I see it like this. Betty is the perfect wife. But Don Sees her as the mother of his children and almost a Mother figure although he sometimes is turned on to her like that scene when she walked down the stairs on Valentines day and he was awed by her beauty and grace. Bobbi is fun. She makes him laugh and he admires her business skills. He is definitely attracted to her for all those reasons. When he is with her you see him actually laugh which he never does with Betty. As for Rachel I believe she was the love of his life. It is hard to say whether or not she would satisfy him enough to keep him from wandering. I kind of think he cannot be true to any woman because he doesn't really know what he wants.

April's right, Don can't be faithful at this point (and maybe never) with how he is.

I think even Rachel understood that (Don does not have it together emotionally and is missing some moral ethics of a sort), and decided to call a halt to their affair. Rachel loved him, and I think still did even when she ran into him at the restaurant with her husband, but her life would've been hell with Don.

Rachel, in the end, opted to protect and take care of herself. Great sign of better self-esteem than Don.

Yep, even if Don's really in love with Rachel, he's too screwed up to be faithful to Rachel. He's self-destructive and probably thinks in the back of his mind that he doesn't deserve to be happy, so he'd screw it up somewhere along the line.

I also agree with April about how Don sees Betty. He's told her that he loves how she is with the kids - she's the mother that he never had (at least when he's not brow-beating the little boy or making fat jokes about her daughter). He's found the "perfect" mother and housewife in Betty, but he hasn't found lasting passion with her.

Don will never find the "perfect" woman. She doesn't exist. I heard once (probably in a sociology class) that there are only 3 roles for women in society: 1) the virgin, 2) the mother, and 3) the whore. It's impossible to be all a the same time, yet women are judged if they are too much of any one (too virginal = ice queen; too whorish = slut). Women are set up to fail. If ambitious Don is looking to build the perfect life (with the perfect mate) in order to cancel out his rough beginnings and mistakes, he will be disappointed.

As a few have stated before, Rachel was Don's true love. And if anyone doubted that, his reaction upon seeing the new Mrs. Katz at Sardi's is proof. If the Don/Rachel coupling ended up in a marriage, I'm not sure Don would be faithful. But I'll speculate that Rachel wouldn't stand for it and would confront him straightfowardly...and kick his ass!

Just another thing....I'd noticed that Don lost some of his "shine" at Sterling Coop. My speculation is that Daddy Menken, who thought Don way too "dashing," eventually pulled his account from SC and the reason "quietly" got around the office. Don's choice to "lay his meat where he makes his bread" cost the company an assload of money. YodaBert wasn't pleased!

Visan, I had forgotten that mention of Rachel's store having a new firm 'taking credit' for what SC did. It is another example of how Don's life is self destructing. Rachel is her own person, but that new husband had daddy's choice written all over him.

Visan, YodaBert!!!??? I am laughing so hard, I can barely type!
I share your respect of Rachel, as I have said, she is a class act! The look on Don's face when he saw her (and new hubby) said it all. I think he deeply loves her, as deep as he is capable of.
I hope to see her on future MM episodes!

hanna, it's funny you bring up the 3 roles of women. Maybe Don has a "mommy" complex by bedding women and, in essence, treating them as "whores".

Visan, hadn't thought of this until you brought it up, but losing Menken's department store account (especially because you were sleeping with the client), can't be any better than Duck's tentative Shel connection at AA and basing a whole campaign on it. So, Don's behavior certainly doesn't make him much better than Duck's behavior/judgment about AA.

Am I imagining things or is Don combing his hair differently this season? Reason I bring up such an inconsequential detail, is that it seems so "pressed" down. Was watching last season, and the hair was combed high and "up". This season it seems flattened down, as if to indicate the pressure he's under. Is that too stupid a detail to notice or what? (I'm losing it)

jamm54, You aren't losing it, believe me, I notice the smallest details too! I think my problem is watching the episodes over and over...
I just had a thought about Don's hair, did SC win a new hair cream contract? I've already predicted that Betty has a great shot at being a Breck Girl if SC lands that contract!

Maybe with all of Don's recreational activities, he doesn't have time to wash his hair. Remember back in season 1 when Peggy was telling Joan that Don was going out in the middle of the day? She told Joan he was seeing another woman, and that he came back to the office "all greasy" afterward. EWWW!

Wow Hanna - I love the "3 roles of women" analogies. Love it. Also: Too motherish = smothering.

