because she's such a pampered princess. She expects to be loved.

This is what I think. It's just not imaginable to her that anyone could not love her. Plus, she wanted Pete, she got Pete and she believes that means always and forever, even in his thoughts.

I also think Duck hissy-fitted himself out of being president.

After the "never could hold his liquor" comment, I can't imagine that the subject of his alcoholism wouldn't come up.

Wouldn't it be great if Don started his own agency (raiding Sterling Cooper for the good people), and then Peggy was his rival? :) Of course, that wouldn't happen, Peggy would probably follow Don, because Sterling Cooper wouldn't be smart enough to recognize her talent and entice her to stay with a promotion.

Fantastic recap of the ep in the Chicago Tribune: [link]

The Mad Men Subtext Theater is worth its weight in gold.

And an excellent Variety interview with Matt Weiner where he gives some background and hints.

[link]

It should be noted, we're not going to get the Kennedy Assassination as a Major Thing with respect to the show which is exactly right, I think.

These characters are so guarded that when they reveal their souls, it’s painfully tender.

Why I ♥ this show so much.

From the subtext theatre:

“If this is the agency you want, Duck is the man for the job. [My name is Donald Draper. You killed my agency. Prepare to die.]”

Bwahahaha!

Say what you will about Pete but the fact that he loves Peggy so unashamedly means he can’t be a total jerk, even though he does a good imitation of a total jerk quite frequently.

I don't know that he really loves Peggy. He's realized that Trudy wasn't what he wanted in a wife, now he's gone in the opposite direction. I don't think that he'd be happy with Peggy either.

Yeah, loved that moment (mentioned in the subtext theater). Note-perfect. And could he have delivered it without Pete's heads up? Don can show pretty extreme composure under duress, but Duck has been the burr under his saddle and I don't think he would have responded well to the news were he unprepared.

I agree with the assessment that the British firm never intended to carry through on its promise to place Duck as president. They had him before and in that painful dinner before Duck made his power play were not going to hire him back. I think they knew damn well Duck would implode at some point and they could brush him off then.

This is the point at which I would feel sorry for Duck except he turned his dog out. What? No, I don't hold a grudge against fictional characters, whyever would you say that?

This episode functioned so well as a season finale because there were so many seminal moments for the characters.

Was Pete holding his gun in one of the last shots?

It is very interesting to see how the pre-internet/cell phone era dealt with sudden long absences from the office. Now, if you're out of touch for more than a few hours people start getting antsy.

Was I the only one who noticed they ran the credits at 50 minutes into the hour? Maybe because of the limited commercial interruption?

Was Pete holding his gun in one of the last shots?

Yes. In fact, in the newspaper recap that I posted the link to, they even mention that in the scene between Pete and Peggy, if you look just over his shoulder, it's there, leaning up against the wall.

It was so beautifully framed, that shot of Pete with the rifle. Very eerie and haunting.

Was I the only one who noticed they ran the credits at 50 minutes into the hour? Maybe because of the limited commercial interruption?

yes, they had limited commercial interruption and then showed the afterparty thing with interviews. What the hell was January Jones wearing on her head?

What the hell was January Jones wearing on her head?

She's notoriously bad at dressing herself. Just misses the boat by a smidge and falls off the pier.