How do you make alcoholism a pertinent topic on a show where everyone always has a drink in their hand? That question had to be going through the writers heads whenever they wrote about Freddy Rumsen. The old man was always a little more drunk than the rest of the team, but we liked him because he fought for Peggy’s chance to write copy. Right before he is supposed to pitch a new ad campaign to Samsonite, Freddy passes out in his office and pisses himself. Everyone stumbles around as if all of them just landed in a screwball comedy from the 1940s before Peggy steps up and plays "His Girl Friday" to save the day. This kind of tragicomic moment is what Mad Men excels at, and though it stinks to see Freddy go, it opens the door for Peggy to shine.
