One of the all-time greatest American myths is that, in the 1960's, there was a cultural war between the hippies and the conformists. Who supposedly won that war depends on who's telling the story. Of course, as with all myths, this legend is a gross over-simplification of a much more nuanced truth. Though the people at the extremes of the conformity spectrum were at odds philosophically and behaviorally, the so-called war was fought privately in the minds of its participants and neither side really gave enough ground to be called the loser. Mad Men attempts to tell the story of this grand cultural shift with as much humanity and attention to detail as possible. Some of its figures are broadly drawn but ultimately the central players are as internally rich and conflicted as real people faced with the circumstances of that perceived war.

"The Hobo Code" has two central themes. One is the nebulous concept of ownership and the other is the ubiquity of dishonesty. As is the way of this show, the product of the week encapsulates both of these ideas. The lipstick brand from a few weeks ago, fresh off Peggy's debut copy, now promises to invest a thoroughly modern amount of power in the women who wear it. It tells them, "Mark Your Man", as if a little bit of makeup can magically bind someone to a woman's will. It's a lie, but it's a great and powerful lie. Lipstick won't stop Pete from cheating on his overly demanding wife with Peggy. Appearances won't save Sal from his crippling fear of his own homosexuality. Most stirringly, Dick Whitman's put-on identity as Don Draper won't give him access to love, happiness and freedom.

This episode marks the last time Midge and her beatnik friends appear on Mad Men. I have to say that I'm sad to see them go. While the core appeal of the series is the slick, martini-drinking aesthetic of the Madison Avenue executives, there was a lot dramatic intrigue and subtle humor in Don's interactions with the Greenwich Village artistes who hated everything he stood for. We modern-day TV viewers have more or less been conditioned to root for idealistic hippies whenever they're on screen, so it's a refreshing change of pace to sympathize with a suit-wearing square like Don and shake our fists at those bums with their damn long hair and funny cigarettes. Don spends most of "The Hobo Code" hanging out in Midge's apartment and having pot-induced flashbacks of his life on the farm. Specifically, we get to see a life-changing day when a hobo (played by the frequently awesome Paul Schulze) arrives on the prairie looking for work.

There's a certain amount of unrealized menace to the hobo and I was definitely expecting him to be the source of some kind of trauma in Don's past. Instead he offers a much more subtle push in Dick/Don's worldview by planting ideas of wandering and lawlessness in Dick's young mind. The parallel is clear; Don may be a powerful executive who gets massive bonuses at work, but in his heart he's still kind of a hobo. He wanders from lifestyle to lifestyle, identity to identity, never really finding happiness or satisfaction in any of them and feeling just as alone no matter whose company he keeps.

Best Moment: When the beatniks pile onto Don. It's just nice to hear a rebuke for hippie rhetoric that's more nuanced than "you look weird and I don't approve of your insufficient employment".

Notes: Sal's date with the lipstick salesman was so excellently, excruciatingly played. It was truly heartbreaking and it managed to say a lot about what it must have been like to be gay in early 1960's America.

Episode Rating: 5/5- "The Hobo Code" fits a lot of plot into a very graceful hour of television and the majority of it is character development. That's no small feat.