Well, that wraps up another season, folks. It was quite an eventful episode, as we see major turning points for just about every main character tonight, so we'll start off with Pete before we get to Don's epiphany and what should be Jon Hamm's Emmy submission tape.
The side plot of this episode is a rather surreal and hilarious ending to the Bob Benson arc this year. Manolo apparently marries Pete's mother on a cruise at sea, then tosses her overboard to inherit her money, which of course she doesn't actually have. Pete and his brother are understandably upset about this, but only up to a certain point, as neither of them is willing to shell out the big bucks to hire a PI in order to solve their mother's murder. "She did love the sea," Pete rationalizes to himself in the office, as his brother agrees. Those Campbell boys are real prizes, aren't they?
After having to deal unpleasantly with an increasingly troubled Sally's hatred of him, Don gets drunk in a bar and ends up spending the night in jail after punching an offensive preacher, who implies the victims of this year's assassinations might have deserved their fate. This appears to finally be rock bottom for Don, as he admits he has to get a handle on his drinking and decides to steal what was Stan's idea to start anew in California, where the agency needs to set someone up solo. California as we know has always beckoned Don in the past, and he tells Megan, who tearfully agrees that they could be happy there again, in the place where they got engaged.
As he sets everything up for the transition though, Ted and Peggy finally give in to temptation, and while Peggy is ok for now with him being married, however unhappily, Ted is not, and that very night seems to have regrets as he climbs into bed with his wife after having been with Peggy. He then begs Don the next day to let him go to California with his family, in order to get as far away from Peggy as possible. Don doesn't agree at first but in the client meeting with Hershey, he suddenly decides to be honest about himself at work for the very first time, and describes in detail to the clients, Ted, Cutler and Roger that he grew up in a whorehouse and savored Hershey as the only sweet thing in his life. This stunning monologue is Jon Hamm's finest moment of the season, and if he was ever going to win the Emmy, it's another worthy reel to send in, but yeah- don't hold your breath. His best shot will probably be for the final season next year.
After this dramatic scene, Don gives the California spot to Ted after all, a decision which upsets Megan greatly, and despite his promise to her that they will be a bi-coastal couple, she seems to be heading out west in bitterness and the state of their marriage is left ambiguous. Don is then given an indefinite leave of absence by the partners the next morning due to his "behavioral problems," and the episode ends with him driving his kids to PA to show them the abandoned whorehouse he grew up in, and presumably open up to them about who he really is, answering Sally's question from a few episodes ago. There's a look of understanding exchanged between them in the final shot, and it's the first uplifting moment of the season. Is Don finally coming to terms with who he is and ready to live his life openly? Will he follow Megan to CA after all, since there's nothing stopping him now? You're never promised an answer to anything for sure on Mad Men, but that will never stop me from returning to this world every year to find out. It will be a momentous event when the final episode airs next summer. I can't wait to savor every moment of it.
Character Notes:
Pete- after Pete yells at Bob over the Manolo con, he claims no knowledge of it, and then humiliates Pete in front of the Chevy guys, which apparently gets Pete tossed from Chevy, as he either quits or is fired from the firm, because in his last scene he states that he's now going to CA too. This part was pretty muddled, as we never saw Pete getting fired or quitting, and I don't know if he's moving there on his own or is still involved in the business somehow. If anyone caught something that I didn't that explained this part, let me know, will you?
Roger and Joan- now that Bob Benson's war against Pete is over, he seems ready to start one with Roger, who warns him not to mess with Joan and her son, Kevin. Joan decides to let Roger to be in Kevin's life after all and invites him to Thanksgiving, where Roger encounters Bob at the table, cutting the turkey and defying him openly. I hope this isn't the beginning of some series ending arc where Bob Benson takes down the partners one by one and takes over the agency in record time next season, leaving everyone else out in the lurch. He's not nearly compelling enough to be that guy.
Peggy- when Ted dumps Peggy after spending the night with her, in what was really his first kinda dick move that we see, Peggy responds by showing up in Don's now vacated office in a Brady Bunch pantsuit, and laying claim to his chair as she surveys the city through the office windows. It looks to me like Peggy's rise to replace Don has officially begun, and all i can say to the poor, perpetually unlucky-in-love Peggy is you go, girl. Have at it.
