In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
It's Christmas Time in New York, but belts are tight at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. It's good news when Santa Claus drops by in the form of a sobered up Freddy Rumsen and he has an early present for the gents: It's the $2 million Ponds Cold Cream account. One caveat? Freddy makes it clear that Pete Campbell is not allowed anywhere near the account. Why? Because Pete is a squeaky weasel chew toy who is easily tossed aside by the big dogs. Also, no one really likes him. Freddy's working a 12 Step program, but it's his old-fashioned ideas that are the real wrench in the works at the office, especially in his relationship with Peggy. She calls him out for pitching an ad based on the idea that you will be a frigid old maid unless you use Ponds Cold Cream. They make up, but there are clearly going to be bumps in their working relationship.
Sally Draper gets a new frenemy in the form of Glenn, the creepy son of Ossining's sole single mother. The burgeoning sociopath breaks into Sally's house and eggs it from the inside. Just another latchkey kid proving the stereotypes about the spawn of divorced parents! He leaves Sally a little mash note in the form of not dumping pudding on her bed. Love!
There's not enough money rolling in to the agency, so at Lane's insistence, the Christmas party was supposed to be gin and Velveeta. But, since Lucky Strike makes up 69% of the firm's profits, when the head of the company wrangles an invite to the office party, the party must go on. Roger says the word: They have to up the party from "convalescent home" to "Roman orgy" in just a few hours. Luckily, Joan is all over it. She fakes some employees, rounds up the chafing dishes, and gets the liquor flowing. It's all gifts, girls, and games by the time Lucky Strike Lee shows up. Things get all kinds of awkward when Lee forces Roger to dress up like Santa Claus. They proceed in that vein until everyone passes out and/or heads home.
Focus groups are coming into fashion and our Mad Men get forced into serving up some demographic info. Except Don, of course, who exits stage left at the first mention of daddy issues. The lovely lady leading the survey doesn't appreciate the creative shaman of the agency walking out on her presentation. She confronts Don at the Christmas party, and rubs him all kinds of the wrong way.
Nurse Phoebe (a.k.a. shot-in-the-head Dr. Reed from Grey's Anatomy) is an adorably dimpled nurse who lives down the hall from Dapper Don. He just happens to fall drunkenly into bed the moment he sees her. Actually, Don is drunkenly falling all over the place this time of year. After the Christmas party, he leaves his house keys at the office and his secretary finds him passed out in his hallway. Even in his drunken stupor, the girl is powerless to resist his advances. He doesn't even have the decency to pass out afterwards. She leaves him smoking on the couch and heads back to the party. The day it is Don is distant. It is unclear whether he is playing it cool at the office or whether he was so blotto that he doesn't even remember schtupping the secretary. It's all part of the Don Draper charm. Merry Christmas everyone!
Melissa Locker a.k.a. Lulu Bates would slap Don Draper silly if he asked her. You can follow her on Twitter @woolyknickers.
Want to immediately access TWoP content no matter where you are online? Download the free TWoP toolbar for your web browser. Already have a customized toolbar? Then just add our free toolbar app to get updated on our content as soon it's published.
Want more? The full recap starts right below! Belatedly: It's back! Thanks to Joe R for taking the premiere episode while I was on vacation. Let's get to it, but not before I say an official goodbye to Bryan Batt and Michael Gladis -- I'll miss Sal and Paul. Of course, if Freddy Rumsen can make a comeback, anything's possible.As the episode title may have hinted, it's Christmastime, and Henry and his new family are checking out the trees at the local pine-mart, with some idyllic snow floating lazily down to earth. It may look nice, but the PA responsible probably had a heart attack trying to get the stuff to look just right. Anyway, the family seems to be having a nice time, what with the absence of disapproving relatives and the promise of rather motivated present-giving this season, but as they start to head off to look at a tree that won't leave marks on their ceiling, a horrible troll pops out from the greenery and accosts the lagging Sally -- oh, wait, that's just a newly-pubescent Glen Bishop. You can forgive my mistake -- they're about equally scary. When Glen offers his name and Sally tells him she knows, Glen points out that they walked right by him when they came in, and rather than launch into a discussion that might reveal severely inappropriate declarations of love and gifts of flaxen hair, Sally simply shrugs and awkwardly apologizes. If she can be dragged into WASP-y stoicism, no one is safe. Glen tells Sally that Helen (his mom, you'll remember) got remarried, and then adds that he saw her new dad. "My mom said that would happen." I'd laugh, but this line's going to pale in comparison to one a bit later. Glen goes on to guess that Henry and Betty will probably have a baby together at some point, and counsels Sally to ask for something big now; Bobby then reappears and asks if Glen is getting a tree. Glen testily replies that he's working there cutting twine, showing them his lanyard, and Bobby's impressed, but not enough to hang out any longer. Which is too bad, because I'd love to see the awkward scene that would ensue if Betty came to find out what's keeping her kids. Bobby leads Sally away, but not before Glen tells her he might call her. Isn't she a little young for you, Glen?
