Mad Men's Styles of the Times: How the Show's Shifts Mirror the Characters' Uncertainties and a Turbulent Era

While I watch a lot of TV, I don't often get a chance to write about it; weekly recaps are a bit of a  thankless grind, and they've largely taken the place of more reflective, occasional essays. (Some people, like my colleagues Matt Zoller Seitz and Noel Murray, manage to do both at once, damn them.) Plus, Jesus are there a lot of people writing smart stuff about Mad Men on an almost minute-by-minute basis. Thanks, at any rate, to my Indiewire editor Alison Willmore for letting me chime in on the Mad Men finale and the season as a whole, focusing (I hope) on some of the broader issues that sometimes get lost in the weekly wash of plot developments, especially when it comes to keep tabs on the show's style. Enjoy.