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The fifth season of Mad Men wraps up this Sunday, and what a hell of a season it was. By our count, two people have quit (technically, three), two couples have either gotten divorced or are in the process of doing so, and several men have cheated on their wives. (Not Don! Can you believe it?) But, there are also about eight loose ends that may or may not get resolved by Sunday night. We've put them all right after the jump.
1. Will we ever see Peggy again?
Oh, Peggy. This season we've watched you deal with the fact that you don't have a penis, give a handjob in the movie theater, and agree to move in with Abe. And then, we watched you quit. Will we ever see you again? Or will you now share a trailer with January Jones and make the obligatory three or so appearances a season. Let's hope not.
2. Will one of Megan's auditions lead to an acting gig?
In episode 8, Megan decided that she's just had it up to here with advertising, and all the Heinz beans in the world wouldn't be enough to keep her at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. She quits, and goes on audition after audition. The closest she comes to landing a part was when she got a call back from a play that would have its rehearsals in Boston. Somehow, all her audition dress did was prompt the producers to ask her to spin around. Since we know she hates being a housewife, hopefully something pans out soon.
3. Will Don land Dow Chemical?
Or more importantly, will we ever hear the end of The Letter. Don's gusto was reignited when Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce first tasted the possibility of a Jaguar account, and his fervor continued when he scheduled a meeting with Ed Baxter of Dow Chemical. Will they buy his whole "I won't stop 'til you have all of it" speech? Or, will he be left with a mouthful of blood, as Roger put it?
4. Will Betty meet her Weight Watchers goal?
In episode 2, we saw that Betty had officially lost her girlish figure. And then we found out that it was because January Jones was eight and a half months pregnant when that episode was filmed. By episode 12 she had slimmed down considerably, but we have to wonder: Did she meet her Weight Watchers goal? Or is she still weighing cheese cubes?
5. Is Joan the new Lane?
When Joan "made" partner, it was a little unclear what her role would be. Would she still lead the partner meetings? No. They got a new secretary, and she's a long ways away from filling the shoes of Big Red. Come to think of it, Joan would be pretty good at Lane's job, and there is an opening...
Note: We don't even have a picture of Baby Gene from Season Five. This is from Season Four.
6. Will Baby Gene ever get his own storyline?
Baby Gene isn't a baby anymore. We know he was born in 1963 and it's now the end of 1966, which makes him a full-fledged toddler who, as far as we know, is capable of forming words. We saw him for a total of five seconds in episode 1, 7, and 9, and then: nothing. Sure, no Francis/Draper child is going to outdo Sally getting her period, but maybe by this season's end we can at least hear if Gene knows how to say "Dadda," "Jagua," or "take me to the penthouse, please."
7. Will Roger have another LSD-induced Enlightenment?
Roger spent just about every episode talking about that acid trip of his, but last week, he admitted that his enlightenment had worn off. Bummer! So, considering that was one of the best scenes of the entire season... will he try it again? And if so, can his hallucinations please be a little more relevant than imagining himself at the World Series?
8. Pete.
Everything with Pete is a loose end, besides the fact that yes, he is still a jackass. Will he once and for all put his foot down and buy an apartment in Manhattan? Will he sleep with Howard's wife again? And when will he reintroduce "hells bells" into his vocabulary? Season five saw Pete's czar-ish like takeover of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and now that Roger's just sitting back while Pete "passes the jug with some schmo from Lutherville, Maryland," there's room for a new alcoholic account man on top.
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