This episode was probably a culmination of various women/hecklers Louis has had the opportunity to interact with over the years, but since I am conveniently one of those women, who happens to be blonde, bold, and drunk at the time, I can now say that I have made it. So TV writers, if you would like me to come down and yell at you for a bit so you have a plot/arc for an upcoming episode, let me know. I work freelance.

Peggy was not the only one who made moves this week. Betty Draper is on a search for something, so she begins to set her sights on an administration position within the local Junior League. The ladies are excited to bring on an intelligent and attractive woman and need help stopping the installation of a water tank in their town. Betty mentions that she knows a person who could help, one with connections to the governor. Henry Francis, the men she met earlier in the summer at Roger’s party, meets with her to discuss the political help she needs, but seems more interested in other things. It seems that Don was not the only Draper to meet someone of note at the Sterling party. Don has been dealing with his recent relationship with Conrad Hilton, who also met at the Sterling party. The agency has been proposing that Don now sign a contract, which was requested by Hilton himself. At first, he refused to sign a contract that would officially bring Conrad Hilton and his business on board, since it would tie Don down to Sterling Cooper for three years. After discussing it with nearly everyone in the office, Roger Sterling took it upon himself to ask Betty to work on Don for him. And let’s just say this did not help to strengthen the already very weakened friendship between the two men.

Don seems to have stepped back this episode as he is confronted with the idea that Sally’s flirtatious teacher didn’t think of him any differently than she does of the rest of the suburban fathers. His charms have not worked on her and her straight forwardness makes Don question himself, which seems to help him sink back into his old erratic behavior. What we have learned about Don Draper over the years is that he can not be questioned and yet, we see Roger, Betty, Peggy and even Sally’s teacher point out that he is not making the best decisions. Don decides to take a drive and pick up what seems to be a relatively normal looking couple, who quickly ply Don with drugs and alcohol. The couple pretends they are heading off to get married to avoid the upcoming Vietnam draft, which Don informs them is still sometime away. Its nice to see that advertising inside track is helping him with political questions. For some reason, probably the drugs, he goes with them to a hotel and after some weird interaction with the couple and next level with his father, who also questioned his manhood and life choices, he was quickly knocked out and mugged. He wakes up on the floor, covered in blood and with a near empty wallet. Luckily, the bastards left him the car, which seems like a strange thing to do, but who knows. Draper cleans himself up and heads into the office, where he knows he will have to face the music.

Cooper decides to explain the importance of Don signing this contract, essentially securing his talents and the business for Sterling Cooper for the next few years. His speech was perfect, poking at the information he was given about Don’s real identity back during the first season. “Would you say I know something about you, Don?” Cooper asked, following it up with, “After all, when it comes down to it, who’s really signing this contract anyway?” Don knows he has to sign, but while doing so and dating it 7/23/1963, he demands to sever all contact with Roger Sterling. Don quickly heads home and informs Betty that he has indeed signed the contract, while she is laying comfortably on her chaise. We are left wondering how the strife between Sterling and Draper will affect the agency and if Peggy will leverage Duck for some heavy work at Sterling Cooper.

But, the most important plot development occurred during the goodbye Joan celebration, after the restructure announcement courtesy of the British boys. Picture the entire office drunk on crappy champagne, thankful to have their jobs for at least a few more months. Enter a John Deere riding mower, courtesy of Ken Cosgrove’s latest account acquisition. And you get this…..

Yeppers, that ditsy secretary Lois, took off on the mower, running over the new CFO Guy MacKendrick’s foot. And per Sterling, “just went he got it in the door”. Everyone freaked, except for Joan, who as always took command of the situation and practically saved his life. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for his foot. Lane gets to stay in his position because apparently missing a foot is cause to give up your career in the 1960′s. Some people think this is a foreshadowing for assasination of President John F. Kennedy, which just so happens to share its date, November 23rd, 1963, with the upcoming nuptials of Roger Sterling’s daughter. Some think this could be foreshadowing the effect of the Vietnam War, since the group were earlier discussing the lack of the draft and then they are covered in blood. The gory scene might not be a great signifier for a either developing political change, but it will mostly likely mark the end of the free spirited days of Sterling Cooper, you can bet on that. All things point to the demise of Roger Sterling in this week’s episode and the overwhelming maturity of Don Draper. Thanks to a chance encounter with Conrad “Connie” Hilton earlier in the season, Don has just secured a deal to work with Hilton Hotels. And hopefully the contract was signed before Guy’s blood was shed on the office floor. After this episode, I am incredibly anxious as to what’s going to happen to darling Joan, what the future holds for Mr. Sterling and to see what other effects the missing foot will bring unto Sterling Cooper.

