"Dark Shadows" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Mad Men and the 61st episode of the series overall. It was written by Erin Levy and directed by Scott Hornbacher and originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on May 13, 2012.
In the episode, set in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving 1966,[2] Betty's bitterness over her weight gain and Megan's youth, beauty, lifestyle, and adoration from Don lead Betty to tell Sally about Anna Draper, in an attempt to cause turmoil amongst Sally, Don, and Megan. Don and Peggy are both irritated by Michael Ginsberg's rising star, and Don takes a devious approach to clip the wings of the cheeky young copywriter. Roger gets handed a new client (Manischewitz) by Bert Cooper, but Roger's decision that he needs more Jewish input to help him prompts him to involve his estranged wife Jane Siegel, with unfortunate results. Pete continues to resent the ending of his brief affair with Beth, the wife of his commuter-acquaintance Howard.
"Dark Shadows" received a polarizing reception from television journalists, with some criticizing its treatment of symbols and themes as being too heavy-handed. The episode's themes were pinpointed by many critics as insecurity and jealousy. "Dark Shadows" was viewed by 2.125 million viewers on the night of its original airing and drew 0.7 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic.[3]
The episode is titled after the gothicsoap operaDark Shadows, and features a scene of Megan helping her best friend Julia (Meghan Bradley) prepare to audition for a role on the show. The episode aired the same weekend that a film adaptation of the same name opened.[3]
Betty is making steady progress in her new Weight Watchers program as Thanksgiving approaches. When she visits the Draper home, however, she accidentally and covertly sees the youthful Megan getting dressed. Later, while helping Sally on a family tree project, Betty finds a love note Don had written to Megan. The note reawakens feelings of bitterness and discontent, and Betty passive-aggressively tells Sally to include Don's first wife (Anna Draper) on the family tree. Sally is taken aback, as she was unaware of her father's secret wife. When Sally questions Betty about Anna, Betty snippily tells her to ask Megan.
While staying with Megan and Don, Sally scolds Megan for lying to her. Later that night, Megan tells Don about Sally's knowledge of the late Anna Draper. Don becomes furious at Betty, but Megan tells him to let it go—Betty wants to ruin the marriage and Sally's relationships with Don and Megan from afar. Sally overhears this conversation, and to get back at her mother, she acts as if the revelation meant nothing.
Don becomes competitive with Ginsberg on the Sno Ball account after covertly looking through Ginsberg's private work, which shows many ideas that Don realises are better than his own. The creatives agree to pitch both Don's and Ginsberg's ideas to the Sno Ball executives. When it comes time to pitch the two ideas at the Sno Ball office, Don commits an act of sabotage by leaving Ginsberg's idea in the taxi cab. After Don's idea wins the account, Ginsberg confronts Don in the elevator and tells Don that he feels sorry for him. Don replies that he doesn't think about Ginsberg at all. Don leaves the elevator and a frown emerges over his face, revealing that he is, in fact, afraid of Ginsberg's youthful talent compared to his own creative decline.
Bert enlists Roger to dine with the Manischewitz executives and tells him to bring his wife, Jane Siegel. When Roger protests that Jane is now his ex-wife, Bert feigns surprise. Roger agrees to Jane's request that he buy her a new apartment, free of old memories, in exchange for her help wooing the client. The client dinner goes well, and the client's son (who is the decision maker in the client's firm) is smitten with Jane. Afterward, Jane and Roger have sex in Jane's new apartment. Jane wakes up the next day, despondent over what she perceives as Roger's "poisoning" of the new apartment by creating new memories there associated with their love.
Megan and Don prepare their Thanksgiving meal, as a toxic cloud of smog hangs over New York City. At the Francis household dinner, Betty gives thanks for having "everything I want".
