Mad Men series finale : Did Don do the Coke ad ? *Spoilers*

[getbent]

For me, Don's future goes like this - yes, he goes back to New York and writes the famous Coke ad.

But he's also had an epiphany about what a ****ty father he's been, and with Betty dying, he's determined to change that, and be a real father to his children.

The line that was said to his niece about "your child will wait every day for you to walk through that front door" hits home with Don, as does the guy in therapy that Don hugs when he recognizes himself in what the man says.

bold=yes

the rest... NOTHING in Don's character suggests that he could POSSIBLY do any of those things... you are just wishing...

hey the niece leaves because she knows she is not gonna do ANY of the things that the world (or esalen) expect of her and she just has to own it...

Don is Don. He is an ad man. He is always looking for the next drink, lay, moment of sincerity that only lasts a moment. He wishes he was different, but he never will be... most people aren't.

Think of every person you have ever known... they NEVER do anything that involves a complete change... this is why addicts can never become social users... it has to be all or nothing. Don is never going to be a good parent, husband or even employee. He will be a great ad man though... and so, he does that... just like the rest of us..

 

[56strat]

bold=yes

the rest... NOTHING in Don's character suggests that he could POSSIBLY do any of those things... you are just wishing...

They sure spent a heck of a lot of time pounding it into Don what a lousy father he was for him not to get the message and clean up his act. I say he does.

 

[Coach56]

Don is Don. He is an ad man. He is always looking for the next drink, lay, moment of sincerity that only lasts a moment. He wishes he was different, but he never will be... most people aren't.

..

This

I work in a surprisingly similar business and the head guy is very much like Don ( heck he is even a fan of the show ) and no matter what happens, how much corporate America changes, he is still Don.

Just like music is in most of our DNA, the art of the deal is in theirs and can never be totally removed.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

Nah - Don doesn't change.

My dad was pretty much Don's age, always ran foundry's, and he was a s***head when he was married to my mom, took off on 9 kids and married a Cali gal in the mid-70's and was married to her longer than to my mom.

Off course, he was barely better to her than he was to my mom. They lived in Singapore, Phillipines, Finger Lakes, Bay Area, Punta Gorda - all over the world and - he was the same s***head he'd always been.

 

[surfoverb]

don is capable of change just like everyone else.
how long was don at that ranch?
we know at least till the end of the week, what if he stayed longer?
the future scenes were from the near future: betty is still alive so its been less than 9 months, Joan has her business going but its out of her house and she has 1 employee, and the ad came out 3 months after we leave don at the ranch.

Maybe that place was legit? Don says, "they took my money, thats a good sign"
that is a good sign. maybe they have real doctors/therapists there?
maybe he got some cognitive behavioral therapy, and we only witnessed the beginning of that.
maybe Don solved his crises

7. Generativity vs. Stagnation
During middle adulthood (ages 40 to 65 yrs), we establish our careers, settle down within a relationship, begin our own families and develop a sense of being a part of the bigger picture.

We give back to society through raising our children, being productive at work, and becoming involved in community activities and organizations.

By failing to achieve these objectives, we become stagnant and feel unproductive. Success in this stage will lead to the virtue of care.

 

[El Chivo]

I'd like to think that Don truly was able to achieve a sort of peace while still being able to come up with one of the most successful ads of all time, but it's probably more likely he just took what he needed from his time in Big Sur for the ad.

 

[VWAmTele]

Of course it was Don's ad. He went back to McCann, faced Jim Hobart's music and then dropped the Coke idea on them. Don's genius now elevates him to the top of the pack at McCann. No more 'box lunches' for him. I see Don as being a much better person than some have described here. For someone the was raised in one of the worst possible environments by a step mother that never let him forget he was just 'a whore child, he has been searching all his life for what happiness really is. Maybe he found it, or got a little closer at least.

