Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B | 2 USERS: A YOU GRADE IT My Dinner With Awkward
By Couch Baron | Season 2 | Episode 3 | Aired on 08.10.2008
Qui chantoit à voix de sereine?" This translates as, "What befell the lily-white queen/Who sang with her voice like a bird?" Given Betty's alabaster skin and her nickname of "Birdy," I think you'll agree that the research was worth it. You'd better, anyway.Okay! Sal is erasing Mohawk Airlines's name from the bottom of a sketch (heh) when Harry comes in and asks him if he might have a No.10 envelope with a windowpane. Sal is basically like, "Honey," so Harry spills the beans about what he did. Sal counsels him simply to throw the check away -- Ken will ask for it by the end of the day, they'll cut him a new one, and no one will be the wiser. I love Harry, but this display really isn't doing a whole lot for his relative merit. Sal then asks if Harry's upset about what he saw, and Harry says that he's not sure if it means much to Sal, but Ken's on three hundred a week. Sal stiffens and then deliciously sharpens his pencil, which, given his lack of actual claws, seems entirely appropriate. Harry babbles on about the fact that they're both married (Sal is indeed wearing a wedding ring now), and Sal can't believe that he told his wife what he found. "I wish you hadn't told me." He points out that media is a meritocracy, and asks if Harry thinks the place couldn't run without him. Harry doesn't know how to demonstrate that, so Sal responds, "Then you're worth every penny they're paying you." Hee. Don't get into tête-à-têtes with queens, Harry. Especially not when they're pissed off and overdue for a drink.
Don's in his office when Lois buzzes that Roger and "Ben Cosgrove" are there. Heh. Don irritatedly corrects her, and then the two of them come in and break the news about the Utz fiasco. Freddy joins them, and Ken chews him out for being drunk on the job, to which Freddy retorts that Ken should never have let the Schillings on for a surprise visit, the implication being that they all knew Jimmy was something of a loose cannon. They tell Don exactly what was said, eliciting a characteristic chuckle from Roger, which prompts Don to ask if they laughed in front of the Schillings. Ken tells Don that actually, he was mortified. "You know, my mother's heavyset." Poor dear. I just hope no one forced her to wear a leotard as a child. Roger points out both Freddy's and Ken's mishandling of the situation, and Duck then comes in and says they can't even get the Schillings on the phone to try to fix things, and someone needs to talk to Jimmy. I'd suggest measuring waist sizes and going from there. Roger turns to Don to fix the situation, but Don blusters that Ken should have told him the Schillings were there, as he never would have let them near the set. Ken, however, protests that he did take them by his office, and he talked to Lois, but he was out. Don has no ready answer for this revelation, and given Duck and Roger's questioning side-eyes, Don says he's going to talk to both Jimmy and the Schillings. Man, didn't it seem like last season Don was taking off practically every afternoon to roll in the hay with Midge? I don't care how much better of a secretary Peggy was than Lois -- you'd think this would have happened before. Roger likes the plan, and opines that a guy like Jimmy must know how to make a charming apology, "or he'd be dead." Yeah, you'd think so. When everyone else has cleared out, however, Roger asks where Don was. Don lies that he was at the printer's, and Roger pointedly replies, "You should tell your girl that." Don wastes no time calling said girl in, telling her to close the door, and offering this: "I'd like to find a way not to be cruel, but I don't think it would be serving either one of us." Oh, dear, the poor thing. But Peggy did warn her, I have to acknowledge. Don tells her that he doesn't think she's suited for the job, and when she asks what she did, he bellows that in addition to being incompetent, she threatened his reputation. She tries to tell him that she covers for him all the time, but he barks that she doesn't cover -- she manages people's expectations. Translation: You're allowed to know I'm a douchebag, but no one else is. Poor Lois takes it hard, although he does shake her hand as he asks her to stick to the switchboard, and to "please tell Miss Holloway on your way out." It may seem harsh, but you have to figure that Joan gave her the same training she gives all the girls, so if she couldn't hack it, it's not Don's fault. On the other hand, I wonder if he'll ever get a call patched through again.