After a break of a year and a half, Mad Men is finally back. And you know what? It’s like Don Draper and co. never left our screens. The two-hour season 5 premiere “A Little Kiss” wasn’t as grandiose as the season 4 opener “Public Relations”, which introduced us to the offices of the newly founded Sterling Cooper Draper Price, and also dared to ask the troubling question, “who is Don Draper?” That episode set up perfectly what was to come for the rest of the season, with Don spiralling out of control as the last remnants of his old family life began to slip away forever.
In this new episode, we’re taken back to the days of the Beatles and mini-dresses, and what the writers of the show do instead is reintroduce us to the finely crafted world of Mad Men that series creator Matthew Weiner has spent years developing.
Every major character has their moment to shine here (apart from a noticeably absent Betty), and it’s these little beats that really elevate the episode: Peggy’s intoxicated flaming of Don at his surprise birthday party, Harry’s foot-in-mouth moment as he admits how badly he wants to sleep with Megan as she stands a few feet behind him, and that little glimpse into the state of Roger and Jane’s marriage, as they watch Megan’s public performance for Don (Roger: “Why don’t you sing like that?” Jane: “Why don’t you look like him?”)
While the extended run-time allows for all of these extra character moments, the focus of the episode is clearly on Megan here and her relationship with Don after their surprise engagement at the end of the last season. During the break, many fans speculated on whether or not Megan would even be around when Mad Men returned, disappearing almost as quickly as she had appeared. But as the episode begins, Megan and Don are now (almost) happily married, and still enjoying each other’s company.
Jessica Pare does an amazing job of portraying Megan as she has to deal with the return to office life after her wedding, and the monumental task of organizing a surprise birthday party for Don. Her newly elevated position at SCDP has ruffled a few feathers, most noticeably Peggy’s, who is not afraid to tell Megan exactly how she feels on the matter (damn, Peg, is there anything you’ll keep to yourself?). And then there was that performance. Megan’s sexy rendition of “Zou Bisou Bisou” for Don while everybody at the party stands by in amazement was both awkward and fun. Chops to Jessica Pare for nailing it so convincingly.
It’ll be interesting to see what the rest of this season has in store for us. Will Don and Megan’s honeymoon period end as abruptly as their relationship began? Will Roger be forced to play nice with the newly hired staff at Sterling Cooper Draper Price? Will Bert ever start wearing shoes around the office? It’s questions like these that have me hooked already into this new season of Mad Men, and I’ll be tuning in every week without fail to see how it develops.
About the author: Brynn is a TV fan who enjoys writing about Mad Men and the latest and greatest TV shows.
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Fans of GAME OF THRONES need to know that the next episode (#13) of the second season will air this Sunday. Catch a preview from that episode, along with a recap of the Episode 12 show below.
