Mildly Manic Men

Season Three of Mad Men debuted with not quite a bang, much more than a whimper, and with enough intrigue to have even Pete's hair in a muss.

Season three begins at least 6 months after last year's finale, with Betty at least two thirds along in a pregnancy she revealed at the end of last season. The office, much like the show, is undergoing some serious turnover.
Duckey appears to be out, Sal is still in the closet (but might be out soon too), Pete is still a tool, Ken has a new attitude, Peggy is settling, Don is lost and Big Red is being mysterious.
The Brits are in charge and they're remaking the company. Apparently one third of the staff has been fired, as they're getting lean and mean. Beyond this, though, the first episode didn't really expose the new office dynamic except to reveal that most of the yanks don't care for the cousins across the pond and the way they do business (the feeling apparently is mutual).
The episode feels slow and lacks the punch of season one and two, but in many ways that's what you should expect from an episode that adequately paints a picture, albeit in broad strokes, of what to expect this season.
I'm not a die hard fan of Mad Men, most likely because i have a limited attention span and the show's development is too slow for me, but for the most part I was satisfied with the premiere.
The story lines I found most interesting were Sal's rendezvous with the hotel employee and basically everything Joan did. With regards to Sal i felt the development came out of nowhere, in that the advances from the young man seemed unwarranted.
I was devastated that Sal wasn't offered the release he so badly needed, and not just in terms of physicality, but in terms of cementing his identity. He seems like a man lost between worlds and this could have been a moment of self-identification for a man who seems to embrace the blind eye he has towards his true feelings.
I also found Don's handling of the affair to be curious. Does he not care? Is he turning a blind eye? Does he not have an opinion yet? There will obviously be more to come along this point and I'm worried that Sal will be a victim of his times.

As for Joan, her battle with the British male secretary and her candidness with Peggy was amusing and fun. She's not only easy on the eyes but a character everyone roots for. I'm not anxious to address her rape from last season at the hands of her fiance and i feel like we haven't heard the last of it. I just hope the ramifications aren't too damning and that maybe some good will come out of it.
The episode was totally lacking in John Slattery screen time, who in just two brief appearances steals every scene with just a handful of lines. I wish Sterling Cooper broke off and he got his own spin off. As a character actor Slattery is one of the best, but it seems he's finally found the character right for him.
I anxiously await the rest of this season of Mad Men, especially the battle between Ken and Pete, Joan's future, and the eventual murder of Sally Draper at the hands of Betty when she finally loses it.