I doubt she's permanently written off because I feel like we would have heard about it ahead of time, or at least by now.


Don't know. They try really hard to keep everything under wraps.

Pete Campbell is Bob Arctor.

and the old Don is back. Knowing he can get Megan out of state for weeks at a time?

that red x is ominous. did joan stand on it?

I doubt she's permanently written off because I feel like we would have heard about it ahead of time, or at least by now.

Give him a cookie!!

It's going to be interesting to see how they handle Peggy next season.

Will they devote serious time to her new agency?

Will they bring her back to SCDP with a promotion?

Will they relegate her to background character (this would be a shame IMHO).

It was very encouraging to see Peggy in the finale. Hope that's a good sign. It was a great scene, teacher and student. Peggy has become Don in so many ways. And they have laid the seeds for SCDP to need her back if creative goes south.

So what does Don do in the final scene? Seems like everything is coming up roses for him and is perfect, which is when he tries to wreck it -- or as he puts it, "happiness is the moment before you need more happiness."

And please raise your hand if you haven't punched Pete Campbell.

Btw, after the last couple eps, the finale was bound to be somewhat anti-climactic and it appeared it was. Kind of hoping for something more, but I guess they are setting up SCDP to be even more successful and Don to return to old ways (careful Megan what you wish for - after all she wanted him to be more into his job, but when you bring out the alpha male, who knows what arises).

So what does Don do in the final scene? Seems like everything is coming up roses for him and is perfect, which is when he tries to wreck it -- or as he puts it, "happiness is the moment before you need more happiness."
i think he's resigned to the fact that meagans gone. it'll get better, it'll get better... nope. had to yank that shit. and the 'give someone an opportunity' speech.

and someone's jumping out that goddamn window

opening and closing doors was the theme.

Also, I liked how they alluded to Peggy coming up with the Virginia Slims name - likely sometime next season.

she can be his wife and turn into her mother or he can open a door and she can be happy... but without him. she's too young, beautiful and ambitious. watching her reel was a cathartic release. beauty and the beast was another metaphor.

alright i'm done with the half assed analysis.

I think the wife will be done with the show when Don inevitably goes back to his womanizing ways.

Is Pete Campbell's hairline receding 5 inches every episode?

Is Pete Campbell's hairline receding 5 inches every episode?


I think we are supposed to assume that between episodes everyone he meets punches him in the face. That probably will cause some hair loss. :)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/06/11/article-2157479-138D0F7C000005DC-914_634x577.jpg

This show is making me want to try LSD...

Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser: I Don't Own A Toilet Or Car (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/25/mad-mens-vincent-kartheis_n_551137.html)

I am pretty minimalist compared to most people I know, everything I own could fit in one room and that's a consideration any time I consider acquiring any new material possessions... but man, attached to that one room better be a bathroom. :P

Also, I wonder if pete campbell's neighbor ever wants to punch him for coming over every time he has to use the bathroom.

Review: Mad Men same as it ever was in season 6 (http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/review-mad-men-same-as-it-ever-was-in-season-6)

Sunday!

Mad Men, GoT, Shameless all on tonight. 3 of the best shows on television. Should be another great season. From the end of last season it seemed like Don was going to start cheating on his wife again. I hope they focus more on Peggy and Sally and less on Megan and Betty.

Not the best opener. Betty scenes were boring as usual. Peggy is Don, Don is back to his old ways, Roger is a mess.

I really liked it. I think maybe people were expecting more because it was a season opener. And I thought Betty brought it for the first time in a long time. Do you want to rape her? I can hold her arms. Aces.

I really liked it. I think maybe people were expecting more because it was a season opener. And I thought Betty brought it for the first time in a long time. Do you want to rape her? I can hold her arms. Aces.


I think we were expecting more because it was a two hour episode. It seemed to ramble and go nowhere. Not terrible, but a bit of a disappointment.

MM gets a 1.0 A18-49, 3.37m total viewers (all ages). That's below last year's premier, above last year's average.

6th for the night on cable in the A18-49 demo, behind Game of Thrones, Real Housewives of ATL, Break (on HBO), Kourtney & Kim Take Miami,and Vikings

I think the generally expected plan for the show to end next season is probably a good one. The shark may not have been jumped, but there appears to be a fin in the water.

