Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B- | 373 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT It's a Gi…Boy!
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 5 | Aired on 2009.09.13
After a dreamily cinematic shot of the light changing in a room that's meant to signal the passage of an indeterminate amount of time, Betty comes to in daylight and finds her baby in her arms. She murmurs, "She's beautiful," but, as Don points out, the child is actually a boy. This could be meant to underscore the idea that Betty's been out of touch, or that the child is going to teach her to be more open-minded, but like many other things in this episode I think it's a bit of a stretch to read too much into her getting a one in two shot wrong. Betty tells Don he looks terrible, which I think is meant to be funny, because January Jones looks like she just emerged from a long stay in a sleep- and shower-deprivation chamber, while Jon Hamm looks like...Jon Hamm. Betty then murmurs that she wants to name the baby Eugene, and when Don tells her she doesn't have to decide that now, she repeats the name with no uncertainty. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he wants her to have a clear head before she names the child after someone toward whom she had such mixed feelings...
...although that might be a mistake, because after Don gets in to the office the next day and finds a shower of baby-related presents waiting for him, he gets a call from Roger and quickly has occasion to say they don't have a name yet. This is making it seem more about Don's feelings toward Gene, which (a) isn't really all that consistent, since even with their issues they had some recent moments of understanding and even enjoyment, and (b) the man just died, so GET OVER IT. Don then inquires why Roger is calling him from the art department, and Roger confesses that he was needed, since the place basically ground to a halt without Don there to give his approval on a bunch of decisions. Don exasperatedly points out that he was gone for half a day, surely thinking that this doesn't bode well for his future ability to run off to California for weeks at a time, and after Roger offers that Pryce is "a tick," Don barks at his girl for some much-needed coffee...
...which is not what Peggy's drinking, as in a restaurant, she's sipping a Bloody Mary, although whether she asked them to hold the vodka is for you to decide. When we pan back, we get a surprise, however, as she's sitting with Duck, who's dressed rather more casually than we're used to seeing from him -- sport jacket over turtleneck, the latter of which Peggy compliments. Also, he's drinking coffee, which is easier to do when you're surrounded by Jewish people instead of Englishmen on a daily basis. Pete then enters, and his face and Peggy's collapse like two tragic soufflés upon seeing each other. Duck tells him to relax and have a nosh, and Pete disbelievingly asks, "Two months at Grey and you're already having a 'nosh'"? Heh. In a year he'll be talking about all the mishegoss he observed at SC. Pete sits, and Peggy offers that she didn't know until she got there. Pete, of course, is silent in response, so Duck reveals the reason behind the setup: Pete and Peggy have a secret relationship. As the two of them blanch, he goes on that they handled the Freddy Rumsen situation in such a way that Peggy would move up, and "that kind of focused ambition is rare in advertising." I...am not sure what he's basing that opinion on, to be honest. Sure, it sounds good on the surface in the sense that SC has always seemed like a company of bumblers, but it doesn't really hold up on examination; Harry Crane is a good example of someone who's moved up using just that combination. Even Ken, who seemed on the surface like a slacker, is hustling these days. I'll give Duck Paul Kinsey, though. Gladly. Anyway, Duck says he wants to take both of them to Grey, saying their talents will be appreciated and given room to grow, but Pete says he's not going anywhere. Peggy's question in response is "Do we have to go together?" and the "I didn't see that coming" look on Pete's face isn't doing a whole lot for this image of extreme competence Duck apparently sees in him. Anyway, Pete was never going to consider this offer rationally with Peggy involved, so he stands and sniffs, "If you want to woo me, you'll have to buy me my own lunch." He couldn't have made that exit less masculine if he'd accessorized it with a parasol. Peggy thinks maybe she should leave too, but Duck tells her she should seize the moment -- she's got no mortgage or kids to worry about, so as a "career gal" now's the time to take a risk and see just how far her talent can take her. Peggy's flustered by the unbridled enthusiasm for her skills, and given her confused mental state I can't believe she's got most of that Bloody Mary left.