Don's typing away when Allison comes in, and I really liked her so I'm glad they brought her over to the new agency, but if she's there why is Don doing his own typing? Maybe he's like Grandpa Simpson in reverse, sending crackpot letters to companies he thinks are too prudish. After last week, it seems a lot less unlikely. Anyway, Allison tells him about his mail, which includes a letter addressed to both Santa Claus and Don Draper, and all I can say is it's too bad for Roger's sake that Lee Garner Jr. didn't see that and get an idea. Anyway, Allison reads the letter, and it's from Sally; she says that Bobby thinks it's going to the North Pole, and they should "keep up the ruse," which Allison adds is spelled "R-O-O-S." She smiles, and Don amusedly explains that Sally's watching too much TV, which makes me wonder what sixties programming she took that from. The only media offering I clearly remember using "ruse" was Clerks, but (a) that's obviously anachronistic, and (b) of all the vocabulary you'd remember from that film, I'd think that would be pretty far down the list for someone of Sally's age. After listing Bobby's requests, typical in both quantity and type for a boy of the period, Sally goes on that "Baby Gene wants a fireman -- I don't know what that means," before asking for a monogrammed gold necklace she and Don apparently saw at Macy's. "And most of all, I'd like you to be here on Christmas morning to give it to me, but I know you can't be." Well, that WASP stoicism is a work in process, but she's trying. Allison has to take a moment to recover from the way that letter's comedic value just fell apart at the end, but soon Don's pulling out his wallet and giving her the shopping list -- drum set, fire truck, and necklace with initials SBD -- "Sally Beth Draper." He then pauses, probably thinking about the fact that it's his first Christmas with competition in the Dad slot, and adds some Beatles 45s for Sally and a transistor radio for Bobby to the list. I'm guessing he thinks between his age and his namesake, Baby Gene's essentially a write-off in the affections department. Allison then asks about the Christmas party, saying the girls already got a "no" from Joan, but she's wondering if they're allowed to bring guests? Oh, Allison, playing Bad Mommy/Good Daddy with the newly divorced guy is beneath you, no? But it's irrelevant, as Don, not without irritation, says that Pryce has scaled the party back to "a glass of gin and a box of Velveeta" for financial reasons, but brightens as he adds that she will at least be getting a bonus. Allison thanks him with an answering smile, and isn't it nice how he's got such a healthy rapport with his secretary?
Freddy Rumsen comes in to see Roger; noting the antiseptic, minimalist décor, he opines that it's like an Italian hospital in there. Roger agrees, explaining that Jane got a decorator, and adding, referring to the overwhelming preponderance of white, that with his hair he feels invisible. Well, at least we've discovered a practical use for your fake tan. After Freddy postpones having a drink, to Roger's mild surprise, Freddy gets down to business -- he's apparently been freelancing, and he walked out of "JWT" with Pond's Cold Cream, a $2 million account. Roger asks how he managed that, and Freddy explains that he and the client are in a "fraternity" together, and I'm all for discretion, Freddy, but since you're going to come clean, so to speak, in a moment, I'd vote for not dangling the word "fraternity" in front of Roger. Getting on with it, Freddy says he can't service the account by himself, but he's clean and sober -- he hasn't had a drop to drink in sixteen months, and he'd like a job, adding that if it doesn't work out, SCDP can keep the account. Roger readily accepts, but Freddy's not quite done -- he doesn't want Pete anywhere near the account, and frankly, he's surprised they took him along. Rather than go into a long story about how they needed accounts quick and Pete was obviously far more motivated to leave than Ken, Roger simply shakes Freddy's hand and, with a wry smile, replies, "No comment." Heh. He does look thrilled to have his old pal back, although I wonder if he's really grasped the "no drinking" thing quite yet.
