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Marilyn Monroe is dead, and this is affecting morale among the women in the office, even Joan. Don is now staying at a hotel, although no one knows about it -- that is, until Jane pieces it together, but she assures Don of her discretion. Don's smoking cough is getting worse, Betty's drinking more than usual, and Sally is really, really upset, so it's clear something has to give, but that something is not going to be Betty, who plays mischievous matchmaker by inviting Arthur out to lunch with her and Sara Beth and then doesn't show up.
Meanwhile, a drunken Freddy literally pisses his pants at the office before passing out right before a big pitch, so Pete and Peggy have to do damage control. Don gives Peggy all of Freddy's responsibilities, but she of course feels terrible about how it went down, and tells Pete off for blabbing -- you see, Pete told Duck what happened, and Duck went to Roger, who decided to fire Freddy, although Roger masked it as a six month rehab leave. After Don and Roger ax him, they take him out for an evening of illegal gambling, and while Freddy's off having fun, Roger confesses that he's also figured out Don's marital woes. Don then runs into Jimmy and belts him one good, but in the wake of that, he confesses to Roger that the separation has actually come as a relief. Roger takes Don's sentiment and runs with it, though, telling Mona that he's leaving her… for Jane. Don, probably figuring that Jane told Roger about his separation and definitely just generally grossed out, ends the episode by telling Roger he wants Jane off his desk. Well, it wasn't her discretion that was the problem.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!In a hotel room, we open on Don sitting on the side of the bed in only his boxers. He coughs deeply -- not for the first time in recent memory -- before opening the door to retrieve his shoes and the paper, which has a headline about Marilyn Monroe's death, asking, "Accident or suicide?" And here I hadn't thought about Heath Ledger in a couple of weeks. He takes this in...
...and we cut to Betty, sitting on her bed in only a nightgown as we hear Carla getting ready to take the kids to school. Betty gets up and watches morosely from the top of the stairs, but once they're gone, she heads back to her bedroom.
Peggy and Don get on the same elevator at SC, and Hollis asks if they heard about Marilyn. The answer is of course yes, and Peggy comments that it's very upsetting, while Don gruffly says he's not surprised, given what he knows about her. Peggy: "You just don't imagine her ever being alone. She was so famous." Hollis intones, "Some people just hide in plain sight." I'm glad Hollis was available to be dusted off for that little piece of thematic bubblegum wisdom. Peggy adds that her mother and sister keep calling, and Don offers another homespun nugget: "Suicide is disturbing." I think someone gave these guys decaf by mistake. Inside, Peggy notes that they dodged a bullet with Playtex having turned down the Jackie/Marilyn campaign, as they'd have to pull the whole thing. Don looks impressed that she's thinking of business at a time like this, especially as, after Peggy heads off, he notices that all the secretaries in the office are grouped together in mourning. Seeing Don, one of them nudges Jane, who pulls herself together to greet her boss and tell him people are waiting for him in the conference room. Don, referring to her tears, asks if she needs to go home, because he apparently thinks the only liquid that's socially acceptable to expel at this office is piss. Jane smiles that she's fine, so Don heads to the meeting...
...with Harry, Paul, Ken and Sal. Ken says he doesn't understand "this stupid blood drive," and complains that he'll be lucky to get eight people from Accounts. "Campbell's afraid of needles; Duck doesn't give two craps." That sounds vaguely like a country song. I'm guessing these four are there as Department Captains or whatever, but I wonder how Don got roped into this. Then again, he does have some time on his hands. Harry tells him the logistics of the plan, and Don tells Paul to pull everyone he can find -- interns, switchboard operators, even elevator men -- and offer them a dollar to be a copywriter for a day. Ken whines that that's not fair, and Sal snickers that he should have thought of it himself. "That's the money they'd make actually being in the Art Department." Heh. Ken asks what the prize is if they win, and Don replies it's simply helping another human being. "Also, there will be women fainting. I'd think you'd like that." And if that doesn't work, at least you'll have a shot at Pete. Harry pipes up that if they get 100 percent participation, they'll get a mention in the Times, and after Don calls an end to the meeting by standing up, Harry invites Don and Betty to the Mitch Miller concert later that week, for which he apparently has tickets through his media connections. Don begs off, saying his "kid" is sick, a lie that causes his cough to resurface again. He claps Harry on the arm: "You'll know what that means soon enough." Heh, again. When Don's gone, Paul laughs at Harry for getting shot down, and I see why Paul keeps Harry around, because he's the only one in the office more sensitive to rejection than he is.
