The more I think about the ending, the more I agree about Don creating the Coke ad, and I don't like it. After Don coining the Lucky Strike line at the beginning of the series, "Mad Men" has done a great job of setting the story in real American history. They chose brands that existed (R.I.P. Burger Chef), but kept the ads as, historically, unremarkable. This made the "Mad Men" story fit in existing history. It seemed real. To have Don create the best advertising jingle of all time is easily proven as untrue, and, for me, it sort of takes the show away from "our history" into alternate universe, which diminishes the show.

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Here goes nothing. I have a terrible time getting anything right as Wiener kicks all our azzes on a regular basis.

But for fun:

1. Don never gets on a bus or at least we don't see it if he does. A hot chick picks him up in a brand new Rivera, she has more money than him.

2. Don ends up thinking up the iconic Coca Cola song/ad and instead of going back, he calls Peggy and gives it to her. She polishes it and becomes famous.

3. Roger, Roger, Roger??? I'll stick with my idea of a come-uppance of epic proportions, a figurative death. Flash to an important boardroom meeting where he is asked by one of McCann's VPs , "Roger would you go get me a cup of coffee from the break room? NO cream, two sugars." Switching places with Joan as disrespected nobody.

4. Peggy becomes a superstar off Don's idea, gets Stan.

5. Don, he can't leave the kids, but that does not mean he goes to NY, does it? He will find out from Sally within the week so no matter where he is, I feel he will have to go back. But not to McCann.

Mour guesses later!

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FInal score:

Wins,
Don does not get on a bus.
Don thinks up the iconic Coke ad.
Peggy gets Stan.

Losses,
Too many to list!

With ten thousand guesses I would never have come up with the Bonnevllle Salt Flats!

GOnna miss this show.

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We dont know if Don did or did not get on a bus. Its usually 1 month between episodes. There is an old say, "Absense of evidence is not evidence of absense."

I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

Cool take from 4chan of all places.

(yes, seen on reddit, I can't quit reading stuff about Madmen)

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Here goes nothing. I have a terrible time getting anything right as Wiener kicks all our azzes on a regular basis.

But for fun:

1. Don never gets on a bus or at least we don't see it if he does. A hot chick picks him up in a brand new Rivera, she has more money than him.

2. Don ends up thinking up the iconic Coca Cola song/ad and instead of going back, he calls Peggy and gives it to her. She polishes it and becomes famous.

3. Roger, Roger, Roger??? I'll stick with my idea of a come-uppance of epic proportions, a figurative death. Flash to an important boardroom meeting where he is asked by one of McCann's VPs , "Roger would you go get me a cup of coffee from the break room? NO cream, two sugars." Switching places with Joan as disrespected nobody.

4. Peggy becomes a superstar off Don's idea, gets Stan.

5. Don, he can't leave the kids, but that does not mean he goes to NY, does it? He will find out from Sally within the week so no matter where he is, I feel he will have to go back. But not to McCann.

Mour guesses later!

---

FInal score:

Wins,
Don does not get on a bus.
Don thinks up the iconic Coke ad.
Peggy gets Stan.

Losses,
Too many to list!

With ten thousand guesses I would never have come up with the Bonnevllle Salt Flats!

GOnna miss this show.

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We dont know if Don did or did not get on a bus. Its usually 1 month between episodes. There is an old say, "Absense of evidence is not evidence of absense."

I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul.

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Thank you for the blessing but did you miss where I said "or at least we won't see it."

Elizabeth Moss really pulled off that whole extended phone call scene at the end well. She ran through the whole range of emotions. During the call with Stan I was yelling at the TV to get off the damn phone and run to her. At that point we were at I believe our 4th dramatic phone call between various characters and it was wearing out. So it was very well played to have it end the way it did.




Were there any goodbyes that we missed?

Roger-Don: said goodbye at the bar 2 episodes ago

Pete-Peggy: great scene - "some day people will brag that they used to work with Peggy Olson"

Don-Joan: elevator scene 2 episodes ago - "put me down for lunch sometime"

Don-Betty: emotional phone call

Don-Sally: no conclusion but I think everything at the end implied that Don goes back to NY and they will maintain a stable and more respectful relationship as she accepts the responsibility of getting the boys to the right home and he accepts her judgment as a maturing adult. I see her going away to college to be successful at whatever she wants to do.

