In which we speculate about the Season 3 Finale:Shut the Door. Have a Seat:
Sterling Cooper is for sale!
And Lane doesn’t want it to be. Nor does he want to leave the U.S. But his wife sure does.
Peggy is seeing Duck, but Swedish Roommate has planted the question “Why are you seeing him?” into her head, and Peggy is very good at paying attention to such questions. Does a Peggy-Duck breakup jeopardize her job? Is Duck vengeful on humans or just dogs?
Danny Farrell, out there with Don’s business card.
Suzanne Farrell, out there with who knows what. Sad, abandoned, possibly getting angry.
Where is Salvatore? Is he working? Is he cruising? Who will Sterling Coo hire to replace him?
Joan Harris: Who is Bob and does he offer her a job? Does she get a heavier vase? Has Roger decided she’s the one?
Does Pete leave Sterling Coo? For Grey? And find out about Peggy and Duck? Ew!
Does Grey buy Sterling Cooper? Does Connie?
Who commits suicide? There have been, what, six? Mentions of suicide this season? Gypsy has a partial collection; all these plus “Bye Bye Birdie,” and Betty’s nickname is Birdie. I’m sure this must be foreshadowing; it’s just too much.
Betty! Henry! Don! Marriage? Divorce? What!?!
Has anyone gotten pregnant or vomited?
74 Responses to “Unfinished business”
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*looked more decent*
If Betty commits suicide, then my theory is complete: Betty = Madame Bovary. But Betty must get herself into a lot more personal and financial troubles before that can happen.
"Don doesn’t like his personal life interfering with his office life."
True, but the whole season has been about Don's compartmentalization breaking down, about how he's started to embrace the change and chaos he always fought to keep under wraps. Getting involved with someone from the office (like getting involved with his daughter's teacher), would be a pretty striking way of demonstrating how far he's come.
Financial troubles? Hasn't Don paid for everything in her life since they got married? If she wants to leave him, then obviously she realizes the repercussions that would have on her "finances."
And, to reiterate again on the difficulties I have with people always seeking connections, I seriously doubt that, when planning out Betty's arc, Weiner had a bunch of French and Russian literary works piled up around him so that he could explicitly link their contents to it…
Heck, I'm thinking wa-a-a-y too much about this! Last night I dreamed that Don shot Betty! I guess my main concern is that no one dies! I really hope Sal will come back, Joan will come back to SC, and that Don won't have a heart attack!
Like I said, I expect it to be a fatal cocktail of pills and booze (which a few other users above have talked about). When have we seen her taking pills prior to the last episode?
I don’t know that the Don-Betty issue needs to be further resolved. Their marriage is essentially over in every aspect but the legal paperwork. I can’t see Betty evolve as a character beyond what we’ve seen. I actually feel that her death would be good for Mad Men as a series (and based on the frustration that people are beginning to voice in regards to the “home life portion” of the show, I’m certainly not the only one to feel that way).
Oh, Red Medicine. :> We're having fun. I love all the references to literature and Rome and implausible connections.
the GoodSally is correctomundo!!
Fun, fun, fun. We can't be in NYC, but we can party hardy right here.
No one's home, it's like Christmas around here. Not a Lipp in sight!
Throw the TV off the balcony into the pool. "I am a golden god!!" Send lawyers, guns and money!!
BUT I tells ya again, we're seein' Don's bare feet tonight!!!
"If Betty commits suicide, then my theory is complete: Betty = Madame Bovary. But Betty must get herself into a lot more personal and financial troubles before that can happen."
Ever see Little Children?…I love the Madame Bovary analysis they do in that movie.
Hopefully something will happen in the Don/Betty camp. It would be nice to see the focus somewhere else next season. I don't see Betty overdosing unless it's accidental.
Not only is Connie in tonight's episode, so is Henry Francis, according to the most recent episode cast list. It may not be Romeo and Juliet, but perhaps Betty and Henry end up in a really bad car accident together (and if we REALLY want to push coincidence, swerving to avoid a hitchhiking Danny) and we're left until next season to see which of them survives. That would also cover the possible police department scenario; maybe Don assumes at first he's busted, only to discover it's not him they're after, it's that Betty's clinging to life in the local hospital.
There's also a character described as "Cooperative Head." A co-op buyout maybe? Instead of Grey buying SC, maybe a consortium of individuals get together to salvage the shop: Bert and Alice, Don, Lane (bidding adieu to his wife who storms back to London), Freddy and Sal (contributing his skills instead of $$)
okay, here's my guess, drawing inspiration from youse guys.
Duck's firm makes a play for S-C.
Pryce tells Sterling and Don about the plan to sell in order to stay on with S-C with Don, Sterling and Bert and Pryce at the helm. Don loses Hilton as a client. As someone else noted, this makes S-C look less profitable. Pete talks to his clients about moving somewhere else as well.
Pete tells Duck that Don is doing something illegal. This gives Duck ammo on Don for next season.
Bert maybe dies, or gets very sick. (I don't want this to happen! so I'll be happy when I'm wrong.)
Pyrce will help to make the company look like a total loss.
Gray doesn't want and clients decide to walk; PPL decides to just unload the co.
Joan will return to S-C, but not this episode, because PPL gets out and MoneyPenny leaves. and because Sterling wants to be near her.
Jane will get drunk. Either on or offscreen.
