'Mad Men' finale: Setting up the big goodbye for Don Draper and company
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There has been triumph and tragedy, comedy and calamity, resignation and resolution thus far in the final half-season of Mad Men. And now only one episode remains.
One of the most acclaimed series in the history of television will air its last episode, Sunday, May 17, on AMC. That's not much time to tie up loose ends and answer whatever questions are going to be answered.
I don't know if all six of the wall-to-wall main characters on Mad Men are going to appear in the final episode, which is titled Person to Person. For at least two of them, I think, and possibly three, an argument could be made that their stories already have come to their logical conclusions.
Regardless, here's a quick look at where the half-dozen main characters stand. Consider this a SPOILER ALERT if you aren't right up to date on Mad Men:
Played by January Jones
Betty arguably is one of most emotionally cold moms in TV history, but her lung-cancer diagnosis in the penultimate episode of the series punched me in the gut in a way that surprised me. Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner gave Betty a form of dignity as she struggled up the stairs, still going to class despite her diagnosis. Why is she doing that? “Why was I ever doing it?” Betty replies. We may not see Betty in the finale. That felt like a goodbye.
PETE CAMPBELL
Played by Vincent Kartheiser
So let me get this straight: All Pete had to say was, “I've never loved anyone else,” and suddenly estranged wife Trudy (Alison Brie) is back in his arms? Uh, okay. When Pete was leaving the house, and he looked back at Trudy and said, “Good morning,” it signified a new day in more ways than one. Pete supposedly is taking a job in Wichita, and Trudy and their daughter Tammy are going, too. We may not see much of Pete in the finale, either.
JOAN HARRIS
Played by Christina Hendricks
After a chilling confrontation with Jim Hobart (H. Richard Greene), Joan eventually walked away from the new agency. She's getting $250,000 to go, but sadly, her fears that she wouldn't be taken seriously were proven all too correct. I guess Joan's story could be over, too, but I'm betting Weiner won't let it end on such a sour note.
ROGER STERLING
Played by John Slattery
One of the best scenes of the final season saw Roger and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) getting drunk together (at Roger's insistence, of course). And there was a great exchange when Roger had to tell Joan that if she didn't vamoose now, she had started something by threatening Hobart that could leave her with nothing. But we're still seeking closure with Roger. His old gang has broken up, and he feels guilty about it.
PEGGY OLSON
Played by Elisabeth Moss
Peggy didn't want to go to the new agency, but she was advised that it actually was her best move. The last we saw of her, she was walking in like a rock star, post-roller-skating debauchery with Roger, wearing sunglasses, cigarette dangling from her mouth. Very cool. Peggy essentially has been the co-main character on the show, so I'd imagine she has a big part to play in the finale. But who knows?
Played by Jon Hamm
He looked out the window during a boring meeting at the new agency, got up, walked out, and hasn't been seen at the office since. He's on some sort of unscheduled cross-country trek, thousands of miles from home, and now without a car. If Don actually is going to fall out the window of a New York high-rise, as has been suggested for seven seasons in the opening credits of Mad Men, he had best get on a plane quickly.
Twitter: @billharris_tv