Mad Men returns. Thumbs up or down?

For a while I thought I'd called it.

 

You know in a lot of ways Don Draper may be going down, but Dick Whitman seems to be making a comeback. He's going to spend his time off reconnecting with Sally (was I the only one who thought the summons might have been for Sylvia's divorce?) and probably writing a best-selling book, growing a beard and dropping the suit permanently.

1969 stuff
Led Zepplin's first album
last Beatles performance/lennon marries Yoko
Yasser Arafat becomes head of PLO
First Concorde flight, first 747 flight
Eisenhower dies
DeGaulle retires
First withdrawals from Vietnam
Chappaquiddick
Moon Landing
manson murders
woodstock
hurricane camille
Gaddafi comes to power in libya
Mets win series
WalMart incorporates
First link of what will become the Internet is made (ARPANET)
Altamont
Launch of UNIX time

Hell of a year. Really was one of those "bridge" years marking the end of one era and the beginning of another.

 

So what does everybody here think of Megan as a character and Jessica Pare as an actress? I read Television Without Pity boards and comments on some reviews and they are just brutal toward her.

 

Holy shit, they fired Don.

 

When Pete got into the car and was about to drive it, I thought he was going to run over Bob Benson.

 

Loved the finale. Can't wait for next year.

I wonder if we will ever see Megan again. Perhaps Don & Betty reunite? She connects with him like no one else. And it might be the only way to save their daughter.

Here is what Sepinwall thought of the last episode:

@sepinwall: My review of the "Mad Men" season finale http://t.co/SJwysHsXA3

 

Also, a Sepinwall post-finale interview with Matt Weiner:

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/mad-men-creator-matthew-weiner-on-dons-confession-bob-bensons-origin-and-more-from-season-6

Includes this:

 

Before the finale, I would have probably called this the weakest season. But things really fell into place the last two episodes, particularly the finale. Don finally getting his comeuppance for an entire season's worth of destruction had a lot to do with that. Maybe he's finally hit rock bottom and has a chance to turn things around.

 

I could totally see Don and Betty getting back together, particularly with Megan on the west coast.

 

Did I miss something, or did Pete say he was leaving for Los Angles. When did that happen? I thought only one guy (Ted) was going to Los Angeles.

Overall, thought it was a good episode, especially when Don and Sally look at each other at the very end. I think she's old enough to where she understands, and it certainly lets her in on Don's past after claiming her father "never gave her anything." I thought it was a very strong last scene.

Not sure what happens next. With Duck walking off the elevator, it's evident Don never returns to SCP. As far as the season as a whole, it reminded me of Season 4, when Don really fell hard. But him being fired is the kind of motivation he needs to pick himself up.

To be sure, next season is the final one, right?

And on a side note, how many episodes was the season? It seemed to go by rather fast. What happened to TV shows going with 20+ episodes per season? I'm working my way through Friday Night Lights, and the first season is 25. The next is 16 and then its 13 or so the rest of the way. That's lame.

 

The Don/Sally moment was great, and I think that the phone call from Betty may have been his turning point, particularly when she said that Sally comes from a broken home. Don knows what kind of damage a broken home can do to a child.

With that look, Don and Sally understand each other for the first time. Don seemed to be actually beginning to try to do the right thing in this episode.

 

I was about to post the same question about Pete? What did Gator and I miss?