Television Mad Men | SPOILERS

I typically don't think he'd commit suicide. As shown by his stealing of Don's identity before the series starts, he's the type of guy who is always able to make the best of his situation, and fit in with whoever he ends up with, which is part of why he's so good at his job.

But that facade started to slip a bit in Season 7A, and we're being hit over the head this half season with how truly lonely Don is. If he were to decide that he'll be eternally unhappy, suicide could be an option.
 
Lane Pryce's suicide is probably the biggest argument for Don not committing suicide. Man, season four was so good.
 
Duffy said:
They wouldn't...would they?
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It'd certainly be an interesting "hidden in plain sight" conclusion. I quite like it. But then I like big iconic shows to end in big iconic ways. Which is why I was a bit harsh on the BB finale.
 
I genuinely don't want this show to end. 10/10 episode.
 
Best moments of this episode

1. THE KING ORDERED IT!
2. C-O-C-A C-O-L-A
3. Don and Roger drinking scene
 
First half of the episode was slow, but then... damn.

@Lynk I love Pete, but 'co-ca co-la' might just be the best moment in the show's history.
 
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Thought that was a great episode, by far the best of the season so far.
 
Wonder where they're going with Don and that waitress, Diana. After every episode she's appeared in I've thought her part in the story was done but she keeps cropping up.
 
Scrumpet said:
Wonder where they're going with Don and that waitress, Diana. After every episode she's appeared in I've thought her part in the story was done but she keeps cropping up.
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I half suspected she was someone from his past, when he was Walt, but then she came up with the story about leaving her kids I'm not so sure. Still something bugging me about his whole "where do I know you from?" thing at the start of the season. There's more to it than meets the eye.
 
Duffy said:
I half suspected she was someone from his past, when he was Walt, but then she came up with the story about leaving her kids I'm not so sure. Still something bugging me about his whole "where do I know you from?" thing at the start of the season. There's more to it than meets the eye.
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He saw a bit of all his past flings in her like Rachel and the doctor's wife.
 
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It was outstanding. I think it's the first episode of the second half of the season where we've seen some 'end game' for most of the characters aside from Don.

Pete's exchange with the headmaster was absolutely hilarious, too.

Pretty sure once this is over, the only show I'll consider better than it is The Wire. Maybe The Sopranos at a stretch.
 
Ending will be a big part of that. I'm confident Weiner can end this brilliantly, whatever route he chooses to take.

A common theme of these episodes have been the endings with Don's loneliness, this time with him surrounded by people but being completely ignored, as if he wasn't even there.
 
Yeah it will be, definitely.

I'll be disappointed if they kill Don, though. I really don't feel like Mad Men needs to do it. It's not a show like others where you felt the main character needs to die. I assume they'll give him some sort of bittersweet ending though. They definitely won't close off his story completely.
 
Interview with Jared Harris about directing that episode.

An interesting quote:
It's bittersweet, because it is still good news for many of them.

I had the opportunity to read the last three scripts, but I chose not to. I wanted to watch the last ones like I've watched it for the last two years. Not knowing anything about the content of what's to come, I do think the touchstone that Matt always comes to is that he wants it to be authentic to the human experience. I don't know what happens vis-à-vis Don, but I know that he's known for a while. No one gets what they want without it coming at a price. And that seems to be true if you look at the events that have come throughout the last seven years. People think they know what they want, and they get something else. Or they get what they want, and it isn't how they thought it would be. I don't think it's going to be a Hallmark card ending, absolutely not.
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Yeah, it's finally starting to dawn that it's the end of the series.

I'm gonna have to consume even more 50's/60's American cinema in order to cope when series has ended.
 
Cina said:
It was outstanding. I think it's the first episode of the second half of the season where we've seen some 'end game' for most of the characters aside from Don.

Pete's exchange with the headmaster was absolutely hilarious, too.

Pretty sure once this is over, the only show I'll consider better than it is The Wire. Maybe The Sopranos at a stretch.
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The Wire is a greater show but it hasn't nearly affected me as much on a personal level as Mad Men has.
 
