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Mad Men, Season 7, Episode 14 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-29 01:28:37
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Person to Person

Comments

Cole

It’s ironic you guys wear suits for the finale which is one of the only episodes don doesn’t wear one.

Cole

In terms of pure quality I think the wire and the sopranos is just a bit better, but in terms of my favourite mad men is number one, and it’s not that close.

Ben Clifford

Jesus Christ I can’t believe it’s over

IThe AuthorityI

I'm gonna miss your reactions to this show, it's my personal favorite and I love how much thought you both put into each episode! I love how this finale comes full circle with addressing Don's signature advice of putting things behind you and moving forward. The show is clearly of the opinion that this advice is faulty as Don is constantly haunted by his past, and his confession to Peggy is very reminiscent of Peggy's confession to Pete at the end of season 2.

Df

Leonard is a reference to Leonard cohen, also a anagram for “real don” The best scene of the series imo. Matt wiener has said in interviews Leonard cohen is an inspiration for dons “voice” as well as himself. And yes the interviews Matt wiener have done are on the show very insightful and is strongly recommend giving em a listen. I can listen to the man talk for hours about his work, on the sopranos as well as mad men

Df

Hands down the best ending to a show I’ve ever seen.

Gill Dawe

Thank you so much for taking this journey! I love watching reaction content but you guys are the first I've seen react to Mad Men, which is CRAZY to me since it is my favourite show of all time. You guys have such insightful commentary and I've really enjoyed your reactions!!

Cole

You guys should do a mad men QnA and just talk about the show as an entirety for like an hour.

Spring

Don’s idea of the perfect American portrait evolved from nostalgia (a white nuclear family) to embracing change (a multi-cultural community standing side by side calling out for world peace). The entirety of the show, and the American Dream, summed up in two images. (And coincidently a perfect transition to The Wire!)

Actuarial Lurker

So Don connects the most with people (and for the last time we see) via phone the way he ended the connections of marriage with Megan and Betty- by phone....ironic and brilliant

Actuarial Lurker

He needed therapy all along and we now see the Dante reference in the Season 5 opener come to fruition- Stephanie indeed IS his guide through Inferno and back the way Beatrice guides Dante,,,BUT the confession is to his real soul mate Peggy which is what frees him ..

Actuarial Lurker

Don was talking about the race car with the CA goys when he went to see Anna Draper in The Mountain King in Season 2 Episode 12

Actuarial Lurker

So Peggy and Stan-- too Rom Com, or just right? A lot of debate when the show first aired....

Cole

Don found enlightenment than advertised it.

Actuarial Lurker

Sally is all grown up...and WILL have a healthy but distant relationship with Don...in my opinion

Actuarial Lurker

Esalen retreat (EST) lets Don find himself and realize he can BE BOTH Don Draper the ad man and Dick Whitman...and put out the biggest ad of the 20th Century...McCann DID make the Coke ad in 1971 which was a few months after the November 1970 date we see on Joan's calendar in her final shot...several of the characters in the Hilltop ad are people dressed in the same clothes and pigtails that you see at the retreat....last week when his car broke down he repaired a coke machine at the motel while his car was being repaired

Robert Bauman

Wanted to thank you guys for doing the Mad Men viewing/discussion. I watched the series for the first time in 2022 and loved it, but noticed there were almost no reaction/discussion channels talking about the show, you guys were the first I've seen. I'm in my 20s (was in middle/high school for most of the show's run, so I definitely would not have fully appreciated it at the time) and a lot of people my age have not seen it, so I make sure to recommend it any time a friend or coworker asks about TV shows. Was very cool to watch along in this format for my second viewing. Definitely picked up on more stuff from your reactions and commenter observations/discussions than I had the first time around. I've seen most "prestige" TV shows from the 21st century and would put Mad Men in the Top 3. I definitely feel like it flies under the radar nowadays for whatever reason, maybe because it was one of the final popular prestige shows before the streaming revolution.

