‘Mad Men’ season 7, episode 7 reaction: Matthew Weiner on that Cooper musical number

There are few things that we never imagined ourselves writing about when it comes to “Mad Men,” but one of them had to be something related to the Bert Cooper character performing in a musical number at the end of the midseason finale.

If there was something that stunned us more than Cooper dying, it was this moment. We speculated in our official podcast a little earlier in the day that this move was in one way a tribute to Robert Morse’s career on stage, and also a testament to some of the emotional journey that Don is feeling. It was a light, interesting way to remember him in the midst of sad times.

So what does the show’s creator have to say about all this? In the video below, Matthew Weiner expresses that he wanted to create a moment at the end of the episode that was Don reminding himself that in the midst of everything that happened with Cooper and how his death actually ended up saving him his job and securing his future, there is more than that. Cooper was a person, and he had value to Don as a mentor and a good boss most of the time that he knew him. He is going to be missed on the show for so many reasons, and the connections that he had to the original members of the firm are a big part of that.

Weiner also addresses many of the other hot topics from the episode also, including Megan’s subtle breakup with Don, Pete Campbell standing up for his longtime colleague, and also how Joan feels about Don as a person and as a potential liability.

Hopefully, we will have more conversation topics related to the show soon, but for now be sure to sign up for extra updates courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: AMC