Mad Men premieres are always slow (as far as the story, not the viewers, I just ignore the lack of viewership b/c it makes me sad if I don't). I thought this one was good, but damn was it dark and depressing.

The kid yelling "YOU'RE UGLY" at Betty and running away after her hair color change was all the comic relief I needed though.

That Betty Draper pillow talk is some horrifying shit.

There's always a "what's the point of this season" with the season openers. I don't think it was answered this time, though.

Certainly a lot of hitting us over the head with the Peggy becoming Don plotline. I hope there's some interesting direction they'll take this, because I don't want her to run off to Viet Nam, change her name and become a farmer or whatever it is Dick Whitman would have been.

The lighter thing annoyed me. Megan's inability to translate something that would be easy for someone raised in a French Canadian household annoyed me. That everything with Betty was the highlight of a long episode really annoyed me.

This is an amazing show. I worry that Jon is right and Fonzie is planning his trip to the beach.

All I had to say about that epsode was Holy Shit!

& I really liked Lane myself. He was a good counterpoint to the other partners and his beating up Pete was great stuff!

This. I'm going to try to avoid Season 6 spoilers since Netflix is quite slow to update, but Lane was one of my favorite characters.

There's always a "what's the point of this season" with the season openers. I don't think it was answered this time, though.

Certainly a lot of hitting us over the head with the Peggy becoming Don plotline. I hope there's some interesting direction they'll take this, because I don't want her to run off to Viet Nam, change her name and become a farmer or whatever it is Dick Whitman would have been.

The lighter thing annoyed me. Megan's inability to translate something that would be easy for someone raised in a French Canadian household annoyed me. That everything with Betty was the highlight of a long episode really annoyed me.

This is an amazing show. I worry that Jon is right and Fonzie is planning his trip to the beach.
I'm wondering how the Peggy-Don plot line will venture as well. I'm seeing a subtle difference between the two characters. Whereas all of Don's behavior and success is built on deceit and lies, Peggy seems to be the "light" version of Don's "dark" character. Not sure I'm on to something, but it seems at some point Peggy's going to be forced with a decision to consciously follow Don's path or going the opposite direction.

The other thing we got hit over the head with this week was Dante's Inferno. Is this season going to be Don's descent into hell? It seems like Weiner is giving us that since of a darker, more violent foreboding with Don. Lots of more death imagery, much more focused on Don.

The other thing we got hit over the head with this week was Dante's Inferno. Is this season going to be Don's descent into hell? It seems like Weiner is giving us that since of a darker, more violent foreboding with Don. Lots of more death imagery, much more focused on Don.


Could be. I could see everything drawing down to Don ending violently.

More Harry is always good. Loved his tirade. Poor guy is more likely to get fired than become a partner, though. Don and Peggy competing for Heinz was good, too. I hope they have more interaction between the rival firms.

I love the merger. Ted is a good character and the scenes with him and Don were good. Best line was from Pete Campbell, "My mother can go to hell, and Ted Choaugh can fly her there."

Ted is a pretty good addition to the cast, I think. Harry Hamlin's character looks to be pretty chummy with Roger already too :D.

Not missing Betty in the least.

Ted is a pretty good addition to the cast, I think. Harry Hamlin's character looks to be pretty chummy with Roger already too :D.

Love both additions. And firing Burt Peterson AGAIN was awesome!

Not missing Betty in the least.

Amen, brother.

My mother can go to hell, and Ted Chaugh can fly her there.

Finally got current on this season. Originally we thought this was a disastrously bad season, but now it is growing to a fine climax (in many senses of that word).

Lots of good stuff out there on Salon and Slate that made me realize my wife and I were noticing odd things but not thinking it through because we weren't giving the writers/producers enough credit. For example, my wife has been laughing at the atrocious colors and shapes of the sets. After some reading, I find the use of orange and red was a: what we remembered of the late 1960's, early 1970's modern homes; b: indicative of the orange juice versus cranberry juice fight going on.

