Mad Men

[Tictacbk]

Ah that was great.  Coulda been the finale and I almost would've been fine with it.  First Don's apartment, now SC&P?  They're striking sets left and right.

Also that scene with Trudy and Pete and the headmaster (or whatever) was so random and weird and wonderful. 

I still think Don should end up in California.

[Fernando]

now that was a great mad men episode.

I watch this a day late but the upside is that the f words aren't bleeped, thank you hbo.

[©brad]

Yeah it was a great episode. It's making me rethink the entire season and all my kvetching. I don't know why I expected some plot propulsion at this stage in the show. In a way it's kind of a bold move creatively to stick to the pace you've established and not bend to any critic or audience pressure to ramp things up in the end. Actually scratch that, Mad Men is ramping things up in its own way.

Basically never listen to a review I post immediately after an episode of a beloved show airs when I'm too viscerally drunk to comprehend things. This could be a fun thread topic - we all revisit our reviews in the past we now disagree with (or have we done this already?)

[03]

The endings so far have been really interesting in the consistent theme thats been mentioned before. Don being alone surroundedby a bunch of people made a lot of sense.

[Drenk]

That was something.

[BB]

That was one of the best episodes they've ever done.

[Tictacbk]

My god that shot of Peggy walking into the office is all I ever want to be.  (And I'm a man...)

[03]

Peggy and roger scenessome of the most iconic shit of this series

[03]

soo... yeah that was crazy. did fassbinder ghost direct that episode?

[Drenk]

Quietly powerful episode.

(I missed Peggy a lot, though.)

EDIT : Blocked and accused of mansplaining and harassment on Twitter because I didn't think Betty's cancer was a punition because she couldn't cope with the change of a pre-feminist world. I wrote "Or maybe she couldn't cope with cancer because of all the cigarettes she smoked?" Sorry if my penis doesn't allow me to disagree. Anyway, who cares? That's Twitter.

[©brad]

Betty preserving her beauty in the end is the most important thing to her. I remember Weiner saying the tragedy of Betty Draper is she will one day lose her looks and that will be worse than death. But now, she doesn't have to.

And good god that letter. I wept like a baby. I don't see Betty being unable to cope with any sort of feminist-fueled change. In fact, what's amazing is how Betty did change and mature in subtle ways post-Don. She was going back to school and assuming a new identity of her own, which makes her diagnosis all the more tragic. Much is being made of the timing with Mother's Day but regardless, it was for me one of the most powerful storylines in the entire series.

Don's story was a slog and just dragged, but it was worth it for that final shot of him at the bus stop. That was great.

Pete's story seemed contrived. Of all the characters on Mad Men, he's the one who gets a happy ending? I didn't need an entire episode with Duck Phillips either, but so be it.

We need Peggy and Roger big in the finale. Also surely Don has to come back now right? I wouldn't be mad if it ended with him being a dad, cooking the kids breakfast or something. That would be a nice transformation.

I love this show but I'm actually glad it's ending now. It's so emotionally and existentially exhausting I don't think I can take much more.

[Kal]

Possible Finale Prediction

I have no clue what will happen in the finale and if they are planning some sort of time-jump, but I do imagine that something as tragic and important as Betty dying would be an excuse to bring all the characters together one more time. We haven't seen everyone together and there are so many older characters that are out of the picture, but a funeral like that one could bring them back.

Don being a dad would be a great way to start this new chapter of his life. Can't wait to see what happens with Roger and Peggy.

[03]

well that was horrible.

[Drenk]

No. (I don't know what to get from the ending-ending, but I like it.)

[putneyswipe]

the problem with long running, acclaimed and beloved tv shows is too much emphasis is put on finales- that will inevitably disappoint people in both directions and elicit knee-jerk reactions like "unsatisfying" (sopranos) "tied things up too neatly with a bow" (breaking bad) ,etc .

(side note: I've only seen a few episodes of the sopranos but i've watched the finale a hundred times on youtube and its one of my favorite endings to anything ever, breaking bad was a bit too neat imo) 

anyway in both cases the act of letting go to something that you have been attached too over the course of several years is tough, and unlike movies, there is a subconscious desire to never want things to end and know everything while realizing that is idiotic, or to envision your best idea of an ending which will inevitably end in disappointment.

in the end it was just another episode. he jumped off the skyscraper and landed on a couch, cigarette in hand. it didn't really call attention to itself and it wasn't perfect, but it wasn't horrible either. it definitely felt rushed and there were a few too many fan service-y moments (the stan/peggy stuff wasn't handled very well), but it had moments of subtle brilliance (the way don's enlightenment is juxtaposed against the crass commercialism of the coke ad, the commodification of naive 60s values (inherent vice?), but really isn't that what "happiness" is anyway? (according to don)) its cynical and hopeful at the same time, and I prefer it too something overly "dark", or edgy or ambiguous or really anything "finale- like" which would go against what the show was always about anyway.

but i can understand why you would feel that way 03