The mid-season finale of “Mad Men” airs tonight on AMC; it’s the last episode of the show’s seventh and final season, which was annoyingly cleaved in two by the network, before resuming next year for its concluding run. I’ve still been enjoying each episode as it airs, but even setting aside the unnatural pause, I’m ready for the show to be over. It’s taken quite a long time to get wherever it’s going, and with each passing episode I become less and less sure that where it’s going will offer a worthwhile payoff.
That’s not to take away from its accomplishments to date, though. It’s a terrifically well-made show that works on a number of interesting levels. As I wrote three years ago, my theory is that “Mad Men” is in truth principally about its distinctively realized sets. This article over at Interior Design Magazine seems to bear that out. It interviews the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, who admits that he looks at the set design of “Mad Men” as an integral part of the storytelling. A great slide show accompanies the text.