Yes.. I think Matt Weiner needs to pull in the reins...too many story lines. The quality show from season 1 is heading south... quickly. Sad Mad Men.

Don has snapped before, when it was his daughter's birthday and Betty sent him to the bakery for the cake. He simply vanished for the day and late into the night. No phone call, no explanation when he returned and no birthday cake for the kid. Betty had seen this behavior before from Don and I think she even demanded an explanation from him by saying, "....you promised you wouldn't disappear like that again......." so you are right that Don's work wasn't affected by his retreats into his personal twilight zone - but his life and those unfortunates who share it HAVE been and continue to be negatively impacted. Mental illness affects everyone in a family and Don's dissociative disorder is now bicoastal! Isn't this Great TV! I'm enjoying the new story arcs. The greater the complexity of the tapestry, the better!

Toby and everyone, my daughter (24) and I were very disappointed in this episode - I think it's the most boring of all MM episodes, both seasons. I think MM has lost my daughter. She thinks Don is the biggest jerk to ever walk the face of the TV planet. She says she won't watch anymore. And this is a girl who owns every season of Sex and the City on DVD, but she's sick of Don's cheating because he's married.

Although disappointed with Don and he has dropped to about 5 or 6 on my list of most interesting characters in this show (mostly because of his ridiculous sexual escapades - I'm still interested in who Dick Whitman is), I will still watch because of the other characters, Betty is my favorite, I love Joan and Peggy, also like Duck's character now (he became more interesting in this last episode), I hope Mona takes Roger to the cleaners, and the look on Sal's face when the young guy "came out" in the lunch room was priceless.

Like you said, Toby, Don has 2 eipsodes to show some kind of concern for his wife and kids. I think the writers need to understand that most people don't want to watch a character as flawed as Don/Dick is. There really is nothing to like about him right now. That Hamm is sexy just doesn't do it for most people (I know there are some who post and that's all they want from him is to be naked and a man-whore), but most women want a lot more from his character than that. At least that's my opinion. And my daughter's.

Visan, I think you just like brunettes and don't like blondes for some reason. This is not an attack, just an observation from your posts. Like "I can't wait to see which brunette Don will be with next" and how much you dislike Betty (who is blonde).

Joy is delicious. Don couldn't pass that up. He may have had some regrets, (not about her ), but the circus freaks that she travels with.

Here's to you Donny boy !

I think that Don is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress syndrome from his war experience. Pictures of the missels at the convention conference probably triggered something. He is completely not himself again. Plus, he is in the house of Freaks.....

I have to respectfully disagree that Don has "lost it". I think he's just beginning to really find himself. After all, it's not like he's been away for weeks - it's only a matter of a couple of days, as far as I can figure. He chose Pete for the conference because as much as he may dislike Pete, Don has confidence that Pete can do what needs to be done to sell SC. (Remember he told Harry to do the listening and let Peter do the talking?)

Don seems to be using this respite from work to relax a little. He is not unsophisticated in the ways of the world - he goes to foreign films, he reads, he was in the Army and has seen and done many things the ordinary person hasn't.

Yes, the weird group did seem ominous at first but did they really mean him any harm? We got an insight into the relationship between Joy and her father and her father's "romantic" preferences. They both found Don attractive. But Joy took the upperhand, so to speak, when she told her father (in French, I believe) not to touch. Don seems to be enjoying the attention from both of them. He may have been unsettled by the perverseness of it, but he didn't run away from it.

It's almost the "dawning of the age of aquarius", a time for self exploration during the early 60s...it became the "ME" generation of free love and the flower children. Don is too old to be a flower child, but he can get a taste of it through Joy.

It was a dream-like situation until Don saw the children come in. The next morning he made his mysterious phone call. He's on another path to discovery or re-discovery, and is taking us along. Let's all go with him - I, for one, find the suspense of who's on the other end of that phone call almost unbearable.

Don's estranged from his wife, and in an informal separation. He's supposed to live like a monk because the ol' ball'n'chain can't get her act together? I think not! The dude has to fulfill his libidinous needs!

I can't help but to think the meeting Duck had with that British company was a test. They were testing Duck to see if he really gave up the booze. They had a drink waiting for him when he arrived and then put on some pressue to see if he would guzzle it. He failed and so will the deal with SC. Just my 2 cents...Cheers! ;o)

Of course Don couldn't resist Joy, he is a player. What is up with all the strange people in the last episode? Who are they? and what are they actually involved in?

BETTY is the one who needs to get her act together? What are you watching? I know you somehow blame Betty for *Don* choosing her over Rachel, but use some sort of logic, woman!

I agree with the opening poster though. I never expected Don to put his carnal pleasures over his JOB! that's what defines him. I think the writers were trying to show that he's headed into a downward spiral in his attempt to escape the reality of losing his family. But still, it was a shock.

I think you guys expect too much from DD.
Hes not Spiderman afterall, hes dishonest enough to assume the identity of a guy who got killed right beside him, yet hes crafty enough to create a world for himself. Seems like a common ID thief whos trying to play it for all its worth, yet Dick Whitman has the spark of true genius in advertizing "anything to get a little closer", "its not a wheel...its a carousel". The latter left everyone, even the pros in the room who have been there and done that, thunderstruck. This guy is so "out there" why would we expect to understand what lies beneath. This is edgy, I have a copy of ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE where the characters are predictible and wholesome...but this aint it, thankgoodness.

