Entertainment

11 Things 'Mad Men' Needs To Give Us Before The Series Ends For Good

Even the most television-savvy viewers would have a tough time making accurate predictions about what Mad Men has in store for its final string of episodes. Matthew Weiner's AMC series is not your typical cable drama. It surely won't wrap up everything neatly for its slate of central characters, opting instead for dangling ambiguities and morbidity ad infinitum.

But even if we have no idea what Mad Men is setting up to give us in these last five episodes, we can cast our ballots for what we want to see (and, yes, make some educated guesses about how likely these wishes are to come true). Here are some of our biggest hopes for the series' final season.

Images: AMC

by Michael Arbeiter

The Rise of Peggy Olson

Likelihood: Upon sight of that promising final shot in the elevator at the end of Season 5’s “The Other Woman,” we all had sky-high hopes for Peggy’s career. Since then, she’s seen her share of struggles, hardly ascending as linearly as she (or we) may have expected. But the future has something good in store for Peggy… even if it’s laced with the emotional toxicity that plagued her boss for so many years.

Image: AMC

Don and Sally

Likelihood: Don’s oldest was conspicuously absent from this week’s family milkshake party, begging the expectation that she will win some solo time with her damaged dad later in the season. As a teenaged Sally has proven to be a beacon for some of Don’s more cathartic material, the show couldn’t get away with avoiding one last powerful moment between the two.

Image: AMC

Sal

Likelihood: If there is one thing Matt Weiner is not, it’s a sentimentalist. We shouldn’t expect to see too many heartfelt encores from characters long absent before Mad Men closes its curtains. That said, we did endure a pretty unflattering reunion with Kinsey not too long ago. I wouldn’t want to see the sympathetic Sal in quite such a pathetic light, but I can’t help but wonder where the years carried him.

Image: AMC

A Sterling Family Resolution

Likelihood: We’re not talking a hugs-and-kisses evisceration of all the family’s problems. The issues living among Roger, his wife Mona, and their daughter Margaret are too thick and longstanding to wipe away. Even some minor, bittersweet acknowledgement of the begrudgingly inescapable love shared by all parties in question seems like a little much to hope for. The Sterlings aren’t primed for a happy ending (if they get one at all).

Image: AMC

Lou Avery's Comeuppance

Likelihood: Lou might not be at the top of Weiner’s priority list in terms of material to tackle this season. Still, a wicked decimation of his life and career would be the only acceptably satisfying way to close out that jerk’s story.

Image: AMC

Ginsberg

Likelihood: Ginsberg got his ending last year. It was the perfect ending for one of Mad Men’s closest-to-perfect characters. In fact, a revisit to the Ginsberg character might only undercut the prophetic power of his mental breakdown and chaotic removal from the Sterling Cooper & Partners office. But hey, he’s such a treat that I wouldn’t exactly deny excitement over the idea of seeing him again. (But don’t worry, purists, it won’t happen.)

Image: AMC

An End to This Peggy/Stan Sexual Tension Already

Likelihood: They just keep on paving the groundwork for a Peggy/Stan romantic outburst. Either they’re building up to a big satisfaction or an even bigger denial of their long-bridled sexual tension. But something’s gotta give.

Image: AMC

One Last Anna Draper Flashback

Likelihood: Again, Weiner is not a sentimentalist, and this seems like a hope steeped purely in sentiment. But we all want some semblance of closure for Don Draper, and you can’t reach closure without taking one last look at the anchors that have been keeping you affixed to rock bottom.

Image: AMC

Glen

Likelihood: I can’t imagine, with such limited time left, that Glen Bishop would warrant one last appearance. But man do I love that creepy little guy.

Image: AMC

Another Great One-Liner for the Road

Likelihood: With the writers no doubt working overtime on this last batch of scripts, we’re bound to get something of quotable glory. Something sentimental like “She’s an astronaut?” Something absurd like “Pizza house?” Or perhaps even a challenge to the all-time greatest: “Not great, Bob!”

Image: AMC

Don and Peggy, Peggy and Don

Likelihood: The most important relationship in the series, which has won special manifestation in hospital visits, bottle episodes, hand kisses, fast food dinners, and dances to Sinatra, the always special and vividly unbalanced Don and Peggy thing will indeed get some time in the spotlight before we say goodbye to these characters. Just about nothing could usurp the importance of these two sharing a bittersweet scene together this season (although we’ll probably have to wait until the homestretch for this one).

Images: AMC

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