Mad Men Discussion

[royboy]

Winding down with only more episode to go; last two episodes have been very eventful with the demise of SC&P and direction established for several characters. Big question now....whither Don Draper?

Loved some of the action in the episode shown 5/3; Don blowing off the Miller meeting when he saw the big agency approach, Joan fighting hard against the cretins but ultimately bailing out, great scene with Roger playing the organ and Peggy roller skating around the vacant old office; get the feeling Peggy will not be going down easy at McCann. She looked badass when she strolled in with a cigarette dangling and hauling that "octopus/women" painting.

I thought waitress Diana might have been just a quick bed partner for Don from some earlier episodes, but he was determined to track her down, with a late night power drive (hallucinating to the point of Bert Cooper riding shotgun) and some made-up stories to gain entry into the house. Is the search over?

Sally is becoming more mature and independent; grumpy old Betty now seems happy with the kids growing up, and time to go back to school. Lots of characters getting wrapped up, but Don?

Last we saw Don was continuing on West (more or less -- going from Racine, WI to St. Paul, MN); where is he headed...California? Or a dive out of a tall building as the opening graphic seems to show?

 

[manatree]

I thought waitress Diana might have been just a quick bed partner for Don from some earlier episodes, but he was determined to track her down, with a late night power drive (hallucinating to the point of Bert Cooper riding shotgun) and some made-up stories to gain entry into the house. Is the search over?

It's wasn't so much a made up story as it was yet another usurped identity. He used the name, agency & business card of the consultant that Miller Brewing had hired.

Where in the hell did that organ come from? I don't remember seeing it in the office before, or the fact that Roger could play it. The bit with Roger playing with Peggy roller skating around the office was like a bizarre Peanuts special.

My prediction is that the hitchhiker dumps Don in a ditch and drives off in the Caddy.

I think they'll go for an ambiguous ending that will tick people off like the Sopranos. An ending that leave people hanging and in an uproar makes for much better longevity than all the loose ends tied up in one pretty bow.

 

[wbcincy]

It's been a character study all along, so basically no chance things are just tied up nicely in the end, because for real people it doesn't work that way. I've been saying for a while now I think it just kind of ends, with some normal thing, like don walking into a pitch meeting, or staring out at the ocean in Cali, etc. I don't predict any big final moment that resolves everyone's issues, nor do i think it's possible.

I am surprised at Don's cross-country trip and being as lost as ever though. This last episode certainly wanted to make you think he may end it all by the end.

 

[Pitt is #1]

I think in Don Draper, Weiner created a character every man wanted to be. In the end he is changing your perception of Don. As a man whose choices have left him lost and alone.

 

[manatree]

I think in Don Draper, Weiner created a character every man wanted to be. In the end he is changing your perception of Don. As a man whose choices have left him lost and alone.

Hasn't that been the perception from the start? He's been lost and alone in every relationship he's been in.

 

[Pitt is #1]

From a relationship standpoint that has been his character. However, I think Weiner built a character that originally every man envied. I think now he is trying to show the audience there is nothing to envy.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

The last two episodes have been really good IMO. We finally get the big plot point for this half of the season (SC&P being absorbed by McCann) and the fallout has been fun to watch. Pete seems happy at McCann; Peggy is apprehensive but seems undaunted after her vermouth binge with Roger; Joan saw what McCann valued most about her and it wasn't her 'client relationships', and she did the smart thing by taking the buyout; Roger seems to be along for the ride and Don, well, he's doing what Don does - running away. My guess as to how this all plays out is that Don sets up a one man shop (maybe two-man - with Peggy) in California and it'll end there. I could see him somehow getting Anna's old house and living there, looking at the beach, drinking his days away.

 

[NewEra 2014]

My guess as to how this all plays out is that Don sets up a one man shop (maybe two-man - with Peggy) in California and it'll end there. I could see him somehow getting Anna's old house and living there, looking at the beach, drinking his days away.

Interesting thoughts, Midnighter. I think you are right about Don heading to California. I don't think that Peggy would go to work for Don, though. She seems to have had enough of his act, like when he "sh__ on her dreams" when he was asking for everyone's view of the future. But wouldn't it be an interesting twist if Peggy opened her own agency sometime in the early 80's and Don came to work for her?

