My Dinner With Awkward

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Harry gets Ken's paycheck by mistake, and when he can't resist taking a peek, he's chagrined to learn he's not in the same monetary league. His wife is similarly upset, but tells him to demand a raise instead of feeling sorry for himself. Instead of doing that, however, Harry reaches out to a friend of his at CBS, who doesn't have a job for him but does have a controversial show involving abortion in need of sponsors to replace the ones that have pulled out. Soon, Harry, Don and the rest of the SC boys (it'll save time if you just start assuming that Peggy is one of them) pitch the idea to, of all people, the Bel Jolie guy who made a pass at Sal last season. He turns them down, but the attention gets Harry promoted to Head of the newly-created Television Department and a small attendant raise. Harry neglects to mention to his pregnant wife that abortion is behind his newfound success, which is the better part of either valor or wussdom.

At the stables, Betty and her friend run into the young guy from the first episode of the season and his fiancée. time out, though, it's just Betty and the guy, and he confesses to Betty that he thinks about her, but she firmly and somewhat surprisingly wards off his advances. SC is representing a potato-chip company called Utz (really), with a commercial starring a horribly obnoxious comedian/actor who aggressively offends the owner and his wife. Don is called in to clean up the mess, part of which includes firing Lois as his secretary, leaving Joan to fill in on a temporary basis. Don dresses down the actor's wife in more ways than one, which makes it even more awkward when he has to take the Utz owners out to dinner with his most recent conquest and her cuckold. The dinner starts off inauspiciously enough, but when the actor's wife tries to blackmail Don, she gets a glimpse of what the man is really like as he gets physical with and threatens her, and before you know it, the actor is apologizing and even restraining himself from a beach ball of a setup. On the way home, Betty cries tears of joy that she and Don are seemingly a team these days. Well, at least she's crying, right?

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We open on the set of a television commercial, and from the lighting and the position of the boom pole we see that the star is a guy in a white tuxedo (we'll soon learn his name is "Jimmy Barrett"). Freddy Rumson is in attendance but seems only half-conscious, and it's probably due to the fifth of something he's downed already but I still can't say I blame him. Jimmy complains about some chips on the bar on which he's leaning, and then the director calls for take six of "Utz Are Better Than Nuts." Jimmy talks about how his evening at a nice bar was almost ruined by the bartender giving him a bowl of nuts, but luckily, he had a bag of Utz potato chips with him. He concludes by sticking his face into the bag like a horse and popping back up with his mouth full of chips and announcing, "Take it from a nut. Utz are better than nuts!" So, Jimmy, you're saying that these salty, greasy, disgusting chips are better than you. Not that I disagree -- just wanted to be clear. He then barks some instructions about the camera setup that should be left to the director and D.P., but which are meant to show that he thinks he's running the show. Just then, Ken awakens Freddy and indicates an older couple who have just shown up and are smiling somewhat excitedly in Jimmy's direction. Their smiles fade quickly, however, when Jimmy starts ruthlessly making fun of the woman's weight, likening her to the Hindenburg. Nasty, yes, but given that the couple (the "Schillings") are the owners of Utz, it's at least an appropriate reference on the disaster scale. He continues in this vein for a while, to muted chuckles from some of the on-set people, until Freddy suggests they take a break. Jimmy ignores him, though, so Ken is forced to escort the Schillings off set. Possibly getting an idea of what he just did, Jimmy calls after Freddy, "Just for your information, this guy's laughin' over here!" He's not pointing in my direction.

