Spoilers ahead! Do not read if you have not yet watched the Mad Men series finale, "Person to Person," originally airing on 17 May 2015.
I initially fell in love with Mad Men because of the stunning 1950's era dresses, the infamous Kodak Carousel pitch, and Don Draper's irresistible bad boy appeal. Last night, I was giddy over Joan and Peggy's deliberating over starting their own firm - Harris Olson and Joan choosing her career over Mr. Too-Tanned while rocking a pair of pants.
They dangled "Harris Olson" right in front of us and then snatched it away a mere few scenes later. That's alright because Joan was fearless and started her production company anyway under the "Holloway-Harris" moniker. In seven seasons and ten years worth of Mad Men time, Joan went from the eye-candy personnel manager sleeping with Roger to her own boss with a brimming bank account. She had every opportunity to walk away from the game and sit on the beach with the charming and free-wheeling retiree. Instead, she dismissed the idea, uttering my five favourite words of the episode - "I've been to the beach." With this, Joan has committed herself to playing the game on her own terms, free from the sexist snide misogynists at McCann Erickson.
One of the worst moments for women on Mad Men was when Joan was pressured by the all-male partners at SCDP to have sex with Herb Rennet from Jaguar. The episode still makes me ill but it was this act that led Joan to her partnership. Donning pants in her last scene of the series, Joan is the image of the modern working woman who will fight and claw for a world where she is respected as the brilliant boss that she is and singing her own tune. I like to think it would be this tune right here because she is basically already telling those bitches to bow down and let's be real here - Joan would probably be a Beyoncé fan in another lifetime.
I initially fell in love with Mad Men because of the stunning 1950's era dresses, the infamous Kodak Carousel pitch, and Don Draper's irresistible bad boy appeal. Last night, I was giddy over Joan and Peggy's deliberating over starting their own firm - Harris Olson and Joan choosing her career over Mr. Too-Tanned while rocking a pair of pants.
They dangled "Harris Olson" right in front of us and then snatched it away a mere few scenes later. That's alright because Joan was fearless and started her production company anyway under the "Holloway-Harris" moniker. In seven seasons and ten years worth of Mad Men time, Joan went from the eye-candy personnel manager sleeping with Roger to her own boss with a brimming bank account. She had every opportunity to walk away from the game and sit on the beach with the charming and free-wheeling retiree. Instead, she dismissed the idea, uttering my five favourite words of the episode - "I've been to the beach." With this, Joan has committed herself to playing the game on her own terms, free from the sexist snide misogynists at McCann Erickson.
One of the worst moments for women on Mad Men was when Joan was pressured by the all-male partners at SCDP to have sex with Herb Rennet from Jaguar. The episode still makes me ill but it was this act that led Joan to her partnership. Donning pants in her last scene of the series, Joan is the image of the modern working woman who will fight and claw for a world where she is respected as the brilliant boss that she is and singing her own tune. I like to think it would be this tune right here because she is basically already telling those bitches to bow down and let's be real here - Joan would probably be a Beyoncé fan in another lifetime.