Color is a big part of the story line. When Don and Ted talk about how they are now on the same page (regarding new business) Don is wearing a black suit and gold tie with black stripes. Ted is wearing a gold sport jacket (much like one I owned at the time) with black pants and a black tie with gold stripes.

I had noticed the end of the episode from two weeks ago that there was a large poster of Moshe Dayan in the background. WTF? thought I. Then this episode starts when Kenny gets shot and ends up wearing an eye patch. :lol:

We are enjoying the Bob Benson = gay Don Draper comparisons. Pete has now discovered the truth about both imposters and this time he intends to use Benson. I'm hoping for a scene where Bob and Don commiserate after they are both exposed to their truths.

Possibly this will come after the Megan = Sharon Tate plot line comes to its inevitably gruesome conclusion. Lots of hints on that, including confirmation from the wardrobe lady that Megan wearing a famous Sharon Tate t-shirt was 'no coincidence'.

Anyway, here's hoping the season comes to a rousing and colorful conclusion.

Possibly this will come after the Megan = Sharon Tate plot line comes to its inevitably gruesome conclusion. Lots of hints on that, including confirmation from the wardrobe lady that Megan wearing a famous Sharon Tate t-shirt was 'no coincidence'.

Weiner actually directly addressed this topic recently. I'll slap it in spoiler tags, for anybody who doesn't want their fun sullied.


This one's pretty much been de-veined by Weiner himself...it was no coincidence, but the significance to the show was pretty much nil:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/matthew-weiner-insists-no-ones-going-to-die-on-mad,99067/

The alleged Tate allusion, he says, was just his way of “solving an argument” with costume designer Janie Bryant, who refused to accept that women of that era commonly wore T-shirts until she produced that photograph, and Weiner decided he wanted that exact same shirt. “Little did I know…” Weiner says.

For a show that is all about allusions and foreshadowing, this season has been an over abundance of both. For those reasons, all signs point to an epic season finale.

However, my fear is that this season is all about setting the stage for the final season and that we are only in the middle of the long countdown. I would love to get a lot of resolution this Sunday but I'm afraid it might disappoint.

Last night's episode was really strange with Don having a threesome fall into his lap and Ginsberg going crazy. Don seems hell bent on staying with the agency. Scout's Honor was good, I like the Lou Avery character. Wish they wouldn't have split this last season into 2 years, Breaking Bad did the same thing. Just have one big season and give us the ending.

Leave it to Mad Men to have a threesome and it's not the weirdest f-ed up thing in the episode.

Agree with the split into two seasons, especially for a slower paced show like Mad Men, how many more episodes are left before it goes away for a year? This show takes 4 or 5 episodes to warm up. I'm not complaining about that, its just the nature of the show.

I'm not even sure this was a good episode, but I'm likely going to think that about any episode with this much Betty, but the Ginsburg stuff, hooooly crap. What was the exact line? "The computer is going to turn us all homo!?"

I love Pete in California, and I love Anna's daughter popping back up, if only briefly, but everything else in California just isn't doing much for me.

I can't wait to see how this cigarette company plays out too.

Think there's only 2 episodes left this season? Maybe 3? Very weak.

I actually kind of like the split season for one main reason - obviously this part 1 can be subtitled "How Don got his groove back". Draper is slowly working his way back after hitting rock bottom. This is the setup season for stuff getting crazy in the last 7 episodes (I'm positive that Don is calculating how to get rid of Avery and Cutler).

Problem is that "crazy" in the Mad Men universe isn't exactly like "crazy" in Breaking Bad.

No, but I think I enjoy the crazy more in the Mad Men universe.

Loved tonight's episode. Any time you get Don/Peggy talking for more than a couple minutes its just spectacular. It doesn't rival "The Suitcase" or anything, but that's my favorite episode of this season, without a doubt.

I think it might be the second best episode behind "The Suitcase." Just beautifully done with a lot of subtlety without the histrionics of some episodes. It had a lot of contrasts between with Don/Megan, Joan/Bob, Trudy/Pete and even Peggy/Alone. The scene with Don and Megan was definitely a callback to "The Suitcase." A great episode.

