mad men season finale
mad men season finaleDon tells Bert Cooper about the buyout. Here is an exclusive look at Cooper’s reaction:
Indeed, the Titanic script would come in handy. Only that whole “never let go” advice would have been lost on Don. He wants to buy McCann out. And for the first time ever, we see some real ~emotion~ coming out of Draper! He’s mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore! He’s TAKING CHARGE. And there’s only one person who’s going to be by his side on this matter.
Roger Sterling.
Oh, sure, he’s coquettish at first. But Roger’s got the Lucky Strike account that’s keeping them afloat. Bert tells Roger to get on board. Don locks him into his steely-eyed tractor beam. And it seems these two are back in business.
Don comes home to find Betty in her usual stern mood as of late. She puts down the brass balls she’s been polishing for the last few weeks and asks Don to sit down. Her wasp wings spread out like a Phoenix rising from the ashes and she tells Don to find a divorce lawyer, as she has found her own. And in the immortal words of Sir Martin Lawrence:
Remember the Mad Men poster with the water rising up Don’s legs? (If not, see the first photo used in this post.) Well, it’s all been leading up to this. He tries to talk her out of it. She’s had a tough couple of weeks, he insists. But that ain’t it, Donny boy. She’s had a tough year. Seriously, though, how would you feel if you just had a baby and spent the last 5 months m-bating on a fainting couch fantasizing about a less handsome version of your husband while the man you married was putting it in your kid’s teacher? Pretty divorcy, right? Right.
Roger and Don steep some tea and ask to speak with Pryce. They offer to buy back the company for the purchase price plus 12 percent. He tells them that is just not possible and leaves. The men are still bound up by their contracts, i.e. screwed.
Betty and Henry meet with their divorce lawyer, who assumes, as we all have, that these two have had plenty of intercourse with each other’s private parts. He tells them to go to Reno for 6 weeks, establish residency, and make the divorce as easy as possible. But how much money does she want? Isn’t the rule half? Henry assures Betty he will take care of her and the three kids. It’s here we realize… holy… mother… of… God… in 6 weeks…
DON DRAPER WILL BE SINGLE.
Pryce calls Mr. Sheffield in London, who tells him that PPL is also being sold. This comes as a shock. Lane is, in many ways, his own neglected wife. And as we know, this episode is all about reclaiming. Reclaiming independence. Or, in Pryce’s case, his balls back.
HOBO FLASHBACK #2: Dick’s Mom is all “We’re poor!”, and his Dad’s all “Fine! I’ll sell it! And take it to Chicago tonight!” He’s drunk. He goes to untie his horse, as dick takes a swig from a giant jug. Lightning strikes, and Dick’s father gets kicked in the face by a horse. Hard. Like, has a horseshoe shaped cut and everything. He’s dead. Lesson learned: If you give in, you will get kicked in the face by a horse. And Don? He’s not gonna settle for that. No horse is going to kick DON F**KING DRAPER in the FACE. Emergency meeting time!
The plan: After some light bickering, Don proposes that Pryce fires them. Fire them to get out of their godforsaken contracts. But why should he? Hellewwww Pryce is the whipping boy of PPL. Don tells him they’ll put his name on the door if he goes through with it. He’ll finally be a man! It’s like his Biz Mitzvah. But if they’re going to start their own firm, they’ll need to pillage Sterling Cooper for all the necessary materials and employees.
It is here Mad Men turns into a veritable Jerry Maguire. I half expected Don to walk out of the office holding a goldfish over his head while Peggy pops a Lemonhead into her mouth, grabs her travel mug, and drives him to the airport. If only there was a memo…
Wait, there is one. Office is closed for the weekend. Pillaging time! Friday, December 13, 1963: Four guys became ballers. And the scramble begins: Get Pete on the line! Peggy, in Don’s office!
Now, you know Peggy has a newfound confidence because she’s sleeping with Duck. She doesn’t need Don, or his new company, or his attitude. And for the first time this season, we fall in love with Peggy again. There are so many balls poppin’ out all over the place it’s beginning to get hard to concentrate. First Kennedy gets shot and the next thing you know, women learn how to speak up for themselves! She tells him she doesn’t want to make a career out of being there so Don can “kick her when she fails.” He seems stunned. When did this baller lose his swagger? Oh right: This entire season.
And then there is Pete Campbell. Poor Pete. Rapes a girl, doesn’t get promoted. He’s down on his luck, to be sure, and that flannel robe he’s wearing seems to be the only comfort he has in his life. (On the real, he looks cozy.) Roger and Don want him as part of the new firm. But Pete, he’s a sensitive one. He wants to know if they’ve talked… (thin lipped delivery) to Ken? They haven’t. He warms up, but insists he gets paid a compliment before he agrees, because he’s a fancy lady from the 1700s. He wants in as partner, and it seems Roger is impressed. That little smile of his is so telling, isn’t it? Also, when did Roger become the best character on Mad Men?
