Originally Posted by bronco67

If you're not seeing it for yourself, then how could I explain it? The show has loads of subtext...just like the Sopranos did. The Sopranos gangster stuff was secondary to the character exploration, and its the same with Mad Men. I don't know how somebody who has been watching every episode couldn't know that.

The affair with the neighbor just more character exploration of Don Draper. She made him think about how he's not happy, and never will be no matter how many different women he sleeps around with. That whole situation triggered him to start seeing that he has a great wife and he's going to take another stab at being a faithful husband. That's a simplistic explanation, but the entire show is about someone who's in search of the next thing and will never find it.