And finally, this episode we watched as Don, who was tested by Sally’s flirty school teacher and reminded of his faults from the young father in the hospital, as he was able to avoid temptation and begin his evolution into the father and husband he knows he needs to be. Be it maturity or just an awakening, but I sort of like the sensitive Don. But who knows how long this version of Don will stick around. Next week it seems there will be more turmoil inside the agency and that Pete has not yet been able to come to grips with the loss of Peggy and his child.

Over at AMCTV.com, they have a wonderful inside look at this week’s episode and what it really means to evolution of each character. It gets into the heart of what has been eating at Betty all season and Peggy’s personal struggle to figure out her life’s path. Check it out!

And thanks to the perfect reality TV tool of foretelling interview sequences, we know right away that the bottom bunch for the quickfire will be a handful of women (Thanks Robin). On the other hand, Kevin wowed the judges with his snail fricassee and with his win, he secured immunity as well as a seat at the elimination challenge table. Anyway back to the losers: Ashley, Jesse and Robin all ended up at the bottom of the snail heap and were asked to create an amuse bouche in like two minutes to see who should get the boot. Jesse’s did not make the cut and she was asked to pack her knives and get the F out the kitchen, which obviously didn’t make her happy. See?

So for the elimination challenge, the chefs, sans Kevin, picked knives which held proteins that would split them into teams. They then found out that they would be creating dishes for French masters like Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel, and Joël Robuchon. I can’t even imagine what must have been going through Kevin’s head, not only does he get to sit out on this challenge, but he gets to discuss food with French culinary masters, as well as learning what his opponents in the kitchen can really bring to a challenge first hand. This really is the best prize so far. Some of the teams, while picked at random, were practically guaranteed a win, like Jen and Michael V. and Bryan and Mike I. These two teams were focused, their talents complimented each other and their communication was the core ingredient to a winning dish. And the other teams, like Robin and Ron, Ash and Hector, Laurine and Eli and finally Mattin and Ashley, seemed stressed, uncomfortable and it could be seen in their dishes. Mattin, who is French and well versed with the cuisine, took control over his team with some lackluster results. Robin and Ron kept it simple and under the radar as always and Laurine and Eli were safe with their lobster dish. But Hector and Ash seemed to have the biggest issues with their dish, with their meat not cooked correctly and no sauce to add to it. When the masters were eating, they seemed to truly love Jen and Michael’s rabbit chasseur and felt that Brian and Mike I.’s trout dish was superb. The trout was cooked perfectly and the deconstructed béarnaise sauce drove the judges crazy. Now Kevin was incredibly smart and tactful after the dinner, avoiding confirmation of anything he had heard at the dinner table, which allows him to be as impartial as Switzerland.

When the winners were called in, Mike I showcased why he is a perfect team mate, he knows where credit is due. While I definitely have a few problems with this dude, his understanding of what it takes to be successful in the kitchen is impressive. And the adorable chemistry between Jen and Michael V. made me hope there could be a love connection down the line, but thats the reality romantic in me. Michael I. won the challenge with his interesting take on trout and won the opportunity to work in Joel Robuchon’s restaurant for a week, an incredible honor for any chef. And for the bottom four, Ash, Hector, Mattin and Ashley, the judges were beyond not pleased with what they were given. But overall, Mattin’s lackluster meal fared better than Hector’s poorly cooked beef dish. Since this was the second time Hector was on the chopping block for his methods of cooking beef, the judges had to have him go. I think its actually the only that save Mattin and his red neckerchief. Overall, this challenge was able to showcase the level of talent that is participating this season. I cant image any other group of chefs from the show’s history being so calm and able to perform the feat of preparing French cuisine for the masters of the technique. I just hope that these ladies start coming to forefront and killing it.

The first challenge to befall the designers was to create a red carpet look that was next level, interesting and yet an interpretation of what to expect from them in the future. Tim Gunn gave this news upon the Primetime Emmys red carpet, so you know this season will be all about Hollywood and at the same time your sadly reminded how gosh darn long ago this mess was taped. So the designers head to the LA outlet of Mood, which was created on site at FIDM just for the series, to buy their $200 of fabric for their red carpet look. They all seemed to have a great grasp on what they wanted to accomplish with their first challenge, but it was Johnny, the former meth addict that was bringing the whole vibe down. He hated his sketches, was terrified of pattern and seemed to be very very overwhelmed with the prospect of the competition. In essence, he had the first meltdown and we had only seen about the first five minutes of the show. Overall, it seemed to be quite a skilled group of designers and a refreshing change from other season’s first challenges, where there seemed to be tons of freak outs and bad designs.