At the stables, Betty and her friend ("Sara Beth") dismount after their lesson. After Betty mentions that she has to pick up Don's watch, which needed repairs after he bathed the kids with it on, Sara Beth tells her she and her husband are coming up on their tenth anniversary, and complains a bit about the romance being gone from her marriage. They then spy the guy from the season premiere ("Arthur"), and Sara Beth sighs that he reminds her of Montgomery Clift in A Place In The Sun: "Learning how to ride so he can worm his way into the upper crust." Betty, familiar with the reference, intones, "Somewhere there's a pregnant girl floating in a lake." Heh. For someone not known for her sense of humor, that one was pretty good. Sara Beth, however, counters, "I'm from the South. There are such people." Honey, don't one-up your friend just as she was taking a tiny step toward lightening up. A buttoned-up young lady dismounts and tells the instructor that she thinks the guy needs a different horse, but she isn't hearing that: "He's on the worst one we have." I didn't catch this in the season premiere, but the instructor is played by Denise Crosby, best known to Star Trek: TNG viewers as Lieutenant Tasha Yar. The girl changes her tune and says that she knew teaching him to ride wouldn't be easy -- otherwise she would have done it herself. In that case, I hope he's either good in bed or she's willing to put in a little more effort in that department. They start to walk in Betty and Sara Beth's direction, and Betty starts to head off to get her purse, but Sara Beth grabs her and breathes that they have to meet the girl. She and Arthur stride up, and he introduces her as "Tara Montague," his fiancée. Sara Beth and Betty in turn introduce themselves, and he speculates that they make fun of him for his riding. Betty demurs: "That would be cruel." Back to literal normalcy. After some words from Tara that make it seem like these two aren't exactly the romantic match of the century, they walk off, and Sara Beth sighs that Tara is prettier than she expected, and goes on that she's been spending too much time at the stables -- she's even started dreaming about Arthur. "Or a version of him that could ride." Heh. Betty laughs and starts to take her leave, saying she'll see Sara Beth on Saturday, but Sara Beth tells her that's not the case, as he daughter has a dance recital. "It's so horrible to put girls that fat in a leotard." I'd spend more time being speechless if I weren't on deadline.

Sterling Cooper. A guy comes around and drops Harry's paycheck off, and when Harry goes to open it, he notices that Ken's envelope (remember their surnames are "Crane" and "Cosgrove") got stuck to his. Harry calls "Todd" back, but then thinks better (i.e. worse) of it and sends him back on his way. Once he's alone, he opens Ken's check and looks stunned. He looks even more stunned to realize that the envelope won't magically reseal itself, which could go a long way toward explaining why Ken apparently makes more money than he does. His efforts to remedy the situation only make things worse, and then the schlub with whom he shares the office comes in and uncertainly invites him out to "the oyster bar." Harry declines, although whether it's due to stress over the check fiasco or to the fact that oysters don't fit into the budget now that Jennifer's eating for two is for you to decide. Speaking of Jennifer, Harry calls her at home forthwith, and learns her morning sickness was so bad that she bagged work. She soon picks up on Harry's mood, though, so after prefacing things by recalling that she expressed the desire for him to tell her when he's upset, he informs her that Ken makes three hundred bucks a week. Jennifer's aghast at "that mannequin"'s salary, pointing out that he's not married. I don't really want to get into this with a pregnant fictional character, but (a) he doesn't get the tax breaks you do, and (b) the company isn't paying people to be married, but to do their jobs. Man. Harry sighs that he should quit, but Jennifer's worked up a head of steam here, saying that he works long hours, and if SC has that kind of money to spend, they should spend it on Harry. On that point, didn't we learn that Pete, senior to Ken, was making only seventy-five bucks a week in Season One? Is this meant to be indicative of SC's advancement in the world, or merely that math is the one thing that this show isn't great at? Anyway, Jennifer urges Harry to go in and ask for what he thinks he's worth to them, but he resists, causing her to reply snottily, "I didn't know this was about you feeling sorry for yourself," and says she's hanging up. Well, it is hard to see his boo-boo-kitty face over the phone.

Don is in a movie theater, watching a black-and-white French film. Midge would be so proud!