Visan, good one - I've got to give you that one. Ken Cosgrove and Joan's fiance are the only 2 guys on the show that my daughter thinks are in any way physically attractive. But, in my above post, I was referring to Don's affairs all being brunette and his wife being blonde.

@DamagedWoman: Please don't turn this into some "personal" attack, making some conjecture about who I'm blaming for something that never occurred. Just to clarify on storyline/plot, Rachel kicked Don to the curb last season. She finished things with him! Have a good evening....

AGREED! Don is loosing it..and my attention...

what is with these barley legal twits gettin their claws into sophisticated men like DD and RS?

Anyway back to the topic at hand, yes I agree much respect is lost, as hard as I have tried with DD.

The episode "The Wheel" left you hopeful for a reformed DD, but we all know- this is DRAMA, baby....

a lil too much after "The Jet Set"

@Tang: Well, Ken Cosgrove is a blond and I like him! ;-)

So, watch season one again, maybe? Rachel "kicked Don to the curb" because she realized he "NEVER meant to leave Betty" for her. It IS illogical to blame Betty for that, but your hatred of the character is illogical in itself, so I thought it fit.

I usually ignore all your posts because they never have any depth in them. There are others who hate Betty but have never resorted to personal attacks against Betty defenders as you have before. I don't know you personally, so I make no judgements of your character outside of this topic. But your comments are more sexist than any others I have read on this board, and it's really getting annoying.

Now that that's over with, MsDMAC, I wonder sometimes, if a reformed DD will go down the same path as Duck seems to have gone this season? I thought there was a significant moment in this episode which showed that Duck is as successful and respected as he is because of his alcoholism--what it makes him become, how it makes him feel (strong? confident?). Whatever it is, that is a sad state of affairs, but I felt that Don had the same problem. The addiction that's left him alone is the only thing that makes him as good as he is at his job.

I have a bad feeling that Don won't be able to survive the changing times.

I agree with Rozsie--and this was one of my favorite episodes this season! I feel like finally somethings are happening. I also don't mind a lot of story lines--as long as they are going to take us somewhere with them and move things along a bit faster.

@producerbonnie--I'm not so sure his flings are as meaningless as they may seem on the surface. I think it may be a misguided attempt for Don/Dick to find himself through these women. It drove me crazy when he confided things to Rachel that he never confided to Betty--I think maybe if he would finally open up to her, amazing and wonderful things may happen between them. If it isn't too late.

Methinks Lame Duck will have his ass handed to him over that deal! That's his bad karma for dumping Chauncey on the streets of NYC!

I liked this episode, it really had an aura of "Lost Weekend" for Don without the alcohol.

When Don is willing to travel cross-country with Pete (!!!), he's pretty desperate to get away. And yet, he was never away because everything was reminding him of his family (people, music, images). Or were we only hearing the music, and that wasn't playing at the hotel?

I think Don is more crushed by Betty's rejection and the loss of his family life than he's ever admitted to himself or that we've seen. He's very anchorless, and all the visual symbols/imagery that reiterated Don seeing "Betty" or his kids in the California landscape was very, very interesting without Don ever verbalizing "I'm lost without my family". That's a first for him to even "feel" a link to others that he can't control or suppress. Really, it was "Stranger in a Strange Land".

@Tang: My talk about Don liking brunettes is a running gag/inside joke I've posted since last season. (A few of the ol' timers can attest to that!) I don't need to rehash my opinion of the Betty Draper character but it has nothing to do with her hair color.

As far as Don's sex scenes, I see them as rather incidental to the emotional state they are supposed to represent which is: "I need to lose myself and my identity momentarily in the arms of this woman".

I think that's all the sex scenes are really about. Losing himself, forgetting who he is, and the sexual dalliances come up in the episodes when Don is at his most distressed, disconnected or freaked out self.

The further Don gets into his personal family life falling apart, the more sexual encounters there will be. Though Don isn't exactly what I'd call promiscuous (a different partner at all times - he seems monogamous in his one sideline sex involvement at a time), he has to have the extramarital sex to ease the pressure he feels always being in the assumed identity. It is the one place he's not in the assumed identity with these other women.

There was a scene with Midge last season where she said to him, "I like being your medicine". Don responded, "Oh, okay", and his tone had none of Don Draper in it - commanding, authoritative, defensive. So, he really is able to (when it's really his choice and not someone like Bobbie Barrett) "let go".

I really, really enjoy the show and am still fascinated by DD, but I have to agree with tangfi about the "ridiculous sexual escapades"... every episode now seems to be about Don's latest meaningless fling.
Don't get me wrong, I think Jon Hamm is gorgeous and I like seeing him half-dressed as much as the next person, but it's getting boring watching him jump in and out of the sack. I'm MUCH more interested in his inner life, and we're not seeing enough of that!

I'll testify for Visan - she has thought from the get-go that just 'cause she's a brunette she would have the inside track with Don the Divine - just like I am woebegone 'cause I am blonde like crankypants Betty and obviously not the Divine One's type. We just like to play the "what if" game - who does it hurt? Well, actually it hurts me alot as I'm the blonde with no chance - sigh.

I don't like Betty either and not 'cause she's a blonde. I used to like blonde Ken, but now I am upset with him for his homophobic remarks about Kurt. Poor Sal, I just wanted to hug him to keep the hurt away. I don't see that man coming out of the closet anytime soon, but maybe Kurt can help him find his way.