Surprised most of the reviews seem to overlook the most significant development in the episode. Jim Cutler's moving to make Harry Crane a partner unwittingly shifted the balance of power toward Roger and Don in the upcoming war. Pete and Harry are clearly aligned with Don, who has gone out of his way to make them allies. Joan might be the wildcard. Would love to see Roger and Don work Joan next week to win her over.

Great visual at the end, with the family at the family table being Don, Peggy, and Pete. Wonder how those 3 are going to take back their freaking agency (at least that's the feel I get now as to the direction the last part of Season 7 will be going).

And kcchief19, you may be right - the way they start to take back their agency will be to put Harry on their side against Cutler and (it seems) Cooper. I mean at this point, I think even Chaough could be swayed (could you imagine Ted would be such a nothing).

I wonder if the Manson family is going to carve up Megan and then crash the airplane.

Or maybe they get hijacked by DB Cooper.

Will be interesting if anything leaks from the 2nd half if the season now that it's in the can.

That dance. My heart melted. I know it would be too cliche for Don and Peggy to end up together but dear lord was that something.

My wife was laughing/shouting at all the digs at Peggy. "Smartest woman in advertising", etc. Plus I used to wear a sport coat like Pete's when we first met, so there is that to laugh at.

I got more of a father/daughter vibe out of Don and Peggy's dance. But the ending was great. I also remember that General Foods acquired Burger Chef and couldn't do anything with it. Important to remember that Burger Chef is a real loser, way behind MacDonald's and Burger King. Plus Sinatra singing "My way" made me think of the old Burger King jingle "Have it Your Way." As if that was what Peggy should have come up with.

Bob Benson rescuing the GM guy was how I recall the NYC homosexual scene from back then. The newspapers, when they mentioned it all, played up the violence aspect. Bob Crane's death on the west coast type of stuff. No gay household tips on TV, to say the least.

Wonderful mid-season finale. Just absolutely great performances from Kiernan Shipka, Jon Hamm, John Slattery, AND Elisabeth Moss.


RIP Bert. Good sendoff for him.

Harry Crane screwed again. I LOL'd (literally) when Roger told him to get out of his office, too late.

I can't wait to see Lou Avery get kicked to the curb in the second half. We'd better get to see that and not just skip past it!

Is this the last time we see Megan?

I've probably said it 5 or 6 times in this thread... but Kiernan Shipka remains my favorite child actor of all time. Sally Draper is simply a marvelous character, I love every single second of screen time she gets, even if it means we have to see more of Betty.

If I could wish for anytying for the final seven episodes, it would be for Don to consistently treat Peggy like he has for the last two episodes. I fear that he'll go back to being inconsistent and will be a huge dick once he's got some power again, and its going to make me really sad when it happens, even if its only for a few moments here and there.


Until next year!

It's been aired everywhere, I'm don't think spoilers are necessary so, I won't use the tag.

I really enjoyed that episode! A great ending to the half season and Robert Morse dancing and singing just was the perfect capper (IMO). I almost forgot about Meredith trying to 'comfort' Don because there was just so much great stuff in the episode (in another episode that may have been one of the more commented on things - how hilarious was that?).

Peggy really nailed that pitch. That was fantastic stuff. And Roger made one heck of a last second deal. I think while we are focused on this half-season being the redemption of Don - it was also the redemption of Peggy and Roger (at least from where they were in Episode 1 of this season).

Enjoyed the finale and the last few episodes. Still don't like the break for a show like this, because it's not "pick up where we left off" like Breaking Bad.

I've been waiting for Robert Morse to have his Broadway moment, and thought it would never get here. For 83, he still has what made him a giant on the stage during the Mad Men era. I'll be watching How To Succeed again this weekend.

In addition to all the great moments already mentioned, I found Sally looking like a young Betty, right down to the smoking gestures, to be awesome. If not for Bert's dance, this would have been the highlight for me.

Having lived through the Moon Landing, I can't really come up with a similar 'bring-the-world-together moment' at any other point in my life. That is, we all knew the moon mission was coming for years. We watched all the satellite launches and such. Every body planned to be in front of the TV, it wasn't like 9/11 or Va Tech (examples) where something happened and we all watched.

