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Over the years, Mad Men stands apart amid the many TV series that have made an impression on viewers. While its characters reach great success, they have also suffered from profound loneliness and tragedy.
Underneath the glamorous surface of the advertising world, each character’s journey is unique, yet many face heartbreaking endings. It leaves us questioning whether success truly leads to happiness. In this blog, we’ll explore the main characters of Mad Men and dive into their most tragic storylines.
Mad Men: Characters ranked by their most tragic arcs
1. Don Draper: The pain of identity
Don Draper's life is actually built on a false identity. The hardships of poverty in childhood, the death of his mother, and the abuse of his stepfather weaken him. Later, he starts a new life with the identity of a fellow soldier in the Korean War. On the outside, he is perfect, Sterling Cooper's best creative director, a brilliant name in the advertising world. But inside, he is always ready to escape from his true self.
His life has always been full of self-destructive habits. Neither his wife, Betty, nor Megan could be by his side. He was distant from his children as well. In the last season of the series, we see that even in a meditative state in California, he cannot escape the emptiness within. So Don's arc in Mad Men is the long-suffering story of a man plagued by the pain of identity.
2. Peggy Olson: Sacrifice for success
Peggy’s a powerhouse; she starts as a secretary, but she refuses to stay in that box. She works hard, cracks into the creative team, and shows everyone she’s got real skill. Early on, she secretly gives birth and puts her baby up for adoption. That choice sticks with her forever.
At work, the men constantly look down on her. Still, Peggy keeps moving forward. Her relationship with Don stays messy and complicated. Even as she wins at work, happiness slips away from her. In the end, Peggy reaches the top, but the cost is high. She gives up motherhood and peace to get there.
3. Sally Draper: Lost childhood
Over the course of the series, Mad Men, the character of Sally, the daughter of Don and Betty, matures and grows into a teenager. The unfortunate aspect of her life is that, from a very young age, she had to suffer the pain of living within a broken family. The several fights, the divorces, and the breakdowns of other relationships stunted her mental growth. The once-carefree and happy Sally eventually transformed into a sad teenager.
Season 7 of Mad Men hits Sally hard. She’s still a teenager when her mom, Betty, gets lung cancer. Right away, Sally has to step up and deal with things most kids never even think about. She really misses out on a normal, happy childhood.
4. Betty Draper: Symbol of broken dreams
At first, we find Betty as a perfect housewife, beautiful, elegant, and respected in society. But her inner life is completely different. She suffers from mental emptiness, suffers from Don's distrust, and cannot find herself in the rules of society. Her relationship with her children is also distant.
Her most tragic moment comes in the last season when viewers get to know that she has lung cancer. Even in the face of death, Betty does not weaken. Instead, she writes a letter to her children, where her last advice and love as a mother are hidden. Betty's arc in Mad Men proves that, despite success or beauty, the pressure of society can break a woman from the inside.
5. Roger Sterling: Smile covered in loneliness
Roger brings vibrant energy to the office, always making people laugh and ensuring a lively atmosphere. However, beneath his humor lies a deep sense of loneliness. His two marriages ended, and he now struggles with a deteriorating relationship with his daughter.
He also loses his importance within the company over time. Roger feels unnecessary with the rise of a new generation. His loneliness becomes more obvious as he gets older. So his tragedy is that behind the most vibrant mask, he is actually a deeply lonely man.
6. Pete Campbell: The pain of inadequacy
Pete Campbell in Mad Men always tries to prove he’s the best. He pushes himself with ambition and pride, but Don’s charm and talent outshine him every time. Pete’s life gets messier with his secret child, problems with his wife, and nonstop stress at work. All of this wears him down.
He constantly feels that he is not able to achieve what he wants. However, in the last season, his life changed a little. He reunites with Trudy and moves to Wichita for a new job. Still, the audience feels that Pete never got the fulfillment he really wanted.
7. Joan Holloway: Victim of a patriarchal society
Joan stands out as one of the most complicated women in the show. Her looks and intelligence always get attention. Even so, the men at work often treat her like she’s just there for show. The worst moment comes with the Jaguar deal, when they force her to spend a night with a client. She faces tough choices no one should have to make.
In return, she finally becomes a partner in the company. After that, she opens her own agency and works on her own terms. Still, society’s contempt and the old-school, patriarchal attitudes don’t leave her alone. Her story in Mad Men shows that even when a woman seems successful, she often carries pain and struggles that nobody sees.
8. Lane Pryce: The darkness of suicide
Lane Pryce is one of the most heartbreaking characters in Mad Men. This British partner secretly takes an advance from the office due to financial pressure. When he is caught, Don forces her to resign. Shame, failure, and inner breakdown drive him to such a point that he commits suicide inside the office in Season 5.
His death shocked everyone. Lane's story reminds us that failure and loneliness can destroy a person.
9. Megan Draper: The reality of broken dreams
Megan Draper first looked like a bright, vibrant, and ambitious woman who wanted to build an independent life and make her own place in the acting world. But gradually, reality really disappointed her. Her acting career failed, and her relationship with her husband, Don, could not last.
After her separation from Don in Mad Men, her attempts to fulfill her dreams came to a halt. So Megan's arc shows that despite having dreams, reality often stops people.
10. Ken Cosgrove: Dreams vs. reality
Ken Cosgrove was a creative soul outside the office who wrote short stories and dreamed of making his own place in the literary world. But corporate policy and office pressure gradually disappeared from his dreams. Even more tragically, he lost an eye in an accident, which affected her physical and mental state.
A victim of office politics, he eventually had to leave the advertising world and go to another job. Although he survived professionally, his inner artist-soul was forever suppressed. This conflict is the real tragedy of her life.
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Overall, Mad Men shows that success hides inner turmoil, loneliness, and sadness. Don's anonymity, Betty's death, Lane's suicide, Peggy-Joan's sacrifice, and Sally's lost childhood -- all of these prove that there is deep pain hidden behind the outward show. Throughout the seven seasons, every character breaks down but never forgets to fight back. This duality is what has transformed Mad Men from an ordinary series into an epic.
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