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Xealot posted:I don't remember when this happens (possibly S6E5), but my favorite Stan scene is definitely when Roger's weird LSD friend shows up with the insurance ad idea about a molotov cocktail, and Stan is just laughing his rear end off, totally thrilled about the whole thing. It's exactly what I'd be like if I was in that room, so I've been super endeared towards Stan ever since. That's the episode. "You'd rather not think about it, but there is a tear, and in that tear are all the tears in the world; all the animals, crying." Excited for J-Ru to get to that one, because there's a LOT going on there.
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Jan 13, 2022 21:34
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JethroMcB posted:That's the episode. "You'd rather not think about it, but there is a tear, and in that tear are all the tears in the world; all the animals, crying." Excited for J-Ru to get to that one, because there's a LOT going on there. I love that while Stan is cracking up, Ginsberg is like Whoa! Really? and then wants to talk to the guy more.
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Jan 13, 2022 22:09
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only just now remembered that this is the season where not only do SCDP and CGC join up, it’s also the season where Cutler gets everyone high on speed or whatever it is, jesus does the show move fast from here on out
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Jan 13, 2022 23:56
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ulvir posted:only just now remembered that this is the season where not only do SCDP and CGC join up, it’s also the season where Cutler gets everyone high on speed or whatever it is, jesus does the show move fast from here on out it's just b vitamins and a mild stimulant
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Jan 14, 2022 14:20
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Signs your marriage is going great and everything is just fine and there's nothing to worry about :
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Jan 19, 2022 04:19
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Season 6, Episode 3 - The Collaborators Written by Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner, Directed by Jon Hamm Trudy Campbell posted:I don't care what you want anymore. The Campbells are entertaining guests.... or rather, have just finished entertaining guests, at their home in charming, unsettlingly quiet Cos Cobb. At the front door, Pete hands coats to the wives of the two couples who have joined them this evening, one of the women mentioning that she might take him up on his offer of theater tickets. Pete and the other woman have some fun teasing (and Pete flirting, of course) about seeing Hair, which Pete gleefully explains all sorts of profanity, marijuana use and simulated sex acts.... oh and a few songs! Meanwhile Trudy is being flirted with by the husbands, as she explains what roles are still available for community/neighborhood activities such as the Fourth of July block party or Labor Day Soap Box Derby. I say flirting, but it's really more open sexual harassment, as they leer at her and put on smug grins as they ask if she dresses up as a bunny for the Easter Egg hunt. "It's very wholesome!" Trudy insists with a little giggle and a,"Oh don't be naughty!" expression instead of what she'd probably like to say instead to these creeps. Pete passes his business card to one of the wives, assuring her they can make arrangements to get her the tickets in secret since she wants to surprise her husband Doug. The other woman asks for his card too, and when Pete points out she has already seen Hair he takes great satisfaction in her little grin as she suggests she might like to see it again. Trudy "spots" them (they're like 10 feet away) and brings the husbands over, presumably because she can't stand being alone with them any longer, and everybody says their goodbyes. Not before one of the husbands reminds Trudy to think about what he suggested about the pool though, getting another,"Hehehe, oh you!" reaction from her. Once they're gone though, her faces falls and she strides back into the living room where she begins cleaning up as Pete collapses onto the couch. Trudy points out that this is the last of their "welcome wagon" duties, complaining that they'd need to move house if they ever wanted somebody to make dinner for THEM (the excitement of having people over for dinner as seen last season has long faded). Pete, loosening his tie, asks what the pool comment was about, and Trudy has no hesitation in straight up telling him: he thought it would be "fun" if they all went skinny-dipping in the pool. "Ha!" garumphs Pete,"Let him get his own pool!" He turns on the television, seemingly not taking it all that seriously or being offended, even though (or perhaps because?) he was flirting so shamelessly himself. It's tempting to assume that the men only act like this with the women because they were away from their other halves, but I have to keep reminding myself it's the 1960s and yeah at that time (and for a long time afterwards) it was just kind of an accepted thing that men constantly got uncomfortably sexual when talking with women who just had to grin and bear it while trying to laugh it all off as a "joke". Trudy continues to clean and doesn't ask (or seem to expect) Pete to help, though she does ask him to turn off the television, and he complies without a fight. It's covering disturbing stories regarding Vietnam and North Korea, and Pete is happy enough to avoid facing that reality.   The next morning, Don Draper is riding down in the elevator from his apartment when it stops on the 16th floor, and to a minor awkward witnessing of a quiet squabble between his friend Dr. Rosen and Rosen's charming wife Sylvia who DON IS HAVING THE STUPIDEST GODDAMN AFFAIR WITH WHAT ARE YOU DOING DON YOU IDIOT!?! Sylvia, still in her gown, is admonishing a tired looking Dr. Rosen about needing money that has to be mailed today as well as paying a tailor. When they spot Don looking from the open elevator, he offers a quiet little greeting and Rosen joins him in the elevator, Sylvia following with a reminder that technically the "conversation" isn't over. He apologizes and gives her a little peck on the cheek, promising he'll stop by the bank at lunch to get the cash, and she heads back inside... though not without a little worried look Don's way first. They ride in silence for a few seconds, but Rosen feels the need to say something rather than just pretend Don didn't see them having a squabble. Of course he does it in a "wives, amiright, fellas?" way, sighing that he gives her money every month but suspects she is sending it all to their son out in College. Don grins and promises Rosen doesn't need to explain himself, and is caught a little by surprise by Rosen sighs that at least Don has a wife who makes her own money. Is there anything more frustrating that somebody bitching about the system that THEY set up, that almost entirely advantages them, and that THEY have actively maintained for decades if not centuries? Don notes Megan doesn't make all that much, which is a weird kind of judgment to make, but Rosen simply notes,"Not yet", demonstrating a confidence in Megan's abilities that Don often doesn't quite seem to share. Mostly because he's still bitter about Megan putting her talent to work in advertising because that benefited him and made him happy. Suddenly Don "remembers" that he forgot his cigarettes, and pushes the button for 17 again. Rosen, not for the first time, tells him he really needs to quit smoking, and Don simply shrugs as if to say he knows but what are ya gonna do. Rosen jokes that he'll have money by the time they have dinner on Wednesday and leaves as they reach the lobby, and Don watches him go happily, then goes stone-faced as he - of course - hits the button for 16 instead. Shortly after, he's at the Rosens' FRONT door, where a very satisfied looking Sylvia opens and declares that she knew it would be him. But instead of watching Don indulge in yet another in a long series of marital infidelities, we jump back in time to a sexual awakening of sorts, the start of a long journey that has lead him to where he is now. A young - but older than we've ever seen him - Dick Whitman stands next to Abigail inside the last place one would ever expect to see her. They're in a brothel, and one of the prostitutes sitting waiting on a couch is amused to see him staring. This, presumably, is the source of Don's reveal last season in the brothel that he grew up "in a place like this". Abigail, heavily pregnant with Adam, has taken on the charity of her sister, Ernestine, due to the impossibility of working the farm with only young Dick around and her pregnancy restricting the level of physical work she can do. Ernestine introduces them to the man who "is with me", Mack, and thus Dick Whitman has his first ever meeting with "Uncle Mack". Mack it seems is the one who provided the cash for them to make it here at all, they were that down on their luck. And they have to have been, because there is no way the severe, proud, highly religious Abigail could have ever conceivably allowed herself to be in a brothel if she really had no other choice. When Mack mentions they could always use extra help around, Abigail knows that he isn't talking about Dick putting in the work, but she bites her tongue because beggars can't be choosers. But as Dick collects their bags to follow Mack up to what will be their rooms, she makes a point of whispering to him to keep his eyes down and mind his business. What must she be thinking in this moment? This is where Dick was born, a brothel, to a prostitute her husband got pregnant and left Abigail having to clean up his mess... twice! With Abigail gone following Ernestine, Dick and Mack head for the stairs, the prostitute who he had his eye on stepping up to the door and asking if the "good looking boy" is Mack's ("Not that I know of!" he grins) before warning him to find his own sins rather than Mack's. Mack laughs and heads on up, explaining to Dick that the brothel is a lot like the farm.... in that Mack is the rooster, he watches the hens AND he brings on the day. We still know so little about Dick Whitman's past, and what we've seen has been out of order... and yet seeing this first encounter with Mac only strengthens what we've already seen of where things end up, apart from now using a different actor to the kid Dick who was there shortly after Adam's birth. At some point, Abigail will have Mack as the man who "is with me" for herself. What does that mean for her sister? What about the brothel? Did Don spend all his teen years there? Did Abigail "redeem" Mack and get him to change up the business? Did Mack corrupt Abigail? Was her severity more a result of Archibald being such an awful husband, father and man than it was the circumstances of Dick's parentage? Was that club that Don talked to Conrad Hilton about working for just a place where he worked or was it this brothel or something the brothel evolved into? Those answers will surely come, or least partly.... but perhaps they'll also just raise further questions. Don Draper has lived a lot in his TWO lifetimes so far!   In 1968, Don lies on his stomach in bed post-coitus, Abigail gently stroking his back, both of them very satisfied by their unexpected morning encounter. It's 9am according to the clock by the bed, and when Sylvia admits that she feels bad he jokes that she should since he still has to go to work but she gets to go back to sleep. Sitting up and lighting a cigarette (she says she'll explain the smell to her husband by saying the maid smokes), she elaborates that she means she feels bad about dinner, asking if it really doesn't bother him that they'll be sitting at the table with his wife and her husband? Not at all claims Don, insisting he doesn't think about it (remember Rosen telling him he's paid not to think about things while Don is?) and then saying what may be one of the most despicable lines I've ever heard on this show. "They're both good company." Just... gently caress you, Don. Unbelievable. They are, admits Sylvia, noting that she guesses the dinner shouldn't have anything to do with "this". Don, acting as if he really can compartmentalize this stuff in spite of numerous evidence to the contrary, tells her that "this" didn't happen, that they have to keep their feelings for each other and the memories of their encounters in their heads only and not let it interfere with their actual lives. The radio pops on with the news, neither of them listening or remotely interested in the story about a Vietcong push into major Vietnamese cities, because that part of the real world these wealthy Americans really have been able to successfully compartmentalize. Instead they talk about how Rosen wants to impress Don (who wants to impress him), and that Sylvia and Megan both genuinely like the other. Sylvia says that while happily sleeping with her husband, only one floor below where Megan is probably walking around right this moment. Don gets out of bed and starts to get dressed, grinning that it's nice to know that no matter what they got SOMETHING done today. Then, an almost cruel smile on his face for a moment as he considers her, he peels off some cash and passes it to her, joking that she must have found it "in the cookie jar". She doesn't hesitate to take it nor is she offended, beyond being sure to remind him that she HAS money she just never "haves" money. But she beams with pleasure as she watches him dress, taking the passing of money to her as a sign of affection, as a sign that there is something more to their relationship. Does Don see it that way? Was this his way of lessening her at least in his own mind? Or of somehow legitimizing it by making it a transaction? Or is it just another example of him overstepping his bounds and trying to take even that away from Dr. Rosen: he pleasures Rosen's wife and now he is providing her with the money Rosen wasn't? I am starting to get the mildest suspicion that Don Draper might have some issues! At CGC, Peggy is drinking coffee as she stands by her desk reading papers when her secretary - a black woman, I wonder if her hiring was a sign of the glacial but advancing pace of desegregation in American in general or just another Chaough "Let's do that Don Draper did!" moment? - pops in to let her know that Mr. Mathis and Mr. Gifford are waiting outside. Irritated, Peggy asks she didn't tell her they were there, and the secretary - Phyllis - closes the door and quietly explains that neither man really wants to come in at all. Rolling her eyes, Peggy starts to launch into what seems a familiar speech about how she's been where they've been, but Phyllis cuts her off to remind her that she knows, and she knows that Peggy has also been where Phyllis is too... but she thinks it would be helpful if Peggy offered them the same kind of guidance and support she has apparently offered Phyllis as well. Peggy tells her to just give her a copy of the book she is getting all these little lectures from, but it is said with affection and Phyllis' reaction is one of genuine amusement before she offers to get her some coffee. As she leaves, she tells Mathis and Gifford that they can go in now, and they awkwardly enter (there is a third man, unnamed with them) and she tells them to take a seat. Before they can though she suddenly thinks better of it and tells them not to, and their hearts sink, knowing that it means she isn't happy with the work. They ask what is wrong and... well, it's a pretty straightforward response from her: their current advertising strategy for Clearasil is that acne stops you from having fun, yet the work they've suggested involves a lot of showing young people... having fun! Miserable, frustrated, they mumble that they'll go start all over again (I mean... they didn't do anything close to what was asked!) and Peggy remembers Phyllis' words and decided to offer some of that encouragement. And so she does, stopping them from leaving to insist that just because she has high standards and isn't happy with the work doesn't mean she isn't happy with the way they are, the way they are has nothing to do with the fact that the work needs work! Nailed it! Shockingly, none of the three seem particularly inspired by her rambling, uncertain, stumbling "praise" and they leave promising the "coach" insincerely that they'll try their best. "There you go!" she returns, giving a little fist-pump that she feels just as awkward doing as they feel watching it. They leave, and we've seen one of the flaws in Peggy Olson's game: whether because of how her mother raised her, or how Don ran Creative in SCDP, or just her own developed personality, she's not somebody who hands out praise easily, and her management style consists of expecting the same quality that she (and Don Draper when she worked for him) would generate. Don always made it seem easy, but for Peggy while she had plenty of moments of inspiration, most of her triumphs came from the result of forging forward with hard work till she reached critical mass and figured something out. That's what she is asking of her team, assuming that like her if they just work hard enough they'll get it... and that if they're not, then they're not trying hard enough! Somewhere in Manhattan, Pete Campbell steps into his own little city apartment, once planned as the getaway for him to enjoy a long and exciting affair with Beth Dawes (who he had sex with twice) and now seemingly genuinely used for its stated purpose of a place he can stay over when working late AND to give him a little taste of the city life he misses so much. Noticing his +1 is still outside he gently chides her not to linger in the hallway, worried about the implications, and leads her inside. It's the woman from the start of the episode, who Pete promised tickets to and offered to meet at Grand Central Station when she admitted her trips into the city usually ended in disaster. Somehow he has talked her into (or she enthusiastically agreed) coming to see his apartment, because he knows exactly what he wants and is hopeful/expecting that she wants it to. She looks around the place as he takes her coat and purse. It's hardly the glamorous home of a highly regarded partner in an advertising agency that has been making waves. It's small, the kitchen and lounge sharing one room, a drinks cabinet packed with mostly empty liquor bottles, no sign of regular cleaning and only a single small picture on the wall offering any sense of personality. Speaking of personality, Pete is hardly showing off an electric one as he awkwardly offers food (of which he has little) or booze (of which he has a lot) or music. She declines each, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, clearly unsure how to proceed or if he will or if this is all a big misunderstanding. Pete though takes each rejection as a sign that she came here for one thing only. He asks if the temperature is okay, "seductively" telling her it has been known to get hot. Stepping up to her, he slides one arm around her waist and tells her he is glad she came, then kisses her. She accepts it first passively and then with more enthusiasm. Maybe this is her first affair, maybe not, but she took up his offer of tickets with this thought in mind. He does appeal to her, he's young and confident and well-off and not bad looking when he isn't being an oily little poo poo, so she lets him lead her into the bedroom (opaque colored glass panels serve as the "wall" to the bedroom in this small apartment) so they can both cheat on their spouses.   