Posted: 5/11/15 at 12:43pm
I love Joan, Peggy and Roger, so while this episode was good, IMO, it was lacking. I hope last week wasn't the end of Joan's story. Only an hour left?!
Posted: 5/11/15 at 1:26pm
"Only an hour left?!"
I know, right?! Can't believe it's ending. On the other hand, it feels like it's time. (Coincidentally the finale air date is mine & my husband's 35th wedding anniversary.)
Posted: 5/11/15 at 5:02pm
"I know I'm in the minority on this board, but I thought the show jumped the shark last season, and while this season has had some fun final moments for some of our favorite characters (Joan, anything Peggy, and fare thee well Pete) in general the writing is way too overwrought for my taste.
Introduction of that useless waitress character to spark the lifeless "How low can Don go," storyline... poor Betty, such a "Lifetime" contrived ending. I think they deserve better story resolutions with more thought behind them.
"
I think it's unfair to call the Betty storyline a "Lifetime" twist. It feels, and this sounds weird, genuinely earned by the show IMHO. OK the final montage of Betty climbing the stairs as Sally read her letter was perhaps borderline sentimental for this show, but again, it felt earned to me (and I found it an extremely touching image, so there.) I think it also finally convinced me once and for all that January Jones really does know what she's doing with Betty and, at least in this one case, has given a really great performance over the years. (Random, but shouldn't Sally's brothers be older? In 1970 wouldn't they be 13 and 6 or 7?)
I think, however, most people agree with you that the waitress was a mis-step (of course it obviously was used to set Don up on his roadtrip, but...)
I didn't miss Peggy and Joan and the office while watching, but I did in hindsight. I admit, I'm a little concerned that that *was* the last of Joan we saw.
It finally hit me last night how much I'll miss this show, but I have to agree with others here that, rationally, it does seem time. Which is sorta a nice feeling too--I'm so used to shows either overstaying their welcome by just a bit (even shows that meant a ton to me like Buffy back when it first aired,) or else ending too soon.
Anyone else feel some weird sexual tension between Don and the "maid?" Maybe I was just projecting (and possibly it was just how the actor played it, since his character was clearly meant to show he was willing to basically do anything for a profit.)
Gotham, for the life of me I can't figure out what VFW stands for...
Posted: 5/11/15 at 5:52pm
Eric, VFW = Veterans of Foreign Wars. Did I catch Wojo of Barney Miller in there?
Just wish they did something more creative with Betty rather than have her die of cancer. I'll never forget that first episode where she shot the bird. I wanted her to go out with a bang, not a whimper. Ah well.
Posted: 5/11/15 at 9:49pm
"Eric, VFW = Veterans of Foreign Wars. Did I catch Wojo of Barney Miller in there?
Just wish they did something more creative with Betty rather than have her die of cancer. I'll never forget that first episode where she shot the bird. I wanted her to go out with a bang, not a whimper. Ah well."
Perhaps she will. Betty saw her own mother suffer. Usually,she needs things to be on her terms. A lengthy process of palliative care would place control in the hands of others. While the doctors have given her about a year, Betty has already given Sally her instructions for burial. Betty would want to finish the college semester and then who knows? Surely, there is a gun somewhere in that house!
Posted: 5/11/15 at 11:32pm
"Gotham, for the life of me I can't figure out what VFW stands for..."
All across America, there are VFW Halls (Veterans of Foreign Wars). It's like a fraternity for veterans. They have clubhouses for Veterans and they do pretty much what you saw in this episode. Sit around and drink and swap stories. Many also invite wives and girlfriends in to have dances at the VFW Hall to raise money. I was surprised the first time I went into one and used the men's room. Each urinal had a picture of Jane Fonda right where a man would pee.
If you know the musical "Parade" there is a line in the funeral song "Don't Make Sense" that says "And she liked to see the pictures at the VFW Hall," That refers to a VFW Hall making money by showing a movie. Usually they would bring in a popular movie and everyone in the community would come see it and pay a small entrance fee.
