Mad Men Review: Severance (Season 7 Episode 8)

The long wait is over, and the final episodes of Mad Men are upon us. As usual with this series, “Severance” is an episode that warrants watching more than once.

It opens with Don being Don, telling a woman what to with her body as he looks on from a distance. It’s hard to know exactly what’s happening in this scene at first — the woman could easily be someone he’s about to sleep with or she could just be a model. Abruptly, Don thanks the woman in the fur as we see Pete and Ted show her out and call in the next one.

Then we see Don and Roger back at their usual antics, but with plenty of money to throw around. If you’re worried about Don Draper at this point, you probably should be. He’s not only going back to his old ways and living a reckless lifestyle filled with too many women, but he’s also seeing dead people.

The scene when he sees Rachel is disconcerting and confusing, especially since there’s no good reason Rachel would pop in out of the blue as a model, say one thing to Don, and then leave.

Rachel: I’m supposed to tell you you missed your flight.

His response is maybe even stranger. He doesn’t try to pull her aside, but instead thanks for her the strange comment and then tells her she’s “Wilkinson’s smooth.” Then she leaves, and it isn’t until later that we learn she was never really there. Don asks his secretary to set up a meeting with Rachel Katz, but the secretary reports that she died a week ago.

Obviously, Don’s point of view is not a reliable one, especially now. What we’re seeing through his eyes could easily be something very different than what the other characters see — not just with Rachel (and Bert from Season 7 Episode 7), but with any of the other characters as well. That brings me to the waitress.

Don insists he knows the waitress, played by Elizabeth Reaser (Twilight, Grey’s Anatomy), from somewhere. Maybe he does, or maybe she’s symbolic of someone else entirely — like his mother. One thing is for certain, there’s more going on here than what meets the eye. I’m guessing we’re going to see her again.

It also seems like the significant women in Don’s life keep dying all around him. He lost Anna several seasons ago, who he told Peggy was “the only person in the world” who really knew him. But Rachel was a significant women in his life too, maybe most importantly because she’s the first person to learn what Don’s childhood was actually like.

Meanwhile, Peggy and Joan deal with the very real issues of sexism in the office. These are two very different women, and they’ve always been a bit at odds with one another. The conversation between them in the elevator tells us a few things. First, it shows how in a lot of ways, the tables have turned, since it used to be Joan who told Peggy how she should be dressing. Second, it shows that Peggy needs a wake up call. She’s no better than those awful men when she makes that comment.

The last thing it reveals is probably the most important, and that has to do with the money. Peggy points out that Joan doesn’t have to put up with it, and that she can do whatever she wants since she’s rich now. That’s true for several of our characters now, by the way, none of whom seem to be doing all that great otherwise. It’s no coincidence that we left off in the last episode with Bert singing “The Best Things in Life are Free.”

Other Thoughts:

• We didn’t get a chance to see Betty or Sally in this episode, and I’m eager to see what’s going on in their world soon.
• Roger’s mustache! I both love and hate how Roger always seems to go with the facial hair trends of the times.
• I’m not sure if I really want to see Peggy find love, but I did enjoy her date with Stevie (Devon Gummersall, who we know best as Brian Krakow from My So Called Life).
• Peggy has come a long way in general, which is exemplified by this quote:

Peggy: You want a raise? Stop acting like a secretary.

What did you think of Mad Men Season 7 Episode 8? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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