At SCDP, Don is having an unusual meeting in his office. Raymond Geiger from Heinz has come in, but not alone, he's brought the head of Heinz Ketchup with him. Ken Cosgrove is also in attendance, as is Bob Benson whose sole role appears to be fetching the drinks for everyone, especially after he is warned not to take notes. "Timmy" from Heinz is young, lean, not bad looking and obviously extremely confident, and is making a point of bragging about the preferential treatment he has been given by DDB which manages the advertising for Heinz Ketchup. So why is he here? Because SCDP have delivered on what they promised Geiger, on what Don himself promised back when SCDP was on the verge of collapse and he was scrambling desperately for anything to keep it alive: sales have leaped up since they ran with the campaign that Megan developed and the two of them sold so effectively to the Geigers at dinner, and now Timmy is interested too, because if they can do that for vinegar, sauces and beans, what can they do for ketchup? Except he's not offering them anything, not even a chance to pitch. He stresses that this isn't an official visit, that he is still very happy with DDB etc, he just wanted to meet the people that helped Raymond lift beans sales so high, because like Raymond and beans, he also knows that ketchup's popularity runs in cycles. But when Ken asks what they can do for him, he simply states that they can let him know before standing and shaking all their hands, reminding them again this wasn't official. They're all a little confused but keep up the polite smiles, Bob offering to walk Timmy out when Raymond asks to cover a little beans business with Don and Ken before he catches up. Ken of course lavishes Raymond with gratitude for the introduction, but Ray makes no bones about what he wants from them: nothing. He's not mad at them or insulted in any way, in fact he's absolutely thrilled with what they've done for him. But he detests Timmy the "polished Polack", bitching that he's been ignored for 9 years at Heinz but the moment he dramatically upped beans sales the guy who already had the top division wanted a piece of that too? No, he insists, SCDP will not do any work for Timmy in any way. They won't pitch anything, suggest anything, or pursue anything, making it clear that he intends to pull out of SCDP if they do. He's rather retire than watch a piece of poo poo like Timmy "screw my girlfriend". He declines Ken's offer to walk him out, and once he's gone a bewildered Ken apologizes for wasting Don's time. He's furious at how weak Raymond is - why else would he gone through the charade of bringing Timmy there at all if he wasn't too scared to say no to him - but more than that furious to have Heinz Ketchup dangled in his face and then snatched away. "It's the Coca Cola of condiments!" he laments, and Don nods his agreement... but he also has a bit of advice for Ken, or perhaps more accurately a warning from a Senior Partner of the firm to a (high level) Accounts Man: Heinz Ketchup may be a bigger deal than beans, but Raymond WAS the guy who helped the Agency recover when it was at its worst, and sometimes you just have to accept that you've got to dance with the one who brought you. Ken isn't happy about it, but he's also in no position to fight it: the dream that the hard work they put into beans would pay off with ketchup falling into their laps is dead. At Pete's apartment, unaware of the waste of time everybody has just gone through at SCDP, he's getting dressed as Brenda comes happily out of the bathroom remarking that the apartment could use a woman's touch... she's used up all of the little toilet paper he had! He responds non-committed, the only use for a woman he has in this lovely little apartment is to cheat on his wife. Brenda though is all wrapped up in a happy little fantasy, suggesting she pop into Macy's on Friday for a sale as an excuse to visit him again. He has a bit more enthusiasm for that idea, but when she starts excitedly explaining that she'll call once and then hang up so he knows that it's her calling, or that she'll park in the front of the driveway instead of in it so he knows she's thinking of him, he's had enough. Taking a seat beside her on the bed, where she's still in her underwear but he's now nearly fully dressed, he gently strokes the side of her face, tells her that she's being very sweet... and then points out he has to get back to work so she'll need to hurry it up so they can go! Prince loving Charming over here! In the laundry room of Don and Megan's apartment building, Sylvia walks in with her washing to find Megan in the middle of giving the maid a dressing down. She's put Megan's bra through the washing machine instead of washing by hand as she was supposed to, ruining the elastic inside. She left the vacuum out on the terrace, she used the wrong cleaning product on the Teflon cookware. Megan complains that every time she leaves the house she is wondering what she will break next, and when the maid - who is apologetic but seems at a loss what else she is supposed to say about things that, while annoying, are relatively minor - doesn't give her the reaction she wants, tells her that though she doesn't know exactly how this works.... she's fired. The maid stands and blinks for a few seconds, obviously not expecting this nuclear option. "I'll.... get my things..." she says at last and walks quietly from the laundry room, faced with the prospect of needing to find work and quickly but now having a firing on her work history. Sylvia finally comes all the way into the room, admitting to an apologetic Megan that she was caught between wanting to give her privacy and not wanting to be obvious about trying to pretend she didn't see what was happening. She's treating it lightly, the maid's own fate the furthest thing from either of their minds, certainly against the far more pressing concern of being in a slightly socially awkward situation. But when Megan suddenly bursts into tears, Sylvia is stunned, asking if she is alright, and Megan is quick to sob out,"No!" Timidly, uncertain, not least of all because she's banging the woman's husband, Sylvia gives her a little pat and suggests they go upstairs and have a drink. Megan was hoping to wait for the maid to be gone, and Sylvia without a moment's hesitation or guilt notes,"Along with your silverware." They do go upstairs to the apartment, drinking coffee and smoking, Megan passing the time and taking her mind off her emotional state by detailing all the upcoming story-lines from To Have and To Have Not to a fascinated Sylvia, who admits to feeling guilty whenever she watches Daytime Television. But when Megan quietly notes that she had a miscarriage, Sylvia gasps in delight and promises that yes she will watch the show! Except, of course, that Megan isn't talking about schlocky drama, she's talking about real life: she had an actual miscarriage. That's why she was crying, not because of firing the maid, but because she's been holding onto this information for the last two days and been utterly miserable. Sylvia is shocked, not least of all because the guilt she can't help but feel about the affair with Don has just been given a keener edge by discovering his wife - her friend! - has been going through this. Megan apologizes for dumping this on her but she insists it is good that she told her, that she obviously needs to talk. Megan admits she got "sloppy" in Hawaii about her birth control due to the time difference and being on vacation, and now she is wracked by guilt. What did Don think? Sylvia is surprised to discover he doesn't know yet, and Megan explains that she's had a tough couple of weeks since finding out she was pregnant, simply stating that Sylvia must understand because they were probably both raised the same way. It takes a moment for Sylvia to grasp what is being said, and when she realizes that Megan was considering an abortion she's further shocked, especially when Megan explains that part of her hesitation was because it happened just as her acting career was finally starting to take off. After all, despite being married to a Jewish man she is Christian, and the Church has a clear position on abortion even if Jesus didn't (infidelity too but that one doesn't seem to bother her for some reason!). While she doesn't go cold, she simply states that BECAUSE they were raised the same it is an option that would have never occurred to her, even though she too had a miscarriage earlier in life. Then she says something truly horrifying that was also absolutely the accepted "truth" for a very long time.... that it wouldn't be the woman's choice to make in the first place.   At that moment Don returns, and of course his immediate thought is alarm when he sees his wife and mistress sitting together, especially since his wife has obviously been crying. Megan stands and gives him a kiss, collecting his hat and coat and putting it away in the closet for him because apparently Don Draper has a serious disease where he can't put his own hat and coat away at the office or at home. He's even more confused now, because despite having been crying Megan seems fine and normal with him, and his mind is racing trying to figure out what is happening, why Sylvia is there, if this is some kind of powerplay or weird psychological move, because of course everything has to be about him. Sylvia excuses herself, politely declining Megan offering her a drink and saying she is welcome to stay. As she walks Sylvia to the door, Megan tells Don that she fired the maid and he offers a,"Good riddance", perhaps even more relieved that maybe this explains mostly why Megan was sad if not how Sylvia got involved. He calls out that he will see her tomorrow, astonishing Sylvia who isn't sure quite how to react until he reminds her that it is Tuesday and the four of them are having dinner tomorrow. Relieved herself, she nods and smiles and then leaves, and Don, though still somewhat uncertain, at least now feels more stable that Megan isn't going to suddenly leap at him and claw his eyes out. On Wednesday, Peggy walks into her office eating a banana and is surprised to see a bottle of Quest Deodorant Powder and a product brief on her desk. Reading the back of the bottle about its use on sanitary napkins she is further confused, and pops over to Ted's office to ask him if they've picked up a new client she wasn't aware of. Eating his own lunch, he has no idea what she's talking about, taking the product brief from her and leafing through it, and grinning as he reads the proof points.... and she belatedly realizes she's handed her Boss a prank made at her expense by her idiot copywriters. Ted of course just thinks it is amusing, a bit of fun joking between colleagues. Peggy, who has had to claw her way to every position fighting decades (centuries!) of male-only fields is irritated, but more because, as she complains to Ted, when she actually WANTS them to be funny, they're useless! Things could be worse though, over at SCDP another woman who has had to eat a lot of poo poo to get to where she is has an unpleasant reminder of her past cast a large (read: fat) shadow across her desk. It's Herb Rennet, the disgusting dealership owner who used his status as one of the deciding votes on the Jaguar deal to get Joan to sleep with him, especially thanks to some grimy pimping from Pete Campbell. Joan of course keeps it professional, a smile and a hello, assuring him she did not "get gussied up" for him as she had no idea he would be darkening her doorway. He insists that she come down to his dealership like he's told her before, seemingly thinking he can entice her with a promise to let her borrow a Jaguar for as long as she likes. "I take the bus," she offers back sweetly, and when Herb can't help but just take things one step too far by smirking that he knows there's a part of her that is glad to see him, she finally gives him just the tiniest taste of the acid tongue that has laid waste to so many in the past, telling him that she knows there is a part of him... that he hasn't seen in years! "HERB! THERE YOU ARE!" bellows a smiling but frantic Pete, racing into the doorway having realized one of their top clients has managed to get in without him intercepting him, Meredith belated arriving after him having apparently failed to keep Herb in place and not knowing where he went. Even more dangerously, said client is hanging out with a Partner who has zero love for him, so Pete wants to get him somewhere safe where he can butter him up. With a final look at Joan he offers her a "toodle-oo" and heads out the door, Pete giving him a big ol' clap on the back and then peeking back at Joan before following Herb along, utterly unsure how she would react. Shortly after, Don gets the message from Dawn that Mrs. Harris is here to see him, though he can see that for himself since she's simply marched right in. "He's here," she tells him simply and then goes straight to Don's liquor cabinet, pouring herself a healthy dose. Don collects his coat, eyes on her, trying to figure out if he should say anything or just let things be, eventually figuring that discretion is the better part of valor and simply leaving his office and his booze in her hands. Don joins them in Pete's office, where Herb is mopping sweat from his face and complaining about the elevator not coming to this floor. So it seems that is why Harry was such a pain in the first episode, anybody coming to SCDP whether staff or clients MUST go through the first floor and past the Creative Team before they can see anybody in Accounts. It makes sense for most cases, just not for Herb since of course it gave him a chance to pester Joan plus his fat rear end struggled to deal with even a single flight of stairs. Bob Benson is also at the meeting, there to take notes, reintroducing himself to a confused Herb who has no memory of him despite Bob explaining they've met before at other meetings. The trouble is, kind of like with Raymond Geiger, they're really not sure WHY Herb wanted to meet, they're there to greet him and glad-hand him but the purpose is completely unknown to them. The reason is... he's here to bitch and moan. He isn't happy that they're doing a "fancy-schmancy Michelangelo piece" for the next ad campaign, because he thinks the ad should be all about informing the public where to find their local dealerships, especially since they're footing most of the bill. He has car lots, he wants to get in foot traffic so he can "move metal" and he doesn't think high-faluting ads about winning Grand Prixs are going to do that. Don, all broad confidence and smiles, points out that both the factory guys AND the dealers including Herb himself have already approved in writing the advertising campaign as currently planned, so it can't be changed. Herb though insists that the percentages can change, pushing for retail radio spots, miming out an incredibly lovely ad that Pete dutifully laughs appreciatively at. Why is Pete so onboard? Not just because he's an rear end-kisser (and to be fair, being one is an integral part of his job) but because he points out that SCDP would be more than happy to increase the exposure of the campaign, and Herb realizes that Pete thinks they're going to pay MORE money to them. No no no, he just wants to change the campaign HE already accepted and that it'll all happen without any extra charge! He wants 60% of the campaign to focus on local dealerships instead of national ads. Even Pete can't simply smile his way through this, while Don is horrified. Pete points out that this would take a massive bite out of a planned national campaign for Jaguar, and Herb simply shrugs as if that had never occurred to him before he points out he wouldn't be able to make that call anyway.... but if SCDP recommends this as their own idea to the other Jaguar execs they might go for it. Knowing the answer but asking anyway, Don barely controls his temper as he asks why Herb isn't recommending it since it is HIS idea, and a perplexed Herb insists that it has to come from them because it has to sound like THEIR idea, as if he can't understand why they'd be so resistant to tanking a national campaign purely for his and only his benefit. But Pete simply agrees that they'll see what they can do, alarming Don as the meeting comes to a close and a thrilled Herb asks an utterly bewildered Bob to show him the "sights", remarking that he must be like a kid in a candy store before leering,"Vavoom vavoom!" at one of the secretaries as he steps through the door. Bob's almost pleading look back at the two Partners as he follows Herb out the door is a delight! But now that Herb is gone, Don and Pete have it out. Pete is of all things offended that Don didn't shake Herb's hand! Don snaps back that he didn't seem interested (he didn't offer and neither did Don), before getting back to the real issue: Herb wants to gut their national campaign, and that defeats the entire purpose of having Jaguar in the first place! Pete though just laughs it off, pointing out that Herb being an unreasonable and overly demanding client.... makes him no different from any other client! Still pissed off but having to acknowledge a well handled line, Don points out he wishes Pete would handle the clients as well as he is handling Don himself right now, and heads out the door. Pete watches him go, still seemingly completely untroubled, which is utterly baffling because there is literally no reason anymore to kowtow to Herb. He still has power of course, but now that SCDP have Jaguar as a client the trump card he was holding over them has been extremely weakened. There is no real benefit to letting Herb dictate terms, because it will only damage them with the rest of Jaguar. As Don insisted back at the start of this entire mess that Pete created, they are good enough and talented enough that they can "win" without having to prostitute themselves (well, prostitute Joan) to make it.   That evening Peggy is working late(!) and gives Stan a call as she pours a drink, laughing at his answer and "offering" him a drink too. He declines, because he's also working late but smoking some good pot to help pass the time instead. He asks how it is going and her smile fades as she opens her drawer to put her booze away and spots the Quest Deodorant again. Her "okay" tells Stan everything and he asks what is wrong, did Chaough finally stop being the nice boss? She complains that everybody there hates her, and Stan's "That was bound to happen" could simply be an acknowledgement of boss/subordinate relationships or a cheeky little dig at her. Peggy of course is doing what she so often did with Stan and others at SCDP, mostly using them as sounding boards as she works her way through her own process. She muses that Stan worked for her and he liked her, and ignores or doesn't hear his quiet protest that he worked with her. But when he decides to cheer her up by telling her about Raymond coming in, she does listen, delighted to hear about the disaster that was Raymond bringing in Timmy and then demanding that they never work with him. She asks the pertinent question of WHY he brought him in then and Stan shares the same mindset as Kenny: Raymond is weak, he didn't know how to say no, so he rolled over and let Timmy meet them, only baring his fangs once he was gone and he could insist that nobody do the thing that he just basically invited them to do. The best part for Stan though is that Kenny had apparently already spent a couple weeks telling everybody in the office that he was going to get the Heinz Ketchup account, so now he's miserable! As Peggy giggles, she suddenly realizes that Ted - who was on his way out - has stopped in the door and is watching her laugh while chatting on a personal call (she's also working late beyond her normal hours!). Quickly she says that Tuesday will be fine and Stan, realizing she's trying to cover for making a non-work call, agrees sincerely and promises with a barely restrained giggle that her wig will be ready by then, getting the line out on the speaker just before she can hang up. "You're allowed to make personal calls after 5," Ted points out, greatly amused by this charade, even happier to have seen her laughing given how serious she usually is. She admits the truth, that it was an old work friend who was telling her a funny story about a client. Pleased, Ted asks for more information and she explains the very basic outline: Heinz Baked Beans hates Heinz Ketchup, but brought him to meet everybody which got them excited until Beans insists that the meeting was only for show. "So.... he's unhappy," notes Ted, a faraway look in his eyes. Oh shiiiit. Peggy is quick to insist that Raymond isn't going anywhere, and though she doesn't explain why promises him that Raymond doesn't miss her when Ted brings that up as a possibility. Happily he appears to drop it, simply smiling and noting that it is wonderful when you leave a place and things start to go bad there. She has to smile at that, even if she doesn't verbally agree, and Ted heads out the door. Peggy remains at her desk, even though the rest of the floor is emptying out, in a much brighter mood than she after the Quest prank earlier. Don has also left work, arriving home apologizing for being late and promising he will be quick to change before they head out. But she steps out of the bedroom in a bedcoat, not wearing make-up, and tells him she isn't feeling well. Stepping up, he checks her temperature but she mumbles that this isn't where it hurts. He's surprised that she hadn't let him know ahead of time but she explains she was hoping she would be feeling better by the time he got home, and then it simply got too late to cancel. That creates a problem though, it's so late that he expects the Rosens are already at the restaurant, they can't just abandon them. Megan understands that, but she also doesn't want to force herself long and have to pretend to be having a good time... but she still wants HIM to go, and when he points out that their friends can probably survive neither of them showing up, she insists he go. He doesn't put up much of a fight, thinking a moment and then agreeing, telling her to go straight to bed. She does so, climbing back in and lying there miserable, clearly wanting to tell him what is wrong but still wracked by both guilt and her physical pain and unable to bring herself to face up to yet another unpleasant task. In Cos Cob, Pete is relaxing on the couch watching television when he hears a female voice screaming,"GO AWAY!" from outside the house. He sits up, alarmed when the same voice screams for somebody to help her. Trudy races into the room asking what is going on, and suddenly there is a hammering on the front door, the voice screaming for somebody, please! They both rush to the door, Pete grabbing a baseball bat on the way, prepared for anything except for what he finds.... Brenda standing at the doorway in a gown and coat, nose bloodied, looking mortified to be there. She quickly steps in side, the shocked Campbells asking what happened to her, and then the voice of her husband bellows out from somewhere outside,"HEY CAMPBELL! SHE'S YOUR PROBLEM NOW!" 