There's something really special about Mad Men. It's so well made, it looks great, the writing is fantastic as is the acting (sans Glen). I feel like I could watch it all over again and take something entirely different from each episode, there's honestly that much depth to it. I tell people who haven't seen it that it's my favorite program of all time and they ask why and I generally tell them they wont get the action or shocks of GOT or Breaking Bad or Sopranos, but its a program that will make you think - Mad Men rewards you more than any other great show for paying attention to what is being said, and how it's being said. It's the little details that make it fantastic.
 
R.N7 said:
The Wire is a greater show but it hasn't nearly affected me as much on a personal level as Mad Men has.
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I think I'd kind of put it in a similar way, actually. I'd find it hard to go against The Wire as being the greatest show I've watched, but there's something about Mad Men and its characters which I just love. The time period, setting, and whole feel it has are also just absolutely superb.
 
Just watched the first 2 episodes from Season 1 as I had a bit of spare time on my hands. Some great lines and scenes that still ring true in this final season. In episode 1 you had Don tell Pete that if he carried on the way he did he would "end up in a corner office, with no hair and all alone, because nobody likes you"...you see Pete now and realise how clever it is.

In episode 2, Betty having crashed the car with the kids in, she speaks to Don about how Sally has a bruise on her face and what if she were hideously scarred. This leads into a scene from season 6 (I think) where Sally gets into a fight and has her nose broken and Betty gives her the same speech about how her good looks could have been ruined and how she is lucky to have her mothers looks, which then plays into the episode just gone with Sally's "oozing" rant about how shallow Don and Betty are and how all they care about is their looks.

This show will seriously be looked at and analysed in years to come and be seen as the greatest ever by many because it is a true piece of art - I think even the biggest fans won't realise just how good it is until they go back and see it for the 3rd or 4th time.

EDIT: Episode 3 Don sits in his car drunk, staring into space. You realise that he is at a level crossing as a train goes past, seemingly contemplating suicide. So we know he thought about it even before his brother/Price/2 Divorces etc. Hmmmm, beginning to think even more so that's where we are heading.
 
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Duffy said:
Just watched the first 2 episodes from Season 1 as I had a bit of spare time on my hands. Some great lines and scenes that still ring true in this final season. In episode 1 you had Don tell Pete that if he carried on the way he did he would "end up in a corner office, with no hair and all alone, because nobody likes you"...you see Pete now and realise how clever it is.

In episode 2, Betty having crashed the car with the kids in, she speaks to Don about how Sally has a bruise on her face and what if she were hideously scarred. This leads into a scene from season 6 (I think) where Sally gets into a fight and has her nose broken and Betty gives her the same speech about how her good looks could have been ruined and how she is lucky to have her mothers looks, which then plays into the episode just gone with Sally's "oozing" rant about how shallow Don and Betty are and how all they care about is their looks.

This show will seriously be looked at and analysed in years to come and be seen as the greatest ever by many because it is a true piece of art - I think even the biggest fans won't realise just how good it is until they go back and see it for the 3rd or 4th time.

EDIT: Episode 3 Don sits in his car drunk, staring into space. You realise that he is at a level crossing as a train goes past, seemingly contemplating suicide. So we know he thought about it even before his brother/Price/2 Divorces etc. Hmmmm, beginning to think even more so that's where we are heading.
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Episode 1's really interesting because it's obviously superb and has that early quality of the show, but you can also see that they're kind of finding their feet.

Don says a really sexist line to Rachel that would seem a bit out of character for him later on, while Pete is a complete and utter dick beyond what he ever arguably is later in the show, which is some achievement. They kind of lay a lot of the early stuff on thick, with the time setting etc and even with Sal's homosexuality.

Still, it's obviously a brilliant episode though which set up a lot about the show to come. Everyone looks so young when watching back, especially Pete and Peggy.
 
The transformation of Pete from character you hate, to character you love to hate, to character you love is fantastic.
 
Leg-End said:
The transformation of Pete from character you hate, to character you love to hate, to character you love is fantastic.
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Agreed. He gradually becomes funnier and funnier as each season passes.
 
I haven't rewatched any of the previous seasons yet, soon as it ends I'm just gonna re-start and pretend it never ended.

Looking forward to going back to the start and picking up all the Roger quips that I missed.
 
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