And so it begins. With Sunday's much-anticipated Mad Men Season 7 Episode 8, Don Draper and company are officially on the road to their final drink.
While the characters are mixing their final cocktails, we are left woozy with uncertainty.
The characters' already shaky ground becomes even less stable as both they and the audience struggle to decipher reality from dreams, delusions, and drunk decisions.
As the series comes to its finale, there is a lot to be said. But Don and Peggy were the focal points of tonight's episode.
The episode opened with a woman nervously putting on a chinchilla fur coat. As she admits her anxiousness, Don authoritatively reminds her, "You aren't supposed to talk." Then, he demands, "Let the coat slide down, and show me how smooth your skin is."
It appears Don is living out some perverted sexual fantasy, which, let's face it, is likely for Draper. It certainly wouldn't be the first time we have seen Don project questionable sexual behavior.
But as the camera pans out, it is obvious that they are at an audition for an advertising gig.
From the first moments of the episode, we are asked to question what is real and what is not.
Maybe Ken says it best after Sterling and McCann fire him halfway through the episode. Maybe these blurry lines are "not a coincidence. It's a sign of the life not lived."
That life not lived seems to be the struggle for Peggy and Don.
For instance, on a date with Stevie, a co-worker's brother-in-law, Peggy decides to take a spontaneous Parisian vacation with him.
As Stevie gropes and begins to undress her, Peggy is unsuccessfully searching for her passport. Ultimately, she ends up kicking him out of her apartment saying, "I thought you were a fling. But I think you may be more."
Finally! Peggy seems to be getting it right. Her new dude is kind of cute and actually leaves without finishing the deed, a rarity on Mad Men. Dudes on this show score like ARod.
But not so fast!
The next day, an embarrassed and hung over Peggy suggests she made a mistake. And we don't know if she wants to go to Paris at all.
For several seasons, we have seen Peggy move through the ranks of Sterling Cooper, but she never seems to really get what she wants outside of her career (and even with that she struggles). Think an unplanned pregnancy, countless douchey dates, and sexual objectification at work.
A man or a Paris vacay may not be the answer. But Peggy is beginning to cross the blurry lines between what she has and getting what she wants, whatever that may be.
Don's behavior over the years has been nothing short of repulsive, though he seems to show remorse at various time.
It can be argued that his biggest regret is not running off with Rachel Metz, the head of Menken's department store and possibly the only woman for whom he has showed true emotion.
He sees Rachel in a dream. She is wearing the chinchilla fur coat from earlier in the episode and reminds him, "I'm supposed to tell you you missed your flight." He responds, "Rachel, you're not just smooth. You are Worthington smooth." Luckily, Don has more game than that in real life.
Sadly, he later finds out Rachel died of leukemia a week prior to his dream.
Don is a man who doesn't miss a chance. When he wants a girl, he gets her. When he wants his job back, he gets it.
However, he lost his chance with Rachel in more ways than one. She was the girl that got away. And she died before he could do anything about it.
Unlike Peggy, Don isn't battling what could be. He is struggling with what could have been.
In either case, both characters are not happy with what is. They are living "the life not lived."
In other but recurring Mad Men news:
- The men in the 1960s advertising industry are still pervs.
- Don gets laid—twice.
- June will kick your ass.
- Sterling is still an ass.
Here's a toast to Mad Men. May the last episodes keep us drinking Old Fashioneds and cringing at the behavior of the Sterling Cooper men.
What did you think of the 2015 premiere? How do you think it will end for Don? Sound off in the comments and watch Mad Men online in order to catch up!
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