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Jan 19, 2022 |
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Jan 19, 2022 04:46
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Momentarily overwhelmed by his terror, the nervous look he casts Trudy's way finds her gaze looked firmly on his face... and then she's simply helping Brenda inside as the other woman weeps that she didn't know where to go and he was chasing her. Pete closes the door and turns back, asking what the hell happened, and she simply sobs that she's embarrassed. Trudy moves to the sink to wet a towel to help clear the blood from Brenda's face, Pete casting another paranoid look after her, mind racing as he tries to figure out what Brenda told her husband, what he might tell others, what Trudy already suspects etc. Also, you know, a man just physically beat his wife. That might be something to be concerned about too! "We had a terrible fight!" she weeps, and Pete - wanting her out of the house as soon as he can - steps to the phone and declares he is calling the authorities. She begs him not to, so he insists that he take her to the hospital, and she leaps to her feet insisting she is fine, more prepared to brave the outside and complete unknown rather than the humiliation of the police or a hospital seeing that she was beaten by her husband... especially as they will also ask her questions she doesn't want to answer. Trudy though insists she sit back down, turning to Pete - who is still holding the baseball bat - and telling him to go and fetch cotton wool from Tammy's bathroom. He hesitates a moment, terrified of leaving the two women alone, then declares he will be right back and races off to get the task done as soon as possible. While one cheating husband is seeing all his worst dreams come true, another is still of the mindset that everything is great and surely this dangerously close-to-home infidelity won't blow up in his face and destroy his marriage like they did his previous one. Arriving at the restaurant, Don apologizes for being late and Rosen admits that he was himself and they already got a hard time from the staff for it... then finally realizes that Megan isn't there. Don explains she wasn't feeling well and Rosen accepts this immediately, while Sylvia of course knows what that means even if she isn't sure if Don does. Rosen calls over a waiter, chuckling that they're going to get the whole special song and dance all over again, explaining that there will now only be three of them. Don orders an old fashioned and the waiter makes his exit, and Rosen immediately launches into decrying the fact that America is currently getting humiliated by "two little pissant countries" like Vietnam and North Korea, fixated on the news Don and Sylvia entirely ignored during their recent early morning encounter. He's particularly outraged by the attack on the US Embassy, though Sylvia is quick to remind him the attack ultimately failed. Rosen does make one solid point though, they've underestimated the Vietcong much like they once underestimated Fidel Castro, who turned out to be "George Washington" for the Cuban people rather than "Señor Wences". Don chuckles at that, but when Rosen asks if he realizes they're losing the war, he frowns and looks around the restaurant, full of well-off people enjoying fine dining, and points out that you wouldn't know it from looking around tonight. Rosen has to grin at that, admitting it is quite something, the two of them old enough to remember growing up at a time when Americans thinking they were losing a war would have driven all to despair. The head waiter approaches asking Arnold if he is Dr. Rosen, who mistakenly thinks he has come to give them the specials again, asking him to do so for Don's benefit. Instead, the waiter explains that they have had a call from his service, and with a sigh he promises he won't be long and gets up to leave. Sylvia stands as well (so of course Don does too, as is etiquette) and says she'll take the opportunity to powder her nose, for once not so eager to be alone with her lover. That leaves Don alone at the table with his Old Fashioned, hardly feeling like "good company". At the Campbells, a visibly frustrated Pete has tried calling people who might be able to take in Brenda, but none have answered, and the only other person she can think of is her sister who lives in Oneonta (nearly 170 miles away) and her mother in Boca Raton (considerably more miles!). Trudy, a comforting hand on her shoulder, notes she can't go home, but she doesn't offer to have her stay there the night, simply telling Pete that they should find her a hotel. Pete is quick to look up local places, eager to have her out before anything is said that can't be unheard. As he dials, Trudy removes the cloth and gives the battered woman a warm smile before saying she'll get some ice to help with the swelling. She leaves the room, and Pete takes the opportunity at last to harshly whisper a demand she explain what the hell she told her husband. The hotel answers and Pete asks if they have any vacancies, and shockingly Brenda's reply demonstrates just how completely detached from the reality of her situation she appears to be.... she wants him to take her to the city so she can be with him! She looks distraught when he tells her absolutely not, then thanks the hotel for their response and hangs up before telling a returning Trudy that The Old Greenwich Inn has rooms available. Barely containing her emotions, Brenda asks him to take her there, and not wanting to be alone with her he says he'll call a taxi. Perplexed as to why he would say this, Trudy overrides him, saying SHE will take Brenda there, and that puts Pete into even more of a panic considering he just rejected Brenda moments earlier, so he changes his mind and admits of course he should be the one to do it. It's too late though, Trudy is already escorting a disturbingly quiet Brenda out. Pete is now in hell, no idea if Trudy already suspects or not, or what Brenda will tell her, what Trudy will believe, how he might respond. His entire world is in danger of falling apart and all he can do is wait and see what happens, completely at the whims of fate. Good, gently caress him. He banged his married neighbor, it was stupid and reckless and if the worst that happens to him is a night of paranoia he should count himself lucky. At the restaurant, the Rosens return and the doctor apologizes that it seems he has to go as well, meaning it will just be Don and Sylvia dining together. She points out this is silly and Don insists they can reschedule, but Rosen - who is feeling guilty for costing them the dinner they were all looking forward to - is having none of it, he wants them to stay and have a good time, telling Don to make sure he orders for four so the restaurant will "forgive" him for making a reservation only half the people showed up to. Wow, it's almost like this guy who Don genuinely likes, admires and respects deserves better than his rear end in a top hat neighbor having an affair with his wife! He asks Sylvia what she'd like to eat and she says she isn't feeling particularly hungry, and when Don asks if she'd like a bottle of wine she points out he is drinking something else and she isn't going to drink an entire bottle herself. Don is, perplexingly, confused by her passive hostility, not getting why the woman he is having an illicit affair with would feel exposed and uneasy in a public setting with just him. Don himself thinks things worked out "perfectly", having no idea of the nature of Megan's "sickness" and pleased that some poor rear end in a top hat is in such a life-or-death situation that Arnold had no choice but to leave. He tries to charm her, asking her to suggest something from the menu since it's Italian and she is "my favorite Italian", and she scowls back a reminder that she would have no idea what type of things he likes to eat. After all, they're not in a relationship, and she finds the danger that he is reveling in disturbing, not knowing that this is part of what appeals to Don: the risk, flying too close to the sun, so convinced of his own ability to always have things work out in spite of the numerous times it hasn't that he does stupid things... like openly state right there at the table that he's happy to spend time with her in something other than her maid's bed. She hisses at him that just because Megan and Arnold aren't there doesn't mean they're alone, and Don mutters that now he understands what is going on.... and turns on the authoritative manly seduction routine, looking her directly in the eye and telling her that she wants to feel lovely... right up until the point where he takes her dress off. Intercut with the fantasy at the table becoming reality in her apartment, Don explains how he means to have her, that she can pretend if she wants but whether they have dinner or not that is what is happening. He doesn't understand what she means when she complains that he told her he and Megan were drifting apart, having no idea about Megan's pregnancy and miscarriage, instead simply telling her that what he wants is her all the time but if she wants more than that, than that's something new. The waiter returns and asks if they have decided and Don puts the question directly to her (a little on the nose, Igla and Weiner!), and she makes the conscious choice to "have dinner", ordering for herself and for Don, asking for only mains because they're "in a bit of a hurry". The die is cast, and not long after they're there in the bed in her apartment, Sylvia beneath him, apologizing for asking anything more of him when she has no right, insisting that they must make sure they don't fall in love or else this whole affair won't be so "French" anymore. Another reminder, as if needed, that Megan is literally one floor above them, and that one of the two of them having this affair is fully aware of her miscarriage.   At the Campbells, Pete sits up trying to watch Johnny Carson but unable to keep his focus, still wondering what might be going on with Trudy. Carson himself is explaining that due to the current situation in Saigon there will be a 15 minute news special on NBC to cover events, after which The Tonight Show will air featuring an interview with Jim Garrison about evidence he's uncovered relating to the assassination of JFK. For Pete, the assassination of JFK was a watershed moment, and one which actually brought he and Trudy closer together and tighter in lockstep as a couple. Now news that might have once appealed to the conspiracy theorist in him goes largely unnoticed, because he's got his own bigger personal issues to deal with. Eventually he can't wait up any longer, and climbs into bed in his pajamas, lying sleepless, worried, miserable, not knowing if his marriage is about to hit never before seen lows. Finally he hears the sounds of Trudy's return, and makes a point of pretending to be asleep. She enters the room without a word, dropping her things and then turning and approaching the bed. She doesn't say anything, but her eyes never leave Pete's "sleeping" body, drilling a hole through them. She reaches the lamp and reaches out, and there is something terrifying about the way she stands motionless simply staring before finally turning it off. Once that is done, still without word, she walks into the bathroom. Don returns home (it wasn't a long trip!), looking chipper and relaxed, though a little surprised to see Megan sitting up on the couch. She asks if he had fun and he explains that Arnold was called away by an emergency so he and Sylvia had to eat enough to keep him in the restaurant's good graces. What she says next would terrify any man who was secretly having an affair with their good friend in the apartment a floor below where they live.... she needs to talk to him. He takes a seat beside her, asking what is wrong.... and after a few moments hesitation she finally just comes out with it: she had a miscarriage. For a moment he simply sits, stunned, and then finally he asks what is absolutely the right thing: is SHE all right? Has she seen a doctor? Yes and yes, she promises, and when he asks how far along she was she tells him six weeks, and he can do the math for himself well enough to know it happened in Hawaii. Holding her hand, he quietly tells her he wishes she'd told him earlier, and when she admits she wasn't sure what he'd want he promises her that he would want whatever she wants. Ignoring what we know about his absolutely abhorrent behavior otherwise, this does at least offer a somewhat progressive sign: she's talking about the subject and so is he, but he is at least leaving open the idea that had she decided she didn't want the baby before that choice was taken from her, he would have supported that. He's made it clear before that he would like to have children with her, but he's also somewhat of a realist at least: he has three kids already, he knows that she has been reluctant even before she had a career that was starting to take off... and not to put too fine a point on it but we also know he spent some formative years in a brothel and probably got used to the reality of abortion fairly quickly. But it's not just about abortion, it's about pregnancy and children as well, because maybe she wouldn't have wanted to keep the baby but maybe she would have too? She never got to make the choice. The two sit and demonstrate part of what made them work so well last season apart from those terrible moments when they would suddenly be like oil and water. They talk about their feelings, about what they want, or at least about wanting to talk about what they want. Megan admits that she has thought about having children and it is something she wants.... but she doesn't know that now is the right time. Don stresses that he wants what she wants, but also that he wants them to continue to be open and communicative like this. That alone is enough to let a wave of relief wash over her, and she curls up in his arms, admitting she should have told him about the pregnancy, which he agrees with but doesn't judge her over. Yes, it's the kind of (often intense) sharing of feelings that made the early period of their marriage so strong, and it's great to see it here again.... all of course undercut for the viewer by the knowledge of Don's blatant, unapologetic and arrogant affair with Sylvia only one floor below. Because he still seems to think he can compartmentalize these two things, all while pathetically explaining it all away as "we're drifting apart".  Pete enters the kitchen all dressed up and ready for work the next morning, finding Trudy sitting at the table drinking tea and looking lost in angry thought. "Good morning!" he says with a smile, having decided to just brute force his way through like everything is normal, as if that is how he would act even if an entirely "innocent" battered woman had shown up at the house screaming for help the night before. He doesn't ask how things went with Brenda the night before, or even talk about how weird and unsettling the whole experience was, just tries to pretend it is another ordinary day. Instead he just gives her a kiss on the cheer and asks where Tammy is, and when through gritted teeth she tells him Leticia (the nanny or maid, presumably) took her to the park, he simply nods as if it's not weird and tells her he's off to work. He turns and heads for the door, seemingly thinking he has somehow escaped exposure after all. "Couldn't you just pretend?" she demands. gently caress. He turns around and she unloaded, disgusted but seemingly as much as herself as at him. After all, she admits, she let him have the apartment, she tried her best to pretend there was some dignity in allowing them both the illusion that he wouldn't be using it for what she knew he would. All she wanted from him in return for this concession was for him to be discreet.... and what does he do? He sleeps with a woman who lives on their block! "Don't jump to conclusions!" he declares with a big phony smile, absolutely the wrong reaction because who the gently caress would laugh off at accusation like this? But Trudy, who for all that she has pushed him and made demands on him (frankly, mostly minor and petty bullshit) has also never wavered in supporting him, encouraging him, believing in him, hoping for him... she's reached the end of her tether. She's revolted that there is no way for her to avoid being a pitiful figure while he gets to just go ahead and do whatever he feels like. Astonishingly, Pete takes great exception to her complaint that she has never said no to him, actually getting up in arms himself as he points out they wouldn't be living in Cos Cob if that was the case. Her eyes widen at that, because of all the reactions she perhaps expected, this is the most ridiculous: he cheated on her with a neighbor who showed up at their house after taking a beating from her husband, exposing the affair to the entire neighborhood at the same time as to Trudy.... and he wants to bitch about how she wanted them to live in the suburbs in a quiet environment to raise their child!?! "We're done, Peter. This is over," she tells him with utter, 100% certainty, stating a fact. Still trying to somehow diminish or reduce the severity of his infidelity, to make out like she's overreacting, he scoffs and asks if she wants a divorce? No, in spite of what she just told him she does not, because that would make her somehow the "failure". That she refuses to do, she won't be one of those women who gets divorced from a philandering husband and is pitied by other women because she somehow is seen to be at fault for not keeping him happy. No, when she says that they're done, she means they're done as a couple. They'll stay married, they'll remain the Campbells. But no more dinners, no more living together, no more pretending Pete isn't exactly what he is. He can live in his previous city, she and Tammy will stay here in Cos Cob, and he will pay for it all and give her whatever she needs to raise their child.... but if he comes within 50 miles of the home without her express permission then she promises to DESTROY him. Oh thank loving God. FINALLY. Pete, of course, is offended and pissed off. Consequences? For HIS actions!?! He snarls that she's going to go to bed alone tonight and realize she doesn't know anything for sure, somehow still trying to gaslight her into thinking he wasn't having an affair. "I'll live with that," she spits back, and he storms out of the house, leaving her alone. She picks up a rag to clean the table for want of something to do, pausing when she realizes it is covered in Brenda's blood before tossing it away. She's not happy about what she's just done... but she's done what needed to be done. At this point, Pete simply wasn't going to get any better. Marriage didn't change him. Success didn't change him. Her being there supporting him through the toughest moments of his life didn't change him. Fatherhood didn't change him. Partnership didn't change him. Growing older didn't change him. There was no reason for her to forgive him yet again for indiscretions he showed no signs of ever stopping... in fact that he showed every sign of forever escalating. He's ruined the best thing he has ever had going for him in this life, and all for what? Because his hosed up little rat-man ego simply wouldn't ever allow him to settle for not getting everything he wanted all the time without consequence?   