Mad Men always had a wonderfully bizarre sense of humor. Roger throws up a lunch of oysters and martinis at an important business meeting. Pete throws an entire cooked turkey out of his apartment window during a heated argument with his wife. But the show also had its fair share of dark moments that left audiences disturbed and horrified.
Betty nonchalantly shot her neighbor’s pet pigeons after he threatened Sally. Joan smashed a vase on her husband’s head when she’d finally had enough of his insufferable insecurity. Michael Ginsberg cuts off his own nipple and presents it to Peggy in a box in response to his technological paranoia. Mad Men could be both funny and horrifying, but it usually kept those two tones separate. In one of its most iconic scenes — quite possibly the most iconic scene of Mad Men’s entire seven-season run — it combined these two sensibilities.
Mad Men's Iconic Lawnmower Scene Is Darkly Hilarious
The Scene Brilliantly Juxtaposes Bloodshed Against A Professional Setting
In season 3, episode 6, “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency,” Sterling Cooper prepares for a visit from the company’s new British owners, Putnam, Powell, & Lowe. Early in the episode, Ken Cosgrove rides into the office on a John Deere lawnmower to proudly announce that he’s landed their . When the PPL guys arrive with their charismatic man, Guy MacKendrick, Sterling Cooper throws a party to celebrate the acquisition. During the party, Smitty drives the John Deere lawnmower around the office, prompting Lois to have a go.
It creates a darkly hilarious juxtaposition between the visceral gore and the mundane environment it’s in.
But Lois quickly loses control of the lawnmower and accidentally runs over Guy’s foot, mutilating him from the ankle down and splattering her colleagues with his blood. As horrible as it sounds, this is one of Mad Men’s funniest moments. It creates a darkly hilarious juxtaposition between the visceral gore and the mundane environment it’s in. You don’t expect to see such shocking bloodshed in such a dignified professional setting. A classy corporate New York office is the last place you’d expect to find a Texas Chainsaw-like bloodbath.
Mad Men's Bloody Slapstick Gag Was Especially Shocking Because The Show Rarely Featured Any Gore
Blood Has More Impact In Mad Men Than, Say, Breaking Bad Or The Sopranos
Mad Men’s bloodiest scene was more shocking than it would’ve been in other TV dramas of its era, because it was one of the only shows of its ilk that didn’t rely on violent crimes as regular plot points. Other prestige dramas like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos have a ton of violent scenes, because their characters inhabit violent worlds. Tony Soprano carries out a mob hit in every other episode and thinks nothing of it, while Walter White is responsible for plenty of deaths, both directly and indirectly, in the everyday operations of his meth empire.
All seven seasons of Mad Men are streaming on AMC+.
There was a lot of violence in The Wire, there was a lot of violence in Sons of Anarchy, and there was an absurdly gratuitous amount of violence in Game of Thrones. Mad Men is one of the only “Peak TV” shows that used violence and gore sparingly, so it was more shocking when it did happen. Guy’s lawnmower incident was such a momentous, jaw-dropping event, because it was the kind of thing that would only happen once in the entire series. There wouldn’t be a character losing a foot several times a season; it was a one-off freak accident.
Guy’s lawnmower incident was such a momentous, jaw-dropping event, because it was the kind of thing that would only happen once in the entire series.
Now that it’s become an iconic moment, audiences might be expecting to see someone lose a foot to a lawnmower when they sit down to watch an episode of Mad Men. But back when “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency” first aired in 2009, no one saw it coming — and that’s what made it so impactful. Horror and pitch-black comedy both work best when the audience isn’t expecting them.
Director Lesli Linka Glatter Built Up The Threat Of Chekhov's Lawnmower Perfectly
That Lawnmower Was An Accident Waiting To Happen
The blood-soaked climax of the episode wouldn’t land as effectively if director Lesli Linka Glatter hadn’t built up to it so masterfully. From the moment a grinning Ken rode that John Deere mower into the office to rub it in his workplace rival Pete Campbell’s face, it essentially became Chekhov’s lawnmower. Glatter slyly builds the suspense as she threads that lawnmower throughout the episode. Every time it shows up, it draws you a little closer to the edge of your seat, because it seems like an accident waiting to happen.
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Mad Men has nothing if not mad moments. These scenes, in particular, are so nerve-wracking, viewers become nervous when re-watching.
It’s a giant power tool with a spinning blade, but they all treat it like a fun toy. It was only a matter of time before someone who couldn’t control it got behind the wheel and something disastrous happened — and it was a perfect choice by the writers to make that person Lois. Lois was always characterized as one of the most careless and incompetent employees; of course she’d be the one to run over Guy’s foot, turn the office into Iwo Jima (as Roger so aptly puts it), and indirectly shake up the whole corporate strategy.
Mad Men's Lawnmower Scene Highlighted Why Sterling Cooper Needed Joan
Joan Kept The Office Running In The Face Of The Ad Men's Bawdy Antics
Mad Men’s lawnmower scene wasn’t just a throwaway twist to get some shock laughs; it also has an important function in Joan’s overall arc, which had reached a crucial juncture in this episode. The PPL visit coincided with Joan’s last day in the office. Joan was hoping to retire and become a housewife, because her husband Greg was supposed to get a promotion at work, but that ultimately didn’t pan out and she had to go back to work elsewhere. The lawnmower scene exemplified why Sterling Cooper needed Joan, and why she would be sorely missed.
Joan was an essential part of the operation, but she was already on her way out.
When Lois runs over Guy’s foot with a lawnmower in Mad Men’s most shocking sequence, most of the people around him have no idea what to do. They all just stare at his mangled foot in disbelief. But Joan knows exactly what to do; she doesn’t waste a second and springs into action. Her quick thinking to tourniquet Guy’s leg and call an ambulance provided an extreme example of how she always kept the office running in spite of the ad men’s bawdy antics. Joan was an essential part of the operation, but she was already on her way out.
- Directors
- Michael Uppendahl, Jennifer Getzinger, Scott Hornbacher, Matthew Weiner, Lesli Linka Glatter, Tim Hunter, Jon Hamm, Barbet Schroeder, Daisy von Scherler Mayer, Ed Bianchi, Jared Harris, Matt Shakman, Lynn Shelton
- Writers
- Jonathan Igla, Robin Veith, Carly Wray, Kater Gordon, Bridget Bedard, Cathryn Humphris, Chris Provenzano, Brett Johnson, Rick Cleveland, Tracy McMillan, Andrew Colville, David Iserson
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