The LA premiere of Mad Men Season 6 was held last night, and there are lots of new photos! Considering this is a Thursday and it’s not crazy in the gossip world right now, I thought we’d take out time going through lots of these photos. I was going to lump all of the Mad Men ladies together, but no. I want to spread this out! Because OMG MEGAN DRAPER. This is the reason I haven’t been looking forward to this season as much as past seasons. It’s because of Megan Draper. And no disrespect to Jessica Pare at all – I think she’s a decent actress doing the best job possible with a supremely annoying character. I don’t even want to say that Megan Draper’s trajectory is weak writing, because I feel like the writers gave Don Draper the fait accompli of that Faustian bargain he made in Korea – you can change your name, you can start over, you can scrub your past, but it will always come back and there will never be anything better, the grass only looks greener on the other side, but everything is always the worst. That being said, I don’t even want to look at Megan Draper any more. I hate her.
Anyway, Jessica wore this Prabal Gurung which I kind of love. Gorgeous. But not on her, right? I’d like to see this dress on another woman, with different shoes. I also think Jessica should stop with this kind of styling. Center part, sleek ponytail and dark eyes? Yikes. It does nothing for her face.
If looking good is the best revenge for the second Mrs. Draper (yeah, I said it, ANNA DRAPER CAME FIRST), then January Jones is winning. Fat Betty wore this beachy Joanthan Saunders dress with a surprise side view of her beav. Doesn’t January look pretty when she’s not trying to be so hardcore high-fashion? She looks amazing!
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Are they still in character?
I wish Jessica Pare would close her mouth every once in a while. Every single shot is open mouthed. Her dress in nice, tho!
Maybe her lips don’t fit over those teeth
I don’t like to criticize people for their physical flaws, but when it becomes a distraction on a good show it’s bad. The teeth are large, protruding, and oddly shaped. And with her lips sealed she’s so pretty! I wonder why she never got caps.
I think she looks beautiful in the show. I mean yeah there are some less than flattering pictures here and on tv (who doesn’t have those?), but Jessica is a beautiful woman. She impresses me in that she doesn’t get it fixed despite all this added pressure.
And why is it ‘wrong’ to have different features than those that come out of a plastic surgeon hand??
This ‘try to be perfect’ “trend” is exhausting and idiotic.
Good for her for not getting anything done. There is nothing wrong with her
They talked about this in the show and it’s kind of obvious when you look closely at her mouth. Her teeth protrude a bit and therefore it actually looks strange when she closes her mouth completely.
Jessica.
+1 Jessica
wow, they both look like crap but at least January doesn’t look like she’s been snorting in the bathroom, so I guess it’s a win for her.
ITA, they both look bad. I find them both ridiculously gorgeous on the show.
I know-on the show they both are gorgeous.
Is she serious with the sheer skirt? This isn’t a ballet class, and at least there I would hope that one would wear a leotard underneath.
I also thought it looks like January is going to ballet class!
Ballet class. My thought, exactly.
yeah no me gusta the sheer. It looks cheap to me.
Ew to the Dancing with the Stars ensemble, Ms Jones.
Pare’s dress is was better, and looks good on her, though it could stand to lose a couple inches at the hem. And boo to the shoes.
Agree…Pare’s styling needs work, but her dress is better. Jones’ dress would serve better as a beach cover-up. Was the hair stylist out sick?
I agree also. January Jones looks almost disheveled compared to Jessica Pare. And, I must be the only one who does like her character on Mad Men. Or her looks. I appreciate the fact that she is “real” and hasn’t conformed to some industry standard of beauty.
Agreed!
You’re not the only one. I like the character and the actor. I cannot believe how much grief she gets for not having perfect teeth, it’s like she committed a criminal offense. I think the fact that her looks aren’t cookie cutter is a plus. And probably what landed her the part.
I agree with all of this.
YOu’re not the only one; I LOVE Megan. I think she is awesome and beautiful.
Woah, those who did the styling should be fired :O
Ditto. Neither of them looks good.