Peggy arrives in her office in the morning to find Ted Chaough hanging out reading through a brief, looking very happy. He passes her the brief, admitting they don't have much but it's enough for a start. A start of what? Why going after Heinz Ketchup of course! Yes, while he accepted her word that Heinz Beans was probably not looking to make a change.... he took onboard that Heinz Ketchup was at least open to the idea of trying something new, and he wants to be in on the ground floor of pitching to them. She's mortified, of course, he only knows this because she shared with him information given by a friend in a casual conversation. Ted disagrees though, if her friend works for another company then he's not her friend... he's the enemy! "Well... he doesn't know that!" retorts Peggy, and we finally see a little of the old Ted Chaough come out. He's not aggressive, he doesn't put her down or impose his authority on her.... but he does make the "friendly" point that she probably needs to decide if she's more interested in having friends or having a job. Turning back on the charm though, he notes that her friend made a mistake of underestimating her by giving her this information (it's not a contest, Ted! Sometimes friends just tell each other funny stuff that happened at work!) and he's hoping Heinz Ketchup does the same when she presents so she can blow their mind. He's smart enough not to push any harder. It seems he knows Peggy well enough to know that this would meet resistance. Instead, having primed her, he simply holds the brief extended towards her. Her own crushing need to take on challenges gets the better of her and she takes the brief from him, mind probably already racing through various approaches she might take even as it curses her for "betraying" Stan like this. Ted leaves, and Peggy is left with the unpleasant fact of knowing that now she's taken the brief she is going to be utterly devoted to winning this lucrative Account. At SCDP, an already won lucrative Account is going through a different kind of pitch in the Conference Room. Herb has come in along with two of the English Jaguar Executives to hear about this crazy, radical but exciting new idea that SCDP have come up with all on their own.... to make a heavier push for local marketing and radio exposure rather than the planned National Campaign!?! A distracted Pete has to have his attention pulled back by Herb, but once he has is present in the room again he puts aside his personal problems to give the sell-job that Herb wanted. Herb's own performance is pathetic, acting confused but intrigued by this radical idea, asking leading questions for Pete to answer with slimy confidence, even as Herb chuckles to the other executives that of course he is biased since this new focus benefits him personally. Don watches on, revolted to be a part of this charade, a seemingly confused Roger just holding his tongue, it's unclear if he was let in on the scheme or not but he knows not to blurt anything out just now. Harry knows nothing, but that isn't anything new, he simply sits and watches. Pete explains to Herb that they're making this push for the obvious and understandable goal that the more customers the better, rather than relying solely on aficionados. But now comes the moment of truth, when one of the English Executives, obviously unsure about this strategy, asks Don if he is really behind it? Don takes a moment and then with utter confidence agrees that while romanticizing the Jaguar is sophisticated and artsy, you can't argue with an increased customer base, and in fact this is a rather exciting new angle to use direct sales on what is traditionally seen as a luxury vehicle. For a second, just a second, it seems like Don is kowtowing to Herb after all, that in spite of his protests he's going with tanking their National Campaign just to keep this fat fucker happy.... and then it happens. Don says why stop at radio? Why not a mailer or an ad in a local Sunday paper? Pete chuckles and says they're not going THAT far, but Don isn't done, warming to the idea now, smoothly explaining that they really need to target people who live in New Jersey and let them know that they can walk around the corner to their local dealer and buy a Jaguar at a low, low price! "I bet the numbers would support that. Don't they, Harry?" Don asks, startling a bored Harry who immediately fumbles with his paper and mumbles that this is a statistics game but uhhhh.... he'll double-check! In other words, he hasn't got a clue what they were talking about and hasn't really got anything to offer! But Don has already moved on, this is all part of his anti-pitch and he's nailing flubbing it as well as he usually nails at succeeding. Absolutely knowing the answer, but also knowing how to phrase it so it sounds like he's offering sincere advice, he asks the English Execs wouldn't they rather cast a wide net so they can sell Jaguars to "the average guy"? Truck drivers? Housewives!?! Roger, who wasn't told ahead of time what Don was planning, can barely hold back a growing grin as he picks up on EXACTLY what is happening here. If he didn't know about Herb's involvement, he's probably guessed by now, and now he's happy to just sit back and enjoy the gloriously uncomfortable show. Quietly, very politely in that distinctly English upper class way, the Execs point out that they were under the impression from the work seen so far that there would be a more.... elegant.... approach to advertising Jaguar. That the push would be for a focused "net" that played up the rarity of the car as well as the fact that to own one meant you needed to be a person of "some means". Don though keeps pushing, knowing that nothing will kill their interest faster than continuing to jam it down their throats. This wide net philosophy will sell cars, and Herb can tell them that better than anyone! It'll work for Jaguars, after all... it works for used cars, right!?! Oh you glorious piece of poo poo. Forcing a smile, Herb nods and agrees that yes this philosophy sells cars, but he knows that this is dead in the water, and he knows that Don was the one to drown it even if on the surface he was an enthusiastic proponent. He can only sit there and listen to the English Execs calmly and politely explain that they appreciate the suggestion but they want to stick with the agreed-on National Push, and the more sophisticated and narrow focus Don already sold them on. Herb makes one final doomed effort to suggest that they at least consider this proposal, and Pete of course continues to have Herb's back, insisting that "we" still thinks this is the way to go. Don adds to that of course, agreeing that this proposal will work, knowing that it only solidifies the Execs opposition. With that the meeting is over, and THIS time Don makes a point of stepping up and offering his hand to Herb, who shakes it knowing that this man just hosed him.... just having no idea why he would have done so. "What the hell was that?" he demands of Pete, who to his credit doesn't throw Don under the bus but simply points out that they made a real push just like he wanted them to. Herb counters that Pete was the one who pushed, and then astoundingly reveals that he has no idea Don sabotaged him deliberately, complaining that he shouldn't have let Don talk since he's "not a salesman." Don Draper. Not a salesman.   In Don's office, Roger is no doubts about what he saw, calling it "the deftest self-immolation I've ever seen." Don claims to not know what he's talking about as he hands him a drink, but Roger simply observes that he didn't know Don was capable of being that bad. If Roger is subtle, Pete is a lummox. He bursts into the room outraged, furious at Don for ruining.... what? Ruining them destroying the Jaguar campaign to keep Herb Rennet happy!?! Don doesn't say that, of course, simply snarls that he wasn't feeling well because "something" about Herb makes him sick, a clear reminder of what Herb forced on them and tangentially what Pete so enthusiastically allowed to be forced on them. Unbelievably, Pete Campbell of all people who just got kicked out of his home for cheating on his wife, is furious that Don can't follow the rules! Don spits back that he did exactly what was asked of him, Pete petulantly complaining that he didn't do it "in spirit", as if they're schoolkids doing a presentation for class or something. Don's response to that cuts to the heart of the matter though. "Why do we care what that guy wants?" Roger actually does step into the breach here, not so much defending Pete as defending one of the rules of being an Account Man.... you care what he wants BECAUSE he's a client. That doesn't work for Don though, who points out that this doesn't just mean they say yes to everything he demands, and that they're only doing so because they were too scared to say no to him in the first place and where it really, actually, truly mattered. He likens it to Munich, causing Roger to nod, and Pete has REALLY had it now because apparently this is not the first time Don and Roger have shared this reference that he is utterly ignorant of. He demands to know what that even means, and Roger explains that it related to appeasement of the Germans, giving them everything they wanted in the hopes it would avoid a problem... only for the Germans to only want more afterwards. ".....well...." says Pete, still angry but having to acknowledge the relevance of the reference,"....who the hell won the war!?!" before storming out of the office. Once he's gone, Don sits down behind his desk, and Roger shares a bit of wisdom from his late mother about choosing dishonor or war, and how choosing dishonor might still get you war. Don considers that for a moment before offering back his own bit of wisdom... that wasn't Roger's mother, it was Winston Churchill! The day ends, but while others have homes to head to, Pete Campbell has to face up to the first day of what may be the rest of his life living in exile from his wife and daughter. Standing in his office in the dark (a return to form) as the building has emptied out and the cleaners are doing their work, he discovers he's not the last person there after all... Bob Benson has popped by to brown his nose a little before heading home. He applauds Pete for being the first to work and the last to leave, shaking his head in admiration and admitting he doesn't know how Pete does it. Bitterly Pete agrees he wonders too sometimes, and Bob - all big grins and transparently put-on awe - notes that if can't be that bad when you're doing something you love. But then something happens. Pete grunts that he's glad it LOOKS like that, and Bob takes a moment to consider before he offers what might be the first genuine thing he's said so far. Stepping into the room, he explains that before he came to SCDP he spent a year in Finance, watching identical men in identical suits sneaking drinks out of desk drawers while counting OTHER people's money. For the first time, Pete's interest in piqued in Bob as anything other than a toady, and he asks him what house he was with. While Bob seems far from the same high social standing as Pete's family, he does explain that his family have served for three generations at Brown Brothers Harriman, marking if not a connection then a parallel between them: both come from families that expectations, both went into advertising in defiance of those expectations to do something that excited them. For Bob, Pete makes what he does for a career look like a far more palatable option than the daily drudgery Bob clearly was terrified he was going to fall into just like his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him. "It's all about what it looks like, isn't it?" sighs Pete, who knows that his own life is far from the success story others must think of when they look at him: a young Partner making a name for himself in the Advertising world, married to a beautiful wife, with a lovely home out in Cos Cob and a beautiful little girl, living the American Dream after starting with nothing but every possible advantage life can possibly offer somebody! Bob offers to pick him up something from the Deli since he's heading down that way but Pete declines... until he suddenly remembers something Brenda told him only a few days ago when he was King of the World and everything was perfect. He mumbles something about his wife asking him but forgetting, already starting the process of bullshitting about the truth of his marriage, and offers Bob some cash to pick him up some toilet paper. Bob of course insists that he'll cover the cost, doing the thing that all good Account Men do, picking up the bills for the rich assholes they're hoping to use to their ultimate advantage. He leaves, and Pete is left alone in his office once more. He lets out a deep sigh, once again alone with the reality that the lovely little apartment that was his prize to let him indulge in his pathetic affairs is now his home, that he got exactly what he wanted and of course only belatedly realized he didn't want it at all... he just wanted it ON TOP of the security and success of being married. He's alone and sad and pathetic, with nobody to turn to or share his fears, concerns or sadness with, because he callously burned those bridges for absolutely no gain.  Good. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. But as one man faces the consequences of his own actions, another is eagerly performing more actions somehow expecting to never face any consequences. Don approaches the "doorway" of the Rosens' 16th Floor Apartment from the cargo elevator side, knocking on the door. A horrified Sylvia opens, unable to believe the utter temerity of Don to come knocking when Albert is at home and could have been in the kitchen with her when he knocked. But Don of course is flying high after dashing Herb's dreams, seeing absolutely no connection between himself and a disgusting piece of poo poo who is used to getting his own way and pushing his own interests over those of everybody else. He simply smirks and tells her that if Albert had been there he could have said he was taking the trash out and she'd left the door open. She can't help but smirk back, and they agree to meet again tomorrow morning, both just as eager to continue the affair. She felt some guilt when she found out about Megan's miscarriage, but at the time Don didn't know about it. Now he does.... and it hasn't given him even a moment's hesitation, not a second thought about what he's doing to the poor woman he insists he wants to share his life and have children with while actively cheating on her. He walks away, and we once again flashback to those formative years of his young life where we get to see another weave in the tapestry that turned him into the man he becomes. In the brothel, the young Dick Whitman peeks through a keyhole. Not at the prostitute who caught his eye, but at an unexpected (to him) relationship. The pregnant Abigail, who is his mother regardless of biology, so severe and moral and restrictive his entire life, is being laid back on the bed and caressed by "Uncle" Mack. As Mack spreads her legs and clambers between them, outside in the hallway the blonde prostitute and one of her Johns spot him. As they pass, the prostitute leans down and gleefully taunts him, calling him a dirty little spy. Jumping to his feet, Dick insists he dropped a penny, but she simply tells him he has his own room and that's how things work around here, which could be as simple as telling him to go beat off in private or an admonishment that whatever happens in each person's room is purely their own business, not to be considered or judged or even exist outside of it. In the "present", Don arrives home at last after his stop-off at 16. But here at last he exhibits something. Whether remorse or just exhaustion at living this lie, he can't quite bring himself to step through the threshold and once again put on the act of loving, devoted and caring husband to Megan. Does he even blame her for adding to HIS woes by having a miscarriage to add to the pile of (largely self-imposed) problems he has? Or is he having a rare moment of self-awareness where he can no longer deny the core of depression/self-loathing that has been present in him for much of his life. So instead of going inside to see the beautiful wife he is betraying, he crumples down and sits on the floor as [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmzlVX7oYAk[a very appropriate song plays[/url]. He's practically still the awkward boy from that brothel who didn't really understand how things worked or what was appropriate. Back then it was understandable, the actions of a boy brought up in terrible poverty getting mixed messages about duty, morality and right/wrong from a woman he's now seen abandon those ideals almost immediately when put in tempation's way. As an adult? There is no excuse. We're all the product of our environments and our upbringing, but at some point when you keep making the same mistakes over and over and over and over again and suffering for them, there has to come a point where the blame starts being apportioned to the person making those mistakes. Especially when he otherwise has every other advantage, every other reason not to do these stupid, reckless, self-destructive things. In this very episode, two parallel stories have shown all that Don stands to lose (again!), and yet I get the sense that he isn't going to learn any lesson until it either blows up in his face or something forces an end to the affair and he skates by once again by pure chance. Whatever way it ends up, I don't imagine it'll be the last time he does something this stupid. Whether Dick Whitman or Don Draper, it really seems like that's just the way he is.   Episode Index
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Jan 19, 2022 04:46
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Looten Plunder just completed The Top Ten Shows of the Decade thread, go see how Mad Men fared!
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Jan 19, 2022 05:07
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Jerusalem posted:Looten Plunder just completed The Top Ten Shows of the Decade thread, go see how Mad Men fared! sweet thread. your list owns bones!
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Jan 19, 2022 05:19
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Kind of ironic how Pete always wanted to be Don and now he pretty much is Don at the end of Season 3.
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Jan 19, 2022 19:45
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Cat Army
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Great write up, as usual. Some of the comparisons reminded me of a Clickhole quiz around this time, “Which Mad Men character are you?”, which yelled at you to stop trying to be Don Draper. No matter what, your result was “great, you kept trying to be Don Draper, so this is what you got. You’re Pete Campbell”. Clever bit 
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Jan 19, 2022 21:09
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it's extremely cathartic to see Trudy giving Pete that dressing down and finally, FINALLY kicking his rear end to the curb. that scene with the woman banging on their door is horrifying though, makeup did a really good job there remember the episode last season when Pete defended his infidelity to Don of all people when they went to the gentlemen's club? funny how that all comes around. even funnier that Don, who claimed at the time that if he'd meet Megan first he'd have known not to throw her away, is now being arguably even more brazen than Pete! (coincidentally, this is also the episode where Don first mentions his upbringing at the whore house!)
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Jan 19, 2022 21:53
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Pete Campbell is such a slimeball rear end in a top hat that only he could find a way to get tacit permission from his Way Too Good for Him wife to sleep around, almost immediately blow it, then act like he's the person getting the raw end of the deal. An observation I had after rereading some of Tom & Lorenzo's blog when it last came up in the thread (This is pretty broad discussion, but I'll put it in spoilers just in case): I was reminded of how the Blue and Green costuming recurs across this season and how they started to hypothesize that it signaled adultery. It might simply be visual shorthand for "characters in conflict," but drat if the case for the adultery read isn't on display here. In both Sylvia and Megan's heart-to-heart and Trudy finally laying down the law with Pete you've got the virtuous person in green and the guilty party sporting blue. This is one of those scenes in the series where an actor just puts on A Look and it conveys more than any dramatic monologue ever could. I don't know that I've ever seen that level of intensity from Allison Brie in anything else. Lady Radia posted:Great write up, as usual. Some of the comparisons reminded me of a Clickhole quiz around this time, “Which Mad Men character are you?”, which yelled at you to stop trying to be Don Draper. No matter what, your result was “great, you kept trying to be Don Draper, so this is what you got. You’re Pete Campbell”. Clever bit You were warned, man. Well, here you go. Now you’re Pete. You’re Pete loving Campbell. Every step along the way, you were told that you weren’t going to get Don Draper, but did you listen? No, you didn’t, and now you’re stuck with Pete Campbell. Jesus Christ. Well, it is how it is.
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Jan 19, 2022 22:25
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I think what really stands out to me in that shot of Trudy looking at the "sleeping" Pete is that I think it may be the first time in the series I can remember that she looks at him without love. Even in the past when she was furious at him or said hurtful things (and like 90% of the time she's just incredibly encouraging/supportive) I never got the sense that she hated him. That look she gives Pete though... that's a woman looking at a man she feels zero love for and active, vengeful hatred. It's an amazing scene, all the stronger for not a single word being said.MightyJoe36 posted:Kind of ironic how Pete always wanted to be Don and now he pretty much is Don at the end of Season 3. Yeah, remembering back to Don quietly warning Pete that he doesn't want to be the sad guy who women go home with because they feel sorry for him, and he's getting there. Watching Don risking loving up his entire life is so frustrating/maddening because after last season we got to see him being happy and while the status quo has changed since then he's basically being a sulky brat and throwing the baby out with the bathwater because he's mad his wife had a different dream of success than he did. "We're drifting apart...." fucccccccccck YOU! t  t
Jerusalem fucked around with this message at 07:49 on Jan 20, 2022 |
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Jan 20, 2022 07:42
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it actually is the same actor playing both Brothel Teen Dick Whitman and I'm A Whore Child Dick Whitman
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Jan 20, 2022 17:04
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I’ve just gotten to 405, the first episode with Ted Chaough (where they have the amazing fake Honda commercial stuff) and the subtitles on Prime in the UK keep calling him ‘Ted Shaw’ and it’s driving me nuts
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Jan 20, 2022 23:40
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R. Guyovich posted:it actually is the same actor playing both Brothel Teen Dick Whitman and I'm A Whore Child Dick Whitman It is the same kid for every flashback, which is about the number of Bobbies they went through.
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Jan 20, 2022 23:45
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R. Guyovich posted:it actually is the same actor playing both Brothel Teen Dick Whitman and I'm A Whore Child Dick Whitman Oh wow, I know there was a bit of time between each season but he hit a real growth spurt obviously!
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Jan 21, 2022 01:33
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I love how that kid's supposed to be...what, 14? In less than a decade he ages into full-adult Jon Hamm, off to Korea. Quite a glow-up.
