Mad Men: Final Season

[Piobaire]



Like Bert said, the firm was doing fine without Don. Don was pretty deluded in whole heartedly believing the praise people heaped on him all those years, which led to his abusing many people's trust. Yes, he's a massive talent but he isn't indispensible. The world will keep turning without him. With him being on probation, it was pretty obnoxious for him to swing into Bert's office with the new business idea (particularly for a puny company). Bert, Joan, Peggy saw through his bs. Maybe now after his bender he'll be sincere in his actions.

@ Lou

No one is indispensable; that's one of the major rules of business. However, "fine" is not "outstanding" or "stellar." If the firm was doing either of those they could have bought out Don's partnership shares and had done with him. He's also still a partner so he was well within his rights to go see Bert. In fact, the reason he went to talk to Bert, was so he could follow the rules and hand off the "virgin." No doubt landing an expanding company in an expanding market where the market itself is not advertising, and the firm in question is a "virgin," is a major find. Don was being a team player and whomever he handed off to had stood to earn a major score. Bert was being stupid, and also being out of character, as Bert is not stupid. Think back to Bert mandating Don not fire Peter because of his family connections even though Bert (and everyone else) loathed Peter.

No, Bert was completely out of character.

 

[upthewazzu]

No one is indispensable; that's one of the major rules of business. However, "fine" is not "outstanding" or "stellar." If the firm was doing either of those they could have bought out Don's partnership shares and had done with him. He's also still a partner so he was well within his rights to go see Bert. In fact, the reason he went to talk to Bert, was so he could follow the rules and hand off the "virgin." No doubt landing an expanding company in an expanding market where the market itself is not advertising, and the firm in question is a "virgin," is a major find. Don was being a team player and whomever he handed off to had stood to earn a major score. Bert was being stupid, and also being out of character, as Bert is not stupid. Think back to Bert mandating Don not fire Peter because of his family connections even though Bert (and everyone else) loathed Peter.

No, Bert was completely out of character.

Agreed. I'm sort of annoyed at how Bert has handled Don since his unplanned return. Has he done a single thing to further the firm in the 10 years or so since we started following SD&P and it's previous iterations? He's been a paperweight since the first season and he's acting like the King ****.

 

[Ace_Face]



Did we see the true turn around tonight? And was next week's teaser about the false identity?

I think Weiner makes those preview scenes as inscrutable as possible. Same with the descriptions of next weeks episode. My DVR usually says something like "Don has an unexpected visitor, Sally makes a new friend, Ginsburg has an idea.". I really don't know why, it isn't like Breaking Bad, where you can't wait to see what is going to happen next.

Also, it is always weird to see Don smiling and laughing. As far as I can tell, it only happens when he's shitfaced.

 

[grundletaint]

Weiner hates the preview clips so he assembles them at random with nothing to do with each other.

 

[ChetB]

+1 to all the comments about the excessive hostility. The hate doesn't seem commensurate with the sins and feels weird.

 

[in stitches]

i loved the episode.

1. i thought that bert was 100% within character. he has always been gruff, he has always had a keen business sense and is completely emotionally detached in his decision making. he is very off stage, but i always had the feeling that he plays a major role in keeping the ship straight.

right now the majority of the partners are not on dons side, and with good reason, so he is hedging himself. why bend over backwards because an excited don wants to sign new business when he was just told that is not his job? if not for freddy, don would already be right back where he was before he left. he has a ton of **** both personally and professionally to sort out and bert know that. dons only advantage right now is his talent, and that is all bert wants from him. pretty fair imo. did he have to be a dick about it? probably not, but bert is usually kind of a dick about things.

2. loved the roger story, and i am really enjoying his part this season. the way the hippie thing seemed to me was that he open to this possibly being a better environment for margaret and that she was honestly happy. then she slips out in the night to boan mr hippy leader and he realizes that this is more likely all about her ******* around and avoiding responsibility in life and about getting back at him, but all the same he is right. like it or not, she has a kid. she made her bed in life as a mother and its her responsibility to take care of that. maybe not in the city, and maybe not the way mom and dad want, but she is not in a position to make up lost time and live like a 20 something as if nothing is tying her down.