Betty's defrosting the freezer and lining the shelves, and generally keeping herself busy with chores she would probably pawn off on Don were he still living there. I just figured out one of the preconditions for Don coming home, which as I understand things would no doubt please John McCain.
Don blows by Jane, who notes that the meeting was quick; he doesn't acknowledge that as he asks what's on his schedule for the day. Jane runs it down, and Don speculates that Roger moved one meeting to five o'clock so it would "bleed into the cocktail hour." Seems to me that around these parts, the meeting would have to somehow go backwards in time to achieve that. Jane hesitates, and then asks for leave to sit down. When it's granted, she tells Don that she thinks she made a terrible mistake -- it seems Sally called the day before and asked when Don would be home from his "business trip," since Betty wasn't sure. Don winces and gets up and shuts the door as Jane goes on that he doesn't have to confide in her, but she didn't know what to say, and she blurted out "Wednesday" as an answer, even though she now realizes she should have said she didn't know. Don sighs that, "Mrs. Draper is working on some things," which is both funny and sad in light of the scene with Betty we just saw, and adds, with a touch of vulnerability, that he thought said work would be over by now. Since Hollis went to so much trouble to bring it up, what Don is really saying is that he thought he could go back to hiding in plain sight, and he can't believe that Betty is still actually seeing him. Jane offers sympathy, which of course Don doesn't want, so he tells her this is obviously personal, and by the way, he'd also like it if she'd can the concerned looks. Jane tells him that she hopes he's noticed she's a discreet person, which, in light of the revelation at the end of the episode makes me wonder: Does she think Don knows about her and Roger? Maybe her discretion is so accomplished that it stepped on her point here. Don sharply says that he doesn't know her at all, and it's personal and not up for discussion. In other words: Don't make me call you "Lois." Jane takes his words with smiling equanimity, leading Don to tell her that he's staying at the Roosevelt if there's an emergency.
Betty's still in her housecoat as she sips from a glass of red wine. She puts on the radio, but quickly shuts it off after hearing a brief piece about Marilyn and her studio troubles. She doesn't look particularly moved, which makes sense from the standpoint that she's been conditioned to be such a Jackie. You'd think she'd feel a tiny bit of blonde solidarity, though. She sits on the couch with a book (Ship of Fools, heh)...
...and then Freddy's secretary buzzes to tell him that Sal, Peggy, and Pete are there. Freddy offers them a drink, but Sal is the only taker, and even he signals for a scaled-down size. The reason for the meeting is that people from Samsonite are on their way over for a pitch, so they're going to do a quick run-through. Pete goes through the order, although Peggy tosses in a correction that came from Don. Pete also tells them that "Jeff Harding's wife" just had a baby, and Sal asks if it's a boy or a girl. Pete, thinking that's a suggestion for the meeting: "That's good!" HA! He just always gets the best throwaways. I would actually keep him around just for that. Freddy hands Sal enough brown liquid for his entire department, and the way Bryan Batt stares at the massive shot is pure genius. Hee. Freddy, competently enough, gives his part of the pitch, but puts his own spin on things by pissing his pants right in front of everyone. From Pete's stunned reaction, I'm guessing he's not a big fan of improv. Sal cracks up, which is surely not helping but is probably what I'd do, too, but Peggy looks uncertain and Pete is definitely not amused, particularly when Freddy follows up by passing out on his desk. After a long moment, Sal asks, "Is he dead?" Again, probably what I would do. Pete scornfully says he passed out, but his eyes go wide with fear when Freddy's girl buzzes that the Samsonite people are now at Reception. Peggy assures her they'll be right there, and the Emergency Damage Control team is deployed, with Pete saying they're out from Colorado, and he could possibly book them another night at the hotel. Peggy thinks she should run in to Don, but Pete says that's not necessary, and Sal is actually the one who comes up with the obvious solution when he says that Peggy can handle the pitch on her own. After a moment, she steels herself and assures Pete that will be fine, and that they'll just say that Freddy's sick. Committing to the plan, Pete sets the details -- he'll greet the team while Peggy and Sal go to the conference room and act like they've been waiting, and on the way, they should tell Freddy's girl that the meeting's canceled. "I don't want him wandering in." At least the sloshing sounds will give you some warning. Pete starts to head out, but stops for a moment to look at Freddy and call him disgusting. Peggy: "There's no need for that." Pete leaves, and then Sal and Peggy exchange a look, like, "Who's going to be the man about this?" I'll leave it to you to guess who asks Freddy's girl, "Can I speak to you for a minute?"
