snoopeasystreet
Member
Did anyone predict the final song being that coke ad? Looking back, it seems so obvious now.
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Mad Men - Season 7, Part 2 - The End of an Era - AMC Sundays
- Thread starter Cornballer
- Start date
the refrigerator dream:
obviously there were no cokes in there
sixteen-bit
Member
It's the real thing!
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Manson? Wth? Pigtail Concierge said explicitly and way before that scene that Don would have trouble hitching out "and you can thank Manson for that."
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
Mad Men.
Sopranos had too many loud noises. Mad Men had fewer. So I'm going to stick with Mad Men.
Discotheque
Banned
rewatching sopranos this summer lol. watching a bunch of currently running series but nothing is taking to me as much as mad men, sopranos and boardwalk (amongst others but these 3 are closely related) has for dramas.
like i'm really enjoying the americans but it aint mad men.
Mad Men. It's a carousel.
BertramCooper
Banned
I don't think it solidifies much of anything. It's an obvious and very intentional visual reference, but it could be little more than a red herring.
I don't think there's anything definitive about the appearance of the Coke commercial. It could very well be saying that Don made that commercial. But it could also simply be making a statement that Don is embracing a new, transformative lifestyle which will ultimately be exploited and commoditized by his former industry.
This is why I have such a deeply cynical reading of the show's finale. This is indeed the case, and the finale shows Don finally getting permission, first from Betty and then from himself, to be the truly selfish person he's naturally inclined to be.
I don't think Don ends up back in advertising. He's finally free from all of his former shackles, including his children and his career.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
I think you are being too reductionist about the retreat. It has weirdos, but it also has genuine people. Leonard, and the woman who reached out to him when was catatonic, for instance. That Don initially rejects them but then opens up there makes it a more complex view than you are describing.
Discotheque
Banned
kinda wish they cgi'd his face into the coke ad lol, his face being the last character we see in weiner's series. dat nepotism.
This is probably the most cynical ending to a TV show I'd ever seen (and I mean that in a good way).
Don had a moment of clarity, of human connection, of inner peace, and used it to go back and grind out more advertising; a form he simultaneously loathes and was addicted to.
I was amazed Weiner had the balls to do that.
Don had a moment of clarity, of human connection, of inner peace, and used it to go back and grind out more advertising; a form he simultaneously loathes and was addicted to.
I was amazed Weiner had the balls to do that.
reggieandTFE
Member
I'm sure it's already been said, but McCann-Erickson has been trying to steal Don since season 1 and they were the actual ad agency that did the Coke ad. I have no doubt that Weiner always had this as the end to the journey Don would have on the show.
BenjaminBirdie
Banned
snoopeasystreet
Member
I don't think it's as much that Don found clarity or peace or anything like that, he just realised that everyone else is miserable and became content in the fact that he's not alone. I don't think he's returning to advertising out of self interest or insincerity, it's just that he now accepts his place in the world. I'd consider the ending more absurdist than cynical.
BertramCooper
Banned
I think such a cheerfully optimistic reading of this show's ending is wildly out of step with the show's overall tone and themes.
It's a legitimate reading, though. Again, I think this ending is far more open-ended and open for debate than people seem to think.
VistraNorrez
Member
The show has always been about growth, a slow and often painful process, balanced out by pessimism and optimism.
I don't think he described it cheerfully. It's optimistic, yes, but optimisim isn't a constant mode. You can't have it without pessimism. No human is happy all the time or sad all the time.
It's clear to me that no matter what your interpretation of the finale is, these characters are going to keep on experiencing highs and lows. What's left up to the viewer is what is going to happen to the characters from here on out. And that is going to depend on each viewers world view. That's why we have people saying its cynical and others saying it's a positive. I don't even think it's that relevant whether or not Don actually did that ad. It's clearly something in the ether in that universe at the end. Any or all of these characters could have had something to do with it.
backflip10019
Member
I took the ending to represent that Don has found inner peace, not that he came up with a good idea for a Coke ad.