I'm not usually an advocate of Don's womanizing, but this episode seemed like an "out of body" experience...like we were trailing around after Don as he followed the"nomads" to Palm Springs. That theme music! It reminded me of "Bond...James Bond" for some reason. Agent 007 wouldn't think twice about deserting Pete to follow Joy into the exotic desert setting. ( I live in the desert, so I was really into the whole, hot sunshiny stuff). A bunch of rich folks trying to adopt Don? Go for it, Don. Who needs a job when these people will take care of you for just for being "beautiful" and "you don't talk too much"? I really never expected him to jump ship, though.
As for Pete, he was probably in Hog Heaven! Without Dull Don holding him back, he could glorify himself AND go swimming! He didn't seem at all upset back at SC.
Tangfl: I have a 22 year-old daughter who would probably be just as insulted by Don's philandering. She might see this as the writers' way of exploiting sex to get us to watch the show or condoning infidelity. Anyway, they're showing us they have good morals and that's a good thing. Of course, MINE would just as soon watch anything on MTV. Huh? Now THAT'S some really intelligent TV! Go figure.

I thought that this was a very good episode.

In the end, I think the only thing that will save Don is the love of his wife and kids for him and vice versa. If he can ever figure out the ways or means to "come clean", he'll be able to achieve that. How he's going to do that with Betty, I don't know.

I hope, though, at the end of the series, he doesn't walk away like the hobo and turn away from what could truly be healing for Don/Dick which is love, as corny as that sounds. It would be a real tragedy if he ends up like the hobo.

I believe Don's gaze at the cracked glass by the pool triggered him to remember his experience with the hobo and the codes taught him. The one he cared most about was the code left on the post at his father's house. The long, diagonal crack in the glass was identical to the long diagonal slash across the scythe carved into his father's housepost as an ever-present mark of a dishonest man.

If you watch Don's face, you'll see a physical shift, like his brain clicking on, as if the path to a destination had been illuminated in that moment. I'm not sure which direction he will go...whether he considers the mark against him or this group he willingly has hidden himself among...he has deliberately left himself many options. It's the way he believes life is lived..with permission to change your mind, to step in a new direction to avoid catastrophe or harm.

His next step will begin to implement his plan. I think he figured out what 'that' is...He made 'the phone call' the next morning, I'm certain it wasn't a social call, but one that moved him forward. Don is very pragmatic so my guess is that he is stepping back through steps he laid as Dick Whitman. It will involve money (one key to his independence) and women (in his search for help or the intimacy he seeks).

Hi Maddicts!
There have been so many posts to read, someone on one of the posts speculated that Jon Hamm may leave because he made it to "the big screen". I hope not.
I also read another poster's comments about the ads for "The Day The Earth Stood Still" during last Sunday's MM episode. I agree. It does look a lot like the remake of "War Of The Worlds" (I didn't see the movies, only the trailers).

Several posters have been strung up for suggesting this, but I agree there is something to the Manchurian Candidate-ish prediction, or the PSTD suggestion. Where did Don go when he was looking in the mirror the morning Sally said "I won't talk Daddy." ?? It seems something is short-circuiting in his wiring. Perhaps he's going to the base to get a "tune up"? OMG, wouldn't THAT be a weird twist. Anyhoo.... I'm just thinking out loud... throwing it out there.

Greytone: I'm one who would LOVE it if he somehow could meet up with the Hobo again.

I'm with you, Laurie B! I would love to see the hobo from S1 turn out to be his one 'lifeline' ...as if he has been the one that Dick/Don has stayed in touch with, and knows his whole story -
as for the PTSD angle, it does look as if he's disassociating, and coming unraveled....

I agree with Visan! I hope that Lame Duck deserves to be kicked to the curb.
His treatment of Chauncy was disgusting and I want him to be paid back for it!
I wish that security cameras had picked up that
incident so that he could be exposed to everyone!

Also, I was confused by this episode, no rich group has ever offered to adopt me, I didn't know that such things went on but I guessed that's because I'm not in those circles!

I'm looking forward to next weekend to find out what's behind that mysterious phone call at the end.

I'm a happily married guy, but if some woman looking like Joy did, came up and asked me to go to Palm Springs with her--I'm going!

You can send my luggage wherever, I'm in the convertible.

There are men that wouldn't, I'm sure, but I just haven't met any of them....

I was very intrigued by Duck's wheeling and dealing and I have a funny feeling that by the time Don gets back Sterling Cooper is going to be a brand new company with with Don left out in the cold for skipping out and not keeping his eyes on his work.

The final decision may be contingent on Don voting his 12 1/2%. With five days to D-day, he may be the cause of missing an opportunity or changing the makeup of Sterling Cooper.

Think about which way Bert will vote. Isn't it time he step out of the way? He seems less and less interested in the day-to-day operations. His sister may also vote to step out of the way, particularly if the money is right. Roger has this princely legacy commitment to the business, but has gotten into a situation where an influx of money would solve some of his problems. His health dictates that he continue to slow his involvement at work. I can see Jane getting pregnant and fighting to keep her stake in the firm for the new generation of the Sterling clan. Mona will protect her stake for Margaret, and all this will go on long after Roger is gone. After all, he is only the series guest star....

