It’s not unusual to feel uncomfortable and kind of confused when you’re watching Mad Men. That’s one of the main shticks of the show. But with the advent of episode one of season seven, “Time Zones,” Matthew Weiner has evidently taken a sick pleasure in making his audience feel awkward.
To start, we are subjected to seeing Roger Sterling in a near state of complete nudity while taking a phone call from his daughter. Roger’s whole scene seems to be one of free love, while Don attempts to salvage his marriage to Megan–which provides for its own sub-sect of weirdness. In fact, watching Megan and Don drunkenly try to rekindle their romance is perhaps more excruciating than the season five opener in which she sang “Zou Zou Bisou” to him for his birthday.
Among other unwieldy moments was Pete’s sudden and eager transition to the stereotype of California zen. Watching him wear brightly colored shorts with a sweater tied around his neck was not as painful, however, as seeing Peggy burst into tears over the fact that she’s a single woman. All in all, this premiere doesn’t give much hope for the future goodness of Mad Men–unless, of course, they’re saving Betty and Sally for the last seven episodes of the series.
