Mad Men Finale

For many, Mad Men will go down in history as being one of the finest dramas on television.

Without doubt, it accomplished something few others quite managed. It somehow combined rich, complex characters, exquisite writing and coherent narratives without ever falling into the trap of needing to portray any real physical angst or violence. It is arguably one of the tamest TV dramas of the modern era, and that it was able to harness such poetic prowess without ever 'resorting' to violence in order to appease premium cable viewers, is perhaps its most impressive feat.

The series centred around the life of Don Draper, a fictional creative director at Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency, in the 1960s. Don is a heavy drinker, a man who doesn't quite understand the meaning of fidelity, and as it turns out, was a con man, having assumed the identity of 'Draper' - a Lieutenant who was killed in front of him during the Korean War - previously known as Dick Whitman.

As it happens, all you really needed to know about Don was that he was a man whose morals were up in the air at the best of times. Constantly sleeping around, always looking at the most superficial of perspectives in life, and never quite cherishing what life was supposedly really about.

The point of this entry is to send Mad Men off in fashion.

As alluded to above, it's a show that, for many, was in the higher echelons of television drama. It was praised for its writing, and although that may in fact be the bone of the contention when it came to its eventual climax, that didn't really negate its impact on cable television, nor indeed on television as a whole.

Naturally I'm not intelligent enough or indeed sufficiently well-versed in television history to give Mad Men the analysis or fanfare that it deserves, but I will address the show's ending.

Season 7 essentially portrayed to the audience what we knew was going to happen all along. Don Draper's life caught up with him. His wife was suffering from cancer, and was going to die within days, weeks or mere months. His daughter, Sally, was growing into a woman who was able to take care of herself, despite displaying traits and characteristics to the contrary, and Don's work life was dissipating. He had ditched his belongings - significant in itself for someone who put so much onus on possessions, and buying the American Dream - and was making his way to a different life. One that removed all emphasis on money, fakeness and superficial flings.

An episode or two before its actual finale, the audience was treated to a brief scene that, for many, would have been the perfect moment on which to end Mad Men as a story. We saw Don give away his car to a younger man - for some, a symbol of passing on his legacy to a pseudo protegé, a man who had earlier tried to actually con him - and sit on a bench, waiting for a bus. To where? No one really cared, as the image itself spoke volumes.

Mad Men's actual ending, however, was more divisive, and saw Don enter a retreat of sorts. Removed of all possessions, and distractions, he comes to envisagea, and supposedly pen, the world-famous "I'd like to give the world a Coke" advert.

For many fans, this felt like a bit of a letdown, as it seemed like Don was finally entering a new journey. Of self discovery, rationale, a clear mind, and above all, a place where he could leave behind the notion of selling commodities to others, let alone himself. However, for many others, it was seen as the perfect ending for a man who had spent an entire career selling the false ideals to the masses, making himself stinking rich in the process.