I don't know if Betty only had the one glass of wine, but she's asleep when the doorbell rings. On the plus side, the couch looks dry from here. Betty calls for Carla, but there's no reply, so she, with a little couple little coughs of her own that I didn't notice on first viewing, gets up and makes her way to the door. I was hoping it would be Francine, since we've seen precious little of her this season, but it's actually Sarah Beth, Betty's riding buddy. Betty lets her in, claiming she forgot she was coming, and explaining her disheveled appearance by saying she's not feeling well, an excuse she also uses to back out of a social commitment that she "and Don" were supposed to go to that night. Sarah Beth is bummed, as her husband "has to work these things," and she doesn't know whom she can talk to, but Betty leads her upstairs to borrow a dress, which is why she came over in the first place. Upstairs, after Sarah Beth notes the disarray and assumes that Betty was in bed, Betty presents her with a few choices. Sarah Beth then asks if she thinks she'll be feeling better by their Thursday lunch date, and while Betty says she's looking forward to it, her face looks more like she's going to put "come up with good excuse to cancel" on her list between "clean the gutters" and "go to the dump." Sarah Beth, after halfheartedly checking out some of Betty's offerings, sits down and says she feels invisible at these things, and while "Raymond" is sweet and easy to please, she's bored. What's more, she saw Arthur having a fight with his fiancée Tara, and she's been having "ridiculous" dreams about him since. Betty thinks Sarah Beth shouldn't talk to Arthur so much, but then adds, "It's a switch you can flip on and off, you know." Sarah Beth is intrigued, but misses what's behind Betty's statement, speculating that she doesn't even think about infidelity. "Don's perfect." Betty then says she's not feeling well, and after hearing that her friend thinks of her lying, philandering husband as perfect, an image she no doubt helped build in her mind, I don't think she's making up excuses anymore. Sarah Beth takes a couple choices from Betty's collection, and leaves.
Freddy's now on his couch, so it looks like Freddy's girl and possibly Peggy helped him to a more comfortable position. If that's true, Sal's really a wuss for bailing. He comes to, and I'm not sure how much time has passed, but it looks like his pants are still wet, a fact he notes with some chagrin...
...and moments later, he leaves, ever-so-subtly shielding his groin area with his briefcase and coat. The girls watching probably wonder if he's just turned on, but given that it's Freddy I doubt he'd even think to cover that up. Also, his shoes slosh on the way out, a fact I had forgotten (at least consciously) when I wrote that earlier joke. Gotta get up early to stay ahead of this show.
Joan's lying on a couch in a darkened office when Roger enters. After he obligatorily hits on her, she asks what he's doing there: "It's 4:30. You're supposed to be sitting in a bar somewhere waiting for Boston Edison." Heh. Joan is likely resting because of her pregnancy, which surely isn't helping her emotional state, but she's also upset about Marilyn, as she sighs, "She was so young." Roger can't believe she's bummed too, and Joan replies, "Yes, I'm just another frivolous secretary." Roger didn't quite mean it that way, but he opines that she was a stranger, being entirely, if understandably, unaware of the magnitude of the effect her death would have on Americans everywhere. Joan starts to leave, simply saying that a lot of people did in fact feel like they knew her, and he should be sensitive to that. He stops her, assuring her that she's not like Marilyn, but his levity prompts a sharp response: "This world destroyed her." Roger opines that she had everything and she threw it away, but Joan, with a quiet air of prophecy, softly replies, "One day, you'll lose someone who's important to you. You'll see. It's very painful." Given how well she knows him, it's no surprise that Roger looks a little thrown, and she leaves him to contemplate her rather haunting words.
