'Mad Men' Series Finale: A Full Recap of How the Show Ended

— -- SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information about the "Mad Men" series finale, "Person to Person."

"Mad Men" came to an end on Sunday night and after eight years on TV, fans said goodbye to Don Draper, Roger Sterling and the rest for good.

Titled "Person to Person," the series finale, in large part, dealt with a theme tackled at other points throughout the series: exploring the life not lived. Here, however, each character seemed to finally stop searching for what was missing, and instead, embrace what felt most authentic at the moment.

Here’s what became of each of them:

Don Draper and his family: A few weeks ago, it was revealed that McCann Erickson was going to absorb Sterling Cooper Draper Price into its office, largely so that McCann could have Don (Jon Hamm) officially. Imagine the possibilities, he was told by an executive: He'll finally have the big accounts he’s always dreamed of. At last, he'll be able to create advertisements for the likes of Coca-Cola.

Don panics and flees. He drives out west, where he meets a litany of people (veterans, a prostitute, a young man to whom he gifted his car) and tells nobody his whereabouts except for his daughter, Sally (Kiernan Shipka).

During a routine call, Sally tells Don that Betty (January Jones) is sick. Don immediately calls her directly and tells her that he wants to come home for their kids’ sake. She dismisses him and tells him that their children should live with her brother and sister-in-law so that they can have a “regular family.” “This way you see them exactly as much as you do now,” she adds. “I want to keep things as normal as possible and you not being here is part of that.” Don, visibly wounded, can hardly speak. “Birdie,” he responds, and they ended the phone call on a poignant note. (At the end of the episode, Betty, looking ill, is seen smoking at the kitchen table while Sally, who has returned home from boarding school, has taken on a maternal role and is teaching her brother Bobby how to cook.)

Devastated, Don finds himself at the home of Stephanie Horton, Anna Draper’s niece. Stephanie, who was pregnant the last time she appeared in the series, has abandoned her son and is planning to visit a “retreat” up the coast to work out her issues. She takes Don with her, but he’s clearly not connecting with anybody there the way he's expected to. After a day or two, Stephanie brushes off his attempts to help her and leaves him there, alone. Don, without his car, is told he won’t be able to leave any time soon and makes a second person-to-person call, this time to Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss), who is shocked to hear from him. “You can come home,” she tells him. “McCann will take you back in a second. Don’t you want to work on Coke?”

“I messed everything up. I’m not the man you think I am,” he responds, clearly breaking down. “I broke all my vows. I scandalized my child. I took another’s man’s name. I made nothing of it.” After telling her he only called to say goodbye, he hangs up, and is asked to join another seminar at the retreat.

There, he connects to a man who cries that he is boring, and so is his life. “You spend your whole life thinking you’re not getting [love]. People aren’t giving it to you,” he says. “Then you realize they’re trying. And you don’t even know what it is.” Don seems to recognize himself in the man. They sob and embrace.

And then, something clicks. Don finally understands who he really is. The last scene in the episode is Don doing yoga in pressed khaki pants and a crisp white shirt. And then, the commercial for Coke’s "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" ad plays.

Roger Sterling: Roger (John Slattery) has finally grown up and proposes to Megan Draper’s mother, Marie. But before they enjoy a life filled with lobster and champagne (which is exactly what they're enjoying in their last scene), Roger decides to redo his will and pays a visit to Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks) and their son, Kevin. “You get to a point in your life where it’s last chapter,” he explains, adding that he’s going to leave his estate to his daughter's son, Ellery, as well as Kevin. “I’m getting married,” he tells Joan. “I met her through Megan Draper. She’s old enough to be her mother. Actually, she is her mother.” Joan laughs. “That’s spectacular. What a mess,” she replies. “I guess somebody finally got their timing right.”

Joan Harris: Though Joan is seemingly happy in Malibu with her new boyfriend Richard (doing cocaine, no less), she takes a meeting with Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton) who tells her that he’s looking for a producer to make industrial videos. She’ll need to find a writer too. Joan immediately thinks of Peggy Olson, and pitches her the idea of starting their own company. “Harris Olson. You need two names to make it sound real,” she says. “We won’t answer to anyone.”

Richard isn’t excited about the idea, and tells her that she has to choose between a relationship with him and her career. “I can’t just turn off that part of myself,” she tells him. “Good luck, Joan,” he responds, and he leaves her.

In the end, Joan is in charge of a company with two names -- hers: Holloway Harris.

Peggy Olson: After Joan pitches the idea of starting their own company, Peggy has trouble grappling with the idea and turns to her good friend Stan Rizzo (Jay R. Ferguson) for advice. It might be nice to be in charge, she muses. “You have such a rare talent,” he tells her. “Stop looking over your shoulder at what other people have.” She snaps at him and calls him a failure, causing him to leave her office, hurt.

However, after her conversation with Don, Peggy is clearly upset and calls Stan for support. She also apologizes to him for upsetting him earlier and tells him that she's not going to leave McCann. “Good, because I didn’t want you to leave,” he responds. “All I want to do is be with you. I want to be with you. I’m in love with you.” Stunned, Peggy sputters, “I don’t know what to say… I mean, I don’t even think about you.” But then, she realizes that she’s in love with him too. They kiss, and end up together.

Pete Campbell: Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser), jaded by New York City, takes a new job with Lear Jet in Kansas after all. But before he goes, he wants to say goodbye to Peggy. "I'm very happy for you," she tells him.

"Everyone's going to miss you who doesn't hate you for getting that big job."

"You'll be a creative director by 1980," he responds.

"Someday people are going to brag that they worked with you." At the end, we see Pete boarding a plane with his wife Trudy (Alison Brie), with whom he's reconciled, and their daughter.