Whoa! (See what I did there?) Good point, there, Tom In Tallahassee.

"And when my mistress wouldn't take me back, or even talk with me, I did the next best thing: I injected hard drugs."

You had your own Dr. Feelgood.

The flashbacks weren't pointless for DON; the insights they provided might have been therapeutic for him.

Anna Draper had a sister (who told Don Anna had cancer and was dying, and told him: (1) not to tell her, and (2) they would take care of arrangements); and Anna's sister had a niece, whom Don made an unsuccessful pass at.

"Goldigger" by KANYE WEST w/ Jamie Fox (radio version):

I half-expected Sylvia to wait for the next elevator. She's an interesting character, that one.

Good catch.

OMG, she DOES look like Oprah (out of costume) / Celie  on The Color Purple (in costume).

Ebert (R.I.P.) - I loved his reviews, too.

RE: " It's essentially about finding people who can write solid first drafts, then putting them on shows they're passionate about. "
Yep, that's what a sports journalist who writes for NEWSDAY told me was a critical success factor at his job, too.

RE: 
Captain DadaCollapseDon: Sylvia, can you babysit my kids?

@Cub - ROFL!  I now understand EVERYTHING! Young Dick's haircut in the flashbacks = The Beatles' haircuts in this cartoon.

In season 1 (or was it season 2?), when Don got a checkup, his physician prescribed blood pressure medicine and phenobarbital (barbituates) and told Don  to cut back on smoking and drinking. We soon thereafter see Don taking his pills, while continuing to smoke and drink as much as ever. Didn't bode well, but nothing…

RE:

@Disquss is a hot mess on iPad - ditto for an Android tablet.

There's much In "Flight 1" (season 2) - and some subsequent episodes - that ties into this episode:

Ginz translated Don's rant to Peggy: a pitchman just needs a foot in the door. Then he can deliver the one-two punch to seal the deal.

Bert Cooper called Roger "Peanut" in an earlier season, when he was trying to convince Roger not to drink so much.

@"Poor Ted. Nothing gets done right when he's not around." Wasn't the case pre-merger. Peggy nailed the new headphones campaign during Ted's complete, inaccessible absence.