 8 August 2010
Written by: Matthew Weiner & Jonathan Abrahams Directed by: Jennifer Getzinger
Running Time: 48 minutes
For its first three seasons, Mad Men basked in the near-unanimous adoration of critics, who hailed Matthew Weiner’s period drama as a masterpiece of television. Yet, as the fourth season began, a subtle but perceptible shift occurred in the critical consensus. The bloom was, if not entirely off the rose, certainly beginning to wilt. The third episode of the season, The Good News, became the first instance where the chorus of enthusiasm was notably muted, and a nagging question began to surface in reviews and recaps: had Matthew Weiner, like his protagonist Don Draper, lost his creative “mojo”? The episode was not bad, but it felt like a stumble, a moment of uncertainty from a show that had previously seemed so sure-footed.
The episode is set around the New Year of 1965, and its central storyline finds Don Draper, alone and depressed in his bachelor pad, telling anyone who will listen that he plans to spend the remaining days of 1964 vacationing in Acapulco. This is, of course, a lie. Instead, he takes a detour to California, to visit his quasi-wife and old friend, Anna Draper, the only person who knows the truth of his stolen identity and who has always understood him without judgement. For Don, California has always been a precious getaway, a liberating escape from the tiresome entanglements of his corporate life and the wreckage of his family life. It is the place where he can shed the skin of Don Draper and be Dick Whitman, if only for a while. Yet, in a significant departure from the show’s established pattern, this visit marks the first time he leaves the West Coast in worse shape than when he arrived.
His stay at Anna’s home begins pleasantly enough. He is greeted by Anna’s sister, Patty (Susan Leslie), and her college-attending daughter, Stephanie (Cathy Lotz). Stephanie is young, spirited, and attractive, wearing skimpy clothes and enthusiastically embracing the burgeoning counterculture of the 1960s, whether it be political protests or marijuana. Don, feeling rejuvenated by the liberated atmosphere of the West Coast, cannot resist the opportunity to flirt with her. But Stephanie is not impressed, and she delivers a devastating blow: Anna has terminal cancer. The family has deliberately chosen not to tell her, hoping to allow her to die in peace. Don is sworn to secrecy. He initially resolves to spend extra time with Anna, to savour what little time remains. But in the end, he simply cannot cope with the emotional weight. He flees back to New York, leaving Anna blissfully unaware that they have just seen each other for the last time.
The other storyline of the episode concerns Joan Holloway and her increasingly fraught marital situation. A scene in a doctor’s office reveals that Joan wants to get pregnant, but is deeply concerned about the potential complications from her two previous abortions, as well as the very real prospect of her husband, Greg, being sent to Vietnam. She attempts to secure some extra vacation time from the overworked Lane Pryce, but he refuses. Later, she receives a bouquet of flowers and an apology note from Lane, which prompts her to storm into his office, only to discover it was a mix-up. The package was intended for Lane’s wife, and his incompetent secretary, Sandy (Bayne Gibney), sent it to Joan by mistake. Joan’s reaction is swift and brutal: she fires Sandy on the spot. The emotional climax of her storyline comes when she accidentally cuts herself while making breakfast for Greg. He immediately takes charge, expertly “fixing her up” with a bandage, demonstrating a skill and tenderness that is entirely absent from their emotional life. The sight of this small, competent kindness is so jarring and so painful that it makes Joan cry.
Don, at a loss for what to do with himself, ends up in the otherwise empty SCDP offices, where Lane is still working. It does not take much time or alcohol for Don to realise that Lane is in a similarly dire situation: his wife has left him and will not be returning from England. The two men decide to comfort each other with a classic night out on the town, involving heavy drinking, an expensive restaurant, a trip to the cinema, and a visit to a comedy club. There, an unknown comedian (Will Janowitz) mistakes them for a homosexual couple, a moment of awkward humour that is quickly defused when they are joined by a call-girl, Candace, and her colleague, Janine (Elaine Carroll). The night ends at Don’s apartment, where Lane has sex with Janine and later pays her extra for her service. The episode closes the next morning, with the SCDP leadership assembled in the conference room, and Joan asking them, “Gentlemen, shall we begin 1965?”
+The Good News+ is a solid episode, but it feels like a misstep. Matthew Weiner, who co-wrote the script with Jonathan Abrahams, gives the impression of trying too hard to engineer a tonal shift following the dark overtones of the previous episode, but he apparently lacks the conviction to see it through. Don’s vacation, which was supposed to rejuvenate him, ends with another devastating revelation, but the way it is handled feels soapish and brings too much bathos to the proceedings. The emotional weight of Anna’s impending death is undercut by the melodramatic reveal and Don’s subsequent flight, which feels less like a profound character moment and more like a plot device to get him back to New York.
Weiner does provide a light at the end of the tunnel, ironically, when Don returns to New York and has his “Boys’ Own Adventure” with Lane, which is presented in a largely humorous fashion. This segment, however, is spoiled by a glaring anachronism. The film the two men watch is Gamera, the 1965 Japanese monster classic, which was actually released later in the year than the episode’s setting. This is a major faux pas for a series that has prided itself on its meticulous attention to period detail, and it is the kind of error that breaks the immersion for attentive viewers.
Ultimately, the episode is saved by Christina Hendricks, whose storyline finally gives her character something substantial to do after being tragically underused in the previous season. Joan’s arc is the emotional core of the episode, and Hendricks delivers a performance of quiet desperation and simmering rage that is far more compelling than Don’s maudlin journey. Her storyline provides the genuine emotional weight that the rest of the episode strives for but fails to achieve. The Good News is a reminder that even the best shows can stumble, and that sometimes, the supporting cast is the only thing holding the whole thing together.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
==
Blog in Croatian https://draxblog.com Blog in English https://draxreview.wordpress.com/ InLeo blog https://inleo.io/@drax.leo Substack https://draxster.substack.com/
LeoDex: https://leodex.io/?ref=drax InLeo: https://inleo.io/signup?referral=drax.leo Hiveonboard: https://hiveonboard.com?ref=drax 1Inch: https://1inch.exchange/#/r/0x83823d8CCB74F828148258BB4457642124b1328e
BTC donations: 1EWxiMiP6iiG9rger3NuUSd6HByaxQWafG ETH donations: 0xB305F144323b99e6f8b1d66f5D7DE78B498C32A7 BCH donations: qpvxw0jax79lhmvlgcldkzpqanf03r9cjv8y6gtmk9