She's a mirror image of Don in that she's rapidly becoming an anachronistic symbol of an era that's disappearing.

I think Don is clearly this - but mostly because he is trapped by his own past. I think Joan's status is mostly hurt by her impending marriage. Jane could be more of a clear threat to Joan if she were more subtle and a whole lot more savvy. Jane's shit is not tight and she will therefore get tossed.

Joan already has/had Peggy not listening to her and perhaps now Jane, but Peggy is a whole lot smarter than Jane. Jane doesn't seem to want to play by ANY rules. Did you hear her say "why didn't we steal the painting?" WTF? She is a bad bad girl - and not in a good way.

Oh, and how much to I love that the real reason Cooper has the painting is its financial value? Hee. And everyone falling all over themselves trying to decide if they're supposed to love or hate the art.

Do you think Jane pings to Joan's history with Roger? Because that made his action/nonaction so much more interesting.

I love this show because I always feel like there's going to be a payoff. Even throwaway stuff like Jane's sunburn a bit ago makes me feel like she's going to come up with skin cancer later or something. Which reminds me. When everybody was smoking (okay, not this much, but still) what were the lung cancer rates and did people just ignore them?

How painful was the confrontation with Don and Jimmy, and that he went to Betty first? Don was really at a loss.

How painful was the confrontation with Don and Jimmy, and that he went to Betty first? Don was really at a loss.

It was one thing for Jimmy to confront Don—that was completely warranted, but damn, telling Betty in that manner was just this side of cruel. I have to wonder why he chose to do it that way.

To be cruel? (Because he is a cruel person.) And maybe because he thought that he could get Betty on his side.

And maybe because he thought that he could get Betty on his side.

I thought he was going for seducing Betty first, as a way to get back at Don. But when she wouldn't play, he went for the throat.

I thought it was interesting to see younger Don as a car salesman! Somehow, that makes sense for his career path. Car sales is a cut throat business, convincing people they need something they really don't.

And, the woman who said he wasn't Don in that little flashback. I can't wait for them to follow up with that.

I thought he was going for seducing Betty first, as a way to get back at Don. But when she wouldn't play, he went for the throat.

Well, that makes perfect sense especially when you consider he's not an obvious chick magnet and Don is. I mean, clearly, Jimmy's got a lot of the self-loathing and envy going on. He said it himself-- "the more you drink the funnier I get. ABC did surveys."

This is why this show is so interesting to me. All of the characters have depth, even the peripheral ones. Jimmy is more than just the cuckold. He has no illusions about his wife, his life, and career. But it doesn't stop him from being hurt and angry and vindictive. And he's willing to make the sacrifices he has in order to be able to live the life he wants to, presumably without repercussions.

Is this the first time Betty knows who the other woman is? When she admitted to the shrink that she knew Don had affairs, she was kind of fishing out the information, right? I can't remember if she knew the details before.

Oh, and poor Salvatore with his unrequited affection for Ken. And poor Kitty! She seems like a bright, appealing young wife, trying so hard. I bet Salvatore is a good husband otherwise.

So much of this show is people struggling to find their place in the world, which is why I think it resonates so much. Our struggles are the same struggles, just recast. I wonder what we'll look back on later about our own era and marvel at our simplicity and complacency.

She seems like a bright, appealing young wife, trying so hard. I bet Salvatore is a good husband otherwise.

until people start asking about children ;)

Is this the first time Betty knows who the other woman is? When she admitted to the shrink that she knew Don had affairs, she was kind of fishing out the information, right?

Yeah-- she suspected before and when she called a phone number that she found in Don's desk, I think she fully expected that a woman would pick up, but then it turned out to be the shrink and that's when she realized that Don had been checking in on her supposed confidential sessions. And IIRC, it was after that that Betty made the comment to the doctor in a session that she was aware of Don's affairs, probably looking for some passive/aggressive way to let Don know that she knew of them.

However, now that the Other Woman's been given an actual face (and that Betty was humiliated in the process), she's going to be able to directly confront Don, which is what they alluded to in the previews for next week. Of course, she could be confronting him about something else altogether. That's the beauty of this show. You just don't know.

Betty's "you people are so crude" comment was telling. I liked Jimmy's response, too - "Who? Comedians!??!?" He had both her and Don's number.