Anyway, I loved the finale. Don't think it could have ended any better.
Anyway, I loved the finale. Don't think it could have ended any better.
Perfect ending. I have to side with the more cynical interpretation of it.
I don't think they are mutually exclusive, he reached some sort of peace then sold it.
I don't think they are mutually exclusive, he reached some sort of peace then sold it.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
The scene with Leonard and the suicidal conversation Don had has me thinking back to the earlier seasons.
Two things in particular:
1) Don's near suicide in S1, where he's sitting by the train tracks thinking about killing himself. He's never been as close as he was then until this episode. If he'd been able to leave the retreat he might have done it.
2) Don's issue about being under contract in early episodes. At the time, he insisted that it was so he could have freedom and leverage. In hindsight, I think he feared being under contract because then he could be taken for granted. He needed to know they wanted him, and if they have him under contract he wouldn't have gotten the attention he did (or so he feared, anyway). Likewise, McCann was always going to be Hell for him because he'd be anonymous, and couldn't get the love-substitute he really needed. I think the breakthrough at the retreat wasn't so much a complete reinvention of him but rather self-acceptance that let him finally relax into his life a little.
Come to think of it, his relationship with Megan is all about him needing constant affirmation as well. First, he needed her to affirm his life by working with him, and then when she starts being more focused on herself and her career, he starts cheating again.
Two things in particular:
1) Don's near suicide in S1, where he's sitting by the train tracks thinking about killing himself. He's never been as close as he was then until this episode. If he'd been able to leave the retreat he might have done it.
2) Don's issue about being under contract in early episodes. At the time, he insisted that it was so he could have freedom and leverage. In hindsight, I think he feared being under contract because then he could be taken for granted. He needed to know they wanted him, and if they have him under contract he wouldn't have gotten the attention he did (or so he feared, anyway). Likewise, McCann was always going to be Hell for him because he'd be anonymous, and couldn't get the love-substitute he really needed. I think the breakthrough at the retreat wasn't so much a complete reinvention of him but rather self-acceptance that let him finally relax into his life a little.
Come to think of it, his relationship with Megan is all about him needing constant affirmation as well. First, he needed her to affirm his life by working with him, and then when she starts being more focused on herself and her career, he starts cheating again.
BertramCooper
Banned
Even if Don did go back to McCann and made that Coke ad, I can't possibly accept that he stays there for very long.
It would be like Amy Jellicoe finding true happiness upon returning to Abaddon. It just seems totally implausible to me, unless his transformation is a farce.
It would be like Amy Jellicoe finding true happiness upon returning to Abaddon. It just seems totally implausible to me, unless his transformation is a farce.
BFIB
Member
I don't think there's any doubt that that is his Coke ad.
But, I also think that was his swan song. His return to McCann to give one last memorable ad, which ended up being his most memorable and heartfelt to everyone. To prove it to himself, to prove it to his peers who ever doubted him.
He made the ad, and rode off into the sunset, but did it his way this time.
But, I also think that was his swan song. His return to McCann to give one last memorable ad, which ended up being his most memorable and heartfelt to everyone. To prove it to himself, to prove it to his peers who ever doubted him.
He made the ad, and rode off into the sunset, but did it his way this time.
Cornballer
Member
AMC vids on their youtube channel:
- The Final Scene of Mad Men
- Talked About Scene: Episode 714: Mad Men: Person to Person (Peggy + Stan)
- Next on Mad Men Supercut
- The Final Scene of Mad Men
- Talked About Scene: Episode 714: Mad Men: Person to Person (Peggy + Stan)
- Next on Mad Men Supercut
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
Nah, I think the transformation is what lets him finally be somewhat happy at a place like McCann.
I gave up drinking pop the middle of last week, ironically.