January Jones does not look great. That dress is very tacky and her hair looks horrible. Those shoes! Was it a bad shoe convention? I also have the hate on for Megan but she looked better.
January isn’t even subtle anymore.
jessica’s makeup is too powdery and the hair is too severe but I love her on Mad men. I hate people picking on her teeth because I am tired of the fancy perfect veneers look.
I agree with all of this. Her teeth are cute and special. Americans especially are too obsessed with everyone having very similar teeth.
I’m an american who actually likes “different” teeth! however, I wish she would whiten her teeth a few shades– she looks like a hardcore smoker/coffee drinker.
I agree, I think she’s gorgeous and I dont understand what the problem is with her teeth.
It looks like she wearing those hillbilly joke teeth.
She doesn’t need perfect veneers, but she could do a million things to improve it without making it look fake.
I’m not crazy about her teeth, but I am also tired of everyone havi g the same teeth, the same nose, the same yoga arms, etc.
I don’t care about her teeth, but I find her character very selfish and annoying. I haven’t been impressed with the interviews with Jessica that I have read, either.
Jessica’s eye makeup and is way too intense here. She looks a bit crazy.
I cannot *stand* Megan Draper, or Jessica Pare’s portrayal of her. I feel like Matthew Weiner has a major hard-on for her and is Mary Sue-ing her character to the nth degree. And since that hasn’t been done before on the show and is so glaringly obvious, it’s really brought down the quality of the writing. Based on seeing her interviews it seems Pare has bought into the hype, which isn’t helping. If I have to sit through one more episode hearing about how beautiful and young and smart and great for Don and clever Megan allegedly is, I am done with Mad Men. Also, this may sound mean, but seriously, why didn’t she ever get those teeth fixed? She can barely keep her mouth closed. I’m not saying they have to be perfect, but that overbite is so glaringly obvious.
I know it’s popular to hate on January Jones, but I think she’s both prettier and a way better actress than Pare (who has 2 basic facial expressions, it seems). This dress is beyond crazy, though. Put some proper clothes on, January.
I blame Matthew’s Weiner!
Heh heh! Good one. I do think Matthew Weiner is to blame for most of it. If they’d just let Megan be the same type of ambiguous character most of them are (neither really good or wholly bad), she really wouldn’t bug me. I didn’t mind her at all in Season 4.
Yeah, wow, this is the most dressed down and beautiful January has been in awhile on a red carpet. Although, I do love her editorial, severe, high fashion looks at the dull award shows.
err…is this sarcastic??? Both looks are horrible, but January is beyond the horrible with those shoes, that “dress”, hair and makeup…Is she prepared for some Ballroom dance??
Both look like crap here but I can’t get behind the hatred for Jessica OR her character.
I think she is a pretty lady who has a very 60s look, which is of course great considering she stars in Mad Men. And I think her mouth is super cute.
I think Megan Draper is an interesting character, she seems to be one of the few (the only one?) who can control Don, despite seeming a bit childish and bratty. Remember Don spilled all his secrets to Megan but he never told Betty or anyone else?
Eh, I think by the time Don was with Megan he had already spilled his secrets to other people (incl. Betty), so it wasn’t such a psychological blockage. I thought Betty was a dumbass for the way she reacted BUT he had lied to her about his identity for a decade; it was a totally different scenario w/Megan. I think Megan is basically the next generation version of Betty – had Betty been born ten years later she might’ve had Megan’s ambition and confidence.
Megan is what Betty used to be…10 years ago and before Don “happened” to her. I’m more inclined to say that what Don did to Betty was to break her down and shatter her confidence as much as he could, like an abusive husband who made sure the wife “toes the line” and never questions him.
Remember Betty was a model? Sure, she wasn’t breaking ground nor was she a feminist icon or anything, but she had her own dreams, her own job, her own life.
Also, when she was approached to model for a brand, she wanted to do it. Remember who put the pressure on the brand’s owner to cancel the contract and Betty was left hurt and disappointed? Don.