Robert Bauman

I believe some critics did not like the finale immediately after it aired (the first time I watched it I remember staring at the TV because I was not expecting the final scene to be the final scene). However, I think now it is very well-regarded. One of the reasons the show is great is because it requires the audience to pay attention and connect the dots/infer when necessary, which makes it appropriate that it ended the way it did. I also think some critics found the ending cynical. Like Don did all of this just to devise a Coke jingle for McCann. But I think he actually needed the journey away from New York and shedding his past baggage to figure everything out. Deep down Don is an ad man, but now he an ad man that is hopefully looking to the future as a source of optimism instead of looking to the future so he can run away from the past.

Robert Bauman

Now that we're at the end, my favorite episodes in each season (not necessarily the "best" but the ones I enjoyed the most): S1: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, The Hobo Code, Nixon vs. Kennedy S2: The Jet Set, Meditations in an Emergency S3: Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency, The Gypsy and the Hobo, Shut the Door Have a Seat S4: The Suitcase, The Summer Man, Tomorrowland S5: A Little Kiss, Signal 30, The Other Woman S6: For Immediate Release, The Better Half, In Care of S7: The Strategy, Lost Horizon, Person to Person Curious if others have episodes/season that stand out to them

Josh
>>147877935

I saw in an interview that the staff writers suggested and really lobbied for that ending between Peggy and Stan, and that Matthew Weiner was very resistant but eventually succame. Personally, I like it.

Josh

The best show in the history of television. Matthew Weiner has earned his spot in the literary canon. You'll love The Wire. It's man-vs-man as opposed to man-vs-self, but it's very similar at a core level. Mad Men, The Wire, and The Sopranos stand leagues above everything else.

Robert Bauman

Random notes: This was the season for which Jon Hamm finally won his Emmy. Also Hamm said in an interview that Matthew Weiner told him around Season 4 that he had figured out how the show would end. Pretty crazy that the end point was 3 season away when he thought of it.

Dylan Hearts

Using dialogues between Don and other characters through telephone calls in the finale was a brilliant idea. We always can say so much in those calls rather than near a person, that's why the scene with Leonard hits so hard after a series of "person to person" calls because this is finally a real "person to person" interaction (and even without saying a single word! Just simply hugging each other). The moment where Don Draper realized that there are people in a deep loneliness as him, and felt a true empathy towards someone so familiar despite being a stranger to him. Perfect embodiment of sharing the pain from the same psychological burden. I have to single out Evan Arnold's performance here: his humble and shy Leonard gave an unforgettable monologue about not knowing if you're really loved by people; to this day (the finale aired in 2015) I still come back to it to think again and again about its enormous emotional and raw honesty which we rarely witness in public and even in private conversations. I also find this ending unusual for TV series, as characters got what they wanted (for the most part), but it's still feels strangely bittersweet. I can't express exactly why, but it feels that way. But I'm glad that both Matthew Weiner and Jon Hamm think that the finale doesn't mean that Don Draper suddenly changed and became a better man; no, it's the same person who still will make more mistakes in his life path, but the difference is that in the finale Don finally made peace with the fact who he is, and will slowly learn to live without struggling with himself and his traumatic past. I really hope that this was the beginning of PTG (post-traumatic growth) for him. Thanks, guys, for watching Mad Men all these weeks and months! I discovered your YT channel through Mad Men, and it was 100% worth it. Your discussions before and after each episode brought additional flavor to the show which we admire and respect so much. P.S. Can't wait for The Wire soon!

Hawaiian Shirt Funeral

There are a bunch of interest takings on the finale, but my favorite is that we see Don Draper finally making peace with or moving on from Dick Whitman. Stephanie talks about how he isn't part of her family and leaves. Peggy talks about how much people worried about him and asks him to come back. That's what he does. Dick Whitman never went home, Don Draper can. And what is home for Don? Coming back to advertising with the perfect way to use a cultural revolution to sell soda. Also, fun fact, McCann actually made the Coke commercial. They tweeted this after the finale back in 2015: https://x.com/mccann_mw/status/600139668382982144 Super fun seeing people who really get and love the show watch it for the first time, thanks guys. Looking forward to The Wire.

