Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B- | 6 USERS: B+ YOU GRADE IT Don's Ghosts, Coast To Coast
By Couch Baron | Season 6 | Episode 10 | Aired on 06.02.2013
...to Don, apparently having been fished out of the pool by Roger, coming to on the deck and coughing out some water. I mean, if he was that stoned I don't know how he even got to his feet, much less all the way outside.
Ted finds Cutler in his office and doesn't hesitate to give him a warm embrace -- the Chevy guy signed off on their work, and he's highly enough placed that they'll no longer have to cut through red tape stretched from there to Detroit. Benson then buzzes and is sent in, looking as miserable as you do when you realize your motivational records have failed you, and tells them he doesn't mean to interrupt. Cutler: "That's what you're doing." It doesn't look like much on paper, but his nonplussed delivery sells it. The character may be a weirdo, but I sure do love Harry Hamlin. Regardless, Ted invites Benson in, whereupon Benson spills it -- Manischewitz is putting them in review, and the presentation was only a courtesy -- they haven't liked the work in months. Ted asks Cutler why he wasn't there, but Cutler tells him he thought it was high time they "embraced" Benson, and Benson tries to fall on the grenade, saying Cutler was going to go, but Benson talked him out of it. Ted, however, isn't letting Cutler off that easily: "Roger Sterling let you watch his dog and it ran away!" Well, it sounds more like he's toeing the property line, but the point is taken. Cutler steps forward and thanks Benson for handling the situation "like a man," and as a reward, they'd like him to bring himself up to speed on Chevy. "We just found out we're moving to the next step; we're going to need more than Ken in Detroit." Ted looks a little nonplussed himself, but it seems like Cutler's realized the value of having an ally among the SCDP people. Also, he did at least get Ginzo there and back without anyone dying (I assume).
When Benson's gone, Ted still gives Cutler a "Why I oughtta..." look, but Cutler points out that they have a lot more good news than bad from the past few days. Ted still thinks Cutler's splitting the place, "and not in half," so Cutler gets a crafty look on his face and says they can give the SCDP people something to appease them...
...and then we cut to Don and Roger, asleep on the plane -- until Don starts coughing. Does this mean there's a hooker close at hand? Roger can't believe Don caught a cold in California, and Don muses that he doesn't know what happened -- he usually feels better out there. Roger tells him that his shrink says "the job of your life" is to know yourself. "Sooner or later, you'll start to love who you are." That's... not bad, especially when Roger goes on that "apparently," he's a curious child with a full head of hair and a thriving business. It'd be interesting to know what Roger thought he was before he started seeing this therapist, my opinion of whom continues to rise, but let's focus on Roger adding that Don's a terrible swimmer. Don gives him a smile, but when he turns back to the window, the look on his face makes me wonder if he's seen A Star Is Born since the season premiere.