Mad Men Wraps Tonight...

[hatsbo]

Never see much about this show on here, maybe the forum demographic is too young and can't relate? Anyway, one of my favorite shows of all time, I was born in 55' and growing up as a kid during the time the show is occurs in . Has won a boatload of Emmy's, great acting, writing, etc. although the typical Hollywood obsession with bashing white males in power is all too prevalent and at times annoying. As a white man with a some power, I understand this and let it roll off my back. Anyhoo, Betty is diagnosed with terminal cancer so it's unlikely someone else will kick the bucket, although with everyone's unhealthy lifestyles I wouldn't be surprised. Don has flipped out, or has he? Pete's story appears to be wrapped up, the sniveling antagonist appears to be going back to his wife with his penis, er... tail between his legs. Joan and her amazing breasts appear to have had their last scene as well, as she is getting a settlement from an even more sexist boss than her last. Something tells me this last episode will be about Peggy and her future, Roger and his, and Don tying things up in a neat bow. Much has been made of a possible tie in with the show's opening credit's picturing a businessman falling through the air to some unseen fate. Is this Don committing suicide or in an even more bizarre finish, being D.B. Cooper, the mysterious and infamous hijacker who jumped out of a plane with a wad of ransom cash? Producer Matt Weiner had a major part in the Sopranos, and their show's ending was a bit underwhelming. Will Mad Men follow suit?
http://money.cnn.com/2015/05/17/media/mad-men-finale-plan/index.html

 

[Bubbz]

Never watched an episode, was it good?

 

[Noleguy06]

Define young, I'm 29 and love the show. Can't wait.

 

[FSUTribe76]

I was a fan of the show for the first couple of seasons but I haven't cared for the last few. It lost its way and is overdue for a conclusion imo.

 

[NoleGreg10]

I was a fan of the show for the first couple of seasons but I haven't cared for the last few. It lost its way and is overdue for a conclusion imo.

Agree. They ran show into ground IMO. Got away from focusing on the work with the people as the under current. Main focus is now the people and some story lines suck like anything with Betty

 

[ktnole]

I am watching and once again another show that can't be finished properly, I want to throw up watching the end of this

 

[FSUTribe76]

I liked all of the endings except for Don's. I guess we are supposed to think he got his life together again, went back and created a great Coke campaign....but I didn't like it.

 

[Fijimn]

New Coke?

 

[FSUTribe76]

New Coke?

That was Harry's idea.

 

[NoleManDan17]

I think it goes a little deeper with Don. After his niece left he seemed to buy into the the whole "finding yourself" shtick at the camp. He found what really made him happy during meditation, hence the genuine smile at the end. He is happiest as a "Mad Man" ad exec. That's who he became and that is who he will continue to be going forward. He finally accepted it. Of course, they imply he came up with the famous Coca-Cola campaign while harmonizing during meditation (i.e. teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony...), which is what caused the smile.

I felt a little underwhelmed with the ending at first but I liked it the more I thought about it. You can't have every show end with a bang and Mad Men has always been pretty subtle.

 

[Nole Lou]

Loved the show, liked the ending a lot.

Thought it was awesomely cynical at first, that you think Don's making a breakthrough, and then he uses it for an ad, and you know he went back to being the same old Don.

But then I've read some takes that it actually IS hopeful...that Don did make a breakthrough and may becoming a healthier person. They point to the idea that none of Don's pitches were ever like the Coke ad...they were mostly nostalgic, or escapist. But earnest,forward thinking, not so much.

I've got no problem with the ending, either way you read it. It's a fine ending. Really only Breaking Bad stands out of shows that I've watched, went out in a blaze of glory...that's just not how finales usually go. I put this one right there with The Wire, a fine way to end the show.

 

[FSUSarah]

I rarely like finales. Usually feel disappointed (mainly b/c I don't want the show to end). This was fine. Everyone got their semi-happy ending. I just wanted to see Don get back to being Don Draper. Not implied.

And now I can't get that freaking Coke song out of my head!

 

[hatsbo]

I think it goes a little deeper with Don. After his niece left he seemed to buy into the the whole "finding yourself" shtick at the camp. He found what really made him happy during meditation, hence the genuine smile at the end. He is happiest as a "Mad Man" ad exec. That's who he became and that is who he will continue to be going forward. He finally accepted it. Of course, they imply he came up with the famous Coca-Cola campaign while harmonizing during meditation (i.e. teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony...), which is what caused the smile.

