Roger says, after the call telling them they'd won the business, that the decision "wasn't even close."  So there's that.

Roger says, after the call telling them they'd won the business, that the decision "wasn't even close."  So there's that.

She was playing at being a sexy jaguar, and talking about how she could wear a bikini and they could paint spots (or stripes?) on her.  As if she was auditioning for a possible commercial spot.  Decidedly an odd moment.

She was playing at being a sexy jaguar, and talking about how she could wear a bikini and they could paint spots (or stripes?) on her.  As if she was auditioning for a possible commercial spot.  Decidedly an odd moment.

That's it—this has to be the most feminist show (certainly the most feminist great show) ever to have appeared on TV.  This episode was brutally clear-eyed about patriarchy and brutal about Don in particular:  he only gets to be one of the "good ones" to the extent that everyone else's use of male privilege leaves…

That's it—this has to be the most feminist show (certainly the most feminist great show) ever to have appeared on TV.  This episode was brutally clear-eyed about patriarchy and brutal about Don in particular:  he only gets to be one of the "good ones" to the extent that everyone else's use of male privilege leaves…

Well, Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson were the ones who beat the Beatles at that game.  The Monkees were pretty much just along for the ride.

Well, Bob Rafelson and Jack Nicholson were the ones who beat the Beatles at that game.  The Monkees were pretty much just along for the ride.

Well, it's trying to be generous.  My gut tells me that the accepting little New England town is basically an awkward and kind of slapdash choice for a place to work out the arc of Vito's non-transformation—but in a show of this quality, it's worth making the effort to see if something that looks iffy might have more…

Well, it's trying to be generous.  My gut tells me that the accepting little New England town is basically an awkward and kind of slapdash choice for a place to work out the arc of Vito's non-transformation—but in a show of this quality, it's worth making the effort to see if something that looks iffy might have more…

You're right about that anthology feel—I actually think of it as a strength of the last phase of the series, even if it's the sort-of accidental result of HBO upping its season order.  It fits with the sense you get, increasingly in the last couple of years of the show, that the creators are feeling a mounting…

You're right about that anthology feel—I actually think of it as a strength of the last phase of the series, even if it's the sort-of accidental result of HBO upping its season order.  It fits with the sense you get, increasingly in the last couple of years of the show, that the creators are feeling a mounting…

I very much like the notion that the Gilmore Girls town Vito strands himself in is his own version of the coma dream.  I've had something like that idea myself, as a way of recuperating what otherwise seems like a glaring weakness:  that the town looks as it does because what we're seeing isn't "the town itself"…

I very much like the notion that the Gilmore Girls town Vito strands himself in is his own version of the coma dream.  I've had something like that idea myself, as a way of recuperating what otherwise seems like a glaring weakness:  that the town looks as it does because what we're seeing isn't "the town itself"…

Exactly:  the sexual politics of Lakshmi and Harry are as crude and stupid ("but you already give it away!") as those of Don and Joan are sublimated and elegant.  (Though if anything downgrades the episode for me it's that the Lakshmi thing itself is a bit of crude underlining that the show doesn't really need.  Plus:…

Exactly:  the sexual politics of Lakshmi and Harry are as crude and stupid ("but you already give it away!") as those of Don and Joan are sublimated and elegant.  (Though if anything downgrades the episode for me it's that the Lakshmi thing itself is a bit of crude underlining that the show doesn't really need.  Plus:…

I think the stuff about advertising/consumerism/materialism is kind of a red herring in this episode.  What really structures it is an exploration of Roger's "every man for himself," reiterated last week:  two more-or-less peripheral characters, Lane and Kinsey, have found themselves trapped (both, in different ways,…

I think the stuff about advertising/consumerism/materialism is kind of a red herring in this episode.  What really structures it is an exploration of Roger's "every man for himself," reiterated last week:  two more-or-less peripheral characters, Lane and Kinsey, have found themselves trapped (both, in different ways,…

With you on this.  My love for the show has gradually slipped away during the past season—too often it's felt like it's been disappearing up its own ass, and increasingly since the return from hiatus.  It's such a great cast, and such a well-articulated premise, that I'm going to hope something good and less…

With you on this.  My love for the show has gradually slipped away during the past season—too often it's felt like it's been disappearing up its own ass, and increasingly since the return from hiatus.  It's such a great cast, and such a well-articulated premise, that I'm going to hope something good and less…