ReceptionEdit
RatingsEdit
"Dark Shadows" was viewed by 2.125 million viewers on the night of its original airing. It drew 0.7 million viewers in the 18-49 demographic.[4]
Critical receptionEdit
The episode received polarized reactions from television journalists and bloggers, ranging from positive to negative. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club gave it a "B" rating, calling it the fifth season's most "scattered" episode. VanDerWerff argued that "the [camera] cut from the hovering smog to the Francis Thanksgiving is not exactly subtle, and I tire of when the show presents Betty as this bruised monster who's not in control of her own impulses [...] the show has always been at its best when it can harness some degree of sympathy for the woman."[5]
IGN writer Eric Goldman gave the episode an 8 out of 10, and pinpointed the episode's theme as "insecurity".[6]Paste Magazine writer Bonnie Stiernberg criticized the episode, saying: "It's not that 'Dark Shadows' wasn't a good episode—it was. But this week's theme felt a little heavy-handed; nearly every character's storyline was dominated by it in an obvious manner."[7]
Maureen Ryan of the Huffington Post called "Dark Shadows" the worst episode of the season, saying: "It was a bad episode of TV. And it was not in a special class of mediocrity that allows it to still somehow remain elevated above the fray. It made the mistakes that much less brilliant shows make. It repeated a lot of themes that we're already very familiar with, it didn't add to them in compelling or imaginative ways, and it featured a character [Betty] that just doesn't work."[8]
Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter was more forgiving towards the episode, noting: "I'm sure that some of the elements in 'Dark Shadows' will be table-setters for future storylines. It was an episode that seemed to gather itself, make a point while setting up plotlines, then end on time. That's all. There's no harm in that; such episodes come along at least twice in the season run of very good shows. But there was a heavy-handedness to the thematic illustration of self-interest in the episode – like the writers backed up a truck full of references to selfish behavior and dumped them into the room for ease of use. Mad Men can do better than this, of course. It has, and it will again. Just put the anvil down. We get it."[9]
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Dark Shadows is the ninth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Mad Men and the 61st episode of the series overall It was written by Erin Levy and directed by Scott Hornbacher and originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on May 13 2012 Dark Shadows Mad Men episodeEpisode no Season 5Episode 9Directed byScott HornbacherWritten byErin LevyFeatured music Sweepin the Clouds Away performed by Maurice Chevalier 1 Original air dateMay 13 2012 2012 05 13 Running time48 minutesGuest appearancesPeyton List as Jane Sterling Alexis Bledel as Beth Dawes Richard Fancy as Max Rosenberg Kate McNeil as Edith Huff Mason Vale Cotton as Bobby Draper Ben Feldman as Michael Ginsberg Jeff Clarke as Howard Dawes Mark Famiglietti as Bernie Rosenberg Eileen Barnett as Amelia Rosenberg Meghan Bradley as Julia Gabrielle Wagner as Judy StecklerEpisode chronology Previous Lady Lazarus Next Christmas Waltz Mad Men season 5 List of episodesIn the episode set in the weeks approaching Thanksgiving 1966 2 Betty s bitterness over her weight gain and Megan s youth beauty lifestyle and adoration from Don lead Betty to tell Sally about Anna Draper in an attempt to cause turmoil amongst Sally Don and Megan Don and Peggy are both irritated by Michael Ginsberg s rising star and Don takes a devious approach to clip the wings of the cheeky young copywriter Roger gets handed a new client Manischewitz by Bert Cooper but Roger s decision that he needs more Jewish input to help him prompts him to involve his estranged wife Jane Siegel with unfortunate results Pete continues to resent the ending of his brief affair with Beth the wife of his commuter acquaintance Howard Dark Shadows received a polarizing reception from television journalists with some criticizing its treatment of symbols and themes as being too heavy handed The episode s themes were pinpointed by many critics as insecurity and jealousy Dark Shadows was viewed by 2 125 million viewers on the night of its original airing and drew 0 7 million viewers in the 18 49 demographic 3 The episode is titled after the gothic soap opera Dark Shadows and features a scene of Megan helping her best friend Julia Meghan Bradley prepare to audition for a role on the show The episode aired the same weekend that a film adaptation of the same name opened 3 Contents 1 Plot 2 Reception 2 1 Ratings 2 2 Critical reception 2 3 Accolades 3 References 4 External linksPlot EditBetty is making steady progress in her new Weight Watchers program as Thanksgiving approaches When she visits the Draper home however she accidentally and covertly sees the youthful Megan getting dressed Later while helping Sally on a family tree project Betty finds a love note Don had written to Megan The note reawakens feelings of bitterness and discontent and Betty passive aggressively tells Sally to include Don s first wife Anna Draper on the family tree Sally is taken aback as she was unaware of her father s secret wife When Sally questions Betty about Anna Betty snippily tells her to ask Megan While staying with Megan and