Television Review: Lady Lazarus (Mad Men, S5x08, 2012)
Lady Lazarus (S5x08)
Airdate: 6 May 2012
Written by: Matthew Weiner
Directed by: Phil Abraham
Running Time: 48 minutes
Even with television series and seasons famed for their high quality, there are always episodes that are worse than others. In the case of Mad Men, Season 5 episode Lady Lazarus, the reason for its relatively low quality might be its transitional nature, serving merely as a bridge to advance the plot from point A to point B within the general scheme of things without delivering anything remotely original or memorable. While the episode features competent direction and performances, it struggles to justify its existence beyond mechanical storytelling, with the Pete Campbell subplot feeling like little more than filler material that adds little to the overarching narrative.
The episode, set in October 1966, begins with Pete Campbell in the company of Howard Dawes (Jeff Clarke), an insurance agent with whom he has struck up a friendship on his daily commute. Howard attempts to pitch Pete his own insurance policy, but Pete is smug, convinced that his partnership contract at SCDP already covers him. Howard is also quite open about his private life, detailing the apartment and mistress he maintains in New York City despite his marriage. This dynamic sets the stage for Pete’s familiar pattern of inadequacy. One evening, while returning home, Pete stumbles upon Howard’s wife, Beth (Alexis Bledel), who has apparently locked her keys in her car. He volunteers to drive her home, and soon afterwards, she invites him in for a tryst while Howard is absent. Pete is eager to continue the affair, but Beth is adamant that it is a one-time thing. After failing to get Beth to return his calls, Pete agrees to sign the insurance policy in Howard’s home only to see Beth and invite her to a rendezvous at a New York hotel room. When she stands him up, Pete feels miserable, his masculinity and ego bruised once again.
The other, more prominent storyline deals with Megan, who is apparently hiding secret appointments from Don, much to Peggy’s displeasure, as she is left covering for her. Megan later explains to Peggy that she has received offers to audition for off-Broadway plays and that she never ceased to dream about an acting career, despite her success as a copywriter at SCDP. In the end, Megan decides to confess to Don, revealing that she wishes to quit her job to pursue acting. Don is surprised but appears supportive, appreciative of her honesty and immediately delegating Megan’s previous task for Cool Whip campaign to Peggy. However, during the taste testing with Peggy and Ken Cosgrove, it turns out that Peggy is significantly worse at the task than Megan, leading to angry words between the two.
Another side storyline involves clients who demand that the ad campaign include a Beatles or Beatles-like song. Don complains to Megan that he does not understand the popular music of the time nor why it has become so important. Megan, being younger, volunteers to help him by bringing him the Beatles album Revolver. The episode ends with Don, while alone in his apartment, listening to "Tomorrow Never Knows" but ending it after just one minute, apparently unable to grasp its innovative structure or psychedelic sound. This sequence illustrates the generational divide on Madison Avenue, yet it feels somewhat hollow within the narrative.
Lady Lazarus is a solid episode that benefits from Matthew Weiner’s good writing and the excellent work of the cast, but it simply feels underwhelming when compared to the episodes that preceded it. The plot about Pete feeling miserable and not taking rejection is a rehash of Pete’s previous crises, offering no new insight into his character beyond his inability to accept rejection or find lasting happiness. It looks repetitive, especially in the context of recent episode Signal 30 that has handled the same theme. This subplot is handled technically well, and it is interesting to note that Alexis Bledel would later date and eventually marry Vincent Kartheiser in real life, a detail that perhaps lends a touch of meta-context to her portrayal of the trapped housewife Beth.
The same can be said for the storyline about Megan quitting her job, where Don looks surprisingly supportive and apparently puts in extra effort to avoid the mistakes that led to the collapse of his marriage with Betty. There is little genuine drama here; the conflict is somewhat artificially induced through the friction between Don and Peggy rather than stemming from a deeper thematic struggle.
The episode, which should illustrate that the generation controlling Madison Avenue is unable to grasp the monumentally rapid changes in popular culture, fails to do so effectively. In the end, it is notable only for some cultural references that would not mean much to newer generations. The episode’s title is borrowed from Sylvia Plath’s poem from the collection published in 1966, and the song Don listens to is part of the Beatles’ most important album, known for its innovation. However, this is mostly used as some sort of fan service for Weiner himself, who worked hard to obtain the rights to use it, yet he ultimately failed to build a truly classic Mad Men episode around it.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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