Mad Men

At first, I totally hated the final episode to the series. When I watched it a second time, I loved it.  I think it is absolutely brilliant.

I was a mixed bag of emotions during the second viewing. And when I watched it I cried like a baby when that poor guy was talking about his feelings of isolation and loneliness.

And I cried even harder when Don had his epiphany on that mountaintop.

When the final scene began... well, it was totally perfect. It alluded to the fact that Don went back and worked on that Coke commercial, which was so influenced by his time at the retreat.

Sometimes it is hard to say good-by to shows when they end because the characters get under our skin.  If the show was well written, it is like losing family. It's a weird form of loss and odd depression. It is like finally reaching the last page of a good book that you could not put down.

I only felt that way after The Sopranos ended. It took a while to recover from that last episode... and I knew I would miss the show. I suppose that is how excellent art is defined: by it's ability to move us in profound ways.

Sunday night was all Mad Men. And now, those characters too pass on to a television netherworld. And why am I now thinking of "Little Joe?"