Okay, I was going to leave it at that. With most shows I would have left it at that. But I figured with this show, there would be some real meaning wrapped up in the film choice. And I want you to know that while I don't mind spending time with Google doing research for these recaps when I feel it's warranted, trying to slog through Google France is a bit more effort than I normally feel obligated to expend. But what I found is this: While I couldn't identify the film itself, the narration, word for word, is from a lyric poem entitled Ballade Des Dames Du Temps Jadis," which translates as The Ballad Of The Ladies Of Yore and concerns a Frankish queen known as Bertha Broadfoot. The last ten lines on this page are what you hear the narrator speak, and as the page notes, one of them, "Mais où sont les neiges d'antan!," is the derivation of the line "Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?" which you might recognize from Joseph Heller's Catch-22. However, the words I find most relevant come right before the ones we heard spoken, to wit: "La royne Blanche comme ung lys,

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.

Harry's looking pensive as his officemate, who's getting ready to leave, asks, "Is there somethin' due tomorrow that I don't know about?" Heh, I love that -- it shows that Jennifer's perception of Harry routinely working late hours is completely off the mark. When the guy's gone, Harry places a call to an acquaintance of his at CBS, who takes all of three seconds to ask Harry if he's calling because "Sterling Coo [lost] some of its drunken luster?" Harry says he doesn't know, but he thinks maybe he has to move out to move up. The friend, however, says that CBS is not hiring, and what's more, he might be in trouble himself, as he just lost a couple sponsors for one of his biggest shows. Harry tells the guy that he's long on sponsors, so he tells Harry that their show The Defenders was short on scripts and turned in an episode in which they show an abortion in the opening scene, a script on which the network had passed the year before. (This episode did actually air in real life, and was called "The Benefactor" -- hence the episode title.) Harry laughs in disbelief, and the guy goes on that it was just a ploy to get the network to shoot it. "I tell you, I miss a blacklist." Heh. Harry asks him to send it over, and he agrees, although he adds that it's going on with sponsors or without. When he hangs up, Harry sits and looks pensive again. I would be too, if I had to think of a way to tell my pregnant wife that our hopes for a raise rested on an "Abortion, yay!" stance. Not that Jennifer might not be pro-choice, but still, the timing seems sub-ideal.

The morning, Joan greets Don as he enters, apologizes for Lois, and tells him that she'll be filling in until they can find a suitable replacement. I'll point out that Joan is doing what needs to be done here without projecting any air of being too good for the assignment, which lends credence to her speech to Peggy about how people should just do their jobs and leave the bullshit at home. Don makes an unkind remark about Lois, so Joan suggests that perhaps this time he should be involved in the selection process. Don doesn't think he'll know what to look for, although he does say he doesn't want another Peggy, but someone who'll be happy with the job. Don asks if Jimmy is shooting that day, and Joan says yes. "They were supposed to start this morning, but Mr. Barrett's been showing up around four." Don jokes for her to wake him at three-thirty, but Joan replies, with a stern look, "We'll start with your correspondence." Don gives a "Yes, ma'am" eyebrow-raise. Heh.

Harry watches the episode in question and tries to figure out how to pitch it. Best of luck!

On the commercial set, Don sits at the prop bar (heh, where else would he be?) when a redheaded woman who just happens to be Jimmy's wife (played by Melinda McGraw) appears. She tells Don that Jimmy left early for a rehearsal at the Copa, but she has to bring him his tuxedo. Don looks at it and recognizes it as belonging to SC. Mrs. Barrett: "He likes it better." He suggests they go talk to Jimmy, but she suggests he deal with his manager, and then sits and asks, "How can I help you?" Don, a little off balance from that revelation, tells her that someone should have kept a lid on Jimmy's booze the day before, to which she replies, "I've seen the man sober. He's not funny." Don tries to impress on "Bobbi" the potential consequences of Jimmy not toeing the line, but she's irritating and smug in reply, and responds to Don's request to talk to him by saying that Jimmy doesn't have a lot of patience for business, "or for businessmen." She suggests that if he has any hope of gaining a foothold with Jimmy, he has to give him the impression that he's a fan, that he knows more than Don, and that he's got a shot with his wife. Look, this entire plotline is just bugging the crap out of me -- I don't find it particularly believable that Don would indulge the idiot comedian or his asshole wife for more than three seconds each, let alone go to the lengths he does, so you'll forgive me if I stick to the bare essentials, which are that Don offers to drive her over to Jimmy...