Don Sally scolds Megan for lying to her Later that night Megan tells Don about Sally s knowledge of the late Anna Draper Don becomes furious at Betty but Megan tells him to let it go Betty wants to ruin the marriage and Sally s relationships with Don and Megan from afar Sally overhears this conversation and to get back at her mother she acts as if the revelation meant nothing Don becomes competitive with Ginsberg on the Sno Ball account after covertly looking through Ginsberg s private work which shows many ideas that Don realises are better than his own The creatives agree to pitch both Don s and Ginsberg s ideas to the Sno Ball executives When it comes time to pitch the two ideas at the Sno Ball office Don commits an act of sabotage by leaving Ginsberg s idea in the taxi cab After Don s idea wins the account Ginsberg confronts Don in the elevator and tells Don that he feels sorry for him Don replies that he doesn t think about Ginsberg at all Don leaves the elevator and a frown emerges over his face revealing that he is in fact afraid of Ginsberg s youthful talent compared to his own creative decline Bert enlists Roger to dine with the Manischewitz executives and tells him to bring his wife Jane Siegel When Roger protests that Jane is now his ex wife Bert feigns surprise Roger agrees to Jane s request that he buy her a new apartment free of old memories in exchange for her help wooing the client The client dinner goes well and the client s son who is the decision maker in the client s firm is smitten with Jane Afterward Jane and Roger have sex in Jane s new apartment Jane wakes up the next day despondent over what she perceives as Roger s poisoning of the new apartment by creating new memories there associated with their love Megan and Don prepare their Thanksgiving meal as a toxic cloud of smog hangs over New York City At the Francis household dinner Betty gives thanks for having everything I want Reception EditRatings Edit Dark Shadows was viewed by 2 125 million viewers on the night of its original airing It drew 0 7 million viewers in the 18 49 demographic 4 Critical reception Edit The episode received polarized reactions from television journalists and bloggers ranging from positive to negative Emily VanDerWerff of The A V Club gave it a B rating calling it the fifth season s most scattered episode VanDerWerff argued that the camera cut from the hovering smog to the Francis Thanksgiving is not exactly subtle and I tire of when the show presents Betty as this bruised monster who s not in control of her own impulses the show has always been at its best when it can harness some degree of sympathy for the woman 5 IGN writer Eric Goldman gave the episode an 8 out of 10 and pinpointed the episode s theme as insecurity 6 Paste Magazine writer Bonnie Stiernberg criticized the episode saying It s not that Dark Shadows wasn t a good episode it was But this week s theme felt a little heavy handed nearly every character s storyline was dominated by it in an obvious manner 7 Maureen Ryan of the Huffington Post called Dark Shadows the worst episode of the season saying It was a bad episode of TV And it was not in a special class of mediocrity that allows it to still somehow remain elevated above the fray It made the mistakes that much less brilliant shows make It repeated a lot of themes that we re already very familiar with it didn t add to them in compelling or imaginative ways and it featured a character Betty that just doesn t work 8 Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter was more forgiving towards the episode noting I m sure that some of the elements in Dark Shadows will be table setters for future storylines It was an episode that seemed to gather itself make a point while setting up plotlines then end on time That s all There s no harm in that such episodes come along at least twice in the season run of very good shows But there was a heavy handedness to the thematic illustration of self interest in the episode like the writers backed up a truck full of references to selfish behavior and dumped them into the room for ease of use Mad Men can do better than this of course It has and it will again Just put the anvil down We get it 9 Accolades Edit Ben Feldman who plays Michael Ginsberg received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards References Edit Mad Men Dark Shadows TV Episode 2012 IMDb IMDb Hale Mike May 14 2012 Mad Men Watch What Are You Thankful For New York Times Retrieved May 15 2012 a b Hale Mike 14 May 2012 Mad Men Watch What Are You Thankful For The New York Times Retrieved 20 May 2012 Bibel Sara May 15 2012 Sunday Cable Ratings Game of Thrones Tops Real Housewives NJ The Client List Khloe amp Lamar Army Wives amp More TV by the Numbers Archived from the original on May 18 2012 Retrieved May 18 2012 VanDerWerff Emily May 14 2012 Dark Shadows Mad Men TV Club The AV Club Retrieved June 10 2012 Goldman Eric May 20 2012 Mad Men Dark Shadows Review IGN IGN Retrieved June 10 2012 Stiernberg Bonnie May 14 2012 Mad Men Review Dark Shadows Paste Magazine Retrieved June 10 2012 Ryan Maureen June 10 2012 Maureen Ryan Mad Men Recap Huffington Post Retrieved June 10 2012 Goodman Tim May 14 2012 Mad Men Spoiled Bastard Ep 9 Dark Shadows The Hollywood Reporter Retrieved June 10 2012 External links Edit Dark Shadows at AMC Dark Shadows at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dark Shadows Mad Men amp oldid 1160381532, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