Cole
>>147877935

It’s honestly one of my favourite parts of the finale I shipped them from like season 6.

Brian Harris

I love this ending. Anything more overt would have felt cheesy and maybe unrealistic. This is how the true epiphanies happen. They’re mysterious and not linear, and sometimes going forward looks a lot like going back. I do feel like the Stan-Peggy thing came a little out of nowhere - I wish they’d built it out a little more - but you guys are right that it feels true. I hold out hope for a Sally Draper spinoff. I’d love to see her in LA in the 80s, maybe working in Hollywood. Maybe Joan gets her a job using her industry connections. That’s another really specific time and place in our cultural history that could be sourced for this kind of rich character development. I think maybe it’s the only spinoff that could be successful in the same way.

walder slayyyyy

This show means so much to me, and it was very special to re-watch it with you two. I first watched Mad Men about four years ago and it ruined TV for me because nothing ever seems to compare. Thanks guys!

Actuarial Lurker

The Coke Hilltop ad is ranked up with the Apple 1984 launch of the Mac computers as the two best commercials of the 20th century with varying opinions on which was more culturally important

Liam Drage

have you guys seen Bojack Horseman?

Gill Dawe

It's so easy to not stick the landing in a show... and obviously it had so much to live up to, I just think this is the greatest finale in history. Every single one of our beloved characters got the exact ending I would love for them. Peggy didn't need to go with Joan, she was working towards he own dreams at McCann and Stan set it up perfectly when he said "there's more to life than work." Peggy's life has always taken a back burner to her work, at least Stan can be part of both parts of her life! Even though they haven't been beating it over our heads, the Stan/Peggy relationship has been set up with breadcrumbs from the first moment we meet Stan and I just think it's the most satisfying love story in the whole show! Joan is the most capable person on the show, and finally she gets to use all of her talents to make something for herself. Pete FINALLY realizes he can have room for all the things he's ever wanted. And Don... Don's gonna be alright. Some people feel this is an ambiguous ending but I'm with you guys, it seems so obvious that Don goes back to McCann. If you look closely, there are a few people in this episode with costumes strikingly similar to those in the commercial! Fun fact: This ad was created by someone at McCann Erickson in 1971!

Weird Magic
>>147882693

Shoutout to Evan Arnold as well - for those that don't know he will have a part to play in another show these two are watching coming up somewhat soon

Weird Magic

Originally airing on May 17, 2015, 'Person to Person' is Episode 14 of Season 7 of Mad Men. It is the 92nd episode overall and has an IMDB rating of 9.3, placing it as the #2 ranked episode of this season and #6 out of all the episodes shown so far.

Weird Magic

2015 Primetime Emmys 9/20/15 - 1 win - 5 other major nominations Winner Lead Actor - John Hamm (Kyle Chandler-Bloodline, Jeff Daniels-The Newsroom, Bob Odenkirk-Better Call Saul, Liev Schreiber-Ray Donavan, Kevin Spacey-House of Cards) Nominations Drama Series - won by Game of Thrones Lead Actress - Elisabeth Moss (Viola Davis-How to get Away with Murder) Supporting Actress - Christina Hendricks (Uzo Aduba-Orange is the New Black) Writing - "Lost Horizon" (Game of Thrones-Mother's Mercy) Writing - "Person to Person" (Game of Thrones-Mother's Mercy Really a shame Person to Person didn't win the writing Emmy but G.O.T. was such a behemoth.

Actuarial Lurker

Joa and Kevin- excellent work and loved the eye=pop reaction to the ending....

Youtalkingtome
>>147873390

We loved every second of this show. From the first frame to the last! Can't wait to start it over again.

Youtalkingtome
>>147874377

Hey thank you so much for being here and for your kind words. This is the greatest show of all time and it was an awesome privilege to do it!

