‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 8 review: a death, a passport, and the revelations of Ken Cosgrove

Death is a hard thing to swallow in life, and it is often something that is trivialized on TV shows. That is not exactly the case when it comes to “Mad Men.” The AMC staple brought season 7 back on Sunday night a story that revolved around Don Draper living his life to the fullest, only to get a reminder of how superficial much of his life was.

Remember Rachel Katz? She was a part of the first season, and bringing her back (albeit in her death) was a full-circle moment. It reminded Don of who he once was, and also where he has come since then. He attended a remembrance in her memory, only to be confronted with questions as to why he was there to begin with. This came after he spent time analyzing coat models and having sex with a waitress in the back alley of a diner. An eventful night for Don, to be frank.

In hearing about Don’s divorce (and seeing Roger’s mustache), it was clear that we were jumping forward a certain amount of time in the future. At the firm, much was the same despite the new oversight, save for seeing Ken be terminated at around the time that he was considering saying farewell to SC&P anyway. He wanted to search for a career as a writer, and now he has the chance to do so without interruption … and with potentially even hiring the same firm he worked for? Don’t rule that out.

The Peggy story tonight was fun, mostly because of her opportunity to be somewhat spontaneous for a change. Unfortunately, it may have been nothing more than a one-night diversion, given that she was inebriated and clinging to an ideal that she could at least temporarily be someone else.

Unfortunately, everyone settles back into the person that they are. That is what we truly took away from this episode. Matthew Weiner does not seem that interested in changing Don. Instead, he remains a character in pensive thought, and one that remains just an inch or two away. Grade: A-.

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