--- title: Mad Men Finale: It Doesn’t Matter What You Think description: The clanging pots and pans of the masses are drowning out what could be a grown-up discussion about the finale. canonical: https://time.com/3882396/mad-men-finale-twitter-2/ author: Brian Moylan article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-18T14:40:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:03:33.353Z article:section: Ideas og:title: It Doesn’t Matter What You Think About the ‘Mad Men’ Finale og:description: All the tweets are drowning out what could be a grown-up discussion og:url: https://time.com/3882396/mad-men-finale-twitter-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaffc8de7266ab872/69884cff2dce0178299e35f3/madmen1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Jon Hamm as Don Draper og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: It Doesn’t Matter What You Think About the ‘Mad Men’ Finale twitter:description: All the tweets are drowning out what could be a grown-up discussion twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaffc8de7266ab872/69884cff2dce0178299e35f3/madmen1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # It Doesn’t Matter What You Think About the ‘Mad Men’ Finale ## Video: Inside the Wardrobe of Mad Men [Watch (HLS stream): Inside the Wardrobe of Mad Men](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CGGWYA2g.m3u8) (3:03)  _Published 2010-10-15. For the show's season 4 finale, follow Designer Janie Bryant on a tour through the massive Mad Men costume studio._ by [Brian Moylan](https://time.com/author/brian-moylan/) ## Brian Moylan May 18, 2015 2:40 PM UTC  Jon Hamm as Don Draper Jon Hamm as Don DraperMichael Yarish/AMC by [Brian Moylan](https://time.com/author/brian-moylan/) ## Brian Moylan May 18, 2015 2:40 PM UTC Predictably, #MadMenFinale was one of the trending topics on Twitter on Sunday night as the seminal series aired its final episode on AMC. And, just as predictably when a beloved series goes off the air, there was a split between the people who loved the final episode and those who thought it was some sort of abomination. Many took to Twitter to express their views and argue about the particulars of the episode. But, in the end, maybe they’re just wasting their breath. After all, it doesn’t really matter one lick what anyone thinks about the finale. Just look at the disparate reactions all over social media. There were those who thought the episode was “[perfection](https://twitter.com/JLDlite/status/600145608851107843),” those who thought it was “[horrible](https://twitter.com/Mr%5FRogers12/status/600137608631558145),” those who thought it was [worse than the _Lost_ finale](https://twitter.com/jpodhoretz/status/600138135775883264), and those who can’t wait for [critics to tell them how wrong they were](https://twitter.com/Justin%5FStangel/status/600134667673739264) to think it was bad. The Internet is no place for nuance, so the vocal minority had to love it without question or hate it without justification. That’s why none of these things matter. They become the clanging pots and pans of the masses, drowning out what could be a grown-up discussion about the finale. _Mad Men_ creator Matthew Weiner himself doesn’t care that much about the criticism. “I hate to say it: I don’t really feel like I owe anybody anything,” he [tells the New York Times](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/arts/television/matthew-weiner-the-creator-of-mad-men-prepares-for-another-fade-to-black.html?%5Fr=0). “I’ve been lucky to have them invite us into their home, but we have held up our end of the bargain so far. We really have, and we’ve made such a painstaking effort to surprise and delight and move machinery that tells the story.” When I first read this, Sunday afternoon before the finale aired, I thought it made Weiner sound a bit arrogant. How could he not care at all about the feelings of the people who made his show a success? But after enduring the tweetstorm all evening, I finally understood what he was saying. This was his show, and it always has been. Like any masterpiece, it was the work of one great artist (with many others behind the scenes helping him out). He was always going to tell the story the way he wanted to, and it’s up to us whether or not to enjoy it. The problem with Twitter and other social media is that it leads us into the false sense that television is interactive. Just because we can talk to our friends, other fans, and sometimes the writers and creators of the show, doesn’t mean that we have a voice in how it’s made. Sure, fan sentiments can sometimes [sway creative decisions](http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390444772804577623444273016770), but mostly all the OMGs and WTFs and crying-face emoji on social media are nothing more than sound and fury signifying nothing. Television shows are not malleable products able to be massaged and sculpted by our voices after the fact. They are impenetrable artifacts left for us to interpret, not to try to recast. Expressing dissatisfaction isn’t going to stop Don Draper from writing the world’s most famous Coke commercial, turn him [into DB Cooper](http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/mad-men-boss-weighs-in-on-sharon-tate-db-cooper-theories), or have [him and Peggy finally hook up](http://jezebel.com/5890645/elizabeth-moss-would-like-you-to-stop-asking-when-don-and-peggy-will-finally-sleep-together). Now that the finale has been broadcast, no matter how much we rail against it, it’s never going to change. Just ask David Chase, who is [still defending and trying to answer questions about the _Sopranos_ finale](http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/15/sopranos-finale-david-chase-explanation) even a decade after it aired. The final episode does have an impact on a show’s legacy, especially in this age of Netflix binges and people streaming shows long after they’ve ended, but Weiner is right, the decision of how a show ends should be a creative one, not one decided to make fans swoon and post positive notices on social media. It’s always the most challenging artistic decisions that stand the test of time, and often pieces that were scorned when they premiere eventually go on to become classics. Just ask the “[Rites of Spring](http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/29/4375736/igor-stravinsky-rite-of-spring-100-anniversary-paris-riot)” and the riot it incited when it was first played. The funny thing about _Mad Men_ is it did have a few of those moments that will make die-hards very happy, most notably Peggy Olson and her long-time confidante Stan Rizzo finally consummating their long-standing crush. While it got lots of positive reactions and warm fuzzy feelings from devotees, it was the silliest part of the whole episode, seeming like it belonged in a bland movie starring Katherine Heigl