Things have really changed at SC&P since we rejoined Don and the others at the start of 1969. It’s been an incredible half season, full of all the Mad Men trademarks, and a lot of attentive fans looking for clues as to how it’s all going to end.

Perhaps the show is a tragedy about the excesses of capitalism. Maybe it’s only supposed to be a historical drama, telling the tale of America’s changes in the 1960s. Or it might just be what we have been talking about all season: a story of redemption.

Western culture is flush with redemption stories, to the point where it almost becomes nauseating. Yet we expect it. We want our protagonists to make it out of the story alive and to become better people for taking the journey. We like it so much that when a television show decides to end on a more somber or ambiguous note, we end up pretty frustrated.

As fans, many of us have taken hold of the idea that season 7 of Mad Men is supposed to be the story of Don Draper’s redemption. Could it be?

All of the signs are there. Don has finally made peace with his children, sharing a touching moment with his daughter Sally. He’s also finally shown some respect to Peggy Olson, which he eventually earned back in another touching moment when the two creative geniuses shared a dance to Frank Sinatra. Don has been drinking less, with a few exceptions, since he returned to SC&P, and he’s even been working hard at his job to try and earn back the esteem of his partners.

Even the bad moments Don has had seem to be pushing him toward a better life. He and Megan are getting a divorce, but in a civilized and friendly way, unlike his split with Betty. The end of the relationship is a necessary next step for Don’s growth, as their marriage seemed doomed from the beginning. It was rushed, contrived, and had a lot more fighting early on than fans had probably expected. Sure, Don refrained from cheating for a while, but eventually, the girl from Freaks and Geeks changed that. (I still haven’t forgiven her for breaking up Cory and Topanga.)

Don and Megan’s marriage isn’t even ending because of his infidelity but simply because they are growing apart as the world around them changes. Their ability to get a divorce for such reasons is also an incredible indication of how times have changed since the early days of Mad Men.

For so long, Don’s character has been defined by the women in his life — his marriages to Betty and Megan, his strained relationships with Peggy and Sally, and his flings with all of his countless paramours over the years. Don’s ties to each of these women were always representative of the times. He was the face of corporate America and the ideal 1960s man, and his attitudes toward these ladies were defined by his era.

He treated Betty as a trophy wife for most of their time together. He shouted at Peggy so often that it was hard to keep track of why he was angry at her. And Sally was such a distant person to him that it was hard to believe he was her father. But as the show has evolved, so has Don. He has now regained favor with the women in his life, even as he faces a second divorce. Even he and Betty haven’t been in any arguments in a long time.

However, is Don making peace with his extended family part of a larger road to redemption, or is it all leading to a much more heartbreaking demise?

Don’s continued flaw is his addiction to his career. He can’t function without the ad agency. The potential buyout of SC&P by McCann Erickson requires a five-year contract from Don Draper, which he appears to be happy to sign. Ironically, Don started the show terrified of contracts and the prospect of being held down; he was only willing to change his tune when practically blackmailed by Bert Cooper. Could his old fear of contracts prove to be a valid one, with his new contract bringing Don back to his lowest levels? Is signing the contract going to be akin to Don signing away his soul and his creative freedom to a company he has been fighting for years?

And will the millions of dollars he stands to make drive a wedge between him and Megan, with her deciding to take Don up on his offer of financial security? Perhaps Don’s conversation about divorce with Harry Crane was another bit of genius foreshadowing.

With Lane Pryce’s name being brought up all the time, it seems the show runners are hinting at something equally big happening. Is it truly inevitable that Don live out the scene from the series opening, or is that only a red herring?

Maybe the contract with McCann won’t be his undoing, but rather, his salvation. Perhaps Roger Sterling is about to prove that he truly is a leader by playing a chess game against McCann Erickson at the most Machiavellian level. Without dad watching over the agency anymore, it’s time for someone to step up, and Roger is not about to let Jim Cutler, McCann, or anyone else take away his birthright. If Roger gets his way, we may see Sterling and Draper take over McCann from within and become the leaders of the top agency in the country. If they succeed, will Roger and Don finally be happy?

Perhaps we’ve been looking at it all wrong, and the answer is for Don to move away from New York. He clearly loves Stephanie and the actual Draper family in a very real way. He always seems happiest when he’s in L.A., and the west coast has clearly done a lot for Pete. Don Draper’s creativity knows no bounds, and Hollywood is about to enter a golden age in the 1970s. Dick Whitman is a good man, and he needs to be in a better environment.

