[rating=6.00]
After all the beautifully choreographed, nuanced symbolism in last week’s episode, following it up effectively would be somewhat of a strenuous task. While “The Forecast” packed enough content for contentment, I was left wanting more.
The one thing I had more than enough of, though, was Lou Fucking Avery. Each moment this guy is on-screen, I can sense the quality of the episode plummeting. He’s like a perpetual flatulent that just lingers over the entire show. Yeah, sure, Lou just up and disappearing is a major plot hole, which is frowned upon…but, come on, who cares?
I’m going to take a giant leap of faith and assume anyone who actually likes Lou in any sort of capacity whatsoever isn’t much of a Mad Men fan. (And that godawful “Scout’s Honor” bullshit? Get out of here with that.) He’s a living, breathing, anthropomorphic version of a full-sized pickup equipped with smokestacks, a 4-foot suspension and 36-inch tires. Hell, throw in one of those dangly metal scrotums for good measure.
And this pompous, self-indulgent asshole was reintroduced within the first five minutes of “The Forecast,” slinging his usual bile-masquerading-merely-as-deprecation toward Joan at SC&P’s California office. Speaking of Joan (or, really anyone that isn’t Lou), she’s found a new flame while on the west coast. At first glance, her little tryst with Richard appears to be nothing more than just that, but after a falling out and a graceful apology, it seems as if it is meant to be more.
It would be a logical conclusion for Joan to let Richard act as the catalyst for her departure from the show. After all, they’re both sufficiently wealthy; he’s older (that’s kind of her type, right?); and with only four episodes left, all the loose strings have to be tied together at some point.
Another surprise reemergence came as Glen dropped in at the Francis residence to see Sally. Well, maybe it was actually to Betty. The relationship between Glen and Sally is fairly concrete, but the one between him and Betty is much more ambiguous and fluid. There isn’t a classification for it. Long story short: He’s enlisted and soon to be shipped out to Vietnam.
Overall, Don doesn’t play a large role in the episode. His major, arcing contribution is with a real-estate agent, who is selling his apartment. But, even that isn’t going well. After an unsuccessful day of meeting with potential buyers, she gets to the core of the problem, saying, “I’m not a magician. I have to show it to people with their eyes open. And you know what it looks like? It looks like a sad person lives here.”
Don has always been a character who is hard to read, but peeling back his layers has become increasingly simplified in the last half of this season. He is sad. That is an unequivocal fact.
So far, each episode has ended with Don losing something — Rachel, furniture and now the apartment. While I refuse to buy into any off-the-wall theory right now, if this trend of loss continues throughout the next four episodes, it’s fair to say anything is possible.
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