Posted by Trunkman in Ramblings

So that’s it. A fortnight ago, Mad Men was all done. All 92 episodes of what will go down in history as one of the greatest television shows, hell, greatest pieces of fiction of all time, have been aired. Shut the door. Take a seat.

This is not necessarily a blog about what made Mad Men so objectively, not that there really can be such a thing in art, great. I’ll touch on that, but there’s many an article about that already out there. The same can be said for articles about why Mad Men changed television for ever. Which it did. What this will be is more of a list, because I like lists, of moments, episodes and characters. Personal moments I guess you’d call them from those 92 episodes that highlight to me what a towering achievement this show was and why, as it stands right now, as my personal favourite television drama ever. Yep, even over The Wire or Treme, the latter being a criminally under watched masterpiece. No order, no nothing, just a list. I mean, I’m not even going to mention how it’s probably the most accurate piece of period drama ever made. Except I did but only to say I’m not mentioning it…

Oh, and, SPOILER ALERT, this is written under the assumption you’ve seen every episode, including the finale. Also excuse typos, there’s probably lots as I haven’t had a chance to proof read this fully as yet.

The Suitcase

It might seem an obvious place to start but I can remember the exact feeling I had after watching this, the seventh episode of the fourth season, for the first time. I was stunned and full of some sort of weird adrenaline and emotion. I remember feeling similar after I first saw Koyaanisqatsi at university. Or when I walked out of a West End theatre having just seen Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in Waiting for Godot. It was some of delight, mixed with sheer disbelief, that I had just watched something that good. It’s always difficult to single out one episode of a series because obviously it is also a product of everything that’s come before it, but in The Suitcase, written by series creator Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger, there is what I would call a near perfect hour of television. The writing is basically flawless. Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss, in what is essentially a two hander, deliver the performances of their careers. The whole essence of the show, fuck it, I’ll say it, of human relationships, exists in that hour and it’s done so artfully it made me feel genuinely speechless. There are in depth analysis of this episodes all over the place from The AV Club to The New Yorker, but for me there’s something about this episode that was personal. Not so much the content, but it’s execution. It truly is a masterpiece. It left me all tingly. But in a good way not a, ‘Why did you just eat egg yolks, you know you’re allergic to egg yolks you idiot’ kind of way.

Lawnmowers, Miss Blankenship, Roger and more

Many of TV’s great dramas are incredibly tense and dramatic. True Detective (Save for the God awful final half hour) and The Sopranos are good examples. Some lay on the drama thick and fast to their own detriment, like Homeland. But in most of these, if you’re trying to portray the drama in real life, they forget the one thing that is a constant presence in times of drama. Humour. As I discussed at length in my other blogs, comedy is seen as a poor cousin to drama and so it is so often left out, if not entirely, then it’s shoehorned in.

Let us not forget that Matt Weiner comes from a sitcom background…

Make no mistake, Mad Men is a drama first and foremost. But is also a very, very funny one. And it’s character comedy too. All the humour comes out of the characters, not a weird set up or a background joke. Miss Blankenship is hilarious because you believe she’s a real person. Roger’s one liners never feel out of place or just dropped in for comic relief. The comedy from the John Deere incident doesn’t come from the chaos of a severed foot, it’s the reactions of the Sterling-Cooper employees. “One minute you’re standing on the top of the world, the next some secretary’s running you over with a lawnmower”.

Then there’s Stan and Peggy’s back and forths. There’s Roger. There’s Pete’s frustrations. The punch and the unreturnable gun. There’s Roger. There’s Bert. There’s ‘I’m Peggy Olson and I want to smoke some marijuana’. There’s Ken’s dance. There’s drunk Lane. And there’s Roger.

Not everything in even the most dramatic of situations is dramatic and tense. It’s often funny. Because people are funny. Mad Men never forgot that. Think about it. Your friends are funny. Here’s a show that never let itself take itself so seriously that it thought it was above humour. That respect for comedy always made me love it even more.

I mean, just look at the cast outside of Mad Men. Jon Hamm stole every scene he was in in 30 Rock, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bridesmaids, Comedy Bang! Bang! and more. Vincent Kartheiser was superb in 12 angry men inside amy schumer. Elisbeth Moss, likewise in multiple comedies, particularly The One I Love. John Slattery’s supporting role in the last season of Arrested Development was hilarious. January Jones is a lead in Will Forte’s sitcom The Last Man on Earth. And of course there’s Alison Brie who’ll I’ll get to in a minute.

Seriously, in time to come I think we’ll look back at Mad Men as one of the funniest shows of its era. It’s funnier than almost the shows that are actually trying to be funny. They’re funny because their nerds and you’re better than them! Get it! Smart people are actually stupid! Get IT! And she’s a hot out of work actress! Get it! GET IT!

