Silly bands. I just don’t understand. They are just rubber-bands. When did someone decide that it was cool to go around wearing colored pieces of plastic? Come on people, this isn’t 7th grade when those jelly bracelets were all the rage. Nor is this 7th grade. I’ve heard the arguments: But my friend gave them to me. But they’re so cute!, etc. Listen, unless these silly bands can serve as a hair thing (which I learned after many hair strands lost later, they cannot), they are still. just. Plastic. Then again ,if Don Draper were to market them, or even Peggy Olsen  well, then maybe you’d have yourself an advertising campaign. Only those two can spin a bad situation into a good one, and sign clients in the nick of time.

Before we jump into the season ending of Mad Men, let us take a look at the second to last episode’s set up for its final act. Was it just me or did the episode from too weeks ago lack the normal zing of some of the great episodes this fall? I didn’t hear any of Joan’s (Christina Hendricks) cleverness, nor feel the normal excitement down the halls of Sterling Cooper Draper and Price. If I may take one in the book from Steven Grant, my Mad Men Guru, the problem with this episode: Too much Betty.

We catch up with Betty and Sally after their (appreciated) hiatus from three weeks back, and see them partake in a role reversal. Sally becomes the mature, older adult making small talk with her psychiatrist, while Betty shows signs of adolescence, building defenses and projecting her childish feelings on her daughter. Tsk tsk Betty. Sally is also seen spending a lot of time with her “friend who is a boy” Glen Bishop. Does anyone else have the urge to go look at a Land-O-Lakes butter box?

Next we reconnect with SCDP and can sense the unease in the air. Yet Don remains strong, very sure of himself that SCDP isn’t going anywhere, and I believe it. This series has won too many Emmys to be cancelled.  Pete Campbell has a funny line about one day their being no need for an office and that people will just work out of cabs. Little did he know iPhones were on their way. Draper shows his soft side when we learn that he has paid for Campbell’s company shares to stay afloat.

And what’s this? A blast from the past! Draper catches up with Midge, his old hippie mistress from season one. We find out Midge is addicted to heroin and Draper (of all people) tries to giver her advice. Maybe someone should write him a check so that he can check himself into relationship re-hab! Draper later reflects on the painting he bought from Midge’s husband. It served as a nice metaphor for how far he has come since leaving midge and the past tumultuous 4 years.

Yet what was most provocative this episode was Draper’s letter to the New York Times. Did anyone else realize that his addiction to tobacco was an analogy for his company’s addiction to making money? We all know its bad for you to smoke (synonymous with money), yet we can’t stop and always want more. Draper didn't have anything to lose, but maybe a warning before hand to the other partners would have been nice. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I was routing for Draper when we all thought it was Senator Kennedy on the phone. But alas it was just a prank. However, Megan, telling Draper you thought it was Kennedy that was just unnecessary. Please stop throwing your self at Draper.

The episode ends with a farewell to many employees. It's interesting to see similar problems of layoffs in the 60's as today. If we take one thing away from this episode it’s that history repeats itself. And that it was incredibly sad to see Danny Siegel (Danny Strong - Doyle from Gilmore Girls) go! What a gloomy note to end on.

And now, for the main attraction, we turn our attention towards the 13th episode. Otherwise known as the end of good dramatic television for a whole ‘nother year.  

The episode starts with Joan receiving a promotion (without a pay raise), Draper making his pitch to the American Cancer Society (a follow up to his New York Times Letter), and a forbidden meeting between Glen and Sally strikes a chord with Betty; nothing out of the ordinary. Draper even returns to California as he did at the end of season two, but brings the whole family along this time. His old and new lives come together as he shows his children Anna’s old houe. Another difference this time is Megan, Draper’s secretary. While watching I couldn’t help but think how dangerous this was for her. “Going all the way to Cali? Don’t get invested! He’s not truly interested in you.” But boy was I wrong!  It turns out, Draper proposes to Megan on their trip to California, and was probably the last thing I ever expected to happen. Just to give you an idea of how surprised I was, here is a word for word account of the notes I took while watching: “Woah, hold up, I did not see that coming! At least she’s really good with the kids.” Followed by a series of questions: “Why now? What about Faye? What’s the point of getting married if you are just going to cheat.”  I was dumbfounded. Yet what really made my jaw drop was the second to last scene where we see Joan on the phone with her husband overseas. Did anyone else hear what I heard? Did Joan keep Roger Sterling’s  baby? We will have to wait and see how this one plays out!

Some great quotes from the episode include Sally’s passionate plea to her mother (“Just cause you’re sad doesn’t mean everyone has to be.”), Don’s philosophy on life( “We all try [to be better], we don’t always make it.”) and Faye Miller (Cara Buono) could not have told Don off any better (not to mention describe him perfectly) in her final words to Don before saying goodbye: “You only like the beginning of things.”

The episode ends on a nice moment between Betty and Don, filling each other in on their lives. It shows growth as they truly take the next steps in their lives: Betty moving out of her ex-husband’s house, and Don “settling down”, though I doubt either of them will stay mature for long. If this show were about good behavior, no one would watch it.

Though I can’t say this seasons episode was as drastic an ending as season 3 (what with the future of SCDP in the air), I can say that producer Mathew Weiner knows how to make a darn good show. It’s going to be a long 9 months until season 5.

P.S. How much did you love the art deco style of that 60’s hotel in California?