Peggy's Big 'Mad Men' Moment Is Coming

The first episode of Mad Men's final season aired last night and Peggy Olson, who was shown literally in Don Draper's seat the end of last season, was now being lead by a pathetic excuse of a Draper replacement. At home, things were even worse. Peggy ended the episode sobbing on her floor because after a long day at work, she has to return to an empty apartment. But things aren't always going to be going downhill for Peggy — she's not Don after all. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Elisabeth Moss hinted that Peggy will have a big emotional moment involving another character at the end of the seventh season's first half.

Of course, this means we need to speculate on what the heck she's talking about! Trying to figure out what will happen on the show is a close second to actually watching it. Moss tried to keep things vague in the interview, but I have a guess of what she's getting at.

When Moss was asked if there's a moment that stands out from the first half of the new season that "says something about the feeling of it coming to a close," Moss replied,

Hmm. What can I say without saying anything? ... There is a moment near the end of this first batch of episodes that was a very…Matt told me that it was going to happen really early, before we started the season, and I started to cry. I said, "You have to do that." I texted him, and I said, "I've never asked you to do anything, but you have to do that." And he was going to do it anyway, it's not like I have any power over him. [Laughs] He was going to do whatever he wanted, but it happened to go in my favor. But it meant so much to me, and this other character, that I care about personally and professionally. It was just this very climactic, kind of sweet moment.

Ah! What is it?! My personal guess is that it has to do with Stan Rizzo. A Peggy and Stan relationship has been teased for quite some time and while most of the relationships on Mad Men are shocking and come out of no where (Don ending up marrying one of his many secretaries, for one), the Peggy and Stan thing is more of a classic television situation. There have been problems with timing (she was in another relationship) and with Peggy seeing Stan more as a friend than a love interest — both of which were excuses she brought up when he kissed her during season six.

If Moss is on board with Stan and Peggy, it would make sense that news of the two characters getting together would make her cry. And it would definitely qualify as "climatic" and "sweet."

Another option could be that some kind of conclusion happens for Peggy and Pete or Peggy and Don. Pete could meet the secret baby (well, the secret baby who would be six years old by now). Moss mentions in the interview that she wants Pete and Peggy to have scenes together and that "there's definitely a sense of getting back to Season One." Moss brings up the baby specifically and says, "I think [Peggy] thought she's forgotten about it, that she's gotten past it — and then it kind of keeps coming up, emotionally. Not necessarily in a concrete story way." If this is true, then it sounds like this isn't going to end up settled in a single important moment.

As for Peggy and Don, maybe Don passes the torch to Peggy in some way or gives her an ultimate sign of approval. I'm thinking that Moss would have described this differently though. Do you really describe Don Draper as just "this other character?"

Based on my reading way too much into what Moss said, I'm sticking with the Stan/Peggy relationship as the moment that brings tears to Olson's eyes and as a fan, I really hope I'm right.

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