...and then they're getting in the car in the middle of a storm. Don gets the thing going, but it starts hailing, which prevents him from driving for the moment, so Bobbi decides that riding on Don's lap will be an acceptable substitute. He looks like he knew this was coming, and tells her he doesn't want to do it, but hey, he could have let her take a cab, right? She presses on and gets her way, which is fine with me if it'll end the scene more quickly...

...and then Don turns up at home, and the first thing he does is wash his hands and rinse his mouth. Doesn't seem fair that I'm the one that has to take a full shower to feel clean after that display. Even though she's already said no to her, Betty allows Sally to ask Don if she can go riding with Betty on Saturday, and Don gets it right with a "No?" Heh. Betty says that she'll need Don to watch the kids, and Sally pouts, because Betty promised, but Betty tells her it didn't work out this time, and Don tells her, "You can ride me around the den." Better that than around the car. Betty, with a smile, produces Don's watch, and happily tells him she got it monogrammed for him. Don looks guiltily touched, and sits back to reflect on what and who he just did.

Betty walks her mount up to Arthur, who's letting his horse graze away. Betty tells Arthur that the horse was fed in the stable, and he's ruining her for whoever has her . They chat pleasantly until Arthur says that while he's not afraid to ride, he feels more comfortable with animals "when they're on the other end of [his] rifle." Betty doesn't much care for that attitude, and he confesses that Tara doesn't either, especially since all the men in her family ride. Betty takes her horse off to warm him up, thinking if the other one takes a mysterious trip to the glue factory, she'll know who to blame.

Don's still in his robe and the kids in their pajamas (early start for the equestrian set, I'm guessing). He tells the kids he'll be right back, and heads into his study, from where he calls Bobbi. Ew. He tells her that he'd like to invite her and Jimmy to Lutece with him and Betty and the Schillings, and after she accepts, he haltingly (for him) tries, in a veiled way, to assess her intentions toward him. She, however, opts to keep him guessing, and hangs up. Don slowly gets up and heads back to his kids.

Betty's done riding, and is in the stables finishing up when Arthur comes in. She admonishes him not to smoke in there, and he makes a joke about burning the place down, but she's not amused: "Just because you don't know what you're doing doesn't mean the rest of us are silly." He's chastened and apologizes, but goes on that he can't figure Betty out, and adds he could tell Tara was jealous of her the other day. Betty's dismissive of that idea, but does note that it seems like Tara's a girl who has everything, and Arthur agrees, recalling that when she'd come visit him at Yale, there would be a warm reunion followed by some obscure argument, where she'd pout and he'd soothe her. Betty, in no uncertain terms, turns and tells him that his fiancée would be very unhappy if she knew he was sharing this information with a stranger. She'd probably be even more unhappy if she knew he tried to kiss said stranger, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Arthur apologizes, but doesn't stop, remembering when he first saw her house that was, as he describes it, "only a slightly smaller version of [his] high school," and coming to an understanding of why she was usually happy, and why she was so angry when she didn't get what she wanted. Betty, discouraging him by continuing to do stable busy work, opines that all girls are like that, but Arthur tells her that she isn't -- she's so "profoundly sad." Betty: "No. It's just my people are Nordic." Ha! She didn't mean that to be funny, so I can't laud her sense of humor again, but that's still the line of the episode. Anyway, Arthur tries to kiss her, but she rebuffs him -- twice -- so he's reduced to repeating himself: "You're so profoundly sad." He considers this, and replies, "You're wrong. I'm grateful." When she's away from him, though, she lights a cigarette, and we see her hands are shaking again. I welcome this development if it sends her back to therapy.

