Mad Men 'The Wheel' Episode 13

And now, the end is here and so we faced the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case, of which I'm certain. 'Mad Men' has earned its rightful place as TV gold - that top shelf reserved for shows like 'The Wire', 'The Soprano's', 'Damages', 'The Simpsons' and other such rarities. The latter has recognised 'Mad Men's' worth by creating a parody of the show's classic opening sequence Simpson's style, check it out here.

In this the season finale Matt Weiner lifts the lid on the slow-simmering plot pot he's been cooking for the previous twelve weeks. Peggy got as much of a shock as Ham Sandwich's Niamh Farrell when she gave birth to that beautiful little baby boy but will we see him again or more importantly, will she? Has she already decided to put career before family. Judging by the preview shots of Season Two Peggy will definitely be back but there was no sign of baby. Finally Pete got a little of the kick-to-the-curb treatment that's he's so fond of dishing out. Starting off with his father-in-law's "loose lips, sink ships" inducing comments to don's promotion of Peggy, which was perfectly timed in between early labour pains.

Don surprisingly lifted the façade on his private life in the work place and the result was his best presentation to date. It was the first time I was grateful that the show was on so late, otherwise I was grabbing my coat, heading out in search of a vintage Kodak Carousel.

Line of the week goes to Ken for his backhanded comment to Peggy during her direction of voice over artist Annie:" Just too bad your voice is so annoying", before he patted her on the head and went chasing skirt. Nice lad.

Wasn't the 60's the decade of Karma, when people really started investing in the whole Buddhist philosophy? Don obviously didn't get the memo but it looks like he won't need it now. In the finale not only does he discovery the true whereabouts of his brother but that Betty and the kids are slipping away from him, thanks to his own insecurities and weaknesses. Even his mistress, or one of them, has taken extreme measures to escape.

Thanks to Francine's revelations, Betty discovers that Don has been cheating behind her back…at least with Dr. Wayne. So she's going to play the big boys at their own game and it'll be interesting to see where this storyline will bring them all. Regrets, I have a few but then again this brilliant season of 'Mad Men' has compensated for many a cheapskate, badly written series I've wasted time on. 'Mad Men' has exposed the hard-drinking, womanising, ad executives of the day and some would argue not much has changed in the last fifty years. As Cooper rightly pointed out to Pete last week when defending Don's questionable character: "This country was built on worse men then you imagined here". These ugly sinister types have already been seen in various guises such as mobsters in 'The Soprano's' or as lawyers in 'Damages' and when done stylishly, they make for gripping TV. Are you too looking forward to Season Two and crossing fingers that we don't have to wait too long until its back on RTÉ?

Taragh Loughrey-Grant