--- title: Mad Men Recap; Season 7 Episode 8 'Severance' description: Don Draper is haunted by his past in the first of Mad Men's final episodes canonical: https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-06T03:00:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:42.524Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Mad Men' Recap: 'Severance' og:description: Don Draper is haunted by his past in the first of Mad Men's final seven episodes og:url: https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76200c53535145bb/698786bdf887dc28d3e8af50/mad-men-recap-severance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3600 og:image:height: 2025 og:image:alt: Mad Men Recap og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Mad Men' Recap: 'Severance' twitter:description: Don Draper is haunted by his past in the first of Mad Men's final seven episodes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76200c53535145bb/698786bdf887dc28d3e8af50/mad-men-recap-severance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Mad Men_ Recap: 'Severance' > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Apr 6, 2015 3:00 AM UTC  Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson and Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris in Mad Men. Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson and Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris in Mad Men. Frank Ockenfels—AMC  by [Nolan Feeney](https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Apr 6, 2015 3:00 AM UTC _Mad Men_ returned Sunday night with a scene that, on paper, sounds straight out of a rap video: A man who went from rags to riches surrounds himself with women in mink coats and says things like, “It’s Chinchilla, and it costs $15,000\. How does that make you feel?” But instead of Jay Z boasting into Beyoncé’s ear, we have Don Draper ordering around a model in what’s revealed to be—after some cleverly misleading camera-work—yet another in a series of casting sessions so shameless even the secretaries are making comments. And that’s not the only fake-out viewers get in the first of the AMC drama’s final seven episodes. While Don and the boys are ogling models in the office, Joan and Peggy are having a hard time being taken seriously by their male colleagues as they try and launch a high-end department-store line of Topaz Pantyhose to compete with growing low-cost competitors. Despite the fact that they are the only ones at SC&P getting any real work done, one of their meetings is nearly derailed by the sexist and lecherous comments hurled Joan’s way. Still, that encounter is nowhere near as tense as the subsequent elevator ride, when Peggy tells a visibly frustrated Joan that she can’t expect to be respected if she continues dressing the way she does. As Joan retaliates with a sharp remark about Peggy’s own physical appearance, it’s clear the two have opposite problems in the quest for the elusive work-life balance. ### 'Mad Men' Up Close: Photos From the Set of the Celebrated Show  February 2014\. From left: Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell, Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson and John Hamm as Don Draper behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell and Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove, Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper and other cast members behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris, January Jones as Betty Draper, Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, and Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From left: Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men and Robert Morse who plays Bertram Cooper, behind the scenes of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Christina Hendricks, who plays Joan Harris, has makeup applied on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: John Slattery as Roger Sterling and Rich Sommer as Harry Crane behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Matthew Weiner behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. From center: Elisabeth Moss, who plays Peggy Olson, and Matthew Weiner, Creator of Mad Men behind the scenes on the set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME  February 2014\. John Hamm as Don Draper behind the scenes on set of Mad Men’s seventh and final season, Los Angeles. Alex Majoli—Magnum for TIME Last year Peggy had a confidence crisis at work when she clashed with a petulant Don Draper over the Burger Chef account, but after their mentor-mentee relationship gelled into a [happy little work family](http://time.com/104244/mad-men-recap-the-strategy/), that crisis gave way to anxieties about turning 30 and her lack of romantic prospects. Meanwhile, Joan may have turned down Bob Benson’s unconventional marriage proposal, but as Peggy notes in the elevator, she’s filthy rich—Joan’s personal life may not be perfect, but it affords her a kind of freedom and agency she clearly can’t find at work. Unfortunately, neither character find much solace by the end of the episode: the client harassment drives a Joan to retail therapy (her new purchases don’t appear any more conservative than her usual outfits), while Peggy gets carried away on a blind date with her co-worker John Mathis’ brother-in-law, Stevie. Their initially frosty encounter only warms up once Stevie tells Peggy what Mathis said about her—that she’s fearless and funny and takes nothing from nobody—but several drinks and overeager romantic confessions later (not to mention a botched Paris getaway), Peggy’s just hungover and embarrassed about how desperate she is for a fairy-tale romance. While Joan and Peggy try and get the job done, the men of SC&P are wrestling with the big questions about what makes a meaningful life. After Ken Cosgrove’s father-in-law retires, his wife encourages him to quit his job, devote himself to writing full time and chase his dreams. “You gave them your eye —don’t give them the rest of your life!” she urges, noting that they’re more than well-off financially. But Ken resists the idea that he’s just a cog in a machine, at least until a grudge-holding exec at McCann-Erickson—SC&P’s new parent company and Ken’s former employer—tells Roger Sterling to fire him. A betrayed Ken tells Don he’s taking the dismissal as a sign to go for what he wants, but it turns out writing wasn’t _really_ the dream—feeling important and powerful was. So after briefly considering writing a juicy book about an advertising agency, Ken finds a sweeter form of revenge