Alexandra Wyman for WireImageThe beautiful and talented Mad Men cast just put on a show, sponsored by Chivas Regal and held at the El Rey Theatre here in L.A., to raise funds for music education. Before getting their groove on, creator Matt Weiner and the actors from the Emmy-winning drama shared a little insight into Sunday's much-anticipated finale.
Read on to find what they shared about the takeover of Sterling Cooper, the love lives of our fave ladies and what happens to missing-in-action Mad Man Don Draper...
Don't Worry About Joan: According to Christina Hendricks, "Joan's had a hard year, but Joan always covers things up and puts things in really tidy little packages." Denial it is! Still, I can't help but think our Joan is a survivor, and if anyone can work through her troubles, it's the lovely, indomitable Ms. Holloway.
You Can Be Gay? When art director Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt) first heard that Kurt was a homosexual, the look on his face read, "Wait, really? You can do that?" The incident could very well open up a whole new world for Sal. Would Sal further explore his sexuality? According to Bryan, that issue remains on the table, but not necessarily for the finale: "I think it's coming later."
The Cool Priest Has an Eye for Peggy: According to Colin Hanks, his character, Father John Gill, does have a special relationship with Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), but not one that's at all improper. Hanks said, "Gill sees an opportunity in Peggy. I think he sees something in Peggy that sort of symbolizes the entire church at the time, of the church needing to move forward and bring in young people and evolve a little bit." But it's not all about better marketing for Catholics. Does Gill want to save Peggy? Said Hanks, "[Saving her] ends up becoming one of his missions. But I don't think it starts off that way."
The Cool Priest Could Be Back: According to Hanks, if series creator Matt Weiner wanted a return appearance by Father John Gill, he would be up for it. Colin said, "I would be honored to! I was a superfan before I was on the show. In fact, I hunted Matt Weiner down for the better part of the year to try and get involved. And luckily he was keen on me being on the show, so I'm very thankful."
Don't Count Out Duck: According to Mark Moses, when asked about his character's recent Machiavellian trend, "Yeah, it's a wild world in the advertising business, and Duck, out of desperation, had to maneuver something. And he's done pretty well!" Sounds like Duck might have the upper hand in his battle against Don. Uh-oh.
The Finale Might Suck: Sure, Bryan Batt, Christian Hendricks and Michael Gladis all promised me the finale is "wonderful," and they were still visibly giddy after having seen it just days before, but perfectionist creator Matt Weiner isn't so sure, "I'll be honest with you. When you write and then you direct and then edit and then have to put it on the air, you have no one to blame. But really what happens is when you're working on it, it kind of falls apart in front of you, and you sort of don't have any distance on it. As with last year's finale, I took the cue from other people, and they think it's good. I can't tell. I watched it. The lights came up, and I was like, I don't know!"
The Circle Remains Unbroken: According to Weiner, what you can expect from the finale is a reminder of the moments from the premiere that so captured all of our attention. He said, "There was a challenge in deciding to tell a new story this season—still based on the same people, but a totally new story. I think that what people will see when the credits roll at the end is that you'll go back to the first episode and see that it was all there." He also promised, "I think it's very tense and hopefully sort of profound. You certainly will see that you were on a journey."
Hmmm...If I had to guess, I'd say the finale, "Meditations on an Emergency," doesn't suck at all. Get a sneak peek in the clip below and then you can see for yourself this Sunday on AMC at 10 p.m.
—Reporting by Jennifer Godwin