‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 1 preview: What to expect from Don, Joan in ‘Time Zones’

“Mad Men” fans, the wait is over. Tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, the show is going to be back on AMC with all-new episodes. The journey begins with “Time Zones,” which going to first and foremost establish what time we are in following the conclusion of season 6, and what is happening to our beloved characters now.

The first thing that you can clearly establish based on the photo above is that Don Draper is clearly doing okay. While he may or may not be fully put-together in the wake of his “absence” from SC&P, he is at least putting on a nice ruse. Based on the episode’s description below (via TV Guide), he is also not shutting himself away from the world:

“The Season 7 opener finds Don making a new friend, and Joan meeting a client for drinks. Elsewhere, Peggy hears some impressive new work, and Roger experiences a strange phone call.”

So what do we make of the title itself? The easy explanation there is that “Time Zones” is a reflection of the fact that some characters are now in Los Angeles, while most of the cast remains in New York. It is curious that neither Pete nor Ted, who are the transplants to the West Coast looking to start a new life, are mentioned here. That may be because the show is waiting until down the road to further explain their story, or because Matthew Weiner, frequent secret-keeper that he is, wants to keep that part of the episode under wraps for at least a little while longer.

What do you want to see on this episode? Be sure to sound off with your predictions below. We will have a full review of this episode online later today, and you can check that out at the link here. Also, sign up to get further TV updates from us via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: AMC