Mad Men Season 5 Finale

Aaaarrrgh, why can't this show be on all the time??? AMC is so stingy about their shows: short seasons with humongous gaps in between each one. Do they expect me to content myself with *shudder* NETWORK TELEVISION? TV is dead to me until "The Walking Dead" comes back in October, and I am thisclose to breaking up with that show if they don't give me a strong female character to watch (I want Lori to get eaten by zombies so, so much). Also, Season 3 of "Downton Abbey" premieres this winter (I think). I've seen pics from filming and it looks like Edith is smiling, which means that another bitter Mary/Edith showdown is inevitable. Yay.

*****SPOILERS AHEAD*****



So, let's see where all of our favorite SCDP employees and their families are left at the end of Season 5....

Don = Feeling abandoned by Megan and Peggy, bogged down by guilt after Lane's suicide and seeing hallucinations of his dead brother - another man who killed himself after being treated coldly by Don. About to start back into his old pattern of trying to drown his demons through meaningless sexual encounters.

Betty = Still a delightful mess. Trying to slim down and fit back into her perfect little clothes and perfect little life so that the world can be jealous of her again.

Megan = Through a little bit of old-fashioned backstabbing and a dash of nepotism, is finally about to get her big break into acting. Sadly unaware that she's married to a man who has fallen out of love with her because she wasn't the blank little page he thought she was.

Sally = The spawn of Don and Betty (I always forget about the boys - as will the writers until they can find more children who can actually act) is growing up, and she's inherited both her parents' master manipulation skills. Woodstock is now only two years away....

Roger = Single once more and feeling frisky.

Bert = With his company on shaky ground, he's dropped the doddering old man act to reveal a lion in winter.

Lane = Dead (poor Lane, I liked him).

Pete = Ugh, woe is Pete. Still whining about his long commute and feeling overlooked by Trudy now that her attentions are turned towards raising their daughter. Will only become more insufferable now that she has relented to his pleas for an apartment in the city.

Joan = Now a full partner at SCDP, she is stepping into Lane's shoes as "the responsible one" with the added challenge of getting the other partners to treat her as an equal instead of as a nagging housewife. Other challenges include dealing with her mother, raising her son, and trying to re-enter the dating world as a single mom and divorcee.

Peggy = I am so effing proud of Peggy. When I saw her in her office, dressing-down the copy boys in full-on Draper Style I totally shouted "Get it, gurl!" Peggy has worked hard and made some smart decisions, and now she has become the success that she set out to be from the moment she impressed Freddy Rumsen with her "basket of kisses." This being Mad Men, I'm sure that she'll have a brand new set of problems next season, but right now I'm happy to bask in her sunshine. Just look at how far she's come:


From mousy secretary...


...to advertising Copy Chief.


Peggy Olson has really come into her own! This song was running through my head whenever Peggy was on screen, and I will flip my shit if they let her be the person who came up with "You've come a long way, baby" for those Virginia Slims.




Ta-ta for now, SCDP. Until next season!

Photos courtesy of AMC.