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Mad Men: The Final Season (Part One)


Petey

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Now that was a fucking episode. 
 

- Don looking like his head was going to explode when he got dumped

- The absolute virulence I felt when Cutler not only tried to pull a coup on Don, but then tried to emphasize it a mere hour after Burt died, was pretty nasty. I said out loud "that fucker has got to GO." violently poking my thumb over my shoulder

- Roger stepping up in the clench to save his people, then Peggy abso-fucking-lutely stepping up in the clench and killing it with Burger Chef

- DAT ENDING

 
Grand slam on this one.
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I loved the ending. Bert not wearing shoes was a great touch. And the moves he was able to do at his age? Fantastic.

 

Also, Meredith trying to take advantage of a "vulnerable" Don Draper made me legit chuckle.

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These last few episodes represented really strong TV that basically started with Don hijacking the Commander meeting.

 

I do hate that the Commander aspect of the angle just got shrugged of into an "oh well, we lost it," but it still loomed over this episode.

 

Did anyone else expect the Jane's Addiction song used in Entourage to start playing at the end of this episode?

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I liked this episode well enough. I feel like they kind of tossed a lot of things they were building to away. Lou became an instant after thought with the buy out. I figured they were building to a Lou/Don throwdown of some sorts. I guess Don doesn't really get the story of redemption the way I figured they were going with it. I guess I was hoping he would somehow defeat Lou and Cutler but really he didn't overcome anything. I felt like this wasn't a retcon per say but a way for them to take the crappy merger story and the inner company struggle with Don and get rid of them in one quick, tidy way. Which I'm glad they got rid of them but none the less it felt tacked on. Hell even Bert's death was random as hell. I liked the episode and I like that in theory the second half of the season won't be emo Don and people I don't know plotting to get Don fired. Things in theory should be more streamlined now for the back half of the episodes. 

 

As much as I love this show I was WAY more upset about Lane killing himself than I was about Bert dying and Bert was on the show what five times as long as Lane? I don't care about Don's seperation since I don't think they ever explored a quality story between Don and Meaghan. Hell I'm hard pressed to find too many really truly "man these guys are in true love" type scenes between the two. To where as with Betty even if he fucked around on her you could feel his love for her. I'm not sure what to expect moving forward but I like the direction they are headed. One more note I used to feel a lot of sympathy for Joan in seasons past and I'm sure her character is justified but her seemingly constant dislike of Don this season has really put me off. 

 

It sucks we have to wait a year for what six episodes? 

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  • 9 months later...

I saw that yesterday. I almost thought it was an Onion-esque post at first. I'm not sure it has anything to do with the character. Hamm would be far from the first actor to struggle with substance issues. Just gotta hope that he's able to maintain his health.

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  • 2 weeks later...

What a dull episode.  So many weird things happened while at the same time nothing happened, I was expecting a plot twist at the end, like it would be a dream or something.  The song "Is that All there is?" was a pretty fitting bookend to this lame-ass hour.  It was more a collection of vignettes than an actual narrative.

 

I absolutely forgot about Rachel, which is to be expected, as season 1 was a long time and a lot of women ago.  I felt it was disingenuous to essentially retcon Rachel as this long-lost once-in-a-lifetime true love that Don is all wistful over, when Don has had so many affairs and has fallen in love so many times over the course of the series.  It felt like cheap writing to me.

 

There are only a few episodes left and I hope it gets better before the end.

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  • 1 month later...

So is no one watching? There's been this really pervasive mood of melancholy this second half of the season but I can't put my finger on how, think it might be the subtle score thats been going.

 

Zero idea how this is going to end - Don's gone off the deep end just as big things are beginning to happen for him... again. It's almost like he feels trapped or is intimidated by big success.

 

Along those lines I was thinking when the McCann Erickson head guy was saying how he always gets what he wants to Don that I can't even remember the last decent pitch/idea Don came up with. Its like he's been trading on his reputation for the past two seasons, the guy is obviously spent.

 

Maybe he just runs away and gives it all up and becomes Dick Whitman again

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I don't think he's intimidated by success, I just think he's tired of the cycle. Jaded by the industry is probably the best way to describe it. Don (and the rest of the Sterling Cooper's) have valued their independence over everything else and McCann seems to run their company like a factory line, not terribly surprised he bolted.

 

I think you're right and he does become Dick again. My guess is he spends the rest of his life in California, content to work in a small store like he was before getting into advertising and spending the rest of his time on the beach. He should have enough money by this point that he can pretty much do anything.

 

Honestly, I've been more interested in what happens to Peggy at the end. And Pete for that matter, both of them were great last episode.

 

But yeah, I definitely don't feel like there's been a lot to talk about this season. It kind of reminds me of Parks and Rec (although it's cynical flip side), the series is winding down nicely and the creators are just trying to put their characters into good places.

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The past couple of episodes have been sensational.

 

I'm also not sure how much Don is just reputation. He had been away from SCP for a while and even when he first came back, he was just writing tags. He hadn't even had the opportunity to do the big pitch. But still, I don't think it's been all that long. No one's ever really questioned if he still had the talent aside from the Hershey's pitch and that was more an investigation into his demons rather than potential declining talent.

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Amazing episode. I would have never thought I'd be pulling for Pete Campbell but there I was hoping he would get Trudy back and start over in his dream scenario. Do what no one else on the show has been able to do (except for Lou fucking Avery)

 

Poor Sally. I've felt bad for her since I can't even remember. Such a shitty ass childhood, like there's no way she doesn't have a fucked up life.

 

Don wondering around, being happy. Can't believe it finally happened.

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