Don's got Pete and Peggy in his office talking ham (and from the bit we hear, it sounds like sales have gone waaaaaay up, so suck on that, Don) when Roger brings Freddy in; you'll be shocked, I'm sure, to learn that the relative happiness to see him starts with Peggy and ends with Pete, although the latter does shake his hand and ask how he is, getting a genial reply that he couldn't be better: "I was just talking about you!" Hee. Roger breaks the news about Pond's Cold Cream, and Don fires off one of his typical bon mots: "That explains why you look so good!" I wouldn't be surprised if he left for the day after that one. Don goes to pour drinks for the drinkers, and Roger tries to send a signal by asking if it isn't a little early, but Don doesn't take the hint, coming as it was from someone who knows where in the world it's five o'clock at every moment of every day, so it falls to Freddy to explicitly decline the offer, also to Don's mild surprise. After Roger waves Pete off the account, Pete starts to ask, basically
Freddy and Peggy are discussing ideas for the face of Pond's, and Freddy's suggestion of Tallulah Bankhead frankly shocks Peggy, as she explains that the research overwhelmingly shows that Pond's is trying to attract young women. Freddy, who seems to be chain-smoking these days (a realistic development from his quitting drinking) tells her he knows this is what the client wants, but Peggy points out that they have an image to uphold as an agency, and the work they've been doing is very different from this. Speaking of the client, Roger stumbles in from lunch with him ("Cal Rutledge" is his name) and immediately declares his need to lie down; at this, Freddy goes running for the phone like a concerned sponsor would, and after apparently eliciting a confession that Cal did in fact have a finger or five at lunch, they make an appointment at a church that ostensibly hosts AA meetings. Peggy asks if everything's okay, prompting Freddy to ask her if she can't put two and two together. To be fair, Freddy, it's a little inconsistent to ask for deductive reasoning from someone you're kind of treating like a bimbo. Making my point for me, he tells "Cutie" that he wants ten taglines from her and then he'll narrow them down and they'll go to Don. Peggy's kind of stunned at how her onetime mentor is patronizing her, although I suppose you could bright-side the part where if behavior such as this toward her is unusual, she's come a long way. Of course, Don was a dick to her last week, but some mountains are harder to move than others.
Roger is in fact reclining on the chaise lounge in his office when his secretary buzzes with the news that Lee Garner Jr. is on the phone. When we see the man in question, he's getting a manicure on his right hand as he holds the phone with his left, and everyone has their own ideas about grooming but I wonder if he'd do this in front of his father. But this isn't the gayest thing he'll do in this episode by a long shot, so let's set the stage: He's in town, and when Roger offhandedly mentions the Christmas party (an error he probably wouldn't make sober), Lee wastes no time in saying he'll be there. In a panic, Roger calls Pryce into his office and says they've got to scale up the Christmas party by a factor of lots, causing Pryce to put his head in his hands and then gasbag about expenses adding up; Roger in return tells "Olivier" that Lucky Strike is their business, and "if Lee Garner Jr. wants three wise men flown in from Jerusalem, he gets it!" Personally, I think three wise men would know not to go anywhere near Lee Garner Jr., but it's true the Santa thing hasn't happened yet.
Roger barks for Joan, and when she appears, Pryce tells her there's been a "small adjustment" to the scale of the party. Hilariously, Joan sardonically over-enunciates, "Lower or higher?" As if lower wouldn't mean they'd have to roll drunks on the Bowery for their bottles of Thunderbird. After Pryce breaks the news about Garner, Roger tells her they have to change the rating of the party "from convalescent home to Roman orgy," and Joan's all over it; they're going to need to appear to have more employees, so she's going to allow everyone escorts; also, there will be "New York food, deli and Chinese, and some kind of gift for Mr. Garner." Pryce has already left in a huff at this point, so Roger's free to flirt, saying she's off limits, and Joan replies, "I don't think he's the one that needs to be reminded." When she's right, she's right. Roger keeps flirting with her (he's taken the opportunity to resume drinking, by the way) until Joan, fairly unimpressed, leaves, but not without giving him an old-school sashay away to admire. It probably looks even better to him, with two of her to watch.
