I remember one time at work I was really struggling with my mind. A coworker came by and talked to me and I just kinda broke down uncontrollably. He hugged me and told me I got this, and I said I don't think I do, but he truly believed I did. I've never had another guy hug me like that before, but I will never forget how he got me through one of the toughest moments of my life by doing that. I'll always remember that moment.
Absolutely powerful scene. This is Don's true self coming out. You can see here that Leonard isn't as good looking, successful or charismatic as Don is. People ignore him. Even his own family ignores Leonard. Yet by now, Don knows perfectly well that people only like him because of his good looks, charisma, and how much $$$ he makes for his ad agency. No one knows the real Don inside and no one, except for Anna Draper and maybe his children , cares for the real Don. And that's what connects Don and Leonard in this powerful scene. They both just want to be loved for who they truly are.
Personally speaking I never really feel they care about me except that I am more ambitious and work harder than the rest of my family. Rest of my family are deadbeats and want what I have and will take it if they have a chance. Not easy to admit but it's the damn truth! That's why I wished I had taken off a long time ago in my early 20s and never had more to do with any of them.
And this is sent as a message early in the series when Cooper answers with "Who cares?" to Pete's realization of Don's real identity. We were too occupied thinking about Don not getting caught when all along the scene was about being yourself and how it is irrelevant in Don's world who he is, as long as he keeps up the right image and does his job exceptionally.
The Actor who played Leonard should get an Emmy Nomination for "Outstanding Performance By A Guest In A TV Series". I'm sure that everyone related to Leonard in some way or another.
Yes. Jon deserved it but it would be different categories. The Actor who played Norman was in One Episode. This poor man, he's so lonely and sad, he's "existing" not living.
I hope it's not you. No matter what things will get better, I'm going through a Rough Time myself. Dealing with a very "Needy" Mother after the death of my Father, I try to tell her how frustrating it is to be the "Responsible" one and get "Nothing" while Family Members are "Irresponsible" and get "Everything".
@Tha Real Mccoy I feel like a lot of us, especially men, might have people trying to give us love but we don’t even know what love is so how can we know when someone is giving it to us, you’re sort of in a plane of existence where you feel alone because people claim to know you and love you but how can they when they don’t even know the real you, they don’t know who you are, that’s why Don Draper is a perfect example of what a lot of modern day men are, and just like Don, we don’t talk about it because it’s seen as weakness and not manly enough
A lot of people seem to focus on Leonard talking about being unnoticed, but it's his lines about love that seem to really resonate with Don. He talks about not knowing what love is even when people are giving it to you. Feeling unnoticed, yes, but feeling that way even when people are showing you affection because YOU can't tell what's sincere and what's not. Always dismissing it, always disbelieving it, always letting the door close on you without reciprocating. This wasn't unique to Don, and isn't unique to the era.
As much as I related to Don's feelings of loneliness and isolation throughout the show, Leonard's speech is probably the most relatable and succinct summary of what it's like to yearn for love you're too damaged or broken to return I've ever seen.
I relate to Leonard 's way of crying. It's almost like laughing: crying and being overwhelmed, not knowing how to react and being confused and sad and just letting it go. Pretty liberating tho
Agentgill0 Great observation. Weiner might have had that in mind. That's why this is the best show ever. So much subtlety . Subtext . Words being spoken without opening their mouths.
@@andrescafe301 empathy.. "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." - with technology getting better, everything is getting faster and nobody has time for the little things. Even though there's the internet people somehow manage to get more disconected with each other which I think might result in a lack of empathy. From the top of my head I can't remember the last time I saw someone show empathy towards another person.
My first thought when I first saw this: Don's finally come clean. He was out of his job, divorced, his first ex-wife dying, his big secret exposed to his daughter. He had just gotten out of those bruising, near-misses with the veterans who accused him of being a thief, and he ends up in Big Sur in some Esalen-like rap session, scruffy, in jeans. His whole Madison Avenue persona seemed far more than 3,000 miles away...and then he hears this man talk. The man seems to be everything Don wasn't: bland, sincere, unremarkable, domestic, begging to be discovered. And I think I'm correct here: it's the only time in the whole series where Don hugs another man as an act of sheer compassion. Don may have also recognized in Leonard the Dick Whitman that Don might have been, or wished he could have been.
The difference between Don and Leonard is that Leonard takes it. People deal with their problems in different ways and Don has, without fail, always chosen an armor (symbolized throughout the show by his grey suit which he clings to despite times and fashion changing) and has seen it as invaluable and would, under different circumstances, see Leonard as weak for not having one. The entire last season was Don losing a piece of his armor, one by one. He's discarding the Don persona in each episode (the ambition, the agency, the apartment, the wife, the ex-wife, the horrible truth about his CO's death which he unloads on the veterans and cathartically gets "punished" for it - even the woman-chasing dissipates at the pool scene) and in the last episode what's left of his Dick persona is also destroyed by a simple "we are not family" from Stephanie. This is one of the reasons a chime is heard at the very end when the meditation guide says "a new you" - Don has discarded all of his armor and is reborn. Without the armor him and Leonard are on the same level. His life's tactic is shattered and he is faced with the basic truth which has defined him throughout his entire grown life: he is a disconnected man, incapable of feeling loved.
@@97AsV I believe it happens offscreen between season 6 and season 7, he took Salley and her brothers to his childhood home after he came clean to his clients and got suspended in the finale, and in the second episode of season 7 Don responds to Sally about what he said that got him suspended with "Nothing you don't already know". Its subtle I'll admit.
I haven’t seen this mentioned in the comments so I’ll be the one to point it out: I love the way this was shot, at first, when Don isn’t really empathetic towards Leonard, the focus on Leonard is quite distant, just like Don in the beginning, however, the more Leonard talks, the closer the camera gets to him, this symbolized the fact that Don is starting to actually pay attention to Leonard, and, in the end, before he gets up to hug him, the camera is really close to Leonard, conveying the fact that Don has understood the situation as a whole.
