I think the comments here, capture some of the magic you capture as you watch the series. As your fellow traveler on this journey, it's an extra joy to see your face reacting as you attend to all the things it makes you feel. So happy to be on the sofa next to you.
"The more specific a character is, the more everyone can find a room in that person to live in." I'm rewatching with new appreciation as well. It's fascinating to read you analysis.
So happy you feel that way. I wrote it reactively, to what jumped out at me in the moment of watching this time. I'm not sure people who haven't see it will be engaged. The engagement I'm always hoping for, of course, is with the thoughts of the narrator. We'll see.
I was living overseas when this ran so I’m one of those who have never seen it. I am now intrigued and am looking forward to all 92 episodes. Laurie, you’re always hitting it out of the ballpark!
I have always somehow known I need to watch this and never have. Breaking Bad (three times 🤕) and The Americans etc all well and good but after reading this piece I am definitely firing up Mad Men in 2026. Thanks Laurie for your amazing writing.
How incredibly exciting— and ironic— to see that you are re-watching at the same time hubs and I are, as well!…
I was delighted come across this post at this exact moment.
Synchronicity— which is often elusive for Don Draper— seems to adhere to me like glue…
Thank you for your profound perceptions here, Ms. Stone.
I love the reference to the macrocosm (universal) through the microcosm (specific) here; Aristotle’s Poetics are the underpinnings of the relatability of MM…(re: “…the more specific a character is…”)
I’ll just add that the sense of *time* and *place* are so strong that they operate as a separate character, and it’s not lost on me that the flashback scenes serve this beautifully…
And speaking of time: the times weren’t-yet-a-changing-enough when we see the awfulness of a visit to (the very misogynistic) gynecologist for Peggy to obtain birth control; we witness dozens of pregnant women smoking and drinking casually; we see executives from Lucky Strike proclaiming to each other and to the ad execs, how very safe their products are, all while hard-coughing hilariously in the smoke-filled meeting room; Betty’s daughter running into the room with a dry-cleaning bag over her head, as she pretends to be in-outer-space with her playmate, elicits no reaction other than mild annoyance from Betty, who worries her freshly-dry-cleaned clothes may have been dirtied after the plastic was removed!
Yep poor Don Draper or not - but here’s to John Slattery who seems to be always perfectly cast - and always does nothing, or nothing to do with the job his character is meant to be doing, instead he driifs elegantly in and out of scenes in law firms, universities, high schools, suburban pool parties and even superhero contrl rooms. He does look good with a martini glass in hand
Wonderful writing on this show - the short story comparison works so well especially because unlike in most shows we believe these characters live off screen - we are dipping into moments, not seeing the "big moments" like violence which make us think no other living happens. Jones' performance also fascinated me. It felt like the "stilted" or even "not great acting" quality was essential to making it work. It reminds me of what Roger Ebert wrote about Kim Novak's performance in Vertigo - another blonde accused of a "cold" performance: "Ask yourself how you would move and speak if you were in unbearable pain, and then look again at Judy."
Reading this, I kept thinking of Ulysses: how the ordinary, the interior, the unspoken, becomes epic in its own quiet way.
Your diary of Mad Men—the way you move through Don and Peggy, the accidents, the silences, the almost imperceptible moments of revelation—feels like watching a character navigate the city of their own mind, episode by episode, detail by detail. In “The Suitcase,” the nod to Night Town is perfect: the night, the drink, the half-told stories, the grief, the desire, all circulating freely between them. Peggy loves Don, but not in the way possession would allow; she loves the movement of self, the freedom to inhabit her own words, the discovery of interior life reflected in another.
The show, like Joyce, doesn’t shout. It lets us feel the gravity and levity of being alive, the delicate work of navigating desire, loss, and self-invention.
Thank you for tracing it so attentively, for noticing what others might miss: the subtle shifts, the glimpses of interiority that make a story—or a life—so vast and intimate at once.
You are so good at this, Laurie. Brilliant criticism of a brilliant series. That line: "As Dick, [Don] still would have moved through life as a gleaming knife. 🔥🔥🔥
"He is the concept husband Peggy is supposed to feel grateful for because he will relieve her from the burden of her freedom." This is the first entry I pasted in a new personal doc: LINES THAT BLOW ME AWAY. Thank you for these keen observations Laurie!
I worked in branding. Now 80, I work as an advisor to creative professionals. I was fostered at birth, adopted, and shuffled about until I was eight or nine. I now know my childhood and the persona I created to survive and thrive is what made my career possible. Your review of Mad Men helped me think about my strengths and weaknesses, and how they shaped me. I didn't steal anyone's Dog Tags. But I did steal a persona from the media world to use as a shield. Thank you.
