Mad Men: "The Suitcase"

I’ve just finished re-watching last night’s “Mad Men” and have confirmed my initial reaction: “The Suitcase” is now my all-time favorite episode of this incredible series. The episode centers around Peggy and Don, and results in the kind of powerful emotional connection both of these closed-off characters have tried and failed to achieve since the show began.


“The Suitcase” is a prime example of something serialized television can do, that a 2 or 3 hour movie simply cannot. It’s an hour of drama that absolutely requires every single other episode that came before it, since the series pilot, for it to be as powerful as it is-and I don’t think “Mad Men” has ever been more powerful.

- If we don’t see Don spend 3 ½ years destroying virtually every single chance for genuine intimacy that’s crossed his path-Anna is the exception-then this episode isn’t as powerful as it is.

-If we don’t spend those years watching Don and Peggy’s tempestuous relationship, and all the hills and valleys it entails, from mentor/protégé to Liston/punching bag and back again, then this episode isn’t as powerful as it is.

-If we don’t see Don visit Peggy in the hospital, and be there for her during her darkest hour, this episode isn’t as powerful as it is.

-If we don’t know about Don’s hidden past and his complex relationship with Anna, if we don’t know that she’s dying tonight, then this episode isn’t as powerful as it is.

In short, “The Suitcase” is my favorite episode because I the entire hour is an emotional climax this series has been building towards since we first met Don Draper; it's the moment he removes his mask, lets another human being in, and has that intimacy reciprocated. That last part, Peggy’s full reciprocation of that trust and that intimacy, is what separates this episode from the moments when Don revealed his past to Betty (with disastrous results) and when he ever so briefly gave Rachel Menkin a glimpse at Dick Whitman. Betty and Rachel both ran off soon after Don opened himself up. But Don and Peggy’s connection is not ephemeral, and if he ever truly does let her leave SCDP, it might really be his darkest hour.

The episode starts with a debate over the 2nd fight between Muhammad Ali (widely still referred to at the time as Cassius Clay  by white people who refused to acknowledge his change in identity) and Sony Liston. Don prefers Liston because he sees him as the strong, silent type. Don disapproves of Ali’s self-promotion (“I’m the greatest…Not if you have to say it”). The fight mirrors the internal conflict that has always existed within Don: talking vs. silence, his intense desire to keep his past hidden vs. his desire for an honest human connection. We saw that battle take place in this season’s premiere, which is bookended by two interviews given by Don, the first in which he stonewalls the reporter, the second in which he openly shares his triumphs. But Don gave that second interview out of obligation, not desire. In “The Suitcase,” Don chooses to open himself up to Peggy out of trust and desire, not out of obligation. Ali’s victory over Liston parallels his own transition from a closed book to someone who can open up. The somewhat on-the-nose final scene of Don asking Peggy to leave the door open symbolizes his own shift from a Liston to an Ali.

Last week I worried about Don’s mistreatment of Peggy. I predicted this situation would come to a head, conceivably resulting in a firing or a resignation. And I must confess, with the direction this episode seemed to be headed early on, I was worried. Don has been getting drunker and meaner all season. In this episode, he shows up over two hours late, and cringes when the non-alcoholic coffee Ms. Blankenship laid out for him offends his pallet. Don telling Peggy, “I’m glad this is an environment where you feel free to fail,” was a brutal moment, and this has been a season full of them.

Don’s abuse only gets worse: fueled by alcohol, grief over Anna’s imminent death, and the whole downward spiral he’s been on since his marriage ended. Peggy finally reaches a tipping point and has to fight back. I was stunned when she yelled, “You have no family, no friends!” I was afraid Don would fire her right there on the spot. She continues by complaining about her lack of credit for the Glo-Coat ad, which she has resented Don for all season. It was an amazing acting moment for Jon Hamm, one of many this episode, when he hits Peggy back with a combination of his recent repulsive behavior and some genuine tough love. I harked back to his hooker-like treatment of Allison when he responded to Peggy’s desire to be thanked with, “That’s what the money’s for!”

But what hit Peggy closer to home were some words of genuine wisdom and tough-to-handle truth,

“You gave me twenty ideas and I picked out one of them that was a kernel that became that commercial!”


&


“You’re Young. EVERYTHING to you is an opportunity.”

These are realities Peggy needs to accept. She doesn’t know everything. She isn’t a master yet. She needs to be patient, to learn, and to wait her turn. Don remembers her contribution to Glo-Coat but points out that it wasn’t nearly as significant as she’s making it out to be. All she had was the germ of an idea; Don was the one who ran with it and made it a commercial. She complains that Don accepted the CLIO, but after Don’s response, she realizes the reason Don got the CLIO is because Don earned the CLIO, not her. She has to wait not only for the recognition she wants, but for the ability to deserve it. She’s only 26. Everything is before her, and it's all opportunities and learning experiences. On the one hand, this undercuts Peggy’s sense of her own accomplishments and current value to the firm, on the other, Don is making her face reality and is once again stepping into the mentor’s role.

Hearing her value questioned comes at a particularly bad moment for Peggy, after she has sacrificed her relationship with Mark for Don and for her job. But she forgives Don in a hysterical scene where the two of them listen to Roger’s notes for his autobiography. The fact that Matthew Weiner and co. were able to find an appropriate moment for humor in the middle of such an emotionally charged episode, without the drama losing any momentum, is pretty amazing. Cooper has no balls? Roger had a fling with Ms. Blanklenship who was the “queen of perversions?” Freaking hilarious.

