One of the defining series of television’s golden era through the 2000s and 2010s, Mad Men has had a great many episodes enshrined as legendary installments of the small screen medium. Taking place throughout the 1960s, it follows the journey of advertising man Don Draper (Jon Hamm), focusing on his personal and professional lives while also exploring the social evolution of the decade and the impact such changes had.
While episodes like “The Suitcase” and “The Wheel” have become iconic, there is a plethora of brilliant Mad Men episodes that haven’t received quite the same widespread praise yet are deserving of it. From specific, character-driven chapters to ensemble epics, the following 10 episodes could arguably be considetred most underrated of the series.
Mad Men
- Release Date
- July 19, 2007
- Seasons
- 7
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Studio
- AMC
10 “Out of Town” (2009)
Season 3, Episode 1
A hallmark of Mad Men was its typically brilliant season premieres and finales. However, a somewhat undervalued episode in this regard comes in the form of the Season 3 premiere, “Out of Town.” As Sterling Cooper is forced to let go of employees, Don goes on a business trip with Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt), on which he learns an inflammatory secret about his co-worker. Additionally, Pete Campbell (Vincent Katheiser) and Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) are made co-heads of accounts.
The episode strikes a powerful, poignant note in the interactions between Don and Sal, with Don able to sympathize with the secret life that his colleague must live given his own lie. Mad Men is brilliant at conjuring parallels between its characters and the issues they must face as individuals, and “Out of Town” is one of the most apparent examples of just that. Add in Pete’s discontent about having to share his promotion, and the season three premiere is a hugely underrated opening to one of Mad Men’s best seasons.
9 “The Crash” (2013)
Season 6, Episode 8
Mad Men was always willing to get creative with the narrative of its episodes, whether it entailed voice-over narration or even non-linear storytelling. “The Crash” is an excellent example of this ambitious experimentation as it follows three distinct stories. Over the course of a weekend, Don Draper and the creative department embark on a drug-fueled weekend of work as they try to come up with a pitch for Chevrolet, while Sally (Kiernan Shipka) is forced to babysit her younger brothers at Don’s apartment. Meanwhile, through flashbacks, Don’s adolescence in the Great Depression is explored as well.
While memorable for its unconventionality and its depiction of the characters on drugs, “The Crash” was met with mostly mixed to negative reviews upon release, with the flashback sequences drawing strong criticism. However, it’s focus on the all-consuming and obsessive pursuit of perfection as the drug-addled mind of Sterling Cooper works fruitlessly on the campaign marks a high point of the series’ eagerness to embrace offbeat ideas that skew away from Mad Men’s usual formula.
8 “The Summer Man” (2010)
Season 4, Episode 8
Bestowed with the unenviable task of having to follow up “The Suitcase,” it is no surprise that season four’s “The Summer Man” has become an underrated episode of Mad Men. It offers one of the most intrinsic looks into the psyche of Don Draper, with the episode’s central focus on his attempts to regain some control over his life by journaling. With Draper’s journal serving as a voice-over narration of sorts, “The Summer Man” flaunts the series’ penchant for brilliant writing and features some of Don Draper’s greatest quotes.
Additional plots follow Peggy (Elizabeth Moss) and Joan (Christina Hendricks) clashing over how to handle a misogynistic copywriter, and family squabbling concerning Don’s son’s birthday party. While some were dismissive of the episode’s use of voice-over, it stands as an intriguing narrative decision given it is the only episode in which it was used. “The Summer Man” spreads its focus across many characters and active plots to be an ambitious, vibrant, and richly rewarding installment of the series.
7 “Mystery Date” (2012)
Season 5, Episode 4
One of the glories of Mad Men’s historical setting comes in the form of the series’ ability to draw on real events and implement them into the story to gauge how different people reacted in real life. “Mystery Date” does this to perfection, employing mention of the Richard Speck mass murder of eight nursing students to paint the misogyny of the 60s – in the context of the show – in a more grueling and potent light.
While different people in the office and in Draper’s life have vastly different reactions to the horrific killings, Don finds himself being plagued by a woman from his past as he battles illness. An excellent episode for the women in the series, it sees Peggy, Dawn (Teyonah Parris), Joan, and Sally occupy the screen with excellent presence. Rife with self-realizations and a festering paranoia, “Mystery Date” is a unique, powerful, and criminally underrated Mad Men episode.
6 “Three Sundays” (2008)
Season 2, Episode 4
A busy episode, if not the most eventful one, “Three Sundays” eschews many of the characters’ usual hectic work lives in favor of a more simplistic, everyday focus. Peggy forms a friendship with a new priest at her family’s church, the Draper’s decide to stay home for the weekend and clash over how to instill discipline in their young son, and Sterling Cooper is rocked by the loss of a potential client.
