Nomads: Don Heads to the Desert on "Mad Men"

Just a few quick thoughts about last night's episode of Mad Men ("The Jet Set"), written by series creator Matthew Weiner.

How creepy was Joy's family? At first I thought that they were part of some weird sex cult that somehow lured Don to Palm Springs and then drugged him... only to learn that they were far creepier than I thought when we learned that Viscount Willie was actually Joy's father and he came in and sat on the bed with Don and Joy the morning after their tryst. Ick.

I loved that an abandoned Pete tried to pick up some young girls at the hotel pool, only to have them ignore him altogether. Classic.

And how adorable was the scene where Kurt cut Peggy's hair for her in her kitchen before their Bob Dylan concert? Peggy might pick the wrong boys but she was smart to allow Kurt to make her over, into more of a modern woman. Only fitting that the only person to seemingly notice her new look is Pete, who can't quite place his finger on why Peggy looks so good when he returns to New York.

Was I the only one who screamed at the television when Duck took his first sip of alcohol? Before we know it, he's covering up with mints and receiving a whole case of Tanqueray. Slippery slope, Duck, slippery slope...

But my real question is just who did Don call at the episode's end? He used his real name--Dick Whitman--so I can't help but wonder who from Don's past will be reentering his present and why he would want to see this person so badly that he's willing to expose himself as Dick Whitman in order to do so. And is it the same person he sent that book of sonnets to? Hmmm.

Next week on Mad Men ("The Mountain King"), Don meets up with an old friend; Pete's personal life complicates matters at work and puts an account in jeopardy; Joan brings her boyfriend to the office, where he meets Roger.