The Mad Men Finale I Wish We’d Seen

When I write about entertainment here, I try to focus on the positive, and find things to praise, rather than simply being another critic relentlessly tearing things down all the time. But, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I’m not a huge fan of the TV show Mad Men. I’ve kept up with it, and I do find things about it to admire, but, on the whole, it strikes me as a very unsubtle show about rich, dull creeps. (For me, the absolute lowpoint of the show’s tendency to beat us over the head with its themes and meanings was the end of the Season 3 episode in which Don is finally forced to reveal his past to Betty: they take their children trick-or-treating, and an adult neighbor pointedly but illogically asks Don “And who are you supposed to be?”)

I did think that this past season was the show’s strongest yet. It deepened many of the characters, and the relationships between them, while probing the difficulties of work and personal lives, without couching all problems safely in a bygone era. (The show has sometimes taken a superior, modern-day attitude to the time period it represents, allowing  viewers to smugly shake their heads and be thankful that times have changed, rather than feel truly challenged by how the past both leads to and informs the present.)

I looked forward to the season finale, an opportunity to conclude the show’s best season on a high note, and to set up whatever intrigues might follow in Season 5. But I can’t help feeling that the show botched what could’ve been a bold, game-changing conclusion to the current season, and a terrific set-up for more to come.

As ridiculous as Don Draper’s hasty engagement to his secretary Megan might have seemed to viewers while watching the episode, it did, ultimately, make sense. My problem was with how inevitable and predictable the entire California courtship was. As soon as Megan was asked to go on the trip as the children’s babysitter, it was obvious that she and Don would hook up romantically again. And as soon as Anna Draper’s engagement ring was bequeathed to Don, it was obvious that he would wind up using it. The only interesting moment in the entire California trip was the “Who’s Dick?” exchange between Don and his daughter Sally, while visiting Anna Draper’s old home.

So, here’s where I think the show blew it: why show us any of those terminally dull California scenes at all? A far better finale would’ve had Don go off on his trip with his children and Megan in tow, and simply vanish from the episode until returning to New York. In the meantime, we could get more insight into how the business was managing to stay afloat in the wake of the Lucky Strikes disaster, as well as some glimpses into the personal lives of the other key characters (Pete’s new fatherhood, for example).

Most importantly, time wasted on Don & Megan in California could’ve instead been devoted to Betty. Her character had been pushed to the margins all season. Apart from a precious few moments in which we could glimpse her humanity, viewers were really only treated to brief time with Betty at her absolute worst. Consequently, as the season wore on, she increasingly came across as a one-dimensional villain. With her children away, and her husband increasingly fed up with her, why not show us some of Betty’s sad, lonely life, and remind us of the person suffering behind her prim and proper facade?

Then, when Don returns to surprise his co-workers with news of his engagement, viewers would be equally taken aback, left to ponder what the news might mean for next season, and to try to puzzle out just what kind of a person Megan might really be. And the scene of Betty lying in wait for Don, only to discover he’s now engaged, would be so much more devastating.

We already knew that Don and Megan were attracted to each other, that Faye but not Megan knew of Don’s past, and that Megan was better at dealing with children than Betty or Faye. The California trip showed us nothing new. More time spent with Betty, however, would’ve reminded us that, despite her many flaws, Betty is still a human being, suffering and in pain.

This was a real missed opportunity.