I miss this show so much. It almost always makes me think deeply about life after each episode. In the end, I think Don realizes that he'd only be able to properly receive love from others after he unconditionally accepts his real self. 🌕✨
Powerful, Don meets another sad man, but one who lacks the blessings he has (charisma, movie star looks, people that care for him despite his flaws, and hot career) so what does Don do when said man cries? Hugs him and has a good cry :")
I personally view it in a different way. I feel that Don actually empathizes with Leonard. Don may look like he has it all, but no one ever really liked the real Don (Dick Whitman.) We saw in the Hershey commercial that as soon as he revealed part of his true self, everyone turned away from him. Don was a tortured soul who never really felt loved. But, in the end, I think he found his peace.
I agree with Ava. Don and Leonard have more in common than you think. Leonard is an average man with modest looks and modest talents. So he is invisible to everyone. People just "walk by" him. Don, on the other hand, is tall, handsome, and is a slick talker. But as soon as he hits rock bottom and becomes vulnerable enough to open up about it with his "friends" at the ad agency (look up Don Draper's Hershey's pitch on RUclips), everyone at the ad agency abandons him and drops him like it's hot. Don and Leonard are victims of the same lie that Don's ad agency sells to millions of consumers: that you're only worthy of love if you look a certain way, talk a certain way, or have a certain amount of success. They found a way to empathize with each other in an often times cold and heartless world.
Reminds me of a quote from Bojack Horseman: "And one day you're going to look around and realize that everybody loves you... but nobody likes you. And that is the loneliest feeling in the world."
mat guz it is. Pay attention to don's and bojack's history with their families and how they both have similarities in the way they go on about life. Drinking, smoking, sleeping with many women, having a very close non sexual relationship with women they love( peggy and diane ). I think I've heard the director or producer of bojack say that this show inspired them.
@@TimmyTurner421 Not in this case, it's more like "Oh I love that guy he's great at what he does!" compared to "I genuinely like you for who you are" it's a key difference most people know from their own experiences most of the time
@Tha Real Mccoy it's a scene many people can somewhat relate to.. it resonates within many people and moves them for that reason. This whole series in incredibly good, I enjoyed every bit of it.
Whats so powerful about this scene is the transformation in Don's character. In season one, he would have slapped this man. I always thought that this episode was less the last episode about Don in the 1960's , and more the first episode of Don in the 1970's.
I could just picture him with a cigarette hanging from his mouth and giving some quippy, sly remark. Or just tensing up and having no clue what to do so he escapes into "mystique face."
@@hungpham2803 He punched that comedian guy in the underground gambling joint, also he got into a fight with that work colleague but he was drunk at the time so you could arguably excuse that one.
@@jayw9235 I stand corrected. However, I'd still argue that none of those instances has anything to do with Don seeing a man being weak in front of him.
@greenskyline Exactly. Don and Leonard are actually the same. What we take away from this is that Don should, by appearances, have everything a "high value man" would need to be happy and sated in a society. It's not true. Don is "superior" to Leonard but in the same dark hole, nevertheless. People care as much about "Dick" as they do about Leonard, but this is partly due to the inability of both characters to connect with themselves and to open themselves up to recognize and receive love from others when it's being offered.
I love that little smile the team leader gives in the very last shot. Maybe he doesn't really understand why Don walked over to comfort Leonard but what he does know is a connection & progress just happened. I'd like to think Don sat down & told his story after we left the scene.
this is one of the best social rejection examples ever. of course everybody somehow related to Leonard. because everybody rejects somebody.. and everybody is rejected by somebody..
Fatih Güven its not rejection by "somebody" that does that, it's a whole other thing. Like he said "they're trying and you don't even know what it is", this is not a nobody loves me monologue, that is MORE like "I don't even know what love is/i know how to feel it" kind of monologue. Not only that but he's understanding of what he's lacking but he just can't breakthrough it (himself).
"I knew a man that I did not care for/ And then one day this man gave me a call/ We sat and talked about things on our mind/ And now this man he is a friend of mine/ Don't be afraid of love/ Don't be afraid, don't be afraid to love/ Everybody needs a little love" --Friend and Lover
Leonard’s story is Don’s story. What Don went through as a kid, abandoned by those closest, despised by others, and invisible to most. That’s why Don had to invent this Superman persona because he was terrified that if the world knew him for who he really was, he’d forever be sitting on fridge shelf, rejected, forgotten, and unloved.
Mad Men should be watched by everyone This show has the ability to teach lessons about life and adulthood through its entire run, how many shows can do that? It truly sucks so many people can relate to this, myself included We all just wanna be loved and accepted We all wanna belong and feel understood And going years feeling that way, mentally fucks you up, it affects everyone around u for better or worse
It's actually crazy how much I can relate to Leonard. One of the only scenes on television that has ever made me legitimately cry. Don't worry I see you Leonard.
I think some of it too, is the whole idea of 'not knowing what love is'. Betty gave it to him. His kids gave it to him. Megan gave it to him. Roger gave it to him. Burt gave it to him. Faye gave it to him. Peggy gave it to him. Joan gave it to him. But he squandered most all of it. He was always so wrapped up in believing he wasn't good enough as Dick Whitman, that he didn't realize that everyone did look up when he sat down. Everyone did pick him. And not because of his name. But because of the person he was. The name was different, but he was still Dick Whitman. But he couldn't get past his inner demons from his past to realize that his entire orbit was always loving and accepting him.
it's an insane move to give the last big emotional monologue to a brand new character *in the finale of the series* but somehow, the writers of Mad Men pulled it off
The weird subtext to this scene is that Don hugs him because Leonard shows him how people relate in 70s. Thus a change in the way one would advertise. In the past no one would have ever admitted to what Leonard admitted to.
Man tells a story about how he always feels like he can't connect to the people around him, and even in tears no one makes a move to comfort him until Don does. The man is broken; showing them the pieces and only Don understood that THAT'S what that man's always gotten,, the blank stares at best, and he just wants to feel like an actual person. We're all so far apart we don't even see its pain written all over a man and help him feel as though he isn't alone.
