What makes Mad Men such an amazing show are its characters. And no other character is as funny, annoying, and relatable as Pete Campbell. He wanted desperately to succeed in life, so he did everything he thought he was supposed to do to achieve that. He married a girl from a wealthy family and got a job at a reputable advertising agency. None of these triumphs made Pete particularly happy, though.
With each and every season, Pete was growing exponentially unhappy without ever knowing why exactly he felt that way. His arduous journey of transformation was filled with loss and grief. Luckily, he eventually realized what matters to him and got another chance at happiness in the end.
Season 1: Pete Was Not Ready To Get Married
Season 1 was filled with moments that made fans absolutely despise Pete. When the show began, Pete was in his late 20s and just about to get married. His personality was insufferable. On the one hand, he was full of himself, but on the other, he was clearly craving approval from authority figures, such as Don.
To make himself feel better, he decided to go after Peggy, Don's new secretary. Their little love affair was among the show's most questionable dating choices.
Season 1: Married Life
There was no doubt that Pete found a good match in Trudy. She had a great personality and came from a good family. Sadly, Pete didn't really seem to care about her, though.
This was made clear in the middle of season 1 when he replaced a chip and dip set for a rifle. The incident showed just how careless and shameless Pete truly was. He was growing less and less sympathetic with every passing episode.
Season 2: The Death Of His Father & Project Baby
In season 2, Pete had to overcome some hardships in his personal life. First, his father died in "Flight 1" and he didn't know how to cope with the sudden loss. It was as if he was completely cut off from his emotions. Pete faced another challenge in his family. Trudy wanted to have a baby, but couldn't conceive. Things only got worse when his mother criticized the idea of adoption as she wanted to keep the family's bloodline intact.
Completely lost, Pete sought solace in Peggy. She told him that she gave birth to his baby and gave him up for adoption. "I could have shamed you into being with me," she told him and left him alone to wallow in pain.
Season 3: Pete The Cheater
Season 3 was not as eventful for Pete as season 2. He still lived in the city with Trudy. In "Souvenir", he seduced his neighbor Gudrun, a German au pair, while his wife was away.
Pete was also unfulfilled in his career. He was bitter about Ken Cosgrove being promoted over him, but his luck turned around in the season finale when he was one of the few lucky people who were recruited to work for Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Season 4: Things Are Looking Up, But Pete Is Still Miserable
In 1965, Trudy finally got pregnant and eventually gave birth to a baby girl. Pete heard the happy news from his father-in-law and seemed genuinely thrilled.
As far as work was concerned, Pete was still not enjoying as much reputation as he would've liked. The partners told him that he had to let his father-in-law know that they are dropping Clearasil, much to Pete's dismay. At the end of the season, Ted Chaough started buttering Pete up in hopes to recruit him at his company, CGC.
Season 5: Pete Reaches New Lows
In season 5, Pete and Trudy moved to the suburbs and Pete absolutely hated it. If there's anything to learn from Pete's story, it's that one should do what they personally want rather than conform to the status quo.
One of the best Pete episodes was "Signal 30" in which the Campbells host a dinner party and Pete is continuously humiliated. First, Don fixed the sink in his house. Pete then got into a physical altercation with Lane who punched him in the nose. It was clear that Campbell was having some sort of an identity crisis.
Season 5: His Affair With Beth
While Trudy certainly didn't deserve to be cheated on, it wasn't hard to feel sorry for Pete in season 5. The lonely and bitter young man shared a night with Beth, a stranger he met at the train station. Pete didn't want to let her go, even though it was clear that there was no future there worth pursuing. What's even more tragic, Beth eventually underwent electroshock therapy and forgot who Pete was.
Pete was living somewhat of a double life. He kept appearances at work and at home but didn't share his true feelings and opinions with anybody. The truth was, nobody seemed to care enough to stop and ask him about it.
Season 6: Pete Starts To Pay For His Mistakes
Pete would have remained unlikable until the very end if the truth never caught up with him. In season 6, he continued being a lousy husband and an unhappy worker. In his pastime, he visited the brothel where he ran into his father-in-law. He was cornered and Trudy finally found out about his transgressions. She didn't put up with it, either. She kicked him out instead.
Pete suffered yet another blow: his mother fell off a cruise ship, never to be found again. With nothing holding him back, Pete decided to move to LA and turn a new leaf in his life.
Season 7: Pete Is Living It Up In California
The Californian sun did wonders for Pete. He didn't seem as miserable and lost for a change. He briefly dated Bonnie, but their little romance came to a sudden end when they visited New York together. Pete looked more confident and collected than ever before.
Pete didn't want Bonnie to meet his daughter, Tammy, even though Bonnie clearly wanted to. She even bought the little girl a Barbie doll. They got in a fight and Bonnie went back to the West Coast without Pete. At the same time, Pete finally started to realize what really matters in life and he went after it.
Season 7: Pete Gets His Happily Ever After
At the end of Mad Men, Pete Campbell finally won at life. Trudy gave their marriage another chance. Despite their numerous ups and downs, these two had one of the most successful relationships on Mad Men. Duck Phillips offered Pete a new job. Together with his family, he moved to Wichita to work for Learjet.
Pete started out as an obnoxious man who would give his right arm just to be successful and admired, thinking that would make him happy. He had to lose everything to come to understand what actually matters in a person's life. It's family and a sense of belonging - not advertising and stacks of cash.