Mad Men | |
---|---|
Season 7 | |
Starring | |
No. of episodes | 14 |
Release | |
Original network | AMC |
Original release | Part 1: April 13 – May 25, 2014 Part 2: April 5 – May 17, 2015 |
Season chronology | |
The seventh and final season of the American television drama series Mad Men premiered on April 13, 2014, and concluded on May 17, 2015, on AMC. The season consists of 14 episodes split into two, seven-episode parts: the first half, titled "The Beginning", aired from April 13 to May 25, 2014; and the second half, titled "The End of an Era", aired from April 5 to May 17, 2015. [2] The first part of the seventh season was released on Blu-ray/DVD on October 21, 2014, [3] and the second half was released on October 13, 2015. [4] Each episode in the season has a running time of approximately 48 minutes, with the exception of the final two episodes which are 54 and 57 minutes, respectively. [5]
The first part of season 7 begins in January 1969, several weeks after the Thanksgiving 1968 ending of season 6, with characters dealing with the dynamics of lives and offices being split between New York and Los Angeles, and ends in July 1969. The second part of season 7 takes place between April and November 1970. [6] [7] Both halves received critical acclaim, and based on year-end lists published by television critics, Mad Men's seventh season was the seventh most acclaimed series of 2014 for its first seven episodes, and was the second most acclaimed series of 2015 for its final episodes. [8] [9]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part 1: The Beginning | ||||||||||||
79 | 1 | "Time Zones" | Scott Hornbacher | Matthew Weiner | April 13, 2014 | 2.27 [10] | ||||||
It is January 1969. [11] On suspension after the loss of the Hershey account, Don visits the West Coast to salvage his marriage to Megan, while secretly feeding Freddy copy. Peggy is at odds with her new boss, Lou Avery, who condescends to the creative time. After a tense first meeting arranged by Ken, Joan convinces Butler Footwear's new head of marketing not to drop SC&P. While Roger is exploring the counterculture, his daughter Margaret tells him she has forgiven him for any past wrongdoing as part of her newfound enlightenment. Pete has embraced the Los Angeles lifestyle, while Ted devotes all his attention to his work. Don and Megan have a pleasant dinner with her Hollywood agent, and their reconciliation seems to be beginning well even if Don will be bicoastal for a while. On his flight back to New York, Don's seatmate is an attractive widow who comforts him when he admits to having been a bad husband. | ||||||||||||
80 | 2 | "A Day's Work" | Michael Uppendahl | Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner | April 20, 2014 | 1.89 [12] | ||||||
It is February 1969. Conflict erupts at SC&P on Valentine's Day. Pete wins the Southern California Chevrolet dealers' association as clients, but the other partners, led by Jim, insist that they get approval from the Chevy corporate office. Peggy wrongly assumes that her secretary Shirley's flowers are for her, from Ted. Lou demands a replacement secretary for Dawn, who is still helping Don outside the office and covertly passing him information. Jim recognizes that Joan is working two jobs and suggests she relinquish the post of personnel head and move upstairs to her own office in Accounts. Joan appoints Dawn as her replacement after Bert objects to having a black woman at reception. Meanwhile, Don and Sally bond when he admits to having been put on leave, and she admits to using a roommate's family funeral partly as an excuse to go shopping in Manhattan. | ||||||||||||
81 | 3 | "Field Trip" | Christopher Manley | Heather Jeng Bladt and Matthew Weiner | April 27, 2014 | 2.02 [13] | ||||||
It is April 1969. [14] Don flies to Los Angeles, at the request of Megan's agent, and inadvertently reveals to Megan that he has been on leave from SC&P since the previous year. Megan, upset at Don's deception, reacts badly and throws him out, and he returns to New York. He secures a job offer from a rival firm, which he then takes to Roger, telling him that he wants to return to work. Roger relents, telling him to report to the office on Monday. Don arrives at the office only to learn that Roger has neglected to tell anyone about Don's return. Roger, Joan, Cutler, and Bert meet to discuss the matter, and the latter three are initially in favor of firing Don outright, but Roger points out that this would require buying back Don's shares in the agency, which they are not in a position to do. Don is ultimately allowed to return, albeit under rigid and draconian conditions which he must agree to in writing, with the threat of dismissal and forfeiture of all his shares in the company for even the slightest transgression. Betty accompanies Bobby on a school field trip, but their day is soured after Bobby mistakenly gives away her lunch sandwich to a classmate. Betty later laments feeling unloved by her children. | ||||||||||||
82 | 4 | "The Monolith" | Scott Hornbacher | Erin Levy | May 4, 2014 | 2.14 [15] | ||||||