Don-Pete: can't recall

Roger-Joan: great apartment scene filled with humor

Don-Megan: unfortunate ending at lawyer's office is episode 7.9

Meredith - lol "I always land in my feet"

Peggy-Joan: a little unresolved tension between 2 professional women as it usually was with them

Harry - stuck taking Pete out to lunch by himself - insecure, angry and marginalized as always

Ken - working hard but not fulfilled - utilizing his extended network of contacts as is Joan

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Thank you for the blessing but did you miss where I said "or at least we won't see it."

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I've noticed that, when it comes to Mad Men (see also, Breaking Bad), many of us are too busy reading into things to notice what's laid out right there in the open.

I was trying to be nice. The show has never left us at the same point so of course we would never see it.

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My name's Leonard. I don't know if there's anything that complicated about me. Which is why I should be happier I guess.

It's good for him, hes interesting. but I've never been interesting to anybody. I work in an office, people walk right by me and I know they don't see me.

Then I go home and I watch my wife and my kids - they don't look up when I sit down.

It's like no one cares that I'm gone.

They should love me, maybe they do, but, I don't even know what it is.

You spend your whole life thinking you're not getting it, people aren't giving it to you. Then you realize they're trying, and you don't even know what IT is.

I had a dream I was on a shelf in the refrigerator. Someone closes the door and the light goes off, and i know everybody's out there eating

And then they open the door, and you see them smiling. They're happy to see you. But maybe they don't look right at you, and maybe they don't pick you.

Then the door closes again. The light goes off.

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One of the things that was interesting watching some of the older episodes the last few days is that I forgot what a d-bag frat boy Stan was until his cousin was killed in Vietnam. His character really evolved as the decade went on, as did his relationship with Peggy.

The acting in this episode was so nails, when you consider so many of those scenes were done on the phone. The utter desolation that Hamm can convey in his facial expressions is truly amazing.

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So that's why Don was crying as he hugged Leonard -- he hadn't come to some huge self-realization, he was just giving him a big "oh my god I am so happy you just gave me a gazillion-dollar idea, Leonard" thank you hug.

Really enjoyed the finale.

Agree the acting was great through out the entire thing.

Peggy/Stan verged on sappy but was great. Perfect ending for those two.

Like most, I was in WTF mode at the end, but then it settles in and is great. I like the vagueness of the ending.

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Like most, I was in WTF mode at the end, but then it settles in and is great. I like the vagueness of the ending.

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Interesting. I was in WTF mode during the entire Don story arc UNTIL the end, so much so that it was tough to enjoy the closure of the other stories. I agree the ending is great. I didn't find it vague in the slightest.

acting was great. The ending alluding to Don going back and doing the Coke Ad was great. It was all great.

However, I just didn't need any of the scenes from last night to fulfill Mad Men for me. With the way each character and storyline "ended" in the last 4 weeks, I didn't see a need to just pop back in, especially with trivial scenes like finally letting Meredith go, etc.

The Stan and Peggy moment is great, but Stan and Peggy already had the most affectionate and loving relationship on the show IMO, even if they didn't always outwardly show it to each other. I guess that was just a logical conclusion I didn't have to see on screen to have a pay off.

It was good to see Joan starting her business and not letting her professional career end at Hobart's wrath, but Joan's a fighter and a doer. I had no doubt that she'd be doing something she wanted, even after she only got .50 on the dollar to walk away. I didn't need confirmation on screen of a production company to know that Joan would be fine.

Don and Betty's phone call was probably the most emotional scene of the night. Just stunningly well done by both.

The finale was very well done, even if it dragged at times, especially with Don. There were very sentimental moments, great writing, great acting, etc. I'm not saying anything bad about it as if it wasn't a good episode. It was good...I just didn't need any of it, and what we got last night didn't move the dial in any way for me that was any different than the week before.

So I wake up feeling the same as I did last night...I'll choose to feel the show ended at the bus stop last week.

I think the people that hated it and posted right away didn't get it. Then when people get it explained to them, they like it.

For me, I didn't hate it. And I knew what was happening exactly as it happened as I commented on it when it happened.

