Writers: Matthew Weiner & Robin Veith
Director: Matthew WeinerCast: Jon Hamm (Don Draper), January Jones (Betty), Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson), Christina Hendricks (Joan), Vincent Kartheiser (Pete Campbell), Aaron Staton (Ken), Michael J. X Gladis (Paul), Rich Sommer (Harry), Bryan Batt (Salvatore), Alison Brie (Trudy Campbell), Robert Morse (Bertram Cooper), Anne Dudek (Francine Hanson), Andy Umberger (Dr. Arnold Wayne), Mark Moses (Herman "Duck" Phillips), Joe O'Connor (Tom Vogel), Sheila Shaw (Jeannie Vogel), Katherine Boecher (Annie), Gregory Wagrowski (Dr. Oliver) & James Keane (Night Manager)
As Thanksgiving approaches, Don's work responsibilities interfere with his home life, Peggy is given a new opportunity, and Betty makes a startling discovery...Here it is; the finale. While not every question is answered, The Wheel does a fantastic job of bringing a few storylines to an emotional high, leaving plenty of room for them to continue into season 2...
We start with Pete (Vincent Karthesier) sitting with his father-in-law, Tom (Joe O'Connor), who knows Pete was passed over for a promotion, and thinks it's more important for his son-in-law to focus on giving him a grandchild.
At the Draper household, Betty (January Jones) is preparing to visit her family for Thanksgiving, disappointed that Don (Jon Hamm) is making excuses so he doesn't have to mix with her family.
At Sterling Cooper that night, it's made clear that Harry (Rich Sommer) has been kicked out of his home, as he sits in his office, pleading with his wife on the phone to let him come home – to no avail.
The next morning, a distraught Francine (Anne Dudek) visits Betty a home -- with evidence her husband Carlton has been having an affair. She's checked the phone records and found numerous calls to a Manhattan number, and when she rang a female voice answered. Betty does her best to alleviate her friend's fears, but with Carlton also sleeping over at the Waldorf hotel two nights a week, it doesn't look good. Francine eventually goes home, leaving Betty to consider her own husband's unopened phone bill – which she tucks into her pocket.
Duck Philips (Mark Moses) chairs his first meeting with the ad men, and makes it clear he's disappointed with their clientèle. They should be after automobile, airline and pharmaceutical companies. He hands out a list of potential clients and mentions how Kodak have a new slide-projector on the market.
Don arrives home and hears about Francine's affair from Betty. His wife is upset about how a man could do that to the person they love, especially when they have kids together. Don, who is secretly doing the exact same thing as Francine's husband, encourages her not to worry.
At the office the next day, Duck places the Kodak slide-projector on Don's desk and explains that the new gadget doesn't jam its slide like older models – because of the wheel mechanism on top, where you store the slides. Don is tasked with coming up with a campaign to sell this hot new item.
Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) is continuing her advertising work for the Relax-a-Cizor she tried out for Don a few episodes back. It's at the stage now where they're auditioning woman to be the voice of the ad, so Peggy is in a soundproof booth with Ken (Aaron Staton), listening to three women's vocals. Peggy decides to let Annie be the product's voice, but after a long time trying to get her to sound more confident and beautiful, she gives up. Annie is dismissed in tears.
In his office, Don is going through his secret younger brother's shoe-box, containing a slide-box labelled "Cape May". He finds himself staring at a photo of him and Adam riding horses, stirring a few good memories from the life he gave up. He decides to call the Brighton Hotel where Adam was staying, and speaks to the night manager. Don is stunned to discover that Adam Whitman committed suicide awhile back, and all the money he left behind was taken by the city. Don hangs up, regretting how his attitude may have caused Adam to take his own life.
That night, Betty is lying alone in bed and decides to open Don's phone bill. She notices some calls to Manhattan and dials the number. A man's voice picks up. Surprised, she asks who this is, surprised to hear it's Dr. Arnold Wayne (Andy Umberger), her private psychiatrist. Ashamed, she hangs up.
The following day, Betty drives to the local bank and notices her neighbour's son Glen in the passenger seat of a Volkswagen. She approaches him and he winds down the window. Shy, Glen tells Betty his mother says he's not allowed to talk to her. Betty says she doesn't care, even if Glen's mother sees them together. Emotional about the discovery her husband's been snooping on her private sessions, she asks Glen to tell her everything will be okay. Glen holds her hand, unsure what to say. All the boy can do is tell her he wishes he was older.
In the afternoon, Pete arrives in Don's office with surprising news that he's brought in a pharmaceutical account as Duck suggested. It's his father-in-law's company, Vick's Chemical, for a new product called Clearasil. Pete's work has earned him a bonus from Cooper, but he makes a point of asking for Don's praise. Don admits he's impressed, and Pete leaves.
Betty goes to Dr. Wayne's for another session and talks about how nervous she is about getting her family together for Thanksgiving. She also makes it clear that she knows Don is being unfaithful, primarily because he makes love to her in a way that somebody else would want.