That fetus Mark who accompanied Peggy to Don's shows up at Peggy's door (she looks like she's moved on up to the East Side, by the way) with some Christmas cookies that "Sheila" from "the station" baked, and he adds that Sheila's sixty years old so we don't get the wrong idea, like, I appreciate the effort, but you've got such a baby face I think I'd be more comfortable with Peggy dating Glen. Despite that, Peggy and Mark start kissing, and when she tries to slow him down, he asks if "Rasputin" is home, and Peggy laughs that "she" will hear him. I don't even want to guess who that might be, if we've even met her before, but I want to recap the flirting between Peggy and Mark even less, so let's wrap it up: He wants to do her, she wants to wait, and he wants to be her "first." Hee hee hee. Poor naïve fetus. He goes on to tell her that in Sweden, people make love at the drop of the hat, prompting this response: "You're never going to get me to do anything Swedish people do." So, do you vaguely remember how Karen, Peggy's old liberated roommate, was Swedish? Me too. HA HA HA! Anyway, Peggy kicks him out, but not before some more uncomfortable-to-watch kissing that's punctuated by this remark: "I want you to think about that." I'm laughing again, but it's a lot less mirthful this time. Ew.
Don staggers into his hallway to find Phoebe cleaning up some vomit from the party; he drops his keys in front of the door and slurs that he's coming from work, prompting Phoebe to ask if he works at the White Horse Tavern. If he did, they'd have had to expand, I'd imagine. Anyway, after Don tells her he doesn't hate all Christmases, just this one, Phoebe gets the door for him and puts him into bed, easily throwing off his attempts to seduce her while mentioning that her father was a drunk. He asks how she can work in a hospital, but she tells him she loves it -- "everything happens there" -- before bidding him goodnight.
The day, jaunty music plays as Joan is overseeing all the preparation for Operation Make Lee Garner Happy, while Freddy is chomping on corned beef and pitching a bunch of over-the-hill actresses to Peggy. Peggy tries to keep it civil while shooting him down, but when Freddy suggests they go with the angle "Use Pond's, or you won't ever get married," Peggy has had more than enough, and tells him while she's pitched his name on countless occasions for freelance work, everyone's right about him. "You're old fashioned, you know that?" Well, at least she's not referencing the drink, but this still goes down worse than the corned beef, and Freddy takes his leave, ostensibly to get dressed for the party. And on the plus side, he doesn't refer to Peggy as a tomato on the way out.
Glen calls the Francis residence, but no one answers. Meanwhile, in the city, the party is getting underway, with ham and bad Christmas music on tap for everyone. The Cranes and Campbells discuss their Christmas plans before Jane, obviously referring to that girl Bethany with whom she set Don up, asks him if he's spending the holiday (he claims he's going to Acapulco) with anyone special, and he somewhat apologetically says no. Peggy then appears with the fetus, and since Don remembers him and not Phoebe I must re-ascertain that he is off his game something fierce.
Elsewhere, a bunch of crotchety types (Bertram is among them, as you might guess) are decrying the perils of socialism, but when Dr. Miller catches sight of Don, she perks up. Joan then gets everyone's attention, and not just by the red dress with the ribbon she's wearing that Roger specifically requested, and tells them that it's time -- "Man your battle stations!" Again, where Lee Jr. is concerned, she's saying a mouthful. Also, Roger asks where Greg is, and Joan casually replies, "Saving lives." I don't know what she's covering up here, but I have this feeling that Greg's in a VA paraplegic hospital somewhere. Just playing a hunch, said hunch being informed by how horribly depressing this show can be. Anyway, Lee Jr. soon appears, wearing a fur-lined overcoat, and again, I wonder if this is another subtle hint that he's queening out a bit these days. I suppose it could just be re
ally cold outside, but if I were Adorable Joey I'd keep a wary eye on him at all times. Anyway, Lee Jr. is his typical blowhardy self as he tells "Red" that he's been drinking all day, and as she leads him away, all the male principals exchange a "What a surprise" look.
Glen and some cohort of his break into the Francis residence and start vandalizing the place with eggs and other random food. I'd prefer they targeted Francis himself, but it's a start.
Back at the party, Joan's leading a conga line, and once they take a break, Lee Jr. asks where Santa is. Roger replies that he didn't show, but Lee Jr. says he's sure he congaed by a Santa costume, and suggests Roger put it on. Roger declines, and Pete's actually up for doing it himself, but Lee Jr.'s got a bee in his bonnet about Santa having white hair, and soon he's dropped any pretense of this being a request and is telling Roger to get in the damn suit already. Roger, after a pause, heads off to get it, and while this is not a little creepy, it's probably no weirder than some of the stuff in which he participated while in the Navy. Also, it seems like appropriate karmic retribution for his blackface performance.
The Francis family arrives home to find the place trashed, and Henry correctly guesses kids are responsible. Of course -- adults would know this place is way too boring to be worth breaking into these days.