Don returns to the house with the kids, apparently having taken them out for dinner or some such. As he looks balefully at his wife, Sally asks if Betty is "feeling better," and she says she is before sending them up to bed. Bobby, still a little young to have cottoned on, complies, but Sally turns to Don and pleadingly notes that he just got back. "And now you're leaving again?" Ouch, painful. Don promises her it will go by in a flash, but Sally starts to cry as she hugs him big and long, and Betty stands uncomfortably, knowing she's going to be perceived as the bad guy here eventually. Don assures "Salamander" (aw) that it won't be that long, and she finally heads up the stairs. Don tells Betty about Sally's call to the office, and while Betty postures that it's not her fault and that she didn't want them involved in this, Don of course has a point when he says that's impossible, and that they're going to have to tell the kids something eventually. He asks her what she wants, but he, she, and everyone else watching knows the answer already, which is an admission of guilt, which will not be forthcoming. He says if her mind's made up, he's not going to talk her into it, and she pounces on that like a hungry lion on a wounded gazelle: "I thought you can talk anyone into anything!" She follows that by staring him down, and he looks baldly shocked to see that her anger has deepened into full-on contempt, that the woman he married, who adored and cherished him just like a little girl, is gone. She bids him good night, and he skulks his way back to the Roosevelt.
Don enters his office and orders coffee and a bear claw from Jane, and then notices a shopping bag by his desk. She tells him that she thought he could use a few more shirts in his rotation, and after a moment, he thanks her. "Submit your receipt." He makes it sound so dirty! Jane starts to leave, but turns back to tell Don that Paul said she's to drag him, if necessary, to the blood drive. Don, starting to take a shine to her despite his best efforts not to, asks if she's a fainter, and she says no. "But I might cry after." She sounds better suited for Harry than Ken, then.
Peggy's typing away when Freddy somewhat sheepishly comes in to see her. After she tells him that Samsonite loved the pitch, he apologizes for putting her "in that spot." As it were. Peggy says there's no reason to talk about it, and she'd probably save herself a lot of time and energy if she'd carry a tape recorder around with that phrase on it. Freddy says that when they get back to Colorado on Monday, he'll give them a call to sew things up, and Peggy agrees that would be a great idea. She beams at him with genuine affection, but when he's gone, she looks deeply worried for a moment before going back to her typing.
Betty's in Don's study, either looking for something or working on Household Chore #367. Either way, she drops a screwdriver, causing Carla to come in, thinking it's Bobby. Seeing her error, she apologizes for disturbing Betty, and then says it's a beautiful day, and she was going to take the kids out again. At Betty's atypical unsmiling reaction, she asks if she could maybe draw her a bath, but the answer is no. Carla sympathetically offers that she's been married almost 20 years herself, but Betty's eyes flash as she declares she really does not want to talk about that. Carla starts to withdraw while she still has a job, but Betty calls her back and says she hasn't been sleeping very well. Carla counsels her to splash some water on her face and go outside. "You'll notice things are right where you left them." Not if you're talking stock portfolios. (Too soon?)
Don enters Roger's office and, seeing Duck and Pete there already, instantly gets wary. "I'm usually part of the meeting before the meeting." He sits, and Pete tells him that they were "on the launch pad" the day before, "and Freddy Rumsen pissed his pants." Don's amused, and asks how the presentation went, but Roger is uncharacteristically serious, and says that it's "conduct unbefitting." This from a man who projectile-vomited oysters onto a client's feet. Duck says Pete thought fast and put Peggy in for Freddy, which, as I noted before, was actually Sal's idea, so it makes Pete's smug assertion that "We're lucky the bench is deep" even more irritating. Say something funny before the scene's over, Pete, or I will be forced to wave a needle in your general direction. Roger says they have to let him go, with Duck strongly agreeing, and Pete saying that they at least have to take him off that account, because they called already, "and they're thrilled with Peggy." Duck thinks he has to go, as it could have happened in a meeting, but Don barks that it didn't. Roger takes this opportunity to dismiss Duck and Pete, so at least Don can't complain that he wasn't invited to the meeting after the meeting. Before he goes, though, Duck says keeping Freddy around wouldn't be doing him any favors, and given that Duck probably ruined a few pairs of British-tailored trousers himself, he should know. When they're alone, Don tells Roger that Duck's a teetotaler, and he's had it in for Freddy from the beginning. Roger pours them both a drink as he says that Don has a point, and muses that he can't even tell Bertram about any of this. "You know his whole thing with germs." Heh. Roger offers that Don can still get Freddy to give blood, but while the agencies will laugh at them over this, "the clients... they already think we're all like that." They... watch the show, then? Roger says they'll tell Freddy it's a six-month leave of absence to get himself cleaned up, but Don, somewhat pleadingly, says he doesn't want just to throw him away. Roger replies that Don's loyalty is becoming a liability, and they're going to take Freddy to dinner that night. At least Roger has the courtesy to show up for this one. Roger, with just a hint that his curiosity is more than idle, asks if Don needs to call "the Missus," but Don assures him he'll make it.
