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Is Megan Draper Fated to Die?

A lot of the fun in watching a series like Mad Men, which is so protected and practically spoiler free, is the speculation that it inspires in its loyal viewers. As the latest season has progressed, more and more fan-generated theories have emerged in the Internet. From plausible theories like Bob Benson’s homosexuality to absolutely absurd speculation, i.e. Bob Benson is actually Bobby Draper from the future traveling back in time to work in his dad’s old agency. Last night’s Mad Men may have confirmed one of the many conspiracy theories floating around about the inscrutable new character, Bob Benson (he might be gay), but many potential theories are still up in the air, and with two episodes left in the season, some of them might actually be proven correct. 

One of the most common theories making its way through various message boards and blogs is speculation about Megan Draper's death. It all started with a t-shirt. When Megan wore a simple red starred logo t-shirt in one episodes the chatter began as fans pointed out a Sharon Tate photo shoot in which the actress wears the same shirt.  A simple tweet from the show’s costume designer, Janie Bryant, confirming that the look was indeed inspired by Sharon Tate and voila, Megan’s dead. Tate was infamously murdered by Charles Manson's "family" in 1969 and the horrible ordeal rocked Hollywood. Tate was married to Roman Polanski and pregnant at the time of the murder. The showcase of the novel Rosemary’s Baby (whose film adaptation Polanski directed) on the show only fueled the theory and some fans are convinced that the second Draper wife will meet an untimely demise. With all the death imagery going around on the show, some in appearing in season 5, it would make sense for a character to die, but will it be Megan? Matthew Weiner denies the possibility, "It's just a coincidence. Rosemary's Baby was a best seller, and I've wanted Megan in a real T-shirt [from the era] for a couple of seasons." He adds, "We're not yet in 1969, so [no Manson] this season. He's not in New York. There's a lot of death on this show, and sometimes the audience mistakes symbolism. I hope the audience finds our finale intriguing and emotional." Does this mean that somebody else is going to bite it before the end of the season? Although he very plainly denied the suggestion, Weiner has been known to mislead viewers in the past; this could be a ruse to throw devoted fans off the scent. The death imagery could also be just that, interesting metaphors and symbolism introduced for thematic purposes, but not necessarily foreshadowing a particular character’s death. With only two episodes left in the season, we’ll find out soon enough, but until then, its always fun to ponder the fate of our favorite characters. What are some of your theories? 

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