3. joan has turned into a real *****. i hope they expound on this because i have always found her very likable and she is now bordering on insufferable.

4. good move by lou, was wondering how long before peggy figured it out. thanks to joan, pretty quickly.

5. there was a part of me that wanted to see don total go down the tubes and then emerge in another company, if at all, but i like this direction better. i would like to see him bootstrap it, again, and re-earn his stature.

 

[DocHolliday]

What exactly would a computer have done back then?

 

[in stitches]

demographics apparently?

 

[AldenPyle]



WTF is Weiner doing with the final season? If he is setting up a "comeback story" for Don, does it have to be so blunt and heavy-handed? Does the story arc really need to go the route of soap operas with characters to hate in Avery, Cutler and Cooper?

David Simon bloated out the last season of The Wire with a self-righteous, axe-grinding plot line about the newspaper business. If Matt Weiner wants to go out on a note of revenge against all the mediocrities and pencil-pushers and bean counters he feels he has had to overcome to do good creative work, I hope he could be a little bit more subtle.

Even though Marigolds erotic journey wasn't as much fun as I hoped, I continue to think that if the show got back its balance of fun and drama, Draper's redemption arc would avoid some bloat.


It makes sense that Peggy isn't so happy to see Don. Remember, she actually quit SC to get out from under his shadow. Eight months prior, Ted Chaough was taking her to the next level of her career, now she's stuck under Lou AND Don. Its too bad the character seems to be stuck as a one-note shrew, though.

 

[LawrenceMD]

I didn't realize Sterlings daughter was so hot. Especially though the hippie dirtiness.

 

[in stitches]

well, you do have a thing for hipster chicks.

 

[Neo_Version 7]

Are you all forgetting some of the **** that Don has pulled? Yes, this season has some legit out of character moments (like Piob mentioned about Bert) but as charming and suave as Don is, he has been a dick to everyone at least once. Pretty sure Harry loathes him now too. His Hershey's meltdown just opened up everyone's eyes to how damaged he was. It seems like his first day back, people were walking on eggshells. Now, their hatred for him is pretty blatant

 

[Ace_Face]



2. loved the roger story, and i am really enjoying his part this season. the way the hippie thing seemed to me was that he open to this possibly being a better environment for margaret and that she was honestly happy. then she slips out in the night to boan mr hippy leader and he realizes that this is more likely all about her ******* around and avoiding responsibility in life and about getting back at him, but all the same he is right. like it or not, she has a kid. she made her bed in life as a mother and its her responsibility to take care of that. maybe not in the city, and maybe not the way mom and dad want, but she is not in a position to make up lost time and live like a 20 something as if nothing is tying her down.

I don't know how many of you are old enough to remember this anti-drug PSA from the 80's but it sprang to mind when Marigold threw Roger's poor parenting back in his face:

[VIDEO][/VIDEO]

 

[FunLovinStyle]



2. loved the roger story, and i am really enjoying his part this season. the way the hippie thing seemed to me was that he open to this possibly being a better environment for margaret and that she was honestly happy. then she slips out in the night to boan mr hippy leader and he realizes that this is more likely all about her ******* around and avoiding responsibility in life and about getting back at him, but all the same he is right. like it or not, she has a kid. she made her bed in life as a mother and its her responsibility to take care of that. maybe not in the city, and maybe not the way mom and dad want, but she is not in a position to make up lost time and live like a 20 something as if nothing is tying her down.

I wonder if this was a wake-up call for Roger. Maybe he finally realizes how badly ********* up his daughter? Maybe in her absence he'll develop a relationship with his grandchild?

I keep hoping that these characters eventually learn the error of their ways and turn things around... Guess I'm an optimist.

 

[FunLovinStyle]



What exactly would a computer have done back then?

demographics apparently?

computers back then were basically giant calculators for statistics