Mad Men Review: “The Runaways” (Season 7, Episode 5)

The next imbalance this week is mostly in the mind of an unnerved Michael Ginsberg, who is having major problems working in an office where the computer’s humming irritates him like an uncontrollable itch. Trying to get some copy done on a Saturday, he sneaks out of his office to see Cutler and Lou whispering in the computer room. Ginsberg does not know what it means, but he has a strange feeling that the computer is giving off bad vibes that is turning two of his bosses into homosexuals. (The android is making Ginsberg paranoid, as Douglas Adams would attest.) Ginsberg’s livid reaction to the technology is not surprising, but his actions are out of character: he confronts Peggy in her house, later mounts himself atop her after staring at her as she sleeps and then severs his nipple as a way to counter-act the pressure he feels.

This subplot has some funny moments, but they are at the expense of turning Ginsberg into a maniac, and it does not work. A few weeks ago, I made a comment in a review that Don reading Portnoy’s Complaint in his office was a strange choice, but suggested that it could have been Ginsberg’s copy. Perhaps it was, as that character’s high anxiety and sexual frustration reflects that of the novel’s protagonist. As much as the possible literary allusion makes sense, its execution is silly. His behaviour in Peggy’s apartment is bizarre and feels untrue to the character, as does his nipple severing. If this is the last we see of Ginsberg, it would be a shame to have this be his final hour.

Finally, the last and most major example of cultural discrepancy comes from the relationship between Don and two women in his life: Megan, who has come around from their argument two episodes ago, and Stephanie, Anna Draper’s niece, who is seven months pregnant with a jailed musician’s child. Don never meets with Stephanie, their only correspondence being over the phone. She is aimless and is unsure of how she will support her kid and she marvels at Megan’s home with a bit too much enthusiasm. There is something solid missing from her foundation, and it is a stable man like the one Don wishes he could be. (The fact that they are never onscreen together shows that although she is dependent on Don, he is still far away from entering her directionless state of being.

Meanwhile, although Megan and Don seem to have patched things up, her latest try to reignite their doomed sexual relationship is a spicy one – a threesome. However, it does not quite work to mend Don’s confused feelings: he still feels the pain and guilt of being unfaithful in his marriage and is less than comforted by the ménage a trois. He wants to forget about it as quickly as he can, like a bad hangover. His failure to mesh with the crowd at Megan’s party – his wardrobe, a drab and checkered suit feels even more colorless amidst the sea of whirling colors – is indicative of his separation from the spirit of the times.