Mad Men Season 7: The Final Season Episode 1 Recap

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Mad Men Season 7, Episode 1 is now officially in the books.The episode is called Time Zones and  starts with with a freelancer pitching an “Accutron Watch” advertising campaign to Peggy Olsen, Peggy considers it a home run. The office has the same sense of success and in the previous season and business is booming.

don draper wife

Don Draper’s second wife is portrayed by by actress Jessica Paré

Welcome Back Mr. Draper

Queue the music. Don draper appears in the episode starting his morning with an electric shave as his wife picks him up from a  transportation terminal in his green old school sports car, no signs of distress here even though Don was told to “take some time off from the firm last season when he sabotaged a pitch to their potential client, Hershey. Don was at rock bottom at this point, putting his marriage in jeopardy and on a destructive path through his alcoholism.

The next scene shows Draper having dinner with his wife, Megan (now a french TV star) with Megans colleagues who have alot of pull in the Television/Movie industry. Megan is told she will have a role on NBC, which is a huge step for her career. It’s clear that Don, while not currently working for the firm still has his wealth and looks happy and even peaceful for the first time in a while.

Pete Campbell

Don has lunch with Pete Campbell at a diner. Peter has a 1 bedroom two story apartment in the tar pits and he takes Don to see the apartment. The blonde real estate agent who visits the apartment takes an interest in Don and hands him her business card.. This could easily be  another costly temptation for Draper later in the season. Pete is separated from his wife and overall, looks like a happy guy.

Roger has lunch with his daughter who he had a rocky relationship with in the past due to his care free lifestyle. His daughter forgives him for all his transgressions. She realized that “anger can be vanquished by love” and it was time to forgive her father and begin building a real relationship with him. Clearly, Roger has not changed at all; in the beginning of the episode Roger wakes up in a hotel with several women from a long night out.

drapercheat

Don boards a plane and is sitting next to a beautiful woman and the flirtation begins immediately. Don learns that her husband passed away a year ago due to alcoholism. Don potentially goes in for a kiss after an emotional talk but she goes to sleep. Don Admits that his marriage is not perfect and opens up to the woman. She overs to “make Don feel better” but he wisely declines the invitation to a situation he has been in too many times before.

 Season 7 Episode 1 Conclusion:

The first episode gave a taste of what is to come in the future of the season for each character. The firm is still on the grind and continuing its past success due to the merger, new employees and big clients. Don picks up where he left off but seems to have stabilized his alcohol addition and infidelity for the time being, the end of the episode hints that he is not over his addiction and not a truly happy guy yet.  He wants to carve out a sustainable lifestyle for himself and Megan but it will have it’s challenges. His dark past always seems to catch up to him each season so it’s only a matter of time before his life implodes. Don does not visit the office during the episode but is still involved with the firm.

Photo Courtesy: AMC TV