‘Mad Men’ series finale: On expectations, pressures, and hopeful satisfaction

Tonight marked what AMC is referring to as the beginning of the “end of an era”: The first of the final seven episodes of “Mad Men.” We are not going to refer to “Severance” as a seismic shift so much as a rumbling of things to come. Much of the big action took place offscreen, including the completion of SC&P’s dealings on the highest levels and Don and Megan Draper decided on a divorce.

Now, we watch these stories play out and eagerly await a conclusion … whatever that conclusion may be. What we do know is that when you have a series that is so popular and so acclaimed, it is not even remotely shocking that there are expectations that chart into another stratosphere. Will they be met? It is a very difficult challenge, and something that executive producer Scott Hornbacher wholeheartedly admits to as a part of a post-premiere interview with Deadline:

“I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some amount of controversy, because everybody has expectations. I feel like on some level every year when the show goes on the air people are a little bit upset that it’s not what we did the season before. So then they kind of get on board with what the story is and all the sudden they realize what’s happening and they like it. So I think that Mad Men demands a certain amount of processing sometimes to really think about what is going on with the characters and what it means.”

Hornbacher also used the words “gratifying” and “fitting” to describe the ending of the show, which he feels is a “culmination” of the Don Draper story. Culmination may be the correct word. In this situation all you can hope for is confidence that you told the story that you wanted, and that viewers will eventually appreciate being along for the ride.

If you missed it, click here to read our review of the premiere. Also, be sure to sign up to get some other TV updates on everything we cover courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: AMC.)