The penultimate episode of the 2014 mini-season, The Strategy, is Mad Men at its finest. It has many interesting themes, images, and meditations about what constitutes a family in 1969. The episode title refers to Peggy’s pitch for the Burger Chef account but there are various strategies running throughout the episode. Peggy *thinks* she likes her traditional family strategy for the new account: Lou and Pete are onboard but both of them are mired in 1950’s expectations of gender roles. Don backs the Pegster at the meeting but expresses reservations in private. Despite their differences, he is still Don Fucking Draper, her mentor and the most powerful presence in her life hence the white horse reference. The scene between Don and Peggy in her office near the end of the episode conjures up The Suitcase, one of the greatest episodes in the show’s history. Peggy refers to 1965 being a very good year, it was when that episode was set, and it was the first time we saw Don and Peggy interact as equals.

Time for me to natter, babble, and ramble about the episode after the break, but first another picture: