Meanwhile,
in other parts of the eastern United States, Sally Draper is taking her turn at
acting up. After attending her first ever funeral, she loses her purse somewhere
in the city and can't remember where she left it. However, it appears 'NOT' very
likely to be at the funeral parlor seeing as she and her dorm-mates went on a
shopping excursion shortly thereafter. Sally is exhibiting shades of her daddy
as far as personal responsibility; that said, it is doubtful that she either
sees this or acknowledges it. And this is where the paradox arises: the fact
that she may even deny such traits all the more suggests that "the
apple doesn't fall far from the proverbial tree"!
Yet,
there was a time when she took pleasure in a far more innocent role as
"Daddy's little girl" and appeared to prefer him over her mother, 'Betty'.
If the truth be known, the coldly callous remark she made regarding her mother
in this recent episode almost made my skin crawl. Now in somewhat of a panic
after losing her purse and the 'valuable' contents therein, Sally decides to
make a much needed visit to her father's Manhattan high-rise and pay her rather
aloof respects.
Initially, after confronting her father about his persistent
pattern of dishonesty as well as his illicit affair with Sylvia Rosen, it
genuinely seems as though Sally is well beyond forgiveness. Later on, when Don
orders her a coke and a "patty melt" after she momentarily leaves
their booth in the restaurant, Sally still wears an air of nonchalance that is totally
convincing. Even when he offers to walk her back into her dorm room at the
boarding school, she declines his gesture of evident kindness and parental concern.
Moreover, Don appears possibly hurt; it's just that this man has such a difficult
time verbalizing his emotional content that one has to look hard for understated
facial cues. Does Sally finally pick up on this, as well?
Well, apparently she did. In what was to be the
last few minutes of the show, Sally has the stage all to herself. As she
exits the car, she also turns around to say:
"Happy
Valentine's Day [Dad]...
I love you ".
The camera pans to Draper's
face; I imagine he was probably too stunned to even reply as Sally heedlessly saunters
away. His expression then grows so quietly earnest that one could almost read
his mind's most private and singular thought (slowly, but surely) registering:
..."unconditional love" ... As taciturn as this
character may be when it comes to matters of the heart, we can still perceive
that he was visibly moved by his daughter's words. Without 'openly' emoting,
the audience fully sensed the tidal wave of tender emotion he was experiencing
just by viewing his expression. And you know what was additionally conveyed?
This man has a soul ... (‘we’, as the audience, most certainly caught a glimpse).
L.P.-G.'s
epilogue: as much as I enjoy the show, the closing song “This Will
Be Our Year” by The Zombies
kinda
left me flat. Given the reins myself, I
probably would have gone with something more along the lines of either:
·
Turn
Around by the Vogues....this would capture aspects of the very last scene.
-or-
·
It's
the Time of the Season , Hurt So
Bad, or even One (is the Loneliest Number)
Yet, with the restrictions and demands inherent to royalties and
such, who knows what is feasible within a series' budgetary constraints?
ONE
FINAL THOUGHT: fast forward about ~40 years to this potential scenario: Sally Draper has followed in her
father's footsteps and heads up the creative end of a large ad agency. There's
a request pursuant to a 'lesser tier' auto company for an ad that speaks to the
heart-strings of America. Without fully realizing it, this seasoned ad gal taps
into her distant past. Her subconscious musings harken back to a time when she
felt subtle stirrings that made an indelible mental imprint regarding the ultimate
importance of family; and although she can't quite put her finger on it, it
most definitely DOES include the image of a car. Applying pen to paper, it
takes her less than 5 minutes to arrive at a fresh catch-phrase: "Love...it's
what makes a S*****". The pitch is a solid success, yet still she wonders
from 'whence' came the definitive wellsprings of her current celebrated achievement! [Yet we know the answer: one Valentine's Day long ago.]