Mad Men Season 2 Episode 2: “Flight 1”

“Flight 1” Review

Grade: B+

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“Shoot the Plane Down”

Mad Men is elegant, richly-textured and full of warmth and sincerity. But just like last year, season two somewhat gets off to a slow start. This will become a bit of a trend — the early episodes of any given Mad Men season are slightly inconsequential from a storyline standpoint. “Flight 1” is no different

For example, the major storylines of “Flight 1” include Paul Kinsey dating a black girl, Peggy Olson visiting her family, and Don and Betty Draper hosting a game of bridge. Sounds exhilarating, right?

Yet from a character development standpoint, “Flight 1” excels. Even though the storylines don’t amount to much, the episode weaves an exquisite tapestry of introspection and contemplation.

That being said, it’s still the most boring installment since “Babylon.”

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The most notable storyline occurs when American Airlines Flight 1 crashes into Jamaica Bay, leaving no survivors. Even more notable is the fact that Pete Campbell’s father was among the fatalities.

“New Amsterdam” was Mad Men’s first attempt at humanizing Pete, formerly the show’s most insufferable character. “Flight 1” follows a similar blueprint, as Pete is unsure how to feel about the death of the man who hated him since birth. He shows little emotion over the tragedy and doesn’t even cry when he has to console his mother (who never loved him either). Ironically, his indifferent demeanor is what earns our sympathy.

As a matter of fact, everyone seems rather indifferent about the crash. Duck Philips sees it as an opportunity to pursue the American Airlines account, which forces Don to reluctantly drop Mohawk Airlines as a client.

Meanwhile, the rest of the employees — just a few minutes after huddling around the radio to listen to the news report — make several distasteful jokes about plane crashes. Life goes on.

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In the season premiere, we saw Don wandering aimlessly throughout his day-to-day activities, stuck in an eternal mid-life crisis. And just as Pete is unsure how to react to his father’s death, Don is unsure how to react to … well … everything. He takes great regret in dropping Mohawk Airlines, showing how much he values loyalty when it comes to business.

The irony is that this is the only place where he values loyalty. At home, he’s becoming increasingly bored with Betty’s trivial complaints, and “Flight 1” hints that the only thing that can give Don the jolt of energy he needs is another woman in his life. For now, however, his next affair will have to wait. When a sexy Asian waitress flirts with him at a restaurant, Don politely says, “Not tonight.” (The key word, of course, being “tonight.”)

Even though Don’s been on his best behavior, nothing much has changed. We know his self-destructive nature will soon resume, it’s only a matter of time. “Flight 1” takes place in an unusually quiet time in his life, which lends to the episode’s even-tempered feel. The installment is necessary yet forgettable.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

• We also find out that Peggy gave her baby up for adoption after it was born. In one of the episode’s most heartbreaking scenes, Peggy visits her sister’s children and is still reluctant to even acknowledge her own child’s existence. Like everyone else in the episode, she’s indifferent to the changes around her.

• My first time watching the series, I thought that Peggy’s older sister, Anita, had adopted Peggy’s baby. I was a little confused about the identities of Anita’s kids.

• An interesting Mad Men thesis: the series is about characters who are ashamed of their pasts, and so work becomes the only way to forget their trauma. Peggy’s motivation at Sterling Cooper stems from her poor Catholic upbringing. Likewise, Pete is glad his father died, as he never approved of his career as an account manager. And Don, well, he is always on the run from his past, thus fueling his fast-paced life as creative director.

• The episode opens with a party at Paul Kinsey’s apartment, in which he introduces his new girlfriend to the rest of his co-workers. Joan Holloway, who previously had a fling with Paul, ridicules his choice, claiming that he’s just dating a black woman to seem cultured and progressive. Even though Joan comes across as racist, she’s right about one thing — Paul is as pretentious as the pipe he smokes.

• In retaliation, Paul puts Joan’s birth certificate on a bulletin board for all to see. She was born on February 24, 1931 in case you didn’t know, which makes her 31-years-old.

• The episode is dedicated to Christopher Allport, who played Pete’s father in season one. Allport died in an avalanche while snowboarding in 2008.

• The American Airlines Flight 1 disaster took place on March 1, 1962.

• Don and Betty host bridge night with Francine (Betty’s neighborhood friend) and her husband Carlton. Francine is still the same (dull), while Carlton has put on a few pounds since last season (but still wants to cheat on his wife).

• “Flight 1” was written by Lisa Albert and series creator Matthew Weiner and directed by Andrew Bernstein

SLOGANEERING

• “I’m enjoying the story so far, but I have a feeling it’s not going to end well.”

• “Is it so hard to just leave everything at the door and just do your job?”

• “My father was on that plane.”

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