The "I don't know." Is the deepest part to me. In a lot of ways, in a lot of fashions, I have asked myself a deeply profound question, one of true introspection, and that's the awnser I give myself. I don't know...
this is the best, most powerful scene in the entire series. I distinctly remember bursting in tears too and after these few years, it is still tremendously moving. the actor's name is Evan Arnold... if you take the initials.. E. Arnold... anagram of Leonard. wow...
This is so lame man you just ruined the Sopranos for me. Can you refrain from posting revelatory comments like this in the future? I was just innocently scrolling through comments of a clip from a show I have safely concluded and was revisiting it and did not expect to have one of the greatest shows of all time ruined for me. I've BEEN VERY CAREFULLY avoiding Sopranos content too. Vaffanculo mezzo di merda
@@genevalegare6197 I mean, come on man. You can’t expect people not to spoil a show which has been out for 20 years. Plus the similarities between Mad Men and Sopranos are so prevalent and obvious that people want to discuss them. Wiener was a lead writer in Sopranos so people are obviously gona discuss his work and relate the two. Sorry you got it spoiled for you man. But you can’t be annoyed. You should have been aware of the consequences
By far the most relateable and emotional moment in the show for me. It's not even close. This is exactly what the despair looks like. It always depressed me that Mad Men fans overwhelmingly cite the Carousel pitch as their favorite emotional scene and not something like this. I always thought that it shows that even fans of a show that criticized false appearances still fell for the spell of sanitized, forensic and curated sentimentality of advertising with all its glamor and dazzle, not the hard, simple and raw ugliness of it all.
I’m with you, this scene is like an emotional nuke. Ironically, though, I think it’s weirdly similar to the carousel pitch in that it is just that - a pitch: for love, empathy, human connection. Like Don says to Peggy, “You are the product. You, feeling something.” Obviously the carousel pitch is meant to sell a product at the end of the day, but the technique used, the vehicle, is the same as Leonard’s: a glimpse into someone’s heart to show our commonalities, what we all yearn for. The fact that one scene is staged in a place of business and the other in a place of healing and reflection makes little difference to my mind. All that goes to say this is maybe the single most moving monologue I’ve ever heard, especially within the context of the show and Don’s struggle to find peace.
First time I watched mad men was 2018 with my girlfriend since I was 13 (Seven years) She was my best friend throughout childhood and the only one in my life who was genuinely there for me no matter what and made me feel so important and loved no matter what was happening. I never loved anyone else (including my family) and when she left I went through years of pretending and got by on my good looks and fake confidence. I have come back to this clip numerous amounts of times and every single time I cant help but cry.
"They should love me, maybe they do, but, I don't even know what it is. You spend your whole life thinking you're not getting it, people aren't giving it to you. Then you realize they're trying, and you don't even know what IT is." Coke is IT. IT'S the real thing...obviously. I can see Don making the pitch almost word for word as Leonard did. Turning the card over at the end..."It's The Real Thing" With the way the final scene ends, I can't for the life of me figure out why Weiner didn't name the final episode "And A Smile"
I think the title for the last episode is named Person to Person is because Don called on the telephone to his three important women in his life; and that is Sally, Betty, and Peggy. You can hear it when Don called Peggy. Someone on the phone line said “I have a person to person call for Peggy Olson from Donald Draper.” The subtle hint to show that this episode is meant to Don that he has connection to people when he thought he doesn’t. It’s the real thing...
That also references back to something that Anna Draper said in season 2, "You are part of the world...every living thing is connected to you...It means the only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone."
@@comedygeek1 dude this is an excellent observation... Ohh jeeesus why did I see this video again, I am crying again as I was crying few days back when I finished mad Men... Damnn " why does the pain never goes away".
I cannot even imagine what it was like to be the actor and learn that you got this part. Arguably the greatest series in television history. The final moments of the series finale. And they give you this meaty monologue that, by all rights, should have been delivered by the routine Emmy nominee who plays the character... But instead, you got to give that speech. And you, not Jon Hamm, give a speech that strikes to the core of the psyche of one of the most fascinating character ever depicted on screen. And then, despite all of that pressure... you fucking NAIL it. And in spite of that monumental achievement against impossible odds you just kinda go back to obscurity. How on EARTH did this guy not become of of the industry's most celebrated character actors after this?
I created the Wikipedia article on "Evan Arnold", who played Leonard, after this because I thought maybe he would go somewhere after it. Interestingly his father was an assistant director on Godfather II, his mother a theatrical producer, and Evan Arnold would literally be a godfather to former LA mayor Eric Garnetti's daughter. So he also had history in the industry and really nailed it, but back to relative obscurity indeed.
Coming back to this after everything that's happened in 2020, it hits different. Man, life is tough. All I can do is to wish every soul on this planet the peace and health that he/she deserves.
Aside from the amazing writing and acting, I think the staging in this scene is done beautifully. Don and Leonard start the scene at opposite sides of the frame. Don doesn’t even face Leonard, even as the camera and everyone else in the scene pulls towards him. Visually, they’re as disconnected as they could be. But as Leonard opens up, and Don connects with his story, they both creep towards the center of their respective shots. With each reverse, they’re positioned a little closer to where the other is framed. At the end, when they hug, they are both seen in the middle of the shot, together, in the same position. It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t necessarily notice while watching, but it totally supports the emotion of the scene. Another one of the many reasons I can’t seem to ever get enough of this show
This is my social life. People smile at you because its a thing youre expected to do, not because theyre happy to see you or are interesed. I feel your pain, Leonard.
For some reason this popped into my head as I woke up. The part where he talks about his job was basically my entire day. It's what all the days feel like tbh
angelica rodriguez I was very stoned for this scene as well I think this scene made me the most teary eyed since "the wheel" presentation Loved every second of this scene....I know it's just a Tv show, but Mad Men can help/teach you many things in your life..... especially if you're as unhappy as Don Fucking masterpiece
I feel like this. I've got many friends, people that I really care and I think they care about me too. And we many times hang out and have a good time together. However, there is always a moment in which I, even being among everyone, feel like I don't belong. I feel they don't really want to "pick me". I realize I can't truly connect with them and I feel really, really alone.
