'Mad Men': 'Right now my life is very...'

Not so long ago, Peggy Olson was the office square at Sterling Cooper, the one who opted out of work parties and complained the next day about the vomit in her trash can. (Total joykill!)  Even when she was cutting loose, Peggy was uptight about it. She’d say things like, “My name is Peggy Olson, and I’d like to smoke some marijuana,” not, “Hey, man, don't Bogart that roach.”

Sunday night, Peggy-the-office-nerd was nowhere to be found.  In her place was Peggy the hepcat, who in the course of one memorable night 1) smoked a joint; 2) was chased by cops from an illegal loft party; 3) had her first lesbian experience; and 4) made out with a stranger in a closet.  And she did it all wearing a fetching striped turtleneck and headband — not her Lady Bird Johnson pouf. 

How exactly did this happen?  I’m not entirely sure, but I like it.  Peggy used to be alienating and inscrutable; now her breezy attitude makes her just about the most sympathetic character on the show.  She’s become the closest thing the show has to a proxy for the viewer:  she’s thrilled by the changes around her, and nearly as giddy as we are to be transported to a downtown loft party in 1965. (In case you were wondering, the party was in Washington Market, an area that would largely be razed to build the World Trade Center, and the rest of which would come to be known as Tribeca.)

The new Peggy is also quite the comedian.  Her head (literally) pops up during a pivotal dramatic scene, bringing some levity to what was otherwise a heavy-handed moment (Don drinking, again). Later, when Joyce (Zosia Mamet) asks her if Mark owns her vagina, she quips, “No, he’s just renting it.”  Zing!  Even when she finds out that Pete and Trudy are expecting — and is clearly upset by it — Peggy reacts by banging her head into a desk.  Her response is perfectly understandable, and human.  Peggy used to be something of an automaton, so seeing her respond in such an instinctive, physical way is a sure sign of growth.  Not to mention, it’s also very funny. This may be the darkest season of “Mad Men” so far, but in some ways, it’s also been the most comic. 

If Peggy is morphing into the carefree girl in the striped turtleneck, Pete is turning into a family guy. Pete is one of the more reviled characters on “Mad Men,” but I must say he and Trudy grew on me enormously last season.  Their relationship used to be a farce, but I now find myself utterly convinced by the bond between them. Could Matthew Weiner be suggesting that marriage is actually good for some people? That seems to be the case with Pete, his dalliances with various nannies notwithstanding.  His love for Trudy is genuine, and he's thrilled to discover that he's going to be a father.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell if Matthew Weiner is deeply pessimistic, or hopelessly optimistic.  

Pete has also matured professionally.  His greatest attribute as an employee used to be his indefatigable willingness to suck up, but Pete’s developed real business acumen.  Yes, he still complains endlessly about clients — this week, he griped to Harry about a hilarious-sounding printing mix-up on the Playtex account — and clings to grudges like his life depends on it.  But he’s managed to become a master negotiator.  Witness the Clearasil matter: Pete managed to find a way out of a terribly sticky situation that not only salvaged his relationship with Tom, but was also a boon to the agency.  The substance of the conversation was the same — SCDP was dropping Clearasil — but Pete switched the focus.  He’s not being disloyal, only asking for more business for the agency.  It was a brilliant pivot by Mr. Campbell, who’s ever so slowly earning the respect of his partners.  So maybe next time, they’ll let him in on the Lucky Strike conference calls. 

As much as I like seeing Pete and Trudy happy together, the lingering whatever-it-is between Pete and Peggy still tugs at my heartstrings.  The ending of this episode was not too subtle: Peggy meets up with her cool, bespectacled friends in the lobby while Pete huddles with the agency’s gray hairs, congratulating himself on the Vicks triumph.    They’re both becoming more powerful in their jobs, but in every other way, Peggy and Pete are becoming different people. Peggy’s embracing the counterculture, while Pete’s embracing the Establishment.  Still, there’s something that ties these two forever.  I wouldn’t say they have a bond, exactly; it’s more like each has an omnipresent, almost subconscious awareness of the other. So when Peggy looked over at Pete at the end of the episode, I was rooting for him to meet her gaze.  He did. 

