Mad Men 7.13: Poor Betty

Betty with ice water flowing in her veins has in many ways been the least sympathetic character in Mad Men, which is saying a lot, as the show is awash in people who are in one way or another hard cases, but in this penultimate episode of the series, we can finally shed some tears for her.   She handles her impending death from lung cancer with grace and style, down to the letter and love she leaves for Sally, which was surprisingly and really moving.

A whole show devoted to this crucial story would have been nice - appropriately upsetting - but that's not and has never been the way of Mad Men.  So instead, we also see a lot of Don on the road, in another odyssey replete with barely understandable meaning.   But that in itself may have a peculiar charm, at least on some days, and we do get what I think is revelation from Don, that he killed his CO in Korea, but I'm not completely sure it's a revelation, because we may have been told some to even all of that before.  But like dreams and nightmares, the specifics of previous Mad Men are not easy to remember, especially over time, and I don't want to look it up, lest I spoil the spoilt dreams.

The conclusion of the Don segment was pretty good, though - he gives the kid with the black hair his car - there's the car, again - and the kid rides off, the new Don, to whatever fate may hold for him. And Don?  Who knows, who ever knows?  Maybe we'll find out next week - but maybe not.

This episode did make something of history for the series, however, with what looks like a flat-out happy ending for Pete and wife, implausibly brokered by Duck, but hey, I'll take it, gladly.  Happy endings are hard to come by in this life, and harder yet on the surreal story of life that is Mad Men.   So hard to come by, in fact, that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Pete, because his happy ending may yet vanish in the mists, too.

We'll know more, and all that is left to know about this series, next week.  Or maybe not.  But I wouldn't miss that finale for the world, anyway.

-> 20-minute interview with Rich Sommer (Harry Crane) in 2007 at Light On Light Through

See also Mad Men 7.1: Vignettes and Playboy ... Mad Men 7.2:  Flowers and the Hung-Up Phone ... Mad Men 7.3: "Lunch with Rod Serling" ... Mad Men 7.4: Computer! ... Mad Men 7.5: Retrofit Paranoia ... Mad Men 7.6: The Dance ...  Mad Men Mid-Season 7 Finale: Telescope vs. Television ... Mad Men 7.8: Don, Rachel, and the Waitress ... Mad Men 7.9: Fast Ride ... Mad Men 7.10: "Fast Girl" ... Mad Men 7.11: The End of Sterling, Cooper, Draper.

And see also Mad Men 6.1-2: The Lighter and the Twist ... Mad Men 6.3: Good Company ... Mad Men 6.4: McLuhan, Heinz, and Don's Imagination ... Mad Men 6.5: MLK ... Mad Men 6.6: Good News Comes in a Chevy ...  Mad Men 6.7: Merger and Margarine ... Mad Men 6.8: Dr. Feelgood and Grandma Ida ... Mad Men 6.9: Don and Betty ... Mad Men 6.10: Medium Cool ... Mad Men 6.11: Hand in the Cookie Jar and Guy de Maupassant ... Mad Men 6.12: Rosemary's Baby, Dick Cheney, and Sunkist ... Mad Men Season 6 Finale: Beyond California

And see also Why "You Only Live Twice" for Mad Men Season 5 Finale ... Mad Men Season Five Finale

And see also Mad Men Season 5 Debut: It's Don's Party  ... Mad Men 5.3: Heinz Is On My Side ... Mad Men 5.4: Volunteer, Dream, Trust ... Mad Men 5.5: Ben Hargrove ... Mad Men 5.6: LSD Orange ... Mad Men 5.7: People of High Degree ... Mad Men 5.8: Mad Man and Gilmore Girl ...Mad Men 5.9: Don's Creativity  ... Mad Men 5.10: "The Negron Complex" ... Mad Men 5.11: Prostitution and Power ... Mad Men 5.12: Exit Lane

And from Season 4: Mad Men 4.1: Chicken Kiev, Lethal Interview, Ham Fight ... 4.2: "Good Time, Bad Time?" "Yes." ... 4.3: Both Coasts ... 4.4: "The following program contains brief nudity ..." 4.5: Fake Out and Neurosis ... 4.6: Emmys, Clio, Blackout, Flashback  ... 4.7: 'No Credits on Commercials' ... 4.8: A Tale of Two Women ... 4.9: "Business of Sadists and Masochists" ...4.10: Grim Tidings ... 4.11: "Look at that Punim" ... 4.12: No Smoking!  ... Mad Men Season 4 Finale: Don and -