Johnny seemed to pull it together and create a really refreshing design after his heart to heart with Tim Gunn. Ari Fish, an adorable pixie who resembles Samantha Ronson, was obviously the avant garde designer of the group and since she doesn’t create runway looks, went against t the grain and create a silver quilted tunic and a pair of shorts to go underneath. Unless Lady Gaga is walking down the runway, I am not sure who would have rocked this look. Other standouts for disaster were Mitchell, who was creating a see through version of one of Mrs. Roper’s dusters and Malvin, with his dowdy cocktail length dress and his Thompson Twins style haircut. Mitchell’s nightie was literally sewn, with help of the model and other designers, up until the dress went down the runway. It was basically see through and completely unwearable.

The runway led to the season’s first surprise guest judge, the lovely orange Lindsay Lohan. I was excited to see this hip celeb, who considers herself a designer, as a guest judge, especially on this particular challenge. Sadly, I’m not sure Lohan was excited for the task. She came to the runway with an air of boredom and dislike. In between her dismissive looks, she continuously commented on “sexy backs” and overused the generic statement “I really liked this dress”.

When it came to the designs, there were more than a handful I thought could be the winners, but the top honors went to Johnny’s, Chris’ and Ra-mon’s. Johnny’s was inventive and definitely a different silhouetted than normal for the red carpet. The judges loved the construction, but they felt it would be chicer in a more subdued color, like navy or black. Ra-mon’s was classic runway. It was constructed well, fit the model like a glove and could be worn at the Emmys or the Oscars. While the judges loved the dress, they felt that Ra-mon was a bit too safe with such a standard style and wanted to see him break through to a more exciting silhouette. And Chris’ was, as Michael Kors described it, cute yet edgy. His cocktail length dress was a wonderful option for any young starlet attempting to make a scene on the carpet and with a few minor changes, the judges thought it was a perfect response for the challenge. Chris was crowned the winner and then we learned that Ari, Mitchell and surprisingly Qristyl’s duel pattern dress were considered the worst in the bunch.

Ari’s dress, or tunic, was definitely inventive but didn’t really meet the challenge’s requirements. I think that if she had produced a better bottom, such as a sateen cigarette pant in black or extended the length of the tunic, this might not have been such a flop. Qristyl’s dress seemed to be poorly constructed in the front and seemed to not fit the model well, which would be the kiss of death for any star walking down the red carpet. But the real failure in my mind was Mitchell’s dress or lack thereof. His dress was essential a nude sheer nightgown with a lovely detailed neckline. He complained that he had to basically sew this by hand 30 minutes before the runway because his model’s measurements were incorrect on the card he was given at the beginning of the challenge. The judges debated on who should go home, Ari or Mitchell. Qrisyl was safe, because while her dress wasn’t perfect it was definitely much better than the other two in the bottom. The judges felt that while Ari’s was better constructed, her simple lack of understanding the needs of the challenge were worse than a sheer dress. So she was out and Mitchell was in. I happen to disagree, mainly because I felt that her outer space ideas were well executed and would be interesting going forward, as opposed to Mitchell, who continuously made excuses as to why he fell short. And since Ari reminded me of Samantha Ronson, it was like watching Lilo and Sam break up all over again. Ari left gracefully and from next week’s coming attractions, Mitchell seems to fall short at the next challenge too.

What did you think of the judge’s decisions? Should Ari have been given the ol’ auf wiedersehen or should it have been directed at Mitchell?
Also this season, Lifetime has increased the Project Runway brand with the Models of the Runway program that follows what goes on behind the scenes for the ladies of the catwalk. I will definitely be watching this, since its an interesting view of what the models go through after the runway, and it has a bit of a America’s Next Top Model feel, just without the hot mess that is Tyra Banks. We also get to see the designers chose their models in the half an hour following, so it might pull in more ratings than expected.

Overall, as a Project Runway fanatic, I’m glad its back on TV and I do hope it gets a bit more exciting as the season goes on.

