Mad Men has repeatedly been described as the new Sopranos, a fact strengthened by its Golden Globe and Emmy success (the first season won Best Drama a year after David Chase's mob masterpiece had collected its final trophies). While the comparison is mostly due to creator Matthew Weiner's association with the HBO hit, it is spot-on in that Mad Men is a riveting, sharp look at a specific group of people, all with their secrets and aspirations, and the end of Season One confirms this from start to finish.
Plot-wise, Don isn't entirely happy, having just been in a fight with Peggy because he doesn't want to spend Thanksgiving with her and the kids. As far as work is concerned, however, all is well after Pete's blackmail plan failed (apparently, Bertram Cooper has no problem working with a guy who took a dead man's name). In fact, when the latter shows up with an account he got from his father-in-law (it's for a well-known product called Clearasil), Don shamelessly gives it to Peggy, who's quickly becoming a valuable asset within the agency. Her personal life is less perfect, though, as a trip to the doctor suddenly reveals...
The entire first season of the show was a pleasant surprise: hand in hand with an accurate portrayal of 1960s America and its workplace characteristics (casual sexism and racism, plus lots of drinking and smoking) came a stunning character drama, and the finale delivers the goods by resetting the status quo (Don's power over Pete) and at the same time looking to the future: some plot points - the Dick Whitman storyline - have been shelved (at least for now), while others (Salvatore's homosexuality, Peggy and Pete's affair, Betty's domestic troubles) are sure to be expanded upon in future episodes, thus making sure fans will come back to see how things play out.
Most important, of course, was the evolution of the characters, and while The Wheel doesn't give everyone the great moments they've enjoyed throughout the season, it's an excellent showcase for the talents of Hamm, Kartheiser and Moss, the latter rewarded with a plot twist whose payoff will surely be one of the high points of the second season. Staying in the female area, January Jones deserves credit for making Betty all the more complex than your usual '60s housewife, and Christina Hendricks is also fantastic as a woman who is much more than just a great piece of office eye-candy.
In short, the first season ends like it started: smart, stylish and drenched with emotion. Who would have thought Madison Avenue could be the center of such impressive storytelling? Certainly not HBO, which made the mistake of passing on one of the best TV treats of the decade. And as the old adage goes, this is just the beginning...
