Kevin, I don’t know what twisted reality you live in where Linda Cardellini is preferable to Jessica Paré, but to each his own, I suppose. That point aside, I think you’re spot-on about addiction driving this show. And what is addiction other than a chemical need for self-validation? We find ourselves addicted to things that — at least at the start — make us feel good, smart, strong, powerful. Don has sought that feeling from liquor and women but always comes out feeling hollow. One addiction, though, leaves him fulfilled.

That’s why, Gabe, I don’t think Don’s goal is to get back into SC&P. Instead, he needs the work. I think being good at ad pitches is the only thing that has ever kept him centered and happy with himself. If he couldn’t keep doing that while on leave, he’d literally have nothing to live for. I also don’t know if Don was drunk in the last scene of the episode — just out in the cold. He was unable to shut out the unhappiness, so he just sat right in it and wallowed. In fact, Freddy was the only thing Don had control over this week. A moving sidewalk carried him, Graduate-like, through LAX. He rode in the passenger seat while Megan drove him around L.A. Then, he was back in someone else’s hands aboard an airplane, Manhattan-bound.

I agree with Kevin’s assessment that someone will die this season. I’m almost certain we’ll see the demise of Bert Cooper, but there must be something more shocking. There’s a growing sentiment in corners similar to this one around the Internet that the bull’s-eye is squarely on Megan. Last season, Megan wore a T-shirt famously connected with Sharon Tate — you know, the famous actress who lived in the canyon outside Los Angeles, where she was murdered by the Manson Family after having a final meal at El Coyote Cafe. The references are a bit heavy-handed, but things are not looking good for the third Mrs. Draper.

I’ve read some analysis of how Mad Men is shifting its focus from one generation to the next — it’s no longer about the Boomers’ parents, but about the Boomers themselves. The first episode is not quite evidence of that — we’re missing Sally and anyone else under age 25 — but the 1970’s are clearly on the horizon. The Mad Men universe is shifting into the timeframe in which the primary demographic of AMC viewers remembers as their formative years. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the series retroactively framed not as Don’s story — not even as Peggy’s story — but as Sally’s story (for perspective, Sally would turn 60 this month). It took eight minutes to bring Don into the story in the season premiere, and I think his fade into the background will continue.