Mad Men

[Dr. Medulla]

Never in my life would I have thought I would be rooting for Betty and Pete.

B's mother died of cancer around the same age, so there was a bit more emotional resonance in our house, especially her letter to Sally. While I certainly took no satisfaction with this turn, I still have a hard time mustering much sympathy for her. Ten years of cold selfishness and being a lousy mother just doesn't get wiped away. Likewise, Pete also has such a nasty past that I can't generate much satisfaction for him. He's still beholden to the corporate life, seeking to continue to rise from within. I have actually come around some to the idea of redemption for Don. For all the awful, awful stuff he's done, he seems to have finally realized a path to freedom in both abandoning a life of manipulation and domination, and in accepting his life (that is, his full life and history). Still, he can afford (financially, that is) to do that based on what he had done for the past fifteen years, so … it's iffy for me. They're all compelling characters so I do take an interest in what happens, but I can't say I hold any real sympathy for them.

[Wolter]

I do think Pete has learned a few lessons; he always wanted to be Don, but now he's trying to be himself. He's done awful things, but I'm ok if he actually grows.

I think of Betty as an awful person that is still dying with dignity. And it was a nice touch that, as awful as she is, Henry legitimately loves her.

This episode was interesting because it seemed like the three people least likely to grow or change (outside of Roger, who is perfectly content to be a horrible person and I love him for it) actually showed signs of growth and change.

[Dr. Medulla]

I do think Pete has learned a few lessons; he always wanted to be Don, but now he's trying to be himself. He's done awful things, but I'm ok if he actually grows.

I think of Betty as an awful person that is still dying with dignity. And it was a nice touch that, as awful as she is, Henry legitimately loves her.

This episode was interesting because it seemed like the three people least likely to grow or change (outside of Roger, who is perfectly content to be a horrible person and I love him for it) actually showed signs of growth and change.

If my assessment is overly unsympathetic, yours seems to be too much the other direction. I don't really see much growth/change from any of the three except Don. I'll certainly grant Betty handling her fate with cool dignity, but where is the growth there? Pete is still pursuing the idealized vision of Don from season 1: wife, kid, rising up the corporate ranks. He may be more humble than the weasel-with-a-family-name than in earlier seasons, but I'm not convinced that his decisions and his pitch to win back his ex-wife represent meaningful growth. Don's the only one who has stripped himself down to extricate himself from a (self-)destructive pattern. I don't see any reason to believe that Pete won't be a shitheel in Wichita because there's been no reason for him to change.

[Wolter]

I think you're reading more optimism than I actually have. I mean very, very slight growth, only noticeable because I assumed Pete and Betty would go to their graves completely oblivious to anything.

[Dr. Medulla]

Ah, gotcha. The one thing this show has demonstrated is that there are no unambiguous happy endings. It really is remarkable how something so cynical and myth puncturing has gotten away with seeming glamourous.

[JennyB]

Never in my life would I have thought I would be rooting for Betty and Pete.

B's mother died of cancer around the same age, so there was a bit more emotional resonance in our house, especially her letter to Sally. While I certainly took no satisfaction with this turn, I still have a hard time mustering much sympathy for her. Ten years of cold selfishness and being a lousy mother just doesn't get wiped away. Likewise, Pete also has such a nasty past that I can't generate much satisfaction for him. He's still beholden to the corporate life, seeking to continue to rise from within. I have actually come around some to the idea of redemption for Don. For all the awful, awful stuff he's done, he seems to have finally realized a path to freedom in both abandoning a life of manipulation and domination, and in accepting his life (that is, his full life and history). Still, he can afford (financially, that is) to do that based on what he had done for the past fifteen years, so … it's iffy for me. They're all compelling characters so I do take an interest in what happens, but I can't say I hold any real sympathy for them.

All absolutely true. That's why I hated myself the other night. It's more Sally I was rooting for. Kiernan Shipka is really an incredible actress.

[Dr. Medulla]

[v][/v]

As an aside: What the fuck in that show wasn't some kind of foreshadowing? Weiner has said that he knew how the whole show wraps up since season 1, and it's damned hard not to see a master narrative at work the whole way thru.

[Dr. Medulla]

So the ridiculous DB Cooper theory prediction seems to have been replaced by Don somehow going back to advertising and pitching the famous "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" ad. After seven seasons, is there any evidence that this series will end on a warm fuzzy tribute to advertising? Really? Predictions on how the series will or should end is damning evidence against fanfic.

edit: For the record, I have no predictions about how it'll end, other than I don't expect Wiener to disappoint. I know Jon Hamm has said that the ending is "poetic," which to me suggests denouement, rather than one big shocking climax.

[Dr. Medulla]

Very nice extended essay on the show: http://time.com/mad-men-history/

[Flex]

I think Pete's gonna wake up in the last scene and realize it was all just a wonderful dream.

[Dr. Medulla]

I think Pete's gonna wake up in the last scene and realize it was all just a wonderful dream.

Or Tommy Westphall is shaking a snow globe.

[tepista]

I think Pete's gonna wake up in the last scene and realize it was all just a wonderful dream.

Or Tommy Westphall is shaking a snow globe.

Or the REAL Skinner asks for his job back

[Dr. Medulla]

I think Pete's gonna wake up in the last scene and realize it was all just a wonderful dream.

Or Tommy Westphall is shaking a snow globe.

Or the REAL Skinner asks for his job back

Don makes amends by going back to Korea and leaving a message for Hawkeye.

[Dr. Medulla]

[v][/v]
Of the various songs I've discovered thru the show, this is probably my favourite. Mostly surf, but there's also a great and weird futuristic quality to it.

[Silent Majority]

[v][/v]
Of the various songs I've discovered thru the show, this is probably my favourite. Mostly surf, but there's also a great and weird futuristic quality to it.

Recorded in the toilet, the only UK instrumental to make it to number one in America.