Youtalkingtome
>>147877935

Yeah, I think it works. It is a bit rom com. It works so well though. At least she gets a happy ending and it makes sense that they are together. Peggy accepting love is very much on par with Don's acceptance of himself.

Youtalkingtome
>>147878271

I agree, them talking on the phone the second half of this season really sells me on that. Distant but healthy is right on the money

Youtalkingtome
>>147878994

I am also in my 20s, I totally agree with you. I recommend this show to everyone who hasn't seen it. Some people check it out and end up loving it! Thank you for the kind words. We really do appreciate it

Youtalkingtome
>>147879508

I think you can look at it as cynical and it does work that way, this show does have a dark underbelly. However, I tend to agree with what you said. His acceptance is really what it's all about

Youtalkingtome
>>147879553

Can't wait to go back and cherry pick episodes. Also you just solidified that S5 is the best with those three episodes.

Youtalkingtome
>>147881099

I love that he did. I love that he had this ending in his mind and he executed it perfectly. Thank God Hamm won an Emmy for this amazing show

Youtalkingtome
>>147882693

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE! It was a treat to do this show. I watched the finale again last night and honestly sobbed a little.

Youtalkingtome
>>147890180

I love how they played with real life history. Such an interesting commentary from this show and I loved every second of it

Jan Owen

Don't think I've commented yet but loved rewatching this with you two. Glad you got ending straight away! Looking forward to rewatching the Wire with you!

Youtalkingtome
>>147898183

I know it sounds cheesy but I would love a follow up to this show. I'll be totally fine if we never do, but I would watch the crap out of it.

Youtalkingtome
>>147934061

Thank you so much. It was our pleasure! Thank you for being here in the comments and really fleshing this show out for us!

ruseka

Been a pleasure, fellas. Only thing I have to say is, and I don't know if this was debated in the comment section earlier, gotta disagree with your read on Abe! He's a working-class, Jewish guy in New York in the 1960s. However, naive you think he is - I really think he is ultimately attempting to stand by what he believes in. Being anti-police, especially then - and whether or not you're a victim of a crime - feels justifiable & admirable.

Youtalkingtome
>>147964844

You're not wrong. My biggest issue was during the race riots, he let his enthusiasm and excitement for the article he was asked to write slip through enough that his activism suddenly felt a little performative to us.

Actuarial Lurker
>>147879553

My Season 5 Favorites: Commissions and Fees (RIP Lane), Signal 30, The Other Woman (Oh Joan!), Dark Shadows

Actuarial Lurker
>>147879553

My Season 3 Favorites: Shut The Door Have A Seat, The Grown Ups (RIP JFK), Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency

Actuarial Lurker
>>147879553

My Season 2 Favorites: The Jet Set, Meditations in An Emergency, Six Month Leave, The Mountain King

Actuarial Lurker
>>147898183

My fan fiction idea: Peggy writes the Tastes Great/Less Filing tag line for Miller Lite and gets the "great line" she aspired to in Season 7 when asked what her goals were in The Forecast and has some hand in the Coke Hilltop Ad with Don. Don born in 1926, retires for health reasons in 1986 at age 60 from all the smoking, drinking and sex, Peggy leaves McCann and forms her own agency after 5 years (not 3 like the headhunter suggested) and is the Creative Director with Stan as her Art Director, Ken quits Dow in 1975 and wins a Hugo or Nebula Award for science fiction short stories as the author he always should have been, Joan world with Salvatore Romano (who after Stonewall is non-closeted) to produce films making quirky pieces similar to Hairspray and becomes the new John Waters

Actuarial Lurker
>>147964844

I always felt Abe was true to form of a "Bernie Sanders" type 60s liberal who was more concerned with racial injustice then with sexism- as what we see when he meets Peggy and dismisses the plight of women when Peggy says she can't go to the Manhattan social clubs were businessmen do all their deals...it really did take strong women like Joan and Peggy to attack misogyny for themselves- why I loved Joan starting her own production company and Peggy strutting in with Bert Cooper's Japanese "art" on her first day at McCann

ruseka
>>147964844

I think I've used war correspondent as an analogy before; the most interesting/engaging/exciting part of your job might necessitate something terrible happening. Ideal world, it doesn't; but there's something there about how some jobs have that weird duality to them. In any case - this is coming from someone who has watched and re-watched this show to death. Clear #1 for me. Hope you both continue having fun with it; you were great reactors.

ruseka
>>147964844

@Acturial - I also liked his huge blind spot on sexism. Felt true.

