Life moves on after Lane Pryce's (Jared Harris) untimely demise last week. Ironically business at Sterling Cooper Draper—minus the Pryce—is booming, but Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) personal life is unraveling.
Is the fairy tale of season five finally over? Want to know what happened on the season finale of Mad Men? Find out now:
WHAT WE LEARNED
Dream Maker: Poor Megan (Jessica Paré) spends much of the episode wallowing in self-pity. She can't get a job and Don won't use his pull to help her land a national commercial. Although we must say we kind of love this backstabbing Megan who didn't recommend her friend for the job. We do feel badly for Megan when her mother is a royal witch to her. Squashing dreams should only happen when you are not a houseguest.
Love Shock: Remember when Rory Gilmore got naked in Mad Men a few weeks ago? Beth (Alexis Bledel) is back with some shocking news for Pete (Vincent Kartheiser)—she's depressed and going in for electroshock treatment. Our guess is she's hoping to forget her terrible husband. Her last wish is to sleep with Pete—frankly that wouldn't be our choice, but whatevs—but she ends up forgetting their blissful afternoon. While Pete is heartbroken, we can't help but notice how many miserable, beautiful women there are in this show.
Gin and Guilt: Don's guilt over Lane's death has turned into an abscessed tooth and hallucinations of his half-brother, Adam. He couldn't save Adam or Lane and is he destined to make the same mistakes for the rest of his life? Don makes some strides this week, he does indeed help Megan land the national commercial of her dreams.
Watching Don watch Megan's screen test was one of the more beautiful shots of the season. He looked genuinely in love and she was the happiest we've seen her, but with the episode ending on him being propositioned by two beautiful women, is it only a matter of time before he slips into old habits? Ghost Adam did tell him that it's not his tooth that is rotten.
Less Than Subtle: Mad Men is usually subtle and nuanced, but tonight's finale hit us over the head with a few themes that showrunner Matthew Weiner clearly didn't want us to miss. One being Megan starring in a Beauty and the Beast themed commercial. Another is Don's psychosomatic pain and guilt. We get to witness Pete getting forcibly kicked off the commuter train after finding a worse husband. And we're treated to Roger (John Slattery) in his birthday suit embracing the city and his new single life.
The list goes on and on. We just wish Weiner would trust us like he did a few seasons ago. While our hours of Real Housewives viewing has increased, we swear we can still understand subtext.
ONE-LINERS
"It'll go away, it always does." —Don
"Working? She did three days on Dark Shadows and then they fired her and then cut her out." —Megan
"I wanted to spend Easter with my daughter. My husband is an atheist." —Marie
"Not every little girl gets to do what they want. The world could not support that many ballerinas." —Marie
"You had no right to fill a man like that with ambition." —Mrs. Pryce
"Stop being demure, you're already on the bed." —Roger
"You're in bad shape, Dick." —Adam
"Don't worry I'll hang around. Get it?" —Adam
How did you like the finale? Disappointed or did we just have too high of expectations? Looking forward to a whole new floor of SCDP? Sound off in the comments!