Honestly, if you want to start a fight in a room full of Mad Men fans, you don't bring up Don’s drinking or Peggy’s ambition. You bring up Megan.
Specifically, you bring up the moment she walked into that surprise 40th birthday party, wearing a black minidress that was basically two pieces of lace held together by prayer, and started singing "Zou Bisou Bisou." Some people saw a vibrant, modern woman trying to bring joy to her husband. Others saw a cringey, attention-seeking child who didn't understand the man she married.
Megan Draper was never just a character. She was a Rorschach test for the 1960s.
The Secretary Who Broke the Pattern
When we first met Megan Calvet in Season 4, she was just "the girl at the desk." She was quiet. Polished. Efficient. After the icy, tragic brilliance of Betty Draper, Megan felt like a soft place for Don to land. Remember the trip to California at the end of Season 4? The "Tomorrowland" episode?
Don watches her with his kids, Sally and Bobby, after they spill a milkshake in a diner. Most women in Don’s life—especially Betty—would have had a breakdown. Megan just laughs. She cleans it up. She tells them it’s okay. In that moment, Don doesn't just fall in love; he finds an escape from his own darkness.
But here is what most people miss: Megan wasn't just a "better Betty." She was a blank slate that Don projected his hopes onto. He thought he was buying a ticket back to innocence. He was actually just marrying a girl who was way more complicated than he gave her credit for.
Why Megan Draper Was the Most Polarizing Character on TV
Let’s talk about the "Zou Bisou Bisou" of it all. It’s iconic now. Jessica Paré actually hit the Billboard charts with that cover. But inside the show, that scene is a train wreck.
👉 See also: That Anime Washing Machine Exploding Clip Is Wild, But Here Is What Is Actually Happening
Don hates being the center of attention. He hates his age. He hates being seen. Megan, being a creature of the late 60s, thinks "the personal is political" and that sharing your feelings (and your talent) is the ultimate gift.
The disconnect was brutal.
People hated her for it. They called her annoying. They said she was a "social climber" or a "gold digger." But if you look at the facts of the show, Megan was actually one of the most hardworking people at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. She was a natural at copywriting. She saved the Heinz account at dinner when Don was faltering.
She could have been the next Peggy Olson. Instead, she chose acting.
The Career Pivot That Changed Everything
When Megan decided to leave advertising to pursue acting, it wasn't just a plot point. It was the death knell for her marriage. Don loved the idea of Megan the Copywriter because she was under his thumb. He could see her all day. He could control her narrative.
Megan the Actress? She belonged to the world.
The shift in her character during the later seasons is jarring. She goes from the "von Trapp" angel to a woman who is deeply, visibly unhappy. She moves to Los Angeles. She gets a role on a soap opera. She starts wearing her hair in those massive, late-60s styles and living in a house in the hills where coyotes howl in the background.
It’s spooky. It’s jaded. It’s a far cry from the girl who sang in her living room.
The Tragic Parallel to Betty
There is a very specific theory among fans that Megan Draper eventually became exactly what she feared: another version of Betty.
Think about it.
- The Smoking: In Season 5, Megan coughs when Don lights up. By Season 7, she’s a chimney.
- The Kids: She starts as the "cool stepmom" but ends up resentful, snapping at Sally and seeing the children as a burden that ties her to a man she no longer trusts.
- The Bitterness: Her final scene with Don, where she takes the million-dollar check, is cold. It’s transactional.
She realized that "loving Don Draper" was a full-time job that paid well but cost you your soul. When she tells him, "You don't know how lucky you are," she isn't talking about his money. She’s talking about the fact that he gets to move on while she has to live with the wreckage of the years she gave him.
What Megan Taught Us About the 60s
The show used Megan to represent the "Youth Quake." She was the Rolling Stones to Betty’s Frank Sinatra. She was the miniskirt in a world of girdles.
But Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner was never that simple. He showed that even the "new" woman of the 60s could be trapped by the same old power dynamics. Megan thought she was free because she could wear pants and work. She found out that as long as she was "Mrs. Draper," she was just another piece of furniture in Don’s office.
Actionable Takeaways for the Mad Men Obsessed
If you’re doing a rewatch or just diving into the lore, keep these things in mind to see Megan in a new light:
- Watch her eyes during the Heinz dinner. She isn't just being a "good wife." She is actively out-maneuvering Don. She was a shark in a Chanel suit.
- Look at the "Sharon Tate" parallels. Fans once thought Megan would be murdered because of her red star t-shirt (a nod to a Roman Polanski shoot). While she didn't die, her innocence did. The L.A. years are a slow-motion funeral for the girl she used to be.
- Notice the French-Canadian details. Megan’s heritage wasn't just flavor. It gave her a perspective that was "outside" the American dream, making her the only person who could truly see through Don’s facade.
Megan Draper wasn't a villain, and she wasn't a saint. She was a young woman who mistook a mid-life crisis for a soulmate. By the time the credits rolled on the series, she was $1 million richer, but you can see it in her face—the cost was way higher than the price of the check.