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Mad Men End
Old 05-16-2015, 12:25 PM   #1
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Mad Men End

I have been a fan of AMC'S Mad Men since the beginning (7 years ago?). This Sunday Don Draper (Dick Whitman) and the gang will wrap it all up. He gave away his Caddy last week and all he had left was a Sears bag and the clothes on his back. What will he give away on Sunday?

Is anyone else a fan of this show?
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Old 05-16-2015, 12:32 PM   #2
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I love this show. It brings back memories of an era I can relate to. I don't have cable, so I am waiting until the final episodes are all available on iTunes and will binge on them. I am not prepared to wait for them to turn up on Netflix!
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Old 05-16-2015, 12:33 PM   #3
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I'm a huge fan... and it will create a hole in our viewing...

Yep - some of the changes over the past few episodes have been stunning.

((spoiler alert for folks who haven't seen recent episodes))

I was really surprised by the Cancer dx.
Also surprised at how the sexism of the new firm played out with both Peggy and Joan. Not to mention the issue of the entire black segment of the support staff like Dawn, etc. Hard to believe that world was only a few decades ago.


Predictions for tomorrow night:
- Don will get sucked back into working for McCann because he knows he needs to earn a living to raise support Bobby and Sally.
- Joan and Peggy will start their own firm.
- Pete will go back to his ex-wife in the suburbs... but move back to Manhattan and do the urban family thing.
- Ken will say ARGGG like a pirate.
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Old 05-16-2015, 12:38 PM   #4
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My prediction: Don will revert to Dick Whitman and walk off into the sunset carrying only his Sears bag.
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Old 05-16-2015, 05:07 PM   #5
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Our favorite show, it started shortly after I met DW. It has been a tradition to crack a bottle of red and watch 2 or 3 episodes on a quiet weekend evening. Will miss that and will miss the music too.

My prediction: Don falling out of the skyscraper thus replicating the opening credits.
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Old 05-16-2015, 06:05 PM   #6
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Roger will chase down Don with the intention of bringing him back to the fold. But after yet another heavy drinking session Don actually convinces Roger to drop everything and join him in the vagabond life on the road. It doesn't really take much effort for Roger to comply.

Two years later after spending up their residuals living the carefree, self-absorbed, drunk, and casual sex filled life they find themselves at yet another crossroads. But their great fortune continues as they meet a fella and manage to get in on a ground floor investment in the latest audio technology. 8-track tapes.

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Old 05-16-2015, 06:22 PM   #7
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My prediction: Don falling out of the skyscraper thus replicating the opening credits.
I had the same thought. You never know what Matthew Weiner has up his sleeve. I remember the Sopranos ending...

I have watched since the first episode, and was in love instantly. I'm roughly the same age as Sally, and love how they wove in the Kennedy Assassination, Cuban Missile Crisis, rampant sexism and racism, the princess phones, the authentic underwear, you name it. It is a masterpiece. I may ask for the box set for Christmas - it's truly timeless. I have a feeling when it ends tomorrow night, I'll feel like my parents died, again.
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Old 05-16-2015, 08:29 PM   #8
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Big Mad Men fans.


DH and I must wait on Netflix. I am titillated/depressed over these posts.
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Old 05-17-2015, 05:36 AM   #9
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I'm happy enough to see it have a formal ending (rather than declining into oblivion like so many other once-great programs).

I was intrigued by the DB Cooper rumor that had been floating around (), but apparently it has now been officially denied (). Of course, we had an outright denial about one resolution of a series finale () denied once before, which turned out to be a lie ().
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Old 05-17-2015, 09:42 AM   #10
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DW and I have really enjoyed this series. It's one of the few commercial broadcasts that we watch. It seems to be more thoughtfully put together then the usual Hollywood show. Part of the appeal is that not everything is spelled out (like for a 10 year old). Sometimes the characters do unpredictable things.

Been watching some of the first season shows on Netflix streaming. And I almost never watch something twice over.

I'm not expecting too much from the final episode. As in real life, it is a continuous play. But it will be interesting to see hints of how the writer views his characters further developments.

BTW, our son is in advertising. He doesn't seem to be enamored with the show. Maybe this is more a generational thing? For us, it's fun to see the 60's and 70's fashions and thoughts. For our son, it would be more like us viewing the 1930's.
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Old 05-17-2015, 10:43 AM   #11
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Love love love the show and can't wait to see how it wraps up tonight. The past few seasons especially have been truly brilliant TV drama, and I believe it's firmly earned its place as possibly the greatest drama series of all time. Will be very sad to see it go. I don't think Matthew Weiner will give us such an ambiguous and controversial ending like the Sopranos had. I'd guess it will be very poignant, much like the past few episodes but even more so.
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Old 05-17-2015, 01:35 PM   #12
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Funny. I thought last weeks episode was the final show. Seemed like most everything already cleared up!


