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The first half of the final season of Mad Men will air its final episode Sunday, meaning it's time to check up on what everyone's been up to so far this season. The split season puts fans in a strange place. The structure was imposed on Matthew Weiner by AMC, who had success with the formula on Breaking Bad. Weiner has described the mandate as an "opportunity." Still, it's unclear whether or not Sunday's episode will be a season-finale like outing, or resemble a mid-season episode like any other.
All we know is that starting next week we have to say goodbye for Mad Men for another year before the characters' last stories are actually told. So before we bid adieu, let's check in with everyone, and do some light speculating.
Don
Don began this season as Cyrano de Bergerac, got to come back to work and became a total mess, and now seems to be settling back into the firm thanks to his alliance with Peggy. Don is still dealing with unresolved work issues, though. Harry Crane told him about the plan to push him out of his position, using his anti-tobacco letter to the New York Times against him. His biggest power-play, showing up to Jim Cutler and Lou Avery's meeting with Philip Morris in "The Runaways," has yet to fully come to fruition. Don ended the most recent episode on the most positive note he's been all season, encouraging Peggy's work on Burger Chef.