And from Season 3: Mad Men Back for 3 and 3.2: Carvel, Penn Station, and Diet Soda and 3.3: Gibbon, Blackface, and Eliot and 3.4: Caned Seats and a Multiple Choice about Sal's Patio Furniture and 3.5: Admiral TV, MLK, and a Baby Boy and 3.6: A Saving John Deere and 3.7: Brutal Edges ... August Flights in 3.8 ... Unlucky Strikes and To the Moon Don in 3.9 ... 3.10: The Faintest Ink, The Strongest Television ... Don's Day of Reckoning in Mad Men 3.11 ... Mad Men 3.12: The End of the World in Mad Men ... Mad Men Season 3 Finale: The End of the World

And from Season Two: Mad Men Returns with a Xerox and a Call Girl ... 2.2: The Advertising Devil and the Deep Blue Sea ... 2.3 Double-Barreled Power ... 2.4: Betty and Don's Son ... 2.5: Best Montage Since Hitchcock ... 2.6: Jackie, Marilyn, and Liberty Valance ... 2.7: Double Dons... 2.8: Did Don Get What He Deserved? ... 2.9: Don and Roger ... 2.10: Between Ray Bradbury and Telstar ... 2.11: Welcome to the Hotel California ... 2.12 The Day the Earth Stood Still on Mad Men ... 2.13 Saving the Best for Last on Mad Men

And from Season One: Mad Men Debuts on AMC: Cigarette Companies and Nixon ... Mad Men 2: Smoke and Television ... Mad Men 3: Hot 1960 Kiss ... Mad Men 4 and 5: Double Mad Men ...Mad Men 6: The Medium is the Message! ... Mad Men 7: Revenge of the Mollusk ... Mad Men 8: Weed, Twist, Hobo ... Mad Man 9: Betty Grace Kelly ... Mad men 10: Life, Death, and Politics ...Mad Men 11: Heat! ... Mad Men 12: Admirable Don ... Mad 13: Double-Endings, Lascaux, and Holes

Outlander 1.14: All that Jazz

An outstanding episode of Outlander 1.14 tonight, in which the story turns on Claire's rendition of "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," the red-hot 1940 hit by the Andrews Sisters, made popular again closer to our own time by Bette Midler, though of course Claire never heard that second smash version.

It's her suggestion to "jazz" things up that leads to her rendition of the song, and on from that to a plan to save Jamie by attracting him to her location as word of her performance spreads through the highlands. Nothing like a musical meme to make an impact - in this case, a meme from centuries in the future, a new time-traveling twist in jazz improv.

The payoff is not (yet) Jamie, but Dougal proposing to Claire, as the only way she can survive with Jamie gone, and Claire turning that into one last desperate attempt to free Jamie from the redcoats, with the help of just four men, none of them Dougal.   And that's where this episode ends.

Just two more episodes ahead this season, with more to come next season, and I should mention again that I haven't read the books, so in my world anything is possible at this point.  But I don't think that Jamie will die, as interesting as it would be for a Dougal and Claire marriage.  So that means that Claire will have to find a way to rescue Jamie, against all brutal odds.

Further, it's unlikely that Claire will do this in a way that will make her Black Jack's prisoner again, because we've already seen that.   But how, then, will she do it?  Possibly the season will end with Jamie still prisoner, but that wouldn't be very satisfying, either.

My prediction: her survival, and Jamie's, will again draw upon some surprising knowledge or talent she has a woman from the future.   Since I'm not a time traveler myself, and haven't seen the two next episodes as well as not read the books,  I'll eagerly be watching to see how this all plays out.


See also Outlander 1.1-3: The Hope of Time Travel ... Outlander 1.6:  Outstanding ... Outlander 1.7: Tender Intertemporal Polygamy ...Outlander 1.8: The Other Side ... Outlander 1.9: Spanking Good ... Outlander 1.10: A Glimmer of Paradox ... Outlander 1.11: Vaccination and Time Travel ... Outlander 1.12: Black Jack's Progeny ... Outlander 1.13: Mother's Day

 
Sierra Waters series, #1, time travel

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American Crime 1.10: The Exquisite Hazards of Timing

American Crime - which aired its next-to-last episode, 1.10, of this season last night, after the welcome news that the series will be back for at least a second season next year - continues to weave a mosaic unparalleled in television with its many pieces and exquisitely interconnected complexity.

So, right before our very eyes last night, Carter is released from prison, Abrey takes his place for the murder, and Hector is back in Mexican custody, having been outed as a total liar about what he says he witnessed on the night of the crime.   Timing is everything is this ticking clockwork time bomb of a narrative, as it is in real life, if you think about it.  Had Aubry not confessed last week - a logical step for her, after she saw what her mother had been doing to keep Aubry and Carter apart, which meant Carter likely headed to death row (for conviction on a Federal hate crime charge) or life imprisonment - Carter might well have been released from prison anyway, with the truth coming out about Hector, though likely not as quickly.   But one of the telling keynotes of this story is that almost no one knows what anyone else is really up to or even doing - another characteristic of life in general.

