How Peggy Olson Has Officially Turned Into Don Draper On 'Mad Men' (GIFS)

WATCH YOUR BACK, DON

"Mad Men" has gone from a subtle, slow-burning series to a hit-you-over-the-head drama (that's still pretty slow) this season, but no parallel is more blatantly obvious than Peggy Olson's (Elisabeth Moss) transformation into her old boss and mentor Don Draper (Jon Hamm).

Before Season 6 debuted, Moss told The Huffington Post that Don's "the only example that she's ever had of a boss -- that's her mentor. That’s who she's looked up to, so she thinks that's what you're supposed to do and she thinks that's how you're supposed to manage." She added, "I'm interested for the audience to see whether or not that works for her, because she's not Don. She has much more heart, and that's what makes her better than Don honestly, and that's what Don actually loves about her."

But this week's episode, "To Have and to Hold," found the former confidants going head-to-head for the Heinz catsup ketchup account and Don's eavesdropping on Peggy's big pitch proved that she has officially turned into him, for better or worse.

"If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation." Yes, we've heard almost those words before ... but not from Peggy. iI Season 3, Episode 2, "Love Among the Ruins," Don gave that same pep talk to the hesitant rep from Madison Square Garden, who was battling protestors (and one-time Sterling Cooper employee Paul Kinsey) that were against their plans to tear down Penn Station.


(gifs courtesy of: oh-whiskers)

But that's not the only sign that Peggy's gone to the dark Draper side. Underneath her plucky exterior lies a feisty pitchwoman with the increasingly obvious ability to sway clients into seeing she's right, as she did in the season opener with Koss headphones. She found a way around their ad issues with an early "Mad Men" Draper-like epiphany. (It should be noted that Don was not able to do the same with Sheraton in the premiere -- maybe Peggy took his mojo when she left SCDP?)

There's also somewhat of a tyrant boss in Peggy, just waiting for the right opportunity to haze her underlings the way she was once hazed, which was on display in the Season 6 premiere as well. If she starts screaming at them about what the money's for, "Mad Men" might just enter a parallel universe.


(courtesy of GIFsections)

Peggy, once a straight-laced good girl, now has no problem partaking in the popular stress-relieving substances of the time. While Don is rarely seen without a stiff drink in hand, no matter the occasion, he's also let his slicked hair down to smoke weed with his Season 1 fling Midge (Rosemarie DeWitt) and her beatnik friends, then again in the Season 6 opener with wife Megan in Hawaii and again in "To Have and To Hold."


(image courtesy of AMC)

As the series has gone on, Peggy has learned to let loose with the help of booze and weed as well, both in her personal life and at work.


(gifs courtesy of: oh-whiskers)


(gif courtesy of kitteninspaghetti)


(Gif courtesy of rubandesoleil)

Is it only a matter of time before Peggy joins the sexual revolution (hey, if Joan is doing it ... ) and steps out on her live-in love Abe? She has been rather flirtatious with Stan this season. Maybe his animosity over losing the Heinz ketchup account to his confidante will heat things up between them. Just know that if it does, we'll be waiting for the side-by-side cheating gifs, Internet! Thank you in advance.

What do you think, "Mad Men" fans: Has Peggy turned into Don? Watch the full Heinz scene below.

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"Mad Men" airs on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on AMC.

Don and Peggy

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