Also, the VFW would rent out their hall for wedding receptions. A lot of times people who couldn't afford a restaurant reception would rent the VFW Hall and several aunts and cousins would make food and bring it for the wedding reception.
In the US, on national holidays like Memorial Day and Veterans Day, you'll always see VFW members marching in parades.
Posted: 5/12/15 at 2:10am
SOMEone had to get lung cancer.
Damn you, autocorrect!
Updated On: 5/12/15 at 02:10 AM
Posted: 5/12/15 at 4:10am
That damn lunch cancer! 
Gotham, thanks for the explanation. We have those halls here in Canada too (though I hear they're starting to die off,) just never use the term VWF--so the idea of them in the episode didn't confuse me, but I had no idea what you meant Their called Canadian Legion Halls here.
Posted: 5/12/15 at 8:53am
Another fascinating and rich episode. I'm just loving this season. Betty's development came a little out of nowhere, of course, but that seems to me to be entirely the point, and it was all handled with such intelligence and real emotion (never crossing the line into tear-jerking weepiness) that I didn't care. And that remarkable little letter she left for Sally, a fascinating mix of no-nonsense directions about funeral and burial arrangements, weirdly passive aggressive parenting in dumping all that responsibility on her own daughter, and a loving statement of acceptance -- I don't think it could possibly have been done any better. Seriously, Nobel Prizes are won for less perceptive work.
This season is not about big finishes -- it has vigorously avoided any semblance of that kind of thing. Even Joan's confrontation at the office ended with her being beaten, and she ends up just walking away, as Don has done, and as it now seems Pete is going to do. Departures are the order of the season here, I think. And with Don shedding all semblances of "Don" in giving away his car, I'm eager to see what that last hour has in store.
One thing's for sure, as of 11:15 p.m. on Sunday May 17, American television will have its artistic IQ reduced by a good two-thirds.
Posted: 5/12/15 at 9:59am
Posted: 5/12/15 at 10:34am
Yes, Bobby Draper and Gene have surprisingly not aged as quickly as their sister. Perhaps they are just late bloomers, but Bobby still looks eight years old, while he should be much closer to Sally's 15-16. Gene should be 6 at this point, being that the story is now taking place in 1970.
Posted: 5/12/15 at 10:34am
"I want to know what's in the milk that Bobby Draper drinks. He never ages. Shouldn't he be about 14 now?"
This was the FIRST time that bothered me. I just started doing the math and I was like, 'Um...'
But it was a small thing. What a gut-punch of an episode. TLo pointed out in their recap that the great loves of Don's life (Anna, Rachel Menken and, now, Betty) have all been lost to cancer. The series started with Don saving Lucky Strike by downplaying the carcinogenic properties of cigarettes and is now ending with the logical endpoint of such an action. No matter what limitations January Jones may have as an actress, she has created an iconic character in the greatest television series. It's complicated perfection.
Posted: 5/12/15 at 10:43am
Posted: 5/17/15 at 11:20pm
That finale was a total fail for me - did any character actually seem like the person we have watched for the last 7 years? Why were some of the most important scenes done on the telephone? Wow - what a disappointment after the excellent work in the last few prior episodes.
Posted: 5/17/15 at 11:34pm
Well I loved it. Start to finish. Is everybody else going to poop on my Mad Men finale parade (it's cool, wonkit or anyone else, free country!), or did anyone else like it too?
Posted: 5/17/15 at 11:55pm
And to think, Peggy telling Don he could always come home is the reason for that iconic Coca Cola commercial.
I liked the finale. Still on the fence about Peggy's new love interest. Happy that Don found peace, and used it to his (financial) advantage. Very sorry to see that Joan's love interest was not interested in a working woman, only a trophy wife. And that phone conversation between Betty and Don broke my heart.
Updated On: 5/17/15 at 11:55 PM
Posted: 5/17/15 at 11:57pm
^I liked it, too. Stan basically explained why the important scenes were on the phone. Peggy was the character in whom I was most invested, and I thought the "What? . . . What?" scene was a perfect distillation of who she was. I think I understand Don/Dick's journey after this episode, and I am satisfied.