Roger learns that his daughter Margaret has run away to a hippie commune upstate, and travels there with Mona to retrieve her. Margaret, now calling herself "Marigold", claims to be happy there. Roger unsuccessfully attempts to get Margaret to return for her son's sake, but she feels Roger's neglectful parenting justifies her eschewing her own parental responsibilities. Cutler announces the installation of an IBM computer in the agency's creative lounge. Pete learns Burger Chef is putting McCann Erickson in review; seizing the opportunity, SC&P's partners agree to put Don on the account, against Lou's wishes. Lou places Peggy in charge of the account, giving her a $100 weekly raise as appeasement for having to include Don on her team. Peggy feels the account was given to her in hopes that either she or Don would fail. She assigns Don and Mathis 25 taglines each, but Don, resenting his loss of status at work, decides instead to get drunk and go with Freddy to a baseball game. Freddy later admonishes Don to sober up and commit to his work. Don returns to SC&P newly motivated and begins writing tags for Peggy. | ||||||||||||
83 | 5 | "The Runaways" | Christopher Manley | David Iserson and Matthew Weiner | May 11, 2014 | 1.86 [16] | ||||||
Stan finds a folder of cartoons drawn by Lou, which are roundly mocked by the creative team. Anna's niece Stephanie, who is pregnant out of wedlock and running out of money in Los Angeles, calls Don for help. Don asks Megan to let Stephanie stay with her. Megan accepts, but becomes insecure over Stephanie's youthful wanderlust and closeness with Don; she writes her a check for $1,000 and encourages her to leave. Henry and Betty fight after she voices her contrarian opinions on the Vietnam War at a dinner party. Don visits Megan in California and attends her party for her acting friends. Harry is present and goes to a bar with Don, where he informs him that Lou and Cutler are pursuing Philip Morris' Commander cigarettes and plan to fire Don. Afterwards, Megan initiates a threesome with Don and her friend Amy in a desperate attempt to rekindle passion into her marriage with Don. Don returns to New York and interrupts Lou and Cutler's meeting with Philip Morris executives, advocating for himself in light of his anti-tobacco letter. Ginsberg's paranoia about the new office computer culminates in a psychotic break, leading him to sever his own nipple and gift it to Peggy in a box; a horrified Peggy calls the authorities, who wheel Ginsberg out on a stretcher. | ||||||||||||
84 | 6 | "The Strategy" | Phil Abraham | Semi Chellas | May 18, 2014 | 1.93 [17] | ||||||
It is June 1969. [18] Bob Benson learns Chevy is dispensing with SC&P's services, but that he will soon be offered a job at Buick as a show of appreciation. Bob tells Joan about the offer and proposes marriage to provide him a respectable profile as a family man, but she turns him down. In light of Chevy's departure, Cutler proposes publicizing the agency's computer and naming Harry as a partner. Pete takes Bonnie to New York but leaves her in the city while visiting his daughter in Connecticut, becoming annoyed when Trudy is absent and fighting with her upon her return. Bonnie chastises Pete for abandoning her and leaves for California without him. Peggy visits several Burger Chef locations and proposes an impressive media campaign, but Pete insists that Don present to Burger Chef to secure their success. Peggy asks Don for feedback on her pitch, and both end up agreeing it could use improvement; Peggy decides to rework the entire strategy over the weekend. Don visits, and the two share a tender embrace after confiding their anxieties to one another. | ||||||||||||
85 | 7 | "Waterloo" | Matthew Weiner | Carly Wray and Matthew Weiner | May 25, 2014 | 1.94 [19] | ||||||
Cutler attempts to have Don fired for breach of contract; Don calls Megan and proposes moving to California should he lose his job at SC&P, but she declines, effectively declaring their marriage over. Don ultimately thwarts Cutler's ploy with Roger, Pete and Bert's support. Live broadcast of the first Moon landing captures the nation's attention; Bert passes away in his sleep shortly after watching the broadcast. Consequently, Don's status in the company is uncertain, and he decides Peggy should lead the presentation to Burger Chef. Peggy nails the pitch, winning the account. As a counter to Cutler's plans to out-vote Don from the company, Roger holds a secret meeting with McCann Erickson, negotiating a deal to sell 51% of SC&P and make it an independent subsidiary of McCann, with Roger as its president. The remaining partners, all offered five-year contracts by McCann, agree to the deal, with Don persuading Ted that he will be happier under the new arrangement and Cutler eventually relenting. Harry, meanwhile, misses out on his partnership. After learning from Peggy that they have won the Burger Chef account, Don has a vision of Bert performing "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with a chorus of secretaries. | ||||||||||||
Part 2: The End of an Era | ||||||||||||
86 | 8 | "Severance" | Scott Hornbacher | Matthew Weiner | April 5, 2015 | 2.27 [20] | ||||||
