On this week’s Mad Men Men, we dig into “Christmas Waltz.” That’s right, it’s a holiday episode about money trouble, emotional drift, and people looking for comfort in all the wrong places. But also, it’s one of Season 5’s strangest and saddest turning points. Because let’s just say it gives several characters a version of the Christmas spirit they absolutely did not ask for.
We of course discuss Lane’s financial crisis and why the episode treats it like a slow-motion car wreck. Don and Joan spend a night together without the show forcing them into something romantic. We witness Paul Kinsey’s (Michael Gladis!) bizarre, melancholic return as a man still searching for meaning in whatever room (or diner) will have him. Meanwhile, Harry stumbles into one of his slimiest subplots yet. And somehow, he still ends up part of one of the hour’s most unexpectedly humane moments.
If you’re new here, Mad Men Men covers Mad Men from three angles. First, we have a first-time watcher (Will Ashton). Then, we have a first-time rewatcher (Mike Overhulse). Finally, we have the over-rewatcher (me, Jon Negroni).
EXTRA CREDITS
Matthew Weiner created Mad Men, which aired on AMC from 2007 to 2015. The show stars Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Robert Morse, and many more. Our intro music is “Mad Men Men” by Tom Davidson, which is an original remix of the show’s opening theme “A Beautiful Mine” by RJD2. Podcast illustration is by Jon Negroni. Our podcast hosts include Jon Negroni (Podcast Editor of InBetweenDrafts), Will Ashton (cohost of the Thank God For Movies podcast), and Michael Overhulse (a guy who’s addicted to working at startups).
We’ll be back soon to discuss Season 5 Episode 11, titled “The Other Woman.” Subscribe to Mad Men Men on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever else podcasts are, ahem, advertised.
Jon is one of the co-founders of InBetweenDrafts. He hosts the podcasts Thank God for Movies, Mad Men Men, Rookie Pirate Radio, and Fantasy Writing for Barbarians. He doesn’t sleep, essentially.