Many observers (and some commenters on this blog, for that matter) think Peggy is becoming more and more like Don. Like him, she has a secret past and lax attitudes about sex and fidelity, but I don’t think she is trying to emulate him, exactly -- at least not in her personal life. This week, Don caught Peggy trying on -- and gazing quizzically at -- Faye’s wedding ring.  She seemed embarrassed, almost as if Don would object if she opted for a more traditional life path.  There’s no doubt that his approval is important to her, and she feels abashed whenever she accidentally reveals her more girlish side to him.   But unlike Don, Peggy is growing to be more in touch with her own feelings, more in command of her own choices.  Her partying is fun and exploratory—not a desperate escape from her past. 

Speaking of which, the tension between Allison and Don finally erupted this week.  Allison flees the focus group in tears and Peggy, saying she feels responsible (oh, the irony) for the breakdown, goes to check on her.  The act of kindness backfires.  Allison badmouths Don — “He’s a drunk and they get away with murder because they forget everything” — which is already a big no-no with the steadfast Peggy.  Making matters worse, Allison also assumes that Peggy has slept with Don (Bobbie Barrett also said virtually the same thing to Peggy back in Season 2).  Peggy tells her to get over it, but Allison does no such thing.  She lobs a paperweight at Don, who’s too lazy to even write a recommendation letter for her.  The confrontation between Don and Allison was necessary, perhaps, but it also seemed forced. On a show that thrives on ambiguity and leaving things unsaid, it's uncomfortable to have Don's drinking become such an obvious "issue." 

It was heartening, at least, to see that Don was upset by it all, even if he didn’t follow through with the letter he began to type to Allison. What would he have said, after all?  Right now my life is very ... messy? Depressing?  Lonely?   It was another moment of obvious irony: Don has sunk so low that he’s now drunkenly typing apologies to his secretary, and, it must be said, doing so with remarkable proficiency — not a single typo!

Joan, of course, knows exactly what happened between Don and Allison without ever having to ask.  That’s why she brought Mrs. Blankenship “out of mothballs” for Don.  There’s an adage about “Mad Men” that nothing ever happens without a reason, and I think that applies in this case.  I have a feeling that if anyone at the office can — and will — confront Don about his bad behavior, it’s Joan. 

A few other questions/observations:

--This episode explicitly dealt with the new ad restrictions places on tobacco manufacturers by the surgeon general in 1964.  You can bet this won’t be the last time we hear about this.

-- The focus group only used women from the agency, yet Faye changed her outfit, took off her wedding ring, and wanted her name tag misspelled.  Who is she fooling, exactly?

-- Don and Faye really don’t like each other.  I’m with Don on this one, but I’m betting they will be sleeping together within a few weeks.

-- John Slattery directed this episode.  What did you think?

-- This episode marked the return of the two-way mirror, used so memorably in season one’s “Belle Jolie” campaign.

-- Freddy tells Don, “Your financial future’s in the hands of a room full of 22-year-old girls,” to which Don replies, “Not mine.”  What did he mean by that?

-- The eccentric design and limited space of the new office is a continual source of jokes — and frustration — for SCDP employees.  Pete’s office has a weirdly placed column, Joan has to give up her office during the focus group and doesn’t seem thrilled about it.

-- Ken Cosgrove is back.  Yay?  Though it’s nice to see an old face, he wasn’t exactly at the top of my list.  I am hoping we get to see more of the Sterling Cooper gang — especially Sal Romano and/or Paul Kinsey.

-- Betty's absence this season has been conspicuous, and I for one am excited about her (apparent) return next week. 

What did you think?

-- Meredith Blake

Photo: Peggy, right, tells Allison to get over it already. Credit: Mike Yarish /AMC

twitter.com/MeredithBlake

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Television review: 'Mad Men'

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Comments

[Mary]

I did some research on the real Don Draper ( Draper Daniels). He married a woman who was the executive vice president of another adverstising company - in 1965. After reading the article I said that eventually Don and Peggy will get married. Draper Daniels wife was his equal and before the end of the decade, Peggy will be Don's equal (once he stops drinking).

Another thought that comes to mind though is that Draper Daniels was looking to start his own agency in 1965 because he wasn't happy where he was and wanted to start his own agency. Don is not happy where he is in life right now. Could this season end with him beginning a new life? Faye did say that he would be married within the year.

[Jackie]

"It's uncomfortable to have Don's drinking become such an obvious "issue.""

I agree. Where exactly will this storyline go?
Will Don continue his descent into alcoholism and all of his bad behavior will be chalked up to that? Boring.

Will he join Freddy at the AA meeting? Boring.

"Betty's absence this season has been conspicuous, and I for one am excited about her (apparent) return next week. "

Me too. I for one am really interested in seeing the Henry and Betty storyline develop more. I know Betty is not a lot of people's favorite, but I really enjoy her.