I thought the Valentine's Day hotel scene illustrated that Don is not ready or willing to see his Betty in anything except her usual chaste peignoirs. He likes his women kept in their proper places in the world he seems to be making up as he goes along. Not sure what lingerie he would like to see Rachel wearing...or not, as the occasion warranted, but he probably wouldn't have had a problem that night had Midge been wearing the black sexy number. Would Rachel prefer silk, sleek and slightly tailored?

I remember Peggy saying that and also mentioning that he seemed "calm" after lunch! LOL

Well, yes, I was there, even worked in a Chicago agency for a brief spell before finding my niche in publishing. Young, single, and (gasp) a divorced mother, I cannot begin to tell you how deeply this show touches me.

The relationship between Don and Rachel is, imo, the most real in the show, and I was thrilled to see her re-entry this season. The moment when they saw each other in the restaurant felt like a knife to the heart. Clearly, Don has trouble with women, but he found a soulmate in Rachel -- and she in him, though she was much too sensible to act on it. But I predict that she will. Hope so. Such dramatic possibilities! They'd almost have to wreck their lives to be together. But their lives are verging on a trainwreck anyway, so more power to them.

I am struck by the portrayal of Don's creative process. The uncomfortable nights tossing on the couch before a terrific idea surfaces is fairly typical of writers. The fumbling for ideas, the certainty when the right one strikes. Striding out on a limb naked, only an idea keeping you from a big fall. Like the silhouette of Don falling, falling, in the opening credits. And all the while, keeping up the facade that he's fully in charge.

Really, it's marvelous how closely the show reflects the reality of the times. The occasional anachronistic mistake is like fingernails on the blackboard. For instance, when Peggy was "caught" working overtime, she would never have said she was doing it "for herself." That was a '70s concept -- the "me generation."

I should like the Peggy character better than I do, but somehow I don't think they've quite caught the reality of the smart girl in business at the time. We were not all mice.

Women were treated so horribly then, it's a wonder any of us went on to succeed at anything. And if we did, we still came up against our own low opinions of ourselves engendered by being underpaid and undervalued. In fact, if we did extremely well we might be shunned as somehow not OK. I was once fired for coming up with a better idea than my employer. True.

Many women played dumb to survive. Example: After college, I went to secretarial school in order to have a marketable skill. The school was filled with Ivy League grads and other smart girls who had to start far below the bottom rung to get on the ladder at all. We were taught to be office geishas, white gloves, "yes sir," always dressing properly, serving coffee with the right hand only, etc. etc. Of course many of us ended up working for guys who didn't have the brains we had. Anxiety reigned.

Smoking, drinking, yes, all the time. Office affairs, certainly. And those were the years when doctors prescribed Valium and amphetamines for minor complaints. Mixed with alcohol, they could be lethal. That might get worked into the show.

Anyway, more Rachel please.

60s Child....Glad I could provide the laughs!

Sizzie and Jamm....The whole damn 2nd season had me wondering why there was less admiration of Don. And I'm putting the clues together. Plus, YodaBert chastised Don during the finale episode. Recall Daddy Menken making that call to him? Just thinking about how Don, now a partner, loses a multi-million dollar account like Menken's because he's no longer ballin' the store's boss? That's trouble!

I enjoy Don's sexy side with his mistresses! Don's in great shape and should show off that bod while he can! (Not a chest hair aficianada but will deal!) He's such a fun slut!

I know, I don't like Don this season. Is it the loss of his confidence/swagger in the boardroom and bedroom? He's supposed to be 34-36? Now, he's suddenly crumbling professionally and personally after 8-10 years of success?

In 1960, somewhere in that season he mentioned he'd been with SC for 6 years (since 1954), and probably a couple of years elsewhere in advertising.

Don's life is being pummeled with events, people, and situations that are splitting his "world" and personal philosophies into a million pieces, and have him grasping for a new foundation. Maybe he better take up farming.

Almost all of this makes me think that Don would be a perfect candidate for all the shifts in the sixties, and very possibly becoming a "drop out" from a society that he is having a hard time functioning in.

Jamm...I feel you on Don's loss of swagger! Last season, he was Da Man! A trio of ladies on his tip--bootie calls from the beatnik, the wife wanting to screw him 24/7, seduction of an heiress! Dapper Don scared that punk-bitch Pete just by getting from his desk! He commanded Sterling Coop, stalking that office like a panther on the prowl! He came up with ad slogans at the drop of hat!

What we got this season for formerly Dapper Don? High blood pressure! He can't get it up on V-Day! He's walking like his knees are arthritic! He's playing card games with his corny neighbors, wearing ol' man sweater vests! No professional respect!! That Duck asshat is always in his face! Some rift happened with Roger! He's in a drunk-driving accident! He's down to only one mistress! SAB took his salt away--bitch!

