We Finally Understand The Ending Of Mad Men

Mad Men is one of the greatest shows in television history, but it's ending prompted quite a bit of debate. All these years later, we’re still discussing what exactly happened in that last episode, but now, we think we finally understand the ending of Mad Men.

In "Lost Horizon," the twelfth episode of Mad Men's seventh and final season, Don Draper decides to take a road trip. He does so after attending a pitch meeting at McCann Erickson, where he feels lost, irrelevant, and disinterested. Don exits the meeting shortly after it begins, gets in his car, and just starts driving, and he doesn't tell anyone where he's going.

At the start of "Person to Person," the fourteenth episode of the seventh season and the final episode of the show, we learn that Don has made it all the way to Utah, and he's racing across the desert. It's miles away, both literally and figuratively, from where we're used to seeing him. Embracing his inner grease monkey, Don opts for a "Canadian tuxedo" in lieu of one of his signature business suits.

Draper no longer feels like he belongs in New York's advertising world, and he's on a mission to discover where he truly belongs. Soon enough, he discovers his destiny isn't to break the land speed record in the Utah desert.

Pete Campbell only shows up in two short scenes in the finale, but they're both essential to his overall character arc. Throughout most of Mad Men's run, Pete was unbearably smug, selfish, and insincere.

But in Mad Men's final season, Pete begins to change for the better. In the penultimate episode of Mad Men, he manages to patch things up with his ex-wife Trudy. He also takes a new job with Learjet that requires moving to Kansas, so he'll be starting a whole new life with his family.

In the scene where Pete says goodbye to Peggy, he's all smiles and clearly has no ulterior motive.

It's a complete 180 from his sleazy first encounters with Peggy in the series' premiere. Keep watching the video to see that we finally understand the ending of Mad Men!

#MadMen

Don's search for meaning | 0:14
Pete's redemption | 1:04
Don's dark revelation | 2:01
The Draper kids | 3:02
Roger's "last chapter" | 4:00
Peggy's plan | 5:01
Don finds himself alone | 6:05
Joan makes her choice | 7:15
Don breaks down | 8:00
Peggy's discovery | 8:58
Don's true purpose | 9:59

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