Is Megan Aidan?Complications Ensue
Complications Ensue:
The Crafty Screenwriting, TV and Game Writing Blog




Archives

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

January 2018

March 2018

April 2018

June 2018

July 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

November 2019

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

August 2020

September 2020

October 2020

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

May 2021

June 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

August 2022

September 2022

November 2022

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

July 2023

September 2023

November 2023

January 2024

February 2024

 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Lisa and I watched the MAD MEN finale last night. Quite an episode.

/* SPOILERS */
/* SPOILERS */
/* SPOILERS */

Lisa and I had an interesting conversation this morning about where the show is going to take Megan. Lisa interpreted the conversation with Betty Draper ("so you'll move again") to reflect back on Don. No marriage is perfect, and he'll pick this one apart, too.

But Lisa is a fretter, while I'm an optimist. I interpreted Don's comment to be a criticism, because Betty is a perfectionist control freak who'll never be happy. Don seems to have made the decision to finally be happy -- I think this episode is the first time I've ever actually seen him happy.

Of course TV shows rely on conflict, and characters not changing, so Lisa's probably right.

But that raises the Aidan issue. Aidan Shaw, you'll recall, was John Corbett's character on SEX AND THE CITY. He was pretty much Mr. Perfect. Low-key, loving, available, and he's a carpenter in New York. (Non-New Yorkers: it is almost impossible to find a carpenter in New York, let alone a craftsman. A carpenter in New York will never, ever, ever be out of work. Ever.)

So when Carrie dumped him, for me, some of the wind went out of the show. I stopped believing that Carrie Bradshaw was seriously looking for someone to be with, and it became apparent that what she really wanted was to keep dating.

And again, of course that's an artifact of it being a TV show, because the show is about Carrie wearing fabulous clothes and dating. It would have taken major lifting to morph the show into an equally satisfactory show about a writer in New York with a happy marriage. The show was never made for my demographic, and it's been hugely successful.

But creatively, when you create a Megan or an Aidan, you've created a challenge, I think. It never bothered me when Don cheated on Betty. First of all because I met the mistress before I met Betty -- she's the last character to show up in the pilot. And because Don's relationship with Betty is so shallow. For him, she's someone to raise the kids, and for her, he's someone to pay for the house. There are issues with all of Don's lovers. Even Faye, Ms. Almost Right, can't deal with kids, and that's a dealbreaker for Don, who lost his parents.

But Megan is pretty much perfect. Nurturing, loving, low-key ("It's just a milkshake"), smart, sexually liberated, and ambitious. (And played by the utterly adorable Jessica Paré, about whom you will, God and Telefilm willing, be reading more in these pages anon.)

So unless Season 5 is going to be about Don having a happy home life -- and what are the odds of that -- what does the show do? Joss Whedon would probably kill her, but I don't think this is that kind of show. Or Don starts to chafe at the bonds of happiness. But the price of that is we stop believing that he really wants to be happy.

The third way would be to slowly reveal that Megan's not so perfect after all. After all, when a girl throws herself at you, odds are there are going to be some surprises along the way. She could be bipolar. Or just plain nuts. Then we get to see something we've never seen in Don before: trying to hold onto a relationship that's falling apart for reasons that, for once, aren't his fault.

That's the way I'd go. But I'm an optimist.

Meanwhile, what to make of Matthew Weiner's portrayal of Betty Draper? A few months ago I began to feel that Betty is a portrayal of Weiner's mother. This is not based on any interviews or facts, it was just starting to get so intimately harsh, the way when you see a really harsh portayal of the Catholic church you know the writer must have been an altar boy. But then I found out that that creepy neighbor kid, Glen Bishop, is played by Marten Weiner, Matthew Weiner's son. Ooooohkay. I wonder where that portrayal came from.

Of course it could all just come out of Matthew Weiner's head. But creativity doesn't come from nowhere. Almost all of Lisa's main characters are trying to get over something they can't get over. A lot of my characters are trying to find a faith they can believe in.

What do you think?

Labels:

3 Comments:

It's very interesting that you bring up Carrie because in some ways she and Don have similar psychological issues. They're both self-absorbed, charming, and unable to make a commitment.

I think that Don's problems aren't going to be solved by just resolving to be happy. He's got some really deep-rooted issues right there what with the abandonment and the abusive stepmother. Those aren't the kinds of issue you get over by dint of willpower. Trust me. That crap needs deep, effective therapy, not marriage. And that's not even bringing up the whole Don Draper/Dick Whitman issue. Don has a lot of stuff to face and he's not facing it. In short, the subconscious is one powerful bitch and it often takes its revenge via unconscious self-sabotaging acts. These are not done on purpose, either but they are pervasive and pop up in weird ways.

Dealing with a shitty childhood is a little bit like being obese: You can't just resolve to get thinner and Wham! lose 100 lbs the next day. It's really really hard work and there are a lot of reversals, false starts, etc. Dealing with trauma entails a huge paradigm shift in how you organize reality and how you deal with the world. And it entails having to put up with paralyzing fear left over from when you were a kid. Fear of being bad, fear of being found out, fear of being punished. If you don't face that crap, you're actually living in a horrible nightmare in which you keep repeating the same horrible trauma. (Hence the "Groundhog Day" reference that came through with Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe.")

So what I see for the show is that Megan IS great but nevertheless Don still acts out. Megan gets wise to the fact that she's been put in the position of savior, in a way, and she kicks him out when he least expects it. He goes into a tailspin much worse than any previous one. Megan is not Betty. She's a lot stronger and a lot more grounded. She's not going to put up with Don's bullshit like all Don's previous women did (even supposedly strong Faye betrayed her ethics and got him a meeting with Heinz).

That's what life is like for people like Don who don't face the past AND it also makes good drama. Just like they say in 12 step groups, people don't change until they hit bottom. Until life kicks you so hard in the ass.

So, actually, I think the writers have set themselves up with a lot of juicy possibilities.

By Blogger Marly K, at 7:59 PM  

(Congrats on the book, Alex!)

Everything you said sounds mostly right, so I'll just add an observation on where some of next season's conflict might come from: Faye. Hell hath no etc., and remember that she has an especially sharp weapon: he confided in her completely about the Dick Whitman situation. We've seen him weather that often enough, at this point, but exposure of his past still clearly terrifies him...

By Blogger CJ at Creating a Comic, at 2:15 AM  

I agree with your take, Alex, except the last guess that perhaps Megan will be revealed to be bi-polar or something. My disagreement comes only from my own optimism: I hope the show is better than that, that Weiner is smarter than that -- and that the show does not repeat itself, and does not get locked into patterns as you pointed out SitC doing. MM has already had Don in relationships with troubled women -- most especially Betty. I think the drama can come from Don struggling to be that man he wants to be -- especially when he can no longer excuse his lapses by blaming his partner. I think that was set up by the proposal scene: Don outright stated Megan inspired him to be his best.
Weiner has said that the show for him is about a man maturing -- and that means growth and change. I don't think he either wants Don to fall any further -- he in fact referred to mid-season 4 as Don's low-point in life -- nor repeat or remain trapped in unfaithful patterns of the past.

By Blogger Paul Worthington, at 12:47 PM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.



This page is powered by Blogger.