Monday, October 18, 2010
'Mad Men's' Weiner: Finale Looks at Life You Want to Live
"Tomorrowland is about who you want to be," that's what Mad Men creator/writer Matthew Weiner said about the season four finale. The episode, Weiner said, was about "what are you going to make of your life."
In the case of Don, that would be the same mistake Roger Sterling made, at least in my opinion.
Jon Hamm offered some insightful commentary in the AMC video above, about the fact that Don is starting a relationship with someone who doesn't really know much about him smacks of Don and Betty 2.0.
Of all the interviews in the video, I agree with Elisabeth Moss (Peggy Olson) the most.
What did you think of Weiner's assertion that the finale was about what you want to make of your life?
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4 comments:
I saw the fact that Don was going to ask his secretary to marry him coming from a mile away but I was still disappointed because I think that the relationship with the psychiatrist would have been a better, more fruitful one for him. But that's totally Don.
I was convinced that it was a dream because there was no transition between the scene with the spilled milkshake and the scene back at Don's Greenwich apartment, where the kids were gone, Megan was in bed and Don was in a suit. It wasn't immediately clear that they were back from California, so I kept hoping that it was Don's dream (since she didn't know he had Anna's ring).
When it became clear that Don had really proposed, I was ticked.
Let’s remember this is 1965 and Don is what, late 30’s? He is not a renaissance man of the 90’s nor is this the 21st century. Given the time period, what he has seen his “mentors” (aka Sterling) do and what Don seeks in his life; Megan is the perfect choice. From Don’s perspective, there are the girls you marry and the girls you have affairs with. Don wants a good, cultured woman to watch his kids (when he has them), manage his home and accept him despite his shortcomings. Megan is French, an organized secretary who is very good with his children and wants Don regardless of his faults. She also showed her “strength” when she initially slept with Don and expected nothing in return and wouldn’t go “running off” the next morning. She knew he was involved with another woman and yet still pursued. Do you really think there wasn’t a babysitter or nanny service available in California? She is the perfect new bride for Don. It’s a wise choice for him; one that maintains a similar home life and gives him the opportunity to keep his “active” life outside the home. I can just hear the lines in the coming season “Megan, what do you want from me? You knew who I was when you agreed to marry me.”
Besides, let’s face it, once Don could be out in the open with Faye, he just wasn’t that into her.
M -- It's certainly possible that you may be right. Maybe men who were Don's age in 1965 didn't want to marry the woman who was right for him because accomplished, professional women who could hold their own alongside their male peers weren't construed as being good wives/mothers. I'm willing to entertain the notion that that is plausible, but that doesn't make me less annoyed with Weiner for having his lead character choose to marry Megan.
But Don WAS prepared to flee NYC in season one with department store owner Rachel Menken who was certainly no shrinking violet in the business arena. They didn't wind up going because SHE said she had family and ties to the store. Rachel looked down upon Don for being willing to leave his kids. They broke up after that.
Obviously a lot changed between season one and season four.
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