Season 2: Episode 4: "Three Sundays"
I'm not here to tell you about Jesus, you already know about Jesus.
Season 2: Episode 4
“Three Sundays”
Written by Andre Jacquemetton & Maria Jacquemetton
Directed by Tim Hunter
Setting: April 8th - April 22, 1962
There’s an aspect of Season 2 that is growing on me and I have to acknowledge it before I jump into this recap.
My hardest laugh of the season so far came from this shot of Father John Gill and Peggy’s family posing for a photo as her brother-in-law naps in the background.
It’s hilarious because the brother is pulling a Homer Simpson-esque scheme to just not go to church and interact with Father Gill… and that’s kind of what this season is. Every character is in a situation where they are thinking “Now how can I get out of this?”
For another Simpsons’ reference, I am reminded of Jimmy Carter’s Springfield statue that is simply inscribed “MALAISE FOREVER”
Season 2 of Mad Men never stops feeling uncomfortable in a way that extends beyond the new characters of Bobbie Barrett and Father John Gill.
Malaise is “a general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness whose exact cause is difficult to identify.” Even before Bobbie and Father Gill enter the scene, everyone seems uneasy. I think Season 6 hits a similar feeling but captures new energy by having humor that borders on the surreal.
What is growing on me about season 2 is that the writers are having fun with how little seems to be happening. With each episode, this malaise builds and we’re starting to see the cracks form. No one can find peace in 1962, their year of nothingness.
Peggy feels as if she is wasting her valuable time by attending a church that she only goes to for the sake of her family.
Don and Betty feel as if they are wasting their “not valuable” time by constantly being pestered by their children whom he refuses to punish.
Roger feels nothing from any aspect of his life that he knows well - his job, his wife, his daughter - so he has sex with a call girl precisely because he doesn’t know her.
At Sterling Cooper even, nothing happens with the American Airlines deal after Duck’s contact is suddenly fired right before the big meeting.
No one knows what is happening and no one is excited towards what they are possibly working towards.
Mad Men - It’s a show about nothing!
But “Three Sundays,” as Mad Men always is, is also about the past.
Don’s “nothing” reaction to punishing his kids is explained by his past when his father brutally beat him. One of Don’s great virtues is that he never harms his children.
Peggy experiences nothing but guilt at mass because the institution and its beliefs reject her. To make matters worse, Father John Gill is clearly interested in her romantically. She is both shunned and desired when she wants neither of those things. Peggy does not show interest in anything that is not her work. That includes her family.
Roger is so empty because his daughter is being pushed to plan her wedding. He has to tell her how wonderful his wedding was while he regularly cheats on her mother. When Roger finds himself in a bad situation, he often sinks lower perhaps to just see how low he can get. It makes his high feel even higher. He sleeps with a call girl because it reminds him of his days in the Navy. Roger feels young again and like life is moving towards something.
Time is the only way to make sense of a present that feels unreal. There is a limited understanding in the heat of the moment, something everyone at Sterling Cooper except Don does not realize. They rejected Mohawk Airlines and took a slim chance on American because it felt exciting as a bigger possibility.
They wanted more and now they have nothing.
Where “Three Sundays” excels compared to the prior episodes is that we see all of the characters for who they are, their strengths and flaws. Don is a lying cheater but he also doesn’t hit his kids. He loves his kids but he’s still gonna make his daughter play bartender.
He is a complex man growing tired of his “perfect American” exterior. Don Draper has lived a lie for so long that the lie has become boring. He finds comfort only when he tells the truth like when he connects with his son over stories of his father.
I’ve heard this described as a good “intro” episode to Mad Men if you haven’t seen the pilot yet. You’ll understand all of the central characters and what drives them but I’d still recommend any Father Gill-less episodes if you want to entice a potential new fan to watch. As long as Father Gill is in an episode, Mad Men will be “Malaise Forever” and that’s the point.
Life isn’t always exciting but that can change in just a moment.
Everyone is waiting for that moment.