At the end of the scene, Don confesses he grew up on a farm, Peggy’s first glimpse of Dick Whitman. Don then invites Peggy out for the kind of intimate birthday dinner she wanted, as opposed to the surprise attack Mark tried to spring on her. It’s important to note that Don understands Peggy as well as she understands him. Mark doesn’t know her at all. He completely undercuts what Peggy wants for her own birthday so he can get in good with her family, whom Peggy hates. That lack of connection is the reason Peggy lets him go and the reason she was never that into him in the first place. Don understands that Peggy would much rather have a quiet dinner with someone she can connect to than a surprise party. He understands that, like him, the most important part of her day goes on in that office. And he understands what she went through at her absolute lowest, after she had given her baby up for adoption and was stuck in the hospital in a traumatized state, because he’s the one who helped her through it. That’s why she chooses him throughout the episode, several times over Mark and once over Duck.

The scene with Duck was no less hilarious than the one in Roger's office. I loved seeing Peggy try to deal with the two important alcoholic men in her life; Don is vomiting on one side of her, while Duck is attempting to crap on the other. Don and Duck’s half-assed brawl was comically pathetic. What's important is that Duck calls Peggy a whore, while Don fights for her honor, so at the end Peggy gets rid of Duck and goes back with Don.

Another reason Peggy stays is because she can tell how much pain Don is truly in, even if no one else can. It’s not just about the Samsonite commercial, it’s also about recognizing that Don is in trouble. As the night wears on they both let their guards down. They each share how they saw their fathers die. And Don lets Peggy see more and more of the real him. There was genuine excitement with each new nugget of Dick Whitman that Don left for her. And at each step along the way I was afraid one of the two of them would emotionally close up shop, and they’d both wind up right back where they started. I was nervous when Peggy prodded him about Allison and even more scared when Duck showed up. But Peggy stayed with him through all of it, and Don sleeping in Peggy’s lap was an incredibly tender moment.

In the middle of the night, Don sees a spectral image of Anna visiting him, smiling, and walking off. Whether this is Anna’s actual ghost smiling at the sight of her Dick Whitman having found someone else to connect to, or just a drunken image seen by Don as a result of alcohol and his subconscious, is irrelevant. Either way it signals a transition. Anna may have been the only person who truly knew Dick Whitman, but after that night, Peggy is now the only person who can claim that. On a certain level, Don and Peggy have always understood each other as kindred spirits, but “The Suitcase” marks a definite turning point in terms of truly opening themselves up to each other.

When Don wakes up, still on Peggy’s lap, he chooses to call Anna in front of her, rather than going to another room or asking her to leave. Don wants her there for that moment when he finds out Anna is gone. And after it’s done he breaks down crying and allows himself to be vulnerable in front of Peggy. He says Anna was the only person who truly knew him. But Peggy points out, “That isn’t true.” Especially after that night. In fact, if you consider Don Draper a genuine part of the Draper/Whitman persona, which I do, then Peggy knows Don even better than Anna did, since Peggy’s gotten to experience both sides.

As touching as that moment was, I was still scared when Don briskly sent her home. I was afraid that as soon as Peggy came back Don would act as though it never happened, much like he did with Allison. When Don shows Peggy his ad for Samsonite it seems to be business as usual. But then something unexpected happens, as Don puts his hand on top of Peggy’s and they both look at each other. For me, this was the most moving moment of the series to date. Don acknowledges everything that happened between them the night before as something genuine and real. The end, where he asks Peggy to leave the door opened, may have been a little overt intellectually, but emotionally it worked just fine.

I don’t think this means that Don is now fixed or that he will cease to have a drinking problem and get his life back on track immediately. But I do think rock bottom is now in his rearview mirror. I believe this will prove to be a turning point for Don, and that Peggy will be instrumental in his turn-around. This episode marks a shift not only from the drunken jack-ass Don has been all season, but from the closed book Don has been all series.

Other thoughts:

-It seems less likely than ever that a Don/Peggy romantic relationship will actually happen. Their relationship seems to be built on more of a father-daughter bond. Still, I wouldn’t object if the show went that route in the future, so long as it was handled seamlessly.

-Ms. Blankenship’s racist joke fell a bit flat for me. I’m not sure how much more mileage they can really get out of the terrible secretary joke. Though I did like the reference to her as “the queen of perversions.”

-Poor Duck is so pathetic with his useless business cards and his, “I need you, baby.” Hard to imagine Peggy stayed with him for as long as she did…however long that is.

-Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss were both absolutely astonishing throughout. I fully expect this to be the episode they submit to the Emmys next year. And quite frankly, if they don’t win, it will be ridiculous. Not just for their performance this episode, but for their performance all season long. Jon Hamm has never had to portray Draper undergoing as much tumultuous change as he has this season, and every part of it has felt organic. With Bryan Cranston ineligible, and this incredible episode to submit, I think 2011 will be Hamm’s year.

-Just in general, I’ve loved the way this season has oscillated back and forth in tone, from hilarious episodes to episodes like this. There were times during season 3 when I thought the show was dragging, but this season has been gaining momentum as it’s progressed.

-“Breaking Bad” remains my favorite show on TV, but after last night’s episode, I may have to start considering “Mad Men” #2 again…We’ll see when “Sons of Anarchy” premieres tomorrow night. One of the reasons I sometimes rank “Mad Men” below other shows of similar quality is because of the nature of Draper himself, which is so distancing. It’s integral to his character that he keeps everyone from the “real him” and that he shuts down genuine intimacy, but that same quality has left me a little cold and distant as a viewer at times. But after “The Suitcase,” I feel kind of like Peggy, more fully immersed and invested in the story of Don Draper than ever before.