durdencommatyler wrote:I seem to be the only one in the entire inter-world that's dubious of Duck and Pete's "happy ending."
I understand the scepticism, and Trudy surely deserves better, but I think Pete Campbell, bizarrely sympathetic jerk that he is, may actually come out of this whole story with a redemptive ending and I'm sincerely happy for him.
God, what an episode - the wife and I were tearing up on the couch over Betty's letter to Sally. I've always found Betty a sympathetic character and this is such a sad way to leave her character after all this time.
100%.
I really hope it works out for Pete. Things just have a way of falling apart on that guy. I hope not this time. I really really hope not.
for a period piece about the 60s, this has at least some potential to end up with the most Gen-Xish "it's okay what happened and who lost out because I like found myself and stuff" ending since the last time Huffington Post published an article about infidelity.
for a period piece about the 60s, this has at least some potential to end up with the most Gen-Xish "it's okay what happened and who lost out because I like found myself and stuff" ending since the last time Huffington Post published an article about infidelity.
I don't think that really fits (though I have little idea what to expect of next week's finale as I didn't see either Betty or Pete's conclusions coming at all).
If there's a recurring motif in Mad Men I think it's that we're doomed to make the same mistakes again and again unless we attempt to recognise our failings, acknowledge our limitations and make a genuine attempt to change course accordingly. I'm not sure anyone in the Mad Men universe truly escapes some degree of reckoning for their past conduct, though some pay a higher price than others (often unfairly).
Matthew Weiner on 'Mad Men' Finale: 'I Don’t Owe Anybody Anything’
"I’ve been lucky to have them invite us into their home, but we have held up our end of the bargain so far," ... "We really have, and we've made such a painstaking effort to surprise and delight and move machinery that tells the story."
I really loved it. It was far from the best episode of the series. And it may not go down as one the greatest finales of all time or whatever, but it was true to the world and to the characters. It felt satisfying and appropriate. It was thematically poignant and cathartic. I give it a sold A. A fine end to the most brilliant series I've ever seen on television.
durdencommatyler wrote:I really loved it. It was far from the best episode of the series. And it may not go down as one the greatest finales of all time or whatever, but it was true to the world and to the characters. It felt satisfying and appropriate. It was thematically poignant and cathartic. I give it a sold A. A fine end to the most brilliant series I've ever seen on television.
Thank you, team Mad Men.
The more and more I think about it the more I love it.
durdencommatyler wrote:I really loved it. It was far from the best episode of the series. And it may not go down as one the greatest finales of all time or whatever, but it was true to the world and to the characters. It felt satisfying and appropriate. It was thematically poignant and cathartic. I give it a sold A. A fine end to the most brilliant series I've ever seen on television.
Thank you, team Mad Men.
The more and more I think about it the more I love it.
Same. My wife and I have been rehashing it all day. New thoughts keep popping up as we talk and we both like it more and more.
durdencommatyler wrote:I really loved it. It was far from the best episode of the series. And it may not go down as one the greatest finales of all time or whatever, but it was true to the world and to the characters. It felt satisfying and appropriate. It was thematically poignant and cathartic. I give it a sold A. A fine end to the most brilliant series I've ever seen on television.
Thank you, team Mad Men.
The more and more I think about it the more I love it.
Same. My wife and I have been rehashing it all day. New thoughts keep popping up as we talk and we both like it more and more.
My wife and I barely spoke to each other after we finished it until this morning. Then we couldn't stop talking about it. We needed the time to think about it.
Joan was handled perfectly. She's essentially going down the path I predicted when she left McCann (being happy/finding success in another industry), and it was right of the show to make her choose between that and the man. She made the right choice.
I could've done without Peggy and Stan deciding to be in love. I feel like that's something we didn't need to see onscreen in order to know that it could happen. The scene where they decide to be in love (or supposedly realize) didn't feel right to me, but their shot in the final montage was spot on. They weren't cuddled up on Peggy's couch or on a trip to Paris like Roger and Marie. Peggy was working late in the office and he comes up behind to give a little kiss. And she takes the time to smile and enjoy that. This relationship is not going to be everything to Peggy, she will still put all of herself into her work, but she's going to try to enjoy it a little. ANd that's perfect for her.
