Game of Advertising

[kmo]

 It's that time of year again when they air Mad Men and Game of Thrones on at the same time and I spend my Sunday evenings binging on tv and my Mondays in an internet black hole reading everyone's reaction posts. Man, are these shows begging for a crossover or what? Basically because I want Sally Draper and Arya Stark to be besties. Sally would learn that as much as it sucks to be a teenage girl in the 1960s, it sucks even more to be a teenage girl in Westeros. And Arya could add Don Draper to her growing collection of inappropriate father figures, maybe offer up Pete Campbell to the God of Many Faces. It would be awesome. (actually Pete is too much fun to receive the "gift"...Joan's ex-husband on the other hand....)

• • • I loved the overall feel of the premiere...it was like a movie, really. Just all these loosely connected character elements building on each other. And the hot/cold imagery borrowed from Dante's Inferno- where the innermost circle of hell is the coldest one. I was also reminded of the poem about the world ending in either fire or ice. 
    • I also totally get why a lot of people find Mad Men super fucking depressing. What do you mean you don't enjoy a bunch of white characters navel gazing about their high class problems and existential ennui in gorgeous period dress?
    • Love love love that Betty actually got to act like a decent human being for a change. I think Betty's a terrible mom, but in the early seasons I always felt sorry for her, too. I feel like since her divorce with Don there has been less sympathetic Betty moments. I like that the show brought a little of that back. Perhaps with Henry, who really loves her as she is, Betty can finally grow and change. 
    • Though WTF was that ish about raping Sally's friend as a way to spice things up? Who slipped Betty 50 Shades of Grey? 
    • Peggy as the new Don was PERF. Ladies being competent- always my favorite thing. 
    • At first I thought Don was striking up a bromance with the surgeon, contrasting Don's work (as professional snake oil salesman) with the real lifesaving work as a surgeon. So quite a reveal that actually it's Don boning Mrs. Doctor, he's back to his old ways again because he is a dog and a miserable human being who can't change. 

YAY Jaime and Brienne! They were so wonderful together, everything I had ever hoped to see onscreen. So fun to watch her kick his ass! Though I wonder how it's going to play out now that they seem to have written out the Brave Companions. 

Margaery, you are my new favorite thing. The writers have outdone themselves in you. i nearly choked when she told Joffrey she was "ignorant of politics." *snort* I feel like the set-up to Joffrey's murder is more deliberate here. And I wonder if they are actually going to make us feel a bit sympathetic toward him before he bites it. My favorite parts of the show seem to be when they write "missing scenes," fleshing out events that happened offscreen in the books. Perhaps because those moments are new to me and i get to enjoy them for the first time without comparing them to the books. 

The boy from Love Actually is perfect as Jojen. The Jojen-Bran-Meera quest is one of my fave book storylines, so I'm excited to see it here. 

I'm really not a fan of what they are doing with Catelyn and Robb. But damn if Michelle Fairley doesn't sell every line she's given. I'll be honest, Catelyn never "popped" for me in the books but she is so strong onscreen. With Jon Snow, I feel it is the opposite. His stuff is really dragging for me in the show. 

I'm not sure how I feel about what they are doing with Arya's character. Arya is my fave by far and I love Maisie Williams to pieces. But in general they are dialing down her violence. She still seems like a rebellious little scamp- i don't know how they are going to make her transition to cold blooded murderer believable. This is the girl who is going to Boarding School for Assassins in two seasons. 

 

Comments

[likeadeuce]

My Mad Men observations mostly consisted of noting things like -- Don complaining about love being trivialized in advertising. Does he even REMEMBER the guy who said that love was invented by people like him to sell pantyhose. And then Don's accidental deathwish showing up in the Hawaii ad. (Wasn't it Pete who wanted to talk about death wishes in season 1 and Don chewed him out?) And then Megan bringing out the carousel, which Don waxed so rhapsodic about in the pitch meeting -- and people groaning but then an ACTUAL transcendent moment happening when Megan pulled out the wedding picture.

I mean, there's a very good argument the show is too far up its own ass -- the death wish ad looks an awful lot like the opening credits of the show; the photographer tells Don to pose thoughtfully while looking out a window which THE SHOW JUST SHOWED HIM DOING. Don is feeling around suitcases in the storage room, the suitcase having featured almost as prominently as the carousel. But, well, you know, I kind of like the up-its-own-ass stuff; I don't mind self-indulging.

And I'm glad Betty actually got a plot where she was proactive about something -- and then several other things. (Seriously, THIS SHOW. Roger makes a throwaway comment about blonde women dying their hair; the guy at the flophouse makes a more pointed comment at Betty; Betty shows up in her last scene with dark hair.)

Also, also, also -- Sally's not lisping anymore. It took me several speeches by her to figure out why she sounded different but there it is. (Megan? Still lisping. I wonder if she has to take diction classes for her role as evil soap lady).

So, yeah, I could "minutiae of MAD MEN" forever.

Game of Thrones is much simpler -- Jaime/Brienne road trip is all I could want; Olenna and the Tyrell ladies are pure genius. I'm enjoying other parts too, though they don't make me want to jump up and squee. (The scene with Catelyn and Talisa was the only really off note to me -- I don't have a problem with Talis as a character the way I know some people do, but that was a very weird story for Cat to be telling at that time, and a weird person for her to be telling it to. If they're going to have a moment, I'd rather it wasn't all about Jon Snow.)

[kmo]

I had totally forgotten the "love is an invention to sell floorwax" line! But you know, as much as Don is cynical about stuff like that, I think he does believe that his ads need to tap into real emotions to work. As he does with the carousel pitch- and it was great to see the show return to that again and have Don be fairly dismissive of it. I don't know if that's meant to imply that Don's life as a father > new life with Megan, or if Don can only feel transcendent about family in the context of his work rather than real life.

I kind of like the up-its-own-ass stuff; I don't mind self-indulging I agree! And with six seasons, it can afford to be self-referential. I really enjoy the layering. And especially at the beginning of the season, you have no idea where it's going, you just need to let it wash all over you.

The only thing I really missed was Joan. Not enough Joan. But I did enjoy Ken Cosgrove being tough!

Re: GoT Jaime/Brienne are just fantastic. They have amazing chemistry. But yeah...Catelyn/Talisa jusr felt off. Maybe the speech would have been better delivered to Edmure or Brynden- someone she's actually close to? Sometimes the show handles exposition well (like the Margaery/Joffrey scene...) but this was off.