Don is caught up. Joy has invited him to accompany them to Nassau, a place called Lyford Cay; currently, home to celebrities, billionaires and old money. Today, this spot is very attractive because of continued tax advantages. She tells him he will need a tuxedo...

Who will be afraid to call and check on his whereabouts after 5 days?....Will Betty call his job or will his job call Betty first? My guess is that he won't return til next season....the perfect cliffhanger...

Yes, you could be right blondeambition. ;o) Poor Don will suffer the fate of Chauncey!! The blog will really heat up at that point. Duck haters will go to town with the fact that Duck not only leaves dogs out in the cold to fend for themselves, but he does it to people too! I can see another Duck ambush in the works. Take cover, Don!

Don, in essence, is a con man of sorts (especially with advertising). Takes one to know one. I think Duck is too, obviously.Don's always been "on" to Duck's desperation and sense of loyalty to Sterling Cooper (none). Whereas Roger and Bert seem to be your classic con victims, and ruled by greed. I think Don will step in at some point and put a kibosh on Duck's little deal, even if he doesn't plan on staying at Sterling Cooper or in New York.

I dvred this epi and just watched it. I am totally confused. Who are these people??? Will we ever find out? Is next week's epi the season finale? I am sick of Don's manwhoring. I realize he is complicated and all, but I am just kinda disgusted by him right now. And I also hope that Duck has a visitation by karma after the Chauncey episode. The scum.

Ya know, sometimes I can't believe we all watched the same show on Sunday night!
Specifically, I can't understand how anybody would find this last one boring.

I wonder if it's an age thing? The girl who has all the DVDs of Sex and the City but now is dropping MadMen? Maybe she's just not old enough to understand? I mean, there's no comparison between the half inch deep plots of SATC and Mad Men. Also I think if you missed the 60's you are only getting about half of the show.

I've tried to read all the comments on the Episode Thread (which is a feat since there are over 600 today) and hoped that this thread would have bloggers who were as unhappy with this episode as I was. Don completely ditching Pete after reprimanding him for wanting to have some fun in the California sun. And all these new people - ugh. Don't we have enough wonderful characters to develop? these people are bizarre. I hope Matt and the writers go back to the identity conflicts that most people can relate to -- career wrangling and marriage/family issues. Ditch the Euro trash! Maybe this can be the Bobby episode - Don will wake up in his hotel room by a knock on the door from a man delivering his suitcase.

Visan, Ok, so the "brunette" thing stems from posts from last season. I just started watching MM this season, but did rent the 1st season and watched it before this season. Wasn't posting last season so didn't see your post.

Jolie10, loved hearing the comment about your daughter who is almost the same age as mine. Nice to know there are girls out there with good morals like ours, huh? Sometimes I think my daughter only watches MM because she knows I like it and it's time to spend with mom watching and discussing.

I have to say I was shocked that Don ditched a work obligation and left Pete holding the bag. It didn't make sense since Pete has it in for him and has blackmailed him in the past. That seemed so out of character for Don since he is all about the job and maintaining his success at SC. I guess the other thing that was perplexing to me was the young woman who caught his fancy. She was so young,almost jailbait.I guess he had to have his "Lolita" moment. All of Don's ladies have been older,sexier and interesting.I was hoping when he woke up with Dr. Strangelove hovering over him with a hypodermic,he'd
bust out of there.
Duck trying to weasel a deal doesn't surprise me. I think he may not be long at SC. His plan will backfire and Cooper will grace Duck with one of his platitudes as he shuts the door on Duck for good.
I hope Don wanders back to NYC, gets his home life straightened out and returns to SC.
I agree with a poster who said the eurotrash nomads make Bobbie and Jimmy Barrett look respectable. I was hoping Don would meet some real interesting people in LA,not a bunch of boring jet setters who make meaningless conversation.
The highlight of the eppy was Peggy's new do and poor Sal
realizing he can't fully come clean as long as he's at SC and living in the year 1962. It is really hard to believe that those attitudes were prevalent and tolerated when you live in 2008!

well, i loved this episode and found it the MOST interesting of all! i don't think don's losing it...he's actually finding himself...cuz sometimes he's not so sure...though he always looks like a HUNK regardless of state of mind and especially when he's on his back between the sheets...but i digress...
and don't be raggin on my visan, she has the perfect right to hate betty and also to cheer for every brunette who crosses don's path...
(btw, as visan has said before, this is just a television show and these are not real people!)

It's not a light-hearted series. This show really delves into the impact that the restrictions in gender, marital, business, and even social conventions had on people's lives 48 years ago, and what it cost them financially, emotionally and spiritually. Not for the faint of heart. We see both the absolute best and worst going on, and how they survived it and whether they came out whole or destroyed.

To be fair, if I was in my early 20's and watching this, I would find it too dispiriting and cynical. In my 20's, I had a lot of idealism and hope which over the years (like everyone, I'm pretty sure) has weathered some severe disappointments, and reality checks about the nature of people. I don't know, maybe as you get older, you're more forgiving or accepting of how screwed up people are (were), and can still live with it. They're flawed real people with extraordinary good qualities, and sometimes deeply disillusioning bad qualities.

jamm54, I agree with you that the show may be too cynical for viewers in their 20's. Being in my late 50's, I've also seen how screwed up real people can be and how hard it is to keep a marriage together for over 30 years. Women in their 20's I'm sure are more positive about their outlook on life as it pertains to jobs, marriage, friends, etc. They haven't suffered the disappointments that eventually come to everyone and most people make it through the bad times in life. Bad times only make you stronger. Marriages suffer infidelity (maybe not as much as the Don character) and people stay together and make it through. Sometimes I think we shouldn't allow little girls to read those fairy tales - the "happily ever after" books. Because there are hard times and disappointments in every marriage after the honeymoon period wears off.

