New Business (S7x09)
Airdate: 12 April 2015
Written by: Tom Smuts & Matthew Weiner
Directed by: Michael Uppendahl
Running Time: 48 minutes
When the latter half of the final season of Mad Men began to air in the spring of 2015, many of its devoted fans were developing a distinct impression that the series was destined to conclude with a whimper rather than a bang. With the most eventful period of history—a decade of cultural revolution and social upheaval—already firmly behind them, and with the most colourful characters having either perished or been written out of the narrative fabric, those who remained were depicted as having suffered personal and professional catastrophes. The remaining episodes felt less like an opportunity for dramatic growth and more like a task of picking up the pieces after a storm. Consequently, there was scarcely any time left for profound changes in trajectory or a significant shift in the disposition of the characters. Under these drastic constraints, the only way for this final period to justify its existence was through a prolonged send-off for specific characters, a generous dose of fan service, or an opportunity for already established actors to earn some prestige by appearing in guest roles. At least, this is the overwhelming impression one might derive from the episode New Business.
The episode opens with Don Draper’s routine visit to his children, where the narrative briefly touches upon Betty’s future. She informs Don that she is about to enrol in university to pursue a masters degree in psychology. While this signals a new chapter for Betty, it remains largely peripheral to the main thrust of the narrative, serving as a fleeting glance at the domestic lives of the characters.
However, much more pressing is the issue of Don’s divorce from Megan, which is on the verge of being finalised. In a scene that feels like a culmination of the series' treatment of Megan, she arrives to collect some furniture from Don’s Manhattan apartment, accompanied by her mother, Marie, and her sister, Marie-France (Kim Bubbs). The two women are openly disdainful of Don, blaming him for Megan’s unhappiness and her career setbacks. It becomes clear that the Draper dynasty has lost its luster in their eyes. Learning that Megan has arrived in New York, Harry Crane approaches Don to ask permission to meet her, claiming he wishes to help boost her career. Don agrees, and as Megan departs for this meeting, Marie stays behind in the apartment. Acting out of spite, she decides to move all the furniture out. She then finds herself without the money to hire movers and, in desperation, calls Roger Sterling. He arrives, provides the funds, and subsequently has sex with her in the apartment.
During the meeting with Harry, Megan is subjected to very open advances. Harry asks for sex in exchange for his career-boosting favours. Disgusted by this transactional approach, Megan leaves. When she returns to the apartment, she catches Marie with Roger and flies into a rage. The tension culminates in a lawyer's office, where Don, sensing Megan’s increased hostility and eager to end this sad chapter as quickly as possible, writes her a check for US$ 1 million. This gesture serves as the final punctuation mark on their marriage, a staggering amount that underscores the financial entanglement that defined their relationship.
Don, however, faces another humiliating setback in his personal affairs. After finding Diana in another restaurant, she agrees to engage in an affair with him. They have sex in Don's Manhattan apartment, and she reveals that she left her husband in Racine, Wisconsin, following the tragic death of a daughter. Later, she admits that she actually had two daughters, and that the remaining one has left with her father. Feeling unworthy of Don, she decides to leave him for good. This storyline, involving Don and Diana, is the only element of the episode that truly works. Don discovers that someone shares an even more terrible secret than his own—a secret of profound loss and abandonment. This connection makes Diana a kindred spirit to Don, a woman from a modest lower-class background who understands his pain in a way that the increasingly distant and unattainable Betty never could. It is the closest the episode comes to a genuine plot twist, providing a rare moment of emotional resonance.
The side storyline concerns Peggy Olson, who becomes involved in a campaign for Cinzano vermouth. Pima Ryan, a famous photographer played by Mimi Rogers, is hired to provide commercial art. After learning that Stan Rizzo is a photographer himself, Pima seduces him. She attempts to seduce Peggy as well, but Peggy firmly rejects her advances.
There are strong arguments to treat this episode as redundant. The storyline dealing with the collapse of the marriage between Don and Megan could have been easily concluded in the earlier episode, Waterloo. By the time New Business arrives, Don has apparently moved on and is trying to start a new life, and the only reason why Megan appears in this episode is for a little bit of fan service. Jessica Pare, arguably the most glamorous among the cast members in the late stages of the show, appears dolled up during her meeting with the creepy, Harvey Weinstein-like Harry Crane, which ends rather predictably. This is also merely an excuse for having Julia Ormond back in a guest role as her mother, adding some semi-humorous fling with Roger, as well as the newly arrived, and soon-to-be-gone, character of her devoutly Catholic sister, who lashes out against Megan for her sinful ways and Marie for leaving her husband.
The storyline about Pima Ryan, a character who is obviously modelled after the famous androgynous-looking real-life photographer Annie Leibovitz, serves almost nothing but "filler," serving as an excuse to have Mimi Rogers appear on screen. She does her work well, but her presence is, like almost anything in this episode, inconsequential. The episode feels like a holding pattern, a period of stagnation in a series that desperately needed momentum. While New Business is technically solid, it suffers from a sense of fatigue.
Ultimately, the episode captures the feeling of a series running out of steam. The lack of time for new stories seems to have forced the creative team into retreading old ground, relying on established dynamics and guest appearances rather than forging ahead with the narrative. The Don and Diana storyline offers a brief glimpse of the show's former depth, providing a narrative that actually moves forward, but it is swallowed by a sea of redundancy and fan service.
RATING: 5/10
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