So many questions have yet to be answered. Matthew Weiner, Jon Hamm, and the rest of the cast and crew at Mad Men continue to spin an incredible tale of America in the 1960s, packed with intrigue, twists, and tragedies. It’s going to be a long year before season 7 resumes, but I look forward to the conclusion of Matthew Weiner’s masterpiece.

Kevin and Mike have hit upon many of themes on display in Mad Men‘s mid-season finale. The episode was set in July 1969, inching us closer to the end of the turbulent decade in which Don Draper and his colleagues ruled the advertising world. Not unlike the John F. Kennedy assassination, the Apollo 11 moon landing presented Mad Men with a monumental moment in history in which to base a great episode of television.

Writers Carly Wray and Matthew Weiner did not miss their chance. “Waterloo” was, by far, the best episode we’ve seen in season 7, and it serves as a great midseason resting place before we pick the story back up next year.

We’ll surely miss Bert Cooper, won’t we? Just a few weeks ago, I was incensed at the man’s ugly implication that women of color shouldn’t be the public face of a company. Now, as Bert’s fate is forever sealed and connected to space exploration, I cannot help but think that Bert’s sentiments throughout the season — and over the course of the previous six — were nothing more than a sign of the times in which he lived, for better or worse.

While the Napoleon analogy was fitting, it was Bert’s simple utterance of “Bravo” that struck a chord in me. Here he was, a man who had devoted his entire working life to the world of advertisement, sitting on the couch listening to Neil Armstrong deliver the single greatest “catchphrase” of the 20th century. What else was there for Bert to say? Bravo, indeed.

Where other episodes this season have felt overly focused on one or two main characters, the midseason finale was the first one in which every main character was given something meaningful to say or do, and it was a delight to watch. The multiple-episode buildup to the Burger Chef pitch was executed perfectly. Realizing that he may still be a dead man walking, Don handed over the reigns to Peggy, his protege and, dare I say, his friend?

And Peggy delivered with a pitch unlike anything we’ve seen on the show since Don’s season 1 finale pitch to Kodak (still one of the best scenes of Mad Men ever produced). It seemed to me that there was a lot of closure in that Burger Chef scene. When Peggy gave Don that look, mid-pitch, and he nodded his head as if to say, “You got this,” it felt to me as if a torch had been passed.

Another torch that may have been passed is that of “leader” — from Bert to Roger. Just before he gave the Napoleon speech, Bert lobbed a truth bomb at Roger: he may be successful and charming, but unlike Bert, Roger is not a leader. In some sense, I think Roger agreed with that sentiment. But it still hurt to hear his mentor tell him that so bluntly. And it may very well have been that stinging rebuke that led Roger to once again seek out Jim Hobart from McCann Erickson and put in place yet another buyout of SC&P. Like many of the themes and character arcs in Mad Men, the “buyout/take over” is a storyline we’ve flirted with before — most notably when the company was almost sold to McCann at the end of season 3.

There seemed to be some urgency, though, to the move this time. Without Bert’s vote, Roger could not guarantee Don’s safety in the agency. Orchestrating the buyout from McCann allowed Roger to undercut Jim Cutler and his plan to oust Don. It also allowed Roger and the others to make a massive amount of money.

For an episode that culminated with an imaginary Bert Cooper singing about the best things in life being free, much of “Waterloo” was focused on money. Nowhere was this more evident than in the partners’ meeting Roger called to announce the possible buyout. Roger explained money as a primary factor in the sale. Joan and Pete nearly high-five each other to death at the prospect of their shares. Even Cutler ultimately voted for the deal, saying, “It’s a lot of money.” Maybe it’s not Don who needed that life-lesson song-and-dance from Mr. Cooper.

But ultimately, it was Don — fresh from talking a dejected, hesitant Ted Chaough into accepting the buyout — who was startled to hear, “Don, my boy,” in Bert’s unmistakable voice. We were treated to a short musical number, where a shoeless Bert serenaded Don with “The Best Things in Life are Free” before sauntering off and closing the door of his old office. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one left with a dropped jaw. I can’t imagine a riskier move for a show to take before a 10-month hiatus. But in addition to giving the wonderful Robert Morse a moment to shine, the song and its lyrics seemed to be a straightforward warning to Don: this buyout, and all of the money that will come with it, won’t fill the void. Embrace the free stuff.

