Picking up where last week left off, Mad Men Season 7 Episode 10 saw the return a few core characters that have been missing during the final days of the series.
As Mad Men approaches its final curtain call, the last thing fans want is an introduction of new characters sucking up the airtime that could have been used to wrap up the stories of our old friends.
The past two episodes—to the dismay of many Mad Men fans—were focused on integrating a new character, Diana, into Don's already complicated life.
Diana served as a vehicle for us to see that Don is begging for some sort unattainable simplicity, but she mostly distracted from the characters we have grown to love over the past seven seasons.
In this episode, Joan finally returns.
Traveling for work in California, Joan finds motherhood easy to forget.
When a collect call from her mother and son disconnects, she doesn't return the call. The disconnected call is clearly a blessing in disguise for Joan, giving her the chance to call room service instead of calling her son back.
And after Joan meets Richard, a successful millionaire developer, she clearly indicates that motherhood is an inconvenience, not a desire or priority.
Laying in bed after a one night rendezvous with Richard, Joan confesses she needs to work.
"So many mouths to feed?" Richard responds.
"No," Joan lies. I just got the job I've always wanted."
It is possible that because she is in California, Joan can pretend to live a different life. After all, this isn't permanent. She will return to New York where she lives with her mother and son, Kevin. Her lie could be a break from reality.
For sanity's sake, this isn't a bad idea. Joan walks the halls of Sterling Cooper with high-heeled confidence, but life is often very complicated for Joan.
Recovering from a divorce from a man who raped her, working at a job where she is the object of men's perverted gaze, and being a single mother; lying to a stranger during a one night stand might serve as a form of therapy and control in a life that, in many ways, is spiraling out of control.
Fantasy seems to become reality for Joan when Richard surprises her in NYC.
Richard abrasively informs Joan he can't be with a woman with kids because it interrupts his plans "to have no plans."
Initially, Joan storms out telling Richard "you are such a disappointment."
What she really seems to be disappointed with is motherhood. Meeting Richard again she tells him she is sending her son away.
"I like you," Joan states. "And if I have to chose between you and my son, then I choose you."
Her nonchalant tone makes it seem she is possibly being sarcastic. But she does not revisit the topic to prove otherwise.
The women of Mad Men have struggled with motherhood throughout the entire series.
Peggy set the tone in season one in the very first episode when she asks the doctor for birth control pills. And, of course, Peggy turns her back from motherhood when she gives her baby up for adoption.
The ultimate problematic mother on the show would be Betty. Betty's disinterest in her children underscores women's dissatisfaction with life in the private sphere.
Right now, Joan might rival Betty for the most disinterested mother award.
Betty and Joan want the same thing: a public life. Betty is desperately trying to get into the public sphere, and Joan is desperately trying to stay in it. Motherhood forces them both into the private where they are both unhappy.
Not surprisingly, Joan has the guts to get what she wants.
This episode also brought back Don and Betty's daughter, Sally. As Sally has aged, she has become an outspoken, often bratty teenager.
After Don played along with the flirtations of Sally's 17 year-old friend, Sally remarks, "You can't control yourself, can you? It doesn't stop you and it doesn't stop mom."
She harshly continues, "I want to get away from you and mom and be a different person than you two."
At a young age, Sally seems highly attuned to the problems of her father's and mother's lives. She is aware of their dangerous cycles and plans to break them.
The danger of cycles is one of the more important takeaways of the show.
Don and Betty, over the course of seven seasons, have tried to right their wrongs by repeatedly making the same mistakes or, often, doing nothing.
Don has sought the comfort of cocktails and women to find satisfaction in life, to get back at Betty for being miserable, or to heal from childhood wounds. Each woman often brings Don hope of a new life, but after each one night stand, he returns to the same miserable existence.
Betty wants everything but will do nothing. She may have finally left Don, but she found herself in a similar situation with her second husband, Henry Francis.
Even with Henry, she is at home, lonely, and miserable. She never took real action to find authority of her own life. She traded in one life for an identical one.
Sally recognizes the need for change, that she does not want to be stuck in the same rut of life that her parents are in.
Her smart mouth and outspoken political views suggest that Sally is separating herself from her parents and creating her own identity that extends beyond her parents' problems.
Don reminds her, "You are a very pretty girl. It's up to you to be more than that."
He knows Sally can make better choices and can be more than the beautiful and miserable people that he and Betty are.
Their behavior seems rash and troublesome, but Joan and Sally are digging their heels into the ground to stop the cycles of their own lives.
They offer a token of hope that life can change and that we can have conscious lives that we choose.
It is unlikely that Mad Men will wrap up seven seasons in a saccharin ending with everyone breaking free from the drama of their lives. We definitely see Joan and Sally questioning it, and maybe they will follow through with it.
However, there is little hope for Don and Betty.
This episode brought back characters that we need to see before they leave for good: Joan, Sally, and even Glen Bishop, a neighborhood kid with whom Betty had an uncomfortable relationship. This certainly helps wrap things up a little.
But this episode didn't offer much in terms of how the series will end.
With just three episodes left until the series finale, they better do something that Mad Men never does—pick up the pace. Or a lot might be left unanswered.
What did you think of this installment? How do you think this iconic series will end? Follow the link to watch Mad Men online at TV Fanatic, then comment below!
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