Betty's taken Carla's advice and gone to the stables, and from a distance, she sees Arthur and, I think, Tara (they're far away, but it doesn't look like he's riding today, so the only logical possibility is that he's dropping her off) chat for a moment before the latter heads out to ride. Betty lights a smoke and walks over, and Arthur happily greets her, asking if she's starting or finishing, as he can never tell with her. He obviously wasn't there at the beginning of last episode. Betty says she's on her way out, and Arthur asks after her children, and it's a nice touch that they'd be at the front of his mind, given how thrown he seemed when he met them. Betty turns the topic to Sarah Beth, asking if he's seen her, and Arthur does recall that happening on Monday. "She seemed distracted." Betty artfully gives the impression that something has been bothering Sarah Beth, and says that she thinks he makes her feel better. "She talks about you a lot." It's possible Betty's trying to help her friend here, but I think, given how hard marriage takes it on the chin in this entire episode, that she's lashing out at the institution by stirring up trouble that could break two of them up. She says that the three of them should go to lunch and have some fun in order to cheer Sarah Beth up, and invites him along to the date she and Sarah Beth already have planned. Arthur happily agrees, but once he's gone, Betty drops the smile. Carla, see what your advice has wrought?
Sal comes out from his donation session, and Ken tells him he should smoke a cigarette. "I know they said not to, but I'm telling you, my knees buckled." The thought of Ken's buckling knees should be all it takes for Sal to strategically reposition his jacket. Ken adds that he thought he was going to pull "a full Freddy Rumsen," which gets an appreciative laugh from the boys. However, when Don appears and the jokes continue (Paul calls Freddy a "real whiz" in advertising), Don takes their collective head off: "That's none of your business. Freddy had a bad day. Can't you find something else to do besides dining on the drama of other people's lives like a bunch of teenaged girls?" You... have met them before, right, Don? Paul earns a few points by being the only one not cowed into silence, but when he claims it's funny, Don responds, "Sure. It's just a man's name, right?" Don gets in line to give blood, leaving the boys to wonder what exactly prompted this week's showing of Overidentification Theater.
At dinner, Freddy is trying to explain that he was nervous about the pitch, but Roger immediately tells him about the six-month plan. It would seem a lot more merciful if he were actually being truthful here. Don pipes up that it'll be full salary, and Freddy will come back and they'll see where they are. I'm surprised Don is actively participating in this charade, but it's not like Freddy believes it anyway as he pleads his case; "Clients love me! I keep up with them!" He's probably not wrong in thinking that boozing and schmoozing is the value he's been bringing, but the pissing problem unfortunately threatens the efficacy of that as well. Roger: "There's a line, Freddy. And you wet it." Hee. Freddy points out that it can't be that serious if they're joking about it, and besides, they used to have much worse drunks at the place, including Roger's own father, who "drank more than the two of you put together." That's not actually possible, is it? But that seems to mean that Roger inherited his position from his father, which explains not only the age difference between him and Bertram but also the fact that he doesn't seem to have any advertising skills at all. Freddy tells some war stories about Roger's dad, and Roger admits that his father admired Freddy, but this entire conversation is Freddy pushing a rock up a hill like Sisyphus, and when he comes to realize it, he accepts his fate, saying he's got a great book, and maybe he'll start over in a new town. Roger suggests the three of them make a night of it, and calls the waiter over for another round of drinks and a colostomy bag.
