Of all the people to get a happy ending, did you ever think Mad Men would give it to Pete Campbell? While Don Draper was off living out his own personal version of Gone Girl, Pete was having a pretty great day. In fact, Pete got back together with Trudy on Mad Men — did you ever see that coming? I love Pete, but I expected more of Allison Bree, to be honest. Also, is this really our last Pete-centric episode? Not that Mad Men has ever focused on a single character, but each episode in the back half of the final season has seemed to take a focus. Last week we had Peggy and Joan, this week was Pete and Betty.
Early on in the episode, we saw Pete actually being a father to Tammy. Then, Pete spent most of the episode galavanting around with Duck, who returned with a task for the accounts man. Pete thought he was doing a favor, but was in fact being recommended for a different job that would get him even more money than he had as well as a private plane. Why was Duck pimping out Pete Campbell? Is he trying to get him out of McCann-Erikson? Is he trying to reap the recruiting benefits? I don't understand why it had to be so cloak and dagger.
If this is Pete's last hoorah, I'm a little bummed. Not only is Duck one of my least favorite characters, but I'm now pretty worried about what happens next. Pete has many positive qualities, but I feel as though he just set himself up for narrative failure.
However, at the end of the episode, at 4 a.m. in the morning, Pete went to Trudy and asked if she and Tammy would move to Wichita and be his family again. He seemed crazed. He's made many attempts to get back together with her and they have all failed. Trudy declines at first, "with respect to whatever's happening in your eyes right now." However, he made a sincere, moving apology for the past decade. He also slipped in the fact that he'll be getting a private plane. Crying tears of joy, Trudy accepted his offer and Pete left into the morning air.
Doesn't that sound like the type of scene that follows with someone getting hit by a bus? Especially someone driving in the wee hours? It's all too chipper for Pete Campbell. Nothing's that easy. I'm fine with a happy ending, but that was a straight-up fairy tale. Then again, Pete Campbell's father died in an airplane crash — working for a jet company and owning a private plane could be a pretty tragic ending for him.
Image: Justina Mintz/AMC
