Mad Men finale review: 'Waterloo'

A sad loss also marks a new beginning for both Don Draper and Sterling Cooper

Mad Men
(Image credit: (AMC))

Like last week's "The Strategy," Mad Men's midseason finale "Waterloo" was so rich and satisfying that it could have been the series finale. I'm so relieved that it's not. With its ultimate end in sight, Mad Men has been firing on all cylinders, and "Waterloo" is a textbook example of this show at its very best.

Now that Community is off the air, there is no show that rivals Mad Men for its inventiveness and elasticity. When people talk about TV's most shocking moments, they generally refer to something like Game of Thrones' Red Wedding. But that infamous scene — effective as it was — was well within the scope of what viewers have been trained to expect from Game of Thrones, which has built much of its cultural cache on the premise that none of its heroes are safe.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.