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10 Mad Men Characters We Want to See Again

Miss you guys. Photo: Maya Robinson and Photos by AMC

With Mad Men’s final season right around the corner, it’s time to accept that we only have a few more weeks with Don and Peggy and Roger and Joan. But who else might we see, just once more? I’m not suggesting all these characters should return, nor do I have any reason to believe they will. Just in my Mad Men heart, I’d love to see all these people, even in passing, one last time.

Rachel Menken
I still believe Rachel is one of the best characters this show ever created, and her relationship with Don still stands out as one of the most pivotal for him. She bumped into Don and Bobbie Barrett in “The New Girl,” but that didn’t resolve much: She’s married now, but this is not a show that holds fidelity in high esteem. Don was completely lost in season one, and then he found and lost himself a few more times over the years. Perhaps the glamorous, dignified beacon of Rachel Katz can guide him home once more.

Sal and Kitty Romano
I’ve been lighting candles for Sal’s return for a while, but now we’re running out of time. Surely he could have taken his artistic skills to another agency, and surely Don could encounter him at some professional event? That doesn’t seem so far-fetched. I’d also love to see the quiet tragedy of Kitty acknowledged again, if only because Sarah Drew is the world champion of crumpleface heartbroken resignation.

Dr. Faye Miller
Dr. Faye got such a raw deal. I hope she teams up with a rival agency and screws Don over big time. Imagine your boyfriend calls you and is like, “We’re breaking up, and also, I got engaged.” What! You deserve a parting victory, Dr. Faye.

Bobbie Barrett
The show framed Bobbie as a kind of villain to help us see Don’s depravity. “I negotiate for everything,” she told Don once. “It’s touchy, because you’re really telling somebody they’re not worth what they think, but you can’t hurt their feelings.” Don brushed it off, claiming he found negotiating a bore, but please: Don often tells people they’re not worth what they think, and he’s only rarely bothered by it. Bobbie was Don’s reflection in a lot of ways, and what was reflected back wasn’t particularly flattering. What would he see in his reflection now? Would he, or she, seem any better?

Helen Bishop
We’ve already seen Glenn return, so why not his mom? In season one, she represented everything Betty theoretically rejected but was secretly fascinated by; now that Betty herself is divorced and remarried, how does she see Helen Bishop?

Joey Baird
Joey was such a vile prick, but his crap behavior elicited one of the all-time great Joan put-downs: “When you’re over there, and you’re in the jungle, and they’re shooting at you, remember you’re not dying for me, because I never liked you.” Bring him back just so Joan can rip him another new one.

Paul Kinsey
Is he writing for Star Trek or what?

Miss Farrell
Suzanne got such a cruel brush-off from Don, but she probably recovered and is having a progressive, funky life. Maybe Sally could reconnect with her old teacher, since Miss Farrell was one of very few people to ever express an interest in Sally’s interior life.

Ghost of Lane Pryce
Miss you, Lane.

10 Mad Men Characters We Want to See Again