Overall though, last night was a bunch of good scenes on one of my favorite tv shows of all time, but nothing that I necessarily needed to see from them before the show ended. Hard to explain I suppose.

Then penultimate finale was just so incredibly good, and it represented what was IMO the perfect ending to the show, that the finale just didn't have the same appeal to me. No big deal. As I said, still some very powerful stuff from last night, and the Coke ending was so great, but the 75 minutes that led to it just didn't feel as strong as the last couple weeks. Just seemed like a bunch of fluff for the sake of fluff.

Confession: Don getting the idea for the Coke add didn't click with me when I watched it live.

I was under the impression that his grin meant he was finally ok with letting everything else go. On the rewatch, I think it's pretty obvious he came up with the ad right then.

echo a lot of what was said here...


i was HATING the Don beatnik zen hippie arc the entire time through, especially the other unknown characters listening to their sob stories, etc. who cares....then Don's breakthrough and that last scene...was so worried it was going to be completely vague. Don still looked so out of place, so clean cut, the corporate hairdo still, the neater clothes even though it wasn't a suit it was still nicer then the hippies, and the smile...if it edned there i would have been livid. But the coca cola ad saved the whole thing and gave it context and meaning. now i loved it.

I LOVED everything else about the finale though: Joan/Peggy, Peggy/Stan, Roger/Joan and Pete's farewell....and especially the Don/Sally and Don/Betty phone calls and then Don/Peggy.

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I think the people that hated it and posted right away didn't get it. Then when people get it explained to them, they like it.

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No, I got it from the get go. he obviously went back to ME and was responsible for the Coke ad. I just wanted to see more with his transformation, I thought it was boring. And, so he does embrace Don, okay, fine, but he goes back to work for a place he hates. Maybe he grows to like it, but he hated everything that place stood for and it's smarmy people.

I just don't like it.

I liked the ending with Peggy and Stan, but wish she'd gone in on the partnership with Joan.

All in all, it was just okay. But I've found over the years, that most last episodes never live up to the hype.

But, it was a great show and I loved it over all.

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Awful. What a wasted ending for Don. He wrote the hippie coke ad (that I remember being on TV)

Awful and so disappointing.

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That is the single biggest commercial in advertising history. It's iconic.

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One of them, not the single. I remember seeing it as a kid I was bout 5. And I've always liked the song and the commercial. I just didn't think the episode did Don justice. Getting to the ad is fine, but the episode could've done so much more with Don's transformation. I still not impressed.

Or it could be the Peggy wrote it, it's ambivalent, which I guess is a good Mad Men thing, but still am and will always be disappointed in the missed opportunity with Don's transformation.

But, we can have differing opinions and it's an awesome show that will always be a favorite of mine.

eh, don goes back to work at a place that he hates, but he's proven over and over again that he's going to do it on his terms.

so this time he walks out of a meeting and goes on a jaunt that takes him across the country over a couple of weeks. he walks back into mccann and before anyone can get on his ass he spits hot fyah about a new coke ad and everyone kisses his ass despite him walking away.

guaranteed he'll do that again.

in a weird way it seemed like SCDP, the company itself, was another character in this show. one that don couldnt let go of and was very loyal to. now that SCDP is gone, don doesnt really give a crap about mccan...which basically sets up a scenario for him to have his cake and eat it too.

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i was HATING the Don beatnik zen hippie arc the entire time through, especially the other unknown characters listening to their sob stories, etc. who cares....then Don's breakthrough and that last scene...was so worried it was going to be completely vague. Don still looked so out of place, so clean cut, the corporate hairdo still, the neater clothes even though it wasn't a suit it was still nicer then the hippies, and the smile...if it edned there i would have been livid. But the coca cola ad saved the whole thing and gave it context and meaning. now i loved it.

I LOVED everything else about the finale though: Joan/Peggy, Peggy/Stan, Roger/Joan and Pete's farewell....and especially the Don/Sally and Don/Betty phone calls and then Don/Peggy.

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Precisely my experience.

