‘Mad Men’ returned for its fifth season last month, and executive producer Matthew Weiner seems more interested than ever in exploring how his female characters cope with the myriad of personal and professional challenges American women faced in the 1960s.

From race and employment, to marriage and motherhood, the women of ‘Mad Men’ are in increasingly independent positions, while some male characters are struggling just to stay relevant. Here is how the series’ three principal female characters are faring this season:

Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss): Peggy entered the advertising firm of Sterling Cooper in the first episode of ‘Mad Men’ as the naive secretary who soon worked her way up to a Junior Copywriter position, forcing her to contend more bluntly with the patronizing attitudes of her male colleagues and clients.

At the end of Season 3, Peggy was one of only two women at the agency to transfer over to the new Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce agency, and in last Sunday’s episode she bartered with founding partner Roger Sterling in a remarkable show of power play:

Roger: What do you make a week, sweetheart?

Peggy: You don’t know, huh? That’s helpful.

Roger: You know, I could fire you… Fine, how much you want?

Peggy: How much you got?

Roger: $400.

Peggy: Give me all of it.

Roger: Jesus! You better be good.

Peggy: Do you want me to take your watch?

Roger’s desperate bargaining with a female subordinate several decades his junior is indicative of the power and importance Peggy is gradually beginning to wield in her professional life.

Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks): Joan can be described of something as a ‘Queen Bee,’ as she mediates between the workers and the partners while confidently exhibiting her sexuality in her role as Office Manager. This would explain why she has been frequently frustrated with Peggy, initially when she was a meek secretary, and later when she ascended the career ranks so swiftly.

Late last season, Joan discovered that she was pregnant and has been on maternity leave through the first four episodes of the season. Joan initially feared that motherhood meant the end of her career at the agency, but this was put to rest when she was told that they “couldn’t operate a parking meter” without her.

Yet, it was in Sunday’s episode that Joan’s development took a significant turn: after finding out that her husband Greg, a soldier newly returned from overseas, had volunteered to re-enlist after being away for over a year, she told him that their marriage was over and finally confronted him about being raped by him in Season 2:

Joan: I’m glad the Army makes you feel like a man, because I’m sick of trying to do it.

Greg: The Army makes me feel like a good man.

Joan: You’re not a good man. You never were, even before we were married, and you know what I’m talking about.

At this, Greg left and the series will now move forward with Joan as a single, working mother – a situation wholly unique in the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce offices of 1966.

Betty Francis (January Jones): During the first three seasons of ‘Mad Men’, Betty was the archetypal unhappy suburban housewife of the 1960s. She repressed her unhappiness about having no life outside of the domestic sphere, and represented the antithesis to Peggy, a woman who gave away her own baby in order to secure her independence and career opportunities.

After separating from Don Draper at the end of Season 3, Betty remarried in the hopes of leading a happier life. However, when Season 5 began, Betty was shown to have undergone a significant weight gain and asked for diet pills from her doctor:

Dr. Horton: Mrs. Francis, when a housewife has rapid weight gain, the cause is usually psychological. Unhappiness, anxiety, boredom, things that cause us to lose our self-control.

The doctor lists all of the issues which have plagued Betty since the series began, revealing that trading one husband for another has not led to her becoming either a fulfilled or secure woman.

‘Mad Men’ features several other female characters, and this season has seen the introduction of Teyonah Parris, as the agency’s first African-American employee.

However, it is these three women who serve as the principal female figures on their series: Peggy, who represents independence and ambition; Betty, who represents domestic isolation; and Joan, who represents somewhat a combination of the two as she strives to meld motherhood and her career. Their development will undoubtedly continue to play a key aspect of the series in this season and beyond.

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AMC’s smash hit zombie thriller ‘The Walking Dead’ will conclude its second season this Sunday with a dramatic episode set to deal with the fallout from last week’s cliffhanger.

In the most recent episode, “Better Angels”, Shane (Jon Bernthal) was killed off before immediately reanimating as a zombie without coming into contact with one – which the series had previously intimated was the sole way of transforming into one. This has led fans to ponder if all of the surviving characters are already infected with the deadly condition that has being driving the series’ main storylines since its very first episode, and an answer is expected to be given in this Sunday’s episode.

As for the other cliffhanger from the March 11 episode, the last scene showed dozens of zombies making their way toward the farm where the characters have been staying for the majority of this season, setting up a probable confrontation and potential character deaths in the much-hyed season ender.

Jon Bernthal’s exit from the series last week, when his character Shane was killed during a confrontation with Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) came as little surprise to fans of the comic book series on which the television is based, as Shane was originally killed off much earlier in the story.

For fans of the television series who were unaware of the narrative timeline in the comic books, Shane’s death also came as a relatively minor shock, following the announcement in January that Bernthal was set to join the cast of ‘L.A. Noir’, a new series from Frank Darabont, who was in fact ‘The Walking Dead”s original show-runner until disagreements with the network led to his departure from the series last summer.

