'Mad Men' Continues To Be Television's Best Source of Passive-Aggressive Dialogue

I may not have been writing about it as intensively as before, but Mad Men still rocks my world. Last night’s episode was no exception, even if Joan was once again kept on the sidelines. That’s okay though. She doesn’t have much to do most episodes, but her handful of lines and furtive glares usually steal every single scene she’s in. She’s the queen of passive-aggression, which is saying a lot on a show that thrives on passive-aggression. In fact, I realized last night that one of the reasons why I absolutely love Mad Men is that for one hour each week, we get to hear some of the most crackling and withering passive-aggressive dialogue on TV. Between Betty’s silent war with Gloria and Pete’s clashes with his family (not to mention pretty much everything that comes out of PEGS’ mouth), the show is bubbling with tense, unspoken viciousness. AND I LOVE THAT.
Of course, Mad Men is also bursting at the seams with fascinating ideas about a whole slew of subjects, which is why after each episode, I like to go onto the show’s official site and watch “Inside Mad Men,” a woefully short two to three minute video in which creator Matt Weiner’s talks about the various themes and creative choices in each episode. I figured I’d save you the heavy lifting and embed the video here. Hope you enjoy.
Did you see last night’s episode? What did you think?