Ah I just finished my first ever watch and I loved it! It’s all swimming in my head like so few shows can and I’m dying to discuss it. So thank you for writing this!
I had to stop reading this because it made me want to go back and watch Mad Men! So well written. It is definitely a shock how much of it has been forgotten or didn’t happen. Jon Hamm is great in MM and the dialogue is great. I recently rewatched Beverly Hill 90210 and SATC and discovered layers of storytelling and intricacies that had gone unnoticed previously. Some series have all that and more. They’re the gift that keeps on giving. A new series for me in 2025 was Lessons in Chemistry with Brie Larsen. I highly recommend it and think it might be to your liking.
I'm happy to hear that. In the meantime, please begin a free or paid subscription. The writing only continues with subscribers. Here's how to do it: Please consider subscribing for free, and if you can begin a paid subscription, please use this special link for a 50% discount, meaning a year with all benefits is $25 and a monthly sub is $2.50. Exciting benefits include monthly guest author zooms with Margo Jefferson, Elizabeth Kendall, David Cale, Francine Prose, Sophie Haigney of The Paris Review, David Daniel, and Errollyn Wallen next on Saturday Jan 17 from 3 to 4 EST 2026. Paid subscribers are also offered a free 15 minute consultation about their writing, recordings of past Zoom conversations, and access to the entire archive of 285 literary posts.
After watching Homeland twice, the Wire, Succession, we finally decided to watch Mad Men for the yes, you're hearing it right--first time. So I'm saving this diary to savor when we're done.
I loved the way you opened the Samsonites on these characters and examined every item they'd packed, Laurie. But I might love Richard's comment even more. Just a bit. (I still have all my Samsonite somewhere.)
I think the comments here, capture some of the magic you capture as you watch the series. As your fellow traveler on this journey, it's an extra joy to see your face reacting as you attend to all the things it makes you feel. So happy to be on the sofa next to you.
Me too with you!! And it's so cold out, so we are super snuggled. xxL
"The more specific a character is, the more everyone can find a room in that person to live in." I'm rewatching with new appreciation as well. It's fascinating to read you analysis.
So happy you feel that way. I wrote it reactively, to what jumped out at me in the moment of watching this time. I'm not sure people who haven't see it will be engaged. The engagement I'm always hoping for, of course, is with the thoughts of the narrator. We'll see.
I was living overseas when this ran so I’m one of those who have never seen it. I am now intrigued and am looking forward to all 92 episodes. Laurie, you’re always hitting it out of the ballpark!
I have always somehow known I need to watch this and never have. Breaking Bad (three times 🤕) and The Americans etc all well and good but after reading this piece I am definitely firing up Mad Men in 2026. Thanks Laurie for your amazing writing.
You help make all this continue. Happy new year. xxL
Thanks so much! I'm definitely working here (tip of hat to Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy: I'm walking here.). xxL
How incredibly exciting— and ironic— to see that you are re-watching at the same time hubs and I are, as well!…
I was delighted come across this post at this exact moment.
Synchronicity— which is often elusive for Don Draper— seems to adhere to me like glue…
Thank you for your profound perceptions here, Ms. Stone.
I love the reference to the macrocosm (universal) through the microcosm (specific) here; Aristotle’s Poetics are the underpinnings of the relatability of MM…(re: “…the more specific a character is…”)
I’ll just add that the sense of *time* and *place* are so strong that they operate as a separate character, and it’s not lost on me that the flashback scenes serve this beautifully…
And speaking of time: the times weren’t-yet-a-changing-enough when we see the awfulness of a visit to (the very misogynistic) gynecologist for Peggy to obtain birth control; we witness dozens of pregnant women smoking and drinking casually; we see executives from Lucky Strike proclaiming to each other and to the ad execs, how very safe their products are, all while hard-coughing hilariously in the smoke-filled meeting room; Betty’s daughter running into the room with a dry-cleaning bag over her head, as she pretends to be in-outer-space with her playmate, elicits no reaction other than mild annoyance from Betty, who worries her freshly-dry-cleaned clothes may have been dirtied after the plastic was removed!
Laurie, I will blame you for making me binge Mad Men all over again.
Happy to help.
