Mad Cap: "Time Zones"

Jessica Pare
Welcome to Mad Cap: a daily rundown of every episode of the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. During this time, I will be compiling my thoughts and highlights as we travel through every moment and season of the Emmy-award winning drama that has come to define modern TV. The goal is to be a refresher on every moment for Don Draper and his band of advertisement executives leading up to the final season. Stay for all of the shocking moments and the brilliant acting performances, and make sure to chime in with your thoughts and criticisms on why the show means something to you.

Season 7, Episode 1
"Time Zones"


"They're far away Don. It's just what 
happens to the sound in the canyon."
- Megan Draper (Jessica Pare)

Plot:

Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is living the high life in California with Megan Draper (Jessica Pare) in her fancy house in the hills. Meanwhile, everyone in New York is doing fine without him. Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) is doing her best to keep clients in check for Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton). Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) tries to please her boss. Roger Sterling (John Slatter) has a run in with his daughter and ends up having a decent time. Don reveals that he lives on both coasts and will be starting up work again in two months. Everything seems fine, even though he admits to a passenger on a flight (Neve Campbell) that he is a terrible husband despite being disinterested in flirting with them. Peggy grows frustrated when she can't please her superiors. Joan does just fine, though Ken asks her to mind her own business.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Jon Hamm
MVP:
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)


We have officially started the final season of Mad Men. What better way than Don finally getting what he wants? He lives with his movie star wife and is the envy of a lot of people's dreams. Life couldn't be better for him as he avoids the miserable pitfalls of his life back in New York. Of course, this is all just a gimmick and he is really depressed deep down in ways that he refuses to share with anyone but strangers. He may have enjoyed the vacation, but he is lonely and in a relationship that he doesn't necessarily care about. It's time to see where Don ends up and after last season saw him mope around a lot, there's only hope that the show evolves into something more profound with that subject matter as it culminates very, very soon here.

Left to right: Neve Campbell and Hamm
Best Scene

For most of the episode, things seem fine for Don. He is living a great life in California and he couldn't be happier for his wife. However, in a plane ride back, he gets into a conversation with a stranger that unveils a lot of personal guilt in his life. Moving to California didn't exactly change his outlook on life. He still had that miserable job waiting for him and he didn't feel great about his wife. Still, among the ventilation, the most shocking thing is that he doesn't flirt with the woman sitting next to him. He ends up opening up in ways that were unexpected and make his flawed existence all the more compelling. I just hope that this isn't another season of him realizing how much his life sucks. The show needs to culminate in something greater.



UP NEXT: "A Day's Work"

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