Don’s road to redemption (who’s getting sick of that word?) seems to be moving swiftly, for sure. Yes, he will soon be twice-divorced, but his career prospects are once again red-hot. So what’s left?

When Breaking Bad took its final midseason hiatus, the show seemed to be working toward an inevitable climax: Walter White’s death. I don’t think the same can be said for this show. I have no doubt that Weiner has an endgame in mind, but all I can do is guess where he’s headed. And if this midseason finale is any indication, Mad Men — in a fitting tribute to the way the show has been executed for the better part of six seasons — will end not with a bang, but with a subtle, calculated, and soul-stirring whimper.

I think I’d be just fine with that.

As soon as the Mad Men midseason finale opened with a shot of Bert Cooper, my suspicions were aroused. That’s not to say I immediately knew him for a dead man, but as the first half-hour progressed and much of the plot revolved around the founding member of the Sterling Cooper advertising empire, it became clearer that some kind of reckoning was coming.

In six and a half seasons, Cooper had never been such the focus of an episode. His retelling of Napoleon’s fortunes after the Battle of Waterloo sealed Cooper’s own fate and, coupled with his from-beyond-the-grave performance, delivered a clear warning to Don Draper about the prospects of trying to return from his defeat. SC&P, under McCann Erickson, is doomed to failure.

And for Don, that failure may be just what he needs.

The best things in life seem to be inching closer to Don as we move toward next year’s curtain call. As Kevin has pointed out, Don’s daughter loves him and his son admires him. His protege, Peggy Olson, has come into her own and no longer needs to resent her mentor. Don’s friendship with Roger remains steadfast. Even the final, poignant, true-to-life end to his marriage with Megan is a release from the bonds that tied him to the Don of the 1950s and 60s.

Only two impediments remain to the happiness of Don Draper. The first is the perpetual frustration of his drive to control his own professional destiny. Don at his best is a free spirit, and no corporate overlord will ever be compatible with Don’s style of business. Striking out on his own, putting his name on the door of a new agency, didn’t give Don the space to breathe he had sought for so many years, and I don’t think another new agency will satisfy those needs either. I foresee Don finding that advertising is not the true outlet for his creative talents, and perhaps he will find bliss back in the hot sun of California pursuing some new, sun-kissed career.

The second shackle is Don’s very identity. The dual life of Dick Whitman/Don Draper has driven the character from that first shocking time we saw Don tiptoe into his house in the suburbs to kiss his kids goodnight and slip into bed with his wife. I’m surely treading no new ground by predicting that shedding the lie that is Don Draper will be Dick Whitman’s final act of liberation.

“Waterloo” may have been the last battle for Bert Cooper, but it will also be the moment that frees Don to throw off these remaining manacles and find the bliss he has been seeking all along.

I must express how purely delightful the song-and-dance sendoff to the wonderful Robert Morse was. I watched that scene with a smile plastered on my face. Just hours before, I had watched BuzzFeed’s supercut of “Before They Were on Mad Men” and lamented that Morse had never gotten to flex his vocal chords as an ad exec. Then, like an answered prayer, was J. Pierpont himself, bouncing in his stocking feet and rolling those still-youthful eyes in a moment so surreal, but so right.

Thank you, Mr. Weiner, for this treat, and thank you, Mr. Morse, for everything you’ve given us. Bravo.

A panel of viewers here at Curiata.com will engage in a roundtable discussion following each episode of Mad Men’s seventh and final season. Check back throughout the week for new entries in the series.

Was Bert Cooper sending Don Draper a message from beyond? Is Cooper warning Don against selling his soul to McCann? Or was Don just seeing things? And even if he was, was Don seeing what he needed to see?

This season has been all about building a conflict among the partners of SC&P, and it finally came to a head in the mid-season finale. Jim Cutler made his move against Don and found himself facing opposition from half of the partners, including, surprisingly, Bert Cooper. Cooper was perhaps the most direct with Don about his intentions to force Don to leave the agency, but as Bert explained to Roger Sterling, Don was a member of his team, and he stands by his team. Interestingly, Bert stated that Jim was not part of his team.

