Gamen

So this is my last week of double (or triple) blow-by-blow coverage of Sunday night hourlongs. Why?  Because Game Of Thrones ended its ten-week second season run.  Next week is the Mad Men finale, and after that, I guess I'll be on vacation until Breaking Bad starts up next month.

Game Of Thrones, "Valar Morghulis":

Last week we finally had the big battle between Joffrey (or Joffrey's people since he can't do anything) and Stannis, which Joffrey won.  We don't like Stannis, but we hate Joffrey.  Still, there was no chance Stannis was gonna take over, which would require too big a reboot.

So we left a lot else hanging, which was covered this hour and seemed more like the first episode of the third season, setting up what'll be coming next.

We start with the aftermath of the battle.  Tyrion wakes up, after having been sliced up a bit. Pycelle, crowing, is there.  Not only did Stannis lose, but the old man is back on top while, with Tywin back, the Imp is a nobody again.  Should have killed him when you had the chance, Tyrion.

In the King's Court, Joffrey names Tywin the savior of the city, as well as the new Hand, while Baeilsh, who helped cement the alliance with the Tyrells, is given Harrenhal (and since that's practically a curse, Baelish takes it pretty well).  Then, in an elaborate show, Loras asks if his sister Margaery might be queen, she says how she loves Joffrey (hey, she was willing to sleep with Renly) and he returns the compliment.  But alas, he's promised to another.  Cersei and Pycelle rush in explaining it's okay, since Sansa is the daughter of the traitor Ned Stark.  So Sansa is shoved aside--to her relief.  As she walks out, smiling, Baelish promises he can help.  She doesn't know if she can trust him.  He says he can get her back to Winterfell and her family, and she says she'd rather stay in King's Landing.  He says this is no place for you--everyone can lie better than you.  He's clearly set up a trade with Catelyn, even though this is the man who ensured her dad died.

Ros is back at work.  The Spider comes in, clearly not a regular.  He explains that she's had a bad time working for Littlefinger, and if she wants to join his team, she might enjoy it a lot more.  Varys may turn out to be the smartest of the great liars.

Brienne and Jaime stop on the shore--on the way to King's Landing, it turns out. (No surprise--part of Catelyn's trade). He taunts her, which is all he can do, tied up.  They come along three hanged women.  Brienne stops to bury them, giving the three Stark warriors who killed them a chance to come back.  Brienne and Jaime pretend to be nobodies, but one of the three recognizes the Kingslayer, so Brienne has to go to the trouble of killing them all. Jaime wanted to be untied, but instead he gets to see close up, for the first time, what Brienne can do.  He also learns, if he didn't know already, that she's pledged to Catelyn, not the Starks.

Catelyn herself is talking to Robb.  He's ready to turn on Walder Frey so he can marry lovely Lady Talisa.  She warns him to keep his promise, though he notes she's one to talk.  I might add everyone sure seems afraid of Frey.  Is his bridge that important?  Otherwise he's a joke. I'll take their word for it, but I'd like to see a map.  What I don't get is why he doesn't just marry Frey's daughter but live with Talisa. He's a king, isn't he?  Aren't they allowed mistresses?

Stannis is back with his tail between his legs.  He's not happy with Melisandre's advice and almost chokes her to death.  She's done a lot of magic but I guess it only works now and then--anyway, her power is tied up with Stannis.  She says he'll go on to greater things and has him look into the fire and darned if he doesn't see it, too.  Not sure if I like this plot development.  We spent the whole season working up to the battle and he lost.  Now, with his men killed and scattered, he gets another shot?  What was the point of everything?  If he ever does fight again, though, I suggest he tries with demons the way he took our Renly, if it's not too much trouble.  (This is why I don't like fantasy--magic has no rules.)

At Winterfell, Theon isn't feeling too well. He's holding the fort with a skeleton grew while hundreds surround them.  Maester Luwin gives him advice: escape.  There are tunnels.  But Theon knows he can't go back home--he'll be considered a coward and hunted down anyway.  No, Luwin says, escape to the The Wall.  Your sins will be forgiven and you can make something of yourself.  But Theon can't imagine that sort of life.

So he goes outside and makes a St. Crispin's Day speech to his troops--though they know they're facing certain death.  Then they knock him out and say let's go home. (Not sure what they're going to do, or if they think they can escape--I though Robb said they all had to die, but maybe flying the white flag will work.) Meanwhile, Luwin comes around and asks what's going on and is stabbed by a soldier like he's Archimedes.

