Episode Report Card Couch Baron: A | 479 USERS: A- YOU GRADE IT Bertram is Evil. Evil!
By Couch Baron | Season 3 | Episode 7 | Aired on 2009.09.27
Peggy turns up at Duck's hotel room, scarf re-boxed and in hand, and Duck tells her she missed Hermès, but still invites her in for a drink. After he explicitly establishes that he's off alcohol, she orders a whiskey, causing Duck to look askance at her and say that she is Don's girl. She replies that she was raised on whiskey, which in this era might be literally true, and after they sit, Duck tells Peggy that Grey has Hermès, Macy's, Heinz baby food, and Revlon. The underlying message isn't lost on Peggy, and she replies, "You need someone in a skirt." I think Sal could sell that in a pinch. Peggy asks some questions about her potential title and travel options, but she quickly turns him down, so he shakes her hand. "I'm just sorry I won't be seeing you every day." In case you're drawing a map, this is where the scene turns. Peggy, looking down at his hand, asks what he's doing in a manner that could certainly be more discouraging, and he tells her he doesn't know how he worked all that time at SC without noticing her. Here's another instance of someone looking directly at someone else, with unclear consequences. He kisses her, and she uncertainly asks what he wants. Duck: "I want to take you in that bedroom, lock the door, take your clothes off with my teeth, throw you on the bed, and give you a go-around like you've never had." Maybe he does write his own copy after all. Peggy, having had her fill of callow youth, is like, "Where do I sign?" They mack.
Betty's sitting at the kitchen table when Don arrives home, and she immediately sends the kids upstairs. Recognizing this as a bad sign, Don asks what's wrong, and she tells him about Roger's call. Don storms over to the phone, and when Betty tells him not to bother with Roger, he tells her not to worry about his job, which I didn't really catch the significance of the first time but definitely backs up the idea that he'll happily leave SC over the contract issue. Betty, however, lashes out at him for keeping it from her, pointing out that he never tells her anything about his work, and by the way, why exactly won't he sign the damn thing? He tries to tell her it doesn't concern her, and when she won't accept that, he claims it's a matter of business -- not having a contract gives him the power. "They want me, but they can't have me." Of course, Betty sees right through this to the underlying issue, which is that he doesn't want to be tied to anyone, even her: "Why would I think that has anything to do with me?" She adds that it's three years. "What's the matter -- you don't know where you're going to be in three years?" Beaten but unbowed, he takes his drink and his hat and heads off into the night...