Arts: Mad Men, Season 5

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Tv Club Mad Men, Season 5 Where the monsters dwell. By Julia Turner Posted Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012, at 12:47 PM ET Gents, Sold! John, you're very persuasive on the episode's flaws. Although the mood was powerfully creepy, and Joan's ouster of Greg was sweet, the theme at the episode's core—something about women, desire, and darkness—felt hastily sketched. One theory: This was an episode about where monsters dwell. Usually, they live under the bed, out of sight, scaring us only when we think about them. But in the Richard Speck murders, one of the most disturbing details was that the one nurse who survived found refuge under a bed. This notion of her cowering in her confined hiding space while violence consumed every other room of the house is, perhaps, a metaphor for the topsy-turviness of America in 1966. Riots, strikes, and murders are in the news, and there's a sense that violence and wildness have been unleashed into formerly safe expanses—that refuge is hard to find. But if that's the case, what are we to make of Ginsberg's Cinderella nonsense? We had a lot of fetching slippers in this episode: In addition to Andrea's red stiletto, Peggy had some enviable green slingbacks up on that desk of hers, and Joan lifted one stylish pump off the ground when she greeted Greg, in a pantomime of a homecoming embrace. But the episode didn't use these motifs any more deftly than Ginsberg does in his hasty pitch. Women want to get caught? But Joan didn't stay with Greg because she ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Why Is the Sex in HBO's Girls Such a Drag? Tulsa Shootings Offer More Evidence That Our Gun Laws Endanger Black Americans Patent Trolls Are Even Worse Than You Think—Here's Why	Advertisement
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