It just looks good now, but it was miserable when you were in it. Trust me. Of all the goodbyes said to TV shows in 2015, none will be as keenly felt next year as Mad Men. 2016 will not have any stories to tell from Sterling Cooper (or any iteration/evolution of that company name), and the TV landscape is far worse off for that. Thankfully, though, it meant that we also got to go out on a high, with yet another incredible run of episodes (and again, you could replace this with another and be entirely justified), including the penultimate episode, Lost Horizon. It features all of the main players coming to terms with their new futures at McCann-Eriksen in different ways. Don, the top talent, is set to become 'just another ad-man', watching as another of these delivers a pitch in a fashion reminiscent of his own style, but it's a by-the-numbers pastiche; there is no emotion. Can Don truly be happy just existing as another face at the company? The answer, offered in this episode at least, is no. This sets him off on another search for waitress Diane, but really it's a search for a better life, one away from McCann-Eriksen and his past. Meanwhile, Joan struggles to be taken seriously at the new agency, and all that she has fought for over the years is undone by her new employers. Co-worker Dennis 'thought she was going to be fun', while Jim Hobart offers her only half the money she deserves, something she reluctantly accepts. It's a tough choice, and Joan definitely deserved better. The standout moments of the episode, though, come between Roger Sterling and Peggy Olsen. The last two employees remaining in the old Sterling Cooper building, respectively the symbols of the past and the future. Roger sits playing the piano, smoking a cigarette and drinking whisky. Peggy, meanwhile, rollerskates around the office. It's to this backdrop the pair reminisce, and the result is something that's heartwarming, and transformative for both characters. It gives both the push they need to take their place at McCann-Eriksen, which thankfully pays off with the best damn walk down a hallway you will ever see. In that moment, you wish you were Peggy Olsen.
NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far.
A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.