Don has been sabotaging Betty’s confidence and ambitions for so long. Betty’s numb hands in Season 1 was due to stress and what she has been going through with Don’s treatment of her, 6-7 years into their marriage when the series began. When Betty tried on a two-piece bikini, didn’t Don imply she looked like a whore? Don also simply left and spent weeks in California without contacting Betty. He was ready to leave her and the kids first to ‘run away’ with Rachel Menken or to spend the weekend with Sally’s teacher!!
But when Betty was seen with Henry Francis and Don found out, he wanted to beat Betty right in front of baby Gene.
Don molded Betty to what he thought was the perfect trophy wife to go with his identity as the suave Don Draper. Give Don 5 more years with Megan and we’ll see if he goes back to his old ways.
Based on comments that Joan made last season, I think Don is just doing his same old pattern over again. Megan is simply the new Betty, and it won’t be long before he cheats on her and makes her paranoid and angry too.
@Sachi I love you. Please move to my city and be my best friend. The people I know that watch Mad Men absolutely loathe Betty that they think I’m a terrible person when I defend her. These are exactly the things I’ve been saying to people about Betty. Everyone I know excuses Don’s serial cheating and abusive ways because of his past and he’s a product of his time. No one has the same excuse for Betty. That may be in part due to Jones’s acting, but imo she plays the part just fine. She just took a stand against her abusive ex-husband who’s the “hero” in this series. He should go by his birthname Dick…he is one.
Betty had ambition before she met Don. She’s intelligent and well educated. The woman speaks Italian fluently! She had a degree in anthropology. Girlfriend went to Bryn Mawr. She’s not nearly as stupid as people made her out to be. But she just bought into the “dream” that everyone else had for her at the time. Find Mr. Perfect, marriage, a house, 2.5 kids and bam happy life. Betty was never cut out for that lifestyle. She’s not good at it nor does she really enjoy it. She’s just been put down her entire life and rewarded for her beauty. Her mother, her father, her brother, and her ex-husband they all did/do it.
Honestly I hope she finds a fulfilling relationship with Henry who is just too sweet and kind and treats her so well. Well since it’s mad men all I can do is hope. Henry could turn at any moment and betty could make some stupid decision and ruin it.
Thanks Sachi and BIJLee!, your insights into Betty are right on and I think JJ looks beautiful on the show if not irl–Grace Kelly lookalike. One of the best episodes ever was when Betty, frustrated and crushed by Don when she tried to get out of the house and have something of her own, went into the backyard with a cigarette dangling from one corner of her mouth and blasted the mean neighbors pigeons.
What I hated, and blame Weiner for, is that he later decided to turn her into such a mean vicious mom to her children. That’s what made me hate her later. She also turned vicious towards Glenn and that poor black housekeeper she fired. Maybe that’s her displaced anger toward Don but its way out of control & makes Don look more sympathetic in comparison. Also, the manner she addresses her children is rude & inconsistent with a well brought up lady from the main line in that era. “Bobby, GET DOWN HERE”.
Jumping in here, sorry. Agree 100% with everyone’s thoughts except that I think JJ does a phenomenal job in the role. She brings way more nuance and subtlety to it than people give her credit for, I think.
She can’t control Don.
Don is just being himself: assuming a whole new identity to go with the marriage to Megan. This time he’s trying to ‘change’ from the scum he was as a husband to Betty.
He spilled his secrets to Megan not because he loves her and respects her, but because he thinks it is what would make their marriage work. If he was honest with her from the get go, she can’t have any ground to hurt him like what Betty did to him by divorcing him. He never expected Betty to have the balls to do what she did. He was fine treating her like a doormat because he got too comfortable in assuming she didn’t have any strength to fight for herself.
When Betty wouldn’t back down from confronting him and his true identity, you could see Don’t perfectly-crafted world crumbling before his eyes. It was the first time something didn’t go the way he wanted and him being the perfect “con-artist”, he wants to avoid that in the future.
Being honest with Megan is Don’s way of adapting to a new life as this doting, loving husband who never cheats and who supports his wife all the time. It’s his way in making his world perfect again. Betty left him for lying to her, so by being ‘honest’ with Megan he’s trying to ensure that she won’t leave him due to the same thing.