I know, but it's the sweetness of life and the "happily ever after" that we're programmed with through the fairy tales. It gives people hope and ideals. Without the fairy tales, it might be too crushing to the spirit to have it all laid out in such pragmatic, black and white detail. The fairytales allow dreams, hopes, and wishes to be nourished. Sometimes that's enough to sustain people through the vicissitudes of life and continue on.

jamm, once again i am impressed by, and in agreement with, your comments.

Thanks, boca. They say without hope, you're a dead man.

jamm54, I know, too, and that's why I always read those happily ever after fairy tales to my own daughter. Of course, now she has very high standards when it comes to a future husband. But I guess that's not so bad.

flowerpower, that's my daughter who had the SATC dvd's but is getting tired of Don's character in MM. I personally don't like SATC because I think those girls are too promiscuous. It is only Don's character that she is disgusted with and it's because of all his cheating. I think she prefers married men who at least stay somewhat faithful to their wives. Don's philandering is just too much - especially episode 11 with the LA cult. In SATC all the girls were single (I guess 2 got married and finally Carrie in the movie) so they could date whomever they pleased. And the SATC girls who are married didn't cheat as far as I know. However she still likes the other characters in MM and now says she will watch till the end of this season.

In SATC the whole premise was the quest for love and fulfilling relationships, and therefore, a happier basis than MM. They're not comparable. Those women had their ups and downs, but they also knew themselves better than the characters in MM, and weren't living under such severe constrictions (socially, morally, emotionally, psychologically) that the whole MM gang are laboring under.

By the way, I never saw SATC until it was on TBS (so have never been privy to the nudity and coarse language of the HBO version), but I don't feel like I missed anything. Sometimes the sex and obscene language, because of their "shock" value (if there is such a thing anymore) actually detract from the story. Your attention focuses on those two elements, and the story seems to get lost. Which isn't to say I don't swear like a truck driver in private - unfortunately I can. I never had premium channels, and am grateful MadMen runs on AMC, because it's truly a great piece of dramatic fiction.

I was a long-time fan of SATC. Coincidentally, the show ran all throughout my 20s. But being real, the characters were relatively static for most of that show's run, that is, until the last season when they all started growing themselves. That's when that show got slightly more interesting.

Coincidentally, that last season occured as I past that hellish "Saturn's Return" stage of coming out of the 20s and into 30, when the initial disillusionment of the world and your own life's reality sets in and you have to dig deep to edit and reevalute your goals.

I like Mad Men not only because it shines a light on the origins of a lot of the problems we are still experiencing today. I think for younger people, it's assumed that the world's social ills were "fixed" after that time.

I think when you're in your 20s as well, you're just more self-absorbed and trying to figure out your place. You're just not thinking of others as much. No blight on anyone, but I think it's true.

As you grow older, you start to understand that you live in a wider world and you see a bigger picture of how other people's goals intersect with yours. You're just more thoughtful.

I also think that looking head on at the ugliness of the world helps you appreciate the specialness of all the smaller points of beauty that we take for granted when we're younger:
FAMILY
FRIENDS
LIVING and LEARNING

I think that Mad Men challenges you to really look at the wider world and through the writers' characterizations, empathize through understanding.

a 40-something gay male comedian i heard on comedy central several years ago (whose name escapes me except i remember he was originally from the south) said something that's so very true: the only thing that people in their 20s have going for them is that they look better than people in their 40s...."so shut the f**k up!" he said, or words to that effect.

although none of us would have believed it, when we were in our 20s, there is no substitute for life experience. and i don't buy any of this "old soul" stuff. true, some younger people are more mature in their manner and outlook than others...but it's just that the vast majority of them are so incredibly undeveloped as people (it's not their fault - that's the nature of humans! and we were all that way to one degree or another!) that anyone who's more poised and thoughtful "seems" older.

The title of this thread is Don's Lost It. He may have taken a little detour out in L.A. but if he's lost...he'll find his way back and kick some ass. He's a survivor and he doesn't suffer fools.
I am looking forward to his return to SC.He can go head to head w/ Duck,Pete and leave them whimpering.
I was really hoping he'd hook up with a woman more on Rachel's level,sophisticated and sexy and in tune with him.
It will be interesting to see what's ahead for Don. I can't see this guy being "lost" for long. He's too much of a control freak and he is a calculating person,always moving forward,never looking back in the rear view mirror.

I like your thinking GuySmiley. Everything you said is true, that's probably the beauty of aging. For all the idealism and self-absorption of the 20's, coming out of it with a more developed snapshot of people and society is a saving grace. Allows you to readjust your ideas and be more empathetic, compassionate, and forgiving towards others and yourself.

I loved SATC, by the way, but found it kind of sad when they started to "grow up". The rose-colored glasses came off.

For Don Draper's character, he's about a decade behind (or a lifetime) in his emotional growth. It will be interesting to see him grow as a person, and actually dare to love his wife, his kids and others. He's just got to do something about the damned assumed identity question which is really stunting him in his personal life.

