What is Don Draper up to in 1980?

10 years later, is Don Draper still a mess?

I had a few different subscriber post ideas for today and am writing this one on the fly after my Twitter post where I described what all of the characters are doing in 1980, 10 years after the show finale.

As satisfying as the finale was, it still leaves you with the lingering question of “What is next?”

(© AMC)

What career does Sally choose?

Do Pete and Trudy stay together?

Will Roger enjoy retirement?

I’m going to focus on Don Draper and where I think the man behind “I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke” will be 10 years down the line.

In the year 1980, Don Draper is 54 years old and legendary as an advertising genius, though many believe he is nearing the end of that great run. His services have been called upon by Ronald Reagan’s campaign for president and, unlike 20 years ago when he was pitching ideas for Nixon, this campaign is listening to him. Don doesn’t care for Reagan but he knows that he can win. At this point in his career, Don Draper just wants to do work that people notice.

The biggest difference between this Don Draper and the one we knew in the 1960s is that he is sober. Don gave up both drugs and alcohol after hallucinating his dead wife Betty while tripping on quaaludes at a party. While it has helped his appearance to abstain from alcohol, he has grown a bit softer and less chiseled with age.

Don has never married since his divorce from Megan but came close quite a few times. With each attempt, it was the girl who called things off. Finding a beautiful girl to share his bed is no difficult task but he has never found a woman as broken as he is that he would like to keep in that bed. Don has convinced himself that this is fine and that he may never find a woman like that… though he will always keep trying.

Maybe Rumours by Fleetwood Mac would have fixed this man in 1977. (© AMC)

His relationship with his three children is the best it has ever been in part because he does not see them often. Sally (age 26) is working a thankless political job for the Democratic party in NYC with hopes of one day rising up to a diplomat position. Her father going clean from alcohol and drugs helped mend their relationship some but she has still never introduced him to a boy, wanting to keep her past and what she hopes to be her future separate for now. She is in no rush to get married and be like her mother.

Bobby (age 23) lives in California having just graduated from USC’s film program. Don supports him financially and is very proud of his son entering the film industry, he always tells him how he’ll be watching his films on the big screen one day. Bobby is only working entry-level jobs but hopes to follow a career path similar to Spielberg who started out directing TV movies.

Don sees baby Gene (17, not quite a baby) on weekends and spoils him whenever he can. Gene is very different from his siblings who can remember a time when Don and Betty were together.

This Don Draper of 1980 is a healthier but empty man. He has filled his life with work that he is good at but passionless about as he does not care for Reagan. While he outwardly says an actor will make a great President, he inwardly resents it and believes that Reagan comes off as a fake. There is a night when Don and the Reagan campaign staff watch the infamous Bedtime for Bonzo (1951) film Reagan made with a chimpanzee and everyone is laughing. Everyone except for Don Draper.