Loved Cutler putting up his hand "That's a lot of money!"

In addition to all the great moments already mentioned, I found Sally looking like a young Betty, right down to the smoking gestures, to be awesome. If not for Bert's dance, this would have been the highlight for me.

In one of the recent episodes (where Don drove her back to school and opened up to her at the diner), there were a few moments where I noticed how they've done such a good job at having her mirror Betty's speech patterns even. It's good stuff.



Having lived through the Moon Landing, I can't really come up with a similar 'bring-the-world-together moment' at any other point in my life. That is, we all knew the moon mission was coming for years. We watched all the satellite launches and such. Every body planned to be in front of the TV, it wasn't like 9/11 or Va Tech (examples) where something happened and we all watched.


I wonder if it's just because I was in the area (was in NJ the day it happened but started working in NYC *that* week) but the world felt palpably different for a few days. The scale of buildings seemed incredible again, everyone was talking to each other, etc.

One of the most vivid days of my life, without question.

I just don't know if that felt the same to someone living in Nebraska, etc. It probably didn't.

The almost infinite options of entertainment we have these days has unfortunately made that kind of moment where the world all stops unlikely to ever happen again.

One episode to go.

Funny to see stevew making a DB Cooper reference at the top of this page when that "theory" got a lot of press a week ago.

A great, great penultimate episode. Making the viewers feel sadness for Betty was simply genius stuff. And being happy for Pete... who would have thunk?

Am I the only one suspicious of Pete's new job? Duck Phillips is setting Pete up with a golden parachute -- why? He can't be getting enough of a cut to make up for getting Pete such a great deal -- everything is coming up Pete right now, and history has shown that just when Pete looks like a winner, he gets punched in the nuts.

Still seems like Don is a more than an episode away from getting his conclusion. A lot needs to happen next week.

Am I the only one suspicious of Pete's new job? Duck Phillips is setting Pete up with a golden parachute -- why? He can't be getting enough of a cut to make up for getting Pete such a great deal -- everything is coming up Pete right now, and history has shown that just when Pete looks like a winner, he gets punched in the nuts.

Still seems like Don is a more than an episode away from getting his conclusion. A lot needs to happen next week.

Agreed. Something is going to blow up regarding Pete. The last 3 episodes have been amazing.

Still seems like Don is a more than an episode away from getting his conclusion. A lot needs to happen next week.

I think so, too, especially with Peggy, Roger, Joan, Stan, Harry, Ted, Henry, Betty, and the kids all needing some sort of conclusion that doesn't seem to have happened yet.

Am I the only one suspicious of Pete's new job?

Yeah. I don't remember the history of the show enough to remember if Duck has that much reason to pull something huge on Pete just to fuck with him or not, but it smells like it to me.


Still seems like Don is a more than an episode away from getting his conclusion. A lot needs to happen next week.

I dunno, I am thinking this *is* Don's conclusion maybe. He's quit his job and career, doesn't need the money there, he's gonna end up a repairman or something.

I think so, too, especially with Peggy, Roger, Joan, Stan, Harry, Ted, Henry, Betty, and the kids all needing some sort of conclusion that doesn't seem to have happened yet.

I think Roger, Joan, Stan, Ted, Henry, and Betty have gotten their conclusions. We may have seen all of them for the last time. Maybe not, maybe Don comes back to NY and interacts with a bunch of them one last time, but Roger's sendoff was with Peggy in the old office. Joan has a relationship and half the money, which is sadly probably the best she was ever going to get. Ted doesn't want to lead and is happy to just go fit in somewhere. Henry/Betty... we don't need to see how that ends to know how it ends. They could all fail to appear in the last episode and I think we'd comfortably know their endings, from the show's perspective.

The only question to me is Peggy. Is her walking triumphantly into the new office her ending?

I have no expectations. My guess is that we are basically done with everyone but Don and Peggy, and maybe Roger. But honestly, this last episode could be 100% Don and I wouldn't be terribly surprised.




The Megan episode was a huge dud to me, the rest since then have been wonderful I thought.