For me, SATC was simply entertainment...with gorgeous cocktails, killer shoes and sexy men! I just didn't take it that seriously. It's funny because John Slattery, who plays Rog, was on SATC. And I swear the first couple of MM episodes I just kept thinking of him as "Mr. Pee On Me"...LOL!

Don doesn't have to redeem himself in my eyes. Don the Wand was a "mack daddy" from the very first episode. We viewers knew from the giddy up that he liked his side action. Then this season, found out he'd had more side dishes than we'd been led to believe initially.

I hope he doesn't stop his philandering! It's the reason he's a sexy bastard!! A faithful Don is a boring Don! His ridiculous attempts at "being good" in the first part of the season made me want to stop watching the show. The de-fanging of Don Draper does not a great show make!

I never liked the SATC show, but I did like the movie that was just out a few months back. I had tears in my eyes during parts of it. I thought it was very good even though the critics didn't necessarily agree - better than the TV series. However, I agree that it just doesn't compare to MM in any way. The MM writing is so much better. And the way MM portrays the characters - so real to the early 60's. Also, SATC never had a male actor as good looking as Jon Hamm. Big - not that appealing to me.

.....GuySmiley.....I appreciate your post (loved SATC!) - and jamm is always the best. Whenever I read one of jamm's posts (and there are some GREAT posters on here, new and old) I forget all the oh-so-very-critical things I was going to post. Sometimes there are even notes. I salaam you, jamm54! (Plus she's a sweetie to everybody.)

Guy, this self/world discovery journey you talked about is something that I don't think a person, if they are at all self-aware, ever loses. The 30s are kind of typically where people start asking all those questions but, if you grew up like Dick Whitman, you might start asking them sooner.

One of the regulars on here, was it jamm? said something about taking the hard knocks up front and center...you get to see human nature close up, and it can be beyond ugly. It definitely changes you.

You will likely say that same thing, in different ways, throughout every decade of your life. Honestly, I've seen people do things in my life that you literally would not believe. My feeling is that Earth is the battleground of good versus evil, and guess where that battle takes place? (Yup - you and me, pal.)

For what it's worth, my take on it is that people can only be shades of grey - some darker than others, and some actively resisting against the darkness inside us all. I am enormously appreciative, on an incident-by-incident basis when "people," whomever they may be, make an active choice to take the high road, or do the right thing. Guess I don't have a whole lot of faith in human nature, which is why those incidents always stand out for me (and also why I would make a point of acknowledging it).

I loved The Jet Set, and thought it was so interesting the amount of people who did not, and why. While there was most definitely a "Jay Gatsby" and "Sodom and Gomorrah" feel to this episode, more and more the whole series is kind of starting to resemble Jason and his quest for the Golden Fleece...

I agree with rozsie when I say that Don Draper isn't just cheating....he is searching. This episode made me realize how much of Draper's inner territory remains undiscovered, and why this odyssey is necessary for him.

Infidelity is the saddest thing, but it is kind of occurring to me that Don Draper's "women" are just the various beckoning (and hazardous) sirens along the way of his extended internal odyssey. For Don Draper, the women become the conduit inward.

Each woman seems to embody or represent the next phase of Draper's evolving core values and self-awareness. (The psycho-babble for that is self-actualization - Very Visan where are you - hee!)

To me, it was a natural progression to have Draper momentarily seduced by the alien-seeming landscape and culture..... that's what adventurers do on their way to a journey's end.

[As an aside, there is a very bizarre, funny, Kafka-esque movie made starring Griffin Dunne called "After Hours" which for some reason reminded me of "The Jet Set."]

Betty and Manhattan must seem very much like a dream to Dick Whitman. A very long play with no final act, or maybe a strange, distant dream.

While saying that, I very much get the feeling that, in the middle of all that inner turmoil, Don Draper is in love with his wife. That beautiful Song of India theme playing when he saw her, then he didn't, then he did, and then again no. I’ll say it again – I can’t wait until she meets the real Dick Whitman.

I can't believe I am saying this, but Don Draper can't be with Betty until he DOES find himself. And that will necessarily include knowing different women intimately. The women are the rocks against which Draper breaks himself, on his long voyage to the sea.

Or he's a spy. Either one.

My bet is that Don will be the savior for Sterling Cooper after Duck tries to pull a fast one with his Brit buddies. When the chips are down, Don comes through. Think of how many episodes where Don comes out of right field with just the right words or idea to get or save a client. My bet is that Burt and Roger will get suckered and Don will walk in and save the day. Did you notice how Roger made a point to tell Duck who all the partners were and that Don had a 12% stake. I bet that 12% stake will come in handy some where down the road.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but Don Draper can't be with Betty until he DOES find himself. " Dry Manhattan is right. Don Draper is going into a journey into his interior every bit as intense as Tony Soprano's sojourn in the land of Kevin Finnerty. He is valued by the Jet Set crowed for his beauty, his lack of posessiveness and his lack of talk. As far as "virtues" go, those are extraordinarily shallow.

Then again, those Jet Setters Family Values represent the philosophy that Don Draper unconsciously pursued when he was cheating on his wife. Some interesting points:

1) It was Joan that facillitated this journey.

2) Peggy is also going on her own inner journey -- the haircut, Dylan -- but that is taking place less dramatically within the context of the office.

