Mad Men ended last night but it was a true denouement. The climax was the episode before. Glen, the creepy boy that asked for Betty’s hair in a previous season makes the most salient conclusion: "Everything you think is going to make you happy just turns to crap." This is, after all, the overriding theme of Mad Men. Perhaps it is the overriding theme of life.
Characters of Mad Men do things that they think will make them happy. This is why Pete sleeps with Beth, Beth gets electroshock treatment, Peggy quits the firm, Betty remarries and Don is chronically unfaithful. Unfortunately, all of these things “turn to crap”. Pete feels empty inside and takes two punches in self-punishment. Betty becomes jealous of her replacement (Megan).
One character that ends the season happy is Peggy. She enters Sterling Cooper as a downtrodden and unlucky character and leaves as a truly motivational force. She realises that happiness is about the process and not the result. She does not look for quick fixes and when she does find one she regrets it. Or, her downfall might be waiting in the next season.
Mad Men is great precisely because of its characters. Each is enviable, pitiable and flawed at the same time. They are entirely believable, but slightly more interesting than a random person off the street (or perhaps the 1960’s had more interesting people).
The setting is important. The 1960’s were socially significant. An advertising firm successfully reveals the demographic and attitudinal chances of the era. It also underscores the main theme of the show. As Don said in the pilot, “Advertising is based on one thing: Happiness.”
And finally, the plot. The writers do a terrific job of weaving lengthy and tangential stories that lapse several episodes at times into a neat overriding turn of events. The plot in this show is much less crucial than that of others. But it is done well.
Perhaps my obsession with the show is its connection to the real world. If life is not about finding happiness, what could it possibly be for?