Well what point does that make exactly? Doesn't the audience need to understand what Don sees in Ms. Homely Deadeyeserson?

the audience probably needs to think about the show more than a little bit to get what they're going for here. Weiner usually doesn't makes it easy, and 7B hasn't been real straight-forward so far (even the critics seem pretty confused). perhaps the subsequent eps will provide more clarity, or not. the latter actually seems more likely tbh.

I think they have made it quite clear by pounding home to us how much cheap, flashy tail he has been getting and then showing us how empty his and Rogers lives are.

This waitress of his is 180 degrees away from his norm and represents the change he wants to make in his life. I don't think they need to explain this through specific dialogue.

I am not sure what to make of how messed up her life is. Perhaps making the point that even seemingly average Joe's have messed up lives? i like what was posted earlier about her handling her regrets differently than Don. Not really sure though.

I get that people don't want new characters this late in the game, but I don't think you can tell this story without introducing someone new.

Of course what the hell do I really know

Lol Señor Keed is killing this thread!

Right, but how does this waitress promise any more fulfillment? She doesn't offer anything more than the stewardesses and models, but she has the downside of being ugly and a huge ****ing bummer.

Don blowing a janitor in an alley would also be quite a departure from the norm. It would make about as much sense for Don's character as being infatuated with this waitress, but it would at least be interesting.

I have no objection to new characters, and certainly expected a new girl for Don. But it would be good if Don's new girl made sense for his character.

Jesus señor so u forget when don was with the old lady comedian wife or the doctors 40year old wife?

...

Those women were sexy. I could see what Don saw in them

I mean I think what Wiener is going for is Don being attracted to a woman like the whores he was around growing up. Like in their first sexual encounter this lady literally thought she was whoring herself out, that's obviously not an accident. But it's really really on the nose and doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

The comedians wife was sexy lol wtf

Yup, not a single Mad Men viewer said "wait what does Don see in Bobbi???" We all completely bought that storyline.

First thing I thought was that maybe he knew her from the whore house. How old is she? Like, if she was 10 years older than don she could have been a whore when he was there. I dont thinks that the case now obv but I did think it was a possibility initially

While the show is brilliant, it also borders on absurdism in some ways.

I sometimes wonder if Weiner is trolling television in the way he's making us feel as if there's a point to everything we've seen, but in truth he's not really saying anything at all. He's certainly genius at creating a profound sense of mood and fascinating set of compelling characters, and so we'll perform all manner of mental gymnastics to decipher meaning and understanding in what these people are doing. But maybe the truth is that there is none to be had. This show is an experience, and not a story. It's performance art, and so there's no reason for anything. Don, and everyone else, do things just because they can. And whatever reason is ultimately for the viewer assigns.

Or maybe he really is going somewhere with this. Idk. I'm enjoying it either way

Oh man that realtor scene was the most on the nose thing I've ever seen in my entire life. HEY DON YOUR LIFE IS EMPTY JUST LIKE YOUR APARTMENT

IS THIS REAL LIFE? IS THIS HAPPENING?

This is what Matt Weiner is doing to Mad Men

Well, I guess Weiner is the artist and I'm just the dumb-ass consumer. It's possible he's decided to tale a dump on his canvass at this point, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. What I will say is there we're about 5 minutes in "The Forcast" (just past the halfway mark) that reminded me a little of the Hagler-Hearns fight. Lots of flailing away; Joan choosing the one-night stand over her 4 yr old son (are you ****ting me?). Mathis suddenly has testes? And the kid from the Twilight Zone thinking he was going to get it on with Betty on the kitchen counter. The kid I could believe at least, simply because he's always been a bizarre character. With the other two though, I think those developments were as zany and hard to believe as Don getting ready to buy the waitress a diamond ring.

The Sally stuff was pretty amazing. Such a great actress and definitely reminds me of that one girl who was so aware/pure/witty during high school. Really great dialogue.

The Joan stuff was forgettable otherwise the rest was very decent.

The line about the way Roger told the joke was hilarious.

Why are you dressed like a Porto Rican whore?

FYP, although even "normal" isn't the right word. Don is action-packed with issues. Saying something like, "Well, no normal guy would do X," misses basically the entire point of the show.

The awkwardness of Glen (not the character, but the acting and the oversized impact he has on Sally, Betty, and storylines as a whole) is sort of perfect in how bad it is, because it's the one thing about the show that is ridiculous, and you know it's based on nepotism so it connects nicely with how I find Don so unrelateable while also thinking he's an interesting character and knowing he's a great ad man.

I.E. we know Matthew Wiener is behind the show and he's probably bringing things from his own life to the way he's created Don. Personally I've always found Don's flaws weird and, like, easily fixable if it were me? Non-stop adultery, under-thinking, alcoholism, meanness. I have a ton of flaws but drinking too much is the only one of those that would crack my Top 10. And I'm pretty sure if I were show runner of a critically-acclaimed show I wouldn't put my son who could barely act on it. In a meta type of way Glen speaks to one of the themes of Mad Men which is that people are really complex and very different from each other.

If Glen wasn't his son you wouldn't have even noticed his bad acting.

Exactly, you aren't a narcissistic megalomaniac like Weiner is

Megan, Joan, GLEN ... ok, maybe Weiner is trolling us after all here

Whoo-ah

I'm getting scared that Mad Men isn't gonna stick the landing. The first 7 episodes of this final split season were spectacular but this start to the ending half has me worried.

This show is at its best when moving forward and telling its stories with its great cast of characters but now that they are trying to wrap it up it just hasn't been working as well. I hope these last episodes redeem its greatness but so far I am underwhelmed. If they can bring it home this might be my favorite TV show of all time but they have to finish strong.