Cooper also made it clear that he did not believe Roger was a leader. Bert’s off-the-cuff remarks all season made it pretty clear that he was willing to speak his mind, and his comments toward his longtime partner were likely reflective of his true feelings. As man touched down on the moon, Bert Cooper let go of his ties to the planet, passing away free of the weight of things left unsaid.

Sterling responded to his partner’s death by trying to prove Cooper wrong. Sterling is trying to save Don’s job and restore his own power with the agency by changing it from within. They’ve been bought out before, but Roger believes he can make a better deal this time around. But is making a deal with this rival agency really the way out for Roger and Don?

Perhaps the show-closing song and dance performed by the spirit of Bert Cooper was meant for Roger as well as Don: “The best things in life are free.” Roger will never lose that moment he shared with his grandson, watching humankind reach the moon. Maybe Roger, like Ted Chaough, needs to step away from advertising to reevaluate his life and save himself from the brink of self-destruction. Was Bert showing that he was able to live as long as he did because he maintained a zen-like attitude while his partners and competitors cut throats and lived heavy?

And maybe that’s the entire moral of Matthew Weiner’s masterpiece, boiled down, ironically, into a seven-word catchphrase.

The partners at SC&P are rich, or at least will be. Peggy has risen higher than most women in the 1960s could have dreamed, and she did it before even turning 30. Yet none of them are happy for more than a few moments at a time because there is always another material gain to be had. Roger was always happiest when he was with Joan. Peggy found her greatest relief last week when she and Don finally buried the hatchet and danced together as if father and daughter.

Don has been learning Cooper’s lesson for the past few seasons. If Jon Hamm’s acting is any indication, the happiest Don has been throughout the entirety of the show was when his kids made him feel vindicated: when Bobby made him cry from his selflessness on the night of the Martin Luther King assassination, and when Sally told Don that she loved him. In those moments, we were able to see Don Draper as the caring, good man that he is deep down.

Perhaps the best things in life are free. Whether it’s that one moment when the entire world is watching as man lands on the moon, or that kiss from a pretty girl that you could have never expected. Mad Men is telling us to go out and enjoy the world. Don’t let work consume you, or your life may lead to an abrupt stop at the end of a rope, in the wreckage of a crashed plane, or on the pavement of Madison Avenue.

I have to disagree with the Modern Urban Gentleman about Don Draper’s intentions. Perhaps I’m naive, but I don’t believe Don is playing Peggy. He has had way too much growth in the last two seasons to throw all of that away. What do you think this is, How I Met Your Mother?

Draper Campbell Olson. Has a nice ring to it.

As mentioned previously, the theme of this episode was family. However, it was about more than just family; it was about the competing interests of family and career. Since the beginning of the series, Don Draper, Pete Campbell, and Peggy Olson have made questionable decisions about their families in order to continue advancing in their careers. Pete and Peggy have a child together, and Peggy chooses to ignore its existence, partly due to the shame associated with unwed mothers, but also due to her unwavering, arguably selfish, need to succeed. Of course, Don and Pete are no better, as they have both largely ignored their children to the point where Tammy Campbell hardly recognized her father. Don has only recently even been able to express his love for his children, and his shock when Sally expressed her love for him still gets me.

This episode shows that one does not have to choose between a family and a career. Joan, apparently a rabid progressive, has embraced the idea of family in a new age. She is unwilling to settle with Bob Benson, whom she obviously cares for and respects, because she knows they could never truly be in love. Joan, always able to read people better than anyone else, can clearly see that Bob is gay and that homosexuality is not a choice. Again, this is the 1960s. Joan is much happier accepting the non-traditional family of a child, mother, grandmother, father-posing-as-friend, and friend-acting-as-uncle. Joan sees that her family is different and loves them just the same, refusing Bob’s offer to be her boy’s adoptive father.

And despite this unique family, or perhaps because of it, Joan is highly successful. Joan has achieved the status of partner in an ad agency in the 1960s. Joan, like Peggy, represents the change in the business world as well. No longer is a mother expected to stay at home and watch her child, despite the obvious prejudice which still exists in much of the older generation.

