--- title: Mad Men Series Finale: Don Draper Death Rumors Put to Rest description: Within the first minutes of the show, the writers seemed to nip the death conspiracy in the bud. canonical: https://time.com/3882091/mad-men-don-draper-death-rumors/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-18T03:28:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:14.242Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How the "Mad Men" Finale Put the Don Draper Death Rumors to Rest og:description: Within the first minutes of the show, the writers seemed to nip the death conspiracy in the bud. og:url: https://time.com/3882091/mad-men-don-draper-death-rumors/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50886b89a2034f1a/69868a83d0b6f2f821303c73/mad-men-season-7-premier-don-draper-jon-hamm.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 in the Season 7 premiere of AMC's Mad Men. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How the "Mad Men" Finale Put the Don Draper Death Rumors to Rest twitter:description: Within the first minutes of the show, the writers seemed to nip the death conspiracy in the bud. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50886b89a2034f1a/69868a83d0b6f2f821303c73/mad-men-season-7-premier-don-draper-jon-hamm.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How the _Mad Men_ Finale Put the Don Draper Death Rumors to Rest > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Behind the Scenes of 'Mad Men' [Watch (HLS stream): Behind the Scenes of 'Mad Men'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iDVLbkAz.m3u8) (3:31)  _Published 2014-03-19. TIME gained rare access to the set of 'Mad Men' before its final season. TV critic James Poniewozik narrates. Photographs by Alex Majoli._  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 18, 2015 3:28 AM UTC  Jon Hamm as Don Draper in the Season 7 premiere of AMC's Mad Men. Jon Hamm as Don Draper in the Season 7 premiere of AMC's Mad Men.Michael Yarish—AMC  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. May 18, 2015 3:28 AM UTC Since the very first episode of _Mad Men_, many fans have interpreted the show’s opening credits—a suited man hurtling toward the earth from the top of a skyscraper—as foreshadowing of Don Draper’s ultimate death. Showrunner Matthew Weiner has suggested that the title sequence is meant to be metaphorical rather than literal, but it hasn’t stopped the conjecturing. But in the first ten minutes of the series finale Sunday night, the writers seemed to nip that theory in the bud—and with a joke, no less. As Roger Sterling sat with his secretary, Caroline, and the now-several-days-missing Don’s secretary, Meredith, the latter remarked on her boss’ prolonged absence. “Is he dead?” she asked Roger. Roger responded that he didn’t think so. “Well, I hope he’s in a better place,” Meredith responded, offering what _sounded_ like condolences even in the face of news that Don is likely alive. But as it turned out, Meredith wasn’t offering condolences. “There are a lot of better places than here,” she clarified. 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