Jon Hamm’s Favorite Episode Of Mad Men Explained
Jon Hamm famously starred as Don Draper in Mad Men, and the actor has a specific favorite episode of the beloved, 1960s-channeling drama series.
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AMC’s Mad Men spanned a lengthy seven seasons, but out of all of them, Don Draper actor Jon Hamm has a favorite episode of the show. The carefully-crafted period piece offers in-depth looks into the lives of its extensive cast of characters. Of course, despite this, Jon Hamm’s now-immortalized portrayal of ad executive Don Draper is the show’s flawed, enigmatic, and undeniably interesting focal point. Understandably, after spending years inhabiting the character, Hamm – just like audiences of the series – favors certain Mad Men episodes more than others.
Following the men (and select women) of the advertising industry in New York City during the 1960s, the show focuses on the high-profile firm Sterling Cooper (and its later, differently-named iterations). As with any great project, Mad Men’s plot and characters are incredibly thought-out and three-dimensional – all the way until the Mad Men series finale. A great deal of the show is intricately layered, with plot seeds being planted to steadily grow or boomerang back into play further down the line, as well as moments of touching sentimentality and intriguing symbolism amongst some of its less-than-flattering depictions of the era it chronicles. One such example is Mad Men season 4, episode 7, “The Suitcase.”
The episode premiered in 2010 and mainly follows Don and Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) as an evening of tension-riddled ad brainstorming slowly blossoms into moments of incredible emotional intimacy, vulnerability, and bonding between the Sterling Cooper executive and employee. In 2013, Jon Hamm went on record (via Entertainment Weekly) saying that the Mad Men season 4 installment – which has been widely praised by audiences and critics alike – is his favorite episode of the series. In addition to how thoroughly he enjoyed acting with Moss for a sizeable chunk of the episode, Hamm looked back fondly on the emotional depth that “The Suitcase” required the pair to navigate and believably embody. He said that they got to “play the whole range of emotion.” He even went on to call the episode a “special time and moment” that was “really fun to play.”
Hamm’s positive feelings about Mad Men’s “The Suitcase” are certainly understandable. Within it, both Don and Peggy are laying all of their metaphorical cards on the table. But the former character, in particular, hits some very contrasting emotional notes throughout the episode. His night/morning with Peggy sees him raising his voice at her in boss-minded frustration early on. However, by the episode’s end, he’s cried in her presence, confided that the recently-deceased Anna Draper was the only person who truly knew him (referring to both Don’s real Mad Men identity, as well as his authentic inner world), and even affectionately placed his hand on hers after the two characters have been so honest and compassionate with each other throughout the Mad Men season 4 episode.
Interestingly, in the aforementioned EW article, Elisabeth Moss also named “The Suitcase” as her favorite episode of the series. She similarly saw it as a “real sort of combination of four years work and four years of that relationship between Don and Peggy.” In depicting some of the more sad and offensive norms that were so commonplace during the show’s era, Mad Men has its share of stomach-churning moments. Even so, it simultaneously has a litany of thoughtful, brilliant, well-executed, and emotionally resonant gems that transcend the screen. “The Suitcase” has many examples of this embedded within its mere 48 minutes.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/mad-men-jon-hamm-favorite-episode-suitcase-explained/