Peggy realizes in her exchange with Don that the nuclear family isn’t real — perhaps it never was — and manages to find peace with the two men with whom she has been at odds for so long. Pete and Don both finally give Peggy the respect she deserves after an interesting scene of role reversal. Does this respect mean that Don has stolen Peggy from Lou for the inevitable war? And was adding Harry Crane as a partner a move to further deepen the ranks of the Cutler/Avery army? Don’s vote was obviously made as a way to reciprocate Harry’s help from last week’s episode. Did Cutler realize that Harry spilled the beans, so he made a move to keep Crane in his camp?

If a war is coming, then I’d place my money on Draper Campbell Olson (Sterling Holloway). After all, they’ve been together so long, and they are all so lost, perhaps it’s best to view them as a family.

Gabe, you are spot-on in your assessment that the theme of last night’s episode was family. More specifically, it’s an analysis of the myth of family. “The Strategy” not only exposes that myth, but also its reflection in the generational rift among our heroes.

Those of a certain age or place in society — the executives of Burger Chef, for example — have a conception of a happy, nuclear family with clearly defined gender roles: Dad earns the bread, Mom bakes it. The fast food phenomenon threatens that dynamic, devalues Mom’s place in the home. The conservative, status quo reaction is to turn fast food into a treat from Mom that pleases Dad and the kids. But Peggy, who has always had upheaval in her home life and, recently 30, hasn’t yet settled down with a special someone, calls out the cultural deafness of selling an idea that no longer exists.

In fact, Peggy is deflating the entire mythology by asserting that the picture-perfect family was never real in the first place. Ironically, Don and Pete find themselves on the wrong “generational” teams. Don deflects Peggy’s question about whether he ever sat around the table with his family; as we know, Don’s childhood was spent in a whorehouse and his own ideal, married-with-children scenario was largely a sham. Meanwhile, Pete, who is younger than Don, ascribes to the family myth because of his moneyed, conservative upbringing, even while his own family bears no semblance to the Rockwell painting in his mind.

As the 60s are becoming the 70s, it’s clear that SC&P is going to need a more progressive approach in order to survive. Simply purchasing a computer won’t save the firm, and retrograde thinking like that of Lou Avery, Bert Cooper, and Jim Cutler won’t get the job done either. It’s adapt or perish for the SC&P team, and I predict the final defeat of the firm is already in the cards.

That last bit of tea-leaf-reading demonstrates that I always find myself trying to unwrap the riddle of each episode’s title. “The Strategy,” like most weeks’ titles, offers an on-the-surface answer but also unveils some thematic element that can be teased out of the content. Sure: Peggy, Don, Lou, Pete, and Stan are jostling over what advertising strategy to adopt for Burger Chef. But think of all the other strategies playing out under our noses.

To my eye, the central question of strategy in this episode is figuring out Don’s motivations for each action he takes and word he says. Throughout the series, and especially throughout this season, Don has proved to be playing a chess game to get to the top of his industry. For much of this week’s show, it seemed as if Peggy was the pawn Don was moving around the board.

Don was obviously manipulating Peggy by proposing pitching the Burger Chef ad from the kids’ point of view; Peggy knew it, too, and called him on the move. But I think Don was another step ahead, knowing Peggy would catch on. Don’s constant scheming kept me on red alert throughout what should have been a heartwarming scene between Don and Peggy. Is Don just winning Peggy’s trust so he can reclaim the corner office?

Gabe hinted at another strategy: Megan’s exit strategy. Clearly, she has checked out of New York. Her proposal of a meeting on neutral ground makes me wonder if she might have a divorce lawyer on retainer somewhere in North Dakota, waiting to ambush Don with papers to sign.

In the meantime, Cutler takes another step in enacting whatever vague strategy he and Avery are conspiring on. And Roger’s walkout on the partners seems to be another step in his own exit strategy; Sterling just doesn’t fit in at this agency anymore.

This episode was mostly solid, but I felt it lacked the artistic direction and writing of the past few editions. I also found the final five minutes to be atonal, rushed, jarring. I was sure the episode was concluding when the strains of Ol’ Blue Eyes floated through the SC&P, and the nonsense with making Harry Crane a partner seemed disjointed and unexplained. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the partner meeting scene was originally intended for next week’s or last week’s show but had to be re-edited out of overlong episodes.

Nonetheless, the “second” final scene of the week was redemptive. Strategies and families come together as the Burger Chef team sits around the dining room table of the rising generations. And that final scene of the Draper Olson Campbell (LLC?) family was made all the stranger by Peggy’s complicated past with Pete. Will these three complex, dynamic personalities be able to coexist and collaborate toward a shared goal of advertising supremacy?

