Mad Men Season 3

Picture by: thereelist.com

***Spoiler Alert***

I know that usually, I don't put the spoiler alert until well after some kind of introduction. But this season was really, really good! I don't know how to describe it without giving at least some of it away. Besides, it sounds better simply being honest about it, and giving a relatively vivid description. If you are reading this and intend to watch the series, and this season in particular, but have not yet seen it or know what will happen, then again, be forewarned! I will not reveal everything, yet it is hard to describe just how enticing this season is without revealing something, or some things. So, here goes...

This is it! The season that has everything that a fan of Mad Men was waiting for. Don's big secret is discovered, and by none other than his wife. Things come to a boil in the Draper residence. Things continue to unravel at Sterling Cooper, and people begin to jump ship. Don gets fired (really!), and he's not alone! And the moment that I think all fans that have followed this series from the beginning have been waiting for: the Kennedy Assassination.

I must say, I felt that they did the Kennedy Assassination very nicely. Nothing is revealed about it beforehand, of course. It sneaks up on you, just like it must have in real life, like September 11th did, so you can feel a bit of the shock that the characters feel. It is very well done, and you actually get a better picture of those times and what it perhaps was like from those who were there, for those of us who were not yet around (or if, perhaps, you were too young at the time).

More is revealed about Donald Draper, and while some of it is his reflections on his own terms, with memories flooding back, some of it is forced by the increasingly hostile relationship with his once seemingly dreamy wife.

Before that, Don begins with his infidelities once again. But he is not alone.

In the meantime, the changes at Sterling Cooper continue. There are real changes afoot, and there is real suspense in the show with what will happen in regards to these changes. Everyone seems on the move. Joan moves on, and she seems like she's history. But then she seems to be coming back, although you can't be sure. Peggy seems to be growing ever more comfortable in her skin, and she begins to challenge the men, including Don!

It's just all very well done. As I have said in past reviews of the show, the creators do an excellent job. Everything is tastefully done. The show continues to be riveting and hypnotizing, and there is a strong measure of suspense throughout. The shows actually seem to get better and more dramatic as the season progresses, and I couldn't wait to watch the next episode! This is one of the most well done television series that I know of. I wasn't around in the sixties, but this captures what I imagine it must have felt like back then. It feels foreign in many respects, yet identifiable in enough ways, that you can see the resemblance of more modern times growing ever more apparent. In what the characters state, you can hear echoes of what is to come in the future.

Really, this is an amazing show! I loved Season 3 better than either of the two previous seasons, and perhaps the best thing that I can say about this series now is that I can't wait to get to Season 4!

Until then!