Mad Men “The Wheel”

“Mad Men’s” season finale snuck up on me.  Normally shows (or movies) have a specific plot that escalates until the climax in the finale, but the minimalistic structure of “Mad Men” moves at a less obvious pace.  The characters move through many different events, as opposed to one specific plot, and grow as most humans do, slowly and in miniscule increments.  This slice-of-life feel makes “Mad Men” unique in most of today’s television fare and makes me like it even more.

Many major character arcs are moved forward considerably in this episode.  Betty becomes suspicious of Don’s fidelity when a fellow housewife comes over distraught over learning that her husband has been calling other women.  She becomes more disconnected from Don when she learns he’s been taking phone calls from her psychologist, which is a breach of privacy, and she decides to leave for Thanksgiving early. 

Don, on the other hand, is asked to create an advertising strategy for Kodak’s new projector that makes it easier to look at pictures, they call it The Wheel.  While devising the strategy, Don unearths pictures of his family being happy together.  Thinking of his own family, he calls a motel trying to find his little brother and learns that he committed suicide.  Don makes a decision that he hasn’t made all season, he decides to put his family over his work and his mistresses.  He envisions going home to announce he is going to Thanksgiving with them, only to arrive at an empty house.  He sits alone.  Abandoned.

Peggy works on the ad for the “Relaxicisor.”  She has some troubles while recording the radio ad, but she gets her big moment later in the episode.  After the success of Don’s pitch to Kodak, he suggests that Peggy write copy for Pete’s new account, Clearasil.  Pete takes offense and refuses, but Don promotes Peggy to Jr. Copy Writer and assigns her to the account.  As she is moving her stuff to her new office, she begins to feel sick.  She goes to the doctor after work only to learn that her recent weight gain is due to pregnancy.  Afterward she gives birth to the baby boy the nurse asks if she wants to hold him, but Peggy resents the child because it’s Pete Campbell’s child, and refuses. 

This episode was really good, but I couldn’t believe that Peggy never knew she was pregnant.  I’ve never been pregnant but I’m pretty sure you know when you are.  From morning sickness to the weight gain, and wouldn’t the baby kick at some point?  Everybody always talks about their babies kicking while in the womb.  If Peggy was pregnant and didn’t know it and the baby kicked…wouldn’t she freak out?  I know I would if all of a sudden my innards are being beaten by an entity inside my abdomen.  She would at least get that checked out.  Other than an impossibly missed pregnancy, this was a solid episode to end a solid first season.

4/5