Trudy Campbell

I’d argue that most of the top comedic actors in the world right now are women. Frances McDormand, Amy Schumer, Emma Stone, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick to name just a few. And, personally, I’m of the opinion that top of that pile is Alison Brie. She who portrays Trudy Campbell, is one of the best comedic, and most versatile actors, working right now. Hands down. From Trudy to Annie in Community to her stupendous Elmo in The Five Year Engagement to The Kings of Summer to The Lego Movie to Comedy Bang! Bang! to to to to. But that’s by the by actually. Her performance of Trudy Campbell is fantastic but it’s the character itself I simply adore from a writing stand point.

Trudy is the sort of character that upon first meeting you’ve already decided what sort of character she’ll be. That annoying, clinging trophy sort of wife. You assume that because you’ve watched TV before and you know how this works. A few episodes later and you go, ‘Oh, maybe not. She’s the ‘Look who wears the pants in this relationship’ character’. And then again, you’re wrong.

Through Trudy Campbell is how I began to realise just how smart the writing in Mad Men was. She was, by all accounts, an unremarkable character who behaved exactly how a normal person might in her situation. But because of the way TV, and particularly the ‘wife’ characters in TV, works she bucked the trend. She had depth, a plan, real emotions, she was a normal person. And when that seems jarring it reinforces a great deal of things. Firstly that, yes, women really do get a raw deal on TV. They’re either the strong woman lead or the girlfriend/wife/best friend. Trudy was a supporting character who was just a real person. And one with balls for the era. There’s a whiff of the rise of feminism more in Trudy than there is in Peggy or Joan I’d argue.

Secondly, you get reminded time and time again how fucking good an actor Alison Brie is.

And thirdly you realise that Mad Men doesn’t have an agenda. Not a feminist agenda as it is often accused of. Not a chauvinistic one either, which it’s also accused of. What it’s doing is showing real people, in difficult circumstances and just letting them react and believe truthfully. Not as a mouthpiece for an idea or as something comfortable that audiences are used to. And you sit there, watching it, and you wonder, ‘Why the fuck is this so uncommon?’ Well, largely because to do it well and it to make it entertaining as well is ridiculously difficult. And with Trudy Campbell, Mad Men made it seem like nothing at all. That’s remarkable.

Also, The Charleston.

Shut the Door, Have a Seat

It’s rare that one gets chills watching an episode of TV but the season finale of Season Three, does just that. As Don, Roger, Bert and Co begin to stage their secret exit from a potential takeover from McCann, it has everything a great madcap heist movie should, but plays out simply, slowly and smartly. From Lane’s phone call to calling in Joan to find the books, to getting Pete on board to Don’s line to Peggy. That line.

“No. I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you”.

At the heart of it, it’s a dodgy, shady night time operation for which we should probably disapprove. But good god if it’s not cool. And tense. And so fucking cool. It’s another example of Mad Men doing the familiar in an unfamiliar way and doing it better than you’ve ever seen it done before.

Season finales that act as cliffhangers always leave me a bit cold. It often seems forced or a plea to the network for another season, not that AMC was ever going to can Mad Men at this stage. But I remember sitting there at the end of this episode with a massive smile on my face and working out just how long it was till season four started.

There’s something about that wait. I’m a fan of the binge watch but Mad Men made me appreciate live TV again for things that didn’t involve the kicking or passing of balls or motorcycles going in circles.

Peggy’s son

It was a storyline that started in season one and, whilst it never really reached a conclusion, was narratively dealt with with some sort of finality three episodes from home. And bloody hell was it brilliant.

I’m a sucker for, a big fan of, a long, long story arc from season to season. And I don’t mean like Mad Men is the story of Don Draper or anything like that. I mean one storyline or aspect specifically. It’s part of why I love Arrested Development. And Peggy’s son was that done almost to perfection.

It was an interesting story from her secret office fling with Pete to her weight gain to her shock at being pregnant and subsequent surprise birth. That might’ve been enough. But then Matt Weiner confused the matter further with the audience when it seemed for a while her sister was raising her baby for her. But this would later prove not to be the case. Peggy’s sister had her own child around the same time, a child Peggy struggled to be around due to the ‘loss’ of her own. Misdirections ahoy. Also Colin Hanks was there.

And then, for nearly three whole seasons, there was no mention of this kid of hers. She never visited her sister so it was becoming clear that wasn’t her child after all. At times, we as an audience often forgot she even had a son as she battled with workplace sexism, Don, Heinz Baked Beans and workmates giving her their nipples in a box. Of course we’d forget from time to time. Lots was going on.

“This never happened,” Don said, “It will shock you how much it never happened.”

His words to Peggy in hospital not long after the birth, viewed in a flashback, was one of the show’s greatest scenes. He’s speaking about himself, but he’s speaking about everything. It was a bit of the story that happened a few seasons ago, new seasons are on now, that storyline is done with, forget about it, move on, look Ken’s doing a silly dance. It will shock you how much it never happened. Until Time and Life, season 7, episode 11. Bang. Fucking bang.

Occasionally, as a viewer, you’d think about whatever happened to Peggy’s kid. People on Reddit would go on with conspiracy theories and then accuse Matt Weiner of dropping the ball on such a big story. Then, as Peggy lays into Stan about the way he speaks of his own mother we realise she’s not talking about Stan, but herself. It’s the first time she’s ever mentioned it. No-one here knows she even had a child but Don and Pete. And this is playing against the knowledge we have of Joan and Roger’s fling baby mind you.

