‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 8 spoilers: Matthew Weiner on Don Draper’s future
“Mad Men” did not necessarily have a season finale on Sunday night, but it did enough in this episode to let us know that this was an episode of great importance. “Waterloo” was an opportunity to see the further evolution of Don Draper; while not everything worked out well for him (he did lose his relationship with Megan), he did establish his old position at the company and allowed Peggy to take the glory when it comes to Burger Chef.
Of course, creator Matthew Weiner is not one to appreciate spoilers, but he did at least try to set up where we will see Jon Hamm’s character next year in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“People asked about the challenge of the break, and what we really wanted to do was a whole season’s worth of story in those seven episodes. Starting with Don and Peggy as far apart as possible in the premiere, and doing something we’ve never done before — which is pick up eight weeks later, not a year or six months — and see Don having the same problem. Seeing Don work his way up, that was the goal. They ended up selling the company, but Don discovered his work. Only on a show where everything goes wrong all the time, like this, do you get tension out of that. But you’re surprised and worried about whether he can stick it out and not self-destruct, not drink his way out of it, embarrass everyone or be selfish. And we got to reunite him and Peggy…or at least repair their relationship. Both of them earned something new. Peggy earned her real confidence, because it wasn’t given to her, and Don behaved with — I wouldn’t call it maturity — integrity on a pretty large scale. That’s where we wanted to leave him — and of course a little bit of bittersweetness that life is more important than success.”
The questions for Don come down to whether or not he can sustain, and keep himself in this position to grow and change. He lost quite a bit in between his dignity and his marriage, but perhaps what he learned (value) was enough to make him more motivated than ever before.
Where do you think that Don’s story could be going here on out? Let us know your thoughts below, and head over here if you missed our in-depth podcast from earlier in the week on the subject. Also, you can sign up to get some further TV updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: AMC