Later, the three of them are looking pretty lit up as they negotiate with a bouncer to let them in someplace shady-looking. Reinforcing that idea is the fact that the bouncer looks like he could eat an African elephant raw and still have room for dessert. Roger can't remember the password, so after some funny drunken banter that amuses everyone except the gorilla in front of the door, he applies a twenty to the situation, which gets them a ride downstairs. On the way, he remembers the password, and is like, "Son of a bitch!" Heh.
They arrive in an obviously illegal casino, wherein some of the women are not letting Marilyn's death affect their hair, and sit down at a table. Freddy spies a famous boxer (Floyd Patterson, although his name isn't mentioned here), and after Roger orders them a round, Freddy muses, "Pete Campbell, huh? I would have never thought I was in his way." No offense, Freddy, but you're even a bigger drunk than I thought if you haven't noticed how desperately Pete wants to be on the Creative side.
Cross-fade to later, where Roger is counting his money and telling Don he bets badly. Don, with no money in front of him: "Obviously." Heh. Roger means, though, that if you win a few times, you have to press your luck, After an observation that Freddy, at a nearby table, is having a grand old time, and an encounter with a representative of the world's oldest profession, Roger adds up the clues -- Don's coming in too early, he's got drycleaning moving in and out, and he had no trouble going out on the spur of the moment. Don of course doesn't admit to anything, but Roger keeps pressing, saying he's been in Don's position before. "Do you want to be right, or do you want to be married?" I'm not sure he really cares about either, especially since, when Roger opines that marriage isn't a natural state, but you do it, Don asks, "Why?" Roger keeps talking, but Don's attention is diverted when he sees a familiar presence at Freddy's table -- Jimmy. You'll forgive me if I just take a break to make some popcorn for this, right? Freddy, not clued in, calls Don over, and when Jimmy turns and gives a typical Jimmy line, Don puts on this awesome fake smile before decking him. Don, I've got my problems with you, but that was aces. The bouncer lumbers over, but Roger quickly says they're going, and gets Don out of there as Freddy slips the guy some money: "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's not the first time he's been punched in the face." Jimmy then gets up and is like, "Hey Floyd! How'd I do?" Heh. Everyone got off a good one there! And Jimmy got punched in the face!
Outside, a cab pulls up, and Roger says Freddy can have it. They embrace, which is touching, and then Roger says he's got to go give a Chinaman a music lesson. "Want to watch how I do it? Unzipping the fly and everything?" Aw, he taught Freddy that trick! That's so... well, it's so Roger, is what it is. He pats Freddy's face, and then Freddy goes over to Don, who's wrangling the cab, and shakes his hand. Freddy gets a little emotional as he says he's going to miss Don. "You're talented." Don thanks him, and sincerely says that means a lot. Freddy wonders what he's going to do, and what he's going to tell his wife. "If I don't go into that office every day, who am I?" This is super-poignant, because the biggest theme on this show has consistently been people's struggle to find their identity, and it's what Don is struggling with now, only it's his home life instead of work that's the catalyst for it. Don manages to evade the question and get Freddy into the cab, but in response to Don's "Goodnight, Freddy," Freddy responds, "Goodbye, Don." The cab pulls away, and that's all she wrote for Freddy Rumsen.
Roger and Don are having one for the road in some bar, and it's the point in the evening when they're talking about which liquors treat them best, so you know they're hammered. Roger brings up The Greatest Thing That Ever Happened, and Don smiles that it was "a real Archibald Whitman maneuver." Ouch, that makes it less funny. Roger asks who that is, which implies that Bertram never told him Don's real name, and Don says he was just a drunk he used to know. Roger says Jimmy's a weasel -- no argument here -- and then asks again what's going on with Don. Whether it's all the booze or the late hour, Roger's finally caught Don with his hands at his sides, and Don tells him he's at the Roosevelt. He says he doesn't want to discuss it further, though, and Roger asks if it's because he feels so bad. Don demurs: "I don't feel bad at all." He amends that to say that maybe sometimes he does, but "mostly, I'm just relieved." That is not a good sign for his marital future. They talk about marriage, and Don sighs that none of them know how long they're going to live (cough cough), "but you have to move forward." I think this is where the Marilyn death is supposed to tie in thematically, but honestly I find it not nearly as tight as normal for this show. Roger notes that he's had two coronaries (as he lights up his billionth cigarette of the evening) and repeats, "Gotta move forward. It's your life." Don says this can't really be it, and Roger slurs that Don means they're in it together. He then punches Don on the arm, and they laugh. And then they make out. (I was chatting with Joe R recently, and I was telling him that there was only one romantic pairing of the main characters on the show that I could see lasting, and he asked, "Who? Don and Roger?" Not what I had in mind, but he has a point.)