I want what I want! And I want Don Draper's sexy swagger and confidence back!!!!!

And through all that there was a real, I don't know, joie de vivre about Don. He was loving it.

It all started to go sour with the appearance of Adam, and his subsequent suicide. Don really hasn't been happy since then (and who could be, really). Don's rejection of his half-brother puts the reason and blame for Adam's suicide squarely on his shoulders.

Everything after originates from the appearance of Adam. (Pete's blackmail, Don's change in behavior with Betty, the loss of Rachel). So......

I agree with you jamm54 that Don's change in behavior can be traced back to Adam's suicide, which provides him with inspiration for the Carousel presentation, and makes him remorseful at the end of Season 1.

I think we are seeing at the beginning of Season 2, explanation of the connection with Peggy.

I think that Don's connection with Rachel was based on the fact that they are both motherless and had to raise themselves. Don has gone through a cathartic reinvention as a result of his family/army experience. Now, perhaps, it's Rachel's turn to use the break-up (and pregnancy?) with Don to reinvent herself in a life with her new husband (and baby?).

Re Bobbi, I think that it's a fling for Don, but that Bobbi is using her entanglement with Don to manipulate him in order to advance herself (obviously). At some point, the Don/Bobbi relationship will run its course. Hopefully without any harm to either character. Peggy is watching this and may try to take Bobbi's advice and use her history with Pete to advance herself?

I don't think Bobbi and Don fling will run it's course. Bobbi definately uses her feminine skills like Joan and I have a feeling Bobbi will find her way into Sterling Cooper with a corner office. Her negotiation skills would get SC some pretty good clients! I think she would give Peggy a run for her money and the two could really give Huey, Duey and Louie (Paul, Harry and Ken) a good feminine scare. Pete would burst into flames and Joan will find herself sitting next to the copy machine. It would make for an interesting twist!

Don and Bobbi are both survivors, and I think that Don is capable of cutting Bobbi out of the picture in a heartbeat. If Bobbi tries to blackmail Don, then Peggy or someone else will bail (!) him out again. Also, Bobbi has a past that may make her vulnerable and she may have to move on to survive.

I don't really see any sign that Don is emotionally "engaged" with Bobbie. He just seems to keep passively submitting to her advances, but you don't see him seeking her out. Bobbie is always the initiator of any encounters. I wouldn't call their interactions a "relationship" on the scope of a Rachel (sorry everybody - know you're sick of that comparison).

For what it's worth, I do think Bobbie is hung up on Don. I don't think Don gives a hoot about her and whether she's in his life or not. Bobbie's role seems to be serving as another form of diversion from Don's depression, guilt, and responsibilities in his work and home life. She may or may not last - I think Jimmy Barrett is going to end up being the wild card factor in that triangle.

I think the women Dick Coleman knew resemble Bobbi more than the women Don Draper keeps around him. He seems more relaxed, or rather maybe it is he is more of his true self, when he is with her. He doesn't care if she approves of him or not and, for various and different reasons, he does care about his other women's approval.

It reminds me of an incident at the paper, where a disgruntled wife showed up with a gun to go after her husband (who worked there), and the girlfriend (who also worked there)! Ah, the good ol' days!

Don's liaison with Bobbie is this weird hybrid of his affairs with Rachel and Midge. To me, his relationship with Rachel was very serious and I'll lean toward labelling it a "romance." Plus, she was a major client. His thing with Midge was a series of bootie calls over at least 5 years. Nothing too serious about them. So his thing with Bobbie mixes the business relationship, a sticky wicket to be sure, aspect with the casualness.

Whatever the reasons Don's sexin' it up with Bobbie, I don't care! Keep bringin' it!

Drink&Smoke: "Huey, Duey and Louie," Hah! I haven't laughed all day. Love that analogy! And, I agree, Bobbie could run circles around Duck at the negotiation table. She loves the chase (like Roger), and she's not going to stop chasing Don.

At least we've seen a little more of her vulnerabilities in this last episode, but her hard edge and her manipulation of Don continues. And, Visan, I agree with you about how she's the amalgam of Midge and Rachel. He's once again mixing his business up even though he says in this last episode: "Let's not confuse this," after she says (on the phone) "You could call it business," (when she invites him to join her at Sardi's.

Also, notice how she always ends the phone calls with him when she's "on top," so to speak. "I'm beginning to change my mind." [Slams the phone down; Don heads for Sardis] "Take care." [Hangs up right after Don called to check on her at Peggy's.] She wants to stay in control. I'm intrigued about what will happen with them. They'll likely implode, but it will be fun to watch!

