This last episode of "Madmen" was strange. Portraying the times, the sixties, it had in it "free love" and "drugs". Everyone at the ad agency receives a shot ---- a concoction of different drugs that get them high. The behavior that results is very strange, giving the show a surreal quality. Don, who's been acting strange all season, is especially weird in this episode. The flashbacks to his life as a child --- linking the past and the present are very effective.

Maybe the writers for "Game of Thrones" saw my blog from last week --- just kidding --- but this last episode was very easy to follow and thoroughly enjoyable. More next week about the story and the characters.

One of the noteworthy aspects of "Madmen" is the multiple readings or interpretations that are possible for events in the show. While this is usually a good thing, sometimes, like in the last episode, this can result in confusion , which makes the episode unsatisfying. One good thing, though, about this episode is that the relationship between Don and his mistress seems to have come to an end. I didn't like or really understand their relationship.

As an addendum to my previous blog, I'd like to note that as cited in the film review in the Guardian by Philip French Henry James asked: "Are we not moreover --- and let this pass as a happy note --- pretty
well all novelists now"? I recommend  the review which has a similar take and ideas on the film as my own.

One of the reasons why I decided to use this blog to write about  Sunday night TV shows is that I feel that they are superior to most of the movies that come out. But today I saw a great movie that I'd like to
tell you about. I'll write later about the weekly Sunday night TV shows. It's a French film called "In the house"--- "Dans la maison" in French --- and it's a meditation on both the writing process and the way we construct our life stories, the narratives of our lives. An insightful psychological exploration of the writing process, writing is viewed as a projection of our desires and needs. In the film the stories that are created by the protagonist --- a budding writer --- and reality are not always distinguishable: reality is a subjective experience in which we are all writers creating our narratives.

This season of Game of Thrones is exceptionally difficult to follow; there are so many characters and the plot is so complex. I still enjoy it but I wish they would simplify it; it's becoming a strain to watch.
Especially interesting in last Sunday's episode was the further development of the relationship between Jon Snow and the woman who initially captured him.

After a disappointing episode last week, it was good to see Madmen return to form this week with a highly entertaining episode. Don and Peter are both a lot of fun to watch because they behave so badly.
It's incredible that Peter with a completely straight face can call someone else a hypocrite. The episode also had a really nice and surprising twist: the merger of the two advertising firms.