Mad Men’s Finale Episodes Were Wiped Off From Elisabeth Moss’ Memory After Bidding Show an Emotional Goodbye

Created by Matthew Weiner, the period drama series Mad Men ran on cable network AMC from 2007 to 2015. The show starring Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones, and more is set from March 1960 to November 1970.

Regarded as one of the greatest television shows of the 21st century, Mad Men became the first basic cable series to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series from 2008 to 2011. The writing, visual style, historical authenticity, direction, and performances by the actors were highly praised and to date are looked back on with fondness. Elisabeth Moss, who became one of the favorites on the show, spoke about one realistic and emotional scene with her co-star.

Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss revealed she could barely remember the plotlines

Elisabeth Moss played the character of Peggy Olson on Mad Men, who from being a timid secretary, turns into an ace copywriter. The actress had revealed in an archival interview with The Guardian that she couldn’t remember the plotlines of the show after they wrapped up. She said,

You could have asked me what we shot last week or what happened in the last episode. I don’t remember. I can’t tell you how many times I have been online to check the little plot summaries to remind myself.

In speaking to EW back in 2015, the actress admitted that she does care deeply about her character but only to the point the audience watches her on-screen. Moss added Olson’s ultimate fate is in the finale, noting that she’s brilliant at what she does, and everyone saw those women rise in the ranks and end up running the company.

However, she continued,

What I didn’t know was going to happen was she was going to find personal happiness. And whether or not that personal happiness lasts doesn’t matter because it’s over—to me.

Recalling her last day on set, Moss shared with The Guardian that after the actors wrapped up their schedule on the show, they all ended up being emotional and cried. She noted that the montage of the actors’ scenes was shown, and it happened six to seven times on the last day. Moss mentioned that she went home feeling proud.

The actress shared that the final season aired a year after they wrapped up, and everyone started to ask about the show. She pointed out that everyone who watched the show had his or her own cathartic experience of its conclusion.

Elisabeth Moss said at the time that whenever she looks at other actors, she always thinks about how cool and interesting they are. But on the other hand, she admits that she doesn’t take acting too seriously. She added that she loves her work, but she is not saving the world.

Elisabeth Moss recalls one super-realistic scene on Mad Men with Jon Hamm

The actress is a very good friend of Jon Hamm, who plays a charismatic advertising executive, Don Draper, on Mad Men. She spoke to Vanity Fair in 2022 when she revealed a scene from the show between her and Hamm. She explained that in the scene Peggy Olson tells Don Draper that she was leaving the agency.

About the scene, Moss shared,

It all felt very real. I have a very close relationship with Jon. There was sort of like a mentor-protégé relationship there, very older brother/little sister. And so it meant something to both of us when we did the scene.

Reportedly Hamm and Moss were too emotional to film the scene, so they improvised a touching moment between them. Draper kisses Olson on her hand as they bid each other goodbye. She explained,

That right there is real; those are, those are real tears, which you know, hate to break it to you, but often we’re faking it. He held onto my hand and didn’t let go and then kissed it. None of that was in the script, and he did it on my close-up.

The actress added that in that moment, it was Jon Hamm, and she could see her friend, and it was a very emotional moment for both of them. Elisabeth Moss kept the costume she wore in that scene as a memento from the show.

Mad Men’s seven seasons can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.