After biting Peggy’s head off (wrong place, wrong time once again), Joan headed home. Greg was there, packing to leave for basic, and fresh out of the shower. His attempts to comfort his upset wife (who he could only assume was sad about his departure) missed the mark. He really doesn’t know what this woman wants or needs. At least part of that is Joan’s fault, for not telling him why she was home early, but you can’t expect Joan to relate that embarrassing story to Greg. It’s just easier for her to lean back and let her onetime rapist, now her husband, have his way one last time before he ships out. For all her awesomeness, Joan is watching her best days go by in the rearview mirror. She doesn’t have any friends at the office, even though Greg seems to think she does. Her only contemporaries are the partners. Peggy could be a friend, but Joan refuses to let her in. And so, she’s getting older and more bitter. Married to someone she doesn’t truly love (though she may have talked herself into thinking she does), childless, and stuck in a bad position at work. Can I still blame Harry Crane for not getting her that promotion into the Sterling Cooper media department back when she helped read scripts? Good, I will.
I just rewatched this episode during its rerun on AMC Sunday mornings – the first time I saw it, I noted that it was the first time “Mad Men” ended with the credits rolling but no music playing over them. I wondered if there was something particular in the episode that made it special (like the silent clock in “24”). However, I wasn’t certain, so I’d be interested in hearing what you or other readers have to say about the matter.