MAD MEN on AMC - Seasons 7(a) & & 7(b)

I really was hoping that the circle of people talking it out after Stephanie left would have him saying "I'm Dick Whitman, yowza!"

I'm probably grasping at straws there: thinking back on bigger developments, though, there just seemed to be things that happened or were said that paved the way for the conclusion that Don comes up with the Coke ad. I think that's the ending that Weiner and Hamm started crafting four years ago.

― clemenza, Monday, May 18, 2015 9:26 AM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

fwiw, the original idea for the ending was what ended up being the season 6 don story arc and finale - that with happiness (megan) just in his grasp he would backslide, as he did, into cheating and the abject alcoholism he had cut back on, go through that whole mess as that season progressed and then finally purge at the hershey pitch, and then finally be honest with sally and bobby by showing them where he came from. that said, i'd believe this ending probably began taking shape in weiner's mind (and hamm's), fairly quickly.

fairly quickly into development of the final season (or seasons, depending on how you view 7A/7B), that is.

the opening with don soaring across the desert reminded me of

https://40.media.tumblr.com/f513900f843adbfc15253c6e0200bd92/tumblr_ncw5md5LnT1rllo7mo1_500.png

Another take on the ending is that, just as Don's habits came from being part of a certain era, the ending showed that he was in sync with the new era. He just doesn't have a job anymore that gives him the detachment to analyze it from afar, so he's just in sync with the times and the ad.

spinning that counter-cultural straw into gold

I read last night that Weiner indicated he'd always had a vague image of how it would all end, and this particular ending came to him several years ago. Hamm: "I said that's great, then I asked him how he was going to get there," and Hamm so glad that he wasn't the one who had to write his way to that.

tbh ending the show by connecting to a big, real advertising campaign has been in the cards ever since they wrote mccann in as the sc&p buyer

the way the mccann guy said "coca-cola" in that meeting with don and co drifts into my mind quite often

work is a lousy hero in any context

Thing about Megan was he realized that the only way really to please her was to help her find a way to go where he couldn't, off into the world of acting and maybe stardom, that kind of necessarily self-involved careerism, not so different from his own (and the California move for them both was his decision. also the decision to stay behind, which was more than helping Ted--he wanted to stay on his own professional turf, in his own shell, I think).

I think they even put the coca cola thing into the 'previously on' segment at the beginning. Obviously the ad is his, reading it any other way doesn't make any sense.

also nice that they finally mentioned Manson.

i am astonished people are trying to suggest the ad wasn't his.

The only thing that didn't work for me: I didn't understand what he was doing with the racing guys in the salt flats. What did they mean, "you don't have to come with us but you promised to ..." what did they say?

he promised to fund the trip to cali

yah to stake them

a friend texted me just now hopefully positing the theory that the ad was his, with a sense that he'd been thinking this through all morning.

xpost i think it was "sub us" or something synonymous - or "front us", basically i assumed they were gambling on racing and don was going to put up the cash.

n p sure it was stake in that they can't beat those riverdale punks w/o the cash

"Stake us." Are these maybe the car guys he met while he was carrying groceries back to Anna's, before he walked into the Pacific?

Megan's Mom last night said Canada was where her "children" were, incl. millionaire Megan now?

"Holloway-Harris" is the way Joan's secretary answers phone---who's Holloway? Sounds familiar.

it's joan's maiden name

Holloway is Joan's maiden name.

sorry, i wasn't correcting "stake us" - that was definitely it - should have edited after the xposts.

I loved that Joan's babysitter was now her secretary.

Receptionist at retreat was in commercial---maybe some others too?

That commercial holds up over 40 years on imo. Didn't Coke try to redo it at some point? They should just keep airing the original every once in a while, just a week at a time.

i don't think the receptionist was in it, just a similar outfit wasn't it?

Same or very similar face too!

Maybe he becomes a big benefactor of that place; he's really into that sort of seeding now.

