"Mad Men" shows Salvatore a gay old time!

I watch a lot of television and Mad Men is by far one of the best shows on for many reasons. Whether you find Jon Hamm's mysterious yet sultry Don Draper appealing or whether you're a fan of the gender politics of the time, a huge shout out is in order to AMC for airing such a show and to Matthew Wiener for creating such a twisted masterpiece.

One of the more subtle and sometimes easy-to-overlook characters is the closeted Art Director of Sterling Cooper, Salvatore Romano, played by out actor Bryan Batt.

Elliot Lawrence (Paul Keeley)

Last season we caught a glimpse of just how repressed dear old Sal can be when he met up with Belle Jolie head honcho Elliot Lawrence. Ever since that touch and Elliot's advances we've been waiting for more insight into just where Sal stands in his own sexual skin.

I'm torn as to whether or not Sal knows 100% that he's gay; he's the best actor in the room if he does. Not only can he yuk it up with the boys and put a gal down, he's gone as far as to take a wife this season! That's right, Sal has a beard, which kills me because I'm a huge fan of Sarah Drew who plays his betrothed, Kitty Romano. Is this the biggest cover up on the show? If so, Don Draper could take a cue from our quiet queer.

Sal and his Beard (Sarah Drew)

This season has featured Sal on a weekly basis as one of the usual entourage but last night was the first time he had more than 3 or 4 lines followed by a sly smirk to play with. A couple weeks back (Ep. 2.03 "The Benefactor") Elliot made a reappearance but the two barely had a moment or two to chat. Elliot asked how Sal was doing and he coldly replied. A tense scene that spoke volumes yet there has been no follow up or focus on Sal's personal life since ... until now.

Kitty finally got the screen time she deserved (and Sarah Drew did not disappoint - heartbreaking and breathtaking) when Sal invited Ken Cosgrove over for dinner to critique his latest short story (and to bat his eyelashes like a love sick puppy). Poor Ken, poor Kitty and poor Sal.

Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton)

Sal spends the entire evening buttering and liquoring up naive Ken while Kitty watches her husband's face glow and his breath linger on every word coming out of Ken's mouth. Hell he even pockets Ken's lighter as some sort of schoolboy memento (please don't let Sal be a crazy stalker). When she confronts Sal for making her feel like an outsider you can see his face drop, the disappointment set in and damage control begin.

Sal knew exactly what he was doing by inviting Ken over but he obviously got caught up in the moment and let the charade fall for a minute. It's so sad the lengths to which Sal has to resort in order to hide his true identity. I'm sorry he's had to drag Kitty into the act in hopes of maintaining status quo but it's inevitable that one day he will embrace a man his true self.

Bryan Batt is magnetic in this role and I'm grateful that Mad Men is an ensemble piece that's not afraid to go there. I hope we don't have to wait another season to see more homo-happenings and I hope that we've not seen the last of Elliot and/or Miss Kitty!

What do you guys think? Are these little glimpses into Sal's life enough or would you like to see more of a focus on his closeted lifestyle? Discuss.