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Jan 21, 2022 02:49
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i always read "you got your own room" as implying that's the reason abigail is sleeping with "uncle mack" rather than an invitation to crank one out
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Jan 21, 2022 06:55
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i just took it as a more matter of fact "hey, youre not supposed to be here, and its not like youre supposed to be inside of there since thats not where you sleep so scram" sort of statement. not that he was safe in his own room either 
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Jan 21, 2022 07:24
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Season 6, Episode 4 - To Have and To Hold Written by Erin Levy, Directed by Michael Uppendahl Harry Crane posted:It's either me or her. In Pete Campbell's lovely little apartment (that is now his primary home) he is entertaining guests, but in a far different manner to the domestic comfort (with seedy sexual undertones) from the start of the last episode. Don Draper and "Timmy" from Heinz Ketchup have come around for a private meeting, where Timmy is at pains to explain that this is all an "exploratory mission". He doesn't want to make waves or panic DDB who are his current Advertising Agency, but SCDP's success in raising Heinz Beans' sales continue to have him intrigued, and he wants to see what they can offer purely so he can then make an informed decision about any possible (but not guaranteed) change of Agency. But this isn't just about SCDP selling to Timmy, it's about Timmy selling to Don. As Pete notes with oozing charm, Don has understandable doubts about going behind Raymond's back, and Don agrees that not only has Heinz beans brought SCDP national recognition but he also considers Raymond a friend (bullshit he does!). Pete of course is quick to offer a backhanded compliment in order to encourage Timmy, noting that Don wouldn't be here if he wasn't open to pitching to Ketchup.... because he's simply not that polite! Timmy isn't offended in any way despite the fact they're meeting in a dark little apartment and Don is all but saying that they're loving over a valued client and Timmy's own colleague, he understands their fears entirely. But as he points out, Heinz Ketchup is massive, far bigger than beans even with SCDP's recent boosting, and if he ends up liking what they pitch and hires them, then he has the power and influence to bring Raymond into line. And if he DOESN'T like their pitch? Then nobody ever needs to know it happened at all, and Raymond will never know about their "betrayal". He even offers to let them pitch here in the apartment, but Pete is quick to promise that they'll hire out a hotel room for that. With that, Timmy is ready to go, explaining he has another meeting coming up, making absolutely no effort to hide that he is going to meet a woman, openly removing his wedding ring as he says goodbye, chuckling that there is no rush for them to get together a pitch because he's always happy for an excuse to come into Manhattan. Once he is gone (Pete doesn't walk him out), Pete waits by the door, listening to the footfalls down the hall and for Timmy to reach the elevator. Don waits patiently too, and once they're satisfied he is gone, they quickly nail down their own conditions: NOBODY can know about this. That means the only person working on this with Don himself will be Stan, and the only Accounts man will be Pete, to prevent any possibility of word getting back to Raymond or even just into the general advertising community. It's a team of 3, Pete all childish excitement as he declares they can bill it under "Project K". With that out of the way, Don takes a moment to look around the apartment, perhaps remembering his own place after Betty left him and he threw himself head first (and liver second) into building SCDP. He notes it is a "nice" place (it's not, and far smaller than his own "little" place was) and Pete, bizarrely, and in spite of their disastrous conversation after a night out at a brothel last season, offers to make it available to him should he ever need to stay the night in the city. Don isn't Fred MacMurray and Pete isn't Jack Lemmon though, so he just notes archly that he already LIVES in the city and makes his exit.   Dawn arrives at a diner where the staff and customers are all black, joining her friend at the counter who points out that it has been 7pm for 20 minutes and she's starving. Dawn apologizes for being late, pointing out that she has a job, and when her friend notes her job is ALSO to be her Maid of Honor, they both can't help but laugh when Dawn reminds her she can't actually lose THAT job. Less funny though is her next bit of news, the date that her fiance had lined up for Dawn has fallen through, insofar as the fiance - Al - learned that the other man wasn't looking to settle down and didn't want Dawn to have to spend the entire wedding "defending herself" from a man who wasn't looking for anything but sex. Which is... well that's nice! But it does leave the problem for Dawn of not having a date for the wedding, and she sighs that she simply doesn't have time to go out and meet men with all the time her work takes up... and she certainly can't compete with the "harlots" who go to Church and make a beeline for every eligible bachelor! When her friend points out that she must run into somebody date-worthy Downtown, she notes that black faces thin down considerably during her train ride to work until it's just her and an old shoeshine. Even when she "meets" another black person Downtown, like a local boy who mentioned running into her, all they do is a little nod with no talking. This is one of Mad Men's very rare looks into the black experience in 1960s New York, and perhaps the first ever where it is only black people in the scene as opposed to a white POV character in the scene. Dawn's reality is a day-to-day life where her every movement, word and thought is carefully guarded so as not to somehow offend a white person for the crime of simply existing. The job she longed for, the job she is so good at, is one that feels both fragile and also drains her of any chance to live an actual life. The "triumph" against racist inertia and getting a job on her merits didn't end racism or inequality in her life, and she is the one who ends up having to watch what she says, how she acts and even reacts to avoid having it all torn away in a moment. At Joan's apartment, her mother is getting her make-up done by a younger blonde woman. As the woman applies her blush, she explains that Mary Kay is all about making yourself feel better... oh my God it's a cosmetic saleswoman! Happily it turns out this isn't just some random woman Gail let into the apartment, when Joan steps through the door she is excited and delighted to see her, loudly calling out,"KATE!" and giving her a beaming hug as Gail harshly whispers to keep it down since she only just got the baby to sleep. Both women compliment the other on how they look, though Joan casts a more critical eye over Gail when she shows off her make-over, asking how much she spent. It was free, however (the first one always is), Kate explaining that she's a sales director now.... she made it up to a higher tier in the pyramid scheme! Gail suggests they all settle in for the pot roast she's making, but Joan points out she made reservations for the two of them to eat at Le Cirque. Gail insists though, pointing out that she really doesn't want Kate getting too drunk considering her job interview tomorrow morning. That's new to a surprised Joan, and Kate happily explains she is going in for an interview with "the competition" (presumably Avon?), and asks if they can take a rain check for the night out. Joan agrees, and Gail excitedly races into the kitchen to get the roast, happy to be taking part in a girl's night in. Don has left Pete's lovely apartment to return to his own far, far, far, far, far nicer one. The elevator stops on 16 and he spots a dressed-up Sylvia standing outside. Seeing him, she immediately hops on, and with a smirk he asks why she is getting onto an elevator going up. "Because the door opened and you were standing there," she openly admits. Hitting the emergency stop, Don takes the opportunity to kiss her which she is more than happy to reciprocate. She asks where he has been, apparently it has been a little while since their last encounter, and he explains that he has been actually working, joking that he doesn't want her to tell anyone that. Of course there is nobody she could tell, but she lets him know that Arnie will be out on either Thursday or Friday and she'll leave a penny under the mat outside her door so he'll know when it is safe to come by. With that she turns off the emergency stop, insisting she has somewhere to be. Amused, Don asks if she'll tell him more than that, and she takes significant pleasure in telling him no. He gets out on his floor and can't help but look back at her as the door closes on her looking immensely satisfied. Is he.... jealous? Worried she might be seeing somebody else? That she might be "cheating" on him? Whatever the case, for once he is the one left wondering, unsure where she is going, what she is doing, or who she is doing it with. Welcome to the other side. At Joan's, Gail is admiring Kate's watch, assuming that her husband Dennis must have bought it and thus is doing well. Kate is extremely satisfied to point out that she got it from the company as a bonus for bringing in so many recruits who sold so much Mary Kay. In other words, SHE earned it (well, the women she brought into the pyramid scheme earned it for her), not her husband. But she admits that she feels she has gone as high as she can go at Mary Kay, especially while working out of Spokane, which is why she wants to see what Avon can offer her. Gail surprises Joan by pointing out that she made Partner and has taken on a ton of extra responsibility she isn't sure most would be able to deal with. Thrilled, Joan jokes to Kate she should come and visit more often since it seems to bring out Gail's pride in her daughter. Gail, all joking aside, admits that it does make her feel good to be able to tout Joan's remarkable accomplishments, and all three laugh when Joan admits it DOES sound pretty good to be identified as a Partner in a Madison Avenue Advertising Firm! But as she hands the watch back to Kate, she reminds her friend not to forget that if things don't work out when she meets Avon, she should remember she is appreciated at Mary Kay, talking up her friend's own accomplishments rather than just her own. The two smile at each other, two women who grew up in a world where the highest goal to aspire to was getting married and having kids, and they both achieved that... and then went on to do so much more afterwards. The next day at SCDP, Ken strides into Harry's office demanding to know closing dates for magazine advertising. Harry, who is now in a much nicer office than the lovely one he was forced to exchange with Pete, is far more relaxed, pointing out that it is Monday and he's enjoying his coffee and soon to get a lovely Danish.... can they at least chat about their weekends before diving into actual work? Ken grabs a seat, still not relaxed, complaining that he spent the weekend having to listen to his father-in-law Ed Baxter bitch about all the bad press and protests Dow Chemical is getting for their production of napalm for use in Vietnam. Worse for Ken though is that he knows that every complaint Ed is making is meant to be a stab at SCDP and Ken himself. So... SCDP landed the Dow Account after all? It hasn't come up at all since Don and Roger's meeting, but if so then that is an Account worth MILLIONS to them, roughly the same size as Lucky Strike was. I assume that Ken's insistence he be "forced" onto the Account also happened, in which case SCDP should be absolutely flush with cash and Ken must be beneath only Roger and Pete in the Accounts pecking order now... which makes Lane's suicide over a few thousand dollars hit even harder. Of course, with the prestige came the responsibility, and Ken is obviously feeling the pressure of SCDP's failure to turn around public outcry over the war crimes Dow is complicit in, and he isn't coping well with it, especially given the personal connection he has with Ed. "If he wants people to stop hating him.... he should stop dropping napalm on children!" whispers Ken in a fury. Harry, sipping from his ABC mug that he has made an obvious effort to show off, suddenly pauses and ponders something, telling Ken that he knows he only really came in here to vent and complain... but he thinks that he might be able to help him. Scarlett arrives with Harry's danish, apologizing to Ken since it is the last one. Harry asks her to get him Pierre Cossette on the line, and happily takes a big bite of his danish as Scarlett heads out the door telling Ken that Harry (not Mr. Crane, Harry) has great ideas. Ken is surprised, both at realizing that he really did only come in to complain, but at the fact Harry of all people might be able to help him... and also that his secretary seems to like and admire him!   While Ken is allowing himself to feel some modicum of hope, Stan Rizzo is like a pig in poo poo as he strides purposefully down the halls of SCDP and uses a key to let himself into a private room near the Creative Lounge, the windows lined with tinfoil to keep anybody from seeing in. He's watched intently by, of course, Michael Ginsberg, who of course is DYING to know what Stan is up to and what is going on, suggesting they sneak a spy-camera in a clock into the room.... and being told that if he could get into the room then he wouldn't need the spy-camera in the first place! Bob Benson is standing around watching, enthralled and enjoying himself as he listens to Ginsberg's creative mind darting through potential scenarios to explain what is going on in the Forbidden Room of Mystery: a military account? Did they hire Stan because he has no conscience? What is Project K? "PROJECT KILL MACHINE!" he screams in the direction of the room, after being asked the last by Bob. Bob chuckles and notes that won't be what it stands for, and the older woman whose name still hasn't been given perks up, asking sarcastically what Bob thinks it stands for. He doesn't mind admitting he doesn't know, which of course excites Ginsberg's suspicious nature as he declares that Bob might only be saying that because he DOES know what it means! Don steps into the Lounge, asking if Stan came through, and Ginsberg loudly proclaims that he doesn't know who this Stan is but he's certainly not in the mysterious tinfoiled room! Bob blasts out a cherry hello to Don who casts him a derisive look and then simply walks away without answering, letting himself into the room and joining Stan who is happily smoking a joint and insisting that it helps "clear the cobwebs". He offers the joint to Don who at first declines... then perhaps because they ARE in a locked room and it's just the two of them, decides to take a drag, because hotboxing in your secret project room while trying to come up with an idea on how to sell ketchup is just a fantastic, fantastic idea. So they sit and smoke, arguing about whether ketchup or mustard are more associated with hotdogs, eventually getting the giggles when Stan suggest they order some lunch. As her Boss gets high, Dawn (imagine the reaction if she was seen even in the general vicinity of marijuana) is heating up her meal in the lunch room when Scarlett joins her to pass her a birthday card to sign for Clara. They are taking her out to lunch tomorrow and Scarlett wants to pick up a gift but hasn't figured out what to get her, so asks Dawn if she wants to join her to help pick something out. Dawn declines, admitting that Mr. Draper (not Don) always needs her to be around, so Scarlett asks if she could punch her out when she leaves work then, to save her having to come back. Dawn either doesn't consider or is wise enough not to question whether Scarlett only offered her company knowing Dawn would decline and then she could get her to punch her out. She's entirely pleasant though as she freely admits that she doesn't plan to come back but it won't hurt since Dawn will be punching her out anyway, and after she leaves Dawn is left feeling relaxed and happy about the encounter, just two work-colleagues having a friendly chat and helping each other out. She even got to tease Scarlett a little for trying to trick her into revealing what Don is up to in the Secret Tinfoil room! Far from SCDP, Megan Draper (or Calvet, for the purposes of this job) is smoking and reading a book in her maid's uniform as she hangs out on a couch in a dressing room in the studio where To Have and To Hold is filmed. Presumably she's waiting on her call time, but she's surprised when one of the other actors - a very handsome young man - pokes his head through the door and excitedly asks if she's read the new pages yet. "Are you two rehearsing already?" asks another actress, popping in straight after him, wearing only a gown, eyes alight with mischief. The man tells her Megan to call him after she's read them, then turns to the other woman and asks her - Arlene - if she is jealous it won't be her. With savage glee (but no malice), Arlene points out that "Mel" is her husband and she could have him write him into a hospital bed... or a grave if she wanted. Delighted by her cattiness, the man grabs her and gives her a theatrical kiss before apologizing for his mean comments (but not kissing a married woman!?!). It seems Mel is either the head writer or the producer (or both?) and Arlene is his wife, giving her the kind of job security most actors can only dream of. After he leaves, Arlene closes the door (Megan and a woman called Eileen's are on the door), and now a very intrigued Megan asks what is going on. What's going on is sex, or more precisely a love scene... and Arlene lets in a little more thanks to her inside information, it won't be a one-night stand on the show, the actor - Rod - and her characters are going to be having a full-blown love affair as part of a big storyline. Megan is thrilled, leaping up and giving Arlene a hug. Arlene admits that Mel has been a little on the fence bout whether to give her such a meaty storyline but she has helped push for it and she thinks that Mel really believes in her ability too... which is why it is so important she not embarrass her. She asks if Megan has any experience with love scenes and like all actors Megan of course agrees that OF COURSE she has.... before nervously asking if a High School play count! "....no," replies Arlene simply, before giving her the benefit of her own experience. At first doing a love scene is exciting, but it quickly becomes just another part of the job like anything else. Megan though admits that this first time is pretty drat exciting though, unable to keep the smile off of her face, and Arlene doesn't disabuse her of her excitement... but does warn her that the really hard part will be telling "James Garner", pointing over to a picture of Megan and Don outside the Royal Hawaiian hotel, and how he deals with the idea of his wife acting out making love to another man on television. She recommends that Megan get out in front of it and tell Don as soon as possible, do her best to make it clear it's just part of the job and not try to hide it or sneak around it at all. To help ease things along, she suggests Megan and Don join her and Mel for dinner, pointing out that it makes sense that they get better acquainted since there are big plans afoot for Megan Calvet in To Have and To Hold. There is a knock at the door and a runner passes over the new pages in an envelope. Arlene leaves Megan to read them alone, Megan herself eagerly opening the envelope like a kid at Christmas, utterly delighted to read the proof of her ongoing and growing success as an actress. At the moment there isn't a thing in the world that could bring her down or dent her high. After all, all she has to do is tell Don and while he'll probably balk, surely he'll understand the difference between acting and real life! Surely he wouldn't have such a fragile (and hypocritical) ego that he would be upset at what is most likely going to be a kiss and laying somebody down before the camera drifts off to look out the window at the moon or something. Oh God it's going to be a disaster.   Joan is working in her office (she still has the same one stuch between corridors) when Meredith pops in asking if she sent Scarlett out somewhere, since she can't find her or Mr. Crane and there is somebody here to see him. As she talks, Harry walks by with that visitor, happily chatting away to him about how excited he is for him to meet Ken. So that leaves Meredith.... with absolutely no other purpose for being there. So she stands. And stands. And just stands there. "How are you?" she asks at last, obviously feeling the awkwardness but dealing with it in the worst way possible. "Busy," Joan retorts, then as Meredith gets the message and leaves, calls after her to send Scarlett to see her once she finds her. With that she returns to taking notes, at the moment not putting any greater stock in this than needing to reminder Scarlett to be on-hand in case of situations like this. Don returns home that evening to find a VERY attentive Megan who collects his coat, laughs at his joke about not wanting to work in a windowless room, practically marches him to take a seat and get him a drink and announces that she's made him coq au vin. Don is pleased but a little startled by the attention, and when she tells him that she wants to talk about more than work his guard is immediately up, asking her with concern what happened. She laughs, pretending to be laid back and unconcerned as she "complains" that she wishes she could just once be the wife who could successfully lay a trap for her husband (like his surprise party!?!), and now he absolutely is convinced that bad news is coming, though he isn't feeling the fear that would be in evidence if he suspected she knew about him and Sylvia. But she does give him the rundown, explaining first about Mel and Arlene (who plays Penelope on the show) wanting to have dinner with them ("Does it get worse?" sighs Don, who has dragged her to many endless dinners) before explaining her storylines are getting more developed... and then finally taking Arlene's advice and just coming right out with it: she's going to be doing love scenes on the show. Surprisingly Don's reaction is more bemusement as he asks who the love scenes will be with. She explains they'll be with Rafe, Arlene's nephew (wait, in real life or just on the show? Because otherwise that earlier kiss.... uhhhh....) but he cuts her off from giving more detail, admitting he doesn't care about Rafe's details... what does a love scene actually consist of? She assures him it's only kissing and hugging, it is television so they can't really do or show any more than that. While he is a little truculent, Don does admit that it's not like he can stop her from doing this, even injecting a little humor when he asks what she'd like him to say and then encourages her to keep going when she offers a hopeful evaluation of how he'd reaction because he'd like to hear more of "what I have to say". In the end, he simply states that it is something he can tolerate but not encourage, but does allow that she's right that if he wasn't her husband he really would be glad that she was getting this opportunity, because he'd understand that it means they like her and want to give her more to work with. "You're perfect," she sighs, happy to accept a begrudging admission of inevitability and an essential green light for her to go ahead, far better than the alternative of a screaming match and a demand that she not do it. I'd like to say that part of his "understanding" derives from his own guilt about banging Sylvia one floor down every chance he gets but... that would indicate Don having guilt or awareness of what a piece of poo poo he is as opposed to somehow managing to have blamed her for HIS infidelity but still expecting perfect faithfulness from her in all things. So there they sit, the perfect couple, drinking together in perfect harmony, the very image of matrimonial satisfaction and mutual respect. As much a sham now as it was with Betty, and just like with Betty it's Don who is doing all the sleeping around. At least this time he "allowed" her the chance to kiss and hug a co-worker for a scene on her successful show, as opposed to the time he tore into Betty for the great crime of letting an air conditioner salesman inside of the house while he wasn't present.  