'Mad Men' Recap_ Don Draper's Back in Style - NYTimes
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NYT NOW ‘Mad Men’ Recap: Don Draper’ ack in Stle Logan Hill April 5, 2015 11:00 pm Season 7, Episode 8: Severance In the 1962 film “The Notorious Landlady,” Fred Astaire plays a boss who offers some strong advice to an upandcomer played by Jack Lemmon. “You’re at a level where you can only afford one mistake,” he says. “The higher up you go, the more mistakes you’re allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it’s considered to be your style.” When “Mad Men” had its premiere in 2007, it was 1960, Don was 34, and one mistake could have ruined him. He was walking a high wire at the top of a skyscraper, and fans morbidly wondered not if but when he would fall. An alcoholic, philandering impostor hiding a baroque childhood as the son of a prostitute and a cheap john, Don was concealing so much that he was terrified that one mistake would lead to the downfall of his marriage, his job, his family or his career. Over six and a half seasons, Don screwed up, over and over. And all of the terrible things Don feared actually happened: His stolen identity was revealed. His affairs were discovered. Two marriages collapsed. His self destructive alcoholism consumed him. He lost accounts. He lost friends. He nearly lost his job and his firm. But Don didn’t just survive those mistakes. As Sterling Cooper broke through the ceiling and reached new heights, Don also grew powerful enough that his mistakes couldn’t bring him down anymore. Just as Peggy Lee sings in the song that plays during the premiere’s opening scene, Don
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Transcript of 'Mad Men' Recap_ Don Draper's Back in Style - NYTimes
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NYT NOW
Mad Men Recap: Don Draper ack in Stle Logan Hill
April 5, 2015 11:00 pm
Season7,Episode8:Severance
Inthe1962filmTheNotoriousLandlady,FredAstaireplaysabosswhoofferssomestrongadvicetoanupandcomerplayedbyJackLemmon.Youreatalevelwhereyoucanonlyaffordonemistake,hesays.Thehigherupyougo,themoremistakesyoureallowed.Rightatthetop,ifyoumakeenoughofthem,itsconsideredtobeyourstyle.
WhenMadMenhaditspremierein2007,itwas1960,Donwas34,andonemistakecouldhaveruinedhim.Hewaswalkingahighwireatthetopofaskyscraper,andfansmorbidlywonderednotifbutwhenhewouldfall.Analcoholic,philanderingimpostorhidingabaroquechildhoodasthesonofaprostituteandacheapjohn,Donwasconcealingsomuchthathewasterrifiedthatonemistakewouldleadtothedownfallofhismarriage,hisjob,hisfamilyorhiscareer.
Oversixandahalfseasons,Donscrewedup,overandover.AndalloftheterriblethingsDonfearedactuallyhappened:Hisstolenidentitywasrevealed.Hisaffairswerediscovered.Twomarriagescollapsed.Hisselfdestructivealcoholismconsumedhim.Helostaccounts.Helostfriends.Henearlylosthisjobandhisfirm.
ButDondidntjustsurvivethosemistakes.AsSterlingCooperbrokethroughtheceilingandreachednewheights,Donalsogrewpowerfulenoughthathismistakescouldntbringhimdownanymore.JustasPeggyLeesingsinthesongthatplaysduringthepremieresopeningscene,Don
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lookedaround,surveyedthewreckageofhislifeandhiswartorndecade,thenwaltzedonward.Isthatallthereistoafire?Leesings.Ifthatsallthereis,myfriends,thenletskeepdancing.
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MadMenRecap:DonDrapersBackinStyleMadMenRecap:IntheSeason7Finale,SmallStepsandGreatLeapsMadMenRecap:WelcomeBackWeMissedYou
ItsApril1970.Whattodoafteradecadeofassassinationsandwar,divorceandtrauma?Bringonthewideties.Vomitoutthepaisley.MakeTeddressin50shadesofyellow,likehesColonelMustardfromtheboardgameClue.BuyJoananewdress.Andbringinthenewgirls.Asidefromthecolorpalette,whathasreallychanged?
Overthecourseofsixplusseasons,Dondidntfiguremuchout.Hedidntfindmeaningorbecomeabetterfather,husbandoremployee.Hekeptblunderingfromonefiascotothenext,makingthesamemistakesoverandoveragain.Buthesurvived.Andhemadesomemodicumofpeacewithhisflaws.Astheshowsfinal,sevenepisoderunopens,Donisstillstanding,stillsmokingandstillsellingthefurcoatsheoncetriedtoupsellRogerSterlingdecadesago.Only,unlikethatovereagerkid,thisDonnowhastheswaggerthatcomesfrompower.(Showmehowsmoothyourskinis.)Atsomepointinthe1960s,Donsmistakesbecamehisstyle.
ThatsordidchildhoodhistoryDondesperatelytriedtohide?Nowhessittinginadiner,spinningthenostalgiccarouselofhismemoryasifhewereplayingspinthebottle.Hisonceshamefulsecretshavebecomechitchat,pickuplinesdeployedongirlshalfhisage.
