This is a mild spoiler if you haven’t seen the season finale of “Mad Men” yet, but Pete Campbell (along with Ted Chaough) is off to cheery California to create magic for his Sunkist account. And the thing is, Los Angeles in the late 1960s was a pretty crazy place to be — sure, you had your peace, your love and your slimy orgies, but there was also a lot of aggressive drug use, a shit ton of societal discontent, and troublesome characters like that pesky Charles Manson fellow.
So, what will become of Pete in L.A.? Here are a few guesses, in visual form.
1. There’s a big conspiracy theory floating around the Internet that Megan Draper is actually a stand-in for Sharon Tate. So what if that means Pete joins the Manson Family? Can’t you just see him scrawling the word “PIG” in someone else’s blood with that smarmy little grin on his face?
2. If he wants to truly embrace West Coast culture, Pete Cambell must take up surfing! And surely, he’ll figure out a way to do it while holding a cocktail in his hands.
3. Guess what? In season 42 of “Mad Men,” I actually learn how to use Photoshop.
4. Can’t you kind of imagine Petey growing so insecure in his masculinity that he becomes a Hells Angel? Especially if it means he gets to wear a bandana to hide his increasingly shrinking hairline.
5. Rumor has it Joni Mitchell actually wrote “Both Sides, Now” about Pete Campbell! (And “Big Yellow Taxi” about Betty Draper.)