I’d love to see more office, less home life in the next season. No reason why Betty needs so much screen time.

I also think Trudy is going to be a more interesting character moving forward. I think the fact that she fully supported Pete through the failed promotion and his big risk jumping ship with Don has made their marriage stronger. Pete’s finally starting to appreciate her.

Weiner has done a heck of a job setting up for the next season. He’s basically put himself in an excellent negotiating position with AMC. They can’t let the show go now or get someone else to produce it.

Maintaining that level of interest and quality can’t be easy. Almost no one else manages to do it. I think the real trick is knowing when you’ve said all you can say, and ending the show gracefully at the right time. Clearly, this show isn’t over yet. I keep asking myself where they can possibly go next, but this time Weiner has already answered that question.

Viet Nam, the assassinations of MLK, Bobby Kennedy, the hippy movement, Civil Rights—we still have a lot more 60s to explore. I’m assuming that Joan’s husband will be killed in Viet Nam. That much seems obvious. And that marriage doesn’t work, anyway. (Amazing how many bad matchups this show has. Seems like Bert Cooper has the right idea being single.)

I also hope Betty becomes a secondary character in season 4, representing the fading 50s. That would not be impossible, seeing how Roger and Pete didn’t have as much screen time in season 3 as the previous episodes.

Now I’m actually more interested in how Sally and Bobby react to the divorce. We’ve seen over and over Betty’s questionable parenting skills (basically ignore the kids / treat them like idiots) and as Sally gets older she’s prepped to be the worst form of rebellious teen.

(Now that I think of it, this episode had several goodbyes to father figures — Don remembered the death of his dad, Connie rejected Don, and Bobby said goodbye to Don. There’s a deep feeling of living up to parental expectations, and trying to be better than the generation before)

Also — yeah, totally want Sal to come back. Maybe they can work out some way to have him work at the new company but not let lucky strike know? I remember Joan saying nobody was to come to the “office” itself and all meetings should happen elsewhere.

In addition to seeing Joan back, I’m also amused to see Pete’s wife Trudy possibly playing a bigger role in the new firm. And the show has a good chance to return to advertising and office antics that got kind of sidelined during season 3.

Although I liked Paul and Ken, it would be stretching it if all the main characters ended up at the new firm. I guess we can keep an ear out for which actors still have contract with the show as season 4 approaches.

Anyhow it’s pretty amazing that this is the third season and the show still manages to keep things interesting. I know the comparison is a reach, but Battlestar Galactica got relatively convoluted in season 4, meanwhile Mad Men has the oddly amazing feeling that it’s just getting started.

At the end of the day, no one wants to watch a show about Don Draper the loser who lets everyone bulldoze him all the time. When the time came, Don remembered himself. He took back the power, harnessed his keen ability to sway people in a particular direction, and took a huge risk. The difference this time is that he’s learned the value of other people. He knows he can’t take on the world alone. While he may have lost his wife (good riddance. She was getting severely annoying, anyway) he gained very valuable assets in Peggy and Pete, who have both learned a lot about negotiating from Don. He can’t take them for granted anymore, but he doesn’t have to. They will work tirelessly for the good of the new company, now that they have a real stake in it.

I can’t see Betty’s tryst with this politician lasting long. It’s just not that interesting, from a plot perspective. And seeing Don as a weekend dad, taking the kids to the park, sounds really boring, too. My only hope is that Betty comes running back to Don, and he rejects her. Then just write her off the show. If they get back together again, then Betty has to do something more interesting than yell at Sally and complain about her life being so unfulfilling. She has to grow up sometime and take a real interest in something other than horseback riding.

The fact of the matter is that Don is finally in a position to be in a good relationship. He’s learning to value relationships, despite Roger’s accusation to the contrary. So instead of Betty, the trophy wife who he married to complete the suburban businessman facade, he can find himself a Rachel Menken. Someone who can challenge him. Someone he can respect.

That scene in the bedroom was so powerful, when Don calls Betty a “whore.” This isn’t hypocrisy on Don’s part. He’s slept around, but he’s never sold himself the way Betty has. He’s betrayed Betty, but he hasn’t betrayed himself.

She can talk all she wants about her reasons for leaving Don. It has nothing whatsoever to do with his infidelity. She knew about that last season. It’s not because of the secret identity, either. If she had a problem with secrets she wouldn’t have married a guy who had told her nothing about his past. It’s about trading in Don for something she sees as better. It’s complete selfishness.

I really would like to see Sal make a comeback, but Lucky Strike is Sterling Cooper Draper Price’s ace client. Unless that guy dies, or something, Weiner’s going to have to do some serious writing to make that work. I’d also like to know the fates of Cosgrove and Paul Kinsey. Are they finished? Will we see some competition from the rival firms, or will Don try to recruit them? The possibilities are endless.

After an entire season of things falling apart, Weiner has managed to bring us right back to where the show started. Only different. Season 4 makes total sense now, whereas it didn’t look too promising just a few episodes ago. I can’t believe we have to wait until next August to see what happens next. And I can’t believe I’m looking forward to it already.