'Mad Men' recap: Dark, dark shadows

Betty, Betty, Betty. Where have you been? Well, of course we know where she's been: January Jones was pregnant, MIA during early production rounds, gave birth mid-September, and so .?.?. had to be written around for the first part of the “Mad Men's” fifth season.

But she's back and -- please allow this brief digression -- to mixed results, I think. The problem seems to me one of personal life intruding on a creative process. Jones needed to step away, naturally, and the show needed to go on. But bringing Betty back -- a slightly more zaftig Betty-- presented challenges and she ultimately had to be force-fed to both writing staff and audience.

How to bring her back, organically, and how to seamlessly make her part of the season's overall themes? The idea of wanting what you can't have -- in her case, food -- was obvious, and the idea of imbalance was cleverly integrated as well.

The idea of Betty as vengeful, regretful or even -- on some level -- still in love with Don made sense. Shake and mix all that up with Betty's natural-born repression, and you end up with .?.?. last night's “Dark Shadows.“ There were some brilliant moments -- OK, more than a few brilliant moments last night -- but I'm still slightly left with the sense that this one felt a little too pat, too convenient.

OK, let's move past this opening digression to the show, and away we go.

Tonight's theme laid on a platter, next to the fish. The fish, of course, is one of those symbols pregnant-with-meaning symbols in Judeo-Christian heritage, and in Western culture -- oh, hell, all cultures. Symbols aren't readily defined, but I guess think happiness .?.?. freedom .?.?. abundance... But consider what fish  mean in the “Mad Men” context -- something slightly sinister (recall Sally's allergy and that scene when she flopped the flounder carcass on the plate).  

Let's break it down: Betty picks up a sheet of paper that has a drawing on it of a whale with three harpoons on its back; her son has drawn it -- with the colored pencils that Don never bought, by the way, linking back to the third scene (or so) -- for reasons unclear. She turns it over to read this: “Lovely Megs. I went to buy a lightbulb. When I get back, I'll see you better.“ Betty studies this. A brilliant moment because we now must consider the root meaning and time frame of several things at once.

Why a whale -- a lanced one in fact -- Betty wonders. Had her son overhead Don about Betty's weight (and calling her a whale?)  She notes the instant association between Don and the “whale” via the note, so she certainly makes the association. Light and shadows? Why does Don need a light? Knowing as we know that Betty is shrouded in shadows, metaphorical ones, too, back in Henry Francis' dungeon.

Plus, that rich idea of “seeing” -- Don peering out the window into the smog, Betts seeing Megs dressing .?.?. Bets saying at Weight Watchers that she's seen things she should never have seen... darkness and shadows."Dark Shadows” was the soap Megan's pal was auditioning for.

This all then sets in motion the dominant story line/domino effect of “Dark Shadows:" That Betty will tell Sally about Anna and Sally will then challenge Megan about her “lies” (and Sally does indeed know the tricks of Megan's trade now as well -- that great scene with the eyes.

So: That one little picture has succeeded in demolishing Sally/Megan's relationship and setting Don/Megan's on the course toward an inevitable conclusion. Betty did indeed “poison” them from 50 miles away -- nice food metaphor touch there.

Job well done, Betts. Imbalance achieved, but remember -- a lie plus a breath equals … nothing.