Mad Men Ends Season Three With a Winner

Might as well get this out of the way right now: the winner of the Emmy for Best Drama for 2009 is–the envelope please–Mad Men.
Sunday night’s season finale capped three straight brilliant episodes filled with action, surprises, humor and pain. Relationships broke, but there were some reconciliations as well.
Don Draper’s wife and his latest father figure, Conrad Hilton, both broke up with him. And though he’s headed for a guilty separation from his own kids, he managed to form a new family he could live with at work, where he tossed the Brits (well most of them anyway) and agency acquirer McCann-Erickson, while sweet talking Roger Sterling, Bert Cooper, Lane Pryce, Pete Campbell, Joan Harris and after, a struggle, Peggy Olson.
Shahdaroba, indeed. Over the end credits, Roy Orbison sung about how the future will be much better than the past and how “in the future you’ll find the love that lasts.” Good luck with that on this show.
But in the present, Don’s current old life is falling to pieces, so it’s time for a new one. Hilton tells Don Sterling Cooper’s owner is being sold to McCann-Erickson, so he will be losing the hotelier’s account. Don doesn’t want to work for McCann—he’d turned them down previously—so he needs a new plan
Don manages to rally the troops, first in an attempt to buy back Sterling Cooper, then to gather the principals and start their own agency. Don’t they want to build something like he does? That means that Don and Roger need to kiss and make up—Roger controls Sterling Cooper’s biggest account.
A key recruit turns out to be Brit hatchet man Lane Pryce, who learns that his bosses in London are selling the company out from under him and hanging him out to dry in New York. Having been scorned, he agrees to fire Draper, Sterling and Cooper, effectively letting them out of their contracts and allowing them to start a new shop in which Pryce will be a partner.
He fires them on Friday the 13 of December, after the close of business in London. They’ve got till Monday morning to line up a staff, clients and all the materials they need to ensure continuity. So the race is on.
One of the first brought into the fold is Pete, who had played hooky that day to interview with Ogilvy & Mather. Pete might be able to lure enough of his clients to give the new agency the necessary cash flow. Pete demands that Don tell him why he’s wanted, and Don tells him sincerely that Pete’s got a handle on the future. Indeed, since the show started, Pete’s acquired quite a social conscience. On a more practical front, he’s also got his Rolodex hidden under his bed and starts dialing for dollars immediately.
Harry Crane is offered the post of media director and Don tells Peggy she should come along too, but she plays hard to get.
At home, Betty tells Don she’s going to see a divorce attorney and suggests he do the same. Henry Francis accompanies Betty to the office of the attorney, who apologizes for assuming they’ve been fooling around. When talks turns to a settlement, Francis says “you don’t need what he can provide,’” and promises to take care of her and the kids.
Don shares a drink with Roger. When Don admits he and Betty are heading toward splitsville, Roger lets slip that there had been rumors about Francis and Betty. When it turns out Don hadn’t heard, Roger apologizes while perfectly admitting he never would have told if he really thought Don hadn’t known about Francis. .
Don storms home and into the bedroom where he accosts Betty and demands to know about her relationship with Francis.
“You’re good and everyone else is bad. You’ve got your little white nose in the air. All this time, you’ve been building a life raft,” he says.
“You got everything you ever wanted. Now I’m not good enough for some spoiled mainline brat. You won’t get a nickel. I’ll get the kids they be better off,” he says, calling the mother of his kids a whore for good measure
Even as the new agency comes together—Don finally finds the right thing to tell Peggy and Joannie proves who really made Sterling Cooper run—Don must tell his kids he’s moving out.
He tries to tell them that things won’t change, but Sally calls him on that. “You say things you say things and you don’t mean them. You can’t do that,” she adds, then storms out.
Bobby holds on to Daddy for dear life. “I need you to big a big boy,” Don tells his son. Earlier Don flashed back to his own dad’s problems, including getting kicked in the face, literally, by a horse.
Back at work, the boys spend the weekend clearing out the office. Come Monday, they place looks like its been ransacked. Pryce gets a call from London about the fired Americans. His former benefactors sack him for lack of character and he couldn’t be more pleased. Less pleased is Paul Kinsey, who figures out he’s been left behind.
Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce sets up shop at the Pierre. Roger asks Peggy to fetch coffee; she turns him down cold. Trudy, Pete’s terrifically supportive wife, brings sandwiches and cake for all, and all appears right with the world.
Except when Don slips into an empty bedroom (bedrooms are for account guys) and calls Betty to say he doesn’t want a fight. “I hope you get what you always wanted.”
She and Francis and the baby head off to Reno, the Mecca for easy divorces, while Sally and Bobby watch TV at home with the housekeeper, Carla. Those kids are headed for trouble, right?
So much happened in Season 3. Many questions raised and a high percentage answered. Now I’m sure we all want to know: how long is it till Season Four starts?