He’s only trying to change because Betty caught him. Had she not left him, he’d have been sleeping with Megan on the side while continuing to treat Betty cruelly.
Yikes! I am so many seasons behind on MM, but thanks for the insight on the characters. Can’t wait to meet Megan Draper as Betty is so tiresome.
I agree with most of what you say, although I do think Betty wanted to be happy being a perfect housewife, she just realized it was too unfulfilling too late. I think Don is always trying to create a “perfect” reality, Megan is just his latest attempt to control his universe, which will of course ultimately fail.
BooBooLaRue – Sorry to spoil it for you! I hope I didn’t do much damage. 🙂
Mrs. Darcy – I think Betty is a product of her times. She wanted a lot of things but couldn’t do it either by societal strictures or her personal life. It doesn’t help that Matthew Weiner wrote her character to be as awful as he wanted Betty to be, but there were sprinkles of Betty being her own person and wanting more than being a housewife. Too bad that she got Don for a husband, but Henry seems to be a good match for her. 😉
THANK SACHI AND BIJLEE, this is what I’ve been saying the ENTIRE time. Neither Megan or Betty should be hated, they should be pitied.
Betty is a product of Don’s elusive, lying, cheating, belittling nature for the past decade of their marriage. There is one scene in particular where he accuses her of being, “such a child”, and it’s like, how do you expect the woman to behave when you treat her like a child? You don’t have the respect for her to treat her like and equal. And then very tellingly, he tells Betty’s therapist, “She didn’t used to be like this.”
I feel like that phrase is TOTAL foreshadowing for what will happen to Megan. Megan is just Betty 10 years ago, and unfortunately for her, Don will do to her the exact same thing he did to Betty. Not even on purpose either. Despite his best intentions, history will repeat itself.
I LOVE Mrs. Draper the third’s dress, stunning. I wish she would close her mouth so I didn’t have to look at her hillbilly teeth though, sorry! I like January’s makeup and hair here, agree she looks much prettier when she isn’t trying to be edgy. But the dress is a hot mess, aside from the colour which is lovely on her.
They are both very attractive women- tho can’t tell it by these photos or outfits! Loved Megan’s dress, tho not on her. Wish JJ’s dress had been the ice blue color as a solid sheath- she looks great in that shade.
love jessica’s dress! it’s fresh and spring-y.
I really like the smile on JanJo’s face in the first shot of her. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen it.
But what I don’t understand about her—or women of her ilk—why does she have to throw her perfect body in our faces at every opportunity? It will never endear her to a public that she relies on for her livelihood.
Jessica’s makeup is too harsh and the hair pulled back makes her features look “masculine”. Considering how different she looks without any makeup, it’s so obvious she’s wearing LAYERS of makeup here. I can see the contouring powder on her nose in that close-up photo. Yikes.
She almost always sports this type of look, and while she’s very pretty, she’s also kinda boring.
January Jones’s dress could have been better, but her makeup is gorgeous and her face is beautiful here.
I hope we’ll be seeing more of January Jones on this upcoming season of Mad Men.
I have slightly messed up teeth, despite orthodontics as a kid that never took due to a horrible orthodontist, so I kind of like the fact that Jessica has her natural teeth, although they really aren’t that bad. By Hollywood standards, they stand out, but in normal life they look fine.
Jessica looks amazing. January usually wear something really fashion forward but here she looks like she didn’t care all that much.
I think that Jessica looks amazing the way she’s styled for the show in all those pixieish 60s outfits. notsomuch here.
January looks good but I hate her dress.
January looks…fresh. Makes me wonder whose husband she just banged.
I can’t say anything nice about Jessica, I hate her whole look.
“January looks…fresh. Makes me wonder whose husband she just banged.”
Ha!
jessica is NO on hair shoes and makeup. dress looks fine one her. she needs to learn how to smile/hold her mouth right. maybe someone’s dislike for her character guided the picture choices? if picking the worst shots was the goal -total win. so bad it is laughable.
