‘Mad Men’: Tim Goodman On Pairing Up And Partnering Off As Change Announces Its Arrival

The professional part of ‘Mad Men’ is pretty much over. The personal part has a last act — and the one person outside looking in is Don Draper.

At some point Mad Men had to come out and show it and maybe say it on top of showing it. In a season about endings, about changes, about the inevitable passage of time, Sterling Cooper and Partners – but most importantly the partner Don Draper – had to suffer defeat.

We had already seen the signs in one way or another, but on a professional level, things were very different with McCann-Erickson owning SC&P. Most notably, none of the partners really had a lust for it anymore. Advertising, that is. Working, even. They were paid out. They had made it. They were, as Peggy said to Joan, “filthy rich.” And they acted like it at times – Joan shopping away the pain. Don writing a check for a million dollars to Megan. The ever-complaining Pete complaining to Ken that he’d have to buy a bunch of property just to hold on to his money and not get it all taxed to death.

Peggy, Ken, Stan, etc. – they still have struggles ahead. In that bunch, Peggy is the biggest player. But at the end of the “Time & Life” episode, Peggy had agreed with her head hunter that staying at McCann-Erickson was the best move for her professionally. Stay three years, make a fortune and then move on to more power (who knows – a partner somewhere or her own firm). Everybody else, however, was essentially cashing out of their working lives. They had the golden handcuffs. For Ted, that was fine. Let someone else do the work. He doesn’t want the hassle anymore.

Source: hollywoodreporter.com