Harry has joined Ken in a meeting with Ed Baxter and Tom Schafer at Dow Chemical, along with presumably Pierre Cossette, where they discuss Dow's recent image problems. When Harry mentions "half of Columbia" getting into their lobby last week, Tom is quick to leap in and complain it was only 15 protestors. Harry's point though is that every other day the media is filled with stories that make Dow look awful (all the war crimes will do that!), and finally it comes down to what they can do about that, and Harry bring in Pierre, who is presumably either a producer or some kind of network executive? The answer is a One-Hour Primetime Special starring Joe Namath and 15 or so of his "best friends", meaning various celebrities. They'll put on a show using routines and numbers from well-known and beloved musicals, and when Ed asks if Joe Namath can actually sing Pierre gets a laugh by pointing out that wanting to know the answer to that question is why people will sing. How does this help Dow? Because they'll present (and fund) the show. Joey Heatherton, Julie Andrews, John Wayne (doing Camelot!), these are just some of the names Pierre can get them. When Ed points out that they mostly sell household products and women don't like football, Pierre points out that women DO like... Joe Namath! More than that, chimes in Harry, Dow will be right there on display as people watch something they enjoy that makes them smile, and the association will remain. Pierre, a bit of a showman himself, has Harry join him in blasting through a simultaneous rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy and the Notre Dame Fight Song. Ed stops them, a big smile on HIS face, and asks Ken if he told them that he went to Notre Dame. No, Ken assures him (I'm positive that's a lie), smiling and joking that he told them all about Joey Heatherton though! With that out of the way, Tom steps in to talk numbers: what commitment are they looking at? Ken opens by pointing out the benefits, as the primary sponsor they get 10 second billboard spots at the beginning and end of the show, and 3 of the 6 minutes of commercials that are allowed for a one hour broadcast (Only 6 minutes of commercials in an hour.... mother of God....). Ken even manages to give them a reasonable enough tagline, something he's often struggled with: Brought to you by Dow Chemical. Family products for the American family." At no point has the actual money commitment been mentioned, but Ed is hooked now, he can see the appeal, and Harry knows it. One of the most powerful men in one of the most powerful companies in America has been caught up in a spell that Harry had an integral role in putting together (and conceived of in the first place), this is an absolute triumph for him. While Harry is triumphing, Joan is on the hunt. She's tracked down Scarlett at her desk, two time cards in her hands, and asks her sweetly if Mr. Crane is in his office, knowing full well that he isn't. Scarlett quickly gets off the phone and explains that Harry is out taking a meeting, and now Joan can pounce, pointing out that they'll really need to know if he's expecting any special guests since one showed up yesterday and she wasn't here. "I must have been in the ladies' room," Scarlett smiles nervously, who still hasn't realized the significance of what Joan is holding until Joan notes that she wasn't in the ladies' room because she was gone for the entire afternoon but still managed to clock out at 6:47pm. Realizing too late that she allowed herself to walk into a trap, Scarlett quickly gives the truth, that she was caught at her desk and couldn't go shopping for Clara's gift during her lunchbreak, so she stepped out on company time but it was to buy a gift for a co-worker's birthday today! She eagerly explains that she bought a Givenchy scarf she bought with the money everybody chipped in and offers her the card so she can sign it.... and Joan bypasses all that to point out the actual issue: she didn't come back after she went out AND she had Dawn punch out her time card to make it look like she worked a full day. In other words, (extraordinarily mild) fraud! Scarlett insists that this isn't true, she and Dawn did clock out together, they were working together through most of the afternoon all over the office which is why Joan didn't see them.... mostly in Accounting! It's a terrible lie, because of course she has no idea where Dawn was throughout the afternoon or whether Joan does (and being Dawn, she was most likely at her desk). Joan's smile is terrifying, the sweetness dripping from her voice poison as she thanks Scarlett for clearing that up and immediately leaves... and now Scarlett of course realizes that she has to find Dawn and clear up her story. The trouble being, Joan is already ahead of her, first establishing whether they've spoken this morning already to get their stories straight by asking if she's seen her as she can't find the hole punch and thinks Scarlett might know. When a complete unaware Dawn tells her where the hole punch is, it makes it clear they haven't spoken, so now Joan lies and warns her that Scarlett already told her everything. Scarlett herself has only just made the stairs, and shakes her head wildly at a bewildered Dawn to try and stop her from saying anything. Her wild gesticulations of course catch Dawn's eye, which in turn means Joan knows Scarlett is behind her and proving herself a liar by trying to stop Dawn answering. Of course, all this is incredibly mild, the stuff of a mild disciplinary procedure, a written warning perhaps. After all, many of the male workers (and not just the partners) including Creatives frequently just disappear for hours at a time without explanation, hell even Peggy used to do so. If anything, Scarlett will probably be in more trouble for lying about it, but otherwise she'll be f-   Oh poo poo! Horrified, Scarlett begs her that it won't happen again, and Joan agrees, coldly noting it won't happen again HERE and demanding she get her things to go. A shocked Dawn is saved by Don buzzing in from the intercom to ask her to get Stan to come to his office before the Partners' Meeting, and Joan motions for her to go ahead with a warning she will deal with her later. "Girls do it all the time," Scarlett pleads, but Joan is unmoved, telling her to go before she embarrasses herself. With a sob, Scarlett races up the stairs, and Joan moves on imperiously, having done what she thinks was the appropriate action even if she went straight to the nuclear option. It's the kind of things she used to handle as Office Manager, which is technically still part of her work even though she's now a Partner, but it's also the kind of mentality that feels more suited to the early days of the 1960s over at Sterling Cooper. On the 37th floor, a pleased Harry and Ken emerge from the elevator in good spirits, Ken "warning" Harry that now he's on Ed Baxter's radar. As they enter the lobby, a crying Scarlett passes them by carrying her box. Harry, somehow completely missing her tears, calls after her that whenever she gets back from what she's doing, he needs her to bring him champagne. Turning, she manages to weep out,"Oh Harry, I'm not coming back," again with the familiarity of his first name in complete contrast to almost all the other secretaries. Now he finally notices her smeared mascara, the distraught look on her face, and is shocked and furious when he learns that Joan fired her. Fired HIS secretary! He storms into Joan's office, dragging Scarlett behind him, demanding that Joan apologize to her. With a smile like she's embarrassed for Harry for doing this, she tells him to please not get involved in this, which just makes him madder because, again, she's messing with his secretary, somebody he has a good working relationship with and clearly likes (and, being Harry, lusts for). He warns her that he's tired of her "petty dictatorship" and he doesn't care what "crime" she committed, she is part of HIS Department and he is the one who decides who stays and goes there. Ken stands in the doorway, face carefully neutral, watching with fascination this clash of a powers. Well.... power. Joan's status outstrips Harry's, and even back when it technically didn't she was always the more powerful of the two. Joan's comment that she didn't realize they were so attached is dripping with meaning, and a frantic Scarlett quickly declares they're not, which Harry bellows over that they are! Joan though is through with the conversation, simply stating that she has more important things to do and putting the ball in Scarlett's (miserable) court, telling her to do what she thinks is best. "You're to do what I think is best!" yells Harry, who doesn't quite seem to grasp how this Knight in White Shining Armor thing works. Joan doesn't reply, doesn't counter, just fixes a hard look on Scarlett and waits, as the miserable secretary weighs up her desire to keep this job and the sheer hell life will be if she stays but has made an enemy of Joan. Joan doesn't wait to see what her answer is, she simply finishes collecting the files she needed and then walks past them without a word to attend the Partners' Meeting. Harry assumes victory, ordering Scarlett to get back to work, but as he leads Ken out towards the stairs up to the Accounts Floor, they of course must pass the Conference Room.... and he freezes. Inside are the Partners. All of them. Including Joan. Joan is a Partner. Joan is sitting in there with them, the most powerful people in the Agency. She is talking. They are listening. Words are being exchanged. And suddenly his paranoia is in high gear. Suddenly he realizes the danger he has put HIMSELF in, and with that comes a new rage, one coupled with fear of what is being said while he isn't there to defend himself or make an argument. Ken, who knows Harry well, warns him not to do anything rash, but this is Harry Crane, he either blunders headfirst into things or gets so paralyzed with indecision that he ceases to operate at all. This time he chooses the former, as he bursts into the meeting and declares that he isn't going to let her badmouth him without getting to defend himself. Joan, of course, was simply asking the other Partners for their input on how they should bill Project K given its confidential nature meant only Don and Pete know what it is in regards to! To her credit, Joan calmly tries to assure Harry (who SHE called Mr. Crane) she hadn't said anything about him, but Roger cuts her off, delighted and amused by what he can see is a big misunderstanding and looking forward to seeing it blow up. Harry complains that she fired Scarlett, who works for HIM, and Joan simply retorts that she faked a time card to get paid for 5 hours she wasn't working for, which is theft, making no further attempt to justify, satisfied that this by itself should be enough. For Harry though, it's all about big all-or-nothing gestures, and he roars that it's either him or her, which of course a confused Pete is bewildered by... is he talking about firing Joan? "Scarlett!" snaps Harry, and Cooper helpfully explains to Harry that he actually meant to say that if Scarlett goes, he intends to go as well. But Harry is already moving on to his next grievance, complaining that none of them thought of Broadway Joe on Broadway... that was all him! "What the hell is that?" asks an even more confused Pete, because of course nobody loving knows about the deal that Harry just brokered because he only just brokered it! But they do pay attention when Harry explains he just generated 150kof incremental business while solving a problem. The man who had that problem, Ken, is still simply standing outside watching the silent debacle unfolding through the window, having no idea what they're talking about. There is, of course, the germ of a legitimate grievance for Harry, not just in Joan going straight to the nuclear option but when he points out that he is out there making cash-generating deals like this (well, 1 so far) but he isn't part of the "Club" when it comes to these Partners' meetings, despite being one of the founding members of SCDP (which he got dragged along into without realizing what was happening till he was already in the middle of it). Don has picked up somewhere along the way that Dawn was involved in all this somehow, and asks what her involvement was. As Joan starts to explain, Harry snaps again, furious at them ignoring the grievance he just aired to talk to her some more simply because she's a partner. And then he goes and fucks over any chance he had to be taken seriously. Because what does Harry immediately jump to once his first impassioned complaint was largely met with indifference? He sneers that his accomplishments happen in broad daylight so he can't be given the same rewards as Joan was. You absolute piece of poo poo. Even Pete Campbell - PETE CAMPBELL - is enraged at this, while the rest of the Partners are disgusted since this is a particularly sore point for all of them (not least of all Joan, who actually suffered through it). Don fixes Harry with a glare, but he's not backing down now that he's blundered his way forward, dropping an ultimatum that the next time there is a Partners Meeting he expects to be in it.... because HE has actually earned it. Just as a reminder, regardless of the unbelievably lovely Jaguar situation, Joan Harris was the sole reason the Sterling Cooper heist worked at all, without her absolutely none of it would have worked and they would have all been left jobless and left to fend for themselves or disappear into ignominious retirement. She was also the one who organized everything when SCDP was up and running, from the earliest days in the hotel room through to arranging all the movement into the Time Life Building to scouting out and organizing the Accounts floor. She is the only one out of all of them that even approaches the ability Lane had to manage the money, keeping track of the cash, the in-goings and out-goings, painfully aware of where every cent goes and what is available to be budgeted and where. Her "reward" after 13+ years of keeping everything together was only making Partner after literally allowing herself to be prostituted, getting something more akin to an appropriate salary, and she's STILL stuck in that awful office while Harry actually has a big open one upstairs in his Media "Department". For Harry though he's finally said what "everyone" is thinking and is immensely satisfied for putting Joan (who can sometimes be that petty dictator he accuses her of being) in her place, since to him she is still simply a glorified secretary with delusions of grandeur. The fact that the last person who tried this got his rear end fired by Peggy Olson doesn't give him pause, he strides confidently up the stairs followed by Ken who wisely says and does nothing.  
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Jan 26, 2022 12:49
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Everything is quiet for a few moments, and then Cooper simply states to Joan that it's not going to happen (Harry making Partner), and Pete simply pretends all the extra Harry nonsense simply didn't happen and reminds Joan to be careful how she handles Dawn since the advertising industry as a whole is still being investigated for how it handles the employment of "Negroes". Don chimes in just to note that Dawn is a good secretary, and Joan offers a sweet smile and a nod and says,"Of course," before asking what should be done about Scarlett. On that matter Cooper is satisfied that the humiliation Scarlett must be feeling for everything that just unfolded today should be punishment enough. Joan agrees, probably inwardly unhappy to be thwarted but also completely ready (and eager) to move on. So with that, the meeting at last continues, Joan asking Meredith as minute-taker where they were. Meredith re-reads the last thing she noted before Harry burst in, which was Joan asking Meredith to step out so the Partners could cover Project K in more detail without it being on record. They all sit quietly for a moment, and then Meredith finally realizes that this belated order still stands, and awkwardly gets up and sidles her way out of the room as they all sit quietly and watch. Somehow this (hilarious) moment feels like the most awkward thing to have happened at an event-filled meeting! Later that evening, Dawn joins her exasperated friend at the diner, late again. She apologizes and is irritated by her friend's irritation, complaining that she had a hell of a day. Her friend snaps back asking if she got fired, making it clear that would be the only excuse she would accept... and immediately softens when Dawn admits that she isn't entirely sure if she's been fired or not. She explains what happened, alarming her friend more who reminds her that she warned her not to trust any of the other secretaries and that they weren't her friends. Dawn insists the latter isn't true, pointing out that Scarlett got in more trouble than she did, but that is beside the point: she was asked to punch out the time card for her because everybody knows she'd be too scared to say no to anybody. On that point Dawn differs, because this is one place that she feels solidarity with everybody else at SCDP.... they're ALL scared. It stuns her, she sees women crying in the ladies' room, men crying in the elevator, and every time the garbage bags get emptied it sounds like New Year's Eve because they all drink so much.... not to mention Lane ("That poor man") committing suicide. Her friend is startled by these revelations... but also far from sympathetic to the poor white people who are sad, sarcastically remarking that obviously a black woman like Dawn must have it way better than them! Dawn simply returns that she likes her job and wants to keep it, so she's going to keep her head down and just do her best not to get noticed. When her friend notes that she doesn't think she could do it herself, Dawn offers a mildly bitter joke that she doesn't have to since she's getting married.... and she's also getting the dinner for both of them tonight! While Dawn laments her lack of a boyfriend, Joan and Kate are feeling the humiliation of their own lack... because Joan allowed Kate to talk her into going out on a telephone dating adventure. This involves sitting in a diner with a telephone on the table, and if somebody should see somebody they take an interest in they'll call that table. Which of course means the opportunity, as is currently happening, for Joan and Kate to be sitting at a table with a silent telephone, while all around them groups chat and laugh, young girls squealing in excitement when their phone rings. They're in their 30s, married (in Joan's case, on paper only), and with kids... this is NOT their scene. Joan points out that it feels like they're at a soda fountain in High School, right down to the clientele, but Kate admits that a friend let her know that plenty of men who like a "certain type" attend these events. Joan is surprised, guessing that she means they're into "older" women, and Kate tells her not to judge, making it clear that she's all for being pigeonholed that way if it means she can get laid. Based on some of her lines regarding her husband Dennis made throughout the episode, they're not exactly still in either the throes of deep passion for, or even really wanting to talk to, each other anymore. You know, "drifting apart", just like Don lies to Sylvia that he and Megan are. Joan can appreciate that, and when their meals are brought and a slightly older (mid-to-late twenties) waiter steps up and introduces himself as Leo and lets them know he's happy to come to their assistance if their waitress is too busy, Joan spots a chance to help her friend out. So she asks him to please call the phone so they can check it is working, taking note of his clear interest in Kate. Kate watches him go, noting he is cute and saying he reminds her of somebody called Scotty. Joan laughs that Kate mustn't marry him since those were the worst six months of her life, and Kate laughs back that Joan always did everything first... and Joan counters that Kate always did everything smart. So Greg wasn't Joan's first husband, she had one much earlier, presumably long before she came to Manhattan, a never-before-mentioned Scotty. The phone rings and Joan tells a delighted Kate that now her wish has come true, her phone rang! She answers and it is, of course, Leo, who asks if they want to meet after his shift. Joan does her best to carefully guide Kate through picking up Leo (or rather, letting Leo pick her up), quick to stop her from just immediately inviting him up to her room at the Waldorf, telling her to make him think of a place, and making sure she hangs up before things get awkward. The call done, their evenings secured, they settle in to enjoy their food At a much nicer restaurant, Don and Megan are having the promised dinner with Mel and Arlene. The conversation has turned to the Vietnam War, not so much the death and destruction and war crimes as that the sponsors and networks don't want variety shows like the Smother Brothers covering it. Arlene complains that SHE would like to have an evening without a conversation about the war, and as everybody laughs she warns Megan not to smoke the cigarette she just took out since the weight loss isn't worth the wrinkles. Don barely manages to hold back his distaste at that comment, making a point of lighting Megan's cigarette for her. Mel - played by Ted McGinley! - has largely ignored his wife as well to keep on about the war, insisting that the sponsors are for it and that's why they're trying to stop comedians making jokes about it.... sure as a fellow "writer" Don should be against censorship? Don admits that as both a writer AND somebody who is against the war (the first time he's ever mentioned anti-Vietnam sentiment?) he also understands that advertisers want the consumer to be in a good mood when they hear the message being presented to them. So in a show full of the most dangerous humor there is - satire - sponsors are worried that the people who see their ads are going to be angry and associate their product with that feeling. Remember when Don so passionately spoke to Peggy about how much he hated that people were started to be treated as nothing but "consumers"? Mel is impressed by Don's confident, smooth delivery of course and asks Megan to tell how she found a man like him, laughing that he could cast him (just like Harry kept trying to organize!). Megan sees an opportunity here for some "subtle" smoothing of Don into being more at ease about her love scene, noting that there are no concerns about censorship regarding To Have and To Hold because it's a very tame show! Mel however counters in exactly the wrong way, admitting that since it is a show for housewives they have to be a little titillating just to keep their interest. Megan adapts as best as she can, pointing out that anything they do on the show is very tasteful, probably wishing she could lash out and kick Mel under the table. The waiters come and collect their plates and Mel insists that he will get the check, an unusual experience for Don, and suggests that after that they head back to he and Arlene's place, smoke some grass and.... see what happens. ! Don IMMEDIATELY knows what's up, but Megan completely misses the honking great flashing warning light going on, commenting that it sounds like fun. Don quickly begs off, noting that its late, but Arlene assures him it isn't, and that if smoking grass isn't for them then that's fine.... they had other things in mind too. !! Deciding pretending ignorance might shame or frustrate them into getting the message, Don says he doesn't understand what she means. Arlene though keeps on pushing, reaching out and placing one hand gently on Megan's hand, telling him that they like Megan and they like him and they're hoping they can all be "friends". "Us too!" smiles Megan happily. Oh my God. Mel places an arm around Arlene's shoulder and gently notes that under the right circumstances the four of them could get.... better acquainted. Finally, blessedly, Megan seems to realize what is going on, and Mel senses her hesitation, admitting that it may not work out but he'd like them to try, to treat it like a chemistry experiment to see if there is something there. Now it is Megan who is begging off, insisting that they have a big day tomorrow, and when Mel keeps pushing Don adds in that he has an early morning too. "That's what black coffee is for," smirks Arlene, and now Megan is reduced to nothing more than a,"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...." before finally, nervously, politely suggesting maybe another time? Mel has been prodding, seeing if it was just nervousness or even a failure to grasp their "subtle" flirting, but now it is obvious that Don and Megan are NOT into this and are getting increasingly uncomfortable. Shrugging, he tells Arlene matter-of-factly that they've heard no before, and then without skipping a beat suggests that since it is a no... they might as well order dessert! This motherfucker, holy poo poo.   