With its more serene, slice-of-life progression, “Three Sundays” offers up plenty of excellent character moments outside their work, with Peggy’s inner turmoil and Roger Sterling’s (John Slattery) yearning for his old ways integral elements of the episode. Granted, it doesn’t feature the frenetic slickness of Mad Men’s greatest and most defining episodes, but “Three Sundays” presents a refined change of pace and is underrated for its approach and its execution.
5 “Lost Horizon” (2014)
Season 7, Episode 12
Delightfully for fans of the series, Mad Men’s overall series finale, “Person to Person,” delivers a superb climax to the show that is richly rewarding. The only real flaw of it being so brilliant is the series’ excellent third-last episode, “Lost Horizon,” has been somewhat forgotten. With the Sterling Cooper team transitioning into McCann Erickson, it tracks the difficulties many of the characters face. Peggy and Joan yet again face sexism in the workplace, Roger Sterling holds off on making a big decision, and a spiritually lost Don goes AWOL.
Despite being major characters throughout the series, “Lost Horizon” is imbued with a sense of energy by tracking the largely unexplored dynamic between Peggy and Roger, with each character at polar opposite points in their careers. Ending with Peggy marching into her new office and a drifting Draper picking up a hitchhiker, the episode signified that Mad Men was truly coming to an end, and it did a fantastic job at depicting it.
4 “Marriage of Figaro” (2007)
Season 1, Episode 3
The entirety of Mad Men revolved around the enigmatic identity of Don Draper, also known as Dick Whitman. In just the third episode of the series, this topic was explored in great depth in what is one of the most underrated episodes of the entire series. “Marriage of Figaro” begins with his mysterious past being touched on when he is recognized as Dick Whitman on the train and sheepishly avoids giving too much information about where he is now.
The episode also thrives with its other threads that include Pete Campbell’s return from his honeymoon, Don getting closer to Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff), and neighborhood posturing surrounding Sally Draper’s birthday party. It is an excellent episode for character development, particularly early in the series, and ensures that season one is able to maintain the engrossing momentum it began with.
3 “The Beautiful Girls” (2010)
Season 4, Episode 9
A critically lauded episode that should probably be heralded among the very best that Mad Men presented, “The Beautiful Girls” was loaded with pivotal character moments for Don Draper and the women in his life. It primarily focuses on Don’s blooming romance with Faye Miller (Cara Buono) and his tested relationship with his daughter Sally, who runs away from home and surprises Don when she arrives at his office.
The episode earned high praise for giving several women of the series the limelight and addressing the issues they faced, a point emphasized by the issues Peggy is confronted with concerning discrimination and degrees of prejudice in 1960s America. Ending with a brilliant and thematically loaded shot of Faye, Peggy, and Joan walking into the elevator together, “The Beautiful Girls” is a thought-provoking and underrated example of Mad Men’s eagerness to mesh social issues with excellent storytelling and complex characters.
2 “The Hobo Code” (2007)
Season 1, Episode 8
Underrated in the context of some of Season 1’s incredible achievements, “The Hobo Code” is a landmark episode for some of the series’ major characters. Most notably in this regard, it sees Peggy Olson initiate her character arc as a copywriter with her work on the Belle Jolie meeting, a celebrated promotion that sours for her when she is confronted by the misogyny she will face as a snide Pete Campbell rudely rejects her invitation for a dance.
Additionally, “The Hobo Code” also features an intriguing flashback to Don Draper’s childhood when a homeless wanderer sought refuge with the Drapers. In the present day, Don parties with beatniks as he realizes his pursuit of Midge (Rosemarie DeWitt) will come to nothing. Magnificently written, perfectly acted, and rich with stylistic polish as well as emotional depth, “The Hobo Code” is Mad Men at its very best, even if it isn’t quite as lauded as some of the series’ other celebrated episodes.
1 “At the Codfish Ball”
Season 5, Episode 7
A breathtaking episode that, quite mysteriously, hasn’t become as iconic as some of Mad Men’s other great episodes, “At the Codfish Ball” follows the events surrounding Don Draper’s celebratory banquet hosted by the American Cancer Society. As Don’s extended family eagerly anticipate the event, new bonds are forged and partnerships schemed as the advertising executives of Sterling Cooper view the night as an opportunity to meet clients and strengthen old ties.
The episode is perfectly bittersweet for all the characters, with every single one experiencing a high that is soon cut down, culminating in an astonishing moment where they all sit around their table at the celebration stunned and crestfallen. It is an awe-inspiring feat of writing, with the episode’s ability to analyze many of its events through the childish eyes of Sally Draper making its happenings and twists all the more effective. It is a glimmering gem of Mad Men’s fifth season, and an underrated masterpiece of the series at large.
All seasons of Mad Men can be streamed on AMC Plus.