(Eventually meets Jobs & Woz, etc.)

everybody in that ad is 60+ years old if they're alive

Coke has re-cranked the ad at least 3x

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27d_Like_to_Teach_the_World_to_Sing_%28In_Perfect_Harmony%29#TV_commercial

another one for the conclusion that the Coke ad is Don's: in the meditation scene, he's back to wearing his white work shirt. if there's one thing we know from Mad Style, it's that there are never any accidents in the show's costuming.

I loved that Joan's babysitter was now her secretary.

― Johnny Fever, Monday, May 18, 2015 10:41 AM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this and meredith's cheerful firing were my favorite random moments of the episode

also nice that they finally mentioned Manson.

Don't forget, the Manson Brothers were immortalized in an earlier episode.

I love the original Coke commercial. I'll admit it--I even love the jingle/song.

"Holloway-Harris" was a nice joke on Joan's contention that you need two names at the top before anyone takes you seriously (dovetailing with all the permutations of SC&P).

Meredith! How did they turn her into a favorite character so quickly? She was kinda the mvp of season 7b, at least among minor characters.

When I'd watched this a few hours ago, I did not know what to think. But I feel better and better thinking back on it. The show ended exactly right, with a mix of genuine emotion and cheeky cynicism. No need for major drama, more death, cliffhangers. It's not the best episode, not even of the season. But I like it more and more as the ending.

Actually, I've begun to think that most series would kinda be better off if they'd just ended with a normal episode instead of trying to tie everything up. Boardwalk Empire is the perfect example: Everything was tied up with a masterful sense of coming full circle, but it happened so quickly and effectively that it felt ridiculous to me. This was much better: A stop, rather than an ending.

Loved Joan using her maiden name as the solution to the "having two names in the title" dilemma.

xp

Weiner said in his NYT interview yesterday that he just treated this like the end of a season... that any season finale could have the same vibe.

I was just generally glad that Joan got so much attention in the final episode. In retrospect, it was probably weird to think (as some of us did) that certain main characters wouldn't show up in the last episode because their story had already been wrapped up--up to and including Don.

a THE WIRE style lope through everyone's life for a few second peek in

there's no way they'll close with this imo

― Οὖτις, Wednesday, May 13, 2015

it wasn't quite this, was it? it was more like a recap of this episode itself...

i would have quite like a six feet under style cheesefest outro

it was probably weird to think (as some of us did) that certain main characters wouldn't show up in the last episode because their story had already been wrapped up

I don't think suspecting that was too weird. The show has let characters drop out like that before.

This ep emph Peggy's insecurity, like her previous rollerskating to Roger's phantom-of-the-suite musical direction, and subsequent swagger, emph. that she's still the young 'un--- even if she felt ready for such responsibility, would be *junior* partner to veteran Joan, for sure, and they've never worked together all that smoothly, despite the occasional break for smoke and drink and dish.

they really had to rush joan's relationship out the door didn't they? i mean, i know that it was on/off in these last few eps, but they had like a 2-minute conversation and he was like "well then seeya" and just walked out.

this isn't really a criticism cos i don't watch this show for plot, but overall they could never resist meandering through surreal emotional worlds or portentous brief encounters, even right to the end of the last season they barely left themselves enough time for anything to actually happen.

it's prob an achievement overall to make something so resistant to the need for cliffhangers or big events. i guess this is why some people hate this show.

i feel like they had at least two conversations like that already though

he wanted to control her happiness

i mean he was nice in that he was the nicest guy we've seen her with but he's still a fucking dick

even if she felt ready for such responsibility, would be *junior* partner to veteran Joan, for sure, and they've never worked together all that smoothly, despite the occasional break for smoke and drink and dish.

But it meant a lot to Peggy that Joan asked her -- and Joan liked that Peggy found it flattering to be asked. So it was a mutual validation, even though she turned it down.

i guess so, yeah - it just felt kinda odd, like were they back together for a few months at this point - they were really struggling to have the time to tell stories by this last ep - like you would have some fight or some reconcilation or something, in most relationships. i know "but he's a dick" might explain this but the real reason was just "but we only have 50 mins of this show left".

xpost

His only real role was to make it clear to Joan that what she really wants is success on her own terms. She was suddenly in a position to do that, and it was much more exciting to her than riding along as his eye candy.