Well the last episode is called "Person to Person". The only way I can see each person to person moment would be at Betty's funeral. Or perhaps it is a reference to McCann wanting to meet with Don person to person to decide what to do with him.

I thought this title was "Mad Max 4 Discussion" and it was going to have some great Fury Road comments

I don't know if Pete's job will work out or not but I think we're done with his story. It seems more likely that it will hypothetically fall apart somewhere down the road once he/they realize they don't want to live in Wichita or Pete gets bored with married life again.

very odd wrap up season. if you didnt know the next episode was its last, i dont think you could ever guess the show was almost over based on what's going on

quite a rapid wrap up for betty, that progressed fast. not sure i really like shoehorning that all in the 2nd to last episode

at this point it looks to me like the show ends with the return of dick whitman, no?

very odd wrap up season. if you didnt know the next episode was its last, i dont think you could ever guess the show was almost over based on what's going on

quite a rapid wrap up for betty, that progressed fast. not sure i really like shoehorning that all in the 2nd to last episode

at this point it looks to me like the show ends with the return of dick whitman, no?

I don't know, I'd actually argue they have been setting up finishes for the characters. Or maybe that's poor wording, but setting up the next large chapter of the characters' lives? Pete taking another job, moving, and getting back together with Trudy. Joan taking the buyout to leave McCann. Betty's end-of-life. I don't know, I've enjoyed this season.

randomly caught some of s1 ep 8 last night in amc's mad men marathon, where in flashbacks the hobo stays at dick's childhood farm for a night.

the hobo has a scene where he talks about how he used to have it all: a wife, a mortgage, a job, but he couldnt sleep at night. he walked away from it all, each day is an adventure on the road, and now he's happy.

hmm...

We watched the last two episodes last night and tonight, and my wife's one word comment as the credits began to roll on the final scene was "perfect" and I agreed.

So the rest of you?

I really, really liked it. I honestly thought we might only see Don, or Don and Peggy, in the finale, so getting a further ending for everyone else was really enjoyable. I thought the closure for everyone made sense, even for Peggy and Stan, they've shown enough of them that I get that completely even if it was a surprise. I loved that we got one more line from Roger that made me laugh out loud "I actually met her through Megan, she's old enough to be her mother. In fact, she is her mother" delivered Roger style. And everything that happened with Don makes total sense for Don given what we've seen with him. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Christina Hendricks in a bathing suit, and am so much happier with the ending we got for Joan here than the one we would have gotten had her story ended a couple episodes ago. Overall a very satisfying and enjoyable hour+ to close out a great show.

Amazing. You go to retreats to find yourself, and that's what Don did.

It's funny to think of the whole series as a fictional origin story for a single ad.

Loved the Manson inclusion in there. I never really watched the show weekly but I've seen a fair amount to know sorta what was going on

It's funny to think of the whole series as a fictional origin story for a single ad.

Not just any ad, but THE AD, what is widely considered the greatest ad campaign ever.

And it is not all that fictional, this captured the background of what was going on in America and explained why the ad was so great. Why the ad worked is explained by the last two episodes, indeed, the entire series. So it is by no means trivial.

In many ways this episode should have been called "The Real Thing". Betty's death is the real truth, Peggy says "Really?" when Stan tells her he loves her, then they are shown together with the "Real Thing." Pete and Trudy go to Wichita seeking the real thing again, but Trudy is wearing fur, and they are taking a Lear jet, so that won't work out. Roger finds The Real Thing with Marie, who now looks just like his first wife, Mona.

What's also going on for me is the complete rejection of California culture. The guy --the only one dressed in an East Coast fashion--who tells the story comparing himself to a bottle of Coke in the refrigerator who is over looked but wants to be loved for his genuine qualities, is embraced by Don. Then, while chanting that most absurd of Cali notions "Om" Don stops, smiles and we see the most successful commercial in history. So Don took California and -- to use today's term -- monetized it for Coca-Cola.

Also, remember Joan's guy offers her coke, false coke, that gives them a euphoric high that proves false. Stan tells Peggy, "you're mean when you drink", then he gets real about his feelings, and they find happiness.

