Cue `` Thus Spoke Zarathustra . '' The first half of the seventh , and final , season of `` Mad Men '' ends Sunday night with the characters continuing to grope with a new world -- one with a computer in its center . The computer may not be HAL , and the world is a far cry from the fictional future of `` 2001 : A Space Odyssey , '' but as the show 's many references to that film have made clear , the characters are in transit , trying to get their bearings . It 's a mad , mad , mad , 'Mad Men ' world . What direction will they go ? You 've got Don Draper ( Jon Hamm ) , who has spent these early months of 1969 demoted from creative director to copywriter ( copywriter ! ) in hopes of forcing him out of Sterling Cooper & Partners altogether . He 's been spending his weeks jetting back and forth between the agency in New York and Los Angeles , where his wife , Megan , has been pursuing her acting career . As a couple , they 're adrift . Indeed , about the only time this season Don 's felt the grounding of family is during an outing with daughter Sally ( Kiernan Shipka ) , which ended with an actual profession of love , and a trip to Burger Chef with Peggy ( Elisabeth Moss ) and Pete ( Vincent Kartheiser ) . And Peggy ? She 's a manager , essentially No . 2 to the grouchy and limited new creative director , Lou Avery ( Allan Havey ) . She 's smarter than he is but gets no respect . Between spending his nights with his orgiastic hippie friends and his days wondering about life , Roger ( John Slattery ) has practically checked out . Bert ( Robert Morse ) is a figurehead . The guy pulling the strings appears to be Jim Cutler ( Harry Hamlin ) , who 's as sleek and deadly as a certain `` 2001 '' computer . No wonder Ginsberg ( Ben Feldman ) cut off his nipple . It 's almost the only way to relieve the pressure . The reviews for this year have ranged from respectful to laudatory . Even though ratings have been down from last season , there 's a sense that `` Mad Men '' has found its footing again . About the only episode that really took hits was `` The Monolith , '' which had the most heavy-handed references to `` 2001 '' -- but , then again , what other show would bother with such references at all ? `` Mad Men '' being `` Mad Men , '' there are all kinds of theories about how this half-season will conclude . Megan is going to cross paths with Charles Manson ; Don will mount an office coup . You have to wonder how the moon landing will figure into things -- especially since it appears the series ' timeline is nearing July 1969 . Fans , however , will have to hang on . The second half wo n't air until next spring . The series could end on a down note , but keep in mind : In 1969 , miracles do happen . What do you think of this season of `` Mad Men '' ? Tell us in the comments .
`` Mad Men '' half-season finale set for Sunday night . Characters seem a little lost , dealing with computer world . `` Mad Men '' will conclude next spring .