Mad Men countdown
- Thread starter Kor
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Im more or less inclined to agree. But I think Don created it outright and fed it to Peggy (who then gave it to Ted).
Remember: When he was on that forced sabbatical from SCDP he couldn't not create ads. instead he used Freddie as a surrogate to get them to the agency. I think he did that again here. It can't be insignificant that the one thing Peggy said to him that seem to strike home was "don't you want to work on Coke." His creative side had to meet that challenge.
As for the last gasp of Don, I think it's less that Don died and Dick returned and more that the two sides 'merged'. He still goes by the name Don (he has to) but Don is much more of what Dick really was.
Either way, it was a good ending. We're talking about it we're thinking about it and we all seemed to enjoy it
FWIW:
I think Don did the Coke commercial. Or it symbolized him going back to advertising.
In the first season, Don told Roger that if he left Sterling Cooper, he wanted to do something else, not advertising. But that was "Don Draper." He was going to keep moving on, keep running. And that's what he always did, he headed west when things go to be too much. Finally, on the west coast, he stopped running and came to peace with himself as Dick and Don, and that allowed him to "come home."
As much as Don symbolized the "square" Madison Avenue men of the '50s, who are on their way out in the show, at heart he was a really talented and creative guy. He could never fully connect to that side of himself, because he felt he was an imposter. Just as everyone tells Peggy what a natural she is, so is Don. She recognizes it, even if he doesn't. In the end he is able to transcend the ad "business," and find a creative expression that is able to thrive alongside the "new generation." What else is he going to do? It's like a calling for him, and he finally accepts it.
Betty will die, but the kids will be OK. Don is in the right place for them. Great scene with Stan and Peggy. They did so well with Stan as the casual workplace buddy that I really didn't see it coming, but it was wonderful.
Just a really great finale all around. I will miss the show, the characters, the writing, Hamm and Slattery's banter. It was a good run.
I think Don did the Coke commercial. Or it symbolized him going back to advertising.
In the first season, Don told Roger that if he left Sterling Cooper, he wanted to do something else, not advertising. But that was "Don Draper." He was going to keep moving on, keep running. And that's what he always did, he headed west when things go to be too much. Finally, on the west coast, he stopped running and came to peace with himself as Dick and Don, and that allowed him to "come home."
As much as Don symbolized the "square" Madison Avenue men of the '50s, who are on their way out in the show, at heart he was a really talented and creative guy. He could never fully connect to that side of himself, because he felt he was an imposter. Just as everyone tells Peggy what a natural she is, so is Don. She recognizes it, even if he doesn't. In the end he is able to transcend the ad "business," and find a creative expression that is able to thrive alongside the "new generation." What else is he going to do? It's like a calling for him, and he finally accepts it.
Betty will die, but the kids will be OK. Don is in the right place for them. Great scene with Stan and Peggy. They did so well with Stan as the casual workplace buddy that I really didn't see it coming, but it was wonderful.
Just a really great finale all around. I will miss the show, the characters, the writing, Hamm and Slattery's banter. It was a good run.
That definitely was not what I was expecting. I'm going to have to watch it a couple more times. For a little while I was worried that Something Bad (tm) would happen to Don. I think he has really become the way he is supposed to be. I wish we could see more! And it's just like Weiner to leave things open to interpretation.
Oh, and I hereby dub the last shot The Incredible Hulk ending.
Kor
Oh, and I hereby dub the last shot The Incredible Hulk ending.
Kor
Well, that was the perfect ending.
As for what led to the Coke commercial, I really don't care. It led to itself.
As for what led to the Coke commercial, I really don't care. It led to itself.
Hamm's interpretation: Don wrote the Coke ad. http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2...icmst=1409232722000&bicmet=1419773522000&_r=0
Never occured to me. And now that you've mentioned it it still doesn't click for me.
The ending has no right answer, which is what MW wants.
I was just about to share this. Even before reading his interpretation I had come to the same thought. Without him creating it the ending has no real meaning.
It will be interesting to hear what Weiner says on the audio commentary for the DVDs. He usually gives a lot of explanations for things. Insights that give better understanding to his motivations. He was very secretive about episodes before they air but no afterwards. I am curious if he makes an exception with the finale.
