Staring Blankly

May 7, 2015 4:50 PM

Did you ever notice that almost every Mad Men episode ends with Don Draper staring blankly?

Don staring blankly on the toilet, at his shoes, in the fetal position, from the conference room, in his office, at the ocean.
Don and Sally staring blankly at a house.
Pete.

posted by maggieb (33 comments total)

I KNEW IT! HE WAS A GHOST ALL ALONG!!
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:00 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

The real long seated secret is that Trudy is a KGB spy
posted by The Whelk at 5:01 PM on May 7, 2015 [6 favorites]

Season 6, episode 6 would have been the RFK assassination, not JFK.
posted by rikschell at 5:04 PM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

And I would argue that a lot of those stares are NOT blank.
posted by rikschell at 5:05 PM on May 7, 2015 [8 favorites]

But what the hell, I could stare at John Hamm all day.
posted by rikschell at 5:06 PM on May 7, 2015 [11 favorites]

I can't wait to check the whole thing out of a free library, and watch it without commercials. That is how I saw Deadwood, and Firefly.
posted by Oyéah at 5:14 PM on May 7, 2015

Then there's this theory, which I think sounds pretty damn good.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:16 PM on May 7, 2015 [9 favorites]

Don Draper also says "what" a lot.
posted by orange swan at 5:28 PM on May 7, 2015 [5 favorites]

I like that theory, I_L_B.
posted by Thorzdad at 5:29 PM on May 7, 2015

So basically, Don Draper is a cow?
posted by happyroach at 5:33 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

All these comments and not one YOWZA!

I am Hamm.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 5:36 PM on May 7, 2015 [13 favorites]

Some counterpoints:

1. You can't call it a blank stare if I can't even see his face. For all I know, he could be sticking his tongue out.

2. It's not a "bonus" when someone else stares. That's a counterexample!

3. As rikschell said (shortly before drowning in Jon Hamm's eyes), they're not all blank stares.
posted by Edgewise at 5:54 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

This page should autoplay a wistful pop standard.
posted by Iridic at 5:55 PM on May 7, 2015 [4 favorites]

All I know is that at some point in the next year and a half, a complete Mad Men bluray collection will be released and if its not a giant Don Draper head with a cigarette in his lip, I'm going to be super fucking pissed.
posted by Fizz at 6:08 PM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

This page should autoplay a wistful pop standard.

I considered a rickroll in my examples list.
posted by maggieb at 6:10 PM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

a complete Mad Men bluray collection will be released and if its not a giant Don Draper head with a cigarette in his lip, I'm going to be super fucking pissed.

Nah, it should be in the shape of a slide carousel.
posted by nubs at 6:32 PM on May 7, 2015 [6 favorites]

/PeggyStroll.gif
posted by Artw at 6:47 PM on May 7, 2015 [11 favorites]

I like Tom Scharpling's prediction for the final scene, as delivered on this week's Best Show: "Somebody crying in a phone booth."
posted by Ian A.T. at 7:09 PM on May 7, 2015 [3 favorites]

Every time a not-Don character has a strong scene I worry that it's their final bow and we've seem the last of them, with the last few episides being just a big Don-fest.

I always hope not, because at this point he's by far the least interesting character.
posted by Artw at 7:29 PM on May 7, 2015

The extras should include "what happened to?" biographies for all the characters. If for nothing else than to read that Jim Hobart was shot to death in a porn theater on 8th Avenue in 1977.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 7:48 PM on May 7, 2015 [9 favorites]

I'm holding out for a last-episide-of-The-Wire type deal.
posted by Artw at 7:53 PM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

Last scene is Don coming out of his reverie at the train station. Impersonate another person, live another life? No, he could never do that. Or wear those fashions. In the distance a baby cries. It is Pete being born. FIN.
posted by No-sword at 8:39 PM on May 7, 2015 [4 favorites]

The last episode is where he becomes The Man from Atlantis. Or maybe Manimal.
posted by zippy at 9:27 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

in 1977.

Can't it be 1970? Pretty please? That man is the devil.
posted by mochapickle at 9:32 PM on May 7, 2015 [1 favorite]

The last episode is where he becomes The Man from Atlantis. Or maybe Manimal.

He will finally go to California where he will become a motorcycle officer for the Highway Patrol.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:39 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

I didn't expect to find a salesman drinking coffee this late in the morning. How long you been here, Joe?
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 10:01 PM on May 7, 2015 [2 favorites]

I like how in the last episode that aired Don walked up to his window and tried to open it but it didn't. I thought for sure he was going to jump off the building like in the opening credits.
posted by gucci mane at 11:55 PM on May 7, 2015

The elevator shaft awaits...
posted by Artw at 11:56 PM on May 7, 2015

You know metafilter is already obsessing over Mad Men over on FanFare....
posted by The Whelk at 12:09 AM on May 8, 2015

Well of course he's staring blankly of into space, his pissed off his gourd near constantly
posted by Hello, I'm David McGahan at 1:58 AM on May 8, 2015 [2 favorites]

Man, I love all those shots. It's not just the blank stare, but the way that the camera pulls back in so many of those shots, as if the full weight of some revelation of despair and ennui has started to sink in.
posted by alidarbac at 6:42 AM on May 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

The blu ray box set will have one disc solely consisting of Jon Hamm's "Yowza"s.
posted by dr_dank at 7:28 AM on May 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Metafilter: The full weight of some revelation of despair and ennui has started to sink in
posted by mochapickle at 7:47 AM on May 8, 2015 [1 favorite]