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Old 05-17-2015, 10:13 PM   #13
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It was a great show (I was a few years late to the party) and finale. I purposely avoided opening this thread for fear of "spoilers".
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Old 05-18-2015, 12:47 AM   #14
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Everybody gets a happy ending except Betty?

Does anyone recognize the site of the "retreat"? I'm thinking it is the Esalen Institute.


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Old 05-18-2015, 06:47 AM   #15
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Everybody gets a happy ending except Betty?
I loved the ending. I saw on Twitter that some thought Betty was bitten by karma. Not sure I can think of many instances where karma is that cruel.

And, in my Mad Men Mind, I think Don got his act together after much meditation, and returned to work with Peggy to create that Coke commercial. Even Coke thinks he had a hand in it.

https://twitter.com/CocaCola/status/600156009185865728

gcgang, that was the Esalen Institute.
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Old 05-18-2015, 08:25 AM   #16
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I think Don got his act together after much meditation, and returned to work with Peggy to create that Coke commercial.
Yeah, after contemplating the different possible meanings of that last scene, I think this is about right. I am not sure I'd characterize it as "getting his act together", but more like he finally came to an understanding of his true nature and fully embraced it. He knows now that he is, at his core, a master manipulator and (like the guy who spilled his guts in the group therapy session) someone who doesn't really know what love is. So in a moment of extreme "spiritual" clarity, he has an epiphany that ultimately leads to the creation of the most iconic TV commercial in history. This is his true nature and his only way of being. Everything else he's been chasing and wrestling with all these years is essentially a series of distractions and wrong turns. He learns to accept his true nature, and when he does he can find what is for him the only "true" fulfillment and love in life -- the creation of genius ad campaigns that are historic, memorable, and award-worthy.

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Everybody gets a happy ending except Betty?
I don't think everyone has a happy ending, per se. It's pretty clear that Pete and family won't live out their idyllic new life indefinitely, given his very flawed character. How long do we really think it will be before he does something to mess everything up? And I think Joan's "ending" isn't really happy in the truest sense. I just think that we see all the characters going on to do whatever it is that furthers their recognition of (or acceptance of) their true selves. Peggy, for example, gave up her dream of having her name on the door when she opted not to join Joan in running their own company, but decided instead to build her career at McCann in hopes of one day becoming another Don Draper -- an industry legend and someone that people mythologize. Peggy knows deep down that is her calling and her true nature.

Seems to me that this finale, kind of like all good finales of outstanding, long running, character-driven dramas, is not so much about neatly tying up all the loose ends. Life is not like that, and these shows recognize that by leaving many things fairly ambiguous. We don't really know what the rest of Don's or Peggy's or Sally's life will be like, but we may have some ideas based on the last few glimpses we have into their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Having said that, I definitely feel this morning as if I've lost a good friend (or friends), and I'm going to be sad about that for a while.

Hats off to a truly magnificent seven years of top notch entertainment and story telling.
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Old 05-18-2015, 08:55 AM   #17
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And, in my Mad Men Mind, I think Don got his act together after much meditation, and returned to work with Peggy to create that Coke commercial. Even Coke thinks he had a hand in it.

I agree, the ending was great. I interpreted Peggy's ending as resigning and going to work with Joan. The last scene with her was typewriting and I assumed she was typing her resignation letter.

Plus, I seem to recall that Joan picked up a call from someone, but we didn't know who. I assumed that it was from Peggy.
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Old 05-18-2015, 10:02 PM   #18
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I really enjoyed the finale and liked the basic note of continuity it presented. I really did feel like Pete had matured and would be OK as a family guy. Too bad about Betty but she handled a bad outcome well --- and it's just a story ... isn't it?
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Old 05-18-2015, 11:42 PM   #19
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Originally Posted by SumDay View Post
I loved the ending. I saw on Twitter that some thought Betty was bitten by karma. Not sure I can think of many instances where karma is that cruel.

And, in my Mad Men Mind, I think Don got his act together after much meditation, and returned to work with Peggy to create that Coke commercial. Even Coke thinks he had a hand in it.

https://twitter.com/CocaCola/status/600156009185865728

gcgang, that was the Esalen Institute.
I remember that January Jone (Betty) got death threats for her role. So I'm a bit disappointed that the haters got what they wanted.

As finales go I thought it was good but not great. I loved the Coke ending, and I liked seeing Roger with the Megan's mom, I also liked Joann starting her own business.

I found the ending with Peggy to be just rather silly, and nothing about Pete getting the job at Learjet rang true.

Still it was a great show and I'm glad I watched it.
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Old 05-19-2015, 01:00 AM   #20
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I went to Esalen back in the 1980s. Beautiful setting, as you could see on the show. Took a class on Yoga and massage. Ate a bunch of organic, raw foods, and spent an evening chanting with a disciple of the Dali Lama. Most relaxed I've ever been. I can see how Don found peace and enlightenment there.

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