Mad Men dives into the Mod 60's

Warning: this contains spoilers.

Remember this? Mrs. Draper 1.0

Season 5 of Mad Men is now well underway and after a year and a half hiatus, fans were anxiously awaiting what the new season would bring.

Mrs. Draper 2.0: How far we have come.

The writers are really playing up the theme of change in this season and I think when you consider the first season, it's very artfully done. The second, third and fourth season seemed to drag on messily. When Don and Betty tried to patch their sham of a marriage and then the hostility that came with the divorce, I was constantly cringing and waiting for the writers to put an end to their misery. Also, I for one am very excited that the show is starting to tackle issues like race and drug use. It really gives the viewer the sense that the late 60's were a time when the world was changing so fast from what it had been. The progression through the seasons brings this into focus really nicely.

Space dress and go-go boots? For a thirteen year old? Really Megan?

How the mighty have fallen

Furthermore, the characters are developing really well and though I'm skeptical about how labored everything seems to feel to Don this season, I really like that Sally and Megan are getting more screen time, separately and as "mother" and daughter. Megan is really starting to come into her own at work and over the course of the last few episodes, we've seen her mature quite a bit more. Sally is in that awkward stage of being between child and teenager and I wish we could fast forward to her teenage years so we could see Don having a fit when he finds out she slept with Glenn or something like that. Her main antagonist this season seemed to be her step-grandmother. It's like Betty dropped off the face of the Earth. I hated Betty Draper so much in Season 3 and 4 that I'm frankly relieved that we don't see much of her now. She was kind of a monster before with her borderline abusive treatment of Sally. After her cancer scare she's pretty much dissipated into the background. I will miss her awesome wardrobe though.

The costume designers have started taking more risks with color palettes this season which really emphasizes the changing times. The contrast is astounding actually. I think the most indicative outfit of change is Jane's outfit pictured below. Gone are the pencil skirts, button ups and French twists. I'm not quite sure what her inspiration was for this outfit but it's certainly daring. All the men seem to be wearing hideous plaid sportcoats as well this season. What up with that?

While there are the occasional wonky moments, I'm pleased with Season 5 overall so far. It's nice to see that they're weaving new stories into the mix because Pete/Peggy/Ken storylines seem somewhat trite now. We needed something new and they delivered. Don seems a lot less suave this season but I respect that choice by Matthew Weiner. Stay tuned for more updates.