WhenwelastleftDon,hehadjustgottenrichoffthefirmsmergerandseenBertsghostboogieoffintotheetherafterdeliveringthemorbidlyironicmessagethatthebestthingsinlifearefreeareminderthatthemergerwastheemptiestofvictories.Inthisepisode,DonseestheghostofRachelKatz,thewomanwhodaredhimtoloveherandsawrightthrough
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hislies.Youdontwanttorunawaywithme,RachelansweredDonwhenheaskedhertogotoLosAngelesinthefirstseason.Youjustwanttorunaway.Youreacoward!WhenherghosttellsDon,Youmissedyourflight,itsanellipticalversionofKensearnestlamentforthelifenotlived.Athershiva,whenRachelssistertellsDonshelivedthelifeshewantedtolive,itsamoredirectslapintheface.
Donhasfantasizedaboutaromanticescapeplentybefore:HeoncelefttheschoolteacherMissFarrellidlinginhercar.AndhedrunkenlytoldhisbohemianmistressMidge,Packabag.WeregoingtoParisjustasPeggy,whoisfollowinginDonsfootstepsinsomanyways,suggeststoherfreshfacedEmoryUniversitygradinthisepisode.NeitherPeggynorDonwerewillingtotaketherisk.Peddlersofaspirationalfantasy,bothtendtoseehappinessassomethingyoudesire,orfabricate,orsell,ratherthansomethingyoucanmakemanifest.Addictedtowork,skepticalofchange,theyleavetheirpassportsattheoffice.
PeggyandJoangettheirhardearnedplotlinesinthisepisode,buttheotherwomeninDonslifeBetty,MeganandSallyareabsent.Ontheotherhand,therearesomanyechoesandafterimagesofDonswomenthatthepremiereissomethingofasexualsance:ThecastingcallmodelsechotheoneswhoinspiredRogersheartattack.DonshundreddollarassignationreverberateslikeaslapfromtheprostituteDononcepaid.ThestewardessandoracularwaitressremindusofDonsthoroughfamiliaritywithallaspectsoftheserviceindustry.Moreover,whenthestewardesscleansuptheredwinespilledonhiswhitecarpet,sheistheafterimageofafloorscrubbingMegantheexwholeftherearringbehind,likeastain.
Thefirmisalsohauntedbytheghostsofpastaccounts:Topaz,FillmoreAutoparts,Dow.WhenTedbunglesanidiotpitchaboutthreetypesofwomen,itsabastardizationofDonstwotypesofwomen(MarilynorJackie)campaign,andjustanothersuggestionthatMadisonAvenueisjustanotherdeadendstreet.
Allserieslong,wevewatchedtheseadmenandwomenclimbthe
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corporateladder.Nowthattheyreatthetop,itseemsthefinalrunofepisodeswillaskwhatitallmeant.Whatdoesthisshowhavetosayabouthowpeoplechange?Watchingthiselegant,evocative,selfreferentialhallofmirrorspremiere,itwashardnottolookbackandthinkofHegelscurse:Welearnfromhistorythatwelearnnothingfromhistory.
TheSterlingCooper&PartnerscrowdlikestomocktheagencyMcCannErickson,butaretheyanylesschauvinist,withthealldaycastingcalls?Joanisstillharassedjustthesameasevermaybeevenworse.(Iwanttoburnthisplacedown.)Butatleastshecanaffordanewfrock.NothingwilleverbeenoughforgreedyPete,whosepartnerstatusjustmeanshehasabiggersuiteofthingstocomplainabout.Givenachancetowalkawayfromtheofficewarsthattookhiseye,Keninsteaddecidestosignupforanothertourofduty,fightingfortheotherside.
Hasanyonelearnedanything?Maybejustaverylittle.MaybeDonandPeggyandJoanandthecrewarentsodifferentfromKensfatherinlaw.Hespenthiswholelifeworkingforthemostadvancedchemicalcompanyintheworld,andnow,withallthatexperiencebehindhim,hesbeaming,proudthathehaslearnedsomethingnew:howtocookaPopTart.Inatoaster.Itsavictoryofsortsbutitslaughablysmall.
Forthemostpart,everyoneseemstobemakingthesamemistakes,overandover.Andifmistakesbecomeastyle,thebroadties,cheaptuxedoshirts,miasmicpaisleysandmuttonchoppedchauvinismofS.C.&P.slaterdaysarenotagoodlook.Withjustsixepisodesleft,itmaybetoolateforamakeover.
Aquicknote:Theserecapsarenotintendedtobeexhaustivethatwouldbeexhaustingforallofus.Illjusttrytopickathemeeachweekandcontinuetheconversation.Sopleaseshareyourthoughtsinthecomments.Whatdoyoumakeofthepremiere?Wheredowegofromhere?Willanyoneeverescapethatoffice?Andhowdidallthehintsofdeathinformyourconspiracytheories?
LoganHillisajournalistwhohascontributedtoTheNewYork
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Times,NewYork,RollingStone,ThisAmericanLife,Cosmopolitan,Glamour,Wiredandothers.YoucanfollowhimonTwitterat@loganhill33.
Correction:April6,2015AnearlierversionofthispostmisidentifiedthesettingatwhichDontalkswithRachel'ssister.ItwasatshivaforRachel,notawake.
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