Mad Men fans?

I read the Weiner interview and I remember thinking it more as suggesting that interpretation rather than outright stating it. But it does seem that was his intent. I'm not sure how evident that intent is in the actual show, but there ya' go.

Have a Coke Yoda. The hapiness will just wash over you and all will become clear.

BTW did that Coke campaign make a comeback? Because I swear I remember it and since I was born in '76, I obviously didn't see it in '70.

So, Don had his cathartic moment and an empathetic one too which we rarely see in Don the self absorbed. Those sobs felt real and were quite upsetting I thought. We'd waited for this and it wasn't a let down. The next morning looking out at sea I almost thought they were going to leave us there , nooo! not the staring into the great blue yonder finish! but thankfully it was far cleverer than that , it was a perfect moment with the small dawning smile of a great idea forming

He got his goodbye to Betty, really poignant too. 'Birdie'..I was in tears. Sally coming home and taking charge of her little brothers like the sensible, capable girl she is. She's going to be a great woman. Betty sitting there like a queen while Sally washes the dishes. I read a few lines from a Sylvia Plath poem at the weekend that reminds me of Betty with her perfect poise and self control.
Dying
Is an art, like everything else.
I do it exceptionally well.

I do it so it feels like hell.
I do it so it feels real.
I guess you could say I’ve a call.

I didn't think they'd give us Peggy and Stan, even though it's been clear for ages they're perfect for each other and already act like a bickering married couple who do actually love each other under the bluster. The phone call was wonderful. I cried (again)

Nearly got my wish for a Joan and Peggy business partnership! still, give it time. There could be room for Peggy and Stan in the business in future. So happy Joan got rid of Richard in the end. I wish she could've had some love, but he turned out to be a whining self centred selfish man. He didn't really want little Kevin either. Seeing Joan so happy organising her business was great .
Lovely to see Roger sorting out Kevin's future before going off with the capricious Madame Calvet - my goodness she's going to lead him a merry dance!

A perfect ending for Pete and Trudy too, like a dream. I loved the goodbye between Peggy and Pete - a goodbye made of respect for each other and no recriminations.

Looks like I've overused the word perfect, but no matter that's how it was

Thinking back we've come such a way through some important years of the 20th century. This played out in my lifetime and look at how life is for women at the end compared to the beginning. Sally will have the life that Betty probably dreamed of.

I enjoyed reading people's thoughts… I wanted to say that Weiner is just so brilliant, isn't he?

I loved the finale. But I wasn't sure at the time. I had to sit and think for a moment. I wasn't sure Don created the ad -- I had to wonder if that was me putting that onto Don, or did the writer intend for me to think that? Was it just a coincidence?

This show has always been about the never ending search for happiness. Where we find it. How we manufacture it. How we tell others what it is. So here it is, 1971, and Don is where so many went at the time to seek happiness -- into meditation, etc. Anyway, why I thought it was so perfect is that Weiner gave us happy endings we wanted for some of the characters. Endings that fit the characters. Even Don's -- oh yea. After letting the ending sink in, I was sure he created that ad. And that is what the smile was.

People don't really change. They grow, they experiment, but change? Don was an ad man.

What a great show. I also agree with christine -- when Don said, "Birdie," I couldn't even breathe. And Peggy saying, "what?" was priceless.

My only problem was Joan's story. I get that, once again, Joan cannot let a man define her, but she wanted love. Why couldn't we get that?

Hey Tramp how lovely to see you. It'd be great to see you back posting again. Hope you and your family are all doing fine

Maybe Weiner chose Joan to represent the women that pushed the barrier into self employment and forward into it being normal for women to be head of companies. After she's suffered so much discrimination because of her appearance it was pretty cool for her to be doing something for herself. Maybe they stuck that guy Richard in at the end as a code for that kind of man who wants his little lady to stay at home - the times making him a dinosaur. It was a bit mean to cheat her out of love, but she had that new business in her mind and needed no distractions!

Hi christine -- glad to see you're still here!

Yea, I will agree that Joan does represent the woman doing something for herself.

So… I chose to believe that she will be very successful, and just when she's relaxing one day at a sunny cafe, she meets a lovely man who admires and loves her for her.

And they live happily ever after.

I felt the last few episodes weren't my cup of tea, mainly because they didn't feel like Mad Men to me. The last episode resolved that a little and I really liked it... Until that ending. I actually clapped and had a huge smile on my face. That's Mad Men. Not only is Don back, not only has he managed to come back and turn everything to his advantage, but he's gone to create the pinnacle of not only his career but his profession. Proof, were it needed, that Don is special. He's the ultimate hustler. He does what he is and he is the best. Don always becomes the best again because Don's the one who manages to adapt to each new scenario/era/challenge quicker and/or better than everyone else.

I'd thought for a few years now that the two most likely endings for Don would be getting back with Betty (least likely) or him dying. Pete ended up getting the first one, which was great because Pete has the life Don would love to love to have. But he can't, because he's Don. Pete, who'd always wanted to be Don, finally realised in the final season that not only is he not Don, but that he doesn't really want to be either and he takes the ultimate personal risk to get back everything he truly wants and gets it in one go.

I loved the Peggy/Stan stuff. At last! And, as Christine has already said, that phone call was wonderful.

I can understand people feeling that Joan was a little hard done by, but he story has always been about being wanted or used for her body/look and, even when that wasn't the case, her look/body was still a factor, be it positive or negative. Finally she was the brain. She was in charge because she had the motivation, she had the drive, she had the idea, she had the money, she had the contacts. She was the new woman in a new business for a new era and how or what she looked like didn't only not matter, to her or to others, but it wasn't a factor.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.