With the last seven episodes of the seventh and final season of Mad Men not airing until spring 2015, this weeks midseason finale “Waterloo” hoped to keep fans’ interest piqued until next year. While the episode featured twists, departures and closure, reviews are mixed over whether or not  Matthew Weiner, who directed “Waterloo” and co-wrote it with Carly Wray, did enough to retain viewer interest.

Series creator Weiner closed this first half of season seven with a sense of hope for the show’s heroes. While the mood of the episode successfully matched the optimism in America after the Apollo 11 moon landing, Weiner seemed to also aim to prove that the 1960s may not have been what we remember them to be.

One of the highest moments in “Waterloo” was the departure of Bert Cooper. In a nod to Robert Morse’s roots on Broadway, the closing scene featured a performance of “The Best Things in Life Are Free,”  used to reinforce that Don did the right thing giving Burger Chef to his protege. The imaginary mid-office song and dance number was definitely an odd and polarizing fit for what is normally a serious show, but if you ignore that, it was a solid way to honor Morse’s contributions to the series. The song also leads viewers to believe that Don might soon head out to California to win Megan back. Another of the episode’s most memorable scenes was the phone call between the couple, which, while awkward and understandably difficult, showed the lack of malice they have towards each other. Don promised Megan he would continue to take care of her, and she responded saying that he doesn’t owe her anything.

Though the ending of the episode was a great goodbye to Bert, viewers were shocked by the amount of closure offered in the episode and the final scene – rather than the typical cliffhanger to intrigue fans, “Waterloo” simply counts on audiences loving the shows’ characters enough to see where they go from here.  Everything seemed almost too positive, as all of the show’s most beloved characters seemed to be getting their lives in order. Compared to last week’s emotional episode, this felt like more of an epilogue than a mid-season finale of any sorts.