As for the remaining actors on the series, there have been no announcements about any of them joining new television projects, leaving the fates of their characters in this week’s finale unknown. However, the death of Bernthal’s character came just one episode after the death of fellow original cast member Jeffrey DeMunn’s character Dale, leading fans to speculate that the season finale could mark the most severe loss of life yet.

‘The Walking Dead’ already centred its mid-season finale around the revelation that the series’ youngest survivor from the pilot – Sophia, played by Madison Lintz – had died and transformed into a zombie, forcing group leader Rick to execute her in front of her mother Carol.

The relatively high number of on-screen deaths in recent week has been welcomed by some fans, after the first half of the season was criticised for being too slow-paced and lacking any particularly gripping storylines.

In spite of these criticisms, ‘The Walking Dead’ has continued to perform well in the ratings, maintaining its status as AMC’s number one program. Season-to-date, ‘The Walking Dead’ has averaged 6.7 million viewers per week over its 12 airings, up more than 20% compared to the 5.2 million average it received for its 6-episode first season. AMC has has given the series a vote of confidence by renewing it for a 16-episode third season.

This increased episode order makes ‘The Walking Dead’ one of only two series on AMC, the other being ‘Breaking Bad’, to go beyond the network’s standard 13-episode order, a standard still in place for ‘The Killing’ and its Emmy-favourite veteran ‘Mad Men’, which will take over ‘The Walking Dead”s time-slot when it returns for its fifth season on March 25.

As for whether ‘The Walking Dead’ will end its season on a cliffhanger or hint at what the characters will face in the future, fans have only a few more days left to wait and see.

Image Courtesy of    https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkingDeadAMC

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Banana Republic, the brand focused on workplace style, and AMC are proud to announce an encore installment to the acclaimed Banana Republic ‘Mad Men’ capsule, which launches exclusively at Banana Republic North America retail locations and online at bananarepublic’s website beginning March 1, 2012, building up to the season five premiere of “Mad Men” on AMC on Sunday, March 25 at 9:00 p.m. EDT/CDT.

In response to consumer demand following the strong debut of the Banana Republic ‘Mad Men’ collection in August 2011, the Banana Republic ‘Mad Men’ spring capsule returns, offering fans a fresh twist on the 1960′s era polish and panache, taking inspiration from country club scenes featured in the Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning “Mad Men” series.

Designed by Banana Republic in collaboration with Emmy Award-winning “Mad Men” Costume Designer Janie Bryant, the collection features more than 40 pieces of apparel and jewelry for men and women and embodies the style tenets of the time, including polished sportswear and chic essentials.

Set through the Banana Republic lens of must-have versatile work wear with style, the Banana Republic ‘Mad Men’ collection offers a fresh twist of stylish modernity to the “Mad Men” aesthetic.

“It’s been a fantastic experience working with Janie again on this new spring capsule,” says Simon Kneen, creative director, Banana Republic. “We continually find fresh ways to reimagine stylish work wear for our customers,” says Kneen. “Spring delivers a whole new palette and gave us an excuse to draw from different scenes and wardrobe from the show as inspiration.

Janie’s perspective was invaluable in helping us create a collection that is both chic and modern, while remaining true to the aesthetic of the 1960s era.” The menswear collection features dapper dressing separates, including bright polos, bold checked woven shirts, argyle vests, and a sporty spring-weight navy blazer – sharp for the board room or the club lounge.

The women’s collection offers ladylike pieces in brights and bolds, like sophisticated dresses in graphic florals and solids – including a cap-sleeve dress with reversible waist sash in lush cream and a cheery pink nip-waist dress – cardigans and feminine lace shell blouses and chic coral cropped capris. Accents of versatile statement jewelry accessorize the looks perfectly from desk to dinner.

“It was incredible to see the extraordinary reaction to the first Banana Republic ‘Mad Men’ capsule. I couldn’t wait to work with Simon and his team to help inspire the new spring collection,” says Bryant. “Drawing inspiration from some of my favorite spring pieces from the series, we’ve given fans the tools to create their own looks, just like their favorite ‘Mad Men’ characters – taking you from the office to country club and everywhere in between.”

Banana Republic and AMC will celebrate the launch of the collection with two special access events. Customers and fans can visit Banana Republic’s Facebook page and AMC’s Mad Men website for details, and are encouraged to join the conversation on Twitter using #BRMadMen.

The capsule is featured in Banana Republic’s March advertising campaign, which will appear in print, outdoor, online, direct mail and in store. In addition, Banana Republic cardholders gain early access to a pre-sale of the full collection at 5:00 p.m. on February 29, 2012 before doors open to the public at 6:00 p.m.

NataliaYeromina / Shutterstock.com

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