By the way, that is NOT the face of a seduced man! Joan, Kate and Leo tumble into the back of a cab, Leo slipping between them and insisting that it's the best seat in the house. He throws his arms across the back of the seat, so that both women are withing grabbing (groping?) distance tells the Cabbie where to take them, asking if they've been to the Electric Circus? "All the ti-" starts Kate but Joan cuts her off to say they're out of town, doing everything in her power to help her friend get what she wants tonight. Leo passes her a drink and suggests they find out who kisses better, Joan smirking and saying she doesn't intend to play that game. When Kate says it's because she'll lose and then deliberately turns Leo's head Joan's way, she capitulates and lets him kiss her first... after all, she always does things first but Kate always does them smart, and thus Joan's relatively chaste kiss pales in comparison to Kate's passionate one. As they are driven, so too are Don and Megan, who have finally escaped Mel and Arlene and now both have gotten the giggles in the back of their cab as they finally feel safe to laugh at the utterly brazen attempt by the other couple to pick them up for some good old fashioned wife-swapping. Megan is astounded about how open they were about it (did she get it far sooner than I thought? And was just being VERY polite?), while Don admits that it was a good strategy because it caught him completely off-guard, he thought Mel was angling to get a job directing commercials! He takes great pleasure in teasing Megan, saying maybe Mel would have still tried as they "basked in the afterglow" tomorrow morning, making her picture the tangle of arms and legs of the four of them all intertwined. She giggles, but she does admit that now she's worried she only got the love scene because they wanted to sleep with her. Don, to his credit, is quick to assure his wife with genuine warmth and care that he believes they have probably propositioned plenty of people who they never wrote scenes for. Megan is still laughing, but admits that now it is going to make going back to work awkward... because there they will be! Don promises it will be better than ever, perhaps because he assumes now that it's clear she isn't interested it removes the tension and everybody can just do their job? Chuckling, he asks how long they've been married... and her answer sobers him up quickly. 18 years. That's... that's a lot. The two both clearly not only had affection for each other but lust as well, even if it involved other people. 18 years is longer than Don has ever been married, even if you stack his marriages up, perhaps even if you include the years the original Don Draper was married to Anna as well as the years Don continued that marriage before meeting Betty. This is a couple that still enjoys each other's company, has an active sex life, and hell even manage to "cheat" on each other in a completely open and apparently untroubled way. Suddenly they don't look quite as silly/degenerate. Suddenly, perhaps, Don Draper is questioning things. Not declining the offer, not at all. But perhaps that 18 years makes him consider that whatever it is that they have going on, it seems to be working a hell of a lot better than anything he can put together?   At the Electric Circus, Joan is the third wheel, patient but bored as she sits near Kate and Leo who are making out on a couch as Bonnie & Clyde plays over the speakers. Another young man pops up, tapping Leo on the shoulder and eventually getting his attention. Leo introduces him to Joan as his friend and then goes back to making out with Kate, while his friend clambers over the couch and settles down beside Joan. He introduces himself to her as Johnny, amused to learn her name and likening "Johnny & Joan" to "Bonnie & Clyde" like the song playing. She's amused but not particularly impressed by his seduction techniques, including offering her a drink from his hip flask when she already has a drink in her hand. But when Leo comes up from air and happily tells Johnny that "I told you!" before going back to kissing, and she learns that he told Johnny that he would want Joan if he met her... she's genuinely pleased. Tonight was all about helping Kate fulfil a fantasy, but now here is an attractive young man telling her openly and honestly that he wants her. She lets him kiss her, and unlike earlier with Leo she kisses him back, and now both the "older" women are getting to enjoy the attentions of "younger" men. The next morning, two decidedly NOT young men sit in Bert Cooper's office, Cooper and Roger discussing Nixon's strategy focusing too much on the ghost of JFK rather than the living LBJ (still eligible for another term as President since he only completed Kennedy's first). Roger's contribution to this is to point out that LBJ also seems to think he's running against the ghost of Kennedy. A knock at the door ends their political chat, as they welcome in Harry Crane. He apologizes for having to knock, he doesn't know where Cooper's secretary Helen is, though he does take off his shoes as is customary for entry into Cooper's Japanese themed office even if he is no longer the ultimate boss he once was at Sterling Cooper. When Roger tells him that he and Cooper are both a little embarrassed, a little of the fire has gone out of Harry who apologizes and assures them it wasn't his intention to embarrass them (when he referenced Joan getting pimped out by them to win an Account!). When both Cooper and Roger ask after his wife and children and seem to know them all by name, he starts to feel uneasy... this kind of friendliness and interest in him, despite being something he was outright demanding from them yesterday, has him unsettled. He takes a seat, surprised but pleased (and a little suspicious) when Roger compliments him on his display of.... initiative.... yesterday. Pulling an envelope from his pocket, Roger hands it over with an explanation: it's a check for $23,500, the full commission for the Broadway Joe show he convinced Dow Chemical to fund. Harry is surprised but extremely pleased... and of course because he's Harry, it's not enough. He thanks them, agrees it is a lot of money... and then asks if they have anything else they want to tell him. Cooper tries for a degree of subtlety, asking "casually" how much Harry makes a year. "22," replies Harry and then without skipping a beat outright asks them if they're going to make him a Partner. The answer to that is no, what they've given him is a share of the spoils, just like he wanted, but as Roger notes the Agency has to get bigger because the Partners can also "get bigger." "What a load of crap," Harry sneers completely openly, standing up and glaring at them both. Appealing to Cooper, he reminds him that he is now what Cooper himself used to be. Cooper's reply is friendly and delivered with a smile, and all the more dangerous because of it, as he declares that himself and "Mr. Crane" are different in every way. When Harry complains that Joan isn't even at work yet, Roger's good humor immediately disappears and he warns him just as dangerously to keep her out of this. Then, reverting back to his usual cheerful self, he asks if Harry would like to give the money back if it offends him so much? Harry stuffs it protectively in his pocket, complaining that he's earned the money... but he's also earned a Partnership, and he hopes they figure that out before some other Agency does. With that said, he strides out with his shoes, heading straight to his office without a backward look. "That's the most impressive thing he's done," admits Cooper, who surely didn't think Harry had it in him to actually stand up to either of them, especially not when handed over a year's salary in one check moments earlier. Don is still sitting in bed in his pajamas, half-listening to the radio discussing something to do with Robert Kennedy and the Democratic Nomination... probably nothing, just an endorsement of Johnson perhaps, unless he was mad enough to endorse Eugene McCarthy! He's distracted from that by Megan popping into the bedroom, surprised to see he hasn't gotten up, noting he'll be late. He offers the same back to her, and with a grin she tells him she loves him and gives him a kiss goodbye, asking him to wish her luck. He pulls her back and gives her another, longer kiss, before smiling and wishing her good luck. Feeling happy and supported by her loving husband who is being such a grown-up about the love scene and all, she heads out the door feeling like everything is great. Also late, also still in bed, Joan is sleeping next to Kate who apparently was too drunk (as was Joan) to do anything but stumble back to the apartment with her instead of back to her hotel room. Gail knocks and enters with Kevin, telling them that she is REALLY waking them up this time, insisting that bathe Kevin since she has an appointment. Sitting up bleary-eyed, still in her clothes from last night (now with a tear on the shoulder) Joan insists she is going to go to work, while Kate groans and Gail's mothering kicks in, asking her sternly if she needs to throw up. Joan asks for some privacy for a moment, Gail stepping back out with Kevin. Kate sits up in the bed, moaning that she doesn't know she did what she did. Joan reminds her that she wanted to have some fun, and she did, and now that she's tried it she can go home and find that everything is right where it was before. Kate sighs and admits a truth to herself she hasn't wanted to... she can't be like Joan. That surprises Joan, who asks why she would want to be, and is surprised to hear her oldest friend admit how much she admires and respects her for everything she's done. She came to New York, alone. She stakes out a life for herself, alone. She made it to the top of her work, alone. She is an Executive, with authority and money both, and she did it all without a husband to fall back on, something that Kate has always had in Dennis even when she had her success with Mary Kay. That's what she came to New York, that's why she interviewed with Avon, because she wanted to feel like Joan, the woman she wishes she could be but now knows she never can. Joan of course tries to downplay her accomplishments: to point out that she's without a man now and probably will never have a husband again; to note that her title is largely in name only and she's still treated like a secretary; that her life hasn't been the simple success it might appear on the surface. But Kate disagrees, because... who cares if others want to act like she's still a secretary? She's not. She's an Executive, she's a Partner, she's in a position of power. It's all there for her to take, and the only thing that is stopping her from doing so given where she is now and what her independence, title, and salary allows her... she could have anything she wants, she just has to reach out for it. Gail returns, really ready to go now, passing over Kevin (who got big!), and for the moment the (genuine) empowerment and appreciation speech gets sidelined for them to lavish attention on Kevin. That's for now though, the immediate moment, but after that there is plenty more that Joan can do... if she chooses to.   In a nice, airy hotel suite and NOT Pete Campbell's cramped apartment, Heinz Ketchup sit and listen to a pitch crafted in complete secrecy by Don Draper and Stan Rizzo. The end result of their hotboxxed creative prison? Nothing. Nada. Zip. As in, there is no ketchup. Every piece of art showcases the typical foods associated with ketchup, and all of them have no ketchup on them. Simply the food by itself, "tantalizingly incomplete" as Don puts it, and the simple, clean, memorable tagline of,"Pass the HEINZ." Timmy is intrigued but a little confused... they're NOT going to show the ketchup? They won't even use the WORD ketchup? Just the brand name? That, of course, is the point. The ketchup missing makes the viewer imagine it, and the mind of the viewer creates a taste/look/feel/smell that no ad can capture because the imagination comes with an unlimited budget.. HEINZ itself is synonymous with ketchup, the reader will fill it in themselves, and it will further inextricably lock in the association between the brand and the product. The ad will "run" all day in their heads, they'll be thinking of that delicious food, of the completeness that HEINZ gives it.... this isn't half an ad, this is THE ad. Admitting that Pete told him he'd be treated to bold work, he admits that he would like to see the HEINZ bottle at least. Stan starts to speak up, admitting that at first he thought so too but then when drafting up the wor... and then Pete is talking over him, agreeing with the Client of course, promising that they'll test it both ways to see which works best. For Pete, any thoughts of creative vision are irrelevant, if Timmy wants a bottle that completely destroys the entire point of the work then he'll offer to give it to him! Don does throw in one last final, all smooth confidence, line: it's a testament to their ketchup that there can be no confusion what product is intended to be added to this work. Timmy takes that in, saying he will need time to chew this all over, and with that the pitch is over, all smiles and handshakes now as Stan collects his work. Pete happily declares that now Timmy will be thinking of ketchup all day even though he didn't see it, a line that mostly falls flat because... well.... ketchup IS what Timmy thinks about all day, that's his literal job! He promises they'll be in touch, and the SCDP trio head out the door confident they nailed a great presentation in complete secrecy.... and find Ted Chaough and Peggy Olson waiting on the other side of the door. Stan and Peggy exchange awkward hellos, and she casts a nervous look Don's way. Don simply stares, too surprised to do anything else, not answering Ted's smiling concern that he hopes Don left them something. The door opens and Timmy's #2 happily invites the CGC team in without the slightest concern that this was supposed to be a private and very secret meeting, and that SCDP have now been exposed as pursuing a client one of their other clients expressly told them not to. Pete in particular is livid, but when he tries to lead them away, Don stays, planting himself by the door and listening, wanting to hear Peggy's pitch. Inside, Peggy leads the presentation while Ted simply sits and watches, apparently the "Pete" in this situation while Peggy is the Don. She launches into a breakdown of the inferiority of catsup, deriding Heinz' competition for trying to claim their "watered-down, flavorless sauce" is anywhere remotely near as good as ketchup. She claims that it makes her angry to hear that, but she's got an old saying.... "If you don't like what they're saying, change the conversation." Don's heart sinks, both to hear she has taken a phrase he once drilled into her, but also because her pitch - even only heard and not seen - is so strong. Her work is also simple, clean and striking imagery... but it includes art of not only the bottle, but lays out its argument so plainly that NOBODY could possibly misunderstand it: HEINZ. THE ONLY KETCHUP. Don has heard (and imagined, in an ad that will run on a loop all day in his head) enough. He walks away, feeling what is probably a confusing mix of emotions: pride in Peggy's work; frustration at being ambushed; the competitive energy of going up against a worthy opponent; second-guessing his own work; critiquing hers; pure hatred for loving Timmy and his loving stupid loving ketchup etc, etc. He didn't wake up this morning thinking he was going to war, he thought he was simply going to get the quiet opportunity to dazzle his way into a bigger client.   Joan arrives at work, looking fresh, clean and entirely alert after her slow start to the day. Harry, with Scarlett in tow, are coming down the corridor, and Joan offers him a pleasant good morning as she passes. Harry hits back with a pointed,"Good afternoon" which causes Scarlett to shake her head in despair: she really, really, really doesn't want to remain caught between these two, mostly just counting herself lucky to still have a job. Dawn spots Joan going into her office and nervous steps inside, deciding to tackle the unpleasantness full on rather that leave Joan - who probably hasn't thought of her once since the Partners' Meeting - to seethe about her. She asks to have a word, closing the door behind her when she gets the nod, and offers a full apology for not being more forthright, suggesting that it would only be fair for Joan to dock her pay for the hours Scarlett didn't work. "Fair to her? Scarlett?" remarks Joan sternly, and a nervous Dawn stammers out that she thought fair to.... the company? Joan considers that for a moment, seemingly torn between anger and also perhaps... sympathy? This is, after all, a secretary who shows up on time, works late, is appreciated by a notoriously difficult boss, never causes problems, and never even had a chance to "lie" to her before Scarlett burst onto the scene in the first place... and SHE wants to dock her own pay to make up for somebody else's mistake? So instead, Joan opens a draw and pulls out a set of keys, explaining to Dawn that they're to the supply closet and the time cards.... and from now on, Dawn is responsible for monitoring both. Dawn is stunned, because monitoring both those things are, of course, the role of an Office Manager. She hasn't been made one, but in effect she now holds two key responsibilities that Joan has been maintaining since long before the 1st season of this show. She stammers out a nervous thank you, and Joan is quick to tell her not to do so, because this is actually a punishment. She means that in a very real sense, the Office Manager role is a thankless one, where at best you are respected and feared and at worst you are loathed... and feared. People will try to get one over on her, they will try to game the system, they will try to take advantage. Dawn, so used to doing what others say and keeping her head down, now is on the road to a destination where she is telling people what to do and they have to do it. "I don't care if everybody hates me here," admits Dawn as she goes to the door to leave,"As long as you don't." Joan considers that and then offers back a,"We'll see", and just like that Dawn is off and the world of SCDP has changed fundamentally. Why? Why did Joan give Dawn this responsibility? Perhaps because Joan appreciates her work ethic... but more likely because of what Kate said. There is so much power and status within Joan's reach, and all she has to do is reach out and take it. She doesn't want to be a glorified secretary, she doesn't want people questioning what actual role she serves or whether she deserves her Partnership, or if all her accomplishments and success were purely down to letting a fat rear end in a top hat stick his dick inside of her... but while she's essentially continued to be Office Manager she's been caught between the two worlds. No more, it seems, it's time for Joan Harris to stake her claim to being an actual Partner. How that will play out remains to be seen, or if she'll even be successful, but I would assume she will continue further down the path of becoming the new Lane Pryce.... just not without the terrible ending (she can still beat up Pete though if she wants!). At a bar, Don is knocking back the booze while Stan miserably nurses a beer and Pete tries to insist everything is fine and it doesn't matter if there are two of them competing, they're both the same size Agency and surely Don isn't afraid of a little heads-up baseball? Don though points out that they only reason he did this at all is because it was supposed to be a secret. Stan agrees, in fact he thinks EVERYTHING should be a secret, admitting that he absolutely loved working in that little cave and if he could he'd do ALL his work in there. Ted and Peggy arrive, having presumably had the same idea to pop into the nearest bar. Ted asks if they can join the "Lonely Hearts Club" as he takes a seat at the bar and Peggy offers an awkward little finger wave. Pete tries to be all bluster, saying that maybe THEY are celebrating a great victory, and is appalled when Ted lets him know that they BOTH lost: J. Walter Thompson ALSO pitched and Heinz bought it in the room, whatever their campaign was blew both SCDP and CGC's out of the water... at least for Timmy, anyway. "We paid for that room!" gasps Pete, while Don simply feels his heart sink.... MULTIPLE Agencies were pitching? Going to a hotel room that SCDP paid for? There is no way this isn't getting back to Raymond. Stan though simply sighs, pointing out what a "surprise" it is that the biggest Ad Agency in the world was the one that won it. What has now become an extremely busy bar gets another patron, as Ken Cosgrove suddenly bursts in and rushes straight up to Pete, glaring down at them as he complains that he just got off the phone with a livid Raymond Geiger who heard they were at the Roosevelt Hotel pitching to Heinz Ketchup. Ken of course insisted that was impossible since how could that happen at HIS firm without him knowing about it, but of course it did, and he didn't. "Nobody was supposed to know," growls Don, glaring at Pete who of course has no idea how the story leaked and doesn't want to take the blame. The "culprit" of course is Stan, and Peggy sits across the bar staring at all this breaking down knowing that this is her "fault" for letting Ted know what her and Stan were talking about... while Ted just seems to be enjoying the floor show, ordering drinks for him and Peggy as Ken unloads, saying that Raymond isn't even giving them the customary 90 days and is pulling Beans out immediately. "There's nothing better than being known for your loyalty!" he spits out, glaring at Don, and then strides out of the bar shaking his head. Pete at least had the decency to apologize to him, knowing that regardless of anything else, Ken got hosed over on this deal and entirely unfairly. Once Ken's gone, he bitterly offers to Ted that now Beans and Vinegar are available and they're a goldmine. Surprisingly though, a maudlin Ted complains just as bitterly that he hates that big corporations like Heinz take their "pie" and slice it into pieces before throwing the smallest one into the yard for the small Agencies to fight over. "Speak for yourself," grumbles Don, standing up and walking out of the bar, pretending indifference and mastery over his world, failing to take up the offer of at least mutually commiserating with a fellow Ad Man over rear end in a top hat clients that Ted was offering up, a kind of olive branch between the two Agencies after their early clashes as Ted pursued the biggest minnow in the little pond he was also trying to swim around in. How the hell have I reached a point where I actually LIKE Ted Chaough? "It was worth the risk," Pete offers plaintively to Stan, who glares at Peggy who offers a hopeful smile his way. "I think I see a friend," Stan notes, standing and very deliberately walking PAST Peggy, making sure to flip her the bird as he goes.   