Liam Drage
>>147907191

this might sounds kind of weird, but its probably the closest show to Mad Men ive seen. the comedy is so unique too, but the writing and certain episodes hit the same as Mad Men. should check it out!

sam bristow

Thanks for joining me on another rewatch. I’m the only one in my friend group obsessed with this show so I really appreciate it! Truly the best show of all time.

sam bristow

I hate ranking seasons. It’s all one big story arc with purposeful highs and lows. 😎

tom
>>147877935

That was the one thing that I found weak when I first watched the show. Then I came around on it. Now I'm not so sure. I love Stan's confession though.

tom
>>147878271

You can really see how she's had to grow up and take on a mother role this season to her little brothers. The final shot of Betty smoking lifelessly (it's so harsh in the otherwise pristine montage of everyone's happy endings in this show, but that's what makes Betty eternally enigmatic to behold for me) with Sally washing the dishes is a perfect way to encapsulate that. We also see her teaching Bobby how to cook and in previous episodes this season we see her really having to act mature around them and take care of things amidst the chaos of their parents.

tom
>>147879508

The cynicism is part of it, not just for Don. I mean, are we really not expecting Peggy and Stan's inevitably clashing personalities to cause them to argue once the honeymoon period wears off? Will Joan really not have second thoughts and find it difficult to date and find love as she's said she wants while being a single mother and a business owner? Has Pete really learned anything and improved as a father and husband, other than just realizing he wants to be with his family? Will Roger really not be tempted by a hot 20-something year-old woman living for youth and pleasure? What I realized on this rewatch, is that, along with the time period stuff and the home vs career balance stuff and the feminism and the introspection and the trauma and all the thematic underpinnings... what this finale was REALLY about for the characters was discovering what they truly wanted. Even if it's not everything, even if it's not permanent, they all stripped back a layer of their psyche, learned something, and have become more honest and open people for it. In that respect, it's incredibly optimistic and cathartic.

tom
>>147881099

If it's truly around S4 that's great, because I've always felt a lot about that, particularly The Suitcase (the midpoint of the series!) pairs nicely with the finale

tom
>>147882693

"We always can say so much in those calls rather than near a person" So much and so little. The silent moments are more vague, less knowing and more gut-wrenching for it. You can't communicate as much, as easily. You can feel the pain as neither Don nor Betty want to hang up the phone.

tom
>>147882693

As for it being bittersweet, what I noticed this time around is each character's conclusion in the finale (Pete's being last episode and Roger's being a very slow burn) revolves around them stripping back a layer of themselves with a realization of what they want. It may not be their true permanent desire, but it's a revelation and that has introspective value that makes them more well-rounded and enlightened individuals. To me that makes it very optimistic. But it depends how you view it, because the material aspect of many of the characters' lives could easily fall apart.

tom
>>147898183

This is the one show where there's just so much in-built potential for a sequel because all the stylistic and setting-based context is there. If they do it in 10 years, then make it the 80s and you can even have the actors return to play realistically older versions of their characters with it being 20 years later. The key is it just needs to have the same thematically and personally poignant layered writing, and so it has to be a Matthew Weiner project. I think it could make Mad Men feel less special and you don't want to oversaturated what is a perfect ending, but it's still fun to think about.

tom
>>147921708

With Peggy, it also just feels right for her to focus on work where she is. She's a hard worker and we've seen her climb up and up, and so this time her jumping ship with a big plan just because Joan presents it to her... even from a career standpoint, it wouldn't seem right. For once rather than chasing a big leap in ambition, she decides to enjoy where she is which means staying in the same place. It demonstrates a confidence itself, that she knows she will rise up the ranks, like Pete says. Another way to look at it, is that we want Joan to do this, this colossal task. We want her to prove herself, she deserves it after all this time and we know she can. That makes sense. But Peggy HAS already proven herself. She's been proving herself since the first season, over and over again. She's already done it, and she may still face challenges and sexism but we know that she's respected for her career so it makes sense for her to keep pushing along rather than jump onto something.

