Mad Men Season Finale: Don Pops the Question

 Last season Mad Men ended with the heist-movieish thrill of Don, Roger, Pete, etc. basically stealing Sterling-Cooper from its new British owners and starting their own firm. The home stretch of this season offered a different sort of thrill, as we saw SCDP struggle to survive.

 Cheers to Matthew Weiner for not offering any easy solutions, either for the company or the people in it. There was some speculation on-line -- based on the fact that the finale was called "Tomorrowland" -- that Disney would swoop in as a new client and rescue everyone. Thankfully, that didn't happen. No big victories here, just small ones like Peggy scoring the pantyhose company and Don (maybe) winning over the American Cancer Society and its well-connected board. 

 And no easy answers for anyone else, either, least of all Don, who sacrifices an honest, loving, adult relationship with Faye to be with Megan, his secretary/lover/nanny pretty much the moment he sees that Megan doesn't turn into Medusa when Sally and Bobby act up in public. 

 You know, the way Betty would.

 (For some good thoughts on Betty's role in this episode in particular and on the show in general, I'll direct you to the always astute Amanda Marcotte, who disliked this episode for a variety of reasons, including Joan's decision not to have the abortion. "On TV, 99% of women who enter abortion clinics have a change of heart and leave," Marcotte writes. "In reality, I’m guessing the numbers are reversed.") 

It's a baffling decision; I expect most of the audience reacted the same way Don's colleagues did. I know I left the season -- which I'm ready to call Mad Men's best -- feeling a bit off-kilter. I made a Groundhog Day joke on Twitter last night about the finale's choice of closing song: "I Got You Babe." But the more I think on it, the more the use of the song seems intentional. Don's just as stuck as Bill Murray.

 Other thoughts:

•  How great was that scene with Peggy and Joan? It lasted like a minute, if that, yet told us so much about far these characters have come.
• Another nice moment: Don falling face down on his bed, then telling the kids "pick me up and move me to my bed." We hardly ever get to see him doing goofy "dad" stuff like that.
• No Sal this season. In retrospect, there was never really a good time to reintroduce him.
•  I missed the previous two episodes, so a lot of this is running together, but I can't let the season end without saying how cool Don's full-page ad was.
• And that's it for this season, and Mad Men. The blog's going dark for the rest of the month, as I transition from my current job to my new one, and then travel to Florida for my brother's wedding. I'll return next month to talk Walking Dead. See you then.

  Tom Coombe

Comments

[Brian Callaway]

I would like to point out that, two or three weeks ago when Megan first seduced Don, I was with folks who were all, "Jeez, her teeth are scary." And THEN, in the finale, even the writers were forced to admit that, "Jeez, her teeth are scary."

That is all.

(Or, almost all, because I'm kind of not-so-secretly looking forward to the idea of Don promoting Megan to copy-person, and Peggy having to be the one who realizes that ... Megan's just not that smart...)

(Or, Pt. 2, I would like to point out that I'm disappointed that the season didn't end with Sally becoming Joan's ward, and the two of them proceeding to take over the world. Because, seriously? Joan and Sally could totally take over the world.)

And that, really, is all...

[Tom]

Yeah, Sally really came into her own this season.

Also, I seem to be the only person on earth who didn't notice Megan's teeth until after the writers made an issue of it.