Mad Men: 10 Biggest Ways Peggy Olson Changes From Season 1 To The Finale

While the show is named Mad Men, there are several very powerful women within the series as well. One of the stars is Peggy Olson. There’s certainly a case to be made for Peggy being the lead character of the series as well because the show actually follows her complete journey.

While Don Draper is already established in the world of advertising when the show begins, the first episode is Peggy’s first day at the agency. Because of that, the audience is able to watch Peggy becoming an adult, which is very interesting.

Peggy develops as a character during this time as well. She goes through an awful lot, both positive and negative, and it frames her as a new woman by the end. Here are the 10 biggest ways that Peggy changes from the first season to the finale.

10 Her Job Improves

We will kickstart the list with probably the most obvious way that Peggy’s life changes from the start to the finish. Her job drastically improves. When we first see Peggy on the show, she is arriving to be Don’s girl Friday, working out of his office, taking his phone calls, and basically being his receptionist.

However, by the end of the show, she is at the top of the creative team for the agency. She becomes one of the most essential members of the agency and is always given the big clients to work with, proving how important she has become.

9 She Becomes A Mother

Another very obvious change that Peggy goes through is that she becomes a mother. While she ends up giving up the baby, as she isn’t in the right place mentally to look after it, this changes her as a person. Her affair with Pete creates the baby and is also a big reason for her not keeping her child.

This is what effectively brings an end to her relationship with Pete, realizing that she will never be the number one option for him, despite the fact Pete is attracted to her. It’s a major turning point in her character and helps her become much stronger.

8 Stands Up To Joan

While Peggy and Joan always get along well, at the start of Mad Men, Joan clearly believes she is above the new girl and tries to guide her into following the steps she took. However, Peggy wants something very different from Joan and isn’t to go down the same path as her.

While early on Peggy is happy to take the advice from Joan, as the show develops and Peggy starts to become more important in the office she starts learning to actually stand up for herself and argue with Joan. It’s a big step for her and a huge shift in character that really improves her.

7 Becomes Bossy

During the start of the show, Peggy is someone who is willing to do everything and anything that is asked of her. It doesn’t matter if it involves doing tons of work that she doesn’t really need to do, she just gets on with it and doesn’t question things.

However, by the end, she develops into the person who is bossing others around. She has no problem in telling people what to do, including Don himself when he is being punished and is put on her team. She ends up being very assertive, something she needed in a male-dominated world.

6 Stick It To The Man

Speaking of the fact that advertising in Mad Men is dominated by men, that is something that bothers Peggy early on in the show. She struggles to work out how to fit in and often feels that she has to be ‘one of the guys,’ which is why she joins the team in smoking marijuana, for example.

However, she eventually realises that being a woman actually makes her unique, and is a selling point in itself. Rather than being made uncomfortable by clients who simply see women as sex appeal, she powers through, which is something that even the uber-confident Joan struggles with.

5 She Embraces Her Looks

While Peggy doesn’t have the classic model look that people like Betty Draper might be, she is still a beautiful woman. However, she has no confidence in her physical appearance at the start of the series, and that much is clear from how she dresses and her haircut.

Even though Peggy is very unlucky in the love department throughout Mad Men, she does begin to embrace her physical appearance as the show goes on. She starts to dress differently and be more confident with men, proving she believes in her appearance and who she is.

4 No Longer The Protégé

When Peggy takes the step up into becoming a copywriter she is very much Don Draper’s protégé. He is the one who has the belief that Peggy can get the job done and while it is beneficial for her to learn from him, as he is one of the very best, she eventually gets to the point where he isn’t needed.

Peggy proves she is no longer the protégé when she walks away from the agency to go and work with Ted, proving she no longer needs Don’s guidance. It actually turns out it is that he needs her. This is seen in their an emotional goodbye scene, as Peggy steps up and showcases her own talent.

3 She Becomes Don

While Peggy is far more hardworking than Don, there’s no doubt that she ends up basically becoming him as the series goes on. When she finally gets put in a position of power to be in charge of a team, Peggy ends up falling into the same demanding traps as her mentor.

She happily keeps her team working ridiculous hours, despite them having plans, just as Don did to her. While it works for her, it doesn’t always work for others. It’s not exactly a bad thing becoming Don, as he’s very successful, but his personal life does collapse several times.

2 Luck With Love

Throughout Mad Men, Peggy has difficulties finding love. Despite managing to attract plenty of men, things always end up being a lot more complex for her. Whether it’s dating someone who has a totally opposite viewpoint from her own or falling for a married man who makes false promises.

However, by the end of the series, Peggy finally finds her man. He just happens to be Stan, who has been right in front of her the whole time. The two finally get romantic at the very end, and it’s what she deserves.

1 She Becomes Confident

The biggest way that Peggy changes throughout the series is simply that she becomes confident as a person. She embraces the fact she’s one of the most talented people in the world of advertising and takes situations by the scruff of the neck.

While she starts out on the show shy, believing she has to sleep with her boss to climb the ladder, that totally changes. Peggy would never have told someone what to do during the early seasons, yet by the end she is one of the most aggressive characters on the show, proving just how much her self-confidence has risen.

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