"Red in the Face" played more like a really cool sitcom than a typical MM ep. I'm not sure that MW would see that as a bad thing — he comes from sitcoms and seems to like to fit MM eps into different genres.

Re-viewing "RitF," I still find cool details I missed before. Betty asks Francine if she's doing "recon," which is a term she might not have known, but for Roger's visit. Roger waxing eloquent about redheads, ultimately declaring in the stairwell that he wanted a redhead with big breasts; he wanted so badly to play the Joan card to "keep up" with Don, but knew he had to shut up (ask Paul about loose lips). And the makeup on Roger at the end is actually better than the hospital scene in "Long Weekend."

I haven't delved into S2, except for FTWTY, which still lurks on Hulu. And I know you had issues with it. But I took MW's advice to go back to see it as a table-setter, and it works pretty well on that basis. I think we hardcore MM fans were really hoping for a hit-you-over-the-head great standalone ep — both b/c we had waited so long and b/c we hoped it would draw in new viewers, but MM defies a lot of our expectations.

That being said, I don't think either makes my Top Ten. OTOH, "failure" seems like it might be a little harsh.

Don's failed attempt to re-connect with Betty from the hospital foreshadows much of Don's arc through S2.

We see non-office Joan at length for the first time — the great scene with her roomie, the reassertion of her sexual orientation with the skeevie pick-up dude, her telling conversation with Cooper (complete w/the allusion to The Apartment).

Tried to pick a top fifteen…couldn't do it.

Tried to pick a top twenty…couldn't do it.

Tried to pick a top twenty-seven…could do it.

From s2 certainly Mountain King and New Girl.

S1: The Hobo Code, mainly for the heartbreaking scene of Sal and the client
Shoot, because that's when I fell in love with Betty as a character – her on the lawn, in the bathrobe, blasting those ugly birds from the sky – priceless!
Nixon vs. Kennedy, if for nothing else than Harry and Hildy
The Wheel – I love how the Kodak pitch is both a brilliant example of Don's professional prowess, and an emotional summary of where Don is in his life (not to mention triggering Harry's emotions about his own personal crisis)

S2: Flight 1: I loved how both Joan's character and Pete's grew in this ep – Pete in the bar using his own father's death to pitch to American shows us just how ambitious he really is
Three Sundays: Perfection, both in plot points and in structure. Anita's confession, Sally Draper's exploration of office cocktail party, Betty and Don forgetting to feed the kids – perfection.
A Night to Remember: Betty finally grows a spine
Meditations in an Emergency: One of the most satisfying season-ending episodes I've ever seen – Betty's drunken tryst, Don's letter, Peggy and Pete – wonderful

In fact, looking back on both the pilot and For Those Who Think Young, and then at both the Wheel and Meditations in an Emergency, it seems like Weiner tends to open slowly but close with a bang.