The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (Mad Men)
"The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" | |
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Mad Men episode | |
Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Lesli Linka Glatter |
Written by | Erin Levy |
Original air date | August 22, 2010 |
Running time | 48 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is the fifth episode of the
Plot
It's now March 1965.
Honda's representatives visit SCDP's offices, but Roger discovers the carefully planned meeting and sabotages it, insulting the Japanese delegates to their faces. Afterward, Don and Pete are furious with Roger, and Don agrees with Pete that Roger is trying to preserve his indispensable status at SCDP by maintaining the unchallenged primacy of his client
Don conceives of a plan wherein SCDP will pretend to shoot a lavish Honda motorcycle commercial to win the account (violating the rules set for the competition by Honda, which stipulated no finished work in the final presentation), allowing details of the shoot to leak to Ted at CGC so that he will try to outdo SCDP's ad. At the presentation, Don tells the Japanese that he is withdrawing SCDP from consideration, letting them know that he considered the contest dishonorable because Honda had entertained a bid from a rival agency (CGC) that broke the rules with a finished ad, and paying them back with $3,000 from his personal account. The Japanese are ashamed of themselves and impressed with Don, and ultimately Pete learns Honda was never planning to leave Grey, but SCDP now will have first shot at marketing Honda's upcoming line of automobiles. Pryce is uneasy with Don's tactics but ultimately praises his good work.
Meanwhile, on an evening when Don has custody of his two older children,
Don shares a bottle of sake with Dr. Faye Miller and confides about his inner conflict on single fatherhood, as she reveals that she is not actually married but pretends to be in order to ward off men's advances.
When first meeting the psychologist, Betty discloses some of her own insecurities. Dr. Edna suggests that Betty see a therapist of her own, and when Betty declines, Dr. Edna asks to meet with Betty in one session each month, ostensibly to report on Sally's progress.
Cultural references
The title of the episode is a direct reference to
At one point, Pete Campbell describes an event as a "Margaret Dumont-sized disaster", a reference to the death of the actress in the same month that the episode is set, March 1965.[3]
Reception
On its original American broadcast on August 22, 2010, on AMC, the episode was viewed by 2.19 million people.[4]
Erin Levy won the 2011 Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama for her work on this episode.[5]
References
- ^ "Mad Men Review: Another Famous Anthropological Study". Huffington Post. August 25, 2010.
- ^ Ezra F. Vogel, Foreword, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword (Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1989)
- ^ Blake, Meredith (August 23, 2010). "'Mad Men': Raw like sushi". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (August 24, 2010). "Sunday Cable Ratings: 'True Blood, Rubicon, Mad Men, Kardashians' & More". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on January 24, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
- ^ "2011 WGA Awards Winners Announced". Writers Guild of America. February 5, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2014.