Months may have passed in the world of Mad Men, but surprisingly little has changed for our (anti) heroes with the third season openers, “Out of Town” and “Love Among the Ruins”. Don Draper (Jon Hamm) still seduces anything in a pencil skirt, while his wife Betty (January Jones) grows ever bigger as her unwanted pregnancy progresses. Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) continues to struggle to find her footing in heels at Sterling Cooper, while her one-time lover Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) still whines and whimpers at every indignity. And the world would stop spinning on its axis if Joan (Christina Hendricks) didn’t look fantastic, but rest assured, the sun will still rise in the morning thanks to costume designer Janie Bryant and Hendricks’ good genes.

The premiere episode’s opening scene proves that showrunner and writer Matthew Weiner hasn’t lost any of his playful spirit or wicked sense of humor with the months that have passed since season two. The beginning moments of “Out of Town” take us to the past, but it also shows us where we are in the show’s present: Betty’s still-pregnant state reveals that this season has only skipped ahead a few months, not years as season two did. Fans can breathe a sigh of relief: we’re in 1963, and we haven’t missed the defining moment of that year, John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

After the sale to Putnam, Powell and Lowe, Sterling Cooper is now home to British financial officer Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) and his sniveling secretary John Hooker (Ryan Cartwright). Harris’ role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was one of the film’s highlights, but his refined businessman here should show off the chameleon-like actor’s range with its contrast to Button’s grizzled sailor. Bones alum Cartwright is more of a mystery as Lane’s assistant John, but I would love to see him get into a whine-off with Kartheiser’s Pete. I’ll start taking bets now.

The central characters still prove to be the most well-crafted on television, particularly the multi-layered Don. Though he nearly lost his family after Betty learned of his affair in season two, that doesn’t stop him from flying high with a stewardess in “Out of Town”. But the surprise isn’t Don’s devotion to his old ways, it’s the moment when Don glimpses Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) in the midst of a tryst. His perfect reaction to Sal’s secret plays into his own double life, continuing one of the show’s central themes.

In just a few dozen episodes, ‘Mad Men’ has raised the bar for television drama, both on cable and on the networks, and TV fans will be the ones to benefit while everyone else tries to catch up. 

The season premiere finally gives Sal (and fine actor Batt) the focus he deserves. The closeted character has long been one of Mad Men’s most interesting, but he received little attention in the first two seasons. He finally gets some (attention, that is) in “Out of Town”, and here’s hoping that’s not the last that we see of his double life. The show devotes a lot of attention to the plight of women, but more attention could be paid to the difficulty of living a closeted life in the 1960s.

Though Peggy only gets a few moments in this episode, the follow-up, “Love Among the Ruins”, devotes its time almost solely to the fledgling female copywriter. She may be the most successful woman at Sterling Cooper, but she still struggles with men, both in and outside the office. She takes cues from two fellow redheads (Joan and Bye Bye Birdie’s Ann-Margret) in some incredibly awkward moments, but Moss is wonderful—at once innocent and worldly as Peggy, who cannot seem to find her place in this man’s world.

Don’s storyline in “Love Among the Ruins” — Betty’s stroke-stricken father and her weak-willed brother’s family stay at the Draper’s — reiterates the character’s created persona that reigns in both his personal and professional lives. Don strikes a deal with Betty’s brother that would be cold in a business setting, but it feels downright Machiavellian when it takes place inside the home. He has handled his brother-in-law in a way that would leaves a client reeling, and it’d be shocking for the audience if it didn’t fall perfectly in line with what we known of Don.

With this season’s two opening episodes, Mad Men proves that the genius of the first two years wasn’t a fluke. The show always entertains, but it never forsakes substance for style. In just a few dozen episodes, Mad Men has raised the bar for television drama, both on cable and on the networks, and TV fans will be the ones to benefit while everyone else tries to catch up.

Source : CinemaSpy