Entertainment

'Mad Men' Season 7 Prediction

by Caroline Pate

It's no secret that Mad Men's protagonist, Don Draper, likes a drink every now and again...and again...and again. Occasionally, the show will shine a light on his drinking problem, but very rarely does it lay out just how bad it is so clearly. But detox.net, a website resource for drug and alcohol detoxes, has created an infographic, called "Drunk Like Don Draper," to elucidate just that.

And if numbers truly don't lie, then Don has a really serious problem. In Season 6 alone, he consumed 52 drinks on screen. But based on the amount of whiskey on the rocks he drinks, he has at least three drinks a day. So it seems that Don Draper may be more than just a stoic anti-hero: he's also a high functioning alcoholic.

But when will it catch up with him? The infographic outlines some of the troubles alcohol got him into in Season 6: vomiting at a funeral, having an affair, almost drowning in a pool, punching a minister and being thrown in jail, missing picking up his children. And in the first half of Season 7, he is in an even more precarious position. His drinking habits are part crux to his return to work, and much of the reason that his job is in danger.

Which poses the question: how will Don deal with this demon in the last half of Season 7? We've seen Don try to curb his drinking before to no avail. But will Don finally face his alcoholism head on and try to get help, or will he succumb to it? Mad Men is, after all, a show about the changing American landscape, and the work culture that welcomes a constant flow of cocktails is a dying animal. Don's drinking habits are only going to become less and less socially acceptable, and it seems the consequences his drinking create will only multiply. "Drunk Like Don Draper" lays out some of this health risks if Don continues his habits: an increased chance of dementia, depression, stroke, neuropathy, heart and liver disease, as well as a staggeringly high mortality rate. So the question for Season 7 is: will Don finally recognize he has a serious drinking problem, or will it be his undoing?

Images: AMC