3) How long is the Jane-on-Jane-street/Roger Sterling fling going to last?

4) Sterling Cooper is in total disarray. Of the board members, only Cooper's sister -- a shareholder -- appears mens sana in corpore sano. Cooper is senile, Don Draper is in the land of the Lotus Eaters skipping his duties, and Roger Sterling is all sauced up on Jane-on-Jane-Street and his divorce.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but Don Draper can't be with Betty until he DOES find himself. " Dry Manhattan is right. Don Draper is going into a journey into his interior every bit as intense as Tony Soprano's sojourn in the land of Kevin Finnerty. He is valued by the Jet Set crowed for his beauty, his lack of posessiveness and his lack of talk. As far as "virtues" go, those are extraordinarily shallow.

Then again, those Jet Setters Family Values represent the philosophy that Don Draper unconsciously pursued when he was cheating on his wife. Some interesting points:

1) It was Joan that facillitated this journey.

2) Peggy is also going on her own inner journey -- the haircut, Dylan -- but that is taking place less dramatically within the context of the office.

3) How long is the Jane-on-Jane-street/Roger Sterling fling going to last?

4) Sterling Cooper is in total disarray. Of the board members, only Cooper's sister -- a shareholder -- appears mens sana in corpore sano. Cooper is senile, Don Draper is in the land of the Lotus Eaters skipping his duties, and Roger Sterling is all sauced up on Jane-on-Jane-Street and his divorce.

http://ronmwangaguhunga.blogspot.com

@DryManhattan: thanks for the compliment, I really appreciate it (and needed it today - am having a rough spell).

I, too, think that Don has actually truly started to fall in love with Betty. Kind of astounding when you think of all the years they've been married. But, as Betty has changed and become stronger, and challenged Don, he's become more attracted to that strength even though he's not getting any easy "out" or "pass" from Betty to re-enter their marriage. Don definitely is Ulysses and he has encountered the Lotus-Eaters in the guise of the nomadic jet setters. Let's just hope Don's "journey" doesn't take 10 years before he returns to Betty (Penelope) like Ulysses did.

Oh, and DryManhattan, you're completely right. Every decade of your life is change and discovery of some sort - whether actively sought out or foisted on you by destiny.

......greytone.....Interesting theories.... and I agree - Draper picked a pretty bad time to go AWOL from Sterling Cooper. Whether he cares or not, that has to affect Draper's future, at least at that company. He might come back to find the entire thing reorganized.

It just occurred to me how one guy, or group of writers, can keep all these good minds so very busy, yet never actually guessing at the truth.

That's pretty good. What does that say about us I wonder?

That we're not as smart or imaginative as the writers!

Don Draper has a psychological mantra "It Never Happened". He lives by this philosophy until reality boxes him in. And this started when he switched identities with the real Don Draper who was killed in the Korean War. He did it once, he can do it again and he can do it whenever he chooses.
John Hamm was an excellent choice for Don Draper because he has "bedroom eyes", like Robert Mitchum's eyes, he often lowers his eyelids to convey thought. The camera shoots him at a lower angle to display his eyes and facial expressions to their best advantage. And when wearing a hat, he pulls it over his eyes.
Is he a snake? Is he a psycho? Or is he a decent man at heart? Or is he living as a product of the times...doing what society condoned and a lot of men did....living out the Playboy philosophy? Or is he a personality disorder who learned an inappropriate way to cope with life and just hung onto it?
I don't know but I find the character of Don Draper to be a fascinating one and John Hamm's work is outrageously good and consistently interesting as he brings this difficult and multifaceted character to life.
I just cannot get enough of this show, the writing, the characters and most of all the atmosphere of the time and historical placement.
It takes place in the early 1960's and America is going to change dramatically during the next 10 years. Many, many historical, political and social changes will take place and I can see this show running longer than Bonanza!
Well done, AMC!

But, to give our forum contributors credit, I think all of our speculations, guess-work, analyses keep them on their toes too, in trying to outwit us.

Best episode yet! Many people seem confused by the jet setters. They were a kind of 1960s phenomenon -- ultra-rich, mostly idle, constantly flying around, counter-culture values, and beautiful. Joy said they were heading for Lyman Key (Nassau) and then Capri, another favorite spot of the jet setters.

Don has been building up to this break for some time. He's clearly been unhappy at Sterling Cooper -- the job just doesn't engage him. Even his biggest successes seemed to be improvised on the spot. He didn't want to start over again at a bigger agency when they came recruiting him, but then somehow he brought in Duck and got many of the same pressures. He and Duck have been at each other ever since and I've felt for weeks that either Don or Duck had to go.

Don has been disengaged from his family an his job for a while. This is the guy who was ducking out in the afternoons to do Midge in her Soho apartment. Don found this beatnik lifestyle engaging and he used insights he got from beatnik poetry, music and pot smoking in his work. He was shown ducking out of work, lying about where he was going, while watching French New Wave films in the afternoon by himself. I think he has a rich inner life. Notice how excellent he was at that name the city game they were playing in Palm Springs.

Most importantly, Don has a very fatalistic world view -- living for the moment. As he told Roger the morning after they said goodbye to Freddie Rumson -- there are no certainties in life except it ends badly and you don't know when. You have to move forward -- as soon as you can figure out what that is.

