Mad Men Review: New Business (Season 7 Episode 9)

It’s almost impossible not to wonder if the opening credits of Mad Men are indication of how the series will end. In “New Business,” it seems Don Draper is losing everything. Does Don have any chance at a happy ending?

The answer to that question is most likely “no.” Despite all the terrible things we’ve seen Don do over the past several seasons, we still ultimately want him to find that happiness. Unfortunately, he’s still looking in all the wrong places.

Where he seems most comfortable and the closest to “happy” is when he is making milkshakes for his sons. He’s even dressed casually, and for a moment, it feels like any normal family. But when Betty and Henry arrive, he takes his exit, watching as Henry fills the role that should be his.

He also loses Megan for good in this episode. Even though they’ve been separated, they’ve still had contact, particularly since Don has been sending her an allowance. As independent as Megan is and has always been, she still needed Don for something until now. He gives her a last, over-the-top check after she turns on him once and for all, offering a final moment of closure between them.

Meanwhile, Don grasps at straws to find new love, hoping to find that with the waitress, Diana. If only Don would try his hand at being single, and I mean really single, he might figure out who he is and what he needs. But instead, he continues a desperate search for love, which only exemplifies further what a truly lonely character Donald Draper is.

I’m curious about Diana’s story, which we don’t get to hear in its entirety. I’m not at all convinced we’ve seen the last of her, and I also don’t trust her. There’s a darkness within her character, and there’s something a bit off kilter. It’s a character Elizabeth Reaser knows how to play especially well — I can’t help but be reminded of her role as Ava in Grey’s Anatomy.

A lot of time is spend in “New Business” on Megan’s family, particularly her mother. Megan’s mother hates Don, even scoffing at the red wine stain on the carpet from last week’s episode. When she sees an opportunity for a bit of revenge, she takes it, seeing to it that the movers take not only Megan’s things, but also every last thing that Don owns. The nail in the coffin comes when it’s Roger who supplies the money to make that possible, not fully realizing what he’s doing — and not caring.

Don arrives home at the end of a hard day to find himself standing in a completely empty apartment, a final shot that is filled with metaphor. He is losing everything he has, and he’s standing in the middle of emptiness.

Other Thoughts:

• Harry is a total slime-ball, and I may have decided that I now dislike him even more than I dislike Pete.
• Elevators have a real significance in Mad Men — in this episode, it’s to remind us of another of Don’s relationships for an awkward, darkly funny moment.
• Betty is going to school for Psychology! Good for her, and way to bring her story full circle.

Photos from Mad Men Season 7 Episode 9:

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Mad Men airs Sundays at 10/9c on AMC.

Ashley Bissette Sumerel

Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.