SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read any further if you haven’t seen last night’s mid-7th-season finale of Mad Men. But, trust me, you won’t be able to escape the news.

Mad Men, AMC’s consistently excellent drama about 1960s-1970s era advertising pros and their turbulent lives, gave a send off to one of its key characters — and actors — that will likely go down as one of the top moments in television history. In “Waterloo,” written and directed by series creator Matt Weiner, viewers used to seeing ever variation of a character killed or dying in a series got to see a truly innovative one: one done with such affection, love, and respect for the character and the actor that it’ll be shown for years. Yes, Bert Cooper, the advertising company patriarch dies offscreen. But in the final moments he appears in a vision before key character Don Draper (superbly played as usual by John Hamm) to sing “The Best Things in Life Are Free” — Broadway style, surrounded by dancing secretaries.

It’s a moment done with such skill, warmth, humor and love — not just a fitting farewell to Cooper, but also a fitting final appearance by the 83-year-old Morse — for years a Broadway song and dance man legend.

Variety agrees:

There was a lot to love about this episode — Elisabeth Moss and John Slattery were particularly on fire this hour — but nothing can stop me from starting with the obvious. Bert Cooper, song and dance man of Don Draper’s daydream. It was just too perfect of a send-off, a nod to Morse’s roots on Broadway and the last thing any of us expected as the closing scene. The choice of song was swell — “The Best Things in LIfe Are Free” — to reinforce that Don did the right thing in handing the glory for Burger Chef to his protege.

Film critic Jonathan Lack:

Bert Cooper’s beyond-the-grave musical number is just that: A celebration. This is easily the most significant figure to die on Mad Men so far, the longest-running character to depart the series, and Robert Morse was one of the show’s greatest assets. Why not let the man – a beloved musical theatre performer, no less – sing and dance his way off stage? The series, the character, and the actor had earned that moment, in every way, and it is an absolutely beautiful send-off.

But the moment is more than a celebration, because we, the audience, aren’t the only ones watching. This apparition appears to Don Draper, and the look on Don’s face as he watches his old boss sing his goodbyes speaks volumes about the conflicted emotions of the moment (it’s one of many inspired reaction shots Jon Hamm has had this season). “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” Bert sings, just after Don has helped finalize a deal that will net him millions of dollars, and will keep him chained to this agency for at least five years. The look on Don’s face is more than mere sadness or surprise – it’s confliction, because now that he has reclaimed his position in the agency and gotten exactly what he thought he wanted at the start of the season, he’s no longer sure he wants it. Part of Don’s arc this year was realizing that the best things in life are, indeed, free, and I think when he gave the pitch to Peggy, he had all but made peace with the idea of recapturing his career glory…

[The following is from a July 2013 TMV post:}

Many younger fans of AMC’s “Mad Men” (and many younger TMV readers) may not know it, but the highly popular Robert Morse in his role as crusty top-boss Bertram Cooper was an award winning musical comedy star — who won a Tony award in 1962 for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in 1962 for his role in Tony J. Pierrepont Finch in the Pulitzer Prize-winning How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He played the role again in the 1967 film. He was a highly reliable stage and TV character actor before taking the Mad Men role in 2007. He received other award nominations.

Morse was an incredible stage musical performer, with an expressive face, a likeable hyperactivity, someone who deliver a line and song with pizzazz and pull off a show-stopper with ease

Here are just two of the great numbers from the original version of the musical — from the 1967 movie.

The Company Way: his character, the quintessential (actually by the book) young office politician, talks with an employee who has survived various company regimes. Watch Morse carefully to see how beautifully he delivers each line and gesture:

The Brotherhood of Man: his character is subtly sticking the knife into his co-workers. Note this is a “counterpoint” song, where a second melody emerges, then blends with the first one. This is a GREAT SHOWSTOPPER (my favorite number in the show):

It’s Been a Long Day: Song about gingerly asking a female coworker for a date:

AND THE MOST FAMOUS — the song Morse will long be identified with, “I Believe in You” a song to himself, with uneasy coworkers. It was a huge hit in the 1960s recorded by singers and orchestras. Notice the flexibility in the faces he uses to put over the song. This s a “counterpoint” song where to melodies are eventually combined and become one — a glorious one:

FOOTNOTE: Morse’s final number on Mad Men has not yet been posted on You Tube. When it is, this will be updated and reposted.

UPDATE: The Week on Morse’s and Cooper’s exit:

Rest in peace, Bert Cooper. The loss of Sterling Cooper’s oldest (and often wisest) employee is a sad one, but it also marks the fitting end of an era for the firm as it looks to a future under the umbrella of McCann Erickson.

Fortunately, Mad Men found the perfect way to give Robert Morse one last swan song as Cooper. I don’t think anyone predicted that Mad Men’s midseason finale would end with the ghost of Bert Cooper performing a whimsical soft-sock version of “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” but Mad Men is so consistently unpredictable that I hardly batted an eye at the episode’s funny, bizarre, poignant final scene. Mad Men has dabbled in the supernatural before — Don’s hallucinations of his father, or his vision of Anna Draper in “The Suitcase” — but the series has rarely been this playful, and the results were deeply rewarding.

As memorable as the ending was, much of “Waterloo” was vintage Mad Men: terrific performances, beautiful speeches, and some of the most gorgeous cinematography, set design, and costuming available on television. Mad Men is showing its age, and I mean that as the highest compliment.