Good luck, Pete. My observation from last week remains my main thought here: Everything looks like it's going to be great for the Campbells in Kansas---but remember, that's where Don just had a nightmare week. Things aren't going to be perfect-we just don't in what ways or to what degree they will be imperfect.
Good luck, Roger. I think things will be perfect from here on out. If only because he's a good guy and enough bad things have already happened to him.
I'm very angry at Betty for not fighting back, but I can't expect anything more from her. I'm very proud of Bobby and Sally. I feel bad for Sally now, but I think it will be OK soon because of....
Don! Absolutely stone-cold perfect ending. I wasn't really into the retreat, though Don's call to Peggy was perfect, the fridge story was great, and Don's reaction to it was spot-on. I was very worried that Don's little meditative smirk was going to be the last shot. What were we supposed to think Don does next? Becomes a traveling Buddha, a hippie? For how long? What happens to Don when the seventies end? It didn't fit for him at all. But of course, that wasn't what was going to happen. Absolutely great. I was really laughing. This is the moment that I'm still thinking about, though, the one that is going to take a while to fully find all the sides.
spike wrote:roger isn't a good guy, argo. he's likable, but he's a selfish bastard.
I disagree. Roger is a spoiled, selfish rich kid who never quite grew up. But he has always been (sometimes hidden deep-down) a good, decent person.
I can't stop thinking about how happy I am with the series finale. I don't know that I've ever experienced such a half-second jump from disappointment to glee. And how it ties everything together. At the end of Season six, Don was fired and had to work his way back in throughout the first half of this final season. He didn't know why, but he knew he needed back in. But once he's back, he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. The perfect example is the episode where Don is trying to write the speech for Roger about the future and he makes fun of Peggy for hoping that she can do something meaningful in advertising. Don never would have thought that way at the beginning of this series. He lost that. But that Coke ad at the end! Don is accepting advertising as art, he's created something meaningful and important.
And every time I think of it I have to resist cynicism. I hate advertising and commercials-I often yell at TV commercials-maybe more than anything. But that moment was about Don. And Don was able to find something meaningful.
spike wrote:roger isn't a good guy, argo. he's likable, but he's a selfish bastard.
I disagree. Roger is a spoiled, selfish rich kid who never quite grew up. But he has always been (sometimes hidden deep-down) a good, decent person.
I can't stop thinking about how happy I am with the series finale. I don't know that I've ever experienced such a half-second jump from disappointment to glee. And how it ties everything together. At the end of Season six, Don was fired and had to work his way back in throughout the first half of this final season. He didn't know why, but he knew he needed back in. But once he's back, he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. The perfect example is the episode where Don is trying to write the speech for Roger about the future and he makes fun of Peggy for hoping that she can do something meaningful in advertising. Don never would have thought that way at the beginning of this series. He lost that. But that Coke ad at the end! Don is accepting advertising as art, he's created something meaningful and important.
The Argonaut wrote:Everything looks like it's going to be great for the Campbells in Kansas---but remember, that's where Don just had a nightmare week. Things aren't going to be perfect-we just don't in what ways or to what degree they will be imperfect.
Small correction: Don's bad week took place in Alva, Oklahoma.
I don't think there's any foreshadowing intended there for the Campbells, I think they're going to be fine.
I have many things I want to say but I think it's all redundant at this point. Man, I'm going to miss these characters.
OK, Oklahoma. I don't know that it's foreshadowing. It's just a way of telling us "yeah, but..."
Roger and Joan's last scene was cute. Roger married the younger Jane to make him feel young. Now he's marrying a woman his age and he feels the need to write a will. I thought that was pretty funny.
The Argonaut wrote:Roger and Joan's last scene was cute. Roger married the younger Jane to make him feel young. Now he's marrying a woman his age and he feels the need to write a will. I thought that was pretty funny.
