It was a little over a year ago that Don Draper sold himself on the domestic fantasy promised by the wheel. This season has been largely about how that choice failed to satisfy either him or Betty. But after some soul-searching on the West Coast, he's come home.
Meanwhile, Betty's got what we've seen Pete and Trudy agonize over for a year: a baby on the way. And she can't handle it. So she goes horseback riding, and drinks, and smokes, and even considers taking a trip to Albany.
Its rare that these characters find themselves in a true life-or-death situation, but that's exactly where they are in "Meditations in an Emergency." The big emergency, of course, is the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mad Men can be criticized a lot for its somewhat winking inclusion of historical events and period trivia. But this was not one of those cases. It served as the perfect backdrop for the internal turmoil and arms races the characters were engaged in and really felt like something this season had been building towards.
Seeing Don return from L.A. was exciting and energizing, even if he was coming back to a world in chaos. The scene where Roger tells him they're selling the company was just so good. Roger coming close but not quite apologizing, Don coming close but not quite lashing out.
Meanwhile, his domestic world is also upside down, as Betty scorns him at the equestrian park. She does allow him to spend an evening with the children, setting up the reversal we've all seen coming. As Don spends a quiet night watching the children and arranging food for them, coming as close to being the domestic figure that we've ever really seen, Betty hits the town: drinking, smoking, and fucking. Was this a rebellion? An attempt to stop herself from making the choice she didn't want to make? Or did Betty want to get into the head of Don and see what its like to live his life? The news that she was pregnant was a sudden and surprising (to me, anyway) as Peggy's discovery last season (if not as dramatic) and it seemed to represent as much of a watershed moment for her. By accepting this baby, Betty has to climb back into the picture of suburban life she's found so unfulfilling. But the alternative doesn't seem any better.
At the office, Pete is forced to choose between the calculating career advancement that has so defined him, and his need for approval from his surrogate father figure. Its Don's (seemingly insincere) words of encourage that get the better of Duck's slimy ambition and, ultimately, Pete's neediness seems to have caused him to trip into making the right decision. The confidence it gave him led to his true moment of maturation, something to bookend the loss of his father earlier.
All season, we've seen Peggy struggle with her decision, and in an emergency, when they're told they are close to going to hell, people make crazy, impetuous decisions. Which is why I admire Peggy even more after this episode and its knockout penultimate scene between her and Pete. Finally, the truth comes out. Pete realizes he's made the wrong decision and wants Peggy to take him back. And Peggy offers everything that he's been missing: a compatible person who understands him and, of course, can have children with him. But Peggy made her choice and its gotten her more fulfillment and opened so many more doors for her. Peggy doesn't need to compromise on an awkward man-child and she doesn't regret not doing it earlier. Her message to Pete - it was never your choice, it was mine - was crushingly honest. It was emotional a moment that we've had on this show and I imagine Pete will be very different in season three.
Meanwhile, the climactic Don-Duck showdown was just amazing. Duck's obnoxious cockiness as he accepted the presidency of Sterling-Cooper and then proceeded to lay out a vision of bland corporate homogenization made his comeuppance that much sweeter. Duck sees creative as a bunch of sensitive, needy obstacles. His vision is of a world of numbers and dollars and cold efficiency, which makes it all the better that the one variable he missed was the trust and friendship between Don and Roger. Don's angry rebuke of Duck was amazing, and then the moment where he dropped the no contract bombshell was just perfect. By the end of that meeting, it was clear to Duck and the new buyers what's been clear to everyone since episode one: Don is Sterling Cooper.
So Don returns from a triumph at work to resume his dream life with Betty. And Betty accepts that life too, telling Don that she's pregnant with another child. But what's noticeable as they sit on the couch and watch TV is the space between them and the resigned expressions on their face.
This ending is not about trying to create your own memories, its about growing up and accepting what you have, however draining and empty it might be, because its your responsibility to do so. It seems cruel to end the season with so many open questions - what's next for Don and Betty, will everyone keep their jobs, where does Pete go from here - but then if we learned anything from this episode, its that we can't really understand what happens in an emergency until long after its over.
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