Mad Men -- What in the Hare Krishna is Goin' on Here?

*Warning: Spoilers ahead from the latest episode of Mad Men.*

Joan and Don flirted in a bar after taking a bright red Jaguar for a spin. And they didn't wind up sleeping together.

Paul Kinsey joined the Hare Krishnas and shaved his head.

Harry Crane had sex in the office with a Hare Krishna leader Lakshmi, a woman for whom Paul not only has feelings but wants to build a life with her. Guilty Harry handed Paul money and urged him to flee to Hollywood to follow his dreams.

Megan channeled Betty Draper as she raged about Don blowing off dinner and not telling her where he was all night.

Lane embezzled thousands of dollars from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce and forged Don's signature. (Oh the delicious irony of Don -- who stole his identity from a dead man -- having his signature forged.)

Roger, who sported some hideous attire in this episode, actually told Joan he wanted to be responsible -- Roger Sterling, responsible! -- and pay child support for Kevin.

To quote Liz Lemon . . . What the what? For yet another week in this very different fifth season from the previous four, events seemed out of whack. (At least there were no semi-naked shots of Rory Gilmore.) Characters behaved, well, out of character so much so that I have no idea what to expect from anyone next week. Will Joan burn her bra? Will Roger join the priesthood? Pete join the anti-war movement?

For example, we already knew that there was more to Lane than his all-business, musty British demeanor. He wanted to leave his wife last season. He had an affair with an African-American Playboy bunny. He drunkenly shouted at a movie screen and later a fine restaurant -- remember the slab of steak he held up as his belt buckle? -- with Don before the two of them busied themselves with women of the evening.

Lane isn't a shrinking violet by any means, the man who "sacked" Don, Roger and Burt in order to afford them a head start to launch their new firm with which he'd be a partner. But I never pegged Lane as an embezzler or someone who'd mess with the books for his own personal gain. He's the guy who chastised Joan last year for wanting to spend "too much" on a Christmas party, then had to turn around and throw a pricey shindig because Lee Garner Jr. announced he'd be making an appearance. A commenter on a TV blog posed an interesting query: On what is Lane spending all his money? Why is he suddenly skint?

As for Joan, I'd completely understand if she wants to wash her hands of Roger's immaturity and is fed up with men in general, especially after Greg's self-serving stunt with the divorce papers. But it doesn't seem to make sense for Kevin's future financial well being, that she'd spurn Roger's offer of monetary support. It's short-sighted and Joan's not usually short-sighted. But hey, at least she didn't melt into Don's arms when he asked her to dance. Now THEY would've made an intriguing couple. If Joan had danced with Don and made it clear that she was open to more, I wonder if Don would've slept with her or said, "Thanks but no thanks."

While the light in Don's eyes from having Megan work on his creative team has been extinguished -- severely disappointing Don who'd sloughed his work to the side in favor of doting on his new wife -- Megan is now wading into Betty territory (although when she chucked the dinner plate against the wall it reminded me of when Don hurled Bobby's toy against the wall after Betty urged him to "do something" when Bobby was misbehaving during dinner). However I don't think Don's a fan of this side of Megan, not when she's yelling at him or openly criticizing Don's profession. Was it her rejection of advertising that set the fire under Don's behind again and prompted him to make that rousing speech about the Jaguar account, recommitting himself to his work?

Last, but not least, the Hare Krishna thing. Paul in that get-up. Harry falling for Lakshmi's line that she was "burning" for him. Harry, not known for being generous with anyone, giving his now floundering colleague a whole lot of money and a load of encouraging words. This I did not see coming. At. All. I was glad to see old Paul though, I'd been wondering what had become of him, just like I wonder whether we'll see Sal Romano again, or his wife Kitty who's busy wrecking her medical career over on Grey's Anatomy.

Image credit: Jordin Althaus/AMC.

Mad Men -- Everybody's Lookin' Out for Number One

*Warning: Spoilers ahead from the latest episode of Mad Men.*

"You are not loyal. You only think about yourself." -- Peggy Olson to Roger Sterling after Roger gave a new copywriter extra work (and cash) instead of asking Peggy.

Everybody's got an agenda, and it's all about benefiting the person they see in the mirror every day.

Betty, who doesn't seem to want what she has but wants what she can't have (food, Don's affection/respect/confidences), wants to make Don and Megan miserable so she'll feel better about herself, particularly after getting a glimpse of the slender Megan when she was getting dressed.

Don, who hasn't been exercising his creative muscles lately, wants to best an up-and-coming copywriter so he'll feel better about himself and doesn't play fair when he uses his seniority to trump the guy.

Pete -- who, like Betty, doesn't want his life or his spouse -- daydreams about sexy dalliances with a woman who's married to the guy with whom he commutes to work every morning. That's when he wasn't off trying to promote himself and only himself, excluding other members of his firm . . . only to fail miserably in his public relations efforts. (Have I mentioned how much I hate Pete Campbell? Snake.)

Roger, who ditched the loyal mother of his first child for a younger wife who he also dumped after he grew bored with her too, wants to sully Jane's new digs so he'd be the first man to have her in her apartment even though Jane expressly said she wanted a fresh break from him, after she extracted a bribe from him in exchange for accompanying him to work dinner.

Everybody's a selfish git in this episode, scheming and maneuvering about how to handle situations in ways which are beneficial to themselves. Even characters who have always been selfish -- Don, Roger, Pete -- demonstrated a little extra self-absorption at the expense of others in their workplace with Don smacking down an employee whose efforts could help Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce's bottom line, Roger blowing off Peggy who'd helped him in a pinch and Pete who was only looking out for himself and not his ad agency when he made his bid for New York Times publicity.

The cruelty we saw that was personal in nature was rooted in each character's insecurities. Betty, unhappily overweight, wanted to hurt Don and his thin trophy wife by not only trying to wreck Megan's warm relationship with Sally, but by telling Sally about Anna Draper, hoping to damage Sally's relationship with her father. Roger, who didn't like the notion of being replaced in Jane's bed by the twentysomething son of a client, wanted to wreck Jane's fresh start. Megan's friend Julia, who was trying out for a role that Megan said was fairly lousy, lashed out at Megan for being freed from having to audition for crappy scripts because she sits on an affluent "throne" courtesy of her husband's money.

Nobody seems happy with anybody. Nobody seems nice to anyone else, except for Henry, who chose not to tell his weight watching wife that he was starving after all the low-calorie dinners and fried up his own steak in the middle of the night, hoping she wouldn't notice. (Henry already demonstrated his insecurities earlier this season when he didn't tell Betty that Don had called to inquire about her health after she feared she had cancer.)

By the way, what is up with Megan being barefoot all the time? Is this supposed to represent a new, freer, youthful, late 1960s kinda vibe? It certainly contrasted with Betty who showed up in Don's apartment looking like the 1960s housewife she is.

Image credit: Michael Yarish/AMC.