After the incredible strong finish to Season Three, I expected Season Four of "Mad Men" to get back to its storytelling perfection. That being said, even I was surprised how quickly I gobbled up each of these episodes, watching them at a pace not experienced since the first campaign!
Some highlights from this season include (some spoilers here):
-The new ad company (so hastily conceived towards the end of the previous season) struggling with all the things that a new business typically struggles with (overhead, payroll, keeping clients happy, etc.). -Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the lynchpin of the show's character drama, goes on more of an emotional rollercoaster than perhaps any other season, from drinking problems to marital issues (and solutions?) to child-raising quandaries. -Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) really finding her place in a "man's world". She isn't the sheepish wallflower of seasons past in this season. -The former Betty Draper (January Jones) trying to control her home life while her personal life is going the other direction.
This season is so good because it also works concurrently on two different levels. The micro-level sees great individual episodes, including an office Christmas party, a long night at the office from Don & Peggy, a rekindling of romance between Joan (Christina Hendricks) & Roger (John Slattery) and a bombshell announcement that changes the entire landscape of the advertising culture.
On the macro-level, the Don/Betty dynamic is utterly fascinating, primarily embodied via daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka). Whereas in earlier seasons Don was set up as the "hopeless womanizer" with Betty "holding everything together", viewers now begin to understand that those characterizations are not as black-and-white as they seem. Like I've said in other reviews about this series, the show is always at its peak when Don is the major focus. He doesn't "do it alone", but any means, but it is his journey that gets the most attention (and thus is what us as viewers want the most resolution too).
Basically, this fourth season of "Mad Men" cemented the series as one of my favorite shows of all-time. Can it get a bit soapy at times? Yes...no way around it. But the characters are so interesting and feel so "alive" that one almost can't help but be sucked into the drama.
Some highlights from this season include (some spoilers here):
-The new ad company (so hastily conceived towards the end of the previous season) struggling with all the things that a new business typically struggles with (overhead, payroll, keeping clients happy, etc.). -Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the lynchpin of the show's character drama, goes on more of an emotional rollercoaster than perhaps any other season, from drinking problems to marital issues (and solutions?) to child-raising quandaries. -Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) really finding her place in a "man's world". She isn't the sheepish wallflower of seasons past in this season. -The former Betty Draper (January Jones) trying to control her home life while her personal life is going the other direction.
This season is so good because it also works concurrently on two different levels. The micro-level sees great individual episodes, including an office Christmas party, a long night at the office from Don & Peggy, a rekindling of romance between Joan (Christina Hendricks) & Roger (John Slattery) and a bombshell announcement that changes the entire landscape of the advertising culture.
On the macro-level, the Don/Betty dynamic is utterly fascinating, primarily embodied via daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka). Whereas in earlier seasons Don was set up as the "hopeless womanizer" with Betty "holding everything together", viewers now begin to understand that those characterizations are not as black-and-white as they seem. Like I've said in other reviews about this series, the show is always at its peak when Don is the major focus. He doesn't "do it alone", but any means, but it is his journey that gets the most attention (and thus is what us as viewers want the most resolution too).
Basically, this fourth season of "Mad Men" cemented the series as one of my favorite shows of all-time. Can it get a bit soapy at times? Yes...no way around it. But the characters are so interesting and feel so "alive" that one almost can't help but be sucked into the drama.