Rewatching the first and the second season of Mad Men,

realizing that my dislike of Betty Draper started in season three, and that I actually find her interesting and complex in the first two seasons. It also makes me appreciate January Jones as an actress.

"Weirdly enough, both Matthew Weiner and January Jones, the actress who plays Betty Draper, mentioned Plath as an inspiration for her character’s arc in Season 2. Apparently right before a scene in which Betty confronts Don about his philandering, Weiner asked Jones to read Sylvia Plath’s poem “Ariel” to get into character. “It confused me and freaked me out,” Jones told writer Bruce Handy, who writes: “Not knowing the coming plot lines (Weiner may not have either, at that point), she assumed this was his way of telling her Betty would be sticking her head in the oven for the season finale."

Slate: What's in store for the women of "Mad Men"?, August 17, 2009