Don's now dressed and reading the paper, and when Betty walks in, he greets her jovially. Betty's obviously still shaken about the whole incident with Arthur, but Don's too busy with his pitch to notice; he invites her to Lutece, which makes her smile, and then tells her about the other attendees, which elicits this: "Is this one where I talk or where I don't talk?" Note to Don: In future, give the bad news first. He valiantly tries to keep upselling the dinner, saying he needs a "shiny and bright" better half for this one, but she gets snippy about how she'll need something to wear, and he's not giving her any notice. "No notice at all." Finally acknowledging what's bothering "Birdy," he tells her that they'll go there alone another time, and she wordlessly withdraws. Forget what she's going to wear -- I don't think he gave her near enough notice for shiny and bright.

At SC, the entire conference room is filled with people watching the Defenders episode. After a good long segment, someone pipes up that he wants to see the rest, but he gets the idea, so the lights come on, and Harry makes his case -- it's primetime at a deeply discounted rate, and on top of that, it's a great match for Belle Jolie lipstick. Yes, as I mentioned in the recaplet, they're pitching to the guy who wanted to play Seven Minutes In Heaven with Sal last season. Sal's Not-Boyfriend doesn't see that, so Don explains the controversy will pull in viewers, and "women will find a way to watch this, maybe just because they don't want to get left out." Upon being asked by SNB, Peggy backs Don's assessment up, and Ken suggests putting on a warning, saying something how about research shows that rules are meant to be broken. Harry: "Thanks, Ken. He has the research." Hee. Harry must figure he gets a lot of those to make up for the extra hundred a week. SNB still isn't convinced, saying that Belle Jolie is a family company. "This is not wholesome." Not to sell out my own kind, SNB, but I doubt the extracurricular stuff you do is going to be a Leave It To Beaver subplot any time soon either. Harry gives it one more college try, with more fire than is usual for him, but SNB (his name's "Elliot," it finally comes to me) declines, although he does say he's impressed they brought it to him. "I wish we were a different kind of company." All the subtext is kind of hard to keep up with sometimes. As they head out, Don claps a disappointed Harry on the shoulder, and then Elliot contrives to be at the door just in time to meet Sal and ask how it's going. Sal is all, "Very well, thank you," and it's just as well I don't own a Priss-O-Meter, because it would have exploded right there.

Harry comes in to see a nerd-glasses-wearing Roger, at the latter's request, and Roger tells him that certain things have come to his attention. Harry, in a pretty hilarious Who's On First-esque exchange, thinks he's getting busted for the check incident, but what's really going on is that while Roger thought the Defenders idea was reckless, Bertram opined that it showed initiative. "So, you're in here now. I'm smiling! What do you want?" Heh. Harry thinks quickly, saying that first, SC should have a television department like all the other agencies do, and what's more, he wants to run it. Roger waves his hand and intones, "You are now the Head of the Television Department, which is comprised solely of you. Anything else?" Double heh. Harry then asks for a raise, and Roger lets that hang for several moments, even standing and removing his glasses, before going over to the bar and noting that Harry's already received something of value here. He asks how much Harry makes, and Harry tells him two hundred. Roger: "Plus drinks." That point would be more valid if there weren't people like Freddy in the office. And Roger, for that matter. Roger demands a number, and Harry responds with three-ten. Heh. Roger laughs and says no one makes close to that, and it's lucky that his pants didn't actually catch fire, because I doubt there's any water nearby, and the Scotch he's drinking would only make things worse. Roger offers two-twenty-five, and Harry takes it, as that backbone he's been lugging around all day has gotten awfully heavy. They shake, and Roger's like, "I'll throw in new business cards. You drive a hell of a bargain!" Harry looks like he knows he effed this one up, but it's better than nothing, not to mention too late to do anything about it anyway. I have the feeling he's still going to be shitty to Ken for quite some time, though.