Jesus

Been traveling and missed out on yapping in the comments like in the earlier season but hope you dudes cried. I want to buy the world a Coke.

Brian Harris
>>147898183

Unquestionably has to be Weiner, and it’s a risk even then because I think any serious fan of the show has decided what happens to these characters anyway, and anything Weiner comes up with can’t live up to our imaginations. And I don’t even know that you bring everybody back. Like, for me, Pete’s story is finished. Roger’s story is finished. Peggy, Joan, and Don maybe all still have room to grow, but the most obvious center point is Sally. She’s got a whole life to lead. What’s second wave feminism do for her? How much of Don’s aloof self-loathing is present in her, and how is that expressed from a female vantage point? What would she be like as a career woman? As a mother? What’s Weiner’s spin on women “having it all?” The American Dream means different things to different generations, what does it mean to her? And yeah, I’d like to see Don again. It’s easy to imagine him taking on a role in her story not dissimilar to her role in his, a peripheral character whose presence grows organically as she struggles with some of the same demons that haunted him. He could never evolve to be quite as central as she was to his story, that wouldn’t be fair, but his potential as a (perhaps distant) foil for her is considerable. If Weiner were to do it, it would have to be soon. The show ended just about a decade ago iirc, so 1980 is creeping up. I guess they could always set it in ‘85. Sally would be roughly the same age as Don was when Mad Men started then.

Brian Harris
>>147898183

On the other hand, I literally just read an idea for a bottle episode of a Sally spinoff where Sally arranges to meet with Don for the first time in a long time and she goes to some agreed-upon location to wait, a diner or something… And he just never. Shows. Up. Depressing, but realistic and fucking on point for this show

Youtalkingtome
>>148083120

Teared up for sure. Such a brilliant ending. I did tell Kevin immediately afterwards that I had a craving for a Coke.

tom

Here I go!

tom

"Person to person" is a perfect final episode title and a perfect finale theme. As grand and thematic as this show is, it's also about the small-scale and the personal. Two people connecting. We see this in many ways, and you could say this about every episode of the show as the subtleties and pains of interpersonal dynamics is a big part of the show but that's why I think this title is so perfect. And this episode is PACKED full of stuff. I forgot how much good stuff there was here that I'd thought was in the last few episodes. We see Sally having to grow up beyond her age. It's not the first time, as the way she talks to Bobby and Gene in a mature way earlier in the season. She is a good big sister to her brothers, but we also see some of that responsibility is due to the absence of a parental figure in her brothers' lives. It's a little bit of a tragic note, and the final shot of her is her working hard as Betty wastes away, but I think there is a bit of optimism in how well Sally handles it. Yet still, that tragedy that she has to grow up so fast because of the situation and can't just be a moody teenager for a few more years. The mix of tragedy and hope in this show. Not to mention it recontextualizes those moments of maturity from earlier in the show. It begins as kind of humorous seeing Sally play the grown-up, getting the brothers organized, being paid by Megan to look after them, and her enjoyment at seeking out this feeling of being taken seriously like an adult. Yet in the ending it becomes something she must do out of necessity, beyond just filling her insecurities.