My only question is whether Weiner means for us to understand Don was responsible for the Coke commercial or whether he'll say it's meant to be ambiguous--did he do it or was it simply meant to show the totality of the different world from where we began in 1960 and where we end in 1970?
Also, in an earlier post, I referenced Joan becoming an entrepreneur, so it's hard to say this ending was out of expected character for her. Weiner created a juxtaposition between Joan, the sexpot who ends up making it on her own, and Peggy the workaholic with blind ambition who finds love.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 12:04am
I mostly liked it. Given the size of the show's ensemble, I think the finale strained to give everyone the proper send-off, but I was still fairly pleased. Both Peggy and Joan had much more positive endings than I would have predicted, but I was happy with both. It's Don's, and by extension the entire series, ending that has me a bit baffled. My first impression is that it's a brilliantly cynical ending, but it was too muddled for me to really get anything from it.
Regardless, I've loved this show for seven seasons, and whatever complaints I had with the finale, I'm very sad to see it go. It's a masterpiece of television, and I'm gonna miss all these characters greatly.
ETA: So a friend sent me this article that pretty well predicts the very end of the series, and it generally sums up how I feel about it. Mad Men Finale
Updated On: 5/18/15 at 12:04 AM
Posted: 5/18/15 at 1:33am
Crap ending to what was once a really good show. I feel cheated.
And some of the acting was so ham-fisted. But Elisabeth Moss gave some of the best acting she's done on the series, especially when you look at the crap material she was given. I love what she does to the bloody Mary in the restaurant scene. It just fit the character so well.
I feel that that last monologue about not being chosen and not being seen should have belonged to Don, as an epiphany. It just seems out of place that a man who has spent his career pitching stories would be so moved by someone else's story. I just didn't see what the defining moment was that turned him from a boozing woman chaser into a life of peace and serenity.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 3:52am
The way I see it, Don ends up going back to McCann and creates the commercial, not because he finds serenity but because he is unable to change and stop thinking about turning experiences into ideas for advertisement. This is classic for Don. He leaves to California, has some sort of cathartic experience, comes back recharged or changed in some way but still repeating the same cycle. It seems a fitting ending for the character. Of course, the intention could always be that he is not responsible for the ad. Either way, I think it's a provocative and interesting way to end the show.
Elisabeth Moss' work in her various scenes was spectacular, she even makes that romantic comedy moment with Stan work. I thought Joan's ending was very hopeful, she will always struggle to have a man who can keep up with her but she is damn good at her job and that's incredibly satisfying for her and it seems like an excellent way to end her journey. Really, I don't think the finale is up there with something like "The Suitcase" but it's still a strong ending to one of the great TV shows of all time.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 8:46am
"Another very impressive, very intricate episode, culminating in that heart-rending little dialogue between Stan and Peggy. The last thing that will ever happen is for these two to end up together, but in so many ways they're already married -- that delicious little moment when she just wants him to stay on the phone with her. A very moving and carefully observed relationship that I always enjoy watching, especially considering the way they started out dealing with each other."
So they did wind up together after all.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 11:10am
I didn't like the finale. I loved it. Even the slightly off-brand rom-com of Peggy and Stan getting together. Of course the ending is vague...but not terribly so. Of course Don does not end up all new-agey. He has an experience while at rock bottom (again) and parlays it into an epic career high (if that's the ending you choose to believe). Joan opening an industrials production company is another 'of course' moment. And good for her for letting Richard walk out so she could realize her dream.
The only regret I have is the fact that we won't be getting the sitcom spin-off JOANIE DOES BLOW.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 11:13am
This is easily one of the worst television shows of the last decade. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
Posted: 5/18/15 at 1:07pm
"This is easily one of the worst television shows of the last decade. Good riddance to bad rubbish. "
Funny. Most people on this board feel the same way about you...actually, we'd probably like you better if you were a TV show.
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