We return finally for the last batch of episodes (only 6) in Mad Men's journey, one, as I think the episode hinted at, will be bittersweet.
I briefly had read a Forbes preview article siting the importance of Midge Daniels, the first woman viewers meet of Don's extra marital affairs. I disagree with the article in her being the most important, as almost all characters,including the woman, present a contrast and insight into Donald Draper or Dick Whitman's identity, as this show really is another great character study, but instead, I feel the writer failed to realize that this is about coming full circle to point out Don went down the wrong path yet again. And IMO the most important woman to adult Donald Draper are Anna Draper, Sally, and Peggy Olsen!
The Christmas Carol and Carousal-like-time-machine effects continue to be strong in the first episode of 7B titled "Severance" (to leave/be fired with pay/compensation). We left off last season with Don signing his name over to McCann with a five year contract on the back of the death of Bert, whom Don imagined (or not) seeing, after his death, singing a fabulous dance number, again pointing out the error of the Don's choices, as money is not always the answer to happiness, the best things in life are free----human connections. (Think Burger Chef Pitch!)
The first episode has lots to look at. Bizarrely we do see an image of a cross between Abigail Whitman and Midge, only she's really not Midge or Abigail, but Diana. With a nonsensical aspect of very rich men with three very young and attractive woman, it's hard to imagine their attraction to this cheap dinner in the first place, but as far as writing goes, the Mildred Pierce reference, to Don openly telling a story about his step mother and a toaster to leaving behind a 100 dollar bill, and coming back later and having quick degrading sex with Diana out back while he tries to make a connection to her by talking to her about seeing ghosts, all points out Don's past and how he can't put his finger on the eeriness of his surroundings, something that brilliantly Ken Crosgrove always could, as he mentions himself in the episode.
Note: That juxtaposition of rich men eating at a poor dinner is also juxtaposed with the non rich Peggy offering her date to randomly to fly to Paris at a moments notice--something that also may be referencing the film, While We Are Young. There is also this point made with Peggy and Joan being horrifically treated at their Topaz meeting, and despite that maybe Peggy put her foot in her mouth about Joan's appearance, the truth is Peggy is right in that Joan has so much money, she doesn't have to put herself through all the abuse, if she doesn't want to and that makes Peggy's tolerability interesting, when you consider she can't really do what she wants to. And then we see Joan act like Don at the dress shop, denying her past,...
Note: Mildred Pierce, a hard-boiled Depression-Era-set novel, is also a rags to riches cautionary tale in terms of looking at what happiness really is.
The ghost that Don saw was non other than Rachel Menken, another one of Don's early love interests. One who matched him in business, but one who pointed out Don's lack of spirituality or appreciation of heritage and perhaps served as one of Don's first realizations and/or at least the audiences', of how Don had been denying his past, his roots, as he began to admit some of it to her.
Two other interesting aspects of seeing and referencing Rachel come in again dealing with death, which for me and/or this theory may still be about the death of Anna Draper (and perhaps his brother) being one of, if not the main point of, where Don should of jumped off. Also it deals with the unseen--the fur coat modeling connects to Don meeting the young Betty Draper (when selling coats), who does not appear in this episode all again points to Don's choices and identity he stole earlier in life.
The Promotional Videos/Photos For 7B:
My Sweetest Hangover:
Although the outdoor party montage is a pretty photo shoot of what might be the last party, last call, or a 'last supper' of sorts, the more important message is the concept of the song's refrain, 'My sweetest hangover'. Hangovers are generally not thought of to be sweet, but a painful wake-up call that the dream and/or fantasy you thought you were living [the night before] is over and/or wasn't a fantasy at all, because there are always consequences to our actions or how things look in the sobering light of day. So in a way, one could attribute this to an ironic statement about death or change pointing to painful tragedy, but one could also look at it another way: what if a hangover could be "sweet", because it actually gets you to where you will become most happy? Or what if a hangover is sweet, because you simply wake up the next day with the right person in the right life and that the fantasy you were having was actually a nightmare or fever dream???
Kodak Carousal [Photo Slide Projector Wheel] "Time Machine" Metaphor - Montage
The second video ad, one not played as often as Sweet Hangover, features the beautiful lines of Don's pitch for the Kodak Carousal along with great images showcasing the series and solidifies my Christmas Carol alternate reality/time travel theory arguement in how important that pitch/line of dialogue is to the entire series, because it was saved for last.
