Walter White is a science teacher turned drug kingpin with a God complex, while Don Draper is a mysterious ad man who sells happiness for a living but can’t find any for himself. At first glance, you’d think Breaking Bad takes the tragedy trophy because of crime, murder, cancer, and exploding old folks’ homes.

But hold on. We’re ten years removed from both of these shows wrapping up, and the real gut-punch isn’t in the desert with a machine gun in a car trunk. It’s Don Draper, alone on a cliff, trying to “Om” his way out of his existential misery while definitely plotting a Coca-Cola jingle.

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men | Credits: AMC

The tragedy of Don Draper isn’t that he dies. He doesn’t. The tragedy is that he lives. The man is a walking identity crisis wrapped in a tailored suit.