Spoilers ahead.
The
end of SC&P came quicker than I thought. I was prepared for an
epic, multi-episode fight for the firm. However, the big changes in
"Mad Men" tend to happen quickly, and it only took an episode for the
axe to fall, despite Don rallying the troops for what looked like
another of his famous last minute miracle saves. Another fresh start.
Another grand escape. We've seen him do it so many times, it took a few
minutes for it to sink in that SC&P really is finished. This was
easily the best episode of the season so far, as the big firm upheaval
events usually are, and it got a lot of extra oomph from multiple
callbacks to and echoes of previous episodes.
This
is Pete's first spotlight of the season, and perhaps his only
spotlight. He's not awful for once. Oh sure, we know he can still be a
rat bastard, restarting a blood feud over Tammy's school enrollment,
but he's an absolute gentleman to the three women we've seen him
consistently clash with in the past: Peggy, Trudy, and Joan. Even
though he was at odds with Peggy last week, she's the first one that
Pete warns when the news about McCann Erickson breaks. He shores up
Joan's ego on the ride home after their fates are sealed, letting his
guard down enough to reveal that he really does respect her. Even a
reconciliation with Trudy looks possible. I wonder if Pete has
fundamentally changed or if it's just the circumstances of the the firm
going down that's made him more altruistic. Might Pete without the
competitiveness and the jealousy that the job brings out, actually be a
decent person?
Peggy, one of the only employees
who seems fine with SC&P's end, is dismayed to discover her best
option is to continue to operate in Don Draper's shadow at McCann.
She's also forced to revisit her decision to give up her son after some
adventures in babysitting with Stan. It's one of the few times the
frustration with being a career woman is so plainly expressed by anyone
in the show. It's a welcome rant, even if Peggy's example of a double
standard doesn't put her in a sympathetic light. She's come a long way
since Season One, but she resents how much of a gender gap she still has
to overcome and the sacrifices that she's had to make to get where she
is. But as much as she doesn't like her choices she still makes them
and has found ways to live with them. I also think that Stan's a little
premature in concluding that Peggy will never become a mother. Her
prospects aren't good but she still has a chance.
The
rest of the SC&P regulars are far less sure about their own fates
even though they've largely been decided. The partners are handed plum
accounts, but the signs of impending doom are everywhere. The highlight
of the hour was McCann exec Jim Hobart, played by H. Richard Greene,
trying to convince them that they were entering "advertising heaven" in
terms that recalled Ned Beatty's business-worshipping speech from
"Network." Don and the other partners allow themselves to be convinced,
briefly, that the move might not be so bad. The closing scene,
however, where they're unable to quell the buzzing panic of their staff,
is pointing to some bleak times ahead. The inescapable irony is that
Don fought his way back into the advertising game and is going to end up
stuck in advertising hell. Peggy was told to get out of McCann in
three years, but Don will be forced to stick around for four.
In
the end I'm glad that three episodes are left for a proper denouement.
I hope we get more little sendoffs like the one Lou Avery got. The
idea of him shipping off to Japan to become an anime producer is
absolutely hysterical. The mentions of Diana were so brief but so
pointed, it surely means the show isn't done with her yet. I'd like
Roger and his legacy woes to get a spotlight episode next, but at the
same time there are a lot of other characters we need to check up on and
not a whole lot of time left. I'm going to miss these characters once
they're gone.
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