Even without seeing the credits, you could probably tell that Matt Weiner wrote this episode himself. "Mad Men" is centered around three major characters -- Don, Peggy, and Pete. For all the drama contributed by the rest of the cast, these three are the heart of the show. Most of the time, each of them follows his or her own story line. At key points in the saga, however, two or three of them come together to make something happen. Pete gets Peggy pregnant. Pete tries to blackmail Don. Don gets Peggy out of the asylum. Peggy tells Pete about the baby. Don asks Pete and Peggy to join him at a new firm. These are all pivotal moments in "Mad Men."
This episode was centered around another of those moments. Pete was not directly involved, although there was a delicious moment when his wife Trudy told Peggy that 26 is not really old. No, this episode centered on the most important relationship in the show -- the one between Don and Peggy.
These are two sad and lonely people. They had miserable childhoods, they never got along with their families, they hated being provincial. They have now reinvented themselves as true Manhattan professionals. But as much as they love Manhattan, they have not been able to endorse the true vision of Ayn Rand selfishness endorsed by Bert Cooper (their true mentor). Don can't get away from the fundamentalist morality of his childhood; Peggy can't escape her tortured relationship with the Catholic church. So they keep trying to be "normal" or "moral" as they understand those terms. Don tried to have a wife and family. Peggy says she wants a husband.
But it never works out. Spouses and children require time, and love, and attention -- and Don and Peggy just don't have enough to give. There's always another client to woo, or another spot to develop, or another bit of copy to edit. And both Don and Peggy seem to be happier with casual sex than the kind that requires a commitment. So Don lost his wife and family, and Peggy gave away Pete's baby. And in this episode, she breaks with her "fiance" and her family -- all to help Don work on a campaign that he is determined to finish so that he can avoid going to dinner with Roger. Meanwhile, Don doesn't call his true "wife," Anna, even though he knows she is dying.
To be clear: Don and Peggy still suffer pangs of conscience for their actions. But they have gotten tougher and harder since we first met them. I can remember when Peggy was devastated that Pete didn't want to do the twist with her. I can remember when Don pleaded with Rachel to run away with him. They just don't seem to care about other people as much as they used to. And paradoxically, this has brought them closer together. In the very first episode of "Mad Men," Peggy put her hand on Don's -- and he pushed her away, not knowing he could trust her. By the end of this episode, however, they do hold hands -- the air between them has been cleared by their evening of fighting and turmoil, and they trust each other more than ever.
Of course, I don't agree with such a work-centered approach to one's inner life. There's a reason why businessmen who do terrible things to each other are careful to say that their actions are "just business." Even the most ruthless businessman often needs a haven of rest and peace -- to be around people who love them and accept them as they are. Don mourns because Anna is no longer there to provide that love for him. Peggy, who has never had it, still feels that she misses it. But I'm afraid that neither Don nor Peggy are willing to make the kinds of sacrifices necessary to justify that type of love. At the end of the day, they are selfish and calculating people who like to work. And more and more, that is how everyone else treats them.
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