Mad Men: 10 Greatest Episodes
5. Waterloo (Season 7, Episode 7)
Mad Men’s bid to end its final season on a high is a show-stopping triumph that utilises every bag of tricks at the show’s disposal. Character payoffs, coming of age tales, big business moves and historical events that thematically complement the events of the hour are all present.
The world-changing event of the moon landing that acts as the historical backdrop to the episode is accompanied by similarly cataclysmic plot movements which assure that the landscape of the show would never be the same.
As the world sits engrossed and united by humanity’s grandest achievement yet, fully visible on their TV screens, inspiration fuels a client-clinching Burger Chef pitch. It’s reminiscent of Don Draper’s finest work, delivered by none other than Peggy Olsen, to magnificently complete a series-long character arc, the student becoming the master to widespread approval.
With the tone of a new dawn for the planet prominent throughout the episode, few moments signal the end of an era like the death of Bert Cooper. No sooner does he pass than rapid, seismic changes to SC&P begin to plunge our characters into the 1970s with markedly different, yet optimistically brighter futures.
On top of it all, Don’s final, wonderfully weird vision of Cooper singing The Best Things in Life Are Free truly sets the endgame in motion for a man, now more than ever, questioning the path his life has taken.