Yeah, I guess its almost like two different shows to me. Those first four seasons are about ad executives in the "good old days", women breaking into the business and really learning about the struggles of mid 20th century home life. As time went on, it got a lot more into the hippie revolution and stuff I just don't care for as much. Still, great show.
Cornballer
Member
Reviews:
- Onion A|V Club
- Sepinwall
- Matt Zoller Seitz
- Poniewozik
- memles at cultural learnings
- Tom & Lorenzo
- NY Times
- Warming Glow
- Indiewire
- Rolling Stone
- Wired
- Esquire
- Ken Tucker @ YahooTV
- Newsday
- VanDerWerff @ Vox
- EW
- Tim Goodman @ THR
- Maureen Ryan
- Onion A|V Club
- Sepinwall
- Matt Zoller Seitz
- Poniewozik
- memles at cultural learnings
- Tom & Lorenzo
- NY Times
- Warming Glow
- Indiewire
- Rolling Stone
- Wired
- Esquire
- Ken Tucker @ YahooTV
- Newsday
- VanDerWerff @ Vox
- EW
- Tim Goodman @ THR
- Maureen Ryan
rockman zx
Member
Good finale but the show never clicked with me as it did on the first seasons. This last couple of seasons, I don't know, never clicked with me for some reason, but still, a high quality show from the beginning to the end.
This Sepinwall review absolutely nails my thoughts on this ep and Don's development. The more I think about the ending the more I like it.
I initially expressed being disappointed by the episode but I think it was more disappointment in Don Draper. The guy went through this whole positive journey of self-realization and then used it for a tagline in an advertisement. In the end the guy is back where he started, which is appalling and horrifying in a way but also completely fits with what we've seen throughout the entire series; the endless cycle of Don Draper trying to better himself and then crashing down again. It's a cynical way to end a show but I really like it now.
BertramCooper
Banned
Rewatching that final sequence, that Coke ad just seems to be mocking Don more than anything.
I think he's on a journey of self-indulgence, not self-discovery.
I think he's on a journey of self-indulgence, not self-discovery.
I was staring at Peggy's unbalanced lag poster the entire episode. And then Stan comes and fills the void.
OTP ;_;
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
He goes from near-suicidal to calm and open and you think the following beat is to mock him?
I think you are reading it wrong.
BertramCooper
Banned
I think the entire episode is condemning Don in several ways, so quite possibly yes.
There was a lot of interesting imagery in the backgrounds of many shots, in classic Mad Men fashion. I almost want to watch it again just to study the sets. One thing I kept noticing was Halloween decorations. Also it's probably already been pointed out but I noticed in the first scene after Don gets out of the really fast car in the garage, that little kid in the background is drinking from a Coke bottle.
Bobby Roberts
Banned
I think when Weiner said awhile ago that they approached and executed Season Six like it was their final season, and left it all on the table, he wasn't lying. Everything about Season 7 has felt slightly off and continually sliding sideways, including this finale. It's like Eoin Colfer writing a Hitchhiker's book.
Hamm isn't winning any statues for this shit, either.
Hamm isn't winning any statues for this shit, either.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't counting minutes, which ultimately pulls me out of hte experience.
When Leonard sat down with 9 mins to go and ended with the hug with 4 mins left, I was shocked.
The season 6 finale to me is still perfection. It could have easily been the series finale.
Betty dies, and Don takes the kids to the home he grew up in, and exchanges that look with Sally.
Ignatz Mouse
Banned
I exclaimed this out loud to Mrs Mouse.
"There's only a fw minutes left of Mad Men, and we're getting random retreat people?"
Then the rest happened and I shut up.
I'm pretty satisfied.
The only reason I wanted him to get away from the commune so badly is because of the obvious fate of the people there. I was like "get out of there, Don!!!"
But anyways, everybody had their expectations for the finale and just because it didn't unfold the way you hoped didn't make it terrible. I thought it was a more satisfying ending than what we were actually going to get.