Varys visits the recovering Tyrion in his small room. He explains Cersei paid a soldier to kill him and his squire Pod saved him.  That's nice, but the Gold Cloaks are now under the charge of Tywin and/or Cersei.  Bronn doesn't seem to be around, or at least isn't in charge any more.  So even though those in the know understand the Imp saved the city, it doesn't matter.  At least Varys knows, though he'll not be hanging around.  The Spider leaves and Shae enters.  She says let's run away.  He'd be safe, and not in a city where he has no power but powerful enemies.  But for the first time Tyrion has felt power, and also found a place where he felt he belonged.  He can't leave, even if it may mean his life.  Shae will stick around too, since she's not merely (or is no longer) a whore.  (Though does she have a job anymore?  What is Sansa's place in the new scheme of things. She may be gone soon enough anyway.  Is she regretting not taking the Hound's offer by now?  Stannis probably would have had more sympathy than the Lannisters.)

Robb and Talisa take the vows. Good for them, even if their earnestness makes them a dull couple.

Been a while since we saw Daenerys, but there she is with Jorah and one of the few left in her retinue, walking up the steps of the House of the Undying to get back her dragons. Soon, through their magic (which never impresses anyone, but seems pretty good to me) she's in mysterious chambers and can hear her dragons.

It's daytime and Arya, Gendry and Hot Pie are walking around, having escaped Harrenhal.  There's Jaqen, watching them (and doing magic not unlike the parlor tricks of the House of the Undying).  He'd be willing to help Arya kill her enemies, but she's got to get back to her family, even Sansa.  So he's got to go.  He gives her a coin that will help her find him again.  So I guess we haven't seen the last of Jaqen. Or have we?. He demonstrates he's a faceless man, so next time he'll have a new name--"Valar Morghulis"--and a new face, so might as well be a different character.  (If he can do magic, how did he get stuck in a simple cage?)

Osha, Bran, Rickon and Hodor come out of hiding.  Something's been going on. Winterfell's been burned down. (Was this how the Iron men escaped?  We don't see them or Theon again this episode.)  They come upon Luwin, mortally wounded.  He tells them to escape--to the North, where Jon can help (really?) and get word out.  This seems to be what he's advising everyone to do today. It is smart though--Robb may be in the South, but so are quite a few enemies.  His last request, after the boys leave, is to Shae--give me a quick death, please.  So no more Luwin in season three.

Dany walks through some more dark chambers and comes out into a snow-blown world.  She enters a tent and inside sees her beloved Khal Drogo, alive as you and me, with their never-born son. Guess that's why they call it the House of the Undying.  She would love to stick around, but must move on--guess she can't stick around in a dream (a common theme in fantasy, though I'm not sure how the Khal feels about it) and returns to find her baby dragons chained up.  Turns out their birth made the magic of the House stronger, and her presence helps the dragons be stronger. So all they're going to do is chain her up and keep her there forever.  But finally, after a whole season of threatening and no action, Missy Stormborn finally has her dragons, small as they are, breathe a little fire. (Hard to imagine what they'll be like when fully grown.)  And Warlock Pyat Pree turns out to be surprisingly flammable.  With him burnt to a crisp, it's no trouble to burn away the chains as well.

As the Wildlings take their prisoners to meet Mance, Qhorin Halfhand picks a fight with Snow so he can die and Snow can gain their confidence. Yet another in a line of sacrifices by wise mentors on this show.  We get to the edge of Wildlingopolis, but it'll have to wait till season three.

Back in Qarth, Xaro is sleeping with one of Dany's turncoats.  They break in, take his vault's key, and wake him up.  They open the vault which has the greatest riches in the world and find it empty.  Like Qarth itself, it's all an illusion. Is this some sort of comment on capitalism?

 Xaro let her in the gates to sell her out, but look what's happened. The greatest city that ever was and ever will be doesn't even have its top merchants any more, or its top warlock or even its new king (they lock Xaro and his whore in the vault that no one can break into).  So what is Dany leaving behind?  The merchants were right to try to keep her out.  She orders Jorah to loot what they can, and they may be able to buy a ship or two.  My advice?  Hang around, enjoy the sights, and wait till the dragons are grown.  What's the rush?

Samwell and his compatriots are out marching around when they hear the blasts at the wall.  One.  Two.  Three!!! That hasn't happened in about a thousand years.  His two "friends" hightail it out of there while the much slower Tarly cowers behind a rock.  He gets a close up view of the army of White Walkers marching on the Wall.  Are you ready for that, Tywin?  And we're done for the season.

Not a bad ending, but the final sight hardly had the power or surprise of the dragons of season one.  Back then we beginners weren't even sure if dragons had ever existed, or if dragon eggs could still hatch.  But White Walkers?  We saw them in the first ten minutes of the first season.  We've been waiting for them to make their move from the start. Nice to finally get some action on that front, I guess.  And like any other zombies, at least we have an idea of how to kill them--burn them.  (They burned Qhorin to make sure he didn't come back.) I'm sure next season Jon Snow will have something to say about this.

