When “Mad Men” premiered, our fresh-faced characters had just entered the 1960s. Doctors insisted smoking was cool, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was in office and no one batted an eye at someone spanking a secretary, but plenty has happened since then. The first half of Season 7 left off with the moon landing in the summer of ’69, which means our final set of episodes are headed for the swinging ’70s. We’re talking sideburns, Watergate and free love.
So where will our main players land at the end of the next seven episodes, the first of which premieres Sunday on AMC? We consulted our spiritual crystals and cranked up the Grateful Dead to divine some predictions. (No mood rings were involved—those weren’t around until 1975.)
Don Draper (Jon Hamm)
Hoping for a finale that lands Don in some much-needed therapy or rehab? Take a long drag of that cigarette, sweetheart, because it’s not gonna happen. Don has moments of compassion, but he’s never really been capable of change. In the final season poster, Don is driving his car, looking in the rearview mirror. Translation: He’s on the run. Even if he does end up with a fresh start in California, his demons will catch up with him. Don Draper always will be stuck in the purgatory of his own existence.
Roger Sterling (John Slattery)
Roger always was quick with the jokes and slow to grow up, but he’s been stepping it up. With his daughter still in a hippie commune, he and ex-wife Mona (Talia Balsam) are playing a bigger role in the life of their grandson. Roger is still Roger, but he might be a little less of a mad man and a little more of a family man going forward. At the very least, he’ll be the funniest grandpa around.
Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)
Pete is from a family of old money Democrats, and he’ll become even more political as his hairline recedes. The draft will make him rail harder against the Vietnam War, and he’ll have a field day when President Nixon is impeached. On a personal level, Pete has been trying to copy Don for years, so there might be a second marriage (and second divorce) in his future. And now that he’s landed the Burger Chef account, Pete’s back in New York for life. L.A. was just a bad affair.
Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks)
Hate to say it—because if there’s one true couple of “Mad Men,” it’s Joan and Roger—but Mrs. Harris won’t be riding off into the sunset with anyone. Roger may love Joan, but she already has one little boy to raise and doesn’t need a second. Joan is going to keep killing it as an executive and all-around badass, and in 15 years, when Kevin’s all grown up, you can bet she’ll have her share of Mrs. Robinson opportunities with his friends.
Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss)
Throughout the series, Peggy has been tied to second-wave feminism—from bringing up pay equality with counter-culture Abe to wearing pants in the office. With Roe v. Wade and Gloria Steinem around the corner, women’s lib is about to hit an all-time high in the world of “Mad Men.” Peggy won’t be burning her bras or anything, but her voice in the movement will keep getting louder. And can the lady please get laid? Fingers crossed for Stan Rizzo (Jay Ferguson) and his majestic beard.
Betty Francis (January Jones)
Betty was born to be a politician’s wife. Though she started as a Grace Kelly knockoff, she’s rapidly morphed into a Nancy Reagan figure as the ’60s have come to an end. Her husband Henry (Christopher Stanley) bit her head off for voicing her opinion on the Vietnam War, but Betty wasn’t backing down. America’s dirty youth are protesting, doing drugs and generally ruining the country, and Betty is just the woman to put a stop to all that nonsense. She’s totally going to help start D.A.R.E. in the ’80s.
Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka)
More Top Picks Float
With parents like Don and Betty, it’s no surprise Sally was in therapy before she hit puberty. Betty has made so many jokes about Sally turning tricks that it would be easy to predict her ending up in a brothel—or at least trying LSD at Woodstock. But we last saw little Sally Draper kissing the nerdy boy instead of the jock and then lighting up a self-congratulatory cigarette. She’s got the confidence of her father as well as a thirst for the truth—maybe Woodward and Bernstein will inspire her to go into journalism.
Megan Draper (Jessica Pare)
The second Mrs. Draper is fabulous and beautiful, but also kind of a wannabe, right? She’s nearing the big 3-0 (gasp), and her acting career hasn’t exactly been trending upward. She and Don exchanged a solemn goodbye over the phone, so why is she all over the promotional images in bell-bottoms and a belly chain? Megan isn’t about to become the Jennifer Lawrence of the ’70s. Girl will take a groovy Hollywood producer for her second husband and keep throwing psychedelic parties until things get weird.
Lauren Chval is a RedEye special contributor.