tom

I love that Don returns to his roots only for those to be uprooted and him to go in a different direction. Bringing back Stephanie for the finale is a perfect way, as she's that last remnant of a connection we have to Dick Whitman, and she calls him such -- again perfect for the finale as we unearth who he is -- but she also rejects him in the end, and it's almost like he rejects this old life. Stephanie actually does a similar thing, though in a much less intentional and dramatic way, in the Season 4 "The Suitcase" episode where Anna dies (which is the halfway point of the series, making it very poignant). Everything Don says to her about helping out is shut down, again a lot more gently than it is this episode, with a sinking feeling that Don's help is unwanted. We see that again here as it boils over. Don tries his "Move forward" approach, and it falls on deaf ears. There's no place for him here. You called it in advanced last episode, that Betty's death was, as grimly ironic as it is, the one ray of hope for Don to find his footing... but she too rejects his help. Already running away, he tries to find his footing as Don but he can't, both Sally and Betty tell him he can't become a family man. So he retreats further inwards, and becomes Dick. Yet Stephanie pushes that away too. You made an astute observation that Betty and Stephanie both reject a version of Don with arguably the most healthy motivations and it's very clever, it had me thinking too: It's a side of himself he's been steadily nurturing and healing over the series: making good on his sins of the past, embracing family rather than pushing them away, going back to his roots... He tries to do that with Betty and Stephanie, yet they both reject him and it's Peggy who directly asks for his help... but she's asking for Don, for the ruthless businessman, who drowns himself in work! The one thing he's tried to distance himself from, the office and NY and Madison Avenue is what calls back to him, calling for Don Draper to return. And that's who he embraces in the end! So... tragedy or hope? I said it better in replies to other comments, but I think this finale perfectly treads the realistic line of that dichotomy. All the characters -- Don, Peggy, Joan, Pete, Roger -- have made a decision that will alter the course of their lives seemingly for the betterment of their happiness. But will this really last? All their lives seem inevitably fraught with instability and self-doubt. Yet, even if they fail, I think the point is by making these decisions they uncovered part of themselves, which paints the ending as actually extremely optimistic. That, I believe, is the thesis of this episode. All the characters have their own baggage inflicted on them by their past and the expectations of the world around them, and the entire show culminating in the finale is the result of them introspecting within and finding out what they truly want. The ending. The ambiguity. Did he find enlightenment? Did he cynically get the idea? If you watch the scene, the little triangle sound is like a light-bulb going off in his head and it coincides perfectly with him smiling. I was elated to see you be able to have the experience of connecting with the ad in real time. My anticipation was so high watching you digest the anticlimax of him staring at the sunset then meditating. I could feel the doubt creeping in, "Is this it? We just had a whole montage and now we're at Don, so I guess he just found fulfilment?". And then such a great twist when that ad hits and it changes everything. I think Don returns, but, like all the characters -- like Joan, Peggy, Pete, Roger -- with a more defined awareness of what he wants. I think he will still have a drinking problem and he might throw himself into another relationship that won't last long, but I think he has also broken down the walls with people like Peggy, allowing him to communicate with people better without his baggage, and he'll be able to see without the fog of his trauma over everything. But maybe that's just my optimistic outlook. To be clear I think he will probably sink himself into work to an unhealthy extent, and I think everything he's done is a coping mechanism, but I also think that's not necessarily a bad outcome. Often people think of poor coping mechanisms as something you have to eventually get rid of entirely, since if it's negative that you have to be able to survive with just the issue on its own and not the coping mechanism, but I think Don is an example of where sometimes this is just who you are now, and you have to integrate this into your new life.

