The second season of Mad Men wrapped up two weeks ago, leaving us in longing limbo for another year. Several of the season’s slow-burning issues were finally brought to fruition: the stunning scene between Pete and Peggy in which she finally tells him about their child, the merger of Sterling Cooper with the British firm Putnam Powell and Lowe, Betty’s long overdue act of retribution, and the announcement of her pregnancy. However, we will have to wait until next season to see the aftermath of these critical revelations. Will Don leave Sterling Cooper? What will Pete do with the knowledge of his child’s existence? Will Betty tell anyone that she slept with another man?
Not that a new season promises much in the way of answers. In Mad Men, the ambiguity and unrevealed truths propel this drama forward, even more so than the action that takes place. The subtle, secret, psychological pathways of each character remind us of the grim truth that we are in many ways all alone in this world, and we can never be sure of what anyone else is thinking. (See Hitchcock: any film). But the omniscient camera keeps the viewer much more informed of the goings-on of this world than any of its players. Therein lies the secret to Mad Men’s success; the weight added to every interaction, every word exchanged, leading to the surprising success of profoundly understated generalities, such as when Don, speaking to Roger about the looming threat of nuclear attack, says “We don’t know what’s really going on, you know that.” (How right you are, Don!) We are left to wonder how these characters make decisions, given the discrepancy between their knowledge and ours, which adds the crucial element of surprise.
This season did include some marked shifts from the first season, namely the roles the women occupied, which were in stark contrast to the objectified roles of the first season. Peggy is a successful copywriter this season, landing big accounts, and even moves into an office alongside Don’s. In the superbly written scene between Peggy and Pete, we finally see the philandering, pompous Pete Campbell rendered utterly powerless. Long after their short-lived romance, Pete decides to tell Peggy that he loves her and wants to be with her. (Because, as Don reminds us earlier in the episode, “Pete, I know you want things when you want them.”) After his declaration, Peggy turns the tables on him, saying “I could have had you in my life forever, if I wanted to.” She tells him about the baby, and after a pause, explains why she decided to give up the baby, and him: “I wanted other things…One day you’re there, and then all of a sudden, there’s less of you.” She rejects him, and he asks, “Why would you tell me that?” He is not talking about the baby, he is talking about The Truth:
Betty also exercises some authority, however uncomfortable and unnatural it obviously feels to her. She kicks Don out, rejects the advances of a riding partner she clearly has feelings for, and in the final episode, has a tryst with a stranger in a men’s room. She comes home and satisfyingly eats a drumstick straight out of the refrigerator. No remorse. In the final scene, she decides not to tell Don about the encounter, after initially setting out to do just that, and determines to tell him that she is pregnant instead (“I…I’m pregnant”). We will have to wait to see what changes 1963 will bring to the Drapers, et al.