After a closeup on a fizzing glass of Alka-Seltzer, Peggy comes in to see Don. He gets right to the point -- the Samsonite people loved her, and by the way, Freddy's gone, so she'll be taking over all his business. Peggy, uncertain about this whole thing, asks if he's sure, and Don, by way of answering, says he didn't appreciate being set up for an ambush. Peggy, catching on, says she didn't think anyone had to know about it, and when Don asks if she means him as well, she says no, but... "I love Freddy!" Don is not particularly sympathetic, which is interesting given his own feelings about the firing, and tells Peggy not to be ashamed of being good at her job. Peggy answers that she wishes it hadn't happened this way, but Don tells her it did, and congratulates her. Peggy looks like she's going to be sick, but when she gets outside, there is an awesome, awesome moment from Elisabeth Moss when her sadness suddenly hardens into a Mask of Resolve, and she marches her way past Hildy...
...into Pete's office. She finds him on the couch, and tells him off for tattling on Freddy. Hildy is shocked that Pete blabbed, but Pete kicks her out, and -- rather blithely, considering how upset Peggy is -- tells her that Freddy did it to himself, and "those people" have no self-control. Peggy, losing ground, says that if it weren't for Freddy, she'd still be a secretary, but Pete counters, "If it wasn't for me, you'd still be a junior copywriter." He says they're both going to be better off, and that he'll go first. "Congratulations, Peggy." Peggy, as she always does, adapts to the situation, and returns terse congratulations before hastily exiting. I hope Hildy puts a laxative in his coffee.
Sarah Beth is waiting for Betty, and is instead surprised and pleased that Arthur shows up. They both still think Betty will be joining them, but that doesn't stop them from engaging in some veiled flirting...
...which is just as well, because Betty's not coming. She's home with the kids supervising some baking, but in a moment that you could probably miss if you're not paying attention, she takes the phone off the hook, presumably in case Sarah Beth calls wondering where she is. Marriage, you have an enemy, and her name is Betty Draper.
In the conference room, Paul is wrapping up a proposal about a cartoon turtle or some such to Duck. In attendance are Sal and Pete, but it's to Peggy that Duck turns for an opinion. She affirms her turtle support, so Duck leaves, and it's just like Freddy never existed...
...but someone who surely still exists is Mona, who comes tearing into Don's office like a house on fire. I honestly had no idea what she could have been on about, even though it seems obvious in retrospect and was foreshadowed more than once, so great work from the show. She finds Don on his couch (lots of couch shots this episode -- shout-out? KIDDING), who sits up and tells Jane it's okay. She leaves, and Mona tells him she doesn't even know what to say to him, because Roger is leaving her -- he's in love with a secretary, and her understanding is that Don said it was great. She quotes his line about it being your life and having to move forward, and Don looks chagrined as he says he didn't mean it that way. The thing is, though, he kind of totally did. After mentioning that they've been married for 25 years, she heads out -- only to find Roger waiting for her. She tells him not to make her make a scene, and when he says they should talk about it, she bites out, "You can talk to Margaret." Well, this will make her decision to elope that much easier. Mona stalks out, and then, as Don watches, Roger puts his hand on Jane's shoulder, who's overcome with emotion and runs away. Roger then turns to Don, who's shocked and disgusted for reasons too numerous to list, and tells him he can explain, but Don's reply says it all: "I want her off my desk." I have nothing to add to that except that I'll see you week.
John Ramos is a writer and producer living in Los Angeles. You can reach him at couchbaron@gmail.com.
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