I also just noticed in rewatching "The New Girl," that while Don is having a drink with Bobbie and they're discussing Jimmy's bad behavior, Bobbie says "It's the big opportunity that he's bound to ruin."

Then, Don looks up and Rachel walks in. The big opportunity he was bound to ruin.

Great comparison zebra! Ouch for Don! No wonder the accident.

Nice catch, zebra! Not only Rachel getting married, but losing Menken's account. That had to be a double whammy for Don. I'm surprised Duck hasn't thrown Menken's in Don's face? Especially when Don was going on and on about firing Mohawk Airline. Menken's was a three million dollar account. Is Duck saving the Menken mistake for a big staff meeting when everyone can hear?

I can't imagine Duck bringing that up after his f*ckup with American Airlines. But I do like your avatar D&S!

Before Adam surfaced in Don's life, Don must have felt on top of the world..although there was still the possibility of running into a fellow commuter who knew him as Dick. When his former life became real to him and with the proof in front of him (photos, Adam, etc) he couldn't pretend it hadn't happened any longer. He ran, panicked to the one person who he felt had answers to any question the world could ask. Rachel. Her answer, however, didn't please him and he has been floundering ever since. He knows many women who are good looking and dress well. The chemistry surfaced because she has what he lacks...confidence and strength.

Sizzie...yeah, Rachel was confident and strong, but unable to resist Don! Most ladies wouldn't! Ha! Rachel had moved on with her life. In a way, that's good and bad. Good because she did what so many people couldn't--kept it movin'! Bad because we won't see her again--maybe!

Don is killing me this season! He really is! This is the dude who proclaimed love was created to sell nylons. So some person with that cynical and nutty of a view didn't know what hit him when he started his involvement with Rachel. After their situation ended, part of me thought, well, she's another part of his harem. Then I saw his reaction in Sardi's (and watched the video overview given by Matt Weiner, who said Don's bender was caused by seeing Rachel), so I do wonder if Don's thinking love's more than just good ad copy!

Hmmm.....

Visan, I don't know if we will see much of Rachel in future episodes, but I think that both Rachel and Don will always fall into 'the one who got away' catagory for each of them. I think I saw a spark shoot off their bodies as Rachel turned, very close and very slowly, and walked away. Some of her appeal has to be that she is unattainable. I hate when a hero develops feet of clay, but he might just be in the process of becoming more human and I can live with that. His cynicism sealed his heart and when his long lost little brother surfaced, some of that seal melted. It appears to be a painful process. I do think one key to their relationship was that when he was at a low point in his life (shoebox/Pete/exposure) he ran to Rachel. I don't mind his following off the handsome young man about town pedestal, as long as he doesn't age into the counterculture that is on its way in the 60s. I don't want to see Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and Don and Betty.

Sizzie....I'm in total agreement that Rachel and Don will be "the one that got away" no matter what! (Kudos to the magnificent Maggie Siff and Jon Hamm for emitting that sexy but sad spark!)

What was so appealing about the "together" Don Draper of last season was that his character presented this hyper-masculine, uber-sexy and sexual image. A welcome change from a lot of the males on TV and film who were these slovenly, unshaven, immature man-child characters. And I hate that!!! So seeing Don Draper with less swagger this season sucked!

Sizzie, you think Don is a candidate for "dropping out?" (I think that's what it was called!)

What video overview by Mr. Weiner. Where??

@Laurie B! Try this link!

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2008/08/inside-mad-men-7.php

I don't see the current Don dropping out. But, his personality really is a candidate for that. He will be entering his 40s around the summer of love, his career might take a nosedive, Sally will be almost a teen and almost certainly go to Woodstock. Betty might be living with Glenn by then, so Don might decide to buy a pair of bell bottoms and move the San Francisco. As I say, dropping out was done, in some part, by people who were not happy with the decisions they made in their early adulthood. That fits Don. seriously though, I think that would be too unstructured a life for him. He does seem to be on a collision course with something life changing. Good question. I'll have to think about what I wish would happen to Don. Or rather, what would be most entertaining to watch happen to Don.

@Sizzie: your prediction that Betty might be living with Glenn Bishop sent me flying off the couch in fits of laughter!!! Jeez, what's even wilder, is it could happen! But I keep picturing Glenn in his cap with the ear flaps.......

Glenn has already seen Betty in the bathroom peeing, so I guess a love affair would be possible down the road?

Hopefully, he'll have his permanent front teeth by then......LOL

You guys are killing me!!! Glenn and Betts?! LOL

jamm54, I just got the visual of Glenn in the cap, and Betts in her teddie!!