Unless you've been living under a rock during these past seven seasons of Mad Men, you know that Don Draper is not stranger to hooking up with a ton of women. (Seriously, I'm not even exaggerating here. That is one impressive booty call rolodex.) However, Don's latest love interest, Diana the waitress (played by Elizabeth Reaser from the Twilight movies), who our hunky ad man had sex with during the Season 7B premiere (in a back alley, no less), has already proven to be unlike any other woman Don has ever been with before. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that Diana is actually the female version of Don himself.
I mean, think about all that we've learned about Diana from these past two episodes. She confessed to Don that she's been lying to him about her past, which is filled with sad, bitter memories. (Hmm, lying… secrets… does that sound like anyone we know?) Then there's the fact that she moved to New York City in the hopes of escaping her former life, even going so far as to say she flipped a coin when deciding whether move to NYC or San Francisco. And if you recall, Don (or should I say Dick Whitman) knows a thing or two about starting over.
But it's not just about her penchant for secrets that has me seeing double in these two eerily similar characters. Even her behavior regarding Don's previous conquests is slightly odd in that she's totally OK with it. While many women might have found it awkward or upsetting to have to leave a man's place early in the morning so that his soon-to-be ex-wife can come get all of her stuff, Diana seemed totally fine with the situation. Even Don said, "If I were you, this would bother me, but it shouldn't." If he was her… is that you winking at me, Matthew Weiner?
Seriously, though, if I hadn't also seen Roger interact with this character, I'd be very suspicious that Diana was another figment of Don's imagination. Perhaps an outward reflection of all the qualities he sees in himself. Either way, this is one of the most fascinating relationships Don has ever been in, and I can't wait to see where it all leads.
Images: Michael Yarish/AMC
