“Who is Don Draper?”
Did I hear that correctly? Was it really the opening line for Season 4? Will it set the stage for whatever is to come?
Identity: New Don Draper, new firm, new players, new show
If Season 3 of AMC TV’s Emmy-award winning drama Mad Men was all about unveiling the secret life of its protagonist, Season 4 is about reinvention. In a larger sense, this is reinvention for all the players, the infancy of a new business, the turmoil of dramatically altered personal lives.
Deftly played by Jon Hamm, Don Draper is in the habit of pitching his ideas, not speaking about his life. Still reeling from losses – divorce, the devastation of revealing his true identity, missing his children, the comfort of the old firm – he’s anything but open during an interview with Advertising Age.
That turns out to be a mistake. A lost opportunity. Don is struggling with who he is, but as the face of the agency, either he pulls it together – or they all go down.
At the end of last season, cornered into disclosing his upbringing and identity switch, Don’s honesty resulted in disaster. Everything has changed. And Mad Men’s creators are taking a risk – drop-kicking the viewers straight into the chaos that is Don Draper’s life.
Beginnings
What could be more uncomfortable than tuning in your favorite show, and being tossed upside down by nothing you recognize except the occasional face? The office is different. A full year or more has passed, which we only piece together in the last seconds of the episode. The living spaces are different. New characters appear with no explanation and we’re not sure if we caught their names. And the relationships? What’s going on?
AMC TV – what have you done? The first half hour of the season premiere is confusing, disorienting, and daring.
Familiar territory
About 40 minutes into the episode, Don walks into his old home to pick up his children. It is the day after Thanksgiving. We believe it’s 1965, based on how long Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce has been up and running.
Those few seconds of Don entering his home, greeted by a chilly Betty, offer familiar ground. We breathe a little easier. The situation is different, but we recognize something. We hate seeing Henry there, in Don’s home. We’re disgusted at Betty’s behavior – with Don – and with her children.
Yet he’s been cutting Betty slack. Is it guilt? Decency? Love of his kids?
Only at the end of the episode is he irritated enough to force her hand. “When are you moving out?” he asks Betty and Henry, who have been living in the house he shared with his wife. “You were supposed to be out a month ago. Either do as we agreed or I”m going to collect rent. ”
Disorient your viewers? Brave move.
Drop devoted viewers into a seemingly different show?
Brave move. And brilliant. We’ve just experienced life through Don’s eyes. Nothing quite fits. We don’t understand the back stories, the relationships, the framework. Don is less effective at what he does best. At least, until the end of the episode when he throws clients out of his office and agrees to an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
We need Don the performer, Don the natural ad man, Don the storyteller. Don who must master the art of Public Relations. He knows it; he takes control and spins a tale. He’s making things happen again.
You can be comfortable and dead, or take a risk, and be successful.
Those were Don’s words to a new client who won’t listen to his ideas. Could Don have been speaking of himself? Of the new agency? Is this the show’s creators telling us they’re not afraid to take risks?
Artifice and bravado. The unexpected. It’s a new game, but we’re back in business.
Images courtesy AMCTV.com.
Read more Mad Men musings and recaps.
© D A Wolf
Mad Men, Season Four, episode 1, was a total flop. Thought I had tuned into the most boring show ever – it was a waste of time. What happened to the magic that was once Mad Men? Could care less what happens to any of these boring people.
I understand where you’re coming from Glen. The first part of the show was unsettling – nothing was familiar. But then, nothing in Don’s life is familiar, is it? New office space, new role, new “single” status, his wife living in his old home with his children and a new husband, new (depressing) apartment. He’s utterly at a loss. We don’t recognize people or context because he doesn’t. Until he realizes he needs to get his act together, and following the scene at home (that feels like Mad Men Seasons 1 – 3), we start to situate ourselves again.
And his ballsy move, tossing out the clients in the end? Don’t you see Don in that?
Oooh, I disagree with Glen. I loved that they switched things up. I think another year of Sterling Cooper, Don’s carousing, Betty’s pathetic attempts at housewifery, etc would be old by now. I love watching them navigate these treacherous waters in taboo-filled ’60s.
I especially love the transition of Henry Francis. Last season he was the guy I rooted for. He treated Betty decently and genuinely cared for her. Now he’s the scum who’s freeloading off of Don. How did that change so quickly? I’m fascinated.
One other question: Why does Don have a hooker? He spent the first three seasons cheating on his wife and getting free sex every time he left the office. And now that he’s single he’s paying for it? Is this a crisis of conscience? I don’t get it.
I could go on and on but I’ll stop myself. Needless to say, I can’t wait for next week!
Great questions, Gale! On that hooker thing – think about it. He reveals himself to his wife as the child of a hooker and her John. Instead of accepting him for who he is (a blended Dick Whitman-Don Draper), his wife essentially abandons him, and takes him for plenty in the process (which he allows). Guilt? Shame? A subconscious desire to be somewhat in the gutter where he must now be convinced he belongs, unworthy of this woman when his true “self” is known?
I’m thrilled they changed it up, too. And by zapping us forward about a year (I believe), they open up even more possibilities for rapid change (in social climate, mores, fashion, and so on).
I so need to get on board with this show. Think I will check out previous seasons on DVD.
Good thoughts about Don thinking he belongs in the gutter. Might also shed some light on those slaps across the face that she gave him. Maybe he thinks he deserves punishment? Anyway, Don was a huge dichotomy last night: dirty sex with a prostitute, then wanting to see the baby and offering to sew buttons back on a shirt. “Who is Don Draper?” turns out to be a really compelling question (as always…).
AMC took me back last night to the first few months after my husband left. They showed the viewer what the world looks like when your life has been turned upside down.
They found a way to compete with reality television by causing the viewer as much confusion as Don who is having to start over from scratch. It is genius!
Glen, don’t stop watching now. There is more magic to come and this time we will be allowed to see the magic as it unfolds.
This is what makes me regret I don’t have the more expensive cable package! It sounds like a fabulous show. To Blockbuster I go…
You don’t get AMC TV? (I believe it’s on basic cable.) It’s worth getting!