I liked the final three minutes or whatever it was but hated pretty much everything else up to that point. So I thought it was a good way to finalize the series but thought the episode itself completely sucked. Pretty much everything with Don in the commune bored me and I thought the Peggy/Stan love story conclusion was complete cheese. It was funny...as that phone call started, I said to my wife that what made Weiner great was that he resisted putting them together and wouldn't feel pressured to come up with a sappy ending for the two of them.

What's also going on for me is the complete rejection of California culture.

Dude, you have issues. Seek help.

No, that would be the coach of the United Cocksuckers of Los Angeles when he didn't even shake the hand of the Virigina coach after UVA won its seventh Men's Soccer National Championship. All he could do was whine about Virginia not letting his team play their game.

What a tool, the epitome of United Cocksuckers sports.

Kentucky 24 The United Cocksuckers of Los Angeles 0

Typical gutless performance from the Californians.

No PAC TWAT teams. Ever.

1962 Rose bowl, USC 42 Wisconsin 37 The California C*cks*ckers had a huge lead and then Ron VanderKelen and Pat Richter began hooking up on passes and Wisc almost came all the way back. The first time I can ever remember seeing looks of actual panic on athletes was the closeups on the C*cks*ckers sideline as Wisconsin drove to yet another 4th quarter score.



Sorry for the threadjack. Long live Don Draper.

So the rest of you?

I've only watched mostly vicariously through my wife for several seasons but am up to speed on the ending & most of the twists & turns taken en route.

The advertising folks in my life all seem to have it as a "he found his true calling" ending. My takeaway was more like "there really is no escape".

Take whatever personal insights from that you choose.

The whole "refrigerator" speech felt very deus ex machina to me, if the intended effect is to crystallize the mental state of Don.

However, if it's just another example of Don as observer, rather than participant in "real life" than I'm OK with it.

Basically if it's supposed to be "that's exactly how I feel!" I think it's kind of bullshit. If it's another example of Don co-opting the life of another to inspire himself, I think it's good. It's vague enough that I don't really know what the intent is (which Is actually a good thing on it's own).

Ultimately I like the cynical take on Don. He isn't really capable of change. He just sort of bottoms out and then starts again. Hitting rock bottom and trying to come clean to himself doesn't seem to create any real change... it just ends up inspiring another ad idea.

As for some of the other wrap-ups... I'm not sure they all felt 100% honest to the characters, but they were all close enough.

The whole "refrigerator" speech felt very deus ex machina to me, if the intended effect is to crystallize the mental state of Don.

However, if it's just another example of Don as observer, rather than participant in "real life" than I'm OK with it.

Basically if it's supposed to be "that's exactly how I feel!" I think it's kind of bullshit. If it's another example of Don co-opting the life of another to inspire himself, I think it's good. It's vague enough that I don't really know what the intent is (which Is actually a good thing on it's own).

Ultimately I like the cynical take on Don. He isn't really capable of change. He just sort of bottoms out and then starts again. Hitting rock bottom and trying to come clean to himself doesn't seem to create any real change... it just ends up inspiring another ad idea.

As for some of the other wrap-ups... I'm not sure they all felt 100% honest to the characters, but they were all close enough.

well said. im hard pressed to think of another show where the main character doesnt change. at all. there's nothing in this last episode that says don changed his life one iota, which is pretty fascinating when you think we watched him for like 100 episodes and he's still the same guy as at the start.

I didn't like it. Peggy and Stan was disgusting. I love you. WHAT? I love you. WHAT? I love you. WHAT DID YOU SAY? That was awful. The other stuff wasn't that good either. Weiner could have ended it a lot better.

I didn't like it. Peggy and Stan was disgusting. I love you. WHAT? I love you. WHAT? I love you. WHAT DID YOU SAY? That was awful. The other stuff wasn't that good either. Weiner could have ended it a lot better.

I think the problem inherent to finales is that many storylines that would feel completely plausible (within the reality of the TV show) feel like BS when a bunch of them happen at the same time.

While I find Peggy-Stan to be plausible long-term, it had a 50% "bullshit!" and 50% "I can see completely see that" vibe to it. I see both reactions to it and accept them as completely legitimate.