I’m stunned by the harmony between costumes and background (not just in this scene of course). Initially, Leonard was sitting with his back against the bold patterned background and then he moved across the room and took a seat by the windows. Then the color scheme of his plain clothes became in perfect harmony with the blue sky and the landscape one can see outside behind him. Don on the other hand is sitting in the dark corner of the room in front of the boldly patterned curtains with his shirt also in a very bold dark pattern. It’s staggering all the attention to detail!
Don completes his transformation into a living advertisement: he becomes the billboard on the side of the road telling a complete stranger that he's "ok"
This scene gets me every fucking time! I just love it, it brings me to tears every time I watch it; it’s so powerful, so beautiful, and the idea of that we’re all just looking for self worth and love; at the beginning of the series, Don was basically the top dog and sure of himself, we couldn’t really relate to him but we could understand him and see him; but by the end, we now see that even the people who look like they have everything, might not have something they really want. And that’s something Don has been chasing his whole life, something new and fresh. Change.
First time I saw this I didn't really get it. But the older I get the more it resonates with me, and the more I feel like I'm becoming Leonard. Its lonely, suffocating, and I feel his pain. Its hard to watch cause he pretty much explains my feelings towards the world.
I remember one time at work I was really struggling with my mind. A coworker came by and talked to me and I just kinda broke down uncontrollably. He hugged me and told me I got this, and I said I don't think I do, but he truly believed I did. I've never had another guy hug me like that before, but I will never forget how he got me through one of the toughest moments of my life by doing that. I'll always remember that moment.
This scene was very powerful. Now whenever I open the refrigerator door, I eat everything that is inside.
Jay Santos good work, jay
Lol
😂😂😂
Or at least just pick it up and smile at it...
Fantastic comment!😄
"They don't look up when I sit down." God that kills me every time...
Also, this was before smart phones, tablets, etc. where now not looking up when someone sits down at the dinner table is the norm.
It could be a bumper sticker for depression.
Arthur Morgan, Formerly 4th Chairman Bruh you literally upload gaming videos all the time
Gotta hug my dad now...
Absolutely powerful scene. This is Don's true self coming out. You can see here that Leonard isn't as good looking, successful or charismatic as Don is. People ignore him. Even his own family ignores Leonard. Yet by now, Don knows perfectly well that people only like him because of his good looks, charisma, and how much $$$ he makes for his ad agency. No one knows the real Don inside and no one, except for Anna Draper and maybe his children , cares for the real Don. And that's what connects Don and Leonard in this powerful scene. They both just want to be loved for who they truly are.
Exactly people love the image that Don represents not him the person.
I would say Peggy also knew him, but she still saw the best in him so he didn't understand it.
Personally speaking I never really feel they care about me except that I am more ambitious and work harder than the rest of my family. Rest of my family are deadbeats and want what I have and will take it if they have a chance. Not easy to admit but it's the damn truth! That's why I wished I had taken off a long time ago in my early 20s and never had more to do with any of them.
Angela Carleton woah that's quite a confession to make on a RUclips comment, I hope everything is going well for you now.
And this is sent as a message early in the series when Cooper answers with "Who cares?" to Pete's realization of Don's real identity. We were too occupied thinking about Don not getting caught when all along the scene was about being yourself and how it is irrelevant in Don's world who he is, as long as he keeps up the right image and does his job exceptionally.
The Actor who played Leonard should get an Emmy Nomination for "Outstanding Performance By A Guest In A TV Series". I'm sure that everyone related to Leonard in some way or another.
Yep. I live in a fridge.
stay frosty
laminage and lose to jon hamm
Yes. Jon deserved it but it would be different categories. The Actor who played Norman was in One Episode. This poor man, he's so lonely and sad, he's "existing" not living.
I hope it's not you. No matter what things will get better, I'm going through a Rough Time myself. Dealing with a very "Needy" Mother after the death of my Father, I try to tell her how frustrating it is to be the "Responsible" one and get "Nothing" while Family Members are "Irresponsible" and get "Everything".
that scene summarizes the endless struggle with depression in such a clean, touching and painful way
Its called adulthood. Get back to work.
@4th Chairman don't mind him, he's another "tough guy" crying himself to sleep
@@SplinterAce more like a douchebag
@@trjb1767shut up
It gets me every time I watch it man
I've never related more to a TV show in my life.
Agreed same this scene always gets me
Buddy I feel you, I feel same, maybe we should connect on ig?
@Tha Real Mccoy Look at the world today. Do you have any idea how many people feel disconnected, alone, unloved?
@Tha Real Mccoy I feel like a lot of us, especially men, might have people trying to give us love but we don’t even know what love is so how can we know when someone is giving it to us, you’re sort of in a plane of existence where you feel alone because people claim to know you and love you but how can they when they don’t even know the real you, they don’t know who you are, that’s why Don Draper is a perfect example of what a lot of modern day men are, and just like Don, we don’t talk about it because it’s seen as weakness and not manly enough
@@danix4883love is like riding or learning French. If you don’t learn it young, it’s hard to get the hang of it later - downton abbey
A lot of people seem to focus on Leonard talking about being unnoticed, but it's his lines about love that seem to really resonate with Don. He talks about not knowing what love is even when people are giving it to you. Feeling unnoticed, yes, but feeling that way even when people are showing you affection because YOU can't tell what's sincere and what's not. Always dismissing it, always disbelieving it, always letting the door close on you without reciprocating. This wasn't unique to Don, and isn't unique to the era.
As much as I related to Don's feelings of loneliness and isolation throughout the show, Leonard's speech is probably the most relatable and succinct summary of what it's like to yearn for love you're too damaged or broken to return I've ever seen.
