What I'm Watching: Mad Men

Mad Men: Season 2, Episode 12 "The Mountain King" (B+)

It's wonderful to see Don is his early days, when he abandons the name he took and goes around living his life at a much slower, more relaxed pace, commenting on cars and introducing himself as Dick Whitman. It's refreshing to see the positive relationship he has with his namesake's former wife, and how he turns to her for comfort since he knows she's the only person who can truly understand him. Joan's forceful fiancee is a heartbreaker, especially since he's seemed so nice until now, but it's interesting to see Joan actually embracing the comfort Peggy is offering, since she usually presents such a steely front. Pete's own marital control issues are beginning to become a problem for him, and we're getting back to the sad sack Pete who's utterly slimy but you can't help sympathizing with since he just can't get anything accomplished no matter how hard he may try. This Sunday is the show's season finale, and I'm hopeful that this will be the kind of typical cable finale, which offers up intriguing new information but makes the wait for next year bearable with an appropriate amount of closure.