In “New Business,” Don Draper’s character norms are turned upside down, and the question of who Don actually is comes into play yet again.  Also, Pete Campbell wears golf pants and Harry Crane is still a creeper.

At the beginning of the episode, Don’s in his old kitchen making milkshakes for his sons.  The diner’s blender is broken, he later tells his ex-wife, Betty, when she comes home from yet another glamorous event with her not-so-new husband Henry.  Betty tells Don she wants to go back to college, to get her master’s degree in psychology, a far cry from the housewife we once knew Betty to be.  But in this scene, it’s Don I’m drawn to.  He’s spending time with his kids, something he was once not so keen on doing.  And, what’s more, he’s doing normal dad things with them.  This isn’t absent father Don Draper–this is Don Draper longing for a life he could’ve had.  This is especially apparent at the end of the scene, when Don leaves and Henry takes his place.  You can see it in his face–he regrets leaving this life behind.
 

But, on the other hand, it doesn’t seem like he regrets leaving his life with Megan behind.  In this episode, the weird separation between Megan and Don ends with divorce papers and Megan’s mother and sister coming to help her gather her things.  Megan’s mother sleeps with Roger again, Megan catches them and essentially blames the whole thing on Don rather than seeing who is really at fault.  Don writes Megan a check for $1 million.  This is the end of Megan and Don.

Meanwhile, Don is sleeping with his new mystery woman, Diana.  She’s a waitress at a diner, but once she quits her job there, Don tracks her down at her new job at a restaurant.  There’s something odd about Diana that I still can’t put my finger on, but some great revelation about her should be made in coming episodes.  But that’s not to say a few revelations weren’t made in this one.  We find out Diana left her home of Wisconsin in search of a new life in New York.  We also find out she lost her daughter to the flu two years ago, but she has another daughter at home whom she left behind.  Like I said, I still haven’t really figured out what her deal is, but I’ll let you know when I do. 

You can reach Rebecca Docter on Twitter at @TheRealBecksss