As Slate reports "more often than not, the most satisfying stories are those that end neatly—every plot resolved, each character’s arc completed. In this regard, Mad Men, which aired its final episode on May 17, surely frustrated many of its longtime admirers. Over the course of its seven seasons, the series accumulated more plots and characters than its creators could manage."
Many fans, including casual ones caught up in the season ending hype, found the the show’s meditative, introspective conclusion at bit baffling considering the expectations.
The writers and show runners had a full season to plan and execute their final scripts to cover as many loose ends as they wanted to cover. But many fans left the finale frustrated by its major omissions. Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican tweeted a picture of what he described as Mad Men show runner “Matthew Weiner’s ‘Wish List’ of plot points to cover before the finale.”
If it’s real—and Slate believes it is —the list offers insights into the creative process behind one of television’s most critically acclaimed shows.
Some open or unanswered character plots sting most for Mad Men’s fans. Weiner, too, wondered about the fate of Sal, Sterling Cooper’s art director, who is forced out of the firm after rejecting the advances of one of its most prominent clients in Season 3. For some—especially those who held out hope that the closeted Sal would find new freedom in the post-Stonewall climate of the last episodes—his failure to reappear was a major disappointment. Likewise, the list suggests that Weiner had intended to return to Sal’s tormenter, Lee Garner, Jr., though he never returned after the fourth season. Just as Mad Men denied Sal redemption, it refused to allow its viewers to witness Lee’s comeuppance.
As Slate concluded the wish list calls attention to the ways Mad Men’s closing episodes couldn’t please everyone so fans should be glad that some loose ends weren’t tied up. The theory is that in life, people come and go and get lost or forgotten. If approached with the sentimental question years after someone was gone ("what ever happened to so-and-so?") makes the story a little more real.
But these side stories are still a distraction to the main final question: what really happened to Don Draper? The biggest omission of the finale was Don's alleged return to the Advertising World to create iconic TV spots. But did Don's road trip actually change him? Or was he still conning the people close to him? The long journey of a main character has to come to some meaningful conclusion. The Mad Man finale did not do it.