As Dr Faye said at the 1964 Christmas party - "In a nutshell it all comes down to what I want versus what is expected of me." I think that's the inner battle Don (as well as most people) has fought most of his life.

 

[Skully]

don is capable of change just like everyone else.

Or not. Leaving the real world argument out of it, "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner has repeatedly said that one of the key themes of the show is people's inability to change, so we can safely bet that Don Draper is still the man he always was, no matter what identity he assumes.

 

[surfoverb]

Or not. Leaving the real world argument out of it, "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner has repeatedly said that one of the key themes of the show is people's inability to change, so we can safely bet that Don Draper is still the man he always was, no matter what identity he assumes.

roger changed after dropping acid, peggy changed a lot from mousy new girl to head of creative by 1980,
pete changed, joan changed, pretty much everyone save for betty and harry crane changed significantly.

 

[Skully]

roger changed after dropping acid, peggy changed a lot from mousy new girl to head of creative by 1980,
pete changed, joan changed, pretty much everyone save for betty and harry crane changed significantly.

Joan couldn't leave her work. Is that change?

Pete convinced his wife to reconcile with him. What happens in Kansas five, six years down the line? Maybe he changed.

One thing that I did not buy about the finale was the Rizzo-loves-Peggy thing. It really rang false to me. Peggy was destined to end up a bitter lonely woman with some mid-level corporate success and a cat or three.

 

[getbent]

roger changed after dropping acid, peggy changed a lot from mousy new girl to head of creative by 1980,
pete changed, joan changed, pretty much everyone save for betty and harry crane changed significantly.

our definition of change is different.

Skully, good to see you.. I was wondering what your take was.

 

[Mike Eskimo]

One thing that I did not buy about the finale was the Rizzo-loves-Peggy thing. It really rang false to me. Peggy was destined to end up a bitter lonely woman with some mid-level corporate success and a cat or three.

Indeed. Seemed tacked-on, like Weiner wanted that package with a bow on it, all taken care of.

don is capable of change just like everyone else.
how long was don at that ranch?
we know at least till the end of the week, what if he stayed longer?
the future scenes were from the near future: betty is still alive so its been less than 9 months, Joan has her business going but its out of her house and she has 1 employee, and the ad came out 3 months after we leave don at the ranch.

Maybe that place was legit? Don says, "they took my money, thats a good sign"
that is a good sign. maybe they have real doctors/therapists there?
maybe he got some cognitive behavioral therapy, and we only witnessed the beginning of that.
maybe Don solved his crises

Esalen ?

Legit ? I guess it depends on who you ask. It is beautiful but so is Ventana and you don't have to sit in an encounter group.

 

[greggorypeccary]

Of course he did.

 

[BigDaddyLH]

Of course he did.

+1. I wonder if Matthew Weiner knew how the series would end from the very beginning.

 

[Skully]

+1. I wonder if Matthew Weiner knew how the series would end from the very beginning.

I doubt it. He didn't know that Don would be an assumed identity. He didn't know there would be an episode 2.

 

[BopT]

They had the Coke commercial dialed in since last summer according to Jon Hamm.

 

[jkingma]

They had the Coke commercial dialed in since last summer according to Jon Hamm.

That could be, but the story around it may not have been written.

 

[surfoverb]

those mercedes commercials jon hamm does ties in nicely.
the ad agency (M&P) that does those is small
and has former mccan people working there

 

[DougF]

My opinion is that Don went back to McCann and worked on the Coke ad, but Peggy came up with the line. "It's The Real Thing." Earlier she said she wanted to come up with an ad phrase that everyone would remember. I agree her falling in love at the end seemed tacted-on and forced. Pete fortold her future when he said someday people will be honored and proud to have worked with her. I agree with those that say a zebra can't change his stripes. A man like Don Draper may mellow a bit with age but never completely change.

 

[Rasmuth]

just read an interview with the show's creator and he confirmed it was Don's ad.

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/s/mad-men-creator-finale-coke-004247003.html