There was some good news at last though in these mercilessly spinning wheels.  Tony's released after the fabulously heart-felt testimony of his sister, which confounds the evil Fates who would have delighted in Tony's being denied release, because his father was forced to sell his store to hire a decent attorney, and the judges or whoever they are wanted to know that Tony's family had a sound business to support him.   In one of the best scenes, Alonzo the father - perfectly played by veteran Benito Martinez (of The Shield) - gives voices to this insane, self-defeating system for the defense.

The acting, as I indicated in my last review, continues to be in a class of its own .  Caitlin Gerard with her performance as Aubry was clearly in tour-de-force territory last night, as was Richard Cabral as he always is with Hector.   I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a network television show so much, and have learned as much as I have from American Crime.

See also: American Crime, American Fine ... American Crime 1.7: The Truest Love

a different kind of crime

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Bones 10.17-10-18: Bullies and Capital Punishment

A Bones treat tonight - two back-to-back episodes - one about bullying and its baneful effects on intelligent kids, the other about capital punishment, especially timely, given the impending punishment decision in the Boston marathon bombing trial.

The bullying episode - 10.17 - was a good, personal Bones story, the kind we get from time to time. In this case, Bones revisits the isolation and bullying she felt growing up, when she didn't fit in with any of the usual peer groups.   She feels a kinship now to the victim - who, we learn at the end, through Bones' work, committed suicide in any attempt to punish her psychological tormentors.   Bones' regret is that she couldn't show this girl the happy future that Bones now has - a nice tagline not only for this episode but the entire series.

Bones 10.18, about capital punishment, was something else again - one of the best episodes of Bones this season, maybe of all seasons, and which couldn't be more timely.   Bones and team have to find a serial killer - in order not only to bring the killer to justice, but stop the execution of the man that our team landed on death row, in episode 10.13, for a crime they now know he didn't commit.  Everyone works at their best in this episode - including the Cuban intern (another timely touch), and Cam and Hodgins, who have contrasting opinions on capital punishment (guess which one believes what).

Our team succeeds in the end, but it's a razor-sharp call, and brings home the point about the evil of capital punishment - evil, even if you believe in an eye for an eye, because given the imperfections of our justice system, all too often you may be taking the wrong eye and life.   That of course doesn't specifically apply to the Boston marathon bomber - there's no doubt that he committed the crime - but it does or should shake up anyone who supports the death penalty.  It certainly leads to Booth changing his opinion, no longer being in favor of capital punishment, which is good to see.

And this episode has one other bombshell:  Hodgins and Angela talking about moving to Paris, or leaving the show.   And this just a week after I said Hodgins would be a great spinoff series character. Next time, I'll keep my mouth shut :)

See also Bones 10.1: The Fulcrum Changes ... Bones 10.2: J. Edgar and the DNA Confession ... Bones 10.3: Meets Rush and a Dominatrix ... Bones 10.4: Brennan and Angela on a Bench in the Playground ... Bones 10.5: Two Jokes and Three Times ... Bones 10.6: A Thousand Cuts ... Bones 10.7: The A-Word and Quarks ... Bones 10.8: Daisy's Doula ... Bones 10.9: The Milgram Experiment and the Birds ... Bones 200: 10.10: Just like Bogey and Bacall ... Bones 10.11: Life after Death, and Sweets in Wonderland ...Bones 10.12: The Digital Revolution ... Bones 10.13: The Almost-Serial Killer ...Bones 10.14: meets La Parure ... Bones 10.15: Cards in Hand ... Bones 10.16: Hodgins' Money

And see also Bones 9.1: The Sweet Misery of Love ... Bones 9.2: Bobcat, Identity Theft, and Sweets ... Bones 9.3 and NCIS 11.2: Sweets and Ziva ... Bones 9.4: Metaphysics of Death in a Television Series ... Bones 9.5: Val and Deep Blue ... Bones 9.6: The Wedding ... Bones 9.7: Watch Out, Buenos Aires ...Bones 9.8: The Bug in the Neck ... Bones 9.9: Friday Night Bones in the Courtroom ... Bones 9.10: Horse Pucky ... Bones 9.11: Angels in Equations ... Bones 9.12: Fingernails ... Bones 9.13: Meets Nashville, and Wendell ... Bones 9.14: "You Cannot Drink Your Glass Away" ... Bones 9.15: Hodgins' Brother and the Ripped Off Toe ... Bones 9.16: Lampreys, Professors, and Insurance Companies ... Bones 9.17: Spartacus in the Kitchen ... Bones 9.18: Meets Day of the Triffids ... Bones 9.19: The Cornucopic Urn ... Bones 9.20: Above the Law ... Bones 9.21: Freezing and Thawing ... Bones 9.22: Promotion ... Bones 9.23: The New Intern ... Bones Season 9 Finale: Upping the Ante

