Finales are a hard thing to master. Given the amount of time people invest in a television show on average (don’t do the math, it is genuinely horrifying), writers are always going to infuriate and deeply upset their audience in attempting to conclude the series.

Hell, the very idea of a conclusion itself is incredibly painful for some people. And despite it being a legitimate impossibility to wrap up every story line, character arc and deeply entrenched, internet driven conspiracy theory therein, people still expect this from that final 60 minute episode. YOU CRAZY.

Mad Men’s series wrap was fantastic for many reasons, but with the help of writers far cleverer than ourselves, we’ve outlined some of the more pertinent below.

***MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT***

One of the enduring themes of the show was always the disgraceful treatment of the female characters and sexism that prevailed right throughout the series despite the many other progressions society made. Joan’s story was the most heartbreaking but also the most valiant. Grantland elaborated:

“The Joan we met in the pilot was a self-appointed female defender of patriarchy, and by the close of the finale she is determined to burn it all down. She learned that supporting your own oppression doesn’t help you to get spared. Women and minorities are discouraged from speaking up about the systematic oppression they encounter, and often gaslit into pretending it doesn’t exist. One day Joan will meet a guy who won’t make her choose between love and her job. “ — Molly Lambert, Grantland

Considering we always suspected (deep down) that Don Draper would take his own life, he actually reached some small level of enlightenment at that Buddhist retreat. Someone’s going to write a thesis on the smile that spreads across his face in the final seconds of the series (seriously, it will happen). Rolling Stone elaborates:

“It was about our (anti)hero’s ability to finally find a true connection with another human being, one that had nothing to do with sex or money or being able to spin a good line — one accomplished, in fact, without Don saying anything at all. His soulmate, as is turns out, is not a doomed brunette but a man in a pale blue sweater, one so nondescript that his wife and kids don’t even notice when he takes a seat.”— Sam Adams, Rolling Stone

Jon Hamm lends his similarly optimisitic take to Draper’s path:

“My take is that, the next day, [Don] wakes up in this beautiful place, and has this serene moment of understanding, and realizes who he is. And who he is, is an advertising man. And so, this thing comes to him. There’s a way to see it in a completely cynical way, and say, “Wow, that’s awful.” But I think that for Don, it represents some kind of understanding and comfort in this incredibly unquiet, uncomfortable life that he has led.”

As for Peggy; so much criticism has been leveled at the way her story seemed to wrap up in a neat (hairy) bow, but her relationship with Stan is so much more than that. Behold this most profound and touching observation from the always reliable NPR:

“This wasn’t only a story about Peggy getting a boyfriend; it was a story about Peggy getting free of trying to emotionally connect with Don Draper, which she’s been trying to do since the pilot. It was a story about Peggy stepping away from a relationship from which she gets nothing to make room for a relationship from which she gets something. Stan started out as a jerk, but Don stayed a jerk. Learning to stop throwing good emotional money after bad is one of the most important elements of adulthood; despite its cinematic-swoon elements, this was more than met the eye: It wasn’t just a story about getting what you’ve always dreamed of. It was just as much a story about when to give up.” — Linda Holmes, NPR