[David]

How about a kid? That's what's bonding Peggy and Pete together! Or at least the shared knowledge of their offspring.

I though Don meant he was well off and could survive if the agency tanked when he made the "not me" remark to Teddy.

So excited for Betty's return!
Karen Valby over at EW thinks Betty still holds a candle for Don. I think Betty is with rebound man, Henry Francis, who is safe and calm for her after the storm of Don. However, I also feel she's still passionate about Don and think they might actually get back together someday. Or at least have hate sex! Wonder what Meredith Blake thinks about Don/Betty.

[Heather]

1. The show is currently set in 1965, not 1966.

2. Correct your typo in the first paragraph where you mean to say "She'd say"--not "She'd day."

(I swear, several times a week I have to write LAT.com to fix their typos. Yesterday it was "Meryl Street" instead of "Meryl Streep." Tip: READ YOUR COPY BEFORE YOU POST IT IN THE CMS!)

[Lucy]

"The focus group only used women from the agency, yet Faye changed her outfit, took off her wedding ring, and wanted her name tag misspelled. Who is she fooling, exactly?"

Faye doesn't work at the agency; she's only had meetings with the execs and so the secretarial pool doesn't know how she normally looks or dresses. And dopey me, I actually thought for a minute the party Peggy went to was at the Factory and the artist was Warhol himself.

[Zedmund]

This was a great episode for Peggy, I hadn't thought to have compared her to Don. It did make me realise that I really missed Don's bohemian leanings. I really liked how he used to hang around the fringes of that world. I thought it was good for him. I did think the emphasis on his drinking was a little heavy handed this episode.
I was hoping this season would see him living it up as a bachelor, but I guess he'd effectively been doing that for most of the last 3 seasons.
Some people have wondered how many seasons the show will run for. I hope it goes into the 70's, even the 80's ! The show is such a great mirror of our society and how we got to where we are now, therefore I see each decade as being as relevant and important as the 60's and I'd love to follow these characters through it all.

[DeborahSG]

I just adored Mrs. Blankenship! Hope to see more of her. "It's a she" - lolol! She's certainly a counterpoint to Mrs. Landingham from "The West Wing." Loved how she took Don's coat and just folded it up.

I'm interested in the elderly couple at the end - what was Don thinking about as he saw them? Was he worried he'd end up like them, or was he admiring them for being together for a lifetime? Loved the wife's line "I'll tell you inside" (about the pears).

Will Don force the issue of the house next episode?

I'd like "Mad Men" to have a "Six Feet Under" kind of ending, how they all end up. I hope little Sally Draper survives her horrific childhood intact.

[Mike D'Virgilio]

I believe a few shows ago that the New Year they were entering was 1965, not 1966. I don't want the show to go too fast through the 1960s, because it brings back faint but wonderful memories of those years for me.

[Geno]

The marvelous aspect of MM is that it's written so well it can be interpreted and reinterpreted by everyone. My particular take on Mr. Draper is that the only person he will listen to about his drinking is Peggy. In this season, as portrayed and directed (smartly, wittily and compassionately, as noted by readers, by John Slattery), Peggy and Don seem to have a deep understanding and respect for each other -- could it be that Don's found his equal? I've always felt there was something tangible but unspoken between the two of them, and this episode seemed to really indicate it. Joan could, of course, politely yet pointedly make a point about Don's drinking, but she is the ultimate office manager and would never (my guess anyway) cross that line of what's proper in the workplace. My prediction is Don needs to hit rock bottom emotionally before rising, as he did in the last season's finale, and although it may be painful -- if very dramatic -- to watch, it might be necessary for the character's arc. Lastly, whereas I enjoy this blog, the writer, as pointed out by other readers, needs to be a bit more careful in her reporting. The new "girl" is MISS Blankenship (I've watched this episode twice) -- "there's a cawfee and roll on your desk" -- so perfectly period New Yawk, and Peggy's vagina retort is "but he IS renting it," rather than "just renting", a subtle but important difference in meaning, i.e., Peggy is giving the boyfriend some credence, as opposed to dismissing him. And finally, did Peggy really have a "lesbian experience"? Not really. Yes, she's met and befriended a lesbian and fended off a cheek kiss. Maybe for 1965 that could be deemed experience; otherwise it just seems like journalistic exaggeration .

[allison]

You missed the greatest line!

Freddy says to Faye that she could have used my office to change in...but I don't have one. The look on Peggy's face was only a subtle deer in headlights, but she noticed it.