“Mad Men” Water Cooler – “The Other Woman”

Mad Men Water Cooler – “The Other Woman”

“Mad Men,” I don’t know if I can handle you.

I will fully admit that last night’s episode was probably one of the hardest to watch. However, for me it was also the strongest episode of the season.

It’s hard to find some element of writing or design to pick up on, since so much happened concerning plot that it made it nearly impossible to focus on anything other than what was happening right before our eyes. Either Peggy or Joan’s plotlines alone would have been more than enough to bear, but coping with both of them in the space of one episode gave watchers a staggering amount of information to process.

“Mad Men” has been accused by critics in the past of having long stretches where nothing happens, but it makes episodes like this reveal how important pacing is when it comes to crafting compelling episodic television. Even still, all the writing in the world cannot compete with moments of honest, human interaction.

In an interview on AMC.com, Elizabeth Moss (Peggy) revealed that the moment where Don grasps her hand and refuses to let go was entirely unscripted. No one had told her that Jon Hamm would hold on as long as he did, leading to some very real tears for both Peggy and Moss. I don’t know about the rest of our readers, but that moment completely did me in and led to serious sniffling on my part.

We talk a lot on this blog about creativity, and the artistic process. And those tools are important; having a routine and a methodology can be incredibly helpful (for me, it involves the same table at my local coffee shop, the same iced coffee, and a series of eclectic Pandora stations).

But what that small moment in television demonstrates is that for all the planning, all the process, and the meticulous attention to detail, sometimes you just have to let go. That can manifest itself in a variety of ways, from the old childhood saw of coloring outside the lines to deviating from your usual routine (who knows, maybe tomorrow I’ll order a latte). It can involve throwing out the script and engaging in a series of improv exercises, or scribbling madly on a blank piece of paper and building an image out of those seemingly random lines.

It can seem out-there or random, but there are any number of ways to reconnect with the truth of what you are creating. What you find may surprise you, it may even shock you. But in those moments of truth…that’s when the magic happens.