See Bret brought Mindy and Taya to the Domenican Republic for the standard final dates, where he apparently is able to decide who he wants to be with for the long haul over the course of an extended weekend. In fact, he had both women pick out “engagement rings”, which is in poor taste when you consider that one of these girls is definitely going home. And even when it came to elimination time, when Bret gave some BS to Mindy about loving her and wanting to remain close, and he eventually chose Taya, he didn’t give her the ring either, saying he wanted to “hold on to it” for now. Man this guy is romantic. I felt bad for Mindy because it seemed she really never understood who Bret Michaels was, especially when she was shocked that he chose a featured dancer/Penthouse Pet over the athletic girl next door. Can’t say I blame her for being side swiped with this one, since almost every mutual date Michaels repeatedly questioned Taya’s motives for being on the show.

And again, for the exception of a few women who seemed to be there in order to actually find love, with a rock star or just a regular guy in their minds, it seemed that a lot of the contestants came here with a bigger picture in their mind. Finding fame isn’t hard to do on Vh1 reality programs anymore, since if they aren’t chosen by the man of their reality dreams, these women can participate in a number of money making programs, like “I Love Money” or ”Charm School”, or even your own dating show like Daisy. These shows actually offer greater rewards with financial gains and an increased media attention. And I can’t say I blame women participating in this format for looking forward to a reality television future as opposed to a love affair with Micheals or any of the other celebrities interested.

I am not sure that this is the format where anyone, specifically celebrities, can meet their true soul mates. Its unbelievable to most of us that competing with 25 other women would give you enough time to find out if you even like this person, let alone would plan your life with them. And this season was filled with so many WTF moments, like the first night where one female contestant drank a shot out of another’s vajayjay, that is beyond me to think of anyone finding the woman they want to spend the rest of their lives with after that. Now, lets get on a positive note and hope that Taya and Bret stick together, just so I don’t have to watch another season of hookers and former strippers giving women with tattoos a bad name. Next Sunday will present us with the reunion, which I can only imagine will be a trip and a half with Farrah and Ashley back in the house.

What do you think of Bret Michaels continued search for love on Vh1? Are you like me and can’t wait for this trend to die?

To go back to the beginning, the show revolved a circle of women dealing with issues beyond the everyday “He doesn’t like me” series we are so used to seeing. It was about women dating and loving each other, but more than that it was about a group of women there for each other. We saw women lose their best friend to breast cancer, we saw them break up with their partners, we saw them succeed at their careers and we cared about each step along the way. We watched these characters evolve, grow, mature and become full fledged people, beyond the natural archetypes series tend to have. We wanted them to succeed, wanted them to love, to start families and bridge the gaps between them. We watched all of this happen, with a new cast of characters coming in and out of their lives, evolving the story each season. This season was not only a waste, but it actually retarded the characters in their progress and growth. It was a character assassination on all fronts. Shane might have fallen for the broken Jenny but not to the point of her not being Shane anymore. Jenny needed redemption before death but not so badly that the cast needed to wax nostalgic about their friendships with a woman who seemed hell bent on ruining all of them. Bette and Tina would have evolved past their cheater and victim roles by now and have created a fulfilled life. Helena would have moved on past a women who made it her business to ruin her life. Alice would have hopefully had enough true love from her relationship with Dana that she wouldn’t waste time with Tasha if it was not meant to be. Kit would not once again get involved with someone confused about themselves. And Jenny would have had one moment of clarity that would allow her to grow beyond the calculating manipulative woman she remained throughout the show. And honestly, one sentence about her love of the ladies does not equal evolution for this character.

I, as a fan, wanted to see these characters move to their final place and in all honesty, watch Jenny Schecter get the pain and torture she so deserved. Unfortunately, neither of these things happened. We were left to wonder, ponder and wish of a different ending. I would hope that the producers, writers, producers and cast of the show wanted for more, but from the final episode I can’t see that being true. Ilene Chaiken, you needed to give all of these characters a proper send off. Instead, they remained like most other female lead shows, small minded, non-evolved and sad. The reason I watched this show was because it was different. It was about relationships and change and more than that, strength for women. The season of watching “Clue” replayed by the ladies of “The L Word” was not only disappointing but it was sad. Sad to have so much talent on the screen wasting away. So thanks, but no thanks Ms. Chaiken. This is not the deserved ending these group of women need. And I can’t understand how repeatedly in interviews you can wax nostalgic about how you want the ending to be open for them. This was not an open ending, it was a half assed one. I didn’t need everyone to walk away hand in hand with their true soul mate, but I did need to know that the women and the friendships that I watched and invested time in over the course of the past years were on the path to something. Unfortunately, I don’t where these women are and after this season, I’m not sure I can care anymore.