I, for one, have appreciated the mouthy, resentful Peggy of recent weeks. After all, her bitterness is situationally appropriate. Despite being one of the most competent people in the office, she may have risen professionally as far as she can and is facing the truth of a glass ceiling at Sterling Cooper and Partners in 1969. Having chosen her job over her personal life (as in Season 4’s “The Suitcase,” in which she stayed at the office to work on a Samsonite pitch instead of joining her boyfriend for a birthday dinner), it must sting to finally grasp how undervalued she is because she is a woman. The kicker last night was Joan’s flip “I don’t know if this will make you feel better, but I don’t think they thought about it at all” response to Peggy wondering if Lou was setting her or Don up to fail. Peggy is not just unappreciated; she’s an afterthought. It’s no wonder that she’s lashed out at the few people over whom she has some sort of power.
Many, like Time’s James Poniewozik, are uncomfortable with this less likable version of their favorite character. Poniewozik asked in a recent column, “Where have you hidden our Peggy, Mad Men? And how did you replace her with this hostile, unpleasant basket case?” Critics don’t like seeing that kind of “ugliness” from a woman. But aside from the many plot reasons that have led to Peggy’s behavior, her unapologetic aggression is refreshing in the larger television landscape.
It’s not just Peggy. There is a noticeable dearth of difficult women on the tube. Televised womanhood still must be “conventionally attractive.” With few exceptions it is depicted as thin, pretty, white, and likable in ways that we no longer expect from its masculine counterpart, especially on “prestige” shows like Mad Men. Need proof? Just look at the rancor directed toward Breaking Bad’s Skyler White (and the actor who played her), even though her transgressions were much less malevolent than her husband’s.
So when Peggy shows a competitive drive or cowardice, speaks sharply to her coworkers, or just can’t swallow the disappointment heaped on her by her chauvinist workplace, she is staking out new territory for women on television. You don’t have to like it or her, but it’s a step in the right direction.