I felt a little underwhelmed with the ending at first but I liked it the more I thought about it. You can't have every show end with a bang and Mad Men has always been pretty subtle.

Agreed on the ending feeling that way, much like the Soprano's ending, which Weiner co-wrote. But like you said the more I went over the episode, I liked it. The most awkward sendoff was Peggy and Stan, that felt strangely forced, so much so I thought it was a dream sequence at first. The Joan direction was nice and fit really well with her mindset from her ouster with McCann Erickson.
Roger's was well, Roger at his finest, she's the perfect foil for him. The Coke theme was once again in play, remember in an earlier episode in season 1 or 2, Jim Hobart had Betty model for a Coke ad in hopes of luring Don onboard McCann Erickson then. Also before Don left that small town he fixed the broken Coke machine. The hippy haven was the perfect set piece for the Coke ad Don envisioned while meditating, it also helped as a co-catharsis for his cleansing with the VFW boys. Pete literally rides off into the sunset in a Learjet, some guys have all the luck. I guess now my wife and I wait out the initial money grab on the full 7 season set and buy a used one a year or so out on Amazon?

 

[goldmom]

Lame, forced, shticky. NOT a fan of the ending.

 

[OHNole43123]

Thought the ending was brilliant. If nothing else, Don Draper always understood the zeitgeist of the time.

 

[ktnole]

Im sorry hated the finale, the problem is the writer wrote it for himself and not the fans but then again its his show. The whole show felt contrived and lame. If Don is really improving himself maybe getting back to his kids before their mother dies would have been better

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Love the show; love the ending. Very well done.

 

[RPMNole]

Don was happiest when Megan was working with him in advertising. When she left, that was the beginning of the end for them.

The Peggy and Stan relationship has been building for years. I liked the way they did it over the phone because the show has featured them talking on the phone many times over the past couple seasons.

No way Don would let Henry or Betty's brother keep his kids.

I liked the ending but wish there were some scenes with Don and Peggy (not just over the phone).

 

[Tampa Nole]

Not sue why, but The most enjoyable part for me was peggy finding someone.

 

[NoleManDan17]

Not sue why, but The most enjoyable part for me was peggy finding someone.

They really shined a spotlight on Peggy during the second half of this season. Deservedly so, the more I think about it. In terms of character growth and development, she is probably the second most important character behind Don.

 

[Nolebra Kai]

My second favorite show next to The Wire.

I loved the finale. Don finally found peace, Peggy found happiness that she thought she would only find through work and I'm glad we got final scenes with all the major characters because I thought they might have only focused on Don in the last episode.

 

[NoleGreg10]

Kai - she did find happiness through work. The guy worked there so she didn't have to sacrifice anything. It was lazy writing to me. Don knew his issues all along. He had many breakdowns, ah ha moments, etc. But a guy saying what he said at the camp was a breakthrough? Nah

 

[Nole Lou]

Kai - she did find happiness through work. The guy worked there so she didn't have to sacrifice anything. It was lazy writing to me. Don knew his issues all along. He had many breakdowns, ah ha moments, etc. But a guy saying what he said at the camp was a breakthrough? Nah

I agree about Don having other moments...but I think that's kind of the point. All these endings for the characters could be viewed as cynical or as hopeful and optimistic (not my original idea, I read something like it).

Yes, the ending can imply that once again Don had his moment of supposed breakthrough, and just went back to being the same old Don, taking what appeared to be earnestly helping him, and turning it into a crass commercial. Or you can read that he actually is getting healthier...and it didn't cost him his genius, the one true gift he has. He went back to McCann, and his new outlook reinvigorated his advertising genius...let's face it...has he really been all that "special" in some time? I can buy that...the Coke commercial is not, in my mind, Don's typical pitch. I think his pitches were usually nostalgic or escapist...it's not like earnest and hopeful were his trademarks. I think you can definitely read a very happy ending there if you think about it.

Betty...well obviously she's dead either way. But look at the last two episodes and compare that Betty to the absolute child-like loser of the earlier seasons. You would never imagine her pulling herself together like that and making her own world.

Pete, you can read it obviously as a happy ending. But it's also about the most "destined to fail" thing you could imagine for him. This is a guy that didn't want to move to the suburbs, now he's moving to Wichita? Unless he's really a changed man, that's a disaster waiting to happen.

Joan? She's the business woman she always wanted to be. But once again she's been let down by the man in her life...finally a guy that could have been perfect for her, and the first guy we've seen that clearly made her happy. She will never find love...her business what she embraces to compensate.