Jane asks Pryce where his lovely wife is, and Pryce says she and his son are back in London, where he'll join them shortly. In honor of Pryce's British heritage, I'll give that one a hearty "Pshaw!" Roger then emerges from one of the offices in the suit, rather unsteadily if I do say so myself, and gives a present to Lee Jr. -- a Polaroid. Lee Jr. seems genuinely touched in his gruff, closeted way, while elsewhere, Don wishes Peggy, or "sweetheart," as he calls her, a sincere Merry Christmas.
Back at the Francis residence, we hear Bobby freak out off-screen at the eggs in his bed, but Sally discovers that not only is her room fine, Glen has left his lanyard on her pillow. She smiles, as you do when you discover you have your first juvenile delinquent stalker.
Don's packing up when Dr. Miller knocks and enters, complaining she's not allowed to leave until her boss ("Jeff") and Bertram "figure out how to take food from children." After learning she has four Christmas parties to go to and offering appropriate condolences, he invites her to have a seat, but she declines in favor of saying she wanted to make sure they have no problems, as he's the "creative shaman" at SCDP, yet he didn't take the test and walked out on her presentation, and she's disappointed, particularly since she went to the trouble of investigating him thoroughly. He admits that he doesn't think her method of research is particularly productive, but she tells him they're in the same business -- they both help people to sort out the conflict between what they want and what's expected of them. She said almost exactly the same thing when discussing the questionnaire earlier, but Don's mind was focused on thoughts of escape long before that, so I suppose it's logical that he's taken aback by the profundity of her point of view.
But while this has nothing to do with market research directly, there are numerous instances this episode of people doing what other people expect of them by keeping up appearances -- Pryce, for one, I'm sure is not telling the truth about the state of his marriage, and as I mentioned earlier, it's an easy bet that something has happened with Joan's husband Greg as well. And of course, the way Don treats Allison at the end is a prime example as well.
Anyway, Don invites her to dinner, but it's not hard to see even two episodes in that one of the themes of this season is that the Don Draper charm ain't what it used to be, so it's no surprise that she respectfully declines. On her way out, though, she tells him not to worry -- the holidays are tough for someone in his situation, but he'll be remarried within a year. I think he didn't realize her research extended into his personal life, which is why he seems taken aback, but she interprets his sharp "What?" as disagreement, so she sighs, "I'm sorry. I always forget -- nobody wants to think they're a type." HA HA HA! The writing staff is going to have to work hard to come up with a line I enjoy more.
Oh, dear. Turns out that Polaroid worked out better than anyone could have imagined, because Lee Jr. is using it to snap photos as all the employees take a turn on Roger's knee. Harry, sotto voce, apologizes profusely when it's his turn, but I think Roger's drunk enough that's he's past the point of caring. For his part, Don emerges from his office in the background, takes a disbelieving look at the goings-on, and heads for the hills. Call him a Grinch, but I think I would have done the same.
Unfortunately, and not just for him, when he arrives at his door, Don realizes he is not in possession of his keys. He knocks on Phoebe's door, but, you know, suicides, so...
...he calls Allison from a pay phone, who finds the keys on the floor by his desk. Joey then opens the door and, hearing what happened, says they can meet at Joan's in half an hour, but Allison amends that to an hour, as she may need to get some food in him. Joey proclaims Don "pathetic," which, again, is not talk you would have heard from an underling in the first three seasons. Don always drank a lot, but it's not just that he's drinking more -- he's standing out, which is making him the object of ridicule. Of course, Don is going to pay Joey back for his insult by shtupping his crush [SPOILER!].
Well, not really on the spoiler front, as a short time later, Allison shows up. Don apologizes, but he's got a bottle of booze in his hand, so his judgment really seems impaired, both generally and in this moment. Allison gets him some aspirin as he flops down on the couch, and she's about to safely take her leave, but he pulls her down with him and starts kissing her with an amorous smile. She resists momentarily, but it's pretty clear at least part of her has thought about this before, so she goes with it. The camera tastefully pans left so all we see is Allison sliding off her shoes...
...and then we somewhat disturbingly cross-fade into Sally looking out the window, wondering what her Dad is up to. She then gets into bed and lovingly fondles the lanyard...
