Pete Campbell is the reason hospitals refuse to disclose who is in their care.

When Don walked out of the TV studio, he was Lord of Creation again.

He still has his fastball...

DON'T DO IT DON.

I don't think he will.

He's learned a great many lessons this season. Though in the end, it's possible that one of them was that death comes for us all...in which case he may just tell discretion to kiss his ass.

Ultimately I think what we saw from Don was growth. I think that's the dichotomy we'll see between young Don (with his aspiring model wife, Betty) and a wiser Don. I think Wiener wants his audience to see growth in Don. If Don bangs those girls, we're literally right back where we started in season 1, episode 1.

Thoughts:

That rated incredibly high on my meh scale - especially for a finale.

Anyone else hoping that there was evidence of a "casting call" situation on that reel?

Can we create a time machine and have Pete commit suicide and let Lane stick around?

Roger Sterling is one of my favorite characters on television right now.

I fully expect a .gif of those two dogs ****ing outside Peggy's hotel room to be posted within 24 hours.

It's a great cliffhanger for Don's arc this season. I'm very confident that he's going to turn that proposal down. But I actually like leaving that refusal off-camera because the morals and psychology underlying the situation have really been the primary theme of season 5.

Boooooooo.

I think he does it.

It all comes down to whether Don can handle Megan as actress. I mean, that's been a large part of season 5, but maybe this commercial makes Megan's career take off. He either accepts it, or he regresses as a character. Which isn't that interesting, IMO.

What might be interesting is if Megan leaves Don. One line in favor of Don being the old, cheating Don (or at least a Don without having to worry about staying faithful to Megan): when Don tells Peggy "that's what people do when you help them - they get better and move on." And Don did help Megan land that commercial.

Solid final episode. I prefer an episode like that then a cliffhanger season finale.

the dogs ****ing was so random and awesome.

roger sterling's ass on lsd, penis to the glass....lol

ROFL - agreed

Now I'm thinking hard about that scene where Don watched Megan's screentest. What say you, CP? Did Megan's screentest show great promise as an actress? Or did it confirm that she doesn't have the stuff to make it?

I'm debating between the two readings. On one hand, Don could realize that she's got the stuff to be successful, and decides to help her on her way towards success...knowing full well that her success will drive them apart.

On the other hand, Don might just see in her screentest the same expressions that she uses in their marriage, which would be upsetting. So he is casting her aside by helping her to "get better and move on."

Or he knows that, like her mom said, she's chasing a phantom...he knows she'll never be a real artist, so he helps her get into commercial acting...knowing that advertising is the death knell of her artistic dreams. She then becomes a diminished person in Don's eyes -- much closer to Betty (remember, she was a model!) than the Megan of earlier this season. Which makes it considerably easier for Don to cheat on her, then.

And even if Don is sincerely trying to help Megan, his help makes it psychologically easier for him to cheat on her. So, like Lane's wife tells Don earlier, Don's gesture of help is mostly done for selfish reasons.


Most of the signs point to Don reverting back to full-on adulterer mode. That isn't that interesting to me; it feels like the show stalling Don's character arc to milk out a couple more seasons that the show actually needs. BUT I very much appreciate the mystery behind exactly why Don's little cliffhanger moment happens.

For a season in which Mad Men laid its themes more bare than it ever has (to the point of being frequently on-the-nose, ESPECIALLY in the finale), the last 12 minutes or so with Don brought back the mystery that this show as always thrived on.

I'm also happy that Peggy has a character arc set up for next season. She's going to land that women's cigarette account and make it HUGE. I mean, her business trip was to Richmond, Virginia. Virginia Slims, anyone?

She's come a long way, baby.