13 years later, I still findMad Men’s most tragic death upsetting to watch.Mad Menis a show I regularly revisit for its sleek and elegant 1960s setting, its rich and textured writing, and its memorable characters. From Don Draper (Jon Hamm) to Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) to Roger Sterling (John Slattery),Mad Men’s stylish depiction of Madison Avenue advertising is a window into a lost, and sometimes alien, world.
Lane Pryce’s (Jared Harris) death inMad Menseason 5, episode 12, “Commissions and Fees,” remains harrowing to revisit. From the moment he joinedMad Menin season 3, Lane was a delight. Mr. Pryce’s proper British demeanor entertainingly clashed with his co-workers at Sterling Cooper and later, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Yet despite the rampant alcoholism and other bad behavior exhibited byMad Men’s characters, it was Lane Pryce who died inMad Menby taking his own life.Lane’s death was a tragedy,and Jared Harris’s exit fromMad Menalso noticeably shifted the tone of the series towards its inevitable conclusion.
Lane Hanged Himself In His Office
Lane Pryce hanged himself in his office at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce inMad Men season 5, episode 12, “Commissions and Fees.” Worse, Lane’s suicide came after a previous failed attempt at carbon monoxide poisoning in his new Jaguar, a gift from his wife, Rebecca (Embeth Davidtz).Lane took his own life out of fear and humiliation after Don Draper fired himfrom SCDP.
Don discovered Lane embezzled funds from the agency. Resentful that SCDP’s partners became millionaires while he remained in debt, Lane hoped to temporarily take the money and replace it before anyone noticed. Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) noticed and accused Don. Draper realized it was Lane, and he let Pryce go while allowing him to keep a shred of dignity. Yet Lane was devastated.
Matthew Weiner hasn’t publicly stated why he chose to kill off Lane Pryce inMad Menseason 5, though Jared Harris toldVarietythat"I literally fell off my chair laughing because I knew how clever it was.“It was an amicable exit fromMad Menfor Jared Harris, though no less heart-wrenching for Lane Pryce and for viewers.
Lane Pryce debuted inMad Men’s season 3 premiere, “Out of Town,” as Putnam, Powell, and Lowe’s man at Sterling Cooper, overseeing the agency’s finances for their British owners. Lane quickly became a fan-favorite; Mr. Pryce was keen on New York City, was a reliable steward for the firm when it became Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and he was also a welcome source of fish-out-of-water comedy.
YetLane was also a sad figure; he was lonely because of his unhappy wife, Rebecca, he was an afterthought to his employers, and his abusive father thought him a failure. Mr. Pryce briefly dated a bunny at the Playboy Club, but his attraction to Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) went unrequited. Despite everything Lane sacrificed for SCDP, he never felt appreciated or properly compensated financially.
Lane Pryce’s death in February 1967 was the end of an era forMad Men.FromMad Menseason 6 onwards, a melancholy fell over the series and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce as the 1970s approached.Mad Men’s look and style changed with the onset of the new decade after Lane departed, and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce would lose its own identity, absorbed by McCann Erickson.