One of the big 1960s phobias was fear of nuclear war and the show is approaching the Cuban Missile Crisis. Don got a preview of nuclear holocaust at the conference and just decided that life could be ending for everyone sooner than anyone imagined. He just decided to walk away from it all. It's oddly parallel to the decision Roger made to go off with Jane -- go off with a younger woman. But Don's far less invested in the system than Roger -- he's not sitting on a mountains of money from Sterling Cooper and his family.

The key question now is what does he do and who is the secret friend that he can just contact after many years? This would have to be somebody he knew before the war -- who might not have known he was killed. He could go with the jet-setters in that he can fit in with them if he wants to. But that doesn't seem his style and the cracked glass was surely an omen or at least a sign not to trust these new friends fully.

One more comment for the people who have said Don's now become so unlikeable that nobody will watch. Think of Tony Soprano. He is certainly in many ways one of the most loathesome characters ever invented -- we saw him murder any number of people and he cheated on his wife regularly -- always watching out for himself. Somehow James Gandolfini had a way of keeping the audience on his side and creating a character that despite his obvious and horrific moral failures -- that we wanted to watch regularly. Don Draper is a complex, multifaceted character in that same morally ambiguous world. Although his experiences are in advertising and not organized crime -- we see that there is a thin veneer of civilization over some very raw dealings just underneath it all that both worlds seem to share.

It's hard to see how he can reinvent himself as Dick Whitman, since he was killed in Korea. He will still be illegitimate and somehow on the run from his wife and Sterling Cooper. In any case, I don't see him going back there. Even if he did, it seems that there may be no "there" to go back to if Duck is successful in making the deal, as seems likely. Bert Cooper and Roger are about the most clueless and unmindful principals that one could imagine at the top of a firm like that. Both are about as disengaged as one can be and seem ripe to be blown away by the winds of corporate change.

@Zerelda: From waaaay upthread....Thanks!

@Boca: Also from waayyy upthread....Gracias!

Dry Manhattan and Jamm54: Thank you both for your beautifully written and well-expressed posts!

I agree with you both -- Don is falling in love with a stronger, more assertive Betty. And he cannot come home to her and the kids until he resolves his inner identity crises.

I really like the comparisons to Homer's Odyssey. I'm not that familiar with it, but The Jet Set did seem like The Lotus Eaters. But Don's too smart to be taken in by them. I don't think we'll see them again -- he's moving on to the mystery person.

Don Draper's women are all steps along the way to his self-discovery. Philip Roth in Portnoy's Complaint said something similar; the main character, Alexander Portnoy, used his sexual conquests (all of whom were non-Jewish women) as a way to "discover America." Of course, none of these affairs were ever happy or in any way satisfactory to him because of his own self-loathing. In that book however, Portnoy was unmarried and commitment-phobic. Here, Don already has the love of his life in Ossining.

When Don comes to terms with his past and finally reveals Dick Whitman to Betty (and I believe that he will), only then will the two of them be able to fully love each other and resume their marriage. Being the cock-eyed optimist and romantic that I am, I believe this is the road Matt Weiner is taking us down.

@Gail: I hope so, too. I never watched the "Sopranos", but I've read enough on these threads to hope that even though Tony Soprano/Don Draper seem to share some similar characteristics, that MW doesn't wholly blueprint Tony's life/choices/end onto the Don character.

Sometimes organized crime and corporate America aren't that different, but still, Don is not a literal killer. Metaphorical maybe, but not literal as Tony Soprano obviously was from everyone's recounting of the series. I think it'd be kind of cliche to have everyone in MM end up badly - some made it through changed, healed, and whole.

Posted at 7:59 PM EST....

It's so funny because I just read a very insightful article detailing how so many female viewers have that "TV crush" on Don Draper because he's sexy as hell and uber-masculine. So I'm not completely convinced that Don's womanizing is a total turn-off to viewers. It's just that those who find it distasteful are very vocal about it on various forums, not necessarily here on AMC.

Hmmmmmm.....

jamm54, just watched the You Tube video of "The Carousel" and I also believe Don really does love Betty. If you watch that video, he's never showed such emotion on his face or in his words with any other woman as he does when he is giving that presentation using his family slides. The entire room is teary-eyed when he is finished.

......jamm54......Believe me, Homer's Odyssey and The Iliad were all plugged in, but didn't have the "sih-reens" necessary to drive my point across!

Dry Manhattan: Thank you for the compliment on my post. I also enjoy reading your insights throughout the forum.

Thinking about what you said, I agree about the 'journey' as never ending. Maybe in my 20s I was scared of that process, and now I'm starting to accept and be open to the highs and lows of learning and expanding through life.

I disagree with the premise of the post that Don has "lost it". He is simply trying on a different life and realizes (or so i think) that it doesn't fit. He meets these mysterious people and Joy, this incredibly sexy embodiment of desire, and he is decides to see where it takes him. But he is still Don: confident, debonair, and forward-minded. As I watched Ep. 11 I too was drawn in by them and in the pool scene I realized that they were just a bunch of spoiled children and I think Don did too. Maybe the Don persona isn't capable for this new generation. I think he's going to come back with a third persona, not necessarily a name change but embracing some of the "new" ideals of the new world.

And don't forget that he was ready to leave last season with Rachel to L.A.. So he clearly has no problem with abandoning his family. Not that he played a significant role other than monetarily.