...and then, after the passage of probably not too much time, Don and Allison are done. They enjoy each other without awkwardness, which seems nice but probably is going to make tomorrow morning even harder to take for her. After a few moments, she grimaces as she remembers she's supposed to meet "somebody," as over at Joan's, Adorable Joey suddenly feels like crying and has no idea why. Allison's prior commitment neatly obviates any awkward conversation about spending the night, and after she quickly freshens up in the bathroom, he assures her everything's okay, and she gives him a kiss and takes off. When she's gone, however, Don doesn't even bother with going to bed or even turning off the lights as he collapses back down on the couch, and I guess the best we can really hope for is that he won't remember this at all.
We start on a closeup of female feet, and considering the way they're primly stepping over the dregs of the party, it's not a big shock that they belong to Peggy. As if to validate that idea, when Peggy goes into her office she finds Freddy sitting at her desk, and he explains that it's "the cleanest spot in the office." She asks why he didn't come to the party, and instead of telling her to put two and two together again, he explains that in his experience, when they give you the Santa suit, "there's usually a bottle already in the pocket." I don't think an exception was made in this case. Peggy's glad, as she doesn't want to worry every time she hurts his feelings he's going to start drinking again, and I understand her point, but I can't say I blame him for suggesting that she not continue to do that. I mean, I don't blame her for what she said; I just think it's something they could both strive for in the future. She does apologize for calling him old-fashioned, and he returns the favor by apologizing for saying she wanted a husband, but she admits she does want to get married, and she has a boyfriend, but he won't leave her alone, which is an old-fashioned euphemism for "has grabby hands." Freddy starts to tell her about his randy old days when he was courting Violet, which sends Peggy running for coffee, but she turns around and admits the other part of her dilemma -- she doesn't want to be alone on New Year's Eve. Freddy gives it to her straight -- if she wants to marry this guy, she can't do anything, or he won't respect her. She asks what happens if she doesn't know, and he warns her not to lead him on. "That is physically very uncomfortable, you know." Heh. And speaking of uncomfortable...
...Don walks in and sees Allison already typing away at her desk. He defers having to see her for ten seconds by ducking down the other way, where he runs into Roger and puts on a German accent: "Did you enjoy ze Fuhrer's birthday?" Roger's equal to it: "May he live for a thousand years." They giggle, and Roger, Alka-Seltzer in hand, tells Don his father used to say this was the greatest job in the world except for one thing -- the clients. Not terribly original, but probably hard to argue. Comic relief over, Don goes to his door, at which Allison greets him with a friendly smile. He neutrally asks if she made it home last night, and she admits she didn't before they head into the office, in which he sees a pile of presents -- Allison had gotten them a few days before, but didn't have them wrapped until now. Don prefaces further conversation by saying he really "overdid it" at the party; not yet getting it, Allison regards him with an expectant smile, but when he thanks her for bringing the keys and tells her he's probably taken advantage of her "kindness" on too many occasions, her smile fades, as this isn't remotely how she was hoping this would go -- being treated like an employee when you expected to be treated like a lover has to be just revolting. Ignoring her crestfallen expression, he gives her an envelope he says contains her bonus and bids her Merry Christmas, and she thanks him without a hint of pleasure. Pulling it together as best she can, she asks if there's anything else at the moment, and the answer's negative, so she leaves. Don at least looks like he hates himself a little...
...but that's probably not enough, as Allison brings herself to open the envelope. Inside is a card with two fifty-dollar bills and this note: "Thanks for all your hard work." Now, of course he probably wrote this before the incident the night before, and of course the cash is best, as she won't have to pay taxes on it. Still, if she's not in the shower tonight desperately trying to scrub the feeling like a hooker off her, I'm missing a big bet. She starts typing on a fresh sheet of paper, and I hope it's not a resignation letter but if it is you could hardly blame her. And speaking of sexual regrets...
...Peggy has Done It with the fetus. He asks if she feels different, but I'm more wondering whether she felt anything, especially during. She doesn't answer him, but her haunted expression after she rests her head on his chest probably tells us everything we need to know. So...
...let's go back to Don, and by the way, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," the creepiest, most inappropriate Christmas song in existence, is playing here just to emphasize how screwed-up the decisions everyone's making are. Don finishes a drink at his desk, and we cut to him leaving the office, the stack of presents for his kids balanced precariously in one hand. He walks down the hallway, and I hope we all recover from this episode by the time Christmas actually rolls around. See you week!
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. You can email him at couchbaron@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/couchbaron or https://twitter.com/eastfifthbliss.
See our list of the greatest Mad Men moments of all time!