Mad Men..okaaaaaay

[SoCalDem]

Over, but wtf !

[hlthe2b]

1. So I guess the take home is that Don got "enlightenment" returned and produced

the Coke "I'd like to buy the world a coke" commercial?

Peggy joins with Joan, but also finally becomes happily paired off with Stan... Roger and Megan's mother....Pete goes to Kansas Lear Jet heaven with his family.... Poor Sally comes home to care for Betty in her last days...

Hmmm...

[SoCalDem]

2. Didn't Peggy stay?

Pete seems to have made out the best..

I guess that's what we are meant to assume (re: Don)

[hlthe2b]

4. She said that she was staying when she was with Stan, but then I thought Joan's "girl" answered

the phone with "Harris and Olsen"-- I could have heard it wrong. I will have to watch it again..


On edit, I think the girl in Joan's apartment may have answered the phone: "Holloway Harris", so you are right. Peggy stayed. Really disappointing end for Peggy, I think, though I don't mind that she ended up with Stan. Still, it was a sort of "thud" end to her progression...

[SoCalDem]

8. Her maiden name was Holloway..

She company needed two names...she gave it two..both hers

[hlthe2b]

12. Yeah... that was a nice touch...

[whathehell]

14. Romance-wise, I always thought Peggy would be the 3rd Mrs. Draper,

but was glad that she and Stan became a couple.

I was under the impression that she and Joan formed their own business.

[SoCalDem]

16. Joan asked her, but she decided to stay at the agency

I never saw her with Don.. She was too smart to play that game with him

[whathehell]

17. It wasn't very clear, but you're probably right.

As for Don, I thought I saw hints during the last couple of years -- His slow dancing with her at the end

of last season, his kissing her hand before that.

I didn't think their coupling would be any kind of "game". They seemed rather close, actually, and I thought

she might be his older and wiser choice, realizing that she had more in common with him than either of his other two wives.

[SoCalDem]

18. I think she saw him as a mentor/father-figure

She wanted his approval...not his love

[whathehell]

20. Possibly..

but I think it could have developed into more -- Just my take.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. I am not sure what to think...

It appears Don got mellow, which was sorta unbelievable,
and I took the Coke last scenes as how Coke was ripping off the New age stuff to sell the product.
I remember that song/advert very clearly back then.


I gotta go back and watch the series to figure out Joan's baby and Roger stuff.

[SoCalDem]

19. Roger wanted Joan to know that he was naming the boy as one of two heirs

he's unmarried and planned to have a pre-nup ..his daughter was estranged, so his grandson was the other heir..

[hlthe2b]

5. I think this observation made on twitter confirms that Don did return to write the Coke ad

(the girl on the left was the one at the retreat who Don asked whether anyone ever says goodbye anymore after his quasi "niece" leaves him stranded)

[Paladin]

6. Don Draper, ending up blissed-out at a 70's hippie retreat?

Christ on a crutch. Wish I hadn't even watched the finale---and I loved the show.

"How does it make you feel when you say that?" Like a betrayed viewer, that's how.......

[Novara]

7. McCann Erickson DID do the Coke ad in real life

I like that so many people are making their own interpretation. Other storylines were neatly wrapped up - Stan and Peggy have been besties for a long time and it's been building for a long time, and even if it's unlikely, I enjoyed that Weiner gave that to the fans. Because that was definitely a gift for the fans. And you know that whatever Peggy does in her career, she's going to be successful. Personal stuff, maybe/maybe not. But that's fine. For now she has a little bit of happiness. And she will be successful inn her career no matter what.

Pete got what he always wanted - to be a gigantic fish, even if it's in a relatively small pond.

Joan. Now that's VERY satisfying. She got rid of the guy who all along felt he was making compromises to be with her (good riddance) and she found her passion in business. Something she has always wanted to do, and no man is going to hold her back. You go, girl!

Don? I love that he's open to interpretation. Either he found real enlightenment and lived out hippy dippy days forever or he found temporary enlightenment to make the most popular ad ever. I tend to think it's the latter because all through the entire series, the theme is that people really don't change. But I do think Don has found some measure of inner peace. Will it last? Who knows. With Don, probably not. But I enjoy leaving it open.

Betty is the only really horribly sad note, and seeing Sally washing the dishes while Betty smokes the rest of her life away is heartbreaking. Also, that she and Don both tearfully realized that the kids are better off not with their dad. That was a powerful scene.

Lately I have been somewhat unimpressed with Weiner and the way he was taking the last season but I'm newly impressed with how he wrote the ending for Don. I enjoy the ambiguity.

[mainstreetonce]

9. I wanted to think

that Don went back and worked for Joan and her new company did
the Coke ad.

If he went back to McCann Erickson,then Don will be Don again eventually.

I was disappointed he didn't go back for his kids, but he honored Betty's wishes while she was still alive,so good for Betty.



Joan and Peggy and Roger got good endings. Pete doesn't deserve success and an intact family.

When Stephanie left the compound with the car,I thought she might bring Megyn to help Don. I would have liked that.

Good finale, not a perfect ten.

I knew it had to end with a question about does Don finally get his act together or not?

The most annoying thing was the incredibly long commercials.

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. I binge watched the series this week and it is clear Don did the Coke ad

and I assumed with McCann.

During the McCann take-over, the MCCann head is talking up the advantages of being with McCann and there is a very clear, focused
shot of him saying they have Coca-Cola to work with.
A very deliberate shot, and we know the writers do not waste shots, everyone is planned.

So yeah, Don goes back to adland, but with more awareness after his retreat breakthru.

[trumad]

10. No doubt when Don smiled at the end---

Last edited Mon May 18, 2015, 12:35 PM - Edit history (1)

He thought of the Coke commercial.

OK ending....but not in Breaking Bad territory.

[Paladin]

11. If ever Matthew Weiner confirms the Coke commercial link, I'll buy into it.

Until then, I'll feel that Don Draper's conclusion could have been handled better. Until then, I would have been happier if Don had bought the farm in that shimmying Chevy, out on the Salt Flats. It's not that I don't appreciate ambiguous endings---I'm the one guy in the country who liked the "Sopranos" conclusion---I just think Don could have been treated a little better.

Classic series, though. I truly will miss it.

[hlthe2b]

13. Weiner is doing a single interview on the finale on Wednesday--not sure who, but I'm sure others

will cover it.

[hlthe2b]

21. Long Form interview with Weiner makes it clear

Scroll down to part two of the interview, starting at about 49 minutes...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/22/mathew-weiner-mad-men-finale_n_7422608.html

[PasadenaTrudy]

15. Fantastic ending n/t

[valerief]

22. I got to thinking that there's never been a "good" ending to a series we really, really like.

Cuz the ending marks the end of the series we don't want to see end.

All endings (especially our own) are unsatisfying.

[trumad]

24. True

I remember when Mash ended everyone went batshit crazy because basically Hawkeye went crazy.

Best ending ever in my opinion was Breaking Bad. My neighbor. ..God rest his soul was Mike Gibbons. Mike was the drummer for Badfinger. When BB ended they ended with Baby Blue...one of Badfingers greatest songs. I loved it.

[Sheldon Cooper]

25. The Breaking Bad ending was the best one ever.

Mainly because it tied up all loose ends in a way that was unambiguous and satisfactory for each character.