I devour every review... lsquared80 lsquared80
I devour every review and piece of commentary written about Mad Men at work on Monday morning when I should be doing, well, work. I look forward to Tom and Lorenzo’s fashion reviews almost as much as the show itself. Obviously there was going to be a lot of discussion about Peggy and Don, specifically the dance they shared. While I was at work today and should have been doing work (are you sensing a pattern here?) I was trying to figure out why that scene – the conversation and the dance before it had such a profound impact on me and seemed to settle in my mind more than any other scene before it. A piece of commentary I read was that the look on Don’s face before he kissed the top of Peggy’s head could have been a romantic realization. I’ve also read that the dance was a paternal embrace. The way I see it, the look on Don’s face was that of disbelief and relief. He couldn’t believe their relationship was salvageable after all, because even though his actions showed otherwise he wants and needs Peggy in his life. Love isn’t a given for people like Don and Peggy. There are children in the world who don’t have to question a parent’s love, and there are people in the world that find love and it lasts. Don likely thought he’d lost Peggy and driven her away like so many people – mostly women.
But what really got me in that scene was when Peggy let her head rest on Don’s chest. We’ve seen her fall down on her knees and weep. We’ve seen her in the company of a neighbor boy. She tried to get her brother-in-law to sleep on the couch just so she wouldn’t be alone in her apartment. When Don extended his hand and danced with her, she finally had comfort and companionship that was meaningful. She made the choice to look past their painful recent history and rest her head on his chest. Don looked surprised, pained, relieved, and grateful. Grateful that he was someone Peggy could find comfort in, and that she wasn’t lost to him like so many other relationships. These are two people who aren’t certain they will never be alone. Neither of them is confident they will always have a partner in life. But their conversation and their dance give them both hope that even if they end up alone, they might end up alone together.
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