In last night’s episode of Mad Men, we look along with the characters towards the future. Titled “The Forecast,” the episode finds Don Draper stuck in tough situations—he faces two major crossroads. First, Don has to sell the penthouse he shared with his ex-wife Megan, who in last week’s episode moved out almost all of the furniture.
When Don’s real estate agent, Melanie (above), arrives to show the apartment, she finds Don has overslept and chose not to tidy the place up. His home is not presentable (there’s even a wine stain on the floor), and it’s obvious how little Don cares. “It looks like a sad person lives here,” Melanie tells him.RELATED: Mad Men Recap: Moving Forward with “New Business”
Second, Don, the ad man who can make a winning storyline out of nearly anything, is struck with writer’s block after Roger Sterling asks him to write a speech detailing the future of the firm. In search of answers and to cure his writer’s block, Don consults with his team: He taps Ted’s mind about his visions for the future, and in a review with Peggy, he asks her about her dreams and goals. True to form, Peggy sets a high bar: She wants to be the company’s first female creative director and to create something with lasting value. (Go, Peggy!)
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In another turn of events, Don gets into a verbal altercation with Mathis after the ad man took advice from Don that didn’t turn out well and caused him to lose an account. As a result, Don fires him. Mathis shares some choice words: “You don’t have any character, stop kidding yourself. You’re just handsome,” he sneers at Don.
But on a more positive note: Both Joan’s and Betty’s love lives spark.
While out at the Los Angeles office, Joan finds passion with a rich divorced real estate developer named Richard who, after an intimate night in L.A., followed her back to New York to continue their new-found romance. The relationship seems to be cut short after Joan reveals that she has a 4-year-old son—information that she had initially hid from Richard. Richard exclaims that he’s “done raising children,” and so we’re left to think that’s the end of that—until he shows up at the New York office with roses. We’ll have to wait and see if there’s a happy ending in store for Joan.
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As for Betty, her newest love interest … actually isn’t anyone new. Remember Glen Bishop (aka Matthew Weiner’s son, Marten Holden Weiner) the neighbor who once asked for a lock of Betty’s hair and had an intimate conversation with her in Season 1? A matured Bishop (hello, side burns) returns to visit Sally to let her know he’s going to Vietnam. Later on, he comes back to see Betty and tries to make advances on her—he even claimed she was the reason he enlisted in the war, which we learn is not true (the real reason was the combination of a violent step dad and trouble at school). The Glen-and-Betty relationship has been one of the most head-scratching of series, which says a lot since the show has been filled with quite a few questionable relationships.
Unfortunately for Sally, who is obviously disgusted by the thought of her mother Betty and Glen, is in for a double whammy as her father, Don, takes her and a few friends to dinner—and one of her friends endlessly flirts with Don.
At the close of the episode, we learn that Don’s apartment has sold, which comes as a surprise to everyone (Don and Melanie included). But it looks as though Don is once again at a loss.
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