It seems fitting that a show about advertising would end its season with everyone involved trying to sell an image of themselves -- as family man, as young go-getter, whatever -- that didn't quite jibe with reality.

Mad Men wrapped up its often brilliant first season Thursday with a finale that delivered a number of big moments -- including, of all things, a pitch to a client about a slide projector -- but also left a lot of things dangling for next season (and there is a next season coming, probably in summer 2008).

(Spoilers coming, loaded into a Kodak slide carousel.)

While much of the season has revolved around Don Draper, he receded a bit in the finale to allow his wife, Betty, and former secretary, Peggy, take front and center. And both women experienced a life-altering revelation.

You can sort of see Betty's wheels start to turn when her friend Francine comes over, distraught after discovering that her husband is having an affair thanks to an errant phone bill ("It was close to $18"). After trying to come at it obliquely -- "How could someone do that to the person they love, that they have children with?" she wonders to Don -- and getting nowhere, Betty seeks out the Drapers' own phone bill.

She doesn't find a woman on the list of calls; Don's not so dumb as to do that. But she does dial one strange number -- which turns out to be her therapist. Betty feels the betrayal acutely, breaking down as she talks to Glenn, the neighbor kid who took a lock of her hair. To see Betty finally let go of her emotions was both gut-wrenching and, given the context, a little bit pathetic; a prime reason for Don keeping tabs on her therapy was his belief that she's not fully grown up, and here she can only open herself up to a child.

I'm curious to hear everyone's take on what Betty was trying to do in her therapy session (which was a tour de force scene for January Jones). Did she figure that since what she said would likely get back to Don, she might as well indirectly tell him she was onto him? Or did she have a breakthrough outside with Glenn, to the point where she finally felt able to say something of substance?

Don seems to know something's up as well; you could see him register the subtext when Betty told him about Francine, and he of course takes the news about his brother, the only part of his old family he held onto, pretty hard. It all pours out when he makes the pitch to the Kodak guys about their new slide projector, rejecting the Space Age angle for nostalgia ("in Greek, it literally means pain from an old wound"), complete with his own family photos as visual aids. I would have been sold too, and the touch of a choked-up Harry leaving the room was just perfect.

Onto Peggy: Maybe I'm just dense, but I really didn't figure she was pregnant (then again, neither did she, so at least I'm not alone). And the show did a really good job of making us think it was something else -- scenes of Peggy eating or thinking about eating were numerous, and we saw her channel some of her other desires into food, notably after Pete's I-wish-I-were-a-great-hunter monologue.

The timeline feels a little bit off, but I suppose if we assume her encounter with Pete in the pilot resulted in the baby, almost nine months would have passed. The bigger question for her, though, is what this will do to her budding career as a copywriter. She really seemed to be coming into her own as she screened actresses for the Relaxiciser ads, even impressing the piggish Cosgrove, and then Don promoted her to copywriter on the spot for the Clearasil account (simultaneously rewarding her and twisting the knife with Pete a little bit more).

The question now for Peggy is whether she keeps the child, which she didn't even want to hold, and if she does, how she hides it. Life is not exactly easy for a single, working mother in 2007; I can't imagine what it must have been like in 1960.

Other highlights from the finale:

• Joan just can't let it go, can she? In congratulating Peggy, she has to add, "Although sometimes when people get what they want, they realize how limited their goals were." (Hi, kettle. I'm pot.)
• Handing Pete an Ayn Rand book can't be good, for anyone. He's already bought into the new business equals self-worth argument Don and Duck Phillips laid out, and I can't imagine he'll interpret "rational self-interest" in any kind of constructive way.
• Rachel has left the country on a three-month cruise, and Cooper is not pleased, rightly (probably) calling Don on the carpet. I'm thinking her absence may have played a little into Don's bout of nostalgia.
• The final song -- Bob Dylan's "Dont Think Twice, It's All Right" -- isn't exactly period-correct. It wasn't released until 1963. But in terms of tone, it couldn't have fit that final scene any better.

I'll turn things over to you now. What did you think of Mad Men's first season, and how it ended?

Comments

I thought the entire season and this episode were fantastic. I loved the no commerical interruption and seeing the wrap party at the end. But, Don did not agree to spend Thanksigiving with Betty's family. That was maybe a fantasy. The real ending scene was him being alone in the house and his famly had already left. Right?