I relate to Leonard 's way of crying. It's almost like laughing: crying and being overwhelmed, not knowing how to react and being confused and sad and just letting it go. Pretty liberating tho
Like Joni Mitchell says, 'laughing and crying, you know, it's the same release.'
You want to laugh something off out of habit but in that particular moment the sadness overwhelms the ability to repress it
This is, single handedly, one of the greatest scenes of Television ever. I don't need to explain why, it's just absolute perfection.
Leonard is an anagram for Real Don.
Agentgill0 Great observation. Weiner might have had that in mind. That's why this is the best show ever. So much subtlety . Subtext . Words being spoken without opening their mouths.
It’s the Real Thing.
Leonard is me
@@spocktokirk me
Leonard is the opposite of Don. And yet he's also very depressed. Don realizes finally, he's not alone. Others feel the same way as him.
A perfect example of empathy. something the world is strongly lacking in
Is empathy even a word anymore?
@@andrescafe301 empathy.. "the ability to understand and share the feelings of another." - with technology getting better, everything is getting faster and nobody has time for the little things. Even though there's the internet people somehow manage to get more disconected with each other which I think might result in a lack of empathy. From the top of my head I can't remember the last time I saw someone show empathy towards another person.
This is sympathy, not empathy
@@Ajesen always someone eager to argue. It’s empathy. Simply put
My first thought when I first saw this: Don's finally come clean. He was out of his job, divorced, his first ex-wife dying, his big secret exposed to his daughter. He had just gotten out of those bruising, near-misses with the veterans who accused him of being a thief, and he ends up in Big Sur in some Esalen-like rap session, scruffy, in jeans. His whole Madison Avenue persona seemed far more than 3,000 miles away...and then he hears this man talk. The man seems to be everything Don wasn't: bland, sincere, unremarkable, domestic, begging to be discovered. And I think I'm correct here: it's the only time in the whole series where Don hugs another man as an act of sheer compassion. Don may have also recognized in Leonard the Dick Whitman that Don might have been, or wished he could have been.
The difference between Don and Leonard is that Leonard takes it. People deal with their problems in different ways and Don has, without fail, always chosen an armor (symbolized throughout the show by his grey suit which he clings to despite times and fashion changing) and has seen it as invaluable and would, under different circumstances, see Leonard as weak for not having one.
The entire last season was Don losing a piece of his armor, one by one. He's discarding the Don persona in each episode (the ambition, the agency, the apartment, the wife, the ex-wife, the horrible truth about his CO's death which he unloads on the veterans and cathartically gets "punished" for it - even the woman-chasing dissipates at the pool scene) and in the last episode what's left of his Dick persona is also destroyed by a simple "we are not family" from Stephanie. This is one of the reasons a chime is heard at the very end when the meditation guide says "a new you" - Don has discarded all of his armor and is reborn.
Without the armor him and Leonard are on the same level. His life's tactic is shattered and he is faced with the basic truth which has defined him throughout his entire grown life: he is a disconnected man, incapable of feeling loved.
@@milosmilosmilos Great comment!
Mad Men is such a great show that it leads to great RUclips comments. Now THAT is a staggering achievement.
When does sallyfind out about don’s secret
@Tha Real Mccoy MIGHT'VE been, not "might of been", dumbass
@@97AsV I believe it happens offscreen between season 6 and season 7, he took Salley and her brothers to his childhood home after he came clean to his clients and got suspended in the finale, and in the second episode of season 7 Don responds to Sally about what he said that got him suspended with "Nothing you don't already know". Its subtle I'll admit.
I'll never forget this scene in my entire life.
I watch this every time I need a good cry
Tha Real Mccoy when things get all bottled up sometimes you need to watch something to get the tears flowing 😔
@Tha Real Mccoy For people like you that all Leonards in the world are crying.
Pathetic.
@@mgtowveteran3234 Who?
@Tha Real Mccoy Dude, just let the guy cry. I mean, people like you who likes to judge other people for say whats inside them...
Those feeling are either true for everyone, or if they are depressed the perceive that it is at that moment. Show is a damned masterpiece.
This was when this show became the GOAT for me
I haven’t seen this mentioned in the comments so I’ll be the one to point it out: I love the way this was shot, at first, when Don isn’t really empathetic towards Leonard, the focus on Leonard is quite distant, just like Don in the beginning, however, the more Leonard talks, the closer the camera gets to him, this symbolized the fact that Don is starting to actually pay attention to Leonard, and, in the end, before he gets up to hug him, the camera is really close to Leonard, conveying the fact that Don has understood the situation as a whole.
And don’t forget that when Don walked up towards him, everyone’s eyes shift away from Leonard to Don
that's what good directing looks like! very true observations
I miss this show so much. It almost always makes me think deeply about life after each episode. In the end, I think Don realizes that he'd only be able to properly receive love from others after he unconditionally accepts his real self. 🌕✨
The moment Don decided to stop running from Dick Whitman and embraced the vulnerability and self-doubt he associated with that identity.
The bait-and-switch in this scene is so great and speak volumes to the talent of the shows writers. Such a wonderful, wonderful show.
Powerful, Don meets another sad man, but one who lacks the blessings he has (charisma, movie star looks, people that care for him despite his flaws, and hot career) so what does Don do when said man cries? Hugs him and has a good cry :")
I personally view it in a different way. I feel that Don actually empathizes with Leonard. Don may look like he has it all, but no one ever really liked the real Don (Dick Whitman.) We saw in the Hershey commercial that as soon as he revealed part of his true self, everyone turned away from him. Don was a tortured soul who never really felt loved. But, in the end, I think he found his peace.
Ava Cobb Ahhhhh. Hope Don and Leonard keep a correspondence though
I agree he could never be himself with anyone except Anna Draper because she knew who he really was
Niklas Nordbäck Right : )
I agree with Ava. Don and Leonard have more in common than you think. Leonard is an average man with modest looks and modest talents. So he is invisible to everyone. People just "walk by" him. Don, on the other hand, is tall, handsome, and is a slick talker. But as soon as he hits rock bottom and becomes vulnerable enough to open up about it with his "friends" at the ad agency (look up Don Draper's Hershey's pitch on RUclips), everyone at the ad agency abandons him and drops him like it's hot. Don and Leonard are victims of the same lie that Don's ad agency sells to millions of consumers: that you're only worthy of love if you look a certain way, talk a certain way, or have a certain amount of success. They found a way to empathize with each other in an often times cold and heartless world.
