I don't plan on doing a week by week recap of the new Mad Men season, but I did want to get a few scattered thoughts down about last night's season premiere. I'm not going to go into the background of each character I mention, so I will admit that if you're not interested in Mad Men you might not be interested in reading on.
As has been the trend the last couple of years, the end of the previous season gives hints to what's going to happen in the future, with the new season beginning with a bit of a reset. Last summer saw a more open and honest Don Draper, whose marriage to Megan was over, ready to come to grips with his past and choose an actual identity. Last night saw Don and Megan still together, though "bi-coastal" and still strained. He's still in New York on paid leave from SC&P, though Megan doesn't know this little detail, what with her move to L.A. to pursue an acting career. Don is also clandestinely pitching copy to his firm by way of Freddy Rumson, still working as a freelancer. So much for the open and honest Don Draper/Dick Whitman.
Some honesty does come through by way of an encounter with a mysterious woman (played by Neve Campbell) on the red eye back east. Don finds himself next to a young widow who is obviously interested, but instead of going in for the "kill" he backs off, admitting that he's pretty much a dirty stomp around whose made a mess of yet another marriage and his wife knows it. Don has these moments of truth every so often, but they never stopped him for being, well, Don. But he does pull back on the throttle, maybe because he wants to stay focused on getting back in the ad game, maybe because he does want to salvage his marriage, probably a little bit of both.
Along with Don, most of the old cast of characters are dealing with changes that they sought, or at least brought on themselves, and are suffering because of them. Ken Cosgrove wanted out of the pressures of Detroit and GM, but feels overwhelmed in his new position at the New York office. Ted Chaough wanted a clean break from New York to get away from the temptations of Peggy Olson, but the move to L.A. has been rough. Roger Sterling is moving deeper into a hedonistic lifestyle that seems to be leaving him with more of a constant hangover instead of the intended perpetual high.
Since they went with a standard 47 minute premiere instead of the double episode kickoffs of seasons 5 and six, many characters are left out or just mentioned in passing, but the only one who seems happy is the perpetually sour and grasping Pete Campbell. His move to the West Coast was an unwelcomed demotion remember, but he's tan, rested and content. He waxes poetic about a trip to client Tropicana's orange groves and the wonders of nature, and he means it; very un-Pete like. Maybe the lesson is that the blessings in life sometimes come when we let go and let things happen instead of trying to run after things we think will make us happy.
I admit that I do catch up on the post broadcast on-line commentary, and some of it is very good. I especially recommend the Orange Couch on You Tube. I don't always agree with their analysis, and they are pretty much coming from a left leaning politically correct sensibility, but they are good at picking up the overall themes and subtle undertones that come through by way of the 1960's pop culture references producer Matthew Weiner throws in. Last season the big buzz revolved around a series of Sharon Tate, Rosemary's Baby references that were meant to bring to mind the Manson Family murders. They came to nothing, but I was surprised that only one commentator I read this morning noticed that Megan is living in the "Hills" near the "Canyon:" where the murders took place. No one noticed Peggy Olson conspicuously flashing a Folger's coffee can around, making sure the label faced the camera. Abigail Folger, heiress to the coffee fortune, was murdered in the same rampage that took Sharon Tate's life in August of 1969 (we begin season 7 in January of that year). Ordinarily I would agree that sometimes a coffee can is just a coffee can, but Wiener and company are obsessive about such minute touches, and have made conspiracy theorist of all us hard core viewers. We'll see if this is a real hint of future events or just a tease.
I'll be back with more in a few weeks after we get a couple of episodes under our belts.
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