Mad Men’s 10 Best Episodes

2) Far Away Places (Season Five, Episode Six)

Written By: Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner
Directed By: Scott Hornbacher

At a few points in its eight-year run, Mad Men has eschewed the typical narrative structure, but never more insightfully than in the season five triumph “Far Away Places.” Instead of showing the episode in chronological order, we watch three chapters with a focus on three of the show’s principal characters during one pivotal day in each of their lives, as they deal with tumultuous relationships.

The episode focuses on Peggy (in the first third), Roger (in the second) and Don (in the final one). It deals with them at different stages of their love lives. Don is the nearest to the start, still blissful about his new, much younger wife. However, at a stay at a Howard Johnson’s, he is startled to hear that Megan feels undermined by his power. She thinks he has a dominant sway over everything in her life, and she wants the chance to be her own independent women.

Peggy, on the other hand, is in the middle of a doomed relationship with Abe. She doesn’t give him much interest because she is always thinking about work, such as the Heinz presentation she delivers (rather poorly) at the episode’s start. He moans, but when she needs to talk with somebody, he is there for her. (Even so, she is still looking for other options, giving an abrupt sexual advance to a man in a movie theater.)

Finally, Roger is miserable with his life and is close to ending things with Jane. An impromptu batch of LSD allows both of them to admit deep feelings to each other and the duo agree to split up – even though she doesn’t remember the exchange in the morning.

These three chapters, all connected through the distance and disillusion of these central characters, shows them at their worst. Peggy’s perfectionism, Roger’s apathy and Don’s entitlement all serve them poorly in “Far Away Places.” Beside the thematic mirrors, there are stylistic similarities. The overhead shot of Roger and Jane lying on the floor in their bathrobes in peace is repeated later in the episode with Don and Megan, at the end of a brusque fight and scamper around their apartment. (As for the first chapter, there is some beautiful camerawork, with Ginsberg’s mournful reflection in the window looking identical to Peggy’s expression in a reverse shot.)

The stories are poignant and somewhat profound, but move in unexpected directions. The characters have power yet are frustrated by how little it all seems to matter. Peggy doesn’t feel respected by anyone and she loses the business of a prized account. Roger takes LSD and realizes, as the Beach Boys croon, that he wasn’t meant for these times. Don would want anything to go back to the time when he and Megan were truly in love, shown in a flashback of their trip from season four’s “Tomorrowland.”

Any of these segments could be a winning short story in the New Yorker. As we have them, they are formidable character studies that add up to one of the finest television episodes in recent memory.

Best Scene: The acid trip. Brilliantly edited, it is filled with horror, hilarity and some of John Slattery’s best ever work on the show.

Line of the Hour: Roger, again. “I have an announcement to make,” he declares at the end of the episode. “It’s going to be a beautiful day!”