'Mad Men' 'Suitcase' Season 4 Episode 7 from Ghosts to Cassius Clay

Mad Men this week gave Don Draper and Peggy Olsen equal time, and so far it is the most revealing episode to date for the duo of ad pros. It was all about the big heavyweight fight back then; if you were around, you would remember the fight got more attention than any baseball, football, or basketball game.

One of the reasons Mad Men has become a favorite of many is the subtleties that are used to paint the plot in the way a good novel would. You find yourself watching for those less-than-obvious actions or behaviors that are laying down a foundation for what is to come.

The heavyweight fight dribbled down into subplots of fights, both within the cast physically and mentally. A dozen fights went on in this Mad Men episode, with the heavyweight title as the main background theme.

Don is falling apart at the seams, giving Peggy an eye-opening peak at his unique ability to camouflage his instability. This was ever so evident when she left him in his office in a heaping mess at the break of dawn, only to find him cleaned up and business as usual in a few hours time upon her return. Leaving the door "open" symbolized he was ready to put Don Draper ad man back into play.

Are we seeing foreplay for a Mad Men Peggy and Don romance? I don't think so. I think we are seeing a real relationship building between the two, one that will take the place of his good friend, Anna, who did come to say goodbye with luggage in hand, even if it was just her spirit or a figment of Don's imagination. Look for that shot of "luggage in hand" to show up in Don's Samsonite commercial idea.

I am still not too sure that Peggy won't at least take a swipe at a lesbian relationship with her Look Magazine friend she met last week. Peggy's vagina is no longer "rented to her boyfriend," as she said when turning down advances of her newfound lesbian friend.

All the things that haunt Peggy came back to her in this Mad Men episode. Her obnoxious family; Trudy carrying Pete's baby, a spot Peggy was once in; and Duck, who reminded her verbally of how their escapades together were nothing but the actions of a "whore". It all came down on Peggy last night, but she was able to rise from the ashes to help Don, who was in a worse place than she was.

Don didn't care about the ad work for the luggage campaign when he made Peggy stay late; he was bored and wanted her company. At first, it was to watch her jump as he took out his aggressions on the young ad gal, but then, as he couldn't get too much of a rise out her, he came back down to her level.

"Thank Me and Jesus" that you have a job another day. Wow, Don was feeling pretty superior putting himself in a peer group with the Son of Christ. Ironically, he did not like Muhammad Ali for saying "I'm great", because anyone who has to say so isn't. I love the irony on Mad Men.

Did you catch Don's refusal to call the fighter Muhammad Ali; instead, he still calls him Cassius Clay? This says something about Don's own name change and the way he perceives himself.

Reference: Mad Men season 4 episode 7