Last night’s Mad Men, entitled “The Gypsy and The Hobo,” was what I’ve been waiting for all season.

Thus far this season of Mad Men has been a slow slow boil and last night many of the pieces (that thus far seemed kind of boring) finally squeaked into place.  But instead of going into everything (like all the things that made me want to cry) I want to talk about the one aspect of the show that was the most gratifying and rewarding and inspiring–Joan’s finally “saying” something to her husband after all that he has done to her (see the end of Ciara’s piece about Mad Men).

If you aren’t caught up on this season I recommend stopping here as I’m going to be SPOILING in the next section of this post.

Last night, after being raped by her then soon-to-be husband and putting up with his career woes in the sweetest of ways (even quitting her own job that she loved), Joan finally stood up for herself in a pretty intense way.  After he had the audacity to ask why he couldn’t have what he wanted when he had worked so hard Joan (who has definitely worked hard) stood up and grabbed a vase and let him have it (see below).

And while this wasn’t especially dignified (nor effective in getting her husband to actually understand the problem) it was a moment for Joan to show him that something was wrong. More importantly though it was a moment for her to do something for herself–to prove to herself that she is worth something.

Joan is so strong and smart and awesome but clearly a victim of her time.  Even worse then her rape (in some ways) was watching her succeed in the then budding television department at Sterling Cooper and then watching the powers that be give the job she earned to a man. Simply devastating.  Likewise when Pete Campbell found her working at a department store earlier this season my heart simply broke.  Joan has so much to give and nowhere to put it.

What does the rest of the Season 3 of Mad Men hold for Joan and the gang? After last night I’m not sure if I want to know but I hope that there are more moments like Joan’s to come!