Exactly!👍🏻
Yep poor Don Draper or not - but here’s to John Slattery who seems to be always perfectly cast - and always does nothing, or nothing to do with the job his character is meant to be doing, instead he driifs elegantly in and out of scenes in law firms, universities, high schools, suburban pool parties and even superhero contrl rooms. He does look good with a martini glass in hand
Wonderful writing on this show - the short story comparison works so well especially because unlike in most shows we believe these characters live off screen - we are dipping into moments, not seeing the "big moments" like violence which make us think no other living happens. Jones' performance also fascinated me. It felt like the "stilted" or even "not great acting" quality was essential to making it work. It reminds me of what Roger Ebert wrote about Kim Novak's performance in Vertigo - another blonde accused of a "cold" performance: "Ask yourself how you would move and speak if you were in unbearable pain, and then look again at Judy."
Kim is a great comparison . . . her voice is always strangled, and her eyes are dying to get away from the camera.
Reading this, I kept thinking of Ulysses: how the ordinary, the interior, the unspoken, becomes epic in its own quiet way.
Your diary of Mad Men—the way you move through Don and Peggy, the accidents, the silences, the almost imperceptible moments of revelation—feels like watching a character navigate the city of their own mind, episode by episode, detail by detail. In “The Suitcase,” the nod to Night Town is perfect: the night, the drink, the half-told stories, the grief, the desire, all circulating freely between them. Peggy loves Don, but not in the way possession would allow; she loves the movement of self, the freedom to inhabit her own words, the discovery of interior life reflected in another.
The show, like Joyce, doesn’t shout. It lets us feel the gravity and levity of being alive, the delicate work of navigating desire, loss, and self-invention.
Thank you for tracing it so attentively, for noticing what others might miss: the subtle shifts, the glimpses of interiority that make a story—or a life—so vast and intimate at once.
Being alive….
You are so good at this, Laurie. Brilliant criticism of a brilliant series. That line: "As Dick, [Don] still would have moved through life as a gleaming knife. 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks, love, it's really just dramatic narrative as thought-in-action rather than characters-in-action. Happy New Year! Lots of love, L
Happy New Year to you too, Laurie!
This cracked me up because I’ve been sick and spent my illness watching Mad Men and I finished at almost the same moment you published this
How excellent. I hope this is fun to read.
Perfect!
“A gliding muscle”. Yes!
"He is the concept husband Peggy is supposed to feel grateful for because he will relieve her from the burden of her freedom." This is the first entry I pasted in a new personal doc: LINES THAT BLOW ME AWAY. Thank you for these keen observations Laurie!
I worked in branding. Now 80, I work as an advisor to creative professionals. I was fostered at birth, adopted, and shuffled about until I was eight or nine. I now know my childhood and the persona I created to survive and thrive is what made my career possible. Your review of Mad Men helped me think about my strengths and weaknesses, and how they shaped me. I didn't steal anyone's Dog Tags. But I did steal a persona from the media world to use as a shield. Thank you.
Ah I just finished my first ever watch and I loved it! It’s all swimming in my head like so few shows can and I’m dying to discuss it. So thank you for writing this!
Maybe we should do a Mad Men zoom conversation for paid subscribers?
I had to stop reading this because it made me want to go back and watch Mad Men! So well written. It is definitely a shock how much of it has been forgotten or didn’t happen. Jon Hamm is great in MM and the dialogue is great. I recently rewatched Beverly Hill 90210 and SATC and discovered layers of storytelling and intricacies that had gone unnoticed previously. Some series have all that and more. They’re the gift that keeps on giving. A new series for me in 2025 was Lessons in Chemistry with Brie Larsen. I highly recommend it and think it might be to your liking.
Yes, I did like it. Thanks for this great comment.
I was disappointed when this post ended, loved reading it.
I'm happy to hear that. In the meantime, please begin a free or paid subscription. The writing only continues with subscribers. Here's how to do it: Please consider subscribing for free, and if you can begin a paid subscription, please use this special link for a 50% discount, meaning a year with all benefits is $25 and a monthly sub is $2.50. Exciting benefits include monthly guest author zooms with Margo Jefferson, Elizabeth Kendall, David Cale, Francine Prose, Sophie Haigney of The Paris Review, David Daniel, and Errollyn Wallen next on Saturday Jan 17 from 3 to 4 EST 2026. Paid subscribers are also offered a free 15 minute consultation about their writing, recordings of past Zoom conversations, and access to the entire archive of 285 literary posts.
All best, Laurie, here's the link: https://lauriestone.substack.com/d4a4dd9b Make sure you use a browser in your computer or phone and not the Substack app.
After watching Homeland twice, the Wire, Succession, we finally decided to watch Mad Men for the yes, you're hearing it right--first time. So I'm saving this diary to savor when we're done.
You don't need to. You will have your own responses, I promise.
I loved the way you opened the Samsonites on these characters and examined every item they'd packed, Laurie. But I might love Richard's comment even more. Just a bit. (I still have all my Samsonite somewhere.)