when he becomes the head of advertising at Dow Chemical and promises to be the client from hell to Pete and Roger. “I hate to tell you, I’m very difficult to please,” he warns. Don Draper, too, spends a lot of time rethinking his life choices, their consequences and—refreshingly, given that he’s a dude—what it means to have it at all. Last year, Don took steps toward redemption by applying the campsite rule—_leave it better than how you found it_—to the other people in his life. He struggled to work alongside Peggy when he made his rocky return to the company, but it wasn’t long before he was fighting for her future; his marriage with Megan collapsed, but he promised to always take care of her; he even showed concern for what he was passing along to his kids, valuing his relationship with them more than ever following a few reminders of his own mortality. But now, instead of trying to correct his past, he’s haunted by it in the form of two women. The first is former flame Rachel Katz (née Menken), whose relationship with Don fell apart many seasons ago after she realized Don didn’t want to leave his family for her—he just saw her an escape route for his life. Don thinks he sees her audition during a bizarre is-he-dreaming-or-not casting session, but when he tries to reconnect—under the guise of a business meeting to help the new Topaz line get into department stores—he’s shocked to learn she passed away. He crashes her family’s shiva, meets Rachel’s sister (who’s not a fan of Don, to say the least) and learns she died of leukemia. “She lived the life she wanted,” her sister says acerbically. “She had everything.” What does “everything” mean in this case? Kids? A spouse? A job? Don has or has had all three of those technically, but from the damaged, glassy-eyed look on his face, it’s clear that whatever “everything” is, he doesn’t have it. ### The 10 Best Outfits From Mad Men  Betty’s floral dress Her outfit for lunch with future husband Henry is quintessential Betty, with soft colors and a fitted silhouette. Carin Baer—AMC  Joan’s pen necklace There are few television accessories as iconic as Joan's pen, always dangling over her chest and eventually insulted by a snarky young copywriter who sees its placement as a power play. Michael Yarish—AMC  Megan’s metallic dress Megan has all the glamour Peggy lacks, with a more fashion-forward sensibility than Betty. Michael Yarish—AMC  Trudy’s floral dress Trudy’s garden party outfit is put to good use when she and Pete impress guests with a mean performance of the Charleston. Carin Baer—AMC  Peggy’s pantsuit Peggy may not be a style icon, but she was well suited for ladder climbing in a loud vest and trouser set at a pivotal moment in her professional ascent. Jaimie Trueblood—AMC  Megan’s Zou Bisou Bisou dress Megan surprises Don and her party guests with a performance as sultry as her little black dress. Ron Jaffe—AMC  Joan’s accordion-playing dress Dresses are like armor for Joan, who wears this form-fitting number while entertaining her husband’s colleagues on the accordion—despite their marital problems. Carin Baer—AMC  Sally’s go-go boots Sally tries on a very grown-up look for an awards ceremony with Don and Megan, and finds herself in a grown-up situation when she witnesses Roger in a compromising position with Megan’s mother. AMC  Roger’s blue suit Roger always looks sharp in a suit, but his sartorial gifts look even more impressive when surrounded by hippies on the farm where his daughter joined a commune. Michael Yarish—AMC  Betty’s Italian dress For a trip to Italy with Don, Betty gives herself a makeover more befitting of her days as a model than her life as a Westchester mom. Carin Baer—AMC The other woman haunting him has nothing to do with Rachel, or maybe _everything_ to do with Rachel. She’s a diner waitress (played by Elizabeth Reaser) whom Don believes he recognizes but for some reason can’t place. ([Maybe she had facial reconstruction surgery!](http://greysanatomy.wikia.com/wiki/Rebecca%5FPope)) His fascination with her becomes a mild obsession: after first noticing her while dining out with Roger and some lady friends, Don returns another night and ends up getting freaky with her in the alleyway (she implies that Don paid for the encounter with the $100 bill he left the first night, but that was just Roger’s generous way of settling the bill after teasing her all night). When Don returns a third time at the end of the episode, she basically tells him to get lost—but not before giving him some advice that’s just as valuable for the audience, too. Part of the mystery surrounding every _Mad Men_ season, especially these final episodes, is the calendar: what year does the show famous for its attention to historical detail take place? The question has been looming over tonight’s premiere, and we get a clue when a sleepless Don catches a [Nixon speech about Vietnam that occurred on April 30, 1970](http://time.com/3760142/mad-men-nixon-speech/). But as Don tells the waitress about seeing Rachel in what is now clearly a dream, she tells him not to trust his version of events. “I want you to think very carefully about when you had that dream because when people die, everything gets mixed up,” she warns. “When someone dies, you just want to make sense out of it.” The implication? As you’re trying to make sense of Don Draper’s fate and his final days, don’t put much stock in chronology, either. _Read next:_ [_This Is the Nixon Speech Don Draper Was Watching on_ ](http://time.com/3760142/mad-men-nixon-speech/?iid=time%5Freadnext)[Mad Men](http://time.com/3760142/mad-men-nixon-speech/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/"},"headline":"Mad Men Recap: 'Severance'","datePublished":"2015-04-06T03:00:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:42.524Z","description":"Don Draper is haunted by his past in the first of Mad Men's final seven episodes","url":"https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/","keywords":["Television","Recap","Mad Men","don draper","Jon Hamm"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76200c53535145bb/698786bdf887dc28d3e8af50/mad-men-recap-severance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76200c53535145bb/698786bdf887dc28d3e8af50/mad-men-recap-severance.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mad Men Recap","caption":"Peggy Olson and Joan Harris in Mad Men","creditText":"Frank Ockenfels—AMC","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3771606/mad-men-recap-season-7-episode-8/","name":"Mad Men Recap: 'Severance'"}}]}] ```