Could the show have continued on that same aesthetic trajectory? It’s hard to tell, especially given the splintering plot-lines, but what’s clear is that somewhere along the production line, the writers felt the need to fatten up the show’s significance. At the start of the second season, overly ornate, awkwardly placed symbolism started showing up in every episode. Don’s face turned into stone and Betty started shooting the neighbor’s birds. Everyone began to moderate theirsmoking and drinking and the show, arm-by-arm, donned the heavy coat of meaning.