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This is the most underwhelmed I've felt on first viewing in quite some time, I have to admit. Okay. Harry drags Pete to a lunch with Ken, and when Harry gets an important phone call, Ken and Pete get to chat and fight and then bond, and it's pretty cute how much they obviously miss each other. Meanwhile, Pond's has a wild hair about Clearasil being a conflict for them, and since Pond's is bigger, Clearasil has to go, despite the toll Pete says it will have on his personal relationship with his father-in-law. When Pete takes his father-in-law out to tell him what's up, however, he's the one that gets some surprising news -- Trudy is finally pregnant, and what's just as surprising is that he's actually pretty happy about it. When Trudy's parents come over the night to celebrate, though, Pete tries to get her dad's big business -- Vicks Chemical -- and succeeds, kicking Clearasil over to Ken in the process. Also, the news of Trudy's pregnancy causes Peggy literally to bang her head against her desk, and also to give Pete long cinematic stares of desire. One of those I could have done without.
Also on the subject of Pond's, SCDP conducts a focus group for the product, led by Dr. Miller and in view of Don, Freddy and Peggy. It devolves into a sob-fest about the girls' esteem issues when it comes to men, and when Allison completely bails from the session, Peggy goes to talk to her and learns the truth about her hookup with Don; unfortunately, Allison assumes that she and Peggy have a shared experience on that front, to which Peggy takes predictable umbrage. Later, Allison gets Don alone and tells him off for not acknowledging what happened between them and then quits, freaking out on him most deservedly in the process, and I will miss her but this was overdue. Joan, seemingly wise to the issue, gets Don a new secretary who's older than Methuselah, and if that doesn't solve the problem, he's maybe beyond help. Some other stuff happened, but frankly, it was pretty uninspired, so let's just save it for the full recap.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!I see John Slattery directed this episode, and it was his first time behind the camera. Interesting.
Don and Roger, with Allison listening in, are on a conference call with Lee Garner (Jr., I assume, although it isn't specifically stated), and Garner is apparently rather worried about some new restrictions on their advertising. Don's doing what he can to mollify the client by chain-smoking, but this is the sort of thing that would be more effective in person. He then puts the receiver down to get a drink, and when he sees the bottle he wants is empty, he asks Allison why that is. Allison: "Because you drank it all." Ordinarily, I'd consider that a bit out of line for a secretary, but since she probably put that bottle out like, yesterday, I'm going to allow it. He goes for something else, leaving Roger to take up the Client Whispering for a bit, and then Dr. Miller and Peggy enter to discuss an upcoming focus group for Pond's. Before Dr. Miller can get more than a few words out, though, Allison informs Don that Garner said his name, so he tries to soothe Garner again before covