Mad Men - Season 5 [verified] (Top 20 Essential)

While Season 4 is often cited as the critical peak, is the emotional core of the series. It is the season where the 1960s truly arrive. It is the death of innocence (Lane), the commodification of women (Joan), the emancipation of the new woman (Peggy), and the final confirmation that Don Draper is not a tragic hero—he is a tragic addiction.

If Season 4 was about Don Draper hitting rock bottom and finding a twisted form of redemption through his engagement to secretary Megan Calvet (Jessica Paré), Season 5 is about the morning-after regret. Mad Men - Season 5

Best Episode: "The Other Woman" / "Commissions and Fees" (impossible to choose) Worst Episode: There aren't any. But "Tea Leaves" is the slowest burn. While Season 4 is often cited as the

Business-wise, Season 5 is about the pursuit of the Jaguar automobile account. The pursuit takes the partners to London, to racing tracks, and finally to a seedy hotel room. To land Jaguar, the partners must make a Faustian bargain with the sleazy Herb Rennet (played by Mark Moses), a dealership owner who will only vote for SCDP if he gets to sleep with Joan Holloway. If Season 4 was about Don Draper hitting

In the episode "The Other Woman," arguably the most controversial and critically acclaimed hour of the show's run, Joan is presented with a Faustian bargain. To secure the Jaguar account—a white whale the agency has chased all season—Herb Rennet, the head of the dealers' association, demands a night with her.

"Mad Men" Season Finale Review: "The Phantom" ( ... - Fade to Lack

Feeling unappreciated by his American partners and financially crippled by the British tax system (and his father’s cruelty), Lane makes a fatal error: he forges Don’s signature on a $7,500 bonus check to pay his debts. The crime is petty, but in the world of the firm, it is treason.