“I’ve been married a long time. You get plenty of chances.”
The third season of Mad Men began last night with the most promising premiere yet, opening with a flashback to Don Draper’s dramatic birth and closing with Don telling Sally the story of hers. In between was a tapestry of revelations that were guaranteed to seduce the uninitiated and sustain the familiar.
A few months have surely passed since we last saw the Drapers, as Betty’s belly has swelled, putting her pregnancy at the halfway point. Hers is not the only altered appearance- Joan Holloway is now at her curviest, suggesting that something might be in store for her as well. This possibility was echoed in her admission to Peggy in the office that she “won’t be around here much longer.” As I mentioned, revelations were made, while other moments and murmurings were mere allusions.
There are some completely new faces in the Mad Men cast, mainly within the Sterling Cooper office. The merger has brought in a brood of Brits, including a rather devilish CFO and his flirtatious assistant, whom the secretaries are encouraged to address as “Mr. Hooker” (his actual name, ironically.) Duck Phillips is nowhere to be found and has presumably been replaced by the unfortunate Bert Peterson, who is ceremoniously fired by the trio of executives (namely Don, Roger and Bert Cooper.) Peterson refuses to leave quietly, instead announcing to the staff that they can all go to Hell and clearing off several desks at random with one sweeping gesture. He also destroys his own office, which is later offered to Mr. Hooker by Joan.
The CFO, whose name is eventually revealed to be Price, offers Peterson’s position as head of accounts to Pete Campbell. And also Ken Cosgrove. Indeed, both men are hired on and given “half of the company”- accounts are split down the middle, as the department previously decided which account went to which man. The reactions of Campbell and Cosgrove are as to be expected: Pete is furious at having to compete with Ken while Ken is merely happy to have been given the opportunity. In a tense confrontation, Pete tells Ken that he is no good and that he will destroy him. Ken can only reply that he won’t buy into their game and subsequently hate Pete. Pete laments to Trudy, who has stopped by the office, that he never gets what he wants. I personally was quite surprised to see the couple still together!
Don and Sal fly to Baltimore for a meeting with their client, the American-founded but anglo-sounding London Fog raincoat company. En route to Baltimore, a flight attendant flirts with Don under the assumption that he is another man, as his luggage bears the name of his brother-in-law. Sal offers the flight attendant, who introduces herself as Shelly, a nom de plume as well, and the two meet up with her and two coworkers for dinner. There, Sal and Don cook up a story about being accountants searching for Jimmy Hoffa’s missing money and Shelly asks for a nightcap.
Don and Shelly walk to his hotel room and she tells him that she is engaged. She doesn’t want to betray her fiancee, but says to Don that he might be her “last chance.” Don responds to this with, “I’ve been married a long time. You get plenty of chances.” He also whispers that it is his birthday, which explains the opening flashbacks. The two enter his room, where Shelly undresses slowly and teasingly, standing topless while talking to Don. The scene cuts to Salvatore face planting onto his bed.
Sal realizes that the air conditioner isn’t working and calls down to the front desk. The attendant who comes up to investigate is the same one that Sal saw earlier in the elevator and eyed curiously. He fixes the AC unit and when Sal reaches to give him a tip the man walks right up to him and stares lasciviously into his eyes. The two begin to kiss passionately, desperately, with Sal practically hyperventilating over the (finally) unbridled ecstasy of it all. They glide over to the bed and the attendant thrusts his hand down Sal’s pants. The scene cuts back to Don’s room, where he and Shelly are tangled up in bed, and the fire alarm promptly goes off.
Don throws Shelly a jacket, pulls on some pants and rushes to the fire escape. On the way down, he sees Salvatore and stops, motioning to Sal to get out of there. Don spots Sal hastily putting on his clothes and notices the hotel attendant doing the same in the background. Sal and Don stare at each other in horror and consternation and are soon shown on the street with the rest of the hotel guests.
Once Don returns home, he talks with Betty and Sally in his bedroom and Sally asks to hear the story of her birth. Don begins to tell it but trails off inexplicably so Betty continues on. Don’s expression is his signature look of extreme guilt- the somber, stony stare he often has while talking to his family after he has cheated on Betty. The story fades out and the closing credits roll.
I thought this episode was the best season opener yet. Season two’s premiere episode was woefully underwhelming and didn’t address enough of the previous cliffhangers to satisfy me. I think it might have been why that season premiere had a high rating and yet the second episode of season two was considerably lower. It just didn’t have enough going on in it to draw in a new wave of viewers. This season certainly did, complete with firings, infidelity, same sex trysts, unwelcome competition and a surprise coming out party.
I was disappointed to see that Don still cheats on Betty, but it wasn’t realistic to believe otherwise. I guess we can’t assume that having another child is going to transform him into father of the year. Not much was said in regard to Peggy’s confession to Pete about their child, although he did refer to her as being “all over the place” when talking to a coworker about his new position. I’m sure much more of that saga will be unraveled in the episodes to come.
Overall, it has the makings of a magnificent new season, and I’m on pins and needles to see where everything- and everyone- ends up.
