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The fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men premiered on July 25, 2010, and concluded on October 17, 2010. It consisted of thirteen episodes, each running ap…
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The fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men premiered on July 25, 2010, and concluded on October 17, 2010. It consisted of thirteen episodes, each running approximately 48 minutes in length.
The fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men premiered on July 25, 2010, and concluded on October 17, 2010. It consisted of thirteen episodes, each running approximately 48 minutes in length. AMC broadcast the fourth season on Sundays at 10:00 pm in the United States.
Season four takes place between November 1964 and October 1965. It is set at the new and considerably more modern advertising agency, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. The main narrative of the fourth season is driven by Don Draper's identity crisis. As Don falls deeper into existential despair, he begins regularly meeting with prostitutes and faces debilitating alcoholism.
The fourth season of Mad Men was widely commended by television critics, who viewed it as continuing the show's excellence in all areas of production while still emphasizing strong character development. Its seventh episode ("The Suitcase") garnered particularly strong praise. The season received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series and recognition from the American Film Institute for the show's fourth year in a row. According to year-end lists collected by Metacritic, the fourth season of Mad Men was the most acclaimed show of 2010.
The main narrative of the fourth season is driven by Don Draper's identity crisis after the dissolution of his marriage to Betty. As Don falls deeper into existential despair, his alcoholism worsens and he begins regularly meeting with prostitutes. Don travels to California to see Anna and meets her niece, Stephanie, who tearfully tells Don that Anna is dying of cancer, a fact her family has hidden from Anna thus far. Don, unable to spend time with Anna knowing she is going to die, tells her he will return to California soon with his kids, knowing that it's a lie. Meanwhile, Sally struggles to cope with her parents' divorce, and Betty and Henry send her to a child psychologist to address Sally's erratic behavior. The psychologist offers comfort to Sally, but additionally spends a significant amount of time analyzing Betty.
Pete and Peggy continue down different cultural paths; Pete accepts fatherhood when Trudy gives birth to a baby girl, while Peggy makes friends with a group of beatniks, including Abe, a liberal writer whom she starts to date. Peggy's relationship with Don becomes frayed after Don wins a prestigious award for a commercial whose success largely depended on Peggy. The tension comes to a head when Don forces Peggy to stay late in the office, causing her to miss her own surprise birthday party. Nevertheless, the two reconcile and have an intimate discussion about their lives. That night, Don falls asleep in Peggy's lap and experiences a vision of Anna carrying a suitcase. Having received an urgent message from Stephanie the day prior, Don returns the call after waking up and discovers that Anna has died. Peggy comforts Don, and the two hold hands in an act of friendship.
After Anna's death, Don cuts down on his drinking and becomes increasingly introspective. He asks Faye Miller, a consultant at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), out on a formal date. Around the same time, Roger and Joan have sex after getting mugged in a poor neighborhood. Joan becomes pregnant and decides to pass the child off as Greg's rather than take Roger's money for an abortion.
At SCDP, Roger loses the Lucky Strike account, putting the financial security of the entire company in jeopardy. When SCDP lands a contract with North American Aviation, FBI agents come to the Francis home for a routine security clearance. Don is rattled and forces Pete to drop the aforementioned client, while Faye advises Don to come clean about his past to the authorities rather than continue living in fear. Don later discovers that his former mistress, Midge Daniels, is in the throes of heroin addiction. In order to put a positive spin on being dropped from Lucky Strike (and deeply rattled by Midge's inner destruction), Don places a full-page ad in The New York Times proclaiming that SCDP will no longer do business with Big Tobacco. The sensational move does not go over well with their partners, except Don's assistant Megan, who admires it.
Series creator Matthew Weiner also served as showrunner and executive producer, and is credited as a writer on 10 of the 13 episodes of the season, often co-writing the episodes with another writer. L
Source: Mad Men season 4 (CC BY-SA)
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In October 1965, Don takes his kids on a trip to California, and brings Megan to look after them after Betty abruptly fires the family nanny. They visit Stephanie at Anna Draper's former home; Sally notices a message painted on the wall ("Dick + Anna '64") and asks Don who Dick is, leading Don to admit that it refers to him, though he elides the longer story by calling it a nickname. Over the course of the weekend, Don decides that he is in love with Megan and proposes to her on their return.
Peggy and Ken help to save the company by signing new work with Topaz Pantyhose. Betty and Henry move out of the Drapers' Ossining home after Betty fails to break up the budding friendship between Sally and Glen, an unruly neighborhood boy. Don announces the news of his engagement to Megan to the office and breaks up with Faye, who is left in tears. Don returns to the Draper home one last time to say goodbye to Betty, who shows signs of regret for the ending of their marriage as they leave their former home for the last time. The season closes with Don lying awake with Megan, looking out the window.