“He’s with a family. Somewhere. I don’t know. But it’s not because I don’t care. I don’t know because you’re not supposed to know. Or you can’t go on with your life”.

You’ll be shocked how much it never happened.

Matt Weiner’s got a plan. It’s years ahead of what you’re watching right now. It’s bold, it’s brilliant and it’s what TV should be if you ask me. It’s the type of show I’d want to write. Not season to season. You’re telling one story. Tell it. These characters are more fleshed out, more real than almost any others in TV history. That first scene with Don from the flashback, that one line, that resonnates through all the whole series until we get to Peggy at the end, who merely acts it out. She doesn’t live it to the extent Don does. Or at least tries to. Because it’s impossible. Because real life, even on TV, isn’t TV.

Litterbugs

Sexism, racism, politics, homophobia, cigarettes, alcoholism, adultery, rape, domestic abuse. You name it, Mad Men, had it. It was like Dapper Laughs but the complete opposite in every single way. And yet, for all of that it was never a show about ‘Issues’. It wasn’t overly political. It was, as I’ve said over and over, a show about characters. And, given the time it was set, those issues were merely part of these people’s lives. They happened to them, around them, because of them. And that makes so much more of an impact in your storytelling than some grandstanding speech by a character telling us why sexism is bad. Just show what’s happening and let it sit with the viewer.

There was no better example of this than the episode where the Drapers go for a picnic. They finish their picnic in a park by the side of the road before Betty shakes off all the litter from the picnic rug onto the ground, leaves it, and heads back to the car.

Television is at its best when it just tells a story and is, above all, entertaining. No grandstanding, no forcing an agenda, just letting it be part of the story. You know, like life, but more entertaining and at the end you don’t have to hang out the washing.

Person to Person

The Mad Men finale had a lot of expectations on it. A lot of weight. Matt Weiner was a protege of The Sopranos, a show with one of the most controversial finales of all time. I, personally, loved it, but that’s neither here nor there. The thing is, with Mad Men, it had always been the sort of ambiguous, existential show to begin with so neat bows couldn’t be expected. And they weren’t exactly given either.

Person to Person was an episode that, precictably, polarised viewers. On first viewing, I thought it was good. It was a satisfying end. Then I thought about it a bit more, watched it again and then realised it was the only way it could end. It was smart. Damn smart.

There’s a thousand ways to intepret it, which is kinda the point. There’s articles worth of unpacking in it. But here’s what I took from it in some sort of brief manner.

Everyone’s running from something, but in the end, you kind of end up back where you started, but with that experience. Some lessons learned. You are who you are, for better or worse. And as soon as you realise that, then maybe things are ok. Or at least it’s a way to move forward. And if you don’t realise that, well, then some Don Draper type chap is gonna sell you some bullshit fantasy about cola.

Of course the show ends with an ad. That ad. The ad of all ads. Of course it does. Come on now.

What is Don Draper, outwardly, if not an ad for the non-existent American dream.

And the genius of giving that final speech to a brand new character. A stranger. Think about that. Personally, that was my highlight of the whole episode. The phonecall to Betty was beautiful, as was the other two calls to ‘the three women in his life’, but from a writer’s perspective, the balls to do that, five minutes from home, and to have it work. That’s something else.

And for me, the finale reflects the whole show, and that famous opening sequence. You fall and you fall and then you’re back in charge, on the couch, smoking. And then you fall and you fall and you fall…

You see, Betty’s going out on her terms. As Betty. Fuck you all. Peggy’s a rational person. Even the most irrational thing of all, love, can be reduced to logic. Joan still gets it. Trudy and Pete, well, Trudy and Pete. Roger in Paris. If these feel like happy endings it’s worth noting this is the end of the show, not their lives. If it’d ended seasons ago maybe we think Peggy ends up happily ever after with Duck. These are narrative endings true to the characters as we’ve come to know them.

Don can never escape Dick, but the truth is, trying to just confirms that maybe he is Don all along. A flawed, frankly terrible man, who knows how to make you feel what you want to feel. He did it with Lucky Strike, he did it with Kodak, he did with Burger Chef. He sold Don Draper to brands, to co-workers, to his wives, to the audience, to everyone. Everyone but himself and the recurring motif of the ‘three women in his life’. Betty, Peggy and Sally.

It might be cynical to look at it and say, ‘Ugh, so he’s just an ad man’, but to Don that matters. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s something. As Betty once said to Don about Megan, “That poor girl. She doesn’t know that loving you is the worst way to get to you”.

He finally gets to realise that he is something. It doesn’t matter what it is, it’s something to hold on to. He’s never done that, he’s never let himself do that. He’s not Dick.

He is, well, the real thing. Whatever we think that is. Brilliant.

So, goodbye Mad Men. Thanks. You were magnificent. Zou bisou bisou one and all.

All images are copyright to AMC