13 mysteries which must be solved in the final Mad Men series

Since the TV show first aired in 2007 we’ve been mesmerised by the lives of Don Draper, Peggy Olson and Joan Harris, set against the backdrop of 1960s’ America.

And while the TV show has always been a slow burn (seriously, it seems nothing happens and then EVERYTHING happens), there’s certain plots which definitely need to be wrapped up before the show goes off air permanently.

1. People need to find out about Peggy and Pete’s child

We’ve been waiting for this one to come out since the show pretty much started. Don knows that Peggy was pregnant but not who the father was. Pete knows he fathered the child, but as far as we know, has never asked for any information. We think the child might live with Peggy’s sister, but we don’t really know.

That child would be entitled to inherit anything Pete created in his lifetime – including shares in the agency. The person this will hurt the most is Trudy, the very excellent Alison Brie, who we always want to see more of.

2. Roger needs to know that Joan’s son is his

Everyone think Joan’s son was fathered with her estranged husband Greg, with perhaps the exception of Bob Benson. But we know it’s Roger’s baby. Roger may have been a philandering silver-haired fox, but he’s always had a special place for Joan. These two were getting it on before he was even with Jane for his short-lived second marriage.

3. Peggy must find out how Joan get her part ownership

If we remember correctly, and we do, Don turned up at Joan’s apartment telling her she didn’t need to sleep with one of the firm’s clients to get her share of Cooper Sterling Draper Price. But alas, he was too late. The deed had already been committed and she was able to waltz into the boardroom. Some people know how she got that role, but Peggy doesn’t. Peggy can be quite moralistic at times and will surely frown on this, but to what extent? Peggy and Joan’s relationship has always been a door slam away from enemies, and a shared cigarette away from best buds.

4. Betty Draper needs to find some sort of life fulfilment

We’re not sure what’s going to happen with Betty’s politically-ambitious second husband Henry but he might be regretting his decision to pick up the pieces that Don left behind. Betty’s no idiot and is well aware of what she can achieve through meddling (think back to when she coerced her housewife friend to have an affair with the guy she met at horse-riding). Last season, we also saw her give as good as she got with some political statements, much to Henry’s annoyance.

5. Joan needs to flourish in sales

Less of a mystery, just something we want to happen. Not least because of how she got her company shares, Joan needs to flourish in sales to show she can do the work of any guy. I mean we know she can, and she can double cross and out-manoeuvere the best of them, but she needs to let other people see that to truly earn their praise.

6. Harry needs to stop being such an ass / People need to listen to Harry

As viewers, we have a love-hate relationship with Harry. He seems to be both holier than thou with his approach to marriage, but we know he’s had at least two affairs. We also sort of like him, because he seems to have a glimpse into the future, understands the role of the computer, and speaks a lot of sense about how the agency can make money. But he’s all about making money and then we don’t like him again.

7. Is Ken Cosgrove still writing fiction and plays?

Ken’s short stories were previously printed in a magazine, albeit under a pseudonym, but he was told to knock it off by the team at the agency (at that point Sterling Cooper). There was an awkward dinner party where his wife suggested he was still writing, but it was shushed up. Camera shots and glances suggested he was still writing, and in a way, we really hope he was.

8. Whatever happened to the guy in ‘Guy walks into an ad agency’ (also known as the lawnmower episode)

This is an old one, back in season three, a team from London came over to New York to reorganise Sterling Cooper. That team included Guy McKendrick – the “Guy” of the episode title. Yep, Guy is the unfortunate victim of the John Deere lawnmower accident which managed to slice off his entire foot. Can we have an update please?

9. Don, Don, Don.

There’s so much that people need to learn. There’s an ever-growing list of people who know that Don was really Dick Whitman. Megan knows from that first trip to California. Sally knows something, if only the name. Betty knows there was a divorce (remember she found out the real Don was divorced from Anna), and Pete definitely knows. In addition, there’s Anna’s niece Stephanie who we saw fleetingly last season – the one who was pregnant, spent an awkward night at Megan’s California home, and left.

Is there more for us to learn about Don’s life as Dick, perhaps after he left the whorehouse and before he served in the Korea war. Ultimately it was there he stole Don’s identity.

We know, at some point, Anna tracked him down in his job as a used car salesman and reconciled her husband’s passing with Dick/Don’s friendship. He eventually got a job as a fur salesman where Roger found him, and he was working at the ad agency when he and Betty married.

But there’s surely some sort of investigation just waiting to happen. Perhaps Pete’s friend from the state department will trigger something.

10. Sally Draper needs to prove her mother wrong

Sally is smart, yet she always seems to be getting it in the neck from her mother Betty for no reason. For knowing her own mind and speaking it, for calling her mother out on some things, for being friends with Glenn (weird Glenn?), for having the sense to call someone when it gets too bad, we can’t help but like her – and we can’t really work out why Betty hates Sally so much.

11. We have to wonder what happened to Sal Romano

Another one that would be nice to be included if possible. Whatever happened to Sal Romano? Don walked in on the gay art director on an out-of-town trip and the man was later fired, but not before we’d been introduced to his wife Kitty. Last we saw him, he was using the time-warn euphemism of “working late” to possibly pick up a guy.

12. Will Megan get her big break?

There’s some thought that Megan might get killed off, but perhaps a big break would be Don’s demise. Lots of journalists digging around in her past would ultimately mean digging around in his past. What could they find? Well, Stephanie for a start, and then it could go in all directions.

13. Will anyone ever know about Peggy and Duck Phillips, or Peggy and Ted?

Peggy might have fallen for Ted but his move to California stopped anything more than a one-night affair happening. With the changes at the agency coming up, it’s not clear who’ll be based in California and what each partner could stand to gain/lose from a change of coasts. For Ted, a return to New York would bring the Peggy issue back to the fore.

There’s no official start date for series 7 part two, but we think it will be around March.