I was waiting a long time for last night’s third season première of Mad Men, excitement brewed all week in anticipation. I even attended a theme party on Saturday, proudly going as Rachel Menken (that’s me on the right), Jewish department store owner and one of Don Draper’s former conquests. I drank vodka gimlets (Betty’s choice of drink) and held a cigarette all night and as Sunday rolled around was promptly in front of the television for 10 p.m.
We left off with many shocks last season, Betty’s pregnancy, Peggy revealing to Pete she had his child and Joan getting raped by her fiancé, so I expected the start of the new season to begin with a bang.
Well, it didn’t.
The episode picked off with Don boiling milk in his kitchen while he has a series of reveries telling the story of his birth. He soothed the restless and very pregnant Betty into sleep and then we were back in the office of Sterling Cooper watching the head of accounts get fired — and he certainly doesn’t take it very well. Pete was told he would be the new head of accounts and much to his dismay, found out the next day that Ken was given the same title and the two would go head to head to prove who’s better for the job. Joan and Peggy were hard at work around the office trying to deal with the new people in town, Peggy’s hopeless secretary, and the new right-hand man of the British invasion.
Don was sent to Baltimore with Sal to visit their client, raincoat makers London Fog, to assure them of their commitment to the company. Don told them, “There will be fat years and there will be lean years, but it is always going to rain.” And that seems like a very good metaphor to describe the tone of this season. It’s going to rain.
Don was back to his old ways, hooking up with his flirtatious flight attendant, when a fire went off in the hotel. As he made his way down the fire escape he saw Sal and the shirtless bellhop inside another room. On the flight home, Don asked Sal to be completely honest, but instead of bringing up what he saw in the window, he pitched his idea for London Fog: “Limit your exposure.” Nice.
Don returned home to his family, his daughter Sally apologized for breaking his suitcase because she didn’t want him to leave, but he assured her he would always come home. Guilt was smacked upon his face when Sally found the stewardess’ pin in his suitcase, and luckily for him, Betty didn’t notice. The episode ended as Don struggled to tell Sally about the say she was born.
All wasn’t lost as the new storylines developed, but this season felt different from the others. The characters seem quite unsettled in their situations (even Don, who’s normally strikingly confident). I’m also unsettled due to many (if not all) of the unanswered questions that were swept under the rug. At least one thing remained constant — the drinks. So let’s cheers to hoping that as the season progresses, we get some answers.
Mad Men airs Sunday at 10 p.m. ET, AMC.
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