Escarole-back: Mad Men Series Overview (Season 6)

The penultimate(ish) season! Season 6 brought a fiercely unstable Don as his happiness with Megan fades (leading to his affair with his neighbor Sylvia) and his dependence on alcohol grows. As always, he buries himself in his work in order to avoid his feelings and there's plenty to do at SCDP! A company merger with Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough (the firm Peggy left for last season) leaves both companies struggling to find their place. Pete and Trudy's marriage finally dissolves after she discovers an affair he's having with their neighbor. These Madison Avenue boys really don't know how to keep their affairs in order. Pun intended. By the end of the season, Don repeatedly relives memories from his childhood when his family ran and lived in a whorehouse. This leads to a devastating pitch to Hershey's chocolate that earns him a leave of absence (i.e. a polite firing) from the agency.

Episode 6: "For Immediate Release"
This is a pivotal episode in this season in the most true sense of the word. At the beginning of this episode, the agency was moving in a specific direction, but by the end it is literally a whole new agency. The availability of securing Chevy causes Don to cut ties with Jaguar. Joan is furious as her tryst with sleazy Herb Rennet is now meaningless. While waiting to pitch for Chevy, the boys from SCDP run into the boys from CGC. They both realize that each agency is too small to tackle such a high profile client, but together they have enough firepower to have a real shot at the business. They agree to merge and win the account. Peggy is then given the uncomfortable task of drafting a press release to announce the merger of her current and former employers. 

Just last season, Joan was heralding Don for being a stand-up guy. Now she's as angry with him as she was with Greg when he announced his plan to return to Vietnam. Maybe even more. Joan's arranged date with Rennet helped secure Jaguar for the agency and also cost her nearly all of her dignity. What was left of her dignity was brutally erased when Don announced to the office that Jaguar was cut. Not only is she furious for Don so casually tossing out the only business Joan has ever brought in (however immoral the method), but he's also ruining the planned IPO that she, Bert Cooper, and Pete had secured with Jaguar. Joan just lost out on a ton of money. Don didn't know about the IPO, but also isn't sorry after he finds out. Joan has a right to be pissed and she knows it. This, like any other time she's been wronged, won't be forgotten any time soon.

Outside of the dealings with GM & Chevy, there is an uncomfortable meeting between Pete and his father-in-law, who is played by Joe O'Conner (Clarissa's dad from Clarissa Explains it All!). They run into each other at a brothel. Pete assumes the meeting will go unmentioned and therefore is a non-issue. After all, in order for either party to rat on the other, one first has to admit they were in a whorehouse. Foolish Pete! Just because Tom isn't going to rat you out to Trudy doesn't mean he can't screw you over otherwise. Soon after this Tom fires SCDP as the advertising agency for Clearasil, the company for which he works. I'm sure the divorce Pete and Trudy are going through is a contributing factor to this decision as well. Pete attempts to retaliate by telling Trudy about running in to her father. She's disgusted with Pete and doesn't believe him. Oh Pete, you slimy jerk.

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The final episode of Mad Men airs tomorrow night! I am equal parts excited and sad. This has become one of my favorite television shows of all time and leaving it behind is hard. At least there are such wonderful things as Netflix and DVD/Blu-ray sets. Check back tomorrow for another (back-to-back) Escarole-back for Season 7A!

Arugalater!
Laura