Betty and Don… I have no idea. Maybe Betty does accidentally take too many pills with liquor, in which case Bert is saved for next season. Maybe she decides to date Henry because she no longer loves Don but doesn't want to do something legally yet. Maybe Betty needs the idea of Henry to be able to leave. Happy Rockerfeller as her life coach.
Maybe she starts reading The Feminine Mystique after she volunteers for Rockerfeller to be near Henry. (one of the other women is reading it.) No PDAs with Henry, tho.
Don spends a night in the city and winds up at Legends with a bunch of people watching a show about his life.
I think Betty will confide Don's secrete to Henry who will tell her to file for divorce on the grounds of fraud and Don will be arrested.
I say, the only way Betty dies is if she reads three chapters of The Feminine Mystique and dies of boredom.
She isn't married to Don Draper. Don Draper is dead. Does she really need a divorce?
No quite the right thread but the hall monitors are most likely knee-deep in the Gibsons right now.
Last episode, sigh. We yak at each other for a few more days and then I guess we scatter to the corners of the cyber-sphere until next season. In this winter of my discontent, so I won’t miss yinz so badly, I have decided to crib from Dick Whitman; to seize opportunity and be reborn; to recreate myself in the Basket’s image no less. I’m not talking about just slapping a new label on the old Caldecott; I’m going to tweak the horsemeat (pardone moi) to coin a phrase. So this offseason. . .
How do I adjust the recipe of LOM? Let me count the ways.
Anne B obviously will need me to dust off the classics (Billy Shakes, the Greeks) and the pop-classics (Delillo, etc.) and I’ll probably have to grow a soul too. For Deborah I have to retrieve my old numerology work-up and give up poker for Tarot. Is there money in that? I will need to finish construction of my time machine so in the future I can go into the past to live-blog with B. Cooper about last week’s show (?!?). I vow to take a stenography course, so as to be useful and gain Roberta’s favor, thereby weaseling into the celeb interview room. And since Matt laments (my apologies MM, that was too easy, but Could. Not. Resist.) our color-blindness, I’ll dig out my mood ring and my old 64 count box of Crayolas.
And that’s just a few promises to part of the house staff; my commitment to the sundry other Cases will take time too. Riverdaughter demands I understand 19th century Nordic playwrights, and interpersonal thermodynamics. I need my dancing shoes; SFCaramia wants to Hold My Hand and Twist and Shout (just musically of course) as the Invasion takes place. I discovered it will take stamina and probably amphetamines to stay apace the commenting of gypsy howell (I’m trying, was in here at 3:30am EST this week, ha!). SmilerG wants me to dive deep into the backwaters of the murky swamp of American history (though in all honesty, you and I both know that ain’t happening; I’m sorry in advance) And esme-Nancy-Pumpkin-GildaRadnerstern already has me alliteratively sipping Shiraz, whispering French(oui, oui, mon cherie) and twangin’ to Jolie Holland; partially reprogrammed to appreciate just a few of her undoubtedly many fine amusements and diversions.
As for the rest of crew, hey, can’t you see? the plate’s pretty full, read all that again, that’s a lot of change for one mere LOM.
I’ll have to catch you next year.
It’s been a full, fun, enlightening thirteen weeks. It felt like the best memories of a semester back at school, (without the pressures to conform, cheat and binge-drink of course.) And I have nothing awkward to explain to Mom and Dad either.
Good times. Thanks bunches.
Hurry 10PM. I’m set. Let’s light this candle already.
Is it possible that Connie might buy Don out of his SC contract?
Whatever happens tonight, I know I’ll be saying, “Of course! It was all right there, set up for us, in previous episodes! I just wasn’t smart enough to see it coming.”
Trudy, get your girl on!
aaaaaaaaaaccck!
Don: Henry Francis?
oh, I love this.
l-o-m – don't touch that dial (up).
bok will be here after last night (I say hopefully, as I jonesed through a long night without the same.)
oh, and I just want to point out post #63 in which I make half-thought-out guesses… Pryce brings about the new agency (got it wrong about keeping S-C, but right about the four of them in partnership.) Betty going with Henry (but wrong about the trip to Reno, exactly.) Joan back (but I thought she wouldn't show till the beginning of next season.
I did go with the someone dies after so much talk of foreshadowing from the episodes. very glad MW didn't go that route, tho. He did kill S-C – doesn't count but much more satisfying.
anyway, do I get a ribbon or at least a mini shout-out?
woo-hoo.
your kung fu is strong, grasshopper.
I haven't read anyone else's posts of the final ep yet, so I am just jumping in here…The final ep seemed inevitable (in retrospect…I did not predict) because it was just so profoundly American…this is ultimately a show about American business and ingenuity so, of course, they were action heroes. And also, it was sentimental in just the right way. That last shot had the feel of a great happy camp reunion, which was kind of a love letter to the show. Oh, and best moment: at 10:40, I (and I would imagine everyone else did, too) happily exclaimed to the TV: "JOANIE!!!"
those were big shouts — and a hey now.
thank you for indulging me.
…and for noting another reason why Arrested Development was so super-truly-freaking-awesome. like MM, casting, casting, casting.
I blue myself watching that one.
oops. that comment is worthless without a Tobias Fünke link.
Seer of seers, almost. . . kinda. Here's a "
Hey Now!" to esme
or does she want me to
shout?!
esme – Blue??!!!Yellow? OH! I get it now.
That two minute clip violates Einstein's Sixth Law of Double Entendre Gay Jokes. The space/time continuum doubles back on itself at the 1:37 point and auto-fellates. You're a cheeky monkey. hee.