Picking up in April 1970, Don has resumed his womanizing ways as a bachelor. He has a cryptic dream about Rachel Menken and attempts to reconnect with her, only to learn she recently died of leukemia. He also encounters a waitress named Diana at a diner, convinced they have met before, but she insists they are strangers—before having sex with him. Peggy and Joan attend a business meeting at McCann Erickson, during which Joan is sexually harassed; this results in an argument between Peggy and Joan after the meeting. Roger and Ferg Donnelly fire Ken Cosgrove, who subsequently takes over his father-in-law's position at Dow Chemical and informs Roger and Pete that he will actively make Dow a difficult client to them, out of spite. Peggy goes on a date with Johnny Mathis' brother-in-law. The date goes well, and the two make impromptu plans to travel to Paris, but these plans are put on hold as Peggy cannot find her passport. The next morning she dismisses the experience as drunken foolishness. Don and Diana finally seem to pursue a relationship. | ||||||||||||
87 | 9 | "New Business" | Michael Uppendahl | Tom Smuts and Matthew Weiner | April 12, 2015 | 1.97 [21] | ||||||
Betty reveals to Don that she is pursuing a degree in psychology. Pima Ryan, a famous commercial artist collaborating with SC&P, seduces Stan and unsuccessfully attempts to seduce Peggy. Megan, who is struggling to find work, rejects a sexual proposition from Harry, then accepts a million dollar check from Don, as a divorce settlement. Marie helps Megan move her belongings out of Don's apartment and, ignoring Megan's instructions about the few items to take, removes all of Don's furniture, summons Roger to pay the movers, and then has sex with Roger in the apartment. Don continues pursuing a relationship with Diana and learns more about her: she abandoned one daughter after the other died. Diana ultimately rejects Don because he makes her forget about them. After leaving Diana's apartment, he comes home to find his own apartment emptied. | ||||||||||||
88 | 10 | "The Forecast" | Jennifer Getzinger | Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner | April 19, 2015 | 1.87 [22] | ||||||
It is May 1970. Don sells his apartment. At work, Johnny Mathis fumbles a pitch and seeks Don's advice. When Don advises him to make a joke, Mathis' attempt goes over horribly, and he blames Don for it, lashing out at him. Don fires Mathis. Joan goes on a trip to California and begins an affair with a retiree named Richard (Bruce Greenwood). Richard initially rejects her when he learns Joan has a child, but later makes amends. As Sally prepares to go on a 12-day school trip, she is unexpectedly visited by Glen Bishop, who reveals that he is shipping out to Vietnam. At first he claims he is doing so for ideological reasons, but later he reveals to Betty that he flunked out of college. Though he and Betty embrace and kiss each other platonically, after Betty admits she's alarmed for his safety, Sally mistakes it for inappropriate flirtation. When Sally later sees what she thinks is Don flirting with one of her friends, she is further disillusioned with both parents. | ||||||||||||
89 | 11 | "Time & Life" | Jared Harris | Erin Levy and Matthew Weiner | April 26, 2015 | 1.77 [23] | ||||||
It is June 1970. SC&P learns McCann plans to close their office and move everyone into the parent company's headquarters. Don devises a plan to move to California as "Sterling Cooper West" and manage the lucrative contracts that conflict with McCann's portfolio. Ken declines signing Dow, out of spite for being fired by SC&P. Don goes with Roger, Joan, Pete and Ted to present his idea to McCann CEO Jim Hobart, but Hobart tells them the absorption is already underway. Pete joins Trudy to address a crisis involving Tammy's preschool application, and ends up punching the headmaster for insulting them over his family's multigenerational feud with the Campbells. Trudy later confides her loneliness to Pete. Don unsuccessfully searches for Diana. Wealthy film producer Richard Burghoff courts Joan. Don announces McCann's absorption of SC&P to the staff, upsetting the employees. | ||||||||||||
90 | 12 | "Lost Horizon" | Phil Abraham | Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner | May 3, 2015 | 1.79 [24] | ||||||
At McCann Erickson, Joan is mistreated by McCann's chauvinist executives and finds that her accounts are being jeopardized by the carelessness of a McCann colleague. She takes her complaint to Jim Hobart, who offers to buy out her $500,000 stake in the company for 50 cents on the dollar. Joan threatens legal action and bad publicity, but eventually capitulates. Peggy, meanwhile, refuses to leave the SC&P offices until McCann formally gives her a new office, and bonds with Roger during the interim. Don, meanwhile, walks out of McCann's kickoff meeting for Miller Beer, disillusioned with the agency. He starts driving west till he reaches Diana's hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, and poses as a debt collector in order to get into her home. However, her ex-husband, who has since remarried, sees through the ruse and forces Don to leave, telling him he is not the first broken heart Diana has left behind. Don continues driving west and picks up a hitchhiker on his way to St. Paul, Minnesota. | ||||||||||||
