So I woke up early and started watching the reruns on AMC in anticipation Of tonight's start of the final episodes. While I was never a huge fan of Draper's lethario ways? The way the writers have turned him into a sniveling shell of a person Makes me less than optimistic for the final season..... What say you all?
We've really enjoyed the show, especially the early episodes. Now that the seasons are spaced so far apart I kinda get lost, although we still watch.
the woman who ran that dept store that wanted to turn it into a Macy's clone, she slept with him but broke it off "one that got away..." http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men/cast/rachel-menken
I'm now trying to figure out what the end of the show is going to mean for each character. I'm pretty sure Peggy is going to give up her career for family. I'm also pretty sure that Don is going to end up being Patient Zero in the AIDS epidemic.
AIDS for Don seems inevitable. Someone has to get it, though there sure are lots of candidates. They want the show to be final. We likely won't be happy with some of the endings. That inclusion of Rachel sure confused me. I can barely remember her even when told that part of the story.
While I don't think the series will end with the Draper clan having a family meal at the local Italian joint (but holy cow, that would be meta-hilarious), but AIDS for Don or others?? Sorry but I think everyone's gone a bit off the reservation on that one. We're in 1970 and I can't see it going that far in six more episodes, I mean - c'mon. Best case, the Rachel thing will give DD some grounding to, effectively, clean up his act. But how many times have we seen it before, and his failure. Roger has always been my favorite character and the one I most identify with, will be interesting to see how his end of career (life) strategy plays out. Don't underestimate Bert's "best things in life are free" implications from the Waterloo episode, IMO, money already playing a significant factor in ep7.
I was kidding about Don, but his character arc makes me sad. I'm not sure what I want for him. Maybe not victory, but..... ??? Roger has always been one of my favorites too, but that moustache.
I have a feeling that the conversation with Di (the waitress at the diner) may indicate some nasty stuff on the horizon. Think about even the name... Di... die... The whole scene was like it was a dream sequence (reminded me a lot of some of Tony Soprano's dream sequences). Something about the way Di says "Maybe you dreamt about her all the time. “When someone dies, you just want to make sense out of it, but you can’t,” That wasn't just about Rachel Menken. Something (or someone) else is dead. Maybe this was a dream, or maybe its just an ominous portend. Regarding the comment about how Don Draper has become a shell of a person... that's the thesis of the entire series, so one shouldn't be surprised about the turns this series is taking. Pick a character - any one - and though s/he seems to be in a good place, s/he isn't... Joan - a millionaire, who has to put up with '70s era sexual harassment, but also knows that she whored herself out for a client to make her money. Peggy - advanced to a good position in a man's world, that taught her to sacrifice her life and become cold and joyless. Ken - wasn't happy about working in advertising over writing, and when he got his chance (being fired) he instead chose revenge... back working in advertising. Roger - has more money than he knows what to do with. Lost his wife, lost his daughter, tried LSD and got weird. Pete - he, too, is a multi-millionaire, but he, too, lost his wife and daughter and can't even figure out how to BE rich. Nobody has a happy story. That's the whole point. In six weeks, the best that we can hope for is that none of the major characters become too miserabler. My feeling is that in the end, Don Draper (despite what I said above about the conversation with Di) will end up on top. Every time he falls, his results improve. He's gone through two wives and has had his past exposed, but yet he went from minutes from being fired last season to one of the richest partners in the firm. Everything in the next six weeks will happen, and the closing scene will have him in his office, still impeccably dressed, and working on the next creative pitch.
Ever since the show first aired, people have speculated that Don would kill himself by jumping out of the window (as portrayed in the animated intro sequence). Was anyone else weirded out by Rachel saying "you're late for your flight" in that dream sequence he had? Something tells me that line is going to become more meaningful as the rest of the episodes play out...