Mad Men: Season 2 (2009, Lionsgate)
purchase from Amazon: DVD | Blu-ray
Mad Men, the ’60s-era drama that airs on AMC, had a lot to live up to after its first season. The television series was an across the board critical success, receiving the kind of attention that can kill a series if the writers and directors get too caught up in the hype. But series creator Matthew Weiner is a smart man and has been through this kind of media storm before (he was one of The Sopranos’ producers). He knew well enough to stay focused on the characters and let their lives dictate the direction of the series and the stories to tell.
The second season of Mad Men, now out on DVD, takes place in 1962, picking up 15 months after the end of season 1. The theme of this season was about identity — most importantly, that of Don Draper, the enigmatic, brilliant ad man from the New York ad agency, Sterling Cooper, as played by Jon Hamm. Moreover, this season was also about the identities of Betty Draper (January Jones), Don’s wife who slowly realizes that her husband is a cheat, and Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), the young woman who began the series as Don’s assistant and worked her way on to the writing staff with her talent and a little bit of a shove by Draper himself.
With Don, we saw small bits and pieces of his past in season one. His real name is Dick Whitman. He grew up poor and while serving in the Korean War, took on the identity of the real Don Draper, a fellow soldier who died in an explosion. Whitman switched dog tags assumed the identity of Don Draper. Having always been able to just drift into a new town when things got rough, becoming a successful ad man has caused Don to struggles with the idea of staying settled down. He realizes that he loves Betty above all others and despite his wanderlust, losing her would crush him. Of course, his inability to remain faithful contradicts how he feels about Betty, which makes his character so interesting, and sometimes despicable. Part of me thinks that Draper was that kid who was never popular growing up and never had a girlfriend. His fame and wealth has suddenly made him very attractive to women and he just can’t resist. Draper’s second season story reaches a climax in a multi-episode story in which he travels to California for a convention and leaves Pete Campbell (played with wonderful complexity by Vincent Kartheiser) alone at a hotel while he goes off to some commune of ex-patriots to escape. Campbell returns to New York with no idea whether Draper will return. In the meantime, Don goes to visit an old friend and we learn how he has been able to keep the Draper façade alive for so long. (more…)
