‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 2 reaction: Teyonah Parris reacts to big Dawn storyline
“Mad Men” is a show that continually surprises, and you do not have to look any further than the character of Dawn for evidence of that. Going into season 7, it was not even a given that this character was going to be a part of the story anymore. Don Draper was gone from SC&P, and it was not clear if her character was going to be a casualty of his own actions.
Luckily, this was not the case at all, and we were thrilled to have one of our favorite office workers back for not just another season, but a pointed story as she had to deal with life without Don. This included mistreatment, racism, and sexism that all people in her position went through in the 1960s. These are issues that we touched on in our podcast for the episode, including that some of the other employees at the office were incapable of telling the two characters apart.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, actress Teyonah Parris reveals that even for her, there was a certain amount of surprise that came with finding out she had a part to play this season:
“I found out when I was asked to even come in and read a script. I had no assurance. I had to wait like any other time. I was like, ‘Lord, please let Don come back to the office!'”
Given that Parris is not a series regular on the show, she has to deal with the same sort of waiting and uncertainty that many other actors go through on a daily basis.
Parris in this interview also touched on why Dawn was continuing to help Don, despite him not actually being at SC&P anymore:
“He’s been a great boss to her. He stood up for her during a multitude of office politics issues. And that’s just part of who she is, to stand by him when he’s down. And I’ve lasted longer than any of his secretaries.”
Hopefully, there will be some more good stuff from Dawn later this season, and for now, we are at least pleased with the fact that she seemingly has a win in the form of her own office.
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Photo: AMC