Mad Men on the Couch by Stephanie Newman
It’s always a little bittersweet when a show you watch has its series finale. On the one hand, you finally get to see exactly where the characters end up, and hopefully it’s more or less what you wished for. On the other, those final scenes also bring with them the death of possibility. The show is complete, and everything you imagined—or couldn’t even imagine—is over, and the questions you’ve been pondering for years no longer really matter.
When it’s a show like Mad Men, which aired its final episode last night after seven great seasons, you’re used to unanswered questions. Will Don get a happy ending or will his past finally consume him? Will Peggy realize her feelings for Stan? Will Roger simply evaporate in a cloud of cigarette smoke and lobster? Now that the show has ended, we finally know the answers—sort of. In true Mad Men style, the finale was both satisfying and slightly ambiguous. Don got his happyish ending, Peggy and Stan shared a romcom-worthy kiss, and Roger is, well, still Roger.
I’m not disappointed; the “life goes on” aspect of the finale was exactly what I was expecting from a show that always stayed true to its characters and the harsh realities of life. But I’m not going to lie—there’s a part of me that wished one of the more outlandish speculations about the finale had been true. Now that the show is over for good, here are three of my favorite fan-theories, and why they would have made an awesome Mad Men ending:
1. Don Draper is D.B. Cooper
What I’ve always appreciated about the fans of Mad Men is how over-the-top the speculation has been for a show that has always—more or less—stuck to realistic storylines. This isn’t Lost, for heaven’s sake. Which is why I love the idea that Don Draper might be tied to one of the most insane mysteries of our time.
In 1971, D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane, demanded $200,000 dollars, and then parachuted away, never to be heard from again. He was apparently very charming, chatting with the flight attendants and even tipping them for his drink. Now doesn’t that sound like something Don would do?
Even though creator Matthew Weiner pretty much denied this theory, I was kind of holding out hope. Alas, Don never jumped out of any planes. But speaking of air travel…
2. The Wichita Plane Crash
There’s a reason so many of these theories have to do with planes—the show is always referencing them, including the time Rachel Mensen tells Don that she’s “supposed to tell you, you missed your flight,” in a dream sequence.
When Pete started talking about heading to Wichita for his new job, and Don randomly ended up in Kansas as well, fans started to wonder if the two of them might end up dying in the 1970 Wichita State University football team plane crash. Obviously, this didn’t happen. But wouldn’t it have been cool if the show went out with a literal bang?
3. Pete’s Murder Spree
A long time fan theory, everyone was waiting for Pete to just…snap. It stems from the episode where he bought a .22 caliber rifle after feeling emasculated in his marriage and literally looked through the viewfinder at everyone in the office. Plus it’s not too farfetched to think that the anxious, obnoxious Pete might take aim at everyone. Well, it never happened—though series finale or not, I’m still holding out hope for the bear theory.
But now that Mad Men is officially over, it’s time to put all the crazy theories to rest. Including the Coca-Cola ad theory—where after seven seasons of Coke-references, Don creates one of the most iconic commercials in history:
Oh, wait, this one happened. Maybe? We think? I guess even now that the show’s off the air, there’s still a little room for speculation.
Recommended Reading:
Mad Men on the Couch: Analyzing the Minds of the Men and Women of the Hit TV Show by Stephanie Newman (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2012)
Of course, you have your own theories in questions. Long after the series is over, people will be wondering about the fictional motivations behind the Mad Men characters. And in Dr. Stephanie Newman’s book, Mad Men on the Couch, we get to dive into the psychological aspects of these compelling characters. Why does Don always sabotage himself? Why does Pete stand tall in the face of adversity while Roger falls apart? Such burning questions are answered within.
What did you think of the finale? Share in the comments!
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