Good call. Some analyses have said that Draper is a Jay Gatsby sort of character, and that the swimming pool incident is further evidence that the writers might have this in mind. I thought his "idealized Megan" hallucination was sad ... yet another indication of just how screwed up Don is ... I always sympathize with his women more than with him. Overall the series has done a good job of depicting 60's drug use. Roger's LSD experience was one of the most realistic I've ever seen depicted. No need for silly psychedelic visuals ... just showing how people react and think on that drug without a lot of judgmental or illustrative nonsense made it more meaningful than it might have been in lesser hands. Not sure super-uptight Pete smoking pot is necessarily a good thing, though. That guy is just about ready for a nervous breakdown.

Nice references to the Chicago Dem convention violence too ... sort of comparing the sense of how the agency is in free-fall with how a lot of Americans felt about the nation at the time.

I have not yet watched Sunday’s ep (wife has been in Austin, promised I would wait to watch with her… killin’ me!), so I am glossing over the last few comments from you guys, but my sis sent me this yesterday… more theorizin’:

http://www.avclub.com/articles/latest-mad-men-fan-theory-suggests-that-maybe-just,98653/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=standard-post:headline:default

Man, yeah, its like from the "Super Drug Injection" episode and on, this show has picked back on and moving forward on the rails.
Joan and Avon was a great little predicament.
Don and his whole journey to the other side is interesting.
And I like this strange company divide going on behind close doors.
Oh, and Bob Benson with his self-motivational records.

I REALLY hope this show does some kind of twist with the whole "Megan is Dead" thing.

That's an interesting theory, and I can see how that makes sense in a weird theory sort of way. I personally like the idea that they're planning on kinda rewriting what happened to Sharon Tate onto Megan's character. Just my preference in ridiculous Internet theories!
From that article:
"anyone who’s ever tried to make heads or tails of a Mad Men trailer could tell you, that’s a fool’s errand."
Haha I love the Mad Men trailers because it's impossible to get anything out of them! They give you nothing!

oh mad men previews.. sometimes hinting, oftentimes misleading, but mostly plain confusing!

This recent theory about Megan takes the Tate theory one step further. Thing is we don't know if the the soldier he met in Hawaii actually died or if it was all in his subconscious and it was just reflecting an image of don himself instead. But as with the near death experience of the doorman, it does suggest people have experiences during a brief period of death.

Another tidbit in the Draper hallucination ... the soldier at whose oceanside wedding Don played best man to Don: "You should see what you look like!"

Is there a ker-splat at the end of the fall in the title sequence? The writers are such teases.

We laugh our asses off at those- a hilarious string of grave non-sequitirs every week! The people who assemble 'em MUST know how funny they are!

"Going down?"

Haha

Happy Holidays!

Fucking Bob Bunson.

Poor Joanie.

This season was fantastic. That last eppisode was great without any real death. Goes to show, a show can end a season without offing a major character.

I bet Pete considers his mother to be a major character

I think the last several episodes vindicated the series and put to rest any worries that it'd already played out. The season's final episode pulled off the difficult trick of advancing several tragedies while simultaneously indicating some degree of redemption and the possibility of renewal via a fall. There was even some dark humor in the whole bit with Pete's mother and Manolo (whatever the heck his story is.) Speaking of which, Bob Benson is still a bit of a mystery in my book. (Is he actually a closeted gay guy or is he just playing on Pete's insecurities? Etc.) I feel especially bad for Megan and wouldn't be surprised if she and Don split (wouldn't a big California divorce be a classic late '60s/early '70's trope?) but at least she wasn't killed by Roman Polanski or whatever the conspiracy theorists were predicting.

Loved the final moment. Deep stuff ... the looks on both Sally's and Don's faces spoke volumes.

Seems no one cares what Pete thinks, both on the show and in this thread

Creepy Pete and the Pete pit !

He can be tough to "like," but ended up being very sympathetic. Some are already speculating that there'll be less of him in the final season, but I wouldn't put too much faith in any predictions ... this show always ends up surprising people.

All so true. So many great moments.

When Pete and his brother quietly hang up the phone and agree that, well she is gone ...

I also love the final shot, really showed Sally what a broken home is.

Pete is such a great character

So I was bored and looking for a show to try an get into and saw Netflix had Mad Men. Wondering what all the hype was about I watched season 1 and about 8 episodes of season 2. Eh, don't see the big deal. Don Draper is a complete asshole. I mean if I had January Jones waiting home for me, I'd be hard pressed to go into work, and be rushing home at night. These hags he hooks up with are sub par.

Keep watching. You will see me "thinking about it" on page 1 and by the end I was a full fledged junkie for the show. Except that Peggy and stan plotline. Who gives a fuck? I never once thought about or cared about a relationship.

Well finished the series. Man could not wait to get to the end (it just got tedious). After Season 4 the show seemed to just be spinning it's wheels as the 60's progressed. I mean how many times can a firm be merged or sold? Always some drama going on with that and you would think the partners would have just taken the money and run. It was quite substantial for the time but seemed like a boring plot line to keep the series going.

I have to say I really liked the series for the the first 3 seasons due to the nice office dynamic and the toll it was taking on the characters (the time period was nicely done as well). After the beginning of season 5, it just goes in all the wrong directions for my liking. I mean you knew as the 60's progressed haircuts and dress styles would change but most of it seemed forced and the plot lines just got a bit ridiculous going in circles.

One thing I noted though watching that last episode. Don Draper, while finally coming to terms with everything that happened (personally I think he should have held onto Megan- she was a sweetheart) never changed his image throughout the 60's. Everyone around him gets sideburns or mustaches, they dress differently, but he looks the same as episode 1. I think he just felt so comfortable holding on to that ruse he had built for himself going back to Sterling Cooper. Just my two cents. It's interesting to reflect back on that little boys club in Pete Campbell's office from the first episode and think how much has changed with all of those characters.

The problem with power watching this series is that you miss the time to research all the subtle things happening in the background. Its like breaking bad but to the next level. So much so that I felt all the unspoken things became a character of their own and became more fascinating them what was going on screen. I loved listening to podcasts that were dedicated to this show and hearing all the conversations about the stuff I missed.

I didnt start this show to season 5 but went back and watched them all after I was hooked.