5 Things I learned from Mad Men's episode "Severance"

With now only 6 episodes remaining, here's what I learned from watching "Severance."

1.  Don sees dead people..
First Bert, and now Rachel.  And I imagine these aren't the last.  Don's ghosts seem to be reminding him of the "life not yet lived."  After Bert's lesson on the "best things in life are free," Rachel's untimely death from leukemia is overshadowed by her achievement of all she wanted from life with her family, according to her sister.  The theme of living life to the fullest and enjoying the simple pleasures that come from family and enjoyment of what the world can offer will obviously be prevalent throughout this season.

2.  Ken Cosgrove goes from being a cautionary tale to being "the guy."
Playing directly and clearly into the theme of living the life you're meant to live, Ken quickly progresses from being reluctant to follow his wife's (still can't remember her name) suggestion to drop everything and pursue his love of writing, to fired by the company he literally gave his right eye for, to being named to a position of higher prestige with one of SCDP's clients.  He'll be calling the shots (that won't end up in his right eye) from here.

3.  Pete Campbell is back to being a jerk...and that's an excellent thing.
Very glad that "forlorn Pete" is long gone.  He's back in New York and back to being as swarmy as ever.

4. We're stuck with disturbing porn-staches on Roger and Ted.
Why, 1970, why?  As soon as Roger appeared in the diner, I lost track of Don's story.  As soon as Ted appeared (in Don's dream...?) I forgot what Rachel was saying to Don.  It did make it easier to accept that Roger could be even more emotionally detached during Ken's termination than I'd expect him to be.

5.  Men are still pigs as the '60s come to a close.
While a bit heavy-handed, The verbal abuse and endless barrage of innuendo that Joan and Peggy receive from the 3 stooges was vile.  Peggy's blunt and misguided "you asked for it"lecture for Joan leaves egg on her face, too.  Matthew Weiner has written women so well in this series, I'm sure that feminism isn't gone and forgotten.

What remains to be revealed...

What will be the symbolism of the spilled wine?
Who are the "3 women" in Don's life, as Ted alluded to?
How will Peggy's potential new love interest impact her role in the conclusion of the series?