Raw Data: The Flood

These are the unprocessed thoughts and observations for Mad Men episode 3-05 "The Flood". Written by  Matthew Weiner and Tom Smuts, a co-producer this season.  Directed by Chris Manley, the director of photography for 54 episodes of Mad Men and the pilot of Homeland.  Manley also directed "Commissions and Fees" last season (when Lane gets busted).

• Title refers to Ginsberg's father referencing The Great Flood, the one Noah built the ark for.  Or Don's flood of emotion for his son.
• This show is nothing if not there to create characters and show their reactions to both benchmarks in their life and in American history.  You can have an episode on the Kennedy assassination.  You can have an episode about building your kid a playhouse.
• That said, while the previous episode could only be placed in "early spring" (?) and during the presidential primaries, this one is more apparent *.
• Need a weird creepy guy?  Someone call Tom Cruise's cousin, William Mapother.  Better known as Ethan Rom (Other Man) from Lost or Delroy from Justified.  You know you are in for something strange when he shows up on the screen.
• Joan's consolation of Dawn was perfunctory and awkward, while Peggy was sincere with her own secretary
• Following that, the insensitive nature by which SCDP tried to be sensitive.  Closing the office early...after Dawn had already slogged in with a lot of effort**.  And Burt closed the office but didn't close it.  Kind of like those voluntary mandatory things you have at work.
• For that matter, Don treated Don with indifference, telling her to go home more as a duty he felt he had to do than out of genuine compassion.
• Not dissimilar to the awards ceremony which planned to hold the news until the end of the event.  Their solution to "take ten minutes to talk out this terrible event and then resume the program" is even worse than SCDP's waffling on closing the office. 
• Some people on this show do not change, comparing the JFK and MLK assasinations
• Pete becomes indignant at Harry for not being solemn enough.  Pete skipped Roger's daughter's wedding, incredulous that they would still have it following the presidential assasination, and was also offended at remarks overheard ("...the man had enemies.")
• Not that Pete hesitated to make the delivery guy truck through the riots
• Roger sarcastically mocks the MLK assassination "Man knew how to talk, I don't know why but I thought it would solve the whole thing."  About a month after the JFK assasination in "Shut the Door, Have a Seat" Roger wonders if the bar they are in will ever take that Kennedy picture down
• Peggy's JFK photo still appears prominently in her apartment

•  What did Roger mean when he said his weird friend "talked him off a roof" once?  Roger, were you tripping again?
• "Henry's not that important."

Ginsberg's reaction to the MLK shooting was "They had to do it" as in "of course."  His father merely pulls a sweater over his head and goes back to sleep.  Being born in a concentration camp, Ginsberg, and obviously his father too, have less surprised reactions than everyone else.  Perhaps because they come from a such a violent place, specifically violent towards minority groups.

* April 4-8, 1968

** Granted, Joan did try to call her and Dawn said she preferred to work, but there didn't seem to be a sincere thought toward Dawn at al.  Don seemed indifferent handing his Rolodex back to her.