Kim | Oct 19, 2007 6:02:32 AM | #

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You're right about the Thanksgiving scene, Kim. Bad note-taking on my part (post has been fixed).

I've seen this theory a couple of other places, and while I'm not sure if I buy into it completely, it's definitely interesting: Matthew Weiner has said he'd like each season to be set 2 years after the last one. The Bob Dylan song was first released in '62; what if Don was walking home to an empty house, two years later?

Again, I'm not certain that's what was going on; it's not as if the music was playing on the radio or anything. But if that is the case, what a great way to set up season two.

I should note that Weiner also directed the finale and did a fine job. That pull-back shot of Don holding his head in his hands after learning about his brother was a thing of beauty.

Rick | Oct 19, 2007 6:30:54 AM | #

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i thought peggy was pregnant as soon as she started gaining weight but then changed my mind cause she didin't look pregnant---just fat---so i was fooled too (kind of) and betty was for sure speaking to don through her therapist---a kind of fuck you too him. can't wait for next season.

tim | Oct 19, 2007 8:20:19 AM | #

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Mad Men is at the very least, brilliant. The exhaustive attention to the period's detail is without precedent and is the foundation for the show's credibility. To see a series with such fleshed out characters in the first season is rare. I would like to see a bit more of the "advertising" world and a bit less of the soap opera stuff, but not to quibble. My guess is that Peggy will not keep the baby. She's on a career track and isn't taking any prisoners. I can't wait for the second season. Wow.

James | Oct 19, 2007 8:21:07 AM | #

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Great, great show. Love the subtle background music too. The uninterrupted flow, without commercials, keeps the focus on. The detailed recreation of the period and the attention to subtleties are commendable, and lend the characters and the themes a great deal of credibility (except, in my opinion, for Peggy's surprise at her pregnancy ????, and perhaps
for the amount of smoking and drinking at the workplace, which strikes me as a bit over the top. None of this, however, distracts from the quality of the acting and the show)

Serge | Oct 19, 2007 1:36:44 PM | #

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I thought it was a great season finale because it was like so many characters finally opened their eyes to the truth. Every actor has been doing a good job all season, but I agree that January Jones stole this episode. Betty went through the emotions of denial, fear, desperation and anger.

I must commend the producers for their meticulous attention to the wardrobe, set design props, etc. Mad Men should be nominated for an Emmy in costume design.

The only big complaint I have about this show so far is the bombshell that Peggy has been pregnant during the entire first season. I'm going only by my memory (I already deleted the episodes from my TiVo), but if I recall correctly wasn't the first episode set in April? I hate to nitpick this show, but that would mean that she was already 4-6 weeks into her pregnancy by the time she had the appointment with Joan's doctor. Sorry, but wouldn't the doctor have known she was already pregant before he prescribed the birth control (or was he too busy smoking a cigarette during the exam)?

Sure, I can buy that Peggy was in deep denial about being pregnant, but the writers should have given us more clues that this would be the season finale "twist". Everyone noticed that Peggy was gaining weight, but there is a big difference between an overall weight gain and a baby bump! I don't recall any scenes showing her having any abdominal pains prior to this episode, no morning sickness, etc. Sorry, but Peggy's big reveal just seemed to come out of the blue. I could believe that she was maybe 6 months pregnant, but I can't take it when she appeared to deliver a full term baby.

I'm assuming that Peggy will give up the baby for adoption, unless a family member volunteers to help raise the baby. I'm not even sure if we should assume that Pete is the biological father?

Paige | Oct 20, 2007 8:15:53 AM | #

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I was completely astounded by Peggy's giving birth. I totally bought into the red herring of "weight gain." I agree that a "baby bump" isn't the same as weight gain...usually. Every now and again, though, you read about a young girl who has a baby without having realized she was pregnant. As my nextdoor neighbor pointed out, Peggy is young, and she thought she was protected. It's just possible she was symptomless enough and not at all considering the idea so that she didn't realize she was pregnant. It's a bit of a stretch, but on a show this intriguing, I'll give them a pass.

meggins | Oct 21, 2007 9:34:33 AM | #

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Idea of final scene occuring 2 years later is intriging. Don's somber response to nobody being home, and the Dylan song, made me wonder if Betty had left him. But then I thought, no, they just went away for Thanksgiving. Maybe I was right the first time.

tony | Oct 22, 2007 11:36:06 AM | #

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I agree that we do not know for sure if the father of Peggy's baby is Paul. Joan's doctor may have just given her the prescription without an examination.