I loved the ending. Peggy/Stan has been building forever, they just haven't been cliched about it. Don is Don, always was, always gonna be.

When Don bottoms out again, instead of the hershey's pitch, it will be the "new coke" campaign.

Hey guys, I got this great idea! We use iconic rock superstars Van Halen to launch this Crystal Pepsi stuff. Right now!

I loved the ending. Peggy/Stan has been building forever, they just haven't been cliched about it. Don is Don, always was, always gonna be.

Peggy's "I feel you here" as she put her hand over her heart was as cliche as it gets.

Peggy's "I feel you here" as she put her hand over her heart was as cliche as it gets.

Completely disagree, but it's cool. I think for a person as analytical as Peggy, it's exactly something she would do in that moment.

Peggy's "I feel you here" as she put her hand over her heart was as cliche as it gets.

I think that particular scene is incredibly well-written (and insanely well acted). The only thing up for debate is whether or not it's true to that character.

I loved the finale, FWIW, and the more I think about it, the more I love it. I think that it is in both parts that Don finds himself and that Don goes back and makes an ad campaign over his experience, which isn't mutually exclusive. He realizes that he needs to embrace his inner Dick Whitman and not run away from himself. He realizes deep down that he is an ad man - he loves it.

I also enjoyed the rest of the episode. Peggy and Stan didn't seem too ridiculous. I mean if this showed up a few episodes ago, I doubt people would have gotten too bent out of shape about it.

well said. im hard pressed to think of another show where the main character doesnt change. at all. there's nothing in this last episode that says don changed his life one iota, which is pretty fascinating when you think we watched him for like 100 episodes and he's still the same guy as at the start.

Indirectly, I think that's a key point in the takes on the finale I've seen from advertising people. That he, basically, remembered who he was. And it's a group that can be largely incapable of significant change. You're either that animal or you aren't, they're born not made, etc etc.

well said. im hard pressed to think of another show where the main character doesnt change. at all. there's nothing in this last episode that says don changed his life one iota, which is pretty fascinating when you think we watched him for like 100 episodes and he's still the same guy as at the start.

Richard Russo is a terrific novelist who has had several of novels turned into movies or HBO series (Empire Falls, being one example) most often with Paul Newman in the starring old guy role. Russo's major theme in all his novels is that "people never change; they just get older."

I think that's what we saw with almost everybody in Mad Men. People made the same kind of mistakes, they simply had more money to try to buy their way out. And that's the way life really happens.

reminds me of anthony burgess, who wrote A Clockwork Orange, talking about his frustrations of the movie cutting out the last chapter of the book:

There is no hint of this change of intention in the twentieth chapter. The boy is conditioned, then deconditioned, and he forsees with glee a resumption of the operation of free and violent will. ‘I was cured all right,’ he says, and so the American book ends. So the film ends too. The twenty-first chapter gives the novel the quality of genuine fiction, an art founded on the principle that human beings change. There is, in fact, not much point in writing a novel unless you can show the possibility of moral transformation, or an increase in wisdom, operating in your chief character or characters. Even trashy bestsellers show people changing. When a fictional work fails to show change, when it merely indicates that human character is set, stony, unregenerable, then you are out of the field of the novel and into that of the fable or the allegory.

i find that pretty interesting, as it relates to don not changing.

Yes, novel writing courses emphasize change, however, in real life folks don't change all that much. Nor do they on TV shows. So perhaps TV shows fall into the fable category--nothing wrong with that.

Three great shows ended recently and in all of them the main characters did not change but their circumstances did. In addition to MAD MEN, JUSTIFIED also demonstrated that the main characters did not change at all. Boyd and Raylon 'dug coal together'. Ava's issue is that she could not leave Harlan County. Even Boyd's son buttons his shirt all the way to the top. In PARKS AND REC, Leslie Knope's unflagging optimism is the lynch pin of all the stories and what holds the characters together.

In TV that fails, the characters change. BACKSTROM is an example. An excellent cast with solid actors and characters, yet because the main character is a drunk who winds trying to change himself by joining AA, the series flops. I think it is because Backstrom gave up trying to be himself and gave in.