Peggy's happy ending is that she finds love and has it all. On the other hand, Joan offers her a chance to break out of her current paradigm altogether, and she doesn't...because of a guy. She gives up the opportunity to become a partner in her own business for the prospect of a ten year climb to creative director...and we've seen what kind of attitudes women still face at McCann. Did she just undercut all her feminist cred?

Roger has found the right love of his life finally. Or, he is once again getting married, something he is not good at, but this time to someone who is crazy.

I think it's really a well done ending the more I've thought about it, and watched it again with my wife who couldn't watch it live. It doesn't try to tie up every loose end like Breaking Bad, but it does not maddeningly leave nothing resolved like The Sopranos. It leaves everyone in a very different place than where they came into the story, making the entire journey well worth it and putting them in good "stopping places" for the close. But it also doesn't clearly just stamp an end to everything either.

I can't think of another show that closed quite that way, although the Wire was pretty similar, and I think similarly satisfying.

 

[NoleGreg10]

Joan didnt want to be a businesswoman in my opinion early on. She wanted to be married and have a husband/work but more focus on being married. Once they pimped her out and she saw how she was "used" she decided she had to become credible and make it pay off. She got the money but she wanted to mean something so she let the man walk away. Peggy was opposite, she wanted the career and name on door and at the end she settled for "love" and it was at work.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Add this one to the list of must-see TV I haven't seen a single episode of.

The Wire...Game of Thrones...Breaking Bad...Mad Men...

 

[Nolebra Kai]

I agree about Don having other moments...but I think that's kind of the point. All these endings for the characters could be viewed as cynical or as hopeful and optimistic (not my original idea, I read something like it).

Yes, the ending can imply that once again Don had his moment of supposed breakthrough, and just went back to being the same old Don, taking what appeared to be earnestly helping him, and turning it into a crass commercial. Or you can read that he actually is getting healthier...and it didn't cost him his genius, the one true gift he has. He went back to McCann, and his new outlook reinvigorated his advertising genius...let's face it...has he really been all that "special" in some time? I can buy that...the Coke commercial is not, in my mind, Don's typical pitch. I think his pitches were usually nostalgic or escapist...it's not like earnest and hopeful were his trademarks. I think you can definitely read a very happy ending there if you think about it.

Betty...well obviously she's dead either way. But look at the last two episodes and compare that Betty to the absolute child-like loser of the earlier seasons. You would never imagine her pulling herself together like that and making her own world.

Pete, you can read it obviously as a happy ending. But it's also about the most "destined to fail" thing you could imagine for him. This is a guy that didn't want to move to the suburbs, now he's moving to Wichita? Unless he's really a changed man, that's a disaster waiting to happen.

Joan? She's the business woman she always wanted to be. But once again she's been let down by the man in her life...finally a guy that could have been perfect for her, and the first guy we've seen that clearly made her happy. She will never find love...her business what she embraces to compensate.

Peggy's happy ending is that she finds love and has it all. On the other hand, Joan offers her a chance to break out of her current paradigm altogether, and she doesn't...because of a guy. She gives up the opportunity to become a partner in her own business for the prospect of a ten year climb to creative director...and we've seen what kind of attitudes women still face at McCann. Did she just undercut all her feminist cred?

Roger has found the right love of his life finally. Or, he is once again getting married, something he is not good at, but this time to someone who is crazy.

I think it's really a well done ending the more I've thought about it, and watched it again with my wife who couldn't watch it live. It doesn't try to tie up every loose end like Breaking Bad, but it does not maddeningly leave nothing resolved like The Sopranos. It leaves everyone in a very different place than where they came into the story, making the entire journey well worth it and putting them in good "stopping places" for the close. But it also doesn't clearly just stamp an end to everything either.

I can't think of another show that closed quite that way, although the Wire was pretty similar, and I think similarly satisfying.

Couldn't have said it better. I watched finale twice and maybe other than the Wire I liked this finale the best.

 

[nynole1]

Put me in the category of people who thought the finale was awful.

This had been one of my favorite shows but the last couple of seasons were a let down.

How many times can Don go on one of these walkabouts? At the end of the day, he is just a bad person, completely self centered. Peggy is just as bad, her getting "bailed out" with true love at the end was complete BS. What was the point of Joan doing randoms bumps?

IMO, they should have focused more on the office life and interaction with each other and less on the rest of the nonsense.