Life isn't exactly easy when you're Pete Campbell in Mad Men Season 6. Pete lost both his parents, was caught frequenting a brothel, lost Trudy, screwed up the Chevy relationship fro SC&P (thanks to Bob Benson's vengeful intervention), and memorably fell down the stairs that one time. It's not a great time to be Pete. But at the very end of Season 6, our Mr. Campbell finds a window where all the doors have been shut: the opportunity to move out to SC&P's California outpost. As Trudy tells him before he decides to leave, Pete is "free." He's got no ties to a wife or a girlfriend, no friends, and no professional cred on the East Coast. Hell, without California, his life is looking rather grim. So did he buy the ticket and take the ride in Mad Men Season 7? Well, his tan certainly spins a certain narrative.
In the Season 7 premiere of Mad Men, we find Pete living in California, where he's rocking a rather flattering shade of tan and waltzing around with a light sweater around his shoulders. When he meets Don for a Brooklyn-themed sandwich at an L.A. diner, he seems more upbeat than he's been throughout his entire time on the series. He's even in search of a new bachelor pad with the help of his beautiful, blonde real estate agent. Could Pete finally be on the right track? Was all it took a little California air? Is it wrong that we kind of hope he's finally okay?
Still, no matter what happens to Pete or how our sympathy for him waxes and wanes, we'll be hard-pressed not to keep enjoying this little beaut:
Images: NBC; Huffpo (GIF)