more than it did in an episode of a show about American identity and existential dread. It was the ending, Don Draper’s final “Om,” that is more important and certainly more divisive. But all of this online sturm und drang is actually making the entire conversation more tedious. Instead of spending thoughtful time with a television show that deserves our full attention and literary-analysis, people are just firing off 140-character bursts of instant emotion without any contemplation of synthesis. Shows like _Mad Men_ have taught us that this medium can be just as serious and artful as any other, so let’s give it the close reading it deserves. We’d be so much better served to helpings of people’s insight than we would their opinion. The former is personal, grappling with the show’s complex themes and motifs to come up with some deeper personal meaning that can have a long-standing effect on one’s life. The latter is performative, trying to show the masses how cool and smart we are without having to bother with the rigors of actual intellectual enterprise. These days, however, having a take based on nothing more than reflex is all that matters, as long as we get it out and have it heard. Sure, there are lots of feelings condensing on Internet servers the world over right now. Just remember that none of them actually really matter. ### Through Don Draper’s Eyes: A Tour of the Time & Life Building of the 1960s  Let's travel back to the 1960s—a time when everything was in grayscale—and breathe in a bit of the decadent air suffusing Don Draper's work life. Looks like that fellow on the right needs a break—so let's stretch our legs and take a stroll around the office with him. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Here we see an art department hard at work. The work rooms, like the rest of the building—both inside and out—represented the epitome of mid-century Modernism: clean lines, rejection of ornamentation, and a mix of streamlined materials such as stainless steel and prefab walls. Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Although the office's design mirrored Modernism's celebration of function over form, it also represented what was the most decadent and sought-after in the era's aesthetic. For instance, the reception lounges outside of the work spaces were luxurious, sleek and inviting. Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Even just waiting for the elevator to arrive was a transcendent and striking visual experience, from floor to ceiling. Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Workers could swing by the first floor of the building for lunch at La Fonda del Sol, a Latin-American themed restaurant designed by Alexander Girard, supplemented with Eames furnishings. Yale Joel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Servers presented a cornucopia of dishes and lavish cuts of meat to guests in front of a mod, typographically embellished wall. Yale Joel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Its proximity to the offices certainly allows for power lunches with important clients and guests. Yale Joel—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Anyway, it's time to get back to business, but let's take a moment to marvel at the ceiling of this elevator bank. Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  On to the next meeting— but let's take a moment to gaze at this gleaming space-age lobby ... Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  ... and then head into the building's auditorium, where screenings and large-scale presentations take place. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Yep, bumping shoulders with soon-to-be presidents ("Oh, hey there, JFK!") roaming the halls of the building. Just another day at work. Margaret Norton—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  Eames was commissioned to design this particular reception space and it features specially designed furnishings for the building. The stool on the left and the appropriately named Time-Life Chair on the right are still in production today through Herman Miller. Margaret Norton—Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Here's Editor-in-Chief Henry Luce's handsomely minimal office, featuring a wall-sized world map. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Technicians at LIFE magazine processed incoming film from around the world at the labs housed within the building. Andreas Feininger—Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Before email, dispatches from an international network of stringers and reporters would arrive around the clock to the machines in this room, which were then sent to editors at TIME. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Here in this conference room, a couple of LIFE magazine staffers discuss the pages in layouts. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Time for a break from work again—let's wander around the ground floor lobby and check out what's going on there. Walter Daran—Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  You can marvel at this mural, "Relational Painting #88", by painter Fritz Glarner. Andreas Feininger—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  ...or check out an exhibit of Alfred Eisenstaedt's photographs hanging on the walls of the lobby. Alfred Eisenstaedt—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  ...or lounge around by the window and watch the folks waiting in line in front of Radio City. Bill Maris—Esto  ... or even head to the reading room in the mezzanine to have a little bit of quiet time. Bill Maris—Esto  Grab a seat outside for a little bit of sun. (Note the Don Draper look-alike on the right.) Andreas Feininger—Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  Not that we recommend it, but you could go a little wild and dip your feet in the fountains outside the building. (Notice the businesses across the street: a cafeteria, a tailoring shop and a bar—pretty much all you need to get through the day: a little bit of food, a well-fitted suit and a stiff drink.) Bill Ray—Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  If the streets just don't cut it for you—you can head back in the building to the top floor and grab a bite at the Hemisphere Club. (During the day, it's exclusive to those who work in the building.) Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc./Library of Congress  If the day's a bit rough, grab a drink at the bar. Gottscho-Schleisner, Inc./Library of Congress  The club's got fantastic views of city. Central Park's to the north ... Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  ... and the Empire State Building is to the south. Courtesy of Time Inc. Archives  The Time-Life Building—definitely a handsome place to work. (That's it, in the middle in this picture.) Thanks for visiting! 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