A panel of viewers here at Curiata.com will engage in a roundtable discussion following each episode of Mad Men’s seventh and final season. Check back throughout the week for new entries in the series.

We only have one new episode left in the first half of Mad Men‘s final season, and if it is anywhere near the quality of last night’s episode, “The Strategy,” we should be in for a great mid-season finale.

After several episodes that seemed to wander somewhat aimlessly, “The Strategy” felt laser-focused on the idea of family. The episode brought almost everyone back to New York City (sorry, not you, Ted Chaough) and it was great to see some old faces back in the SC&P offices.

Bob Benson returned from Detroit eager to see Joan and Kevin. After he got the inside news that he would be getting an offer from Buick, Bob hurried along his plan to awkwardly propose to Joan. This was Bob trying to create a family even though he’s a gay man. Unfortunately, this was likely a common solution for some men in 1969. It still hurt to watch Bob try so hard. When he pleaded with Joan that they could be there to comfort each other through an uncertain world, I thought for a second that she might go along with his strategy. I should have known better — Joan has always been a true believer in real love.

Pete came back to New York with Bonnie in tow, presumably to get moving on that divorce from Trudy. It was interesting to watch Pete interact with his “family” again, still every bit the standoffish father and overpowering husband he has always been. His condescending lecture to Trudy was off-putting in pure Campbell form and led Trudy to tell Pete he was no longer a member of the family. I think that was a tough one for Pete to swallow, but still, that is no reason to ruin a perfectly good cake by smashing your beer bottle into it.

Another family that seems a step closer to falling apart is the Draper family. Don and Megan spent a good deal of time together in this episode, but it felt hollow and forced. The only display that didn’t feel like a total sham was when Don embraced Megan on the patio. “Tell me you didn’t miss this,” he told her. She claimed to have missed him, but I don’t know that I believe either of them anywhere. Megan was home under the auspices of getting summer clothes, but her rummaging through the house implied that she was there to get other things, maybe all of her things. I’m left to wonder if Megan will ever see the inside of that spacious apartment again.

Even with everyone else on the show dealing with their own family issues, it was Peggy’s storyline in “The Strategy” that seemed to really hit home. Finally given the chance to see an ad through to the end, Peggy gave a great presentation for Burger Chef to Pete, Lou, and Don. But after Pete not-so-subtly suggested that Don give the actual pitch to the client, Peggy was rightfully upset. She first lashed out at Don and then — as has often been the case lately — she went into the office on the weekend to find another ad strategy. I think we’re supposed to see that Peggy doesn’t have much else to do on the weekend; it’s a mixture of not having anyone at home and a sense that if she isn’t always working, she’ll be overlooked just because she’s a woman.

I loved Elizabeth Moss’ work in this episode. There were so many moments where she spoke volumes without even opening her mouth. Peggy is constantly running uphill in this agency, and by the time she and Don sit down to hash out a new ad strategy, she is overcome with feelings of longing and regret. That great scene in the office last night — reminiscent of my single favorite Mad Men episode: Season 4’s “The Suitcase” — was perfectly executed. Peggy worked through her own doubts and demons to come to a realization: family is what you make it.

In 1969, the world had changed so dramatically that the idea of a “traditional family” was just a matter of semantics. More than anything, people just want to sit at a table and break bread together. And then, as if the scene wasn’t great enough, we heard the familiar sounds of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” on the radio in the office. Don extended a hand to ask Peggy to dance. She first demurred but then accepted, and together they danced like a couple that had been together for all of time. When Peggy finally rested her head on Don’s chest, and he in turn kissed the top of her head, it felt as if we had witnessed Don’s most genuine display of emotion in years. And it’s always Peggy with whom he shares these things. Hmmm.

Finally, Peggy and Don took a dejected Pete to Burger Chef to pitch their new idea and the plan to shoot the ad in the restaurant. He was dismissive at first and clung to a belief that family could only gather at home, around the dinner table. Something that Pete himself hadn’t done in years. Peggy and Don convinced him otherwise.

As the camera slowly pulled back for that last, beautiful shot, we were able to just watch the three of them break bread together, and we were left with the clear understanding that this might be the best family that any one of them had ever known.