‘Mad Men’ Season 7 Finale Recap: Peggy Finds Love; What Happens to Don Draper? [Watch]
In today's anti-climatic environment of cable network shows ending their series on a note that leaves viewers to wonder about the fates of their favorite character in a TV show, AMC's "Mad Men" did not disappoint with Episode 14 of Season 7 last night.
The show, which has been a somewhat revealing look into main character Don Draper over the past eight years, concluded it's seven-season run on Sunday night with the episode "Person to Person."
Although most viewers have come to love Don in one way or another, his character has often taken on the role of the anti-hero, which was a common theme for many cable television shows, such as "The Shield" and "Sons of Anarchy" on FX as well as "The Sopranos" on HBO. According to The Guardian, "Mad Men" show creator Matthew Weiner was also a key writer for the "The Sopranos," so this finale might not be so surprising.
As reported by The New York Times, "Mad Men" concluded some of its characters while others we were just left to wonder about. Joan, for one, has found someone she loves with her real estate tycoon. But she soon rejects him and options for female empowerment that would eventually lead her to starting her own company, a bit of a homage to the era's feminism movement that empowered women to take on the leading roles generally dominated by men in the era.
Peggy also finds love, which had been staring her in the face for years now. Although she shared Joan's enthusiasm for independence in her career as well as life, Peggy was not immune to the power of falling for a man. In the episode, which was quite a startling moment, Peggy and Stan come together and reveal their feelings for one another, which both are requited in a scene that shocked viewers.
Pete has reconciled with Trudy, mostly, and shrugs off the fact that he was stood up for a lunch date by friends, seemingly content with his new life with her.
Ken, on the other hand, has gone completely back into business mode and hasn't looked back at a literary career he could have had. But his comments about his son possibly having something wrong with him gives credence to the era's legacy of men having little to do with the development of their children.
This of course leads us to Don Draper, who has now entered a cross-country directional tour that he seeks for self-enlightenment. Our on-again, off-again anti-hero has burnt bridges in his personal and professional life and after witnessing a historic record broken in Utah, he calls upon his daughter Sally, who reveals to him the eventual fate of her mother, Betty.
Don tells Betty he wants the kids to come with him after she dies, but she wants them to stay with her sister, where they can get a stable family life that Don has not been able to provide, especially in regards to having a strong female mother figure in their lives.
Don then ventures off to California and undertakes a few self-help style seminars, which eventually leads him to a cliffside where he meditates. The last we see of Don, which is on the cliff, he seems to have some sort of spiritual breakthrough. Don smiles and the scene cuts to the infamous Coke commercial with the song "I'd like to buy the world a Coke," insinuating that Don's breakthrough led to the creation of commercial.
According to Vanity Fair, the commercial was developed in real life by McCann Erickson's Bill Backer, who may have in fact inspired the character of Don Draper on the series.
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