 |
Peggy takes no prisoners--at last
Elizabeth Moss at her finest |
I appreciate a timely ending...Kudos to
Matt Weiner and his team for not overstaying their welcome and much more of course. Still, my heart is a bit heavy that the
Mad Men journey is truly over.
For those of us devoted viewers, who have invested 8+ years in this phenomenal series, the rewards have been rich. The arc of each key cast members story, (
ahhhh Peggy!), has taken us through the Kennedy and MLK assassinations, the Black Out of '65, Vietnam, the Moonwalk and scads of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Booze and cigarettes, are so ingrained in the series, they should have been listed in the cast credits each week.
It was inevitable, that either the lungs or the liver, would ring the death knell, for one of the main characters. Bets ran high for
Don or Roger. I don't know anyone, myself included, or took
bets on
Bets. The minute she tripped
up those steps, I knew she was a goner.
Heartbreaking...
 |
| Sally and Betty, cigarette ever in hand, (even up to the end!) precursor to her advanced lung cancer |
A particular joy, has been watching
Kiernan Shipka grow up before our eyes,
as
Sally Draper. As the progeny of
Betty and Don Draper, she has borne witness to her parents flaws, excesses and debauchery, first hand.
Not surprisingly, she is cynical, brutally direct and mature, beyond her years. It will serve her well, as she now has to face Betty's untimely death. Betty was always remote. Soon she will be a ghost. Tragically, Sally, still a teen, will have to bear all the burdens of being a motherless daughter. I imagine her re-reading Betty's final instructions throughout her lifetime, looking for little clues to help her grasp strands of the woman her mother was.
Heartbreaking....
 |
| Don Draper--heading West |
So, how will it all end? Over the last two years of Don, shedding his persona like a snake. Like all of us, Don seeks peace and contentment. Material wealth has never defined him. His life, as the mythical creation, 'Genius Ad Man, Don Draper' is a farce he no longer wants to perpetuate.
Don loves to work and he loves California. I've long envisioned him leaving everything behind and opening
Dick's Auto Body out West. Don has been a fairly deplorable father, but he
does love his children. With Betty gone and
Henry, her second husband hapless, Don will pack up the Draper kids and move them all to California...but no, it won't be Beverly....Dick seeks a simpler life and he will finally have it.