Mad Men, "Commissions And Fees":

For the first ten weeks, Mad Men fans were wondering if anything big was going to happen. Now it's flying so thick they're complaining the writers are doing too much, not being subtle enough.  Mad Men may be a contemplation of life, but I still like a little action.

Last time, Sterling Cooper lost Peggy but they got Jaguar.  As the episode starts, Don is getting a haircut.  Covington comes in and compliments him on his "little agency" and also notes how impressed Jaguar was with Pete (which sticks in Don's craw because it reminds him it wasn't just his pitch that sold Jaguar).  Meanwhile, Lane is flying high, being accepted in the 4A's, a top trade association.

At the office, Joan isn't running the partner's meeting, she's a partner.  She does give advice to Scarlett on how to do it, though.  On to business.  Jag wants a fee structure, not commissions.  Doesn't sound too promising.  And if SCDP give it up here, soon everyone will want it.  Speaking of which, Dunlop just called Pete and they want to meet, so new business seems to be coming in after Jaguar.

At Henry's place, they're going on a ski trip and Sally's being a pest.  Betty is fed up and decides to dump her at Don's place (with his "child bride") over the weekend.  Sally must be about 13 by now, and who wants to spend time with mom when you can hang out with a "friend" like Megan who won't spend all her time judging you.  Betty's phone call to Don is interrupted when Bert comes in.  Looking over the books (because of the fee deal) he saw the canceled check to Lane, with Don's signature.  Why didn't Don tell him?  Don doesn't give anything away, but calls in Lane for a private discussion.

Lane tries to deny it, but Don knows he didn't sign.  Lane breaks down an admits why he did it, and we really don't know what Don will do.  He fires Lane.  Or actually, he'll let him resign and have an "elegant exit." Lane tries anything to get his job back (who's in charge here anyway--I guess Don has him over a barrel no matter what), essentially going through the five stages of grief.

Worst of all, he was finally going to get his payoff, after years of putting in more than he took out.  (I blame Inland Revenue.) Don has certainly seen and done a lot of low stuff, but some things are unforgiveable, and this is embezzlement and forgery.  They once fired a guy for being so drunk he peed himself, so what do you expect? (Though I have to wonder when Don wasn't a name partner if he would have felt the same way.  I guess Don is the only one allowed to have secrets--at least he always played the business straight.) So last week, Don has to sadly say goodbye to Peggy, and this week he's not thrilled about losing Lane.  But hey, Joan can do what he does, and that's more for the rest of the partners.

Anyway, right off the bat in this episode, Lane is gone.  We may see Peggy again now and then, but Lane will be deported without a job. Don gives him a pep talk not unlike George Clooney does in Up In The Air, but it's hard to believe it does much for Lane.  (Maybe Don believes it, but he's a master of reinvention.)  We knew this thing would blow up sooner or later, but we didn't know when or how.

On the way back to his office, the slightly drunk Lane stops at Joan's office and makes a mildly suggestive comment, displeasing her. Nowadays, getting drunk and saying something like that will probably get your fired faster than embezzling.

In his office, he stares at the falling snow.  A lot of people have suggested the title sequence shows that Don or someone will jump out of a building.  A bit too literal a reading, I suppose, but Lane sure seems like a candidate now.

Meanwhile, Don is fed up.  Others still don't take him seriously and he just had to fire a guy over $7500 dollars.  He wants to be in the big leagues.  He charges into Roger's office and makes a firebreathing speech about needing to be big for real--not Jaguar, but Chevy. Not Dunlop, but Firestone.  (They both say "shit" in this scene. Exciting.)

Don admits Ed Baxter said the Lucky Strikes letter shut them down with the big players, but Roger now tries to fire him up.  Don Draper doesn't give up at no. He beat two huge firms for Jag.  Don wants to meet with Baxter of Dow, even if Kenny is his son-in-law and wants nothing to do with the company.  So fire him, says Don.  Go, Don, go.

Sally shows up at Don's pad, even though Megan hasn't been informed.  That's so Don, though he had a good reason this time.

Roger comes late to a martini meeting with Cosgrove, but it's a diversionary tactic to get him out of the office so when his dad calls to ask about the meeting, he's gone and can't talk about it.  Roger says if they work with Ed, maybe Ken can become a partner if he wants something to do nothing.  Kenny doesn't want it--he was turned off by what Joan had to do (odd he would care).  Turns out all Ken wants is to be "forced" onto the account if they get it, while Pete will be completely frozen out.  Go, Ken, go.

As Roger and Don take the elevator on the way home that Friday, Roger tells him the meeting's set for Monday.  Better get going, Don.  He gets home and there's sullen Sally and moping Megan.  She's not thrilled about the Sally surprise, but he explains about Lane and she understands.  Megan has an audition Monday morning, and Don has the meeting, so Sally gets to take a school day off.  Works out for everyone.