And see also Bones 8.1: Walk Like an Egyptian ... Bones 8.2 of Contention ... Bones 8.3: Not Rotting Behind a Desk  ... Bones 8.4: Slashing Tiger and Donald Trump ... Bones 8.5: Applesauce on Election Eve ... Bones 8.6: Election Day ... Bones 8.7: Dollops in the Sky with Diamonds ...Bones 8.8: The Talking Remains ... Bones 8.9: I Am A Camera ... Bones 8.10-11: Double Bones ...Bones 8.12: Face of Enigmatic Evil ... Bones 8.13: Two for the Price of One ... Bones 8.14: Real Life ... Bones 8.15: The Magic Bullet and the Be-Spontaneous Paradox ... Bones 8.16: Bitter-Sweet Sweets and Honest Finn ... Bones 8.17: "Not Time Share, Time Travel" ... Bones 8.18: Couples ... Bones 8.19: The Head in the Toilet ... Bones 8.20: On Camera ... Bones 8.21: Christine, Hot Sauce, and the Judge ... Bones 8.22: Musical-Chair Parents ... Bones 8.23: The Bluff ... Bones Season 8 Finale: Can't Buy the Last Few Minutes

And see also Bones 7.1: Almost Home Sweet Home ... Bones 7.2: The New Kid and the Fluke ...Bones 7.3: Lance Bond and Prince Charmington ... Bones 7.4: The Tush on the Xerox ... Bones 7.5: Sexy Vehicle ... Bones 7.6: The Reassembler ... Bones 7.7: Baby! ... Bones 7.8: Parents ...Bones 7.9: Tabitha's Salon ... Bones 7.10: Mobile ... Bones 7.11: Truffles and Max ... Bones 7.12: The Corpse is Hanson ... Bones Season 7 Finale: Suspect Bones

And see also Bones 6.1: The Linchpin ... Bones 6.2: Hannah and her Prospects ... Bones 6.3 at the Jersey Shore, Yo, and Plymouth Rock ... Bones 6.4 Sans Hannah ... Bones 6.5: Shot and Pretty ... Bones 6.6: Accidental Relations ... Bones 6.7:  Newman and "Death by Chocolate" ...Bones 6.8: Melted Bones ... Bones 6.9: Adelbert Ames, Jr. ... Bones 6.10: Reflections ... Bones 6.11: The End and the Beginning of a Mystery ... Bones 6.12 Meets Big Love ... Bones 6.13: The Marrying Kind ... Bones 6.14: Bones' Acting Ability ... Bones 6.15: "Lunch for the Palin Family" ...Bones 6.16: Stuck in an Elevator, Stuck in Times ... Bones 6.17: The 8th Pair of Feet ... Bones 6.18: The Wile E. Chupacabra ... Bones 6.19 Test Runs The Finder ... Bones 6.20: This Very Statement is a Lie ... Bones 6.21: Sensitive Bones ... Bones 6.22: Phoenix Love ... Bones Season 6 Finale: Beautiful

And see also Bones: Hilarity and Crime and Bones is Back For Season 5: What Is Love? and 5.2: Anonymous Donors and Pipes and 5.3: Bones in Amish Country and 5.4: Bones Meets Peyton Place and Desperate Housewives and Ancient Bones 5.5 and Bones 5.6: A Chicken in Every Viewer's Pot and Psychological Bones 5.7 and Bones 5.8: Booth's "Pops" and Bones 5.9 Meets Avatar and Videogamers ... Bad Santa, Heart-Warming Bones 5.10 ... Bones 5.11: Of UFOs, Bloggers, and Triangles ... Bones 5.12: A Famous Skeleton and Angela's Baby ... Love with Teeth on Bones 5.13 ... Faith vs. Science vs. Psychology in Bones 5.14 ... Page 187 in Bones 5.15 ...Bones 100: Two Deep Kisses and One Wild Relationship ... Bones 5.17: The Deadly Stars ...Bones Under Water in 5.18 ... Bones 5.19: Ergo Together ...  Bones 5.20: Ergo Together ... Bones 5.21: The Rarity of Happy Endings ... Bones Season 5 Finale: Eye and Evolution

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Neanderthal bones