And all while we watched Don Draper’s ebbs and flows, ups and downs, good and bad choices, we were entertained by the underlings and their gender roles, sexual preferences, jealousy, affairs, and brief glimpses into their own lives. Joan’s being raped on the floor of Don’s office would be much more relevant if, in fact, her character was relevant anymore. Young Sally Draper’s cigarette smoking, Betty’s handling of that situation and then recruitment of young Sally as an ally in the pending divorce, and Betty’s odd manipulation of her friend over the affair with the stable boy, Arthur …all would be more pertinent if Don Draper had anything to do with anything anymore. The show needs Don Draper back in this world, reacting to these many things going on.
Peggy is the new Don Draper? Are popsicles representative of man’s duality …Don’s duality? Does splitting popsicles represent the eventual split that will occur in the office when the merger is announced? Betty and Don’s divorce? Roger’s divorce? The obvious rift forming between Bertram Cooper and Roger Sterling? Or is it telling us that splitting something up, like Bertram’s company, isn’t always better? Or was it just a clever business pitch meant to remind us this is a show about an advertising agency?
What was the point of Don admiring the hot rods? And when was that? Pre-Betty or post-Betty? And what’s the point of anything he’s doing? He won’t exactly be able to step back into his life, again. The business was sold, his wife is moving on, and Peggy is doing his job. Unless, perhaps, he’s done this all before. We don’t know what happened in the fifteen months between Thanksgiving 1960 (the end of Season 1) and Valentine’s Day 1962 (the start of this season).
Pete Campbell told Peggy that Don might not be coming back and that he’s done it before. How can this possibly be interesting if Don becomes a greaser mechanic in California who races custom hot rods?
I’m so confused. I’m going to have to hop a flight to California and consult my fake wife, I guess.
Every week, Mad Men amazes by the literary references and influences found in the show, from Atlas Shrugged to The Sound and the Fury, and many more. So, normally I’d equally gush over the obvious biblical concepts from Sunday (Draper’s baptism in the final scene, potential for the prodigal son’s return, and Cain & Abel in a few places). But I’m not. Mostly, I’m feeling like someone just told me there’s no Santa Claus.
