So – we finished Mad Men last night…
SPOILERS after a picture of Joan and Don
These last two series or so have been so incredibly frustrating. The writing quality seemed to have declined so much, with no integrity or care for character arcs.
So: Megan chops and changes between liking Don and hating him, with nary an explanation in between as to why she is changing.
Ted got divorced? When did that happen?
Everyone hates Don? Why? Oh, they’re friends again now – why?
Don – let’s give him an affair with a neighbour we’ve hardly seen, obviously his plot line is getting boring.
What seems to have happened is that a bunch of soap opera writers got drafted in with a brief to keep things interesting. In doing that – ie, in bringing in ‘incident’ to the narratives – all coherence and integrity for particular characters was sacrificed.
Grrr. It all started out so well.
Shows like this rotate their first choice writers onto other projects when the show develops a strong fan base because they know people will keep watching. Producers claim it keeps things fresh but the truth is they want their top guys churning out hit after hit.