91 | 13 | "The Milk and Honey Route" | Matthew Weiner | Carly Wray and Matthew Weiner | May 10, 2015 | 1.87 [25] | ||||||
Betty learns she has terminal lung cancer. She decides to forgo treatment against Henry and Sally's wishes, feeling it will only prolong the inevitable. Duck Phillips provides Pete an opportunity for a career with Learjet in Wichita, Kansas, which would represent a fresh start for him and his family. Trudy agrees, and she and Pete reconcile. Don continues his journey west, stopping for several days in rural Oklahoma when his car breaks down. He reluctantly attends a veterans' fundraiser to repair one of their homes; he drunkenly confesses to accidentally killing his C.O. in Korea, only to be met with acceptance. However, the veterans later break into Don's room and beat him up, believing him to have stolen their fundraiser money. Don realizes that Andy, a young man who hustled him earlier, stole the money and demands the cash back, advising him against his dishonest lifestyle. Don returns the cash for his car and rides Andy to the bus stop, where he decides to give him his car. Free of all material possessions, Don smiles contently while waiting for the bus. | ||||||||||||
92 | 14 | "Person to Person" | Matthew Weiner | Matthew Weiner | May 17, 2015 | 3.29 [26] | ||||||
Don learns of Betty's diagnosis from Sally. He calls Betty and implores her to let the children stay with him, but Betty insists on leaving them with her brother and his wife. Meanwhile, Ken enlists Joan with producing a script for an industry film by Dow; Joan is enthusiastic about the work and decides to start her own film production company. Feeling her professional ambition jeopardizes their relationship, Richard breaks up with her. Roger tells Joan he is marrying Marie, and wills a large sum of his estate to Kevin. Peggy and Stan admit their feelings for one another. Pete departs with his family for Wichita. Don goes to California and reunites with Stephanie, who takes him upstate to an oceanside spiritual retreat, only to soon abandon him there after becoming emotionally overwhelmed during a seminar. Unable to leave the retreat for several days, Don calls Peggy to bid her farewell, but she pleads for him to return home and assures him McCann will take him back. That evening, Don attends the retreat's confessional seminar and breaks down in commiseration with a fellow attendee who feels unloved and unimportant, at home and at work. He is last seen smiling while meditating with the group. The series ends with the iconic 1971 "Hilltop" television advertisement for Coca-Cola, created by McCann Erickson. |
The seventh season of Mad Men received general acclaim. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 90% of 510 critics reviewed the season favorably with an average score of 8.85/10. The site's consensus is: "Just in time to rekindle viewers' interest, Mad Men gets back on track for one last season, revisiting its steady, deliberate pace and style on its way to a sure-to-be-compelling climax." [27] On Metacritic, the first part of the seventh season scored 85 out of 100 based on 26 reviews; the second part scored 83 out of 100, based on 19 reviews, both indicating "universal acclaim". [28] [29]
For the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, the first half of the season was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, Jon Hamm was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Christina Hendricks was nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and Robert Morse was nominated for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. [30] For the 67th Writers Guild of America Awards, the series was nominated for Best Drama Series and Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner were nominated for Best Episodic Drama for "A Day's Work". [31]
For the 31st TCA Awards, the series was nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama, and Hamm won for Individual Achievement in Drama. [32] For the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Jon Hamm won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series after eight consecutive nominations. [33] The series received nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, Elisabeth Moss for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Christina Hendricks for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Semi Chellas and Matthew Weiner for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Lost Horizon", and Weiner in the same category for "Person to Person". [34] [35] For the 68th Writers Guild of America Awards, the series won for Best Drama and Matthew Weiner was nominated for Best Episodic Drama for "Person to Person". [36] For the 22nd Screen Actors Guild Awards, the cast was nominated for Best Drama Ensemble and Jon Hamm was nominated for Best Drama Actor. [37] For the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, Jon Hamm won for Best Drama Actor. [38] For the 68th Directors Guild of America Awards, Matthew Weiner was nominated for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series for "Person to Person". [39]
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