When we last saw Mad Men’s Don and Megan Draper, it looked like the May-December power couple were headed for Splitsville.
So it was a bit of a shock when we finally got reintroduced to Don (several minutes into last night’s episode) to find that the ad man and the actress are living a happy and hectic bi-coastal existence.
Well, happy for now. Her career is taking off while he’s struggling as a freelancer – a state off affairs that Don certainly won’t tolerate for long.
After dumping his stash last season, Don is also apparently drinking again. Good sign if you like drama, bad sign if you’re rooting for a happy ending for Don and Megan.
On Mad Men every detail is significant and it’s no accident that the show kicked off its seventh and final season with an extended close-up of Freddy Rumsen – a recovering alcoholic who was fired from Sterling-Cooper for his boozy ways and is still struggling to rebuild his life several years after giving up the bottle.
Speaking of inebriants – Roger Sterling is still exploring his mind with LSD and a group of nubile hippies. Who would’ve ever thought we’d see the proudly old-school ladies man sharing his bed with a dude?
Peggy, meanwhile, is living a bohemian existence of her own – arguing with tenants (and their school-age sons) in the decrepit apartments she maintains as landlord.
Over the seasons, we’ve watched Peggy mature into a self-assured, take charge woman of the late-60s, but when we see her crumple to the floor in tears at the end of last night’s episode, it’s a reminder that as much as she tries to be – she’s no Don Draper.
Hell, Don is barely Don anymore. The episode leaves him sitting alone on a freezing patio, ousted from the firm he helped build after shying away from sealing the deal with the sexy widow (Neve Campbell!) who he nearly charmed the pants off of on his flight back to NYC.
Hardly the Don we’ve grown to know and be mystified by.
So yeah, a lot is going – as is always the case with this show. Watch Mad Men online at TV Fanatic to try and sort things out, and relive some of the series’ most memorable moments in our gallery below.
