Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 425 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em!
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 12 | Aired on 2008.10.19
Cut to her sitting outside Roger's office when he emerges. He so does not want to make time for her, but she plows through her nervousness and tells him she brought in the Popsicle account, by herself, and she needs her own office -- Freddy's, as it happens, has been vacant for some time, and she'd like it. Roger seems to appreciate both her pluck and her getting to the point, and grants her request immediately, taking her aback. He says that "you young women" are aggressive these days, and Peggy hopes she wasn't impolite. Roger: "No! It was cute. There are thirty men out there who didn't have the balls to ask me." I'd laugh, except here come Joan and Greg, so the fun is officially over. Ugh. Introductions are made, and Peggy quickly heads off to take the measurements of her new space as Roger tells them about his dinner reservations. Greg offers that they have plans as well, but when Roger hears where they're going, he tells Joan he thought she hated French food. Joan, just a little too quickly, says there's a new chef, and the look on Greg's face suggests the familiarity between the two isn't lost on him. Roger heads out, and Joan leads Greg over so she can get her purse, but he asks her to fix him a drink. She isn't sure about that, but he says he's seen movies, and that's what ad guys do all day. "Pretend like I'm your boss. Donald Draper." Joan accedes to his request, and heads to Don's bar as Greg follows her in and closes the door. He heads over and puts his arms around her, but when she turns, he notes that Roger knows an awful lot about her. Joan gives nothing away, merely saying she's been working there for nine years, and asks him to stop with the advances, as it isn't her office. From here, things happen very quickly, and it's hard to know how much detail to give because it's obviously extremely upsetting, but here goes: Greg thrusts her roughly against the bar, and then takes her by the forearms and pushes her to the floor. She firmly tells him this isn't fun, but he breathes, "This is what you want, right?" She tells him "stop" and "Greg, no!", and the authority we're used to seeing from her has now been replaced by genuine fear, but he continues, managing to keep her pinned as he undoes enough clothing to achieve his goal, and then, in some ways most horrible of all, he puts a hand on her face and shoves it to the side so he doesn't have to see it. She stares uncomprehendingly, like she's in a nightmare from which she can't awake, and it's just awful to watch...