What I'm most excited about is the analysis that will be done in the next few days to find all the hints that Weiner was dropping the whole time that nobody picked up on. A few of them have already been pointed out in this thread:

-Season 7 starting with Freddy saying "Ommm" in the watch pitch
-Don staring at the Coke machine in Oklahoma while the motel owner waxes nostalgic about liking the old one
-The refrigerator monologue

I'll add a few of my own:
-According to Coke's website, the "teach the world to sing" ad was inspired by the creative team being stuck in an airport due to a weather delay...they saw a bunch of formerly pissed of passengers coming together over Coca Colas in the airport lounge...kind of like, I don't know, Don getting delayed when his car broke down and bonding with a bunch of veterans over drinks?
-By the way, the official name of the ad is "Hilltop," indicating a high point like the one Don ended on
-The song itself is a rewrite of one called "true love and apple pie," which includes lyrics that allude to not wanting a diamond ring (like the one Don gave back to its rightful owner), a fancy car (like the one Don gave to the grifter), or a castle in the sky (like the high-rise apartment Don gave up)...it also talks about not wanting to be a celebrity, like, I don't know...Don Draper from McCann Erickson

I'm sure there are countless others.

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eh, don goes back to work at a place that he hates, but he's proven over and over again that he's going to do it on his terms.

so this time he walks out of a meeting and goes on a jaunt that takes him across the country over a couple of weeks. he walks back into mccann and before anyone can get on his ass he spits hot fyah about a new coke ad and everyone kisses his ass despite him walking away.

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well, that's true.

I would have loved to see Don pitch the idea to the Coke execs in true Don Draper mode.

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I would have loved to see Don pitch the idea to the Coke execs in true Don Draper mode.

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and then walked out and said I'll be back in six months.

Some people spend too much time with the Easter egg stuff.

joan and her beau having a coked up conversation about marriage made me laugh a little

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The chimes/idea dings binary meaning just solidifies the finale's brilliance. And for once I don't feel like we're reading into something that's not there. That was 100%, undeniably intentional.

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The chime we heard was most probably a Tingsha, tingsha are used along with singing bowls and other instruments in meditation, music and sound healing. Not saying that it could also symbolize an idea in Don's head, but it was also a literal bell used in meditation.

I liked the ending. I don't know why so many people expected Don to change, or some sort of final resolution. The show gave us none of that for the entire run, why start now? Don started and ended the show as a terrible father, husband, and employee. At the commune he was pitching his usual "move on from the past" motto to Anna's niece. I didn't see a reason he would change from that.

I don't believe Peggy came up with the Coke ad, if she had, they wouldn't have put Don right before it. It would have transitioned from her to the ad. I don't believe Don did either. That ad has a very specific, and well known origin...http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-hilltop-story. If Weiner wanted Don to create a world changing ad, I think he would of written a fake one, like he did so many other times in the show. I think it was just a sign of the times, a symbol of the end of the 60s (which this show was partly about) and the beginning of the 70s.

I liked where we left all the main characters, except Don and Sally. I'm not a huge fan of ambiguous endings, but it is exactly the type of ending this show should have. I feel like Sally deserves more than she got in the end. But she does have two bad parents, and probably ended up better than a real kid in her situation would. A minute montage of Don's future would have made me really happy, but again what we got is what you expect from Mad Men.

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I don't believe Peggy came up with the Coke ad, if she had, they wouldn't have put Don right before it. It would have transitioned from her to the ad. I don't believe Don did either. That ad has a very specific, and well known origin...http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-hilltop-story. If Weiner wanted Don to create a world changing ad, I think he would of written a fake one, like he did so many other times in the show. I think it was just a sign of the times, a symbol of the end of the 60s (which this show was partly about) and the beginning of the 70s.

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I agree with what you're saying about Don not changing... but he came up with the ad.

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I don't believe Peggy came up with the Coke ad, if she had, they wouldn't have put Don right before it. It would have transitioned from her to the ad. I don't believe Don did either. That ad has a very specific, and well known origin...http://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/coke-lore-hilltop-story. If Weiner wanted Don to create a world changing ad, I think he would of written a fake one, like he did so many other times in the show. I think it was just a sign of the times, a symbol of the end of the 60s (which this show was partly about) and the beginning of the 70s.

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I agree with what you're saying about Don not changing... but he came up with the ad.

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But he obviously didn't. That's what I don't like about that ending. I mean, if Don did come up with the ad, it wasn't in this reality.

I agree but a TV show that took great pains to stick to story lines that fit into our reality. It sort of sucks if it tossed all that in the trash in the final scene.