It's Lutece time, and the Drapers and the Schillings ("Hunt" and "Edith") are seated. After some small talk, Hunt pointedly asks where "he" is; it's not clear if he knew Jimmy was on the guest list, but Edith certainly didn't, as she says she doesn't think Jimmy being there is a good idea. Don tells her he wants to apologize, and Betty tries to put a smile on things, but neither of those go over very well, so it's probably not the greatest timing when the Barretts show up. Introductions and re-introductions are made, and Betty plays her part by smiling and telling Jimmy she's a fan, and he compliments not just her looks but Don's as well. Jimmy also shakes hands with the Schillings, but Edith's unsmiling countenance suggests she's going to need more of an apology that him addressing her as "little lady." Although that's a start, at least. Jimmy then tries to focus in on Betty, but when the waiter comes over and tries to tell them the specials, Jimmy calls him "Mister Le Pew" and obnoxiously insists on getting some drinks over tout de suite. Bobbi gets in a jab about Jimmy's treatment of the waiter, which Jimmy ignores to go back to slobbering over Betty. Everyone's kind of grossed out by the spectacle, and Bobbi excuses herself, followed soon after by Don.

Harry enters his bedroom, wherein Jennifer is sewing some booties for the baby. She tells him she's proud of him, and she can't wait to go into the phone company the day and tell the girls that her husband is the Head of Television at SC. Just make sure you don't vomit while you're delivering the good news -- it might temper the perceived pride in the announcement. Harry, in reference to their newfound wealth, jokes that she doesn't have to go in if she doesn't want to, and they kiss. She, however, wants to know what he did, and he tells her, but when she asks what show it was, he declines to tell her. He lies with his head in her lap, right up against the baby, and adds, "You wouldn't like it." I give him shit sometimes, but I'm going to trust his judgment on this one.

Bobbi's having a smoke in some quiet room when Don finds her. She tells him he looks great, but he counters that he's not feeling great, and he tells her that if Jimmy doesn't apologize by the time the appetizers come out, the Schillings are going to leave. Bobbi replies that she went over Jimmy's contract with a lawyer, and not only does Jimmy not have to apologize, he's required to be paid even if he gets fired, so if Don wants the apology, it's going to cost twenty-five grand. Don, however, grabs her by the hair and pulls her head back with one hand, and then with the other reaches under her dress and does something that makes her gasp, and to paraphrase one of Michael Kors's most disgusting comments, I'm guessing he can feel what she had for lunch. He breathes, "Believe me. I will ruin him," and then removes his finger and wipes it on her dress. Thanks, but we've seen ample proof of both his temper and his heterosexuality in the past, so I really think making me vomit was unnecessary. He leaves her without another word...

...and then he returns to the table. No sooner has he sat down than Bobbi appears and informs everyone that Jimmy has something he'd like to say. Very soon, Jimmy is telling Edith that he shouldn't have said what he said to her or to anybody else, and explains that "the guy under the lights" has made him rich but not very nice, but he's sorry, and he hopes they can put the incident behind them. Edith sighs that she knows that's what Jimmy does. "I guess I just don't have the stomach for it." Bobbi almost flinches, while Jimmy has to look away and literally put his hand in his mouth to prevent himself from jumping all over that one. Just wait until he finds out his apology was worth twenty-five grand less than he thought. Hunt declares that he's famished, so Don calls the waiter over...

...and later, he's driving home with Betty at his side. Betty looks at him and starts to cry, and when Don notices, she tells him nothing's wrong -- she's just so happy, because when she told him she wanted to be part of his life, this is what she meant. I don't for a minute think she's happy -- "profoundly sad" in fact seems on the money to me -- but I think she thinks she is, at this moment. She smiles through her tears and offers that they make a great team, and slides close to him. Jack Jones's "Lollipops and Roses" plays, and we go to closing credits.

Provenance
Original URL
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/mad-men/the-benefactor/
Captured
2013-09-29
Page Type
recap (100%)
Wayback Machine
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