JJ is just NO. wtf that dress and her hair!
she has 2 speeds: look at me (imma steal yo man) look at me and/or complete bitch.
toe pick-the dress January has on reminds me of ice-skating
Jessica wore the best dress of the night by Prabal Gurung. Such a beautiful piece.
The dress Jones has on is hideous and her hair is awful. She is so beautiful I don’t understand her here.
Pare’s dress is really pretty on her but the shoes and hair are a no.
To BOTH of these women: ” Good Gah, wtf?…” Chicas- FIRE your makeup artists, STAT. Did they make bets on who could look the worst beforehand?
I don’t like either dress. I just think that Jessica is one of those women who can look really beautiful one day and not so much the next. I think if Jessica had her hair down and the dress was shorter she would look better. I love Betty Draper’s style but not JJ. Is that wrong?
1st dress – Yes!
2nd dress – Nope!
Styling on both – Hell No!
lawd. I loathe Megan’s character, she is soo damn annoying.
surprisingly, January–facially looks better.
Megan’s teeth drive me crazy on screen, spacey and big. She’s a pretty lady, just not here (to me)
Love Jessica’s dress!
Gosh, I love both dresses. If January’s skirt was all cream silk (no sheer), I would wear it myself.
Must I accept sheer skirts this season? And will most have the short, pencil skirt lining underneath? Can I get away with a cute pair of shorts under a sheer skirt – is anyone showing that?
“I feel like the writers gave Don Draper the fait accompli of that Faustian bargain he made in Korea – you can change your name, you can start over, you can scrub your past, but it will always come back and there will never be anything better, the grass only looks greener on the other side, but everything is always the worst.”
THIS. Jessica looks like crap and all that but this analysis is fantastic.
Wrong shoes, makeup, hair and accessories for Jessica but dress is pretty nice. January looks washed out and her outfit looks tacky. Who are we kidding, for their flaws, both women can still be attractive. I like that Jessica did not change her teeth like a beauty queen does to make everything shiny and perfect. Yes, the upclose photo is not flattering but don’t we all have non flattering shots sometimes. For being in that profession where every part of your physical self is magnified and discussed (yes yes she chose to be in it and it pays a lot), still I’d have to give her some credit.
Sorta disagree on both fronts. I think Megan Draper is a great character, even if she’s annoying sometimes. She’s a strong, morally sound and believable person on the show. And they addressed her teeth in one of her first appearances, where she talks about casting agents telling her she won’t get work because of her teeth.
I’m no fashion expert, but I think Jessica looks way better than January here. They’re both extremely pretty girls, but January’s dress sucks and her hair looks “burned.”
I’ll never like Jessica’s teeth, but she’s a gorgeous woman when her lips are sealed imo.
I think JJ’s hair ends are chopped after zooming in. It’ll grow out in a few weeks.
All the women look so stunning on the show, but never reach that same level on the red carpet. I don’t care for either look here.
I’ll be honest, if I were Jessica, I’d get my teeth fixed. But if she hasn’t chosen to leave them alone, good for her for not conforming to something she doesn’t want to.
Can be honest and say they both could use some support?
No wearing a bra really does terrible things to your chest area.
I don’t watch the show… but I follow the Hamm Dong and think Pare is hot and sexy and Jones looks like a psycho ex-girlfriend. Seriously, I’m waiting for the stalker music to start and the pot full of bunny rabbit on the stove!
I don’t watch the show… but I follow the Hamm Dong and think Pare is hot and sexy and Jones looks like a psycho ex-girlriend. Seriously, I’m waiting for the stalker music to start and the pot full of bunny rabbit on the stove!
The Hammdong in JJ’s dress? Hey now!
If Jessica Pare shuts her mouth, she is average at best. January Jones might be despicable in her private life, but she is way more gorgeous to look at. Mad Men needs to dump JP
Why do celebrities always wear such horrible outfits at premiers/red carpets?! I know if I had that much money, I wouldn’t dress in something so boring, like January Jones!
And that centre part & over the top eye makeup does nothing for Jessica…really really fug.