Joan's finding out that S.C. was actually a family, and then men around her have actually been flawed but very kind, aside from Harry, and season 1 Pete. She's in the shark tank now, and really sees what a group of vile, disgusting men actually look like, in a soulless, giant company. I think that's why she was being nice to Don, finally, after shitting on him for the last 15 episodes; despite his flaws, he's actually a very kind person. When Cutler was tearing the agency apart, Joan should have been loyal to her team, she could have saved that "family"--that special place full of people who weren't animals. But she was part of the force that pushed them into this new paradigm (money money money).
I'm not trying to say Joan's "getting what she deserves"--not at all. Joan is being shit on and it's unfair, I was kind of hoping she'd lawyer up to to stick it to those douche bags. I'm saying she's probably realizing how special the old place was, and how silly it was to have be concerned about money back then--as she said this episode, it's not about money and it never should have been. When Joan could have given her loyalty to her "team" (IE Roger, Don, Pete--the ones trying to keep the business the same) she should have. Now, none of those people can help her. Instead she supported Cutler, and now she's in an office full of Cutlers and Harrys (Either productive but disgusting assholes, or assholes who turn a blind eye to the bad behavior of the productive people because they only care about the bottom line.)
As for Don...They've been heavily intimating that he's losing his ability to be Don Draper. In the first half of the Season, as Bert told him, he thought the company would get into trouble and they'd call him off the bench and he'd save them in typical "Draper" fashion (A huge pitch that delivers a whale). But that didn't happen--he only came back through keeping his head down and working hard (More like his Dick Whitman self). In this episode, he tried to take two identities on when he was looking for Diane, and the guy instantly saw through both of them. He couldn't blend in as Don Draper at the big company. Also, the fact is, everyone, even Roger and Pete are drifting into the 70's fine. Their hairstyles, mustaches and clothes are changing with the times. Don though? Don still looks exactly the same as he did in 1965. Nothing about him is changing with the times, he's just stuck. I think that's been kind of symbolic in terms of him not being able to flow with all the changes. He worked so hard because he wanted things to stay the same, he wanted to go back to the office the way it was. In the end, I think his inability to change anymore is going to either force him to give up the Draper persona? Or push him to California to have another "rebirth", like he's had before. Not sure which.
Either way, Don should totally take his ditzy secretary with him....lol, she's consistently awesome.
Edit: Btw, they were using the old S.C. set right? Because those offices were the same from Season 1-4 it looked like.
