We knew right from the get-go that the Mad Men series finale would be chock-full of familiar faces. (How else would we be expected to say goodbye properly?) And Sunday night's episode "Person to Person" proved to do just that in a very big way. Amid his cross country journey, Don went to visit Stephanie, the real Don Draper's niece. Aside from playing the Black Canary on Arrow, actress Caity Lotz has popped up on Mad Men a couple of times throughout the years. First when she told Don about Anna's cancer (shortly after he tried to hit on her because it's Don and of course he did). Then again when she called Don, informing him that Anna actually died. And finally, when she was seven months pregnant and needed money.
Sure, her appearances have been rather quick, especially in comparison to the main cast. However, she's one of the few remaining people who knows Don for who he truly is. She even calls him by his real name, Dick. So even though they aren't officially related by blood or anything, I still can't help but think of her as an important member of his family. I mean, this is a guy who is unable to get close to anybody. And yet here's this girl who sees him for who he is. Probably because she's a lot like him. (Both seem to share a tendency for flight risk.)
Even though she ended up just taking off on him (kinda like what he did to McCann-Erickson), she represented a part of his past that was worth exploring one last time to help drive Don's journey forward. (If anything else, it led to a very important call between Don and Peggy.)
Was her story wrapped up in a nice, neat bow? Of course not. But given that this is Mad Men we're talking about, it really shouldn't surprise anyone. And boy are we going to miss it.
Image: Adam Taylor/AMC
