Whenever one is about to watch the season finale of Mad Men, one cannot even begin to predict what is going to happen. Mad Men is such a one-way show that every episode is completely unpredictable, and this season especially has shown that. Tomorrowland was another excellent end to another great season.
Over the course of the season, we have been forced to really watch and understand these characters and their flaws, and this episode particularly wanted us to do that with the Don and Betty. Betty has become unlikeable and cold-hearted over the series, and this season especially enforced that. The reasons were because of her disturbed relationship with her own mother, and because of the events that Don put her through. Again here, Betty shows us just how evil she can truly be, but it also shows us just how sullen she is. She is unhappy, and her husband is too. She wonders if she will be left again, or cheated on, and for now this is where she is. We will have to wait until we see where she is and in what progress she has made in the next season.
Don Draper. The show's lead, and while he is certainly more charming with his kids than Betty is, his root flaw is the fact that he cannot keep himself away from women. He has had at least one affair in each season, and again in this episode he sees himself 'falling' for his secretary, despite having a girlfriend back home. The reason? Because he is in another city, he feels the love and passion and... well, not much. One would like to be as happy as Don is right now with his fiancée, but how can we? We say to ourselves 'Maybe this IS Don's true love, just maybe', yet we know underneath that he is doing what he does best. His girlfriend back home said it best, Faye, 'You only like the beginning of things'. She got this one spot on. Pity too, since I really liked Faye, and along with being a well rounded character, she also accepted Don's most personal secret. We can hope for the best in Don, but despite having high hopes earlier in the season that he was finally going to realize his past mistakes, it is so heartbreaking to see him once again step into his own trap. The sad thing is, he also knows it. In a scene with him and his new love, he says that while sometimes people try to change, it is not enough. That line right there pretty much sums up the whole season.
The great thing about the episode is that while Don and Megan may be as happy as can be, others know best, particularly Joan and Peggy. In a great scene in Joan's office, both talk about how pointless their engagement is, and it roots back to how both of their jobs will be affected, which points back to another point of the season. Throughout the season, we have seen how Peggy is successfully breaking herself out from the majority of women in jobs like these, and how Joan is much more old-fashioned in her approach. Whereas Joan tries to be successful in her persona life, Peggy has focused primarily on her business life, which comes back to her problem here. She is now worried about how this new relationship will cause Megan's job to be elevated, and how she might be decreased in importance, which in turn is when Joan tells her that's why she finds other things to be happy about. Who knows, in this case maybe Joan is right.
Overall, there are many wonderful things in this episode, and it already seems like I am missing Mad Men. The continuing wheel in Don's life also seems to never stop, and one can wonder when will the wheel finally come to a stop.
Over the course of the season, we have been forced to really watch and understand these characters and their flaws, and this episode particularly wanted us to do that with the Don and Betty. Betty has become unlikeable and cold-hearted over the series, and this season especially enforced that. The reasons were because of her disturbed relationship with her own mother, and because of the events that Don put her through. Again here, Betty shows us just how evil she can truly be, but it also shows us just how sullen she is. She is unhappy, and her husband is too. She wonders if she will be left again, or cheated on, and for now this is where she is. We will have to wait until we see where she is and in what progress she has made in the next season.
Don Draper. The show's lead, and while he is certainly more charming with his kids than Betty is, his root flaw is the fact that he cannot keep himself away from women. He has had at least one affair in each season, and again in this episode he sees himself 'falling' for his secretary, despite having a girlfriend back home. The reason? Because he is in another city, he feels the love and passion and... well, not much. One would like to be as happy as Don is right now with his fiancée, but how can we? We say to ourselves 'Maybe this IS Don's true love, just maybe', yet we know underneath that he is doing what he does best. His girlfriend back home said it best, Faye, 'You only like the beginning of things'. She got this one spot on. Pity too, since I really liked Faye, and along with being a well rounded character, she also accepted Don's most personal secret. We can hope for the best in Don, but despite having high hopes earlier in the season that he was finally going to realize his past mistakes, it is so heartbreaking to see him once again step into his own trap. The sad thing is, he also knows it. In a scene with him and his new love, he says that while sometimes people try to change, it is not enough. That line right there pretty much sums up the whole season.
The great thing about the episode is that while Don and Megan may be as happy as can be, others know best, particularly Joan and Peggy. In a great scene in Joan's office, both talk about how pointless their engagement is, and it roots back to how both of their jobs will be affected, which points back to another point of the season. Throughout the season, we have seen how Peggy is successfully breaking herself out from the majority of women in jobs like these, and how Joan is much more old-fashioned in her approach. Whereas Joan tries to be successful in her persona life, Peggy has focused primarily on her business life, which comes back to her problem here. She is now worried about how this new relationship will cause Megan's job to be elevated, and how she might be decreased in importance, which in turn is when Joan tells her that's why she finds other things to be happy about. Who knows, in this case maybe Joan is right.
Overall, there are many wonderful things in this episode, and it already seems like I am missing Mad Men. The continuing wheel in Don's life also seems to never stop, and one can wonder when will the wheel finally come to a stop.