Mad Men Season 4 Premiere Review "Public Relations"

It's the middle of summer and that means only one thing, the return of AMC's critically acclaimed show Mad Men for its 4th season.  We were left with a bit of turmoil as we seen the end of the marriage between Don and Betty Draper, as well as the familiar faces of Sterling-Cooper leave to create their own rival ad agency.

This season picks up getting right to business, but this time at Sterling-Cooper-Draper-Pryce.  It is unclear how much time has passed at first, the new ad agency is afloat, but definitely treading water.  Don skills and focus seem to be unraveling as he remains just as stubborn as seasons past.  Don remains vague and distant with whom he is during an interview that was to showcase him and his company, but ultimately ends up doing more harm than good. It is very apparent that both Peggy Olson and Pete Campbell start to really come into their own as Pete matures and becomes more confident in his ability. A stunt, although successful, further sours the professional relationship between Don and Peggy, as it appears his once untouchable persona is being tarnished.  An abrupt outburst to potential clients forces Don to accept Bert Cooper's offer of a second interview, this time with the Wall Street Journal.  He begins his image repair by telling the magazine of the story the forced him into creating this new ad agency.  During this time we find that only a little over a year has passed since the end of season 3. 

During the episode Don goes on his first date, set up by Rodger Sterling with a friend of his wife Jane.  A 25 year old actress interested but is poised to take it slow.  We find that his plans for Thanksgiving are spent with a prostitute that he must have been involved with for some time for her to know what he likes.  We also find that he developed a fetish where he enjoys being slapped in the face.  Such practices are generally a way for men in power at work to have the roles reverse and become submissive in the bedroom. 

Overall it was a good start to the new season as we get to see what kind of storylines will unfold as well as the development of our favorite characters.  I look forward to next week’s episode, as well as the series premiere of Rubicon the next AMC's commitment to original programming.  Rubicon is a serialized political thriller that tells the story of Will Travers an intelligence analyst who cracks codes for a living.