On the set of To Have and To Hold, Megan's character Corinne begs Rafe not to keep trying to kiss her, reminding him that he's married, that they're in the bedroom he shares with his wife, that she works for him, that he has a family! But no, the tall, handsome man doesn't care about his wife, he just wants to have a passionate affair with this woman who is always nearby! Wait, did Don write this episode of the soap? Rafe kisses Corinne and she melts, allowing him to push her back onto the bed, ignoring her protests, climbing atop her as she admits she wants him just as bad and they go back to kissing... and the Director calls clear, and the scene is done, Megan and Rod laughing as the tension releases and they're just a couple of actors lying on a bed together while a studio full of crew move about and prep for the upcoming Conservatory scene. The trouble is that this episode already has its first viewer, and it's Don Draper. Leaving the "betrayal" and collapse of his "affair" with Heinz Ketchup behind, he came to the set to watch his wife make out with another man, troubling enough without the obvious reminders of his own cheating nature. Then it is made worse by Arlene stepping up beside him and gleefully asking if he is the type who likes to watch, infecting even this with her overtly, aggressively sexual nature. She looked REALLY disappointed when Mel decided they were out of luck and stopped trying to pick he and Megan up, she really had her eye set on Don. Rod helps Megan up and gives her a hug, telling her how great she did. She's all smiles as she's handed a gown and places it on, and Arlene of course can't help but poke the beehive, calling out to her that her Agent is here. She turns with a smile expecting to see her Agency on set, and course it's Don, stony-faced and glaring, and her own smile fades as she immediately guesses that he did NOT like what he saw. She joins them, both of them doing their best to ignore Arlene remarking how "steamy" the scene was, telling him that she just needs to get changed and they can get out of there, apparently she isn't needed for any more scenes today. Don is all charm as he agrees to keep her company, walking with her to the dressing room... and of course once they are alone she can be more open, stony-faced herself, demanding to know what he is doing there. Don of course takes that somehow as an admission of guilt, asking if she didn't want him to see that, but Megan - for all that she tries to see the best in everyone - is no fool, and she knows that Don came here so he could get mad at her about it, so she admits that no she did NOT want him to see her doing this, and she doesn't know why he would choose to do it to himself, making it clear that she knows HE knows he was going to hate it. It may only be acting, but a husband watching another man crawl all over his wife and make out with her as she moans in pleasure is NOT something he wants to see. He's not Mel, after all! Don insists though that it was better than letting his imagination - no budget, no time limits - run wild on him. But Megan has another reason to be angry at him... because this is the FIRST time he has ever come to see her on set. Not for her first day. Not for her getting a bigger role. Not after she started getting stopped by people who wanted her autograph. No, he showed up only on the day when he knew she would be doing something that made him uncomfortable and angry.... and she wants to know why he chose to do that? Why chase the negativity? Why make himself mad? Why take it out on her? Why ruin her big day? Why is he seemingly seeking a reason to have a fight? But of course he wants a fight because he's mad about something else, he felt powerless over getting jerked around by Heinz, so he came to ruin her day and make himself feel a little better (it does not, in fact, make him feel better) in the process. With utter contempt, he asks her if she was going to brush her teeth before she came home... this from the man who fucks his neighbor and then comes home and climbs into bed beside her. Megan is outraged, asking if he'd prefer she never told him about the love scene since that way he'd never know it happened... because he never watches the show his wife is in anyway! But this is her job, no... it's her CAREER! Don in turn sneers that her "career" is kissing men for money, asking her to tell him what that job is called again? Furious, she notes that since he couldn't stop her from doing the scene he decided ruining it would have to do, and he tells her to go have dinner with Mel and Arlene tonight since they are so much more "open-minded" than him. With that, he saunters out of the room, acting like he somehow has the moral high ground, like he has shown her or caught her out or exposed her in some way rather than just being an utter, utter, utter piece of poo poo.   So where does Don Draper go after leaving his wife in tears for the great crime of kissing another actor in a scripted scene she let him know about and asked for his blessing on? Why to gently caress his married downstairs neighbor of course! Sylvia has left the penny under the mat as promised, so he knocks on the back entrance to her apartment. She answers, pointing out a little grumpily that it has been sitting outside all day. He puts it into her palm and for a second I thought maybe he was showing a modicum of self-awareness and was going to call it quits.... but nope he smirks and asks if she would have also left it out all night, and she admits she would have. With that he's inside, and soon they're in bed together and doing far more than a few scripted kisses. The only pause he has is to ask her to remove her cross, and when she asks why since it means nothing to him, he admits that is true but it DOES mean something to her. It does, she agrees, and almost tauntingly he asks if she gets down on her knees and prays for absolution after he leaves one of their encounters. "I pray for you," she returns, seemingly sincerely, as capable of hypocritical self-delusion as he is that she is somehow a moral, good person in spite of breaking one of the absolute rules of the religion. "For me to come back?" he asks, but she's not playing right now, instead placing a hand on the side of his face and saying she prays for him to find peace. For a moment, just a moment, Don's face drops the masterly, "masculine" air and he just lets the feel of her hand on his face wash over him, allows him just the barest moment of vulnerability and acceptance of the deep unhappiness he feels. Then the moment is gone, he slides the cross around so it is resting on her back and can't be seen, and they kiss and settle into the bed. Don Draper, cheating on his wife but simultaneously angry at her for "betraying" him for doing an acting scene, completely failing to see the hypocrisy. Megan asked him if he'd prefer she'd done it in secret, and of course the answer is that no he would have been even angrier if he found out she hid it from him. But there is a germ of truth in that, only insofar as it applies to him of course because Don is seemingly forever insisting that he gets special treatment and certain rules only apply (or don't apply) to him. Consider this affair with Sylvia, but then consider the Heinz Ketchup/Beans debacle. What was he most upset about? What did he claim was the only reason he agreed to work on the pitch? Because he thought it would be secret. Like Stan, he wants to hole himself away and get to do things that other people don't know the truth about. He likes having an affair with Sylvia, he revels in being (genuine!) friends with Arnold and then banging Sylvia before going up one floor to sleep in the same bed as Megan. He wanted to pitch to Ketchup and then either get them and have it all, or not get them and it makes no difference because he still has beans. Instead it all blew up in his face, and he ended up with neither. And what upsets him about this? That the secret got out, and therefore it's somehow not his fault and he can't be blamed because he only did it because he thought he wouldn't get caught. These aren't the actions of a moral person, and Don certainly is not that. He's a piece of poo poo is what he is, and the way he can harangue Megan (and apparently doesn't give a second thought to the miserable state he left her in, compare that to his devastation at upsetting her last season) and then go and smooth-talk and seduce Sylvia almost immediately... well it's monstrous. Don is a deeply unhappy, deeply immoral person. His sense of right and wrong is all skewed, and while he is often a defender of the deserving and enraged by the moral failings of others, he constantly fails to live up to the standards he himself judges others for failing. So far this season more than any other, even his despicable and ill-judged affair with Suzanne Farrell in season 3, he has become a truly loathsome person. Can he pull himself back from the brink yet again? Or has he finally gone too far, his failure to adapt or change to a changing world leaving him increasingly isolated as he ruins chance after chance at real happiness? How long can he get away with flying too close to the sun like he is with Sylvia? Will his entire world explode again or will he once again manages to talk his way into another chance? Or will he finally simply do what he has threatened so often and abandon this life and try and start fresh all over again, older and less adaptable, in a modern world where upping stakes and simply changing who you are is more and more difficult? Time will tell, but right now it is hard watching him ruin everything he has worked so hard for. Again.  Episode Index
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Jan 26, 2022 12:49
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Amusingly enough, IIRC “pass the Heinz” actually ended up being used by Heinz after the show aired it.
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Jan 26, 2022 13:29
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i give the nod to pass the heinz in this bake off
roomtone fucked around with this message at 14:32 on Jan 26, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2022 14:12
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despite peggy/elizabeth moss' undeniable knack for presenting, "pass the heinz" is leagues better, so much so i always thought it was odd these were the pitches the writers chose to show how far along peggy had come. we're meant to think they were fairly evenly matched but that was never my impression
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Jan 26, 2022 16:30
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The CGC pitch isn’t anywhere near as good but it also has what the client wants. The main thing you should take away from this scene is that clients are stupid assholes.
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Jan 26, 2022 16:37
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I can only assume the J Walter Thompson pitch had an even bigger bottle on it with smaller, fewer words. Perhaps just "Ketchup" on the bottom. And the clients all stood up and applauded.
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Jan 26, 2022 17:06
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Wow, I'm in the minority here. SCDP's pitch is clever and has more obvious potential for growth as a full-fledged campaign, but I prefer's CGC's spot. The simple image of the bottle and the ALL CAPS DECLARATION...it's an Orton Pose of an ad, and it works for me. Ma Bell's was a real restaurant adjacent to Times Square, and apparently stayed in business until sometime in the 80's. R. Guyovich posted:despite peggy/elizabeth moss' undeniable knack for presenting, "pass the heinz" is leagues better, so much so i always thought it was odd these were the pitches the writers chose to show how far along peggy had come. we're meant to think they were fairly evenly matched but that was never my impression Even if you don't think they're on par creatively, it does demonstrate that Peggy seemingly has a better grasp than Don on presenting exactly what a prospective client will want to see in a spot. Timmy wanted his bottle, he wanted the "Ketchup," and Peggy cut to the heart of the matter and made those two elements the thrust of the entire spot. (Clearly she learned her lessons from the last time she crossed paths with Heinz.)
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Jan 26, 2022 17:09
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In 1967 Heinz Bean would launch a new ad campaign with their "Beanz Meanz Heinz" commercial that became the most memorable and celebrated slogan for Heinz Beans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_i3AlMCEjw Meanwhile, Heinz Ketchup's 1968 ad campaign "The Slowest Ketchup in the West" would be a western pastiche that played on the thick and slow nature of Heinz as compared to the other (presumably more watery/saucy) catsup sauces on the market. https://adland.tv/adnews/heinz-race-slowest-ketchup-west-1968-60-usa Beanz Meanz Heinz did become a big deal, but it should be clear that both Don and Peggy's ideas were better for the ketchup than their historical equivalent. Despite how much work Mad Men does to make the 1960s setting important it is funny to see how dated actual ad campaigns from that period seem to modern eyes and ears compared to the on-camera presentations.
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Jan 26, 2022 17:42
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JethroMcB posted:Even if you don't think they're on par creatively, it does demonstrate that Peggy seemingly has a better grasp than Don on presenting exactly what a prospective client will want to see in a spot. Timmy wanted his bottle, he wanted the "Ketchup," and Peggy cut to the heart of the matter and made those two elements the thrust of the entire spot. (Clearly she learned her lessons from the last time she crossed paths with Heinz.) Jerusalem posted:Season 5, Episode 6 - Far Away Places Jerusalem posted:Timmy is intrigued but a little confused... they're NOT going to show the ketchup? They won't even use the WORD ketchup? Just the brand name?
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Jan 26, 2022 17:51
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ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:Despite how much work Mad Men does to make the 1960s setting important it is funny to see how dated actual ad campaigns from that period seem to modern eyes and ears compared to the on-camera presentations. The Glo-Coat spot kind of nailed that 60's ad vibe, where it had Don's artistic pretension up front but quickly turned into an earnest, straight-to-camera pitch. But yeah, even aside from cost considerations and complexity, there's definitely a reason that most of the pitches we see on the show revolve around print ads. Here's a contemporary Hunt's "Catsup" ad, by the way: 
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Jan 26, 2022 17:56
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This is the second time this season Don pitches an ad that doesn't actually feature the product. He's completely tied up in what he wants, and not what the client wants.
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Jan 26, 2022 18:01
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Ungratek posted:This is the second time this season Don pitches an ad that doesn't actually feature the product. He's completely tied up in what he wants, and not what the client wants. His Hilton ad was probably the first iteration of this idea and it failed with Connie despite their entangled relationship. Don chasing this aesthetic idea of minimalism despite losing again and again is funny given how otherwise adaptable he is.
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Jan 26, 2022 18:16
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It's such a great ad though, and just maybe...!
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Jan 26, 2022 18:50
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one thing that factors into the perceived quality of the ads is the font choice. "Pass the Heinz" is printed in clear, sharp, black, magazine-style serif font that seems more modern, while "Heinz. The Only Ketchup" is written in blocky, almost sketched lettering. coupled with the photographic images of food in Don's ad versus the sketched and drawn ketchup bottle in Peggy's, I think the ads are deliberately designed to evoke a certain reaction from the audience: Don's looks like it could run in print ads today, whereas Peggy's very much looks of the time. And that's exactly the point. She's got her finger on the pulse of the times, and Don, whether because he's ahead of or behind the times, is not at all keyed in to the zeitgeist. also, peggy's power creep is disgusting. amc pls fix the meta and nerf this ad goddess in the next update, thanks in advance kalel fucked around with this message at 19:22 on Jan 26, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2022 19:17
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This episode has a 30 Rock reference in it, which cracked me up when it first aired. When Ted Chaough comes to the bar after the Heinz pitches, he orders an "Old Spanish." That's not a real cocktail--it's a reference to a joke from 30 Rock, where it's a fake cocktail made up to prank a character played by Matthew Broderick (called "Cooter Burger") who Jack Donaghy briefly works with. It's red wine, tonic water, and olives. Cooter's coworkers tricked him into thinking it was a cool cocktail that sophisticated people drink when actually it's just really gross. 30 Rock has a bunch of Mad Men jokes in it so it's fun to see Mad Men return the favor.
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Jan 26, 2022 19:21
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How would they get the little squiggly ketchup line on the hot dogs in the glass bottle days anyway, or is that an anachronism? I'm picturing pouring it into a bowl first and using a baster or something.
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Jan 26, 2022 22:14
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Bismack Billabongo posted:The CGC pitch isn’t anywhere near as good but it also has what the client wants. The main thing you should take away from this scene is that clients are stupid assholes. Bingo. I love the contrast between the two pitches, where Don knows what the customer wants but Peggy has finally learned how to deliver what the client wants. Don, hating most clients, can't ever wrap his mind around this approach. Although it's pretty great that it ends up being moot because sure okay posted:I can only assume the J Walter Thompson pitch had an even bigger bottle on it with smaller, fewer words. Perhaps just "Ketchup" on the bottom. lmao this is exactly what I pictured. Like they just have a giant bottle of Heinz on a poster and the client goes "You gave me exactly what I wanted, bravo! Brilliant! Drinks all around!"
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Jan 26, 2022 23:46
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Yeah I agree that Don's pitch is a better and more creative idea, but Peggy's absolutely nails the type of thing that Timmy was looking for... just... not as good as J. Walter Thompson's people managed! Stan's wry "The biggest ad company in the world won, eh?  " is fantastic, and I really love that Ted tries in some way to reach out and find common ground with his "rivals", and it's Don who rejects it. Don is still stuck in that mindset of trying to express authority/power/dominance and it's just increasingly leaving him more isolated and looking weaker, while a guy like Ted - absolutely an rear end in a top hat in earlier seasons - just increasingly looks like a more reasonable, nicer person that people might actually WANT to work for, where they'll feel valued and be encouraged to grow creatively.
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Jan 27, 2022 01:50
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