Last week we had a host of fantastic season finales that had us feeling all of the feels. Modern Family, Hannibal, and The Americans did us good. This week it was really all about the Mad Men finale. We laughed, we cried, we dropped our jaws in awe as Bert serenaded us with the most epic rendition of The Best Things In Life Are Free. Here are our picks for the best scenes from the week of May 25, 2014.
5. Mad Men: Bert Cooper’s Goodbye
Bert’s a relic from a bygone era, and his death was inevitable; there’s no way for him to exist in this brave, new world. He knows it, we know it, and Matt Weiner knows it. It was no accident that he died on the night he did. The moon landing ushered in a new era of human achievement, one to which he no longer belonged. And while he once famously described Miss Blankenship as “an astronaut” after she died at her desk several seasons ago, his own passing had a fascinating ripple effect on the office…
There are a lot of loose ends to tie up over the course of these final seven episodes, particularly after Ghost Bert’s fantastic musical goodbye reminds Don—who has just agreed to a deal that will net him millions of dollars—that “the best things in life are free.”
—Bonnie Stiernberg (Read the full review here.)
4. Fargo: Welcome to the Dark Side, Lester
Buoyed by this triumph, he goes to visit the widow Hess. Lester knows that there’s no insurance money. Sam Hess stopped paying his premiums, but Lester lets Gina Hess believe that he’s the man to get her the money fast. By the next scene, they’re having sex, and Lester is sleeping with his enemy’s wife – the ultimate revenge. Even when Gina cries out, “You’re hurting me!” he keeps going. Now, he feels invincible, and I’m betting that will be his downfall. He’s way too confident. There’s a delightful maliciousness that Martin Freeman is bringing to his performance, clearly fully embracing Lester’s dark side has been creatively freeing.—Amy Amatangelo (Read the full review here.)
3. Maron: That Awkward Moment When You Have To Bring Mom To An STD Clinic
This week’s Greek chorus, as it were, is perhaps the most unexpected vessel for Marc’s weekly (a)morality play—a disinterested worker at a Hollywood STD clinic, who delivers unsurprising news: “You have a very disturbing relationship.”
While that could apply to every non-cat relationship in Marc’s life, this week the focus shifts to Marc’s mother, Toni (played by Sally Kellerman), who we briefly met early last season, and who has power-walked back into Marc’s life just in time to fill the void left by Jen. Marc needs someone else to give him a hard time, right? —John Vilanova (Read the full review here.)
