'Mad Men' Rewatch, Season 6 & Season 7A: The Beginning of The End

By Sarah Carlson | TV | April 3, 2015 |

By Sarah Carlson | TV | April 3, 2015 |

It’s time.

Mad Men is coming to an end, with the second half of its seventh and final season premiering Sunday.

I’m not ready, either. I anticipate going into a deep depression once this great drama goes off the air for good …

… But for now, I have the final episodes to cling to. Rewatching the series for my podcast, Not Great, Pod!, has only made my love for Mad Men stronger — clearer. What started as a stylized look at life in early 1960s America, delivered in a manner that sometimes winked at the viewer a little too hard, has turned into a poignant look at life in general. I’ll save my preaching for my weekly recaps of the final episodes, but for now I’ll say: This series is beautiful, and it will be missed.

Season 6 and Season 7A are damn near perfect and full of life lessons, such as:

The most to-the-point break-up line ever:

That you should never discount the little guy because he might just run Hollywood one day:

That you’ll always be the cool guy if you fly yourself to meetings:

That enthusiasm (and lies) will get you places:

That it’s best not to be awkward:

Yeah, don’t.

That drugs in the workplace make for interesting games:

That Dustin really was onto something with his “Megan is dead” theory:

That sometimes, the student becomes the teacher:

But sometimes, that’s a good thing:

That Joan has the best comeback lines, period:

That Cutler can be … cutting:

That Peggy gives the best death glares:

No, seriously:

But Trudy will destroy you:

That Shirley and Dawn need a spin-off:

That if you ever have a need to say this phrase, you should move:

That there are some things you just shouldn’t say to coworkers:

That you shouldn’t be afraid to sex things up a bit:

That you shouldn’t be afraid to tell the truth:

That fictional stories are capable of breaking your heart:

Yep, there it goes:

That a family can be made of more than relatives:

That life is hard, and then you die:

But you shouldn’t try to stop your business partners from making millions because they will cut you:

That this is the key to the show, right here:

That Kiernan Shipka deserves all the things:

That Robert Morse is a national treasure:

And that this is still the best line ever:

Join us — myself, Corey Atad and Mallory Andrews (both of Movie Mezzanine) — as we discuss all of these truths and more on Not Great, Pod!

Listen here:

Subscribe on iTunes!

Here’s a direct link, and here’s the RSS feed. For other links, including Twitter and Facebook, visit notgreatpod.com.

See you next week.

Sarah Carlson is Television Editor for Pajiba. You can find her on Twitter.