Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A- | 6 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Good Night and Good Luck
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 5 | Aired on 2007.08.17
Don returns to his office, and Peggy, having recovered her cheerful self-assurance, hands Don his mail, saying she opened all but one particular piece. Inside, Don looks at the envelope in question, marked "Private," and opens it to find a picture of him in uniform with his arm around young Adam. There's also a note on hotel stationery that reads "If you change your mind. #5G."
Paul enters the break room to find Ken telling a bunch of the office women about his novels. Paul interrupts and says he just finished reading the short story, and says it's great. However, he then grabs the copy of the Atlantic out of Ken's hands and rips the story out, saying he wants to show it to his girlfriend. Ken's response is, "Hey!" which I think in this instance translates into "What girlfriend?" Paul acts like an open wound some more before leaving the girls to giggle and Ken to gape.
Don starts to head out, and Peggy awkwardly confirms that he's leaving for the day. Don pointedly says he's going home, and can be reached there if necessary. He leaves, and Joan immediately rushes over and conspiratorially tells Peggy she always wondered why Don never showed any interest in her. "Probably 'cause he's so good-looking he can go outside the office for whatever he wants." You may be on to something there. She tells Peggy that she needs to keep Don's record clean for everyone, and if she does that, she's "solid gold." Peggy asks if that's really her job, and Joan firmly tells her yes. "That's his private life. Private. That's how these men are. And it's why we love them." It's hard to get away with calling foreshadowing when I'm doing these episodes out of order. Peggy says that she doesn't love Don, so Joan has to tell her that if she's even thinking of passing judgment, she's in the wrong business. And also, given the Pete situation, just the teensiest bit hypocritical. Joan tells her she needs to relax, and Peggy responds that the job is odd. Joan: "But it's the best."
Ken's on his way out when Paul catches him and apologizes for being a "bear" lately, saying that he competes with so many people at the firm, and he didn't know he was competing with him too. Ken: "You lost." He leaves, and Paul turns with a "You BITCH!" look on his face. Too bad Sal wasn't around to appreciate it.