“What is happiness? It’s
the moment before you want more happiness.” –Don Draper
The penultimate episode of Mad Men followed along the lines
of what is superstitiously necessary for a wedding: something old (the return of
power-hungry Don Draper), something new (Sally making the transition into
womanhood), something borrowed (Don finds out Lane has been embezzling money),
and something blue (sorry you had to go out that way Lane).
This marks the second time over the course of Mad Men that Don
was directly related to a person’s decision to commit suicide, with the first
being his a little brother from the Dick Whitman days. In the case of Adam though, he was simply looking for
a little attention from his older brother. This scenario was much less the
result of Don’s actions however, and much more the fault of Lane. Don could
have very easily made life even more abysmal for Lane after becoming aware of
his criminal actions but decided to keep it under wraps and allow Lane an opportunity to start over. That being said I’m sure it will eat at Don all the same
if not more so as he’ll blame himself for the act by not allowing Lane a second
chance at the agency. We see him immediately try to reconcile himself by insisting they cut Lane
down to save him that last bit of dignity and when he returns home to find
Sally’s pseudo boyfriend, he offers Glen a chance to get something to go his
way, whatever he wanted. Chalk up another mental scar for our leading man.
So Lane Pryce is no longer with us in the world of Mad Men,
but he certainly left his mark by allowing for the formation of Sterling Cooper
Draper Pryce* and helping to keep the company afloat in their time of financial
crisis. The writing, however, has kind of always been on the wall for Lane to
eventually take his own life. At the beginning of his run on the series Lane
was the doormat for his employers over in London as he was the one forced to
relocate time and time again and do the dirty work associated with mergers and
whatnot. His highpoint certainly came when he fired Don, Roger and Cooper in
order to void their contracts but he quickly fell back to doormat status soon
after.** Lane was a man who was constantly playing catch-up in an attempt to
fit in whether that be trying to assimilate into American culture (the Mets
pennant on his wall in his office) or his endless struggle to feel relevant in
both the workplace and at home.
*Will the agency just
drop the name “Pryce” at the end now, or replace it with a different one?
Sterling Cooper Draper Campbell?
**Including a physical
beating at the hand of his elderly father when Lane had decided to cut ties
with his family in favor of his “chocolate bunny” at the Playboy Club.
Before Lane’s final exit though, we got our old friend Don Draper
back. Not content, honeymoon phase Don Draper, but the cutthroat wipe the blood
off of his face before he goes and gets a drink Don Draper we used to love so
much. I agree with Roger sum it up best upon the reemergence of this Don: “I
like that guy. I missed him.” Don is gunning for the big fish now and is tired
of bringing in little account after another, it’s what their agency needed to
do to stay alive after the loss of Lucky Strike but they can hold their own now
and Don isn’t going to stop until he gets them to the next level.
Over on the Sally side of things, it felt a little “after
school special” at times. Ultimately, this marks an official end of Sally’s
childhood and begins the first stages of what will almost certainly be a
troubled young adult life. But Sally has been forced to grow up much sooner
than most children her age should have to at this point in their life, this
just means her physical body is starting to catch up with the many years head
start her emotional body has on it. I’ve also never been a huge fan of Glen
because of the creepy demeanor he has about him, and I’m not entirely sure if
that’s intentional or not. That being said, Kiernan Shipka is such as amazing
actress for someone her age so getting her involved in any way with the show is
fine with me.
Some other quick
notes on the episode:
- Roger’s enlightenment has worn off. Roger taking LSD was such a great thing both in the moment and for the way it altered hos worldviews for the time after. But of course in typical Roger Sterling fashion it lost its allure once it stopped seeming fresh to him.
- Only Betty would turn the news of her daughter running to her after getting her period for the first time into something she could use as evidence that Sally liked her more than Megan.
- “I don’t want to be your partner, I've seen what’s involved” –Ken Cosgrove
- Kenny’s made it blatantly clear he doesn't want his job to become his life like everyone else who works for the agency. Glad to see him join the list of Harry, Peggy and Ginsberg who have negotiated side deals with Roger this season.
- I know a story involving Peggy wouldn't have fit very well into this episode, but hopefully we don’t lose many stories in the future involving one of the best female characters on television.
Comments are certainly welcome whether they are for
agreement, disagreement, or indifference.
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