Lane comes home and his lovely wife wants to celebrate his great success, though he's obviously in no mood.  And guess what, she bought him a Jaguar.  He vomits in the garage.

On the weekend Megan and Sally go out on the town but Don's prepping for his meeting looking at ads.  Lane is also doing "work" though I'm not sure what that is.  Is he figuring how to get a new job, or how to write his letter of resignation.

Megan and her friend pal around with Sally--girl talk and coffee. Megan looks at the moves playing, stuff like "Georgy Girl," "Alfie," "Blow-Up"--was every film out in 1967 something we've heard of?

At night, Lane goes to the garage and tries to commit suicide by Jaguar.   But the damn car stinks and even with British pluck he can't get the transmission to work.  Is suicide too big a reaction?  Too cheaply melodramatic (even if undercut?).  Well, first, anyone can commit suicide, you never know who.  And, even if it's a cliche, Lane is the quiet type who doesn't complain but is constantly disappointed--it does make sense that his interior character, seeing a loss of honor and no way out, would do it.

Meanwhile, Sally is calling her "boyfriend" Glen.  They plan to meet Monday morning when she's free.  She's too young for any action, isn't she?  And Glen is too creepy.

Lane goes to his office and starts typing his letter of resignation.  Has he given up on suicide?

Next morning Megan leaves for an audition and Glen drops by. (Sally's watching Jack LaLanne though we know her brother prefers The Wild Wild West.) Turns out the two have a brotherly and sisterly relationship. They decide to go to the musuem and look at the dioramas.  Glen is not being treated well at school--he may be creepy, but does he deserve this? He lied about Sally, saying she's older and he's going into town to do it.  Meanwhile, Sally's not happy with Betty and Henry, so everyone's got trouble.

Her stomach hurts.  We've seen enough shows and movies to know what that means.  She runs to the bathroom and discovers her first period (just a couple weeks after Sansa).

Don and Roger go into the meeting with Ed Baxter (who only makes them wait an hour and forty-five minutes late).  Ed may have set it up just to be nice, but we get the full frontal Don Draper. It's fun to see.  Are you happy with a 50% market share? Take it all. (This is the theme of the episode--do you want to satisfied with what you've got?  Being happy means you're complacent, and who wants that?  Anyway, Don believes in taking.  Lane believes more in giving, and look what it got him.)  Don dismisses the letter he wrote about Lukcy Strike and Roger double-teams noting how they drew first blood.  The meeting is soon over and Don was impressive, planting seeds, but who knows if it'll blossom.

Megan comes home and Sally is gone.  We don't have to wonder long. Sally took a cab back to Betty's place.  She's frantic and now needs her mommy. Betty shows her rare soft side and acts like a mother for a few minutes.

Megan is frantic too. She can't reach Don, who's at the meeting. (Isn't it great not having cell phones?)  Glen drops by since he doesn't know where Sally is either.  Megan pumps him for info, but he doesn't really know much.  Luckily, they don't overplay it and Bets calls to tell Megan what happened.  Megan invites Glen to stick around so she can get him to his train when it's time.  (Megan's actually good at not letting these things get to her--that's what first attracted Don to her.)

At the office, Lane's door is locked so Joan checks it out.  She can't open the door and fears the worst.  She goes next door where Pete, Harry and Ken are sharing a joke.  They peek through the window and see the ugly truth--Lane has hanged himself.  Sad, but at least Lane didn't give up.  (I'm impressed, also, that Matt Weiner and cast can keep a secret).

Don and Roger come in, laughing.  They've missed a lot.  Bert sent everyone home, saying it was a building emergency. Only the partners are still there.  Don takes it pretty hard.  This isn't the first time he drove someone to hang himself.  No one knows why it happened except him--which is probably how Lane wants it. (If Megan thought hearing Lane embezzled is big, how's she going to take this gossip?)

Don demands they cut him down.  Can't leave him hanging.  They find a note, but it's just a boilerplate resignation.  Secrets can kill, can't they, Don.

Don comes home to Megan and Glen.  Megan fills him in quickly.  He decides to take Glen home (he's always willing to ride people around).  The air will probably do him good. He'll tell Megan about what happened later.

In the elevator down, Glen reminds us why they call him Creepy. This kid wants to know why everything turns out crappy.  (This may be underining a theme of the show, but it actually fits the character--he's been talking like this since we first saw him with Betty.)  Nothing you think will make you happy ever works.  Don can sure relate, but doesn't like hearing it from a kid. So as a consolation prize, Don let's Glen drive his car back to school.  They play the Lovin' Spoonful and we're done.

Quite an episode.  Lane has long been one of the most sympathetic characters--a mild man who generally gets the short end of the stick. I'll miss him, but I'm glad to see they're shaking things up. Don't know how they can top this next week.  Will the building catch on fire with everyone stuck inside?  Knowing this show, more likely we've had the big action, and now the soul-searching will start.