Mad Men: “The Phantom”

“It’ll go away, it always does.” – Don Draper

What a strange, adventurous, dark, wonderful season it’s been for Mad Men, and it’s only fitting it would end it in such a vintage Mad Men fashion. In the first episode of the season Roger asked Don “when were things going to get back to normal?” Of course we knew at the time that Roger would never see his version of “normal” again as the 60’s transitioning into the 70’s marks one of the biggest, fastest cultural changes in our country’s history. What we didn’t know was that over the coming months we would witness Megan serenading Don in front 40 of his closest “friends” with a little "Zou Bisou Bisou,” Pete getting into a fistfight (twice!), Roger taking LSD (twice!), Joan terminating it with Greg and prostituting herself out to Jaguar, and Lane ending it all in his office. As for Don? Well it seems our anti-hero may in fact fulfill Roger’s wish after all.

The episode begins with Don experiencing tooth pain, but instead of going directly to the dentist he determines that the pain will eventually go away, symbolic of how Don treats every disturbance that crops up for him. But once the pain doesn’t go away, and he finally gives into the pleads of those around him, he goes to the dentist and is greeted with instant relief and freedom once his tooth is extracted. At this point it seems as though Don Draper finally figures out that things don’t just go away, they become phantoms or demons that will lay in wait and return to you when you are at your most vulnerable. One of those phantoms being the guilt eating away at him on the inside in the outcomes of Adam and Lane, both of whom were victims of his actions that he is now forced to bear alone. The other being that inescapable self-loathing that Dick Whitman developed as a young boy and has followed him throughout his entire life. And for Don the only the only way to feed these ghosts that are constantly on his tail is to give into their desires, to overindulge them so they will leave him alone long enough to think. And the only way he knows how to do that is through women and alcohol.

The final scene certainly gives us a lot ponder about. Will Don again give into his temptation? The temptation he’s so easily thrown by the wayside since he committed himself to Megan? My money is on “of course she will,” for the simple reason that it’s the only life he’s been truly comfortable in. We also see in this scene that Megan is reprising the roll of Belle in the “Beauty and the Beast” themed commercial they are shooting, are we then to assume that Don is the Beast in this scenario? It’s certainly interesting to examine it in that light because in the fairy tale Belle gets to live in the Beasts’ exquisite castle and is given whatever she wants or desires upon her arrival. To the same accord Megan has gotten to live this same life of luxury and it has become quite apparent to her that she hasn’t done anything to deserve it. It certainly looks like Don and Megan’s’ marriage has more than a couple speed bumps ahead for it.

We also see that Pete is starting down the same path Don, albeit in much more punch-able fashion. Pete is suffering from his fear of complacency. When he was just starting out at Sterling Cooper he had goals in mind: move up in the company, start landing accounts, start a family, become successful. And now that Pete is starting to reach his goals he’s starting to question them and beginning to wonder what else is out there and how can he get it for himself? Much like Don, Pete’s destined to live a life that is unsatisfying. Sure money, women, and  a new apartment in the city will give him that momentary triumph that can tide him over for a while but unlike Don he’ll never be “top dog,” the guy that other guys aspire to be, and for that reason he’d rather get banned from a train than apologize for his fantasies.

Overall, this season of Mad Men was extremely dark, from shootings across the country, a cancer scare, a murder hallucination, a suicide, and many more. Because of this I’m not sure how enjoyable this season really was, especially in comparison to last season which still remains my favorite. I’m not entirely sure what to expect from Mad Men next season but I’m pretty positive it won’t be nearly as grim. Heck I think even Matthew Weiner alludes to that very fact when Trudy tells off Pete for sulky attitude: “all this doom and gloom, I’m tired of it!”

Some other quick notes on the episode:

• Even the now despicable Harry doesn't want Lane’s old office, can’t say I blame him.
• Ginsberg really does seem to be from another planet at times as his shirt was covered in stains during their meeting with Topaz. Also, interesting to note that Topaz was disappointed to not have that woman’s perspective SCDP clients had grown accustom to.
• Speaking of Peggy, I absolutely loved the scene with her and Don in the movie theatre and the mentor returns to the mentee. She wisely explains to Don about her departure that “That’s what happens when you help someone, they succeed and move on.” Yeah I’m glad you get to move up and all Peggy, but we need you back at SCDP before the end of next season.
• I laughed out loud twice during the finale. The first being when Pete demanded fresh Life Savers from his secretary when he was on the phone with Beth. The second when we discover the prank caller to the Draper residence is none other than Roger Sterling who puts on a fake French accent when Don picks up the phone.
• Looks like they finally have that second floor they've been telling clients they had from the beginning, I’m sure we’ll get more than a few good moments out of the agency’s new work-space next season.
• Pete needs to take a martial arts class or something.
• There was something hauntingly beautiful about Don watching Megan’s’ screen test. It’s like he realized who she was and who she wasn't at the same time.
• Also, I loved the moment when the five partners are looking out at the view on their new floor, but I’m a sucker for that kind of cinematography.
• Roger takes LSD again. I don’t think that could ever get old.

Comments are certainly welcome, whether they are for agreement, disagreement, or indifference.