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Interesting thoughts, Midnighter. I think you are right about Don heading to California. I don't think that Peggy would go to work for Don, though. She seems to have had enough of his act, like when he "sh__ on her dreams" when he was asking for everyone's view of the future. But wouldn't it be an interesting twist if Peggy opened her own agency sometime in the early 80's and Don came to work for her?

Now that I think about it, there has to be some kind of resolution with 'Dick Whitman'. Maybe Don opens up a new agency under his real name?

 

[PSUriseANDfire]

When I read people talking about Mad Men and Breaking Bad I realize I am the type of person that I think people who won't watch the Soprano's are. Stubborn.

I can't believe I've never started either. Need to binge both eventually. I am sure I will probably love both.

 

[wbcincy]

When I read people talking about Mad Men and Breaking Bad I realize I am the type of person that I think people who won't watch the Soprano's are. Stubborn.

I can't believe I've never started either. Need to binge both eventually. I am sure I will probably love both.

Breaking Bad is easily binged, Mad Men I'm not sure would be well-enjoyed by watching numerous episodes back to back.

 

[royboy]

When I read people talking about Mad Men and Breaking Bad I realize I am the type of person that I think people who won't watch the Soprano's are. Stubborn.

I can't believe I've never started either. Need to binge both eventually. I am sure I will probably love both.

Yes, absolutely. Highly recommend Mad Men for sure, and I didn't get started until about 2 years ago. Even after the final episode next week, AMC (channel 254 on DirecTV) re-runs episodes on Sunday morning, which you could record. Or buy a full season DVD to start.
To me, this type of show has replaced movies to a large degree. They have plots and interesting characters who develop over a period of time. Movies IMO have become overly reliant on special effects and lots of noise.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Breaking Bad is easily binged, Mad Men I'm not sure would be well-enjoyed by watching numerous episodes back to back.

Breaking Bad is absolutely designed for binge watching (I know it wasn't originally, but each episode is crafted so that by the end, you *need* more - like Heisenberg's meth!) and that's how I got into it. Mad Men - yeah, agree - way too dark and not as plot driven; everything here is about characterization and character development. The earlier seasons are a bit easier to binge though - Don isn't quite at peak existential masochism until about Season 4.

 

[PSUriseANDfire]

Thanks guys. I am looking forward to it, better late to the party than never showing up. I am almost 100% sure I will love Breaking Bad.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Thanks guys. I am looking forward to it, better late to the party than never showing up. I am almost 100% sure I will love Breaking Bad.

You'll probably love Mad Men too - Matthew Weiner (the show creator/head writer) was part of David Chase's team (as writer/producer) on The Soprano's beginning with Season Five.

 

[Pitt is #1]

The thing about Mad Men is there are no big cliffhangers. You kind of get curious about how something maybe resolved and the resolution occurs 4 episodes later. More character driven but very well written.

 

[sunsetlament]

Or a dive out of a tall building as the opening graphic seems to show?

That's what was being foreshadowed when he was staring out the window at the top of the Empire State Building during the Miller Beer meeting. But I think we're getting a swerve and it's going to be Roger that makes the leap at the end of the finale.

 

[Columbus_Lion]

I can't believe the show is winding down. So much to be told. I think what drew people into Mad Men was the culture in the late 1950s and how much society evolved (the show captured the transition). Will be interesting to see how the show wraps up and there really is no ending.

 

[BlueBand]

That's what was being foreshadowed when he was staring out the window at the top of the Empire State Building during the Miller Beer meeting. But I think we're getting a swerve and it's going to be Roger that makes the leap at the end of the finale.

And Roger did tell that story about being too afraid to jump off his ship during the war. Maybe no longer afraid? Now he's lost the agency with his name on the door, and is on the "nursing home floor" at McCann... foreshadowing?

 

[tgar]

A couple of questions for you folks about Don picking up the hitch hiker.

Was Don headed south and the Hitch hiker on the wrong side of the road? Or Was Don headed west ?

Does he go out to the west coast, start a firm and coin the term lite beer?

I have really enjoyed this last season. His last word should be "What?"

 

[sunsetlament]

A couple of questions for you folks about Don picking up the hitch hiker.

Was Don headed south and the Hitch hiker on the wrong side of the road? Or Was Don headed west ?

Does he go out to the west coast, start a firm and coin the term lite beer?

I have really enjoyed this last season. His last word should be "What?"

He was definitely headed west - he was traveling from Wisconsin and he told the hitchhiker he could stop in St. Paul.