The Phantom (Mad Men)
In the episode, which primarily takes place around Easter 1967, the firm looks to expand its office space after a profitable quarter.
Roger seeks to resume his affair with Megan's mother, while Pete has a final encounter with Beth.
Megan struggles to find acting work and asks for Don's help, and Peggy is adjusting to life away from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Don (Jon Hamm) soothes an aching tooth with a cotton ball soaked with whiskey at home.
Her visiting mother Marie (Julia Ormond) consoles her when she receives a rejected screen test reel.
Howard (Jeff Clarke) and Beth Dawes (Alexis Bledel) join Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) on the train.
Harry Crane (Rich Sommer) joins Joan (Christina Hendricks) on the elevator and sees that she pressed the 38th-floor button.
She has plans to meet with the building manager about new office space, but cautions against overextending and suggests postponing a final decision until June.
At CGC, Ted Chaough (Kevin Rahm) tosses Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) an unlabeled carton of a Philip Morris' "top secret ladies' cigarette" and tells her to: "Smoke it, name it, sell it."
Megan agrees, but later gives Don a copy of her own screen test instead, asking him to recommend her for the Butler commercial.
Roger admits to her that he hung up on Megan several times that day and invites Marie to his room at the Stanhope Hotel for a rendezvous.
After showing Don the photo of Dolores and asking who she is, Rebecca accuses the agency of short-changing Lane and tells him to not leave thinking he has done anything for anyone but himself.
Trudy (Alison Brie) shows Pete her plans for a backyard pool, but he calls it "permanent" and warns that daughter Tammy could drown.
Roger stands naked on a chair facing the hotel window, arms outstretched anticipating his LSD to hit.
As in past seasons, Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner started writing "The Phantom" by conjuring up the final images: "I envisioned in the beginning that Peggy would be in that hotel room, seeing those dogs [copulating] in the parking lot, and that she would be happy about being on her first business trip; and that Pete would have this moment of realizing what had happened to him, and this activity was a symbol that something bigger was wrong; Roger would long to get that feeling back, because it had worn off; and that Don would be in that bar.
To Elisabeth Moss, this scene was fundamental for her character's progression, as it demonstrated that Peggy and Don were equals for the first time: "For once, they were just friends meeting at a movie theater.
"[1] In crafting the wardrobe for Megan throughout "The Phantom", costume designer Janie Bryant studied the mod subculture, which was then at its apex.
[3] In particular, Megan sports a burgundy overcoat embroidered with windowpane patterns, strikingly reminiscent of one worn by the English model Twiggy.
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix commented: "Some of the most memorable scenes and moments of the series' run occurred over these last three months.
"[4]Newsday's Verne Gay said of "The Phantom": "...just another episode... What was lacking, however, has been much the same as the rest of the season — a certain passion, or emotional resonance.
"[5] More approvingly, Matt Zoller Seitz, writing in New York Magazine's Vulture blog, wrote of the finale: "...a summation of core Mad Men themes: the displacement of an existing order by a new one; the gradual, mysterious, outwardly imperceptible changes experienced by individuals, businesses, cities, and nations over decades; and the possibility of reinventing oneself and starting over, again and again and again.
"[6] "The Phantom" garnered the highest ratings for a Mad Men season finale to date, attracting 2.7 million viewers.
I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the record live-same-day Nielsen ratings that gain so much attention are only a small part of the Mad Men success story.
