Watch Me Watch Todd VanDerWerff Watch: Mad Men 5.9 -- "Dark Shadows"

I have a bit of a problem with Todd VanDerWerff. He brings to mind one or two people in my life that I love dearly, but want to strangle on occasion. I like to think that if he and I were to meet, we'd hit it off immediately, and almost as immediately dissolve into an argument on why or why not The Hulk is the most important character in the Marvel Universe (i.e. because his power is limited only by his rage and how well he can control it, which in theory makes his power unlimited--something Todd VanDerWerff can NEVER UNDERSTAND). Basically we agree on a lot of things, but disagree on a lot of nitpicky details. This actually makes it a little infuriating that he seems to review all of my favorite shows at The AV Club's TV Club. Which brings us to this episode of Mad Men I just watched...

"Dark Shadows" follows an incredible stretch of Mad Men episodes (something which Mr. VDW and I wholeheartedly agree on), episodes that weave a theme through their storylines almost effortlessly. But according to his article from The AV Club, something seems to have been lost in this episode, as if Matthew Weiner, In His Infinite wisdome and God Bless His Name and Talents, forgot what he was doing for a moment and decided to plop out a mediocre episode that failed to achieve the stratospheric highs of the preterite 8 episodes. Okay, a "B" grade isn't that bad, but I think some crucial thematic points may have been overlooked.

I won't disagree that this episode is in fact "the most scattered episode yet." But in a season so single minded (thus far, anyway), any deviance from the norm could be misinterpreted as a misstep. Each episode has had it's own theme, and chooses a variety of topics to explore that theme, like an anachronistic "This American Life." So far, it's been about the Us v. Them topic of Young v. Old, the oddball 60s shouldering their way into Don Draper's (and others') periphery, forcing our leads to adapt or die; and as I've mentioned, the season has been quite single minded about that theme. What I believe is overlooked in this review of this episode is that while things may not be so black and white as Young v. Old, things are still very much Us v. Them as they ever were, and that strikes out the notion that Matthew Weiner could ever be so simple-minded as to commit to a single thematic element and stick solely to it without expanding on it in the slightest. Praise His Name.

Obviously, I'm behind here. I'm watching however many weeks past the water-cooler's "View By" date, but I'm responding as I witness it, which (somehow) keeps my opinion fresh. Again, though, I will agree that "Dark Shadows" doesn't seem quite as cohesive as former episodes, if only because the storylines are so seemingly disparate. But the thematic cohesion is just as present as it has been all season. When Don picks his own copy over the recently-realized threat Ginsberg's, it's not a Young v. Old move, it's a Me v. You move. When Betty bitchily drops the "Oh your father had a wife before me, ask his NEW wife about it, see what she tells you" bomb, it's the same thing. I suppose where the episode fails is in the dregs of detail that sift to the bottom: Pete's little daydream, Roger and Jane's post-divorce break-up sex, and Sally's continuing "I'm a big girl now" storyline all take the Us v. Them theme and dumb it down to boilerplate filler. See the bargaining between Roger and Jane for a new apartment, Sally's lashing out at Megan for being able to fake-cry and, by extension, lie (or "act" as Megan might call it), and Pete's... well, Pete just needed something to do this week. So he got a sexy scene with some side-boob. Good for Pete. All the runner stories are simply superficial plot development, but the competition element is ever-present.

It may be the simple fact that the characters have finally, for a moment, fallen out of sync with each other. Roger and Pete both had major, game-changing events occur to them recently, and their respective lives have to catch up to that this week. Don, Megan, and Betty's individual conflicts have yet to boil over (or have boiled over many times ["Yeah, you clean that carpet in your underwear while I feed you orange sherbet. Yeah."] and are still simmering dangerously hotter), and so the thematic importance of their actions this week are heightened. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that where the episode seems scattered in theme is really where the episode is scattered in level of emotion. The episode serves its function, but the highs and lows are more disparate than the harmonious resonance of the previous few weeks.

The beauty of Mad Men is that any analysis could be considered "correct." These are complex people we're dealing with, even when they act with simple pettiness and petulance. But it has always been a show defined by the episodic structure, and achieves beautiful results by treating each episode, as VDW suggests, as a short story that contributes to a larger thematic whole. I just don't think this episode is as large a thematic misstep as might be perceived. Maybe I'm being similarly petty and petulant calling out Todd VanDerWerff for being "wrong." I know you're not wrong Todd. I just have a differing opinion. Wanna fight about it? Me v. You. Sundown. Be there.