At the office, the Kodak representatives have gathered for Don's presentation. He turns on their projector and begins to show some slides of his own happy family. He pushes the idea of nostalgia over technology, comparing the Kodak system to a time-machine that can takes people backwards and forwards through their cherished memories. "It’s not called The Wheel, it's called The Carousel." He concludes with an image of him kissing Betty on New Year's Eve. The presentation has been a huge success, even reducing Harry to tears. The Kodak clients sit in silent amazement, later cancelling their meetings with other ad companies.
The ad men celebrate Don's success in his office, giving Don the chance to suggest to Pete that he utilize Peggy for his new Clearasil account – as she's a woman, and young girls would use the product to prevent blemishes. Pete isn't very happy about that, protesting that she's a secretary not a copywriter. Don calls Peggy into the office and officially makes her a junior copywriter with Clearasil as her first task. Pete leaves, angry.
Joan (Christina Hendricks) shows Peggy to her new office alongside Victor Manny, giving her the advice to never forget where she came from. At that moment, Peggy grimaces with abdominal pain.
At the hospital, Peggy is examined and a Dr. Oliver (Gregory Wagrowski) reveals she's heavily pregnant! Peggy is astonished about the news. How could she not know something like that? She's sent to maternity as her contractions are just 2 minutes apart. Later that night, a nurse brings Peggy's newborn baby to her, but she's uninterested. The baby is taken away, leaving Peggy alone in bed.
Don arrives home to see Betty and the kids packing for their Thanksgiving trip. He makes Betty's day by surprising her with news he's decided to come along. But the happy scene is just being imagined. When Don really does arrive home – the house is empty and his family have long since gone without him. He sits alone on the stairs, holding his heads in his hands over the missed opportunity...
What a fantastic episode! I really enjoyed last week's revelations about Don's past – but, because I'd already predicted the answer almost from the start, they didn't surprise me. But this episode certainly shocked me when Peggy gave birth to (assumedly) Pete's baby! The strange thing is, I actually mentioned how Elisabeth Moss was looking chubbier in my review of Indian Summer a few episodes back, so clearly this was all planned and neatly layered into the storyline by the writers -- and make-up artists. Of course, being a mother will put a significant strain on Peggy's career ambitions now, just at the moment she made a breakthrough in becoming a junior copywriter. An unwanted, unknown pregnancy is certainly a very "feminine" way for Peggy to potentially lose everything she's worked for in the male-dominated world of Sterling Cooper.
But will she lose everything? I'm going to assume she'll keep the child and not give it up for adoption. Peggy's just in shock at the moment, and she'll come round to loving the child. But, being a single parent carried more of a stigma in the 60s than it does today. I also doubt she'll be telling Pete it's his baby just yet, so it will also be fatherless, which doesn't help matters. It may have been quite a soap-like twist in the tail, but it all made sense and certainly suggests the Peggy/Pete situation will get very interested in season 2.
Elsewhere, I was pleased to see the return of Glen – the slightly creepy boy who took a lock of Betty's hair earlier in the season. Their relationship was explained a bit better here; as Glen just has an adolescent crush on Betty, and Betty (quite tragically) believes he's the only person she can really speak to about her marital upset. Not that she really discusses anything with him, but he's the only person who would just listen and not make judgements. That role is supposed to belong to Dr. Wayne, but now she knows Don is being briefed about her sessions behind her back. Also interesting to discover that Betty knows Don is regularly unfaithful, but just hasn't got any actual proof yet. And maybe lacks the confidence to split her family apart by ever confronting him about it, anyway.
And I must say, the "Kodak moment" with Don's presentation was absolutely wonderful. I've enjoyed these little presentations and insights into how advertisers dream up campaigns, and this was one of the best Mad Men has come up with. It was particularly brilliant in how it stirred up family memories for Don, leading him to head home with the intention of being with his family at Thanksgiving – but, of course, it was too late.
Indeed, being too late was the theme for Don in the finale. Memories were also stirred by Adam's shoebox of mementoes, leading him to make contact a good few weeks after his kid brother had hung himself. Despite the fact Don has brought everything on himself, and now has Adam's blood on his hands (for all intents and purposes), it's a testament to Jon Hamm's acting that Don's always sympathetic.
Indeed, you kind of feel sorry for most of the characters on Mad Men – except perhaps Pete, who once again traded on his family connections to win Cooper's bonus by getting the Clearasil contract from his father-in-law. I've see-sawed on my thoughts on Pete this season (which is how it should be), but the finale definitely painted him as a slimy, corporate worm -- and I was surprised to see him condemn Peggy's obvious, proven talent.
Overall, this was a superb end to a compelling and intriguing season of quality drama. In retrospect, you perhaps could have told the whole story in half the time, but its laidback attitude was part of the charm. Things moved at a different pace in the '60s, compared to today – even if the underlying social problems are much the same. I was slightly disappointed the Helen Bishop storyline kind of petered out mid-season (despite the finale's appearance of her son Glen), and Betty's numb hands were apparently dropped as an idea. Maybe it was all just psychosomatic?
Apart from that, all the big questions were either answered, or took a noteworthy step forward in preparation for season 2. I hear the next season will jump ahead in time, which sounds like a good idea...
25 May 2008
BBC Four, 10.00 pm