As someone who went through child abuse I can say this scene struck a chord in me.
I hope there's plenty of good things in your life
+SuperNoone89 neglect is the worst of all abuses. This is why kids prefer acting out than staying quiet - the neglect feels worse than death.
You're definitely right. You always try to do things right just to not get em disappointed. To not get hurt, or not be loved...
wow, tremendous performance, great acting, wonderful scene.
My favorite scene in the series. And silly as it always seems, love is still one of the best answers.
This kills me over and over.
The whole show built up to this moment.
Reminds me of a quote from Bojack Horseman:
"And one day you're going to look around and realize that everybody loves you... but nobody likes you. And that is the loneliest feeling in the world."
cause bojack is inspired in mad men
@@hugotovar2128 really? Or is just your interpretation?
mat guz it is. Pay attention to don's and bojack's history with their families and how they both have similarities in the way they go on about life. Drinking, smoking, sleeping with many women, having a very close non sexual relationship with women they love( peggy and diane ). I think I've heard the director or producer of bojack say that this show inspired them.
I don't quite understand that quote. Isn't loving a stronger form of liking? Wouldn't it always be better to be loved instead of being liked?
@@TimmyTurner421 Not in this case, it's more like "Oh I love that guy he's great at what he does!" compared to "I genuinely like you for who you are" it's a key difference most people know from their own experiences most of the time
"the only thing keep you from being happy is the belief that you are alone..."
"The only true sin is believing you can't be forgiven"
Anna draper
I needed to hear that. Thank you for sharing.
For some reason I was really crying when they were both crying.
"For some reason," c'mon now Julie we both know exactly why we cried simultaneously.
I am crying now
@@Onigirli I would want to cry with my head on your shoulders. I feel so connected watching this scene dayuum
Tha Real Mccoy Cause it’s sad. How do people not understand that people cry when they’re sad?
@Tha Real Mccoy it's a scene many people can somewhat relate to.. it resonates within many people and moves them for that reason. This whole series in incredibly good, I enjoyed every bit of it.
Whats so powerful about this scene is the transformation in Don's character. In season one, he would have slapped this man. I always thought that this episode was less the last episode about Don in the 1960's , and more the first episode of Don in the 1970's.
I could just picture him with a cigarette hanging from his mouth and giving some quippy, sly remark. Or just tensing up and having no clue what to do so he escapes into "mystique face."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Don has ever laid a hand on other people. Other than the time he pushed Betty back after she pushed him.
@@hungpham2803 He punched that comedian guy in the underground gambling joint, also he got into a fight with that work colleague but he was drunk at the time so you could arguably excuse that one.
@@hungpham2803 he punched Jimmy Barrett, he swung at Duck Phillips and punched the priest in the bar and went to jail.
@@jayw9235 I stand corrected. However, I'd still argue that none of those instances has anything to do with Don seeing a man being weak in front of him.
I still think about this scene a lot. I miss Mad Men.
A guy who's the exact opposite of Don, yet is the one person Don connects with.
Yeah .. exact opposite...
@greenskyline Exactly. Don and Leonard are actually the same. What we take away from this is that Don should, by appearances, have everything a "high value man" would need to be happy and sated in a society. It's not true. Don is "superior" to Leonard but in the same dark hole, nevertheless. People care as much about "Dick" as they do about Leonard, but this is partly due to the inability of both characters to connect with themselves and to open themselves up to recognize and receive love from others when it's being offered.
I love that little smile the team leader gives in the very last shot. Maybe he doesn't really understand why Don walked over to comfort Leonard but what he does know is a connection & progress just happened. I'd like to think Don sat down & told his story after we left the scene.
this is one of the best social rejection examples ever. of course everybody somehow related to Leonard. because everybody rejects somebody.. and everybody is rejected by somebody..
Fatih Güven its not rejection by "somebody" that does that, it's a whole other thing. Like he said "they're trying and you don't even know what it is", this is not a nobody loves me monologue, that is MORE like "I don't even know what love is/i know how to feel it" kind of monologue. Not only that but he's understanding of what he's lacking but he just can't breakthrough it (himself).
exactly what i was thinking
omg social rejection, yes that's what it is, that's what my whole life has been omg lol i can finally put it into words.
and everyone has a refrigerator
If fhey dare to show their hearts, anybody can accept somebody just the way they are.
"I knew a man that I did not care for/
And then one day this man gave me a call/
We sat and talked about things on our mind/
And now this man he is a friend of mine/
Don't be afraid of love/
Don't be afraid, don't be afraid to love/
Everybody needs a little love"
--Friend and Lover
powerful scene.
ironic how part of these lyrics are part of a song called "reach out of the darkness", also featured in mad men.
Most beautiful scene in the history of television ❤️
Leonard is the sad person many of us will become, Don is the person we hope to finally notice us.
If you as a men ever cried, you recognize that cry sound and know that it even hurts your chest…. Damn
Leonard’s story is Don’s story. What Don went through as a kid, abandoned by those closest, despised by others, and invisible to most. That’s why Don had to invent this Superman persona because he was terrified that if the world knew him for who he really was, he’d forever be sitting on fridge shelf, rejected, forgotten, and unloved.
Mad Men should be watched by everyone
This show has the ability to teach lessons about life and adulthood through its entire run, how many shows can do that?
It truly sucks so many people can relate to this, myself included
We all just wanna be loved and accepted
We all wanna belong and feel understood
And going years feeling that way, mentally fucks you up, it affects everyone around u for better or worse
Of all the amazing moments and scenes on this magnificent show, and there were many, this was the one that broke me.
Its the one moment don is moved and is there for someone else emotionally and its beautiful.
