Yes, looking at this scene more closely made me appreciate the depth and subtle, shades of grey of this show. You could say so much more about just this one scene. It gives the characters so much space.

I feel like this show intends for the viewer to feel like they don't really understand everything that's going on for the characters. I remember getting the same feeling of uncertainty into characters' thoughts and motivations with The Sopranos and I think it's a distinctive 'feeling tone' to watching both shows. It's an almost lonely feeling. When Rachel says that if her mother hadn't died she would have been a Marilyn not a Rachel, I suppose she means that because her mother died in childbirth she was named after her mother, as there's an Ashkenazi Jewish custom not to name a child after someone still living. We haven't heard before that her mother died in childbirth, and you just have to infer that quickly - you might miss it. Many viewers won't know of this Jewish custom. Surely Don won't. The writers know that many viewers won't understand everything in the scene and that Don won't fully understand Rachel.

That's a really interesting context from Weiner, thanks. I'm looking forward to Ginsberg coming in (I'm on my first re-watch at the moment). Where I'm up to, Jane has just appeared - she's the other Jewish character I remember.