Danny | Oct 22, 2007 11:43:48 AM | #

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man, i love this show... its so brilliant. but whos the father of peggy's baby?

MINIX00 | Oct 23, 2007 11:02:33 PM | #

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Peggy's pregnancy was totally far-fetched, the time line was not 9 months.....and she was gaining weight all over, not just her belly. Remember that guy made the nasty crack obout comparing her to a lobster, it's all in the tail. The father has to be Paul, she didn't seem to have much of a social life.

When Betty was talking to her therapist, it was her way of letting Don know that she knew about his affairs.....no wonder she was so unhappy.

I liked the scene with the little boy Glenn waiting in the car ALONE for his mom, you don't see that now. He tried to comfort her, how cute was it when he put his mittened covered hand out the window to make her feel better.

So glad this show was renewed.

Kathie | Oct 26, 2007 7:13:23 AM | #

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This show is brilliant. More brilliant than some of the readers here for sure. There is a calendar on the wall at Peggy's gyno appointment in the pilot, March 1960. She has sex with Pete that night. She has the baby at Thanksgiving-- end of November. That puts her between 35 and 37 weeks-- basically at term.

Monique R | Nov 18, 2007 6:53:58 AM | #

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wow!..some interesting takes on the finale..here's one for y'all..in the last 5 mins it shows pete coming home to his wife and is noticeably upset..is he upset simply b/c of peggy's new position?..or did he get news of the new baby??!!..maybe it's just me but he looked a little too upset- even a bit disturbed for it to be just about her new job...anyone else see this??..after all..the scene takes place immediately after her being admitted into the hospital..

madforvinniek. | Mar 1, 2008 8:50:53 PM | #

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I really like the show. The dinner with the two gentlemen (Gay), Peggy, the time period, the color of the show, it is one of those that sucks you in wether you wanted to watch it or not.
Great casting and I am always waiting for the next episode.

LadyRae | May 29, 2008 8:30:54 AM | #

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I think the last scene of Don alone in the house must be two years later. It was clear that he decided to go with the family for the Thanksgiving holiday. I don't think that was imaginary. Also: The show accurately depicted the racism, sexism and pervasive smoking in 1960 but not the salaries: the junior account exec earned $75 a week and the secretary of the senior exec earned $35, but in 1956-57 I was secretary to two junior account execs in a NYC ad agency starting at $62.50 and went to $70 a week.

Anna | Jul 17, 2008 9:54:19 AM | #

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Love this show! Reminds me of my childhood. Great attention to the details. I fell asleep halfway through the finale. Is it going to be repeated before the next season begins? Thanks to you for the recap, though!

Erinsaunt | Jul 22, 2008 3:06:23 PM | #

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I strongly disagreed with the choice of "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" for the final song. Perfect artist, almost perfect song. I think that the Dylan song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" would have fit much better.

As Mark Twain said, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." In the case of Mad Men, the word is a song, and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" fizzled as a lightning bug in the approaching night. The song is sarcastic and boasts arrogance towards a brief affair or one-night-stand. The warm but bass-less tones of the guitar further enhance this posed detachment. This song could have worked in several other places in the first season, but following Don's catharsis at the Carousel presentation and hopeful dream on the train, it almost feels mocking to end his emotional sojourn with the emptiness of a collapsed one night stand. Even if the song is trying to show the irony of Betty leaving Don, Betty's character is not confident enough to be so brash.

In contrast, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" would have wrapped the season perfectly. Baby Blue is about a transition. It's about looking back at a period of life or a relationship and feeling jaded in retrospect. It's about moving forward with the hurt resignation of the just now acknowledged past. The lyrics fit absolutely perfectly.
"Your lover who just walked out the door / Has taken all his blankets from the floor / The carpet too is moving under you / And it's all over now, baby blue"
Also,
"Strike another match, go start anew / and it's all over now, baby blue"

For the life of me, I cannot justify the choice, and I believe it must have been one, to use such an inferior song when a far superior one is available.

Joe | Jul 28, 2008 10:57:34 AM | #

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