It's an Emmy-worthy perfomance by the actor playing Leonard, not to take anything away from Jon of course.
Powerful scene...
Sad but beautiful scene. Because of Leonard's opening up and vulnerability Don is finally able to cry. I miss Mad Men so much.
Great show
It's actually crazy how much I can relate to Leonard. One of the only scenes on television that has ever made me legitimately cry. Don't worry I see you Leonard.
Spectacular scene. Exactly how my life unfolds.
I think some of it too, is the whole idea of 'not knowing what love is'. Betty gave it to him. His kids gave it to him. Megan gave it to him. Roger gave it to him. Burt gave it to him. Faye gave it to him. Peggy gave it to him. Joan gave it to him. But he squandered most all of it. He was always so wrapped up in believing he wasn't good enough as Dick Whitman, that he didn't realize that everyone did look up when he sat down. Everyone did pick him. And not because of his name. But because of the person he was. The name was different, but he was still Dick Whitman. But he couldn't get past his inner demons from his past to realize that his entire orbit was always loving and accepting him.
it's an insane move to give the last big emotional monologue to a brand new character *in the finale of the series* but somehow, the writers of Mad Men pulled it off
The weird subtext to this scene is that Don hugs him because Leonard shows him how people relate in 70s. Thus a change in the way one would advertise. In the past no one would have ever admitted to what Leonard admitted to.
Don is hugging and finally giving love to himself - through Leonard
Wow this comment mad me tear up....
People underestimate how much healing you can do for another person just by hugging them until they tell you to let go
one of the most powerful scenes of the entire series. revelatory and human.
One of the best written and most powerful moments in television history.
Now I cry even harder because John Ham isn't there to console me
Man tells a story about how he always feels like he can't connect to the people around him, and even in tears no one makes a move to comfort him until Don does. The man is broken; showing them the pieces and only Don understood that THAT'S what that man's always gotten,, the blank stares at best, and he just wants to feel like an actual person. We're all so far apart we don't even see its pain written all over a man and help him feel as though he isn't alone.
The "I don't know." Is the deepest part to me. In a lot of ways, in a lot of fashions, I have asked myself a deeply profound question, one of true introspection, and that's the awnser I give myself. I don't know...
I think about this scene a lot
This show truly is a masterpiece
damn what sad lonely man ....good monologue good acting...powerful stuff
this is the best, most powerful scene in the entire series. I distinctly remember bursting in tears too and after these few years, it is still tremendously moving. the actor's name is Evan Arnold... if you take the initials.. E. Arnold... anagram of Leonard. wow...
Thank you for this Matthew Weiner❤
This scene breaks me every times. Knowing that you are not alone in your insecurities and feelings.
Don Draper embraces his inner Leonard; he lives. Tony Soprano disregards his inner Kevin; he dies.
This is so lame man you just ruined the Sopranos for me. Can you refrain from posting revelatory comments like this in the future? I was just innocently scrolling through comments of a clip from a show I have safely concluded and was revisiting it and did not expect to have one of the greatest shows of all time ruined for me. I've BEEN VERY CAREFULLY avoiding Sopranos content too. Vaffanculo mezzo di merda
🐠
Tony Soprano is a mobster who murders people; he dies. Don Draper is an ad executive who doesn't murder people; he lives.
@@genevalegare6197 I mean, come on man. You can’t expect people not to spoil a show which has been out for 20 years. Plus the similarities between Mad Men and Sopranos are so prevalent and obvious that people want to discuss them. Wiener was a lead writer in Sopranos so people are obviously gona discuss his work and relate the two. Sorry you got it spoiled for you man. But you can’t be annoyed. You should have been aware of the consequences
@@genevalegare6197 If you've never seen the ending it's still worth watching. I mean it's worth watching either way
By far the most relateable and emotional moment in the show for me. It's not even close. This is exactly what the despair looks like. It always depressed me that Mad Men fans overwhelmingly cite the Carousel pitch as their favorite emotional scene and not something like this. I always thought that it shows that even fans of a show that criticized false appearances still fell for the spell of sanitized, forensic and curated sentimentality of advertising with all its glamor and dazzle, not the hard, simple and raw ugliness of it all.
I’m with you, this scene is like an emotional nuke. Ironically, though, I think it’s weirdly similar to the carousel pitch in that it is just that - a pitch: for love, empathy, human connection. Like Don says to Peggy, “You are the product. You, feeling something.” Obviously the carousel pitch is meant to sell a product at the end of the day, but the technique used, the vehicle, is the same as Leonard’s: a glimpse into someone’s heart to show our commonalities, what we all yearn for. The fact that one scene is staged in a place of business and the other in a place of healing and reflection makes little difference to my mind.
All that goes to say this is maybe the single most moving monologue I’ve ever heard, especially within the context of the show and Don’s struggle to find peace.
This serie its a piece of art
First time I watched mad men was 2018 with my girlfriend since I was 13 (Seven years)
She was my best friend throughout childhood and the only one in my life who was genuinely there for me no matter what and made me feel so important and loved no matter what was happening. I never loved anyone else (including my family) and when she left I went through years of pretending and got by on my good looks and fake confidence. I have come back to this clip numerous amounts of times and every single time I cant help but cry.
This is by far one of the best scenes in television
This scene just makes me cry like a baby every time
It’s very deep. Life is hard
This was the only scene in Mad Men that made me cry. Powerful.
The final scene of the penultimate episode where Sally is reading Betty's letter really got me too but yeah this is definitely the most emotional one.
"They should love me, maybe they do, but, I don't even know what it is. You spend your whole life thinking you're not getting it, people aren't giving it to you. Then you realize they're trying, and you don't even know what IT is."
Coke is IT. IT'S the real thing...obviously.
I can see Don making the pitch almost word for word as Leonard did. Turning the card over at the end..."It's The Real Thing"
With the way the final scene ends, I can't for the life of me figure out why Weiner didn't name the final episode "And A Smile"
well played
the analogy that Leonard uses about him been on a refrigerator and not been choose...totaly fits with the idea of the ending.