tom

Joan, with her business "Hollaway Harris". Using both of her names, both parts of herself. "You need two names to make it work". And of course she was always going to go back to work. We saw the gleam in her eye and the elation when opportunities like that popped up in S6 and S7. Traversing the balance between luxury/opulence, career and challenge, romance and family and traditional ideals, all of that, and we get a sense that she truly understand what she wants and isn't going to let herself be held down by toxic ideals that determine her wants. Like the other characters, even if she fails or even if she feels like she made the wrong decision (we know how much she wants love, and with work and being a single mother the prospect of that in the near future is very grim), she still learned something important about herself, that she CAN choose and that she DOES believe in herself. I've said it before, I love mean/angry Peggy and the show kind of making fun of her in those moments. I felt it when Joan promises her this lofty goal, something we all want for her, Stan is like "What? This makes no sense. Just stay at McCann" and she is realistically in denial then randomly jumps to the "you have no ambition" anger. Again, I said it better in another comment, but I also think it makes sense because Peggy has felt the need to prove herself over and over again across this show, but this decision to not join Joan shows that she finally feels that she has proven herself. She can just keep her head down, keep working, and as Pete says the reward will come in time (and their goodbye? "A thing like that"? Golden!). It makes sense for her to stay patient, just as it makes sense for Joan to launch into this big business venture where she can finally prove herself, when throughout the show she has been diminishing her own efforts. Joan is finally embracing her talents, and Peggy is finally at peace that her talents are respected. Also what a contrast, Peggy ends with love and Joan ends with career. A complete reversal of how their characters' wants are set up in the first season. Yet both women still have parts of both in their life and it shows the balance. We also get a decent look at motherhood this season with parallel plot points of Stephanie and Peggy. Both confront feeling guilty for neglect of their babies, and both have situations where the men around them fail to reassure them regarding this. Stan tells her "Don't worry, that woman shouldn't be a mother", and Don tells her "Don't worry, that woman is wrong about you". We see Peggy is a little ahead of Stephanie, having moved forward and Don's philosophy working for her, but for Stephanie it's still too fresh, and maybe time won't even heal her, like it hasn't for Don as implied by the "I don't think that's true" line. It's a very ambiguously unresolved situation, like with Margaret who Roger accepts as "lost". Life goes on, that's another theme of this show.

tom

The refrigerator monologue is great. I love how what the man is describing is both exactly Don's experience, yet also the exact opposite somehow. He embraces him nonetheless, and finally finds some cathartic value in this experience... and then he packages it and monetizes it for Coca Cola. Or does he? I loved hearing Joe's ranking of the show's seasons, because honestly hearing the fact that you put Season 4, 6 and 1 at the BOTTOM just proves how elite this show is that those could be considered weakest seasons. Just think back to how much you raved about those seasons being peak television when they happened. If you rank something you always need to put something last, and that always feels bad and wrong when the show is as good as Mad Men, but there's truly no bad season, not even a simply lukewarm or good season, everything is simply amazing.

Youtalkingtome
>>148263391

Sally's character arc is by far one of the most interesting. Watching her from a small child into the girl she is was mind blowing. Most shows don't spend that much time on supporting characters, let alone the main characters daughter. Brilliant writing and a brilliant story for Sally.

Youtalkingtome
>>148263470

I love that he was referred to as Dick for most of this episode. Can it be a bit of both? Both hopeful and cynical? It did sound like a light bulb going off and that was so obvious and intentional. It's all cyclical on this show. He will be the Don we know but with a better understanding of who he is. What that looks like, I don't know. Will he be a better person? I don't know but I have my idea of what happens. Just like everyone else does. The ambiguity of it all is so good.

Youtalkingtome
>>148263701

The contrast of Joan and Peggy is amazing. I love their dynamic throughout the whole show and how they've grown next to one another. Their relationship with Don and how similar and dissimilar their personal lives are. Very interesting parallels to one another. God it is so good.

Youtalkingtome
>>148263754

Wouldn't call any of those seasons bad at all. Each individual season is better than 95% of tv in general. Hats off to everyone involved. If someone from Mad Men is in something I will not hesitate to watch it. Anyone. I am a fan for life and can't wait to start this rewatch.

Paul T Hewes

Stan had been in love with Peggy since she called his naked bluff. He was smitten then and he had been waiting for her since.

tom

I MISS THIS

Kara

Subscribed to the channel to binge watch your Mad Men reactions and finally finished. #1 show all time and really enjoyable / insightful reactions. Very funny binge watching and hearing you come to the same points you had weeks or months ago. You called a lot of shots off-hand that ended up coming true. Thanks for being one of the few channels to react to Mad Men!

Youtalkingtome
>>159005113

Hey thank you so much for joining! We loved this show so much and I know that we both think about it constantly!