By Kendric Chua, contributor
The weekend before last, “Mad Men” reached the end of its journey. The much awaited final seven episodes started almost a whole year after the mid-season finale, a new AMC trend. And when it finally got here, viewers expected fireworks.
We’re all too familiar with the melancholy flavor of a TV series finale (or in this case, string of final episodes); the feeling that leaves a bittersweet taste in the palate of your memory. Whether it’s frustration from an unresolved and ill-crafted storyline, or the sadness of saying goodbye to something amazing, it’s hard to find a finale that puts you in a comfortable place emotionally but sometimes there’s that sweet spot, right in between the feeling of saying goodbye and the contentment of knowing everything has played out the way it should. “Mad Men’s” finale picks you up by the armpits and sits you right in that spot.
The “Mad Men” finale delivers a different kind of conclusion, the kind that doesn’t rely on an explosive, jaw-dropping ending to satisfy a need for a resolve that is rich in drama.
Plot-wise, there were several moments in the last six “Mad Men” episodes that could have satisfied the end of the series for some of its leading men and women. The finale neatly settled quite a bit of pending plot and character developments, with the exception of a few characters who got some last minute additions to their storylines. This sudden focus on resolution, in my opinion, changed the regular pacing of the series. We’ve been so accustomed to seeing gradual and incremental development on “Mad Men” that the sudden turns in direction almost had an unnatural feel in the finale. Despite that, there is no doubt that what you’ll see definitely satisfies the need for drama, resolution and progress. The right amount of gratification flavors the finale in a very subtle and poetic way, which is the true character and personality of the series.
Visually, these last seven episodes stay pretty dependable to what we’ve seen so far from Chris Manley, the series cinematographer: a dramatically minimalistic and classic approach to camera behavior and lighting that melds effortlessly with the direction. One thing I did notice was that his signature method of dolly shots and tracks were a bit more obvious in the finale. It’s clear that he wasn’t planning anything extraordinary though, so expect the usual balanced and modest color (compiled neatly within their respective mood profiles) along with a composition both comfortable and slightly symmetrical.
“Mad Men’s” previous seasons showed us that we can always rely on the cast to deliver a performance worth our trust. Consistency in acting has brought this show pretty far. But the cast has established such strong personalities for their respective characters that deviations in the way they’re portrayed can border on some plots feeling forced. This risk was present during the finale. There were some moments when it was obvious that they were walking that thin line but thankfully none of them fell off.
