Maurreen Ryan: 'Mad Men' Review: Dancing In The Dark

 "Yet they end up in similar places: They are outcasts. So Don and Peggy -- two lonely, isolated people who love their work, who are endlessly curious about that work, who will never connect with lovers the way they consistently connect with each other intellectually and platonically -- well, they danced together, and it was terrific.

Go back to every season of "Mad Men," and you can find some incredible scene in which Jon Hamm has no lines but just floors you with a non-verbal rendition of whatever Don is going through. In this half-season, that standout moment will surely be Don's face as he embraced Peggy during their dance. Part of that look was "the pain of an old wound," to bring things full circle to the Carousel pitch from Season 1. Don's primal wounds ensure that he will, until the day he dies, keep on wondering if anyone really loves him and if he's truly capable of love. But every so often, he gets a reminder that, yes, he is a human being and he is able to give and receive selfless devotion and deep affection. The dance in "The Strategy" constituted one of those reminders, and the look on his face showed just how much he needed that. "

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'Mad Men' Review: Dancing In The Dark: 'Mad Men' Review: Dancing In The Dark