I think the title for the last episode is named Person to Person is because Don called on the telephone to his three important women in his life; and that is Sally, Betty, and Peggy. You can hear it when Don called Peggy. Someone on the phone line said “I have a person to person call for Peggy Olson from Donald Draper.” The subtle hint to show that this episode is meant to Don that he has connection to people when he thought he doesn’t. It’s the real thing...
That also references back to something that Anna Draper said in season 2, "You are part of the world...every living thing is connected to you...It means the only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone."
@@comedygeek1 dude this is an excellent observation... Ohh jeeesus why did I see this video again, I am crying again as I was crying few days back when I finished mad Men... Damnn " why does the pain never goes away".
The finale is nothing without Leonard.
That hug meant something in the 70's. Means something today, end of 2020.
Did anyone notice as well that the refrigerator story is framed like an ad? People looking in their fridge, smiling. So well done.
I cannot even imagine what it was like to be the actor and learn that you got this part.
Arguably the greatest series in television history. The final moments of the series finale. And they give you this meaty monologue that, by all rights, should have been delivered by the routine Emmy nominee who plays the character...
But instead, you got to give that speech. And you, not Jon Hamm, give a speech that strikes to the core of the psyche of one of the most fascinating character ever depicted on screen.
And then, despite all of that pressure... you fucking NAIL it. And in spite of that monumental achievement against impossible odds you just kinda go back to obscurity.
How on EARTH did this guy not become of of the industry's most celebrated character actors after this?
I created the Wikipedia article on "Evan Arnold", who played Leonard, after this because I thought maybe he would go somewhere after it.
Interestingly his father was an assistant director on Godfather II, his mother a theatrical producer, and Evan Arnold would literally be a godfather to former LA mayor Eric Garnetti's daughter. So he also had history in the industry and really nailed it, but back to relative obscurity indeed.
@@ThomasReeves-s7uthe fact that he didn't break out honestly makes the monologue even more poignant. why didn't we pick him?!
We are all Leonard.
This was next to "A Man Walks Into A Room" one of the best scenes in The History Of The Show.
I held back tears, but this is something heartbreaking, yet beautiful at the same time.
this scene hit me so hard..
Coming back to this after everything that's happened in 2020, it hits different. Man, life is tough. All I can do is to wish every soul on this planet the peace and health that he/she deserves.
OMG!!! This scene made me cry. Just seeing two guys hugging it out, so emotional.
Aside from the amazing writing and acting, I think the staging in this scene is done beautifully. Don and Leonard start the scene at opposite sides of the frame. Don doesn’t even face Leonard, even as the camera and everyone else in the scene pulls towards him. Visually, they’re as disconnected as they could be.
But as Leonard opens up, and Don connects with his story, they both creep towards the center of their respective shots. With each reverse, they’re positioned a little closer to where the other is framed. At the end, when they hug, they are both seen in the middle of the shot, together, in the same position.
It’s the kind of thing you wouldn’t necessarily notice while watching, but it totally supports the emotion of the scene. Another one of the many reasons I can’t seem to ever get enough of this show
This is my social life. People smile at you because its a thing youre expected to do, not because theyre happy to see you or are interesed. I feel your pain, Leonard.
For some reason this popped into my head as I woke up. The part where he talks about his job was basically my entire day. It's what all the days feel like tbh
I watched this episode stoned and this scene just hit me like a fucking ton of bricks, i rlated so much, brilliant tv show.
I was stoned as well, cried like a fucking baby. Amazing acting by both characters!
angelica rodriguez
I was very stoned for this scene as well
I think this scene made me the most teary eyed since "the wheel" presentation
Loved every second of this scene....I know it's just a Tv show, but Mad Men can help/teach you many things in your life..... especially if you're as unhappy as Don
Fucking masterpiece
@Tha Real Mccoy The show can teach you hundreds of lessons. Just go watch it?
I feel like this.
I've got many friends, people that I really care and I think they care about me too. And we many times hang out and have a good time together. However, there is always a moment in which I, even being among everyone, feel like I don't belong. I feel they don't really want to "pick me". I realize I can't truly connect with them and I feel really, really alone.
Johann Fowl there’s always hope/reassurance, I feel like that’s the bittersweet point here
I can relate
Not gonna lie, this whole series hits really really unbelievably close to home for me. And this scene more than most
This is the best scene in the show in my opinion.
This is what I needed to see today.
I’m stunned by the harmony between costumes and background (not just in this scene of course). Initially, Leonard was sitting with his back against the bold patterned background and then he moved across the room and took a seat by the windows. Then the color scheme of his plain clothes became in perfect harmony with the blue sky and the landscape one can see outside behind him. Don on the other hand is sitting in the dark corner of the room in front of the boldly patterned curtains with his shirt also in a very bold dark pattern. It’s staggering all the attention to detail!
I cry exactly when Leonard cries and exactly like he cries.
Don completes his transformation into a living advertisement: he becomes the billboard on the side of the road telling a complete stranger that he's "ok"
This scene gets me every fucking time! I just love it, it brings me to tears every time I watch it; it’s so powerful, so beautiful, and the idea of that we’re all just looking for self worth and love; at the beginning of the series, Don was basically the top dog and sure of himself, we couldn’t really relate to him but we could understand him and see him; but by the end, we now see that even the people who look like they have everything, might not have something they really want. And that’s something Don has been chasing his whole life, something new and fresh. Change.
Just coming back here to remind every one, this is the best show ever put on TV.
I can so relate to Leonard
I love how the anecdote is told so similar to some of the ad pitches of don’s.
First time I saw this I didn't really get it. But the older I get the more it resonates with me, and the more I feel like I'm becoming Leonard. Its lonely, suffocating, and I feel his pain. Its hard to watch cause he pretty much explains my feelings towards the world.
I love the way the ultimate playboy Dapper Don who has it all consoles poor old invisible Leonard and still Don wasn’t happy that’s the irony ...
Wow is all I have to say is WOW very touching