Thanks, I was not sure if they were still posting those.
When Matt Weiner said "That's all I am going to say." I sarcastically said "You bastard!" and laughed by head off! LOL The man is a genius. Its probably for the best that he lets us all speculate. I am going to be following his career after this for sure.
When Matt Weiner said "That's all I am going to say." I sarcastically said "You bastard!" and laughed by head off! LOL The man is a genius. Its probably for the best that he lets us all speculate. I am going to be following his career after this for sure.
Well, Don is probably quite wealthy by this point, so it would be a convenient time for him to find enlightenment and become one of the idle rich.
On the other hand, I don't think it's necessarily cynical to engage in creativity and craftsmanship. So I don't see anything wrong with Don coming up with transcendentally brilliant TV ad campaigns for the next thirty years. I'm not sure whether McCann (as it is depicted) is the best place for that. Maybe he should become a producer like Joan.
Kor
On the other hand, I don't think it's necessarily cynical to engage in creativity and craftsmanship. So I don't see anything wrong with Don coming up with transcendentally brilliant TV ad campaigns for the next thirty years. I'm not sure whether McCann (as it is depicted) is the best place for that. Maybe he should become a producer like Joan.
Kor
I don't know if he's back in ads but I'm pretty sure he stayed in California, Don always had that California connection and it's only there that we have seen him truly content in the past. It's also the perfect time to leave NY behind, considering what the city will be like for the next 20 years...
It's also possible that Don later communicates his new sense of enlightenment to Peggy who picks up on the sentiments in it and puts it into the Coke ad. With Don feeling somewhat reborn he could think he needs to reconnect with those important to him such as Peggy and his kids. He could do this without returning to McCann and advertising.
In this scenario he is the inspiration for the ad without actually creating it.
In this scenario he is the inspiration for the ad without actually creating it.
Indeed. makes a good case for the "enlighterners" as opposed to the "reverters" (as in, reverted back to old Don).
No, the "cynical" element would be that all Don got out of the his journey starting with the Hershey meeting meltdown and ending on the mountaintop at Big Sur, was an idea for another commercial.
This is actually a more interesting sounding scenario than his calling Peggy and "giving" her his idea --I mean, IF you believe Don had anything at all to do with the commercial.
Don is also a symbol for much of the post WW2 society. As he learns to let go of the past and much of the thinking that tore at him within he is able to move forward with a new perspective. In like manner society as a whole was learning to move forward with different perspectives, but some things don't change much and new sentiments could be packaged to sell more products just as had been done earlier with the previous generation.
Old Don could represent the past while the Coke ad represents the future (and the present).
Old Don could represent the past while the Coke ad represents the future (and the present).
I don't read much online commentary, but there are really people who think the ending was "old" Don Draper cynically cashing in on the counterculture? That seems a singularly misguided reading of everything we were shown about the direction Don has been headed.
Watching again and thinking about it, the more I think the ending is fairly unambiguous. Don made the commercial. Peggy making it is no revelation, she is the up-and-coming generation, we know she is headed up while Don's generation is on its way out. For Don to make the ad, though, that's a breakthrough. It shows him transcending the limits of his generation, persona and past. The guy who instinctively hates the Volkswagen ad can't make that commercial. The guy who can't finish listening to the Beatles record can't make that commercial. "Don Draper," the impostor, can't make that commercial. If Don isn't the main force behind the commercial, the finale doesn't realize its full potential.
The even put the yoga gong in at just the right spot like the "ding" of an idea light bulb!
If he made the commercial for McCann, that doesn't mean he'd stay at McCann. The headhunter told Peggy that after putting in a few good years at the biggest agency she could go anywhere. If Don made a commercial as big as the Coke Hilltop at McCann, he could pretty much write his own ticket.
I think part of the problem is subtlety being lost on a lot of poeple. A lot of them seem to read things in the most simplistic terms. There's a lot of subtlety and nuance in Mad Men where you can easily miss things if you're not paying attention.
Seriously, look how many people online don't seem to grasp where Joan got the Holloway-Harris name for her company.
Seriously, look how many people online don't seem to grasp where Joan got the Holloway-Harris name for her company.
