Like bread crumbs forming a trail, these are the facts that led to my theory:
Don Draper is keeping his past as Dick Whitman a secret.
Don was a ranger during the Korean Conflict. He may have trained as a sniper.
(Although I may not be remembering the dialogue Don had on the train with the guy who recognized him as Dick Whitman.)
Don paid his own brother $5,000.00 to go away and not intrude on his new life.
Don's secretary Peggy knows he has a secret - that he has a mistress.
Don hates Pete Campbell. He sees the younger exec as a threat to his job.
Don tried to fire Pete but was over-ruled. He'd still like to find a way to get rid of him.
Pete bought a rifle for $22.00 and is keeping it at the office.
Because Peggy confided in her, Joan knows one of Don's secrets as well.
As I wrote in an earlier post, I think most of the audience expected don to pull a gun out of briefcase and to shoot his half-brother to ensure his silence. We've also seen he has a mean streak - in the way he dismisses his wife's problems and in that trick he pulled on Roger with the "out of service" elevator.Don Draper is a cold fish, and if his back was against the wall, I have no doubt that he might kill in order to protect his secret past.
So with that in mind, here's a theory I have on how 'Mad Men' will play out:
Don will find out that Peggy knows one of his secrets. She knows about the mistress but not about his real identity. However, Don can't take a chance on what she knows.
So what if, in true 'Columbo' style, Don got Pete's rifle and killed Peggy, and making sure that Pete got the blame for it? That way, Don would be rid of both Peggy and Pete.
Here's another fact to consider:
Matthew Weiner, the show's creator and writer, used to write for 'The Sopranos'.
It's true that his pilot script for 'Mad Men' is the reason he got hired for 'The Sopranos''. So what if his experiences writing for 'The Sopranos' influenced how the rest of the 'Mad Men' scripts developed?
I'm not saying Salvatore will be beaten to death with a pool cue, but Tony Soprano has made it possible for the protagonist to have a very dark side. (Personally, I think it all started with Andy Sipowicz on 'NYPD Blue'.)
Maybe I only have the specifics wrong. Maybe Joan will attempt to blackmail Don just in case she senses her own relationship with Roger Sterling is heading south and she could use the financial cushion. And thus she would be the target and not Peggy.
Remember this is all just speculation on my part. I could be wrong. I usually am. But I can't help thinking that a different interpretation of the title 'Mad Men' could be in the future.
Just don't get me started on my theory about Don's service during the Korean Conflict. There's always a pozz-bility that he was brainwashed by his captors while a prisoner of war. And now that his agency will be working for Nixon's 1960 presidential campaign, perhaps his handlers will take him out of sleeper mode and put him into play.....
But if I ever wrote up that idea, the post would be entitled "Mad Menchurian Candidate"!
BCnU!
Toby OB
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