Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Last Man on Earth's Season 3 premiere. Don't be such a turd. Go watch it.
In its first two seasons, The Last Man on Earth put together some of the most unpredictable and spontaneously dark twists in primetime TV, which isn't something that network comedies are known for. In its Season 3 premiere "General Breast Theme with Cobras," the show had a get-a-drink-and-you'll-miss-it connection to one of the most acclaimed dramas of all time. The always fab Jon Hamm had a surprise cameo that was brought to a quick halt by his former Mad Men co-star January Jones in a manner that brought some poetic justice for their characters' time on that show.
Viewers will recall that the Last Man Season 2 finale ended with the gang (now without Jason Sudeikis' Mike) going all wide-eyed after seeing Mark Boone Junior's ocean-faring Pat arriving with two men in protective suits. Their immediate and cacophonous panic was punctuated by a shotgun blast, as Jones' Melissa comes out of nowhere and blasts one of the mystery men in the gut. It turns out it was Hamm under the mask as Darrell, a character who may not have been a dangerous or evil guy (assuming he was telling the truth), but one that would unwittingly pay the price for the actions of Don Draper.
In those early years of Mad Men, Don was married to Betty Draper, played by January Jones, and it would be putting it mildly to call him a ho-banging piece of shit in those years, as he wasn't one to keep it in the pants. On Mad Men, Betty got her "revenge" by leaving and divorcing him and taking the kids, but things took another bad turn for her when she found out she was dying. And now, decades after the fictional timeline and just a little over a year after the AMC drama ended, Betty's spirit can finally rest.
But poor Darrell, though, right?
This moment in the premiere actually capitalizes on the bit in Season 2 when January Jones is rocking a shotgun to blast that drone apart, which Mad Men fans delighted in, given Betty Draper's own gun stance. All Melissa was missing was a cigarette. Who'd have thought the comedy would result in a bigger and better Mad Men callback?
The Last Man on Earth will presumably continue to show us just how fib-ulous the show's title is by introducing other mysterious characters from the outside world, and it will do it on Fox every Sunday night. To see when everything else is coming around soon, check out our fall premiere schedule.
