Maureen Ryan thinks Don Draper wants to die

 

More than ever, it feels as though we're supposed to "solve" "Mad Men" episodes these days; each meaning, symbol, allegory and metaphor is as neatly arranged as a Japanese bento box, one we are supposed to unpack with proper care and reverence. (I'm not complaining, not this week anyway; anything made with this much craftsmanship deserves careful attention). Or maybe the show's more like a math problem, and when I solve for "X" -- when I strap on my symbol decoder, fire up my semiotic translator and haul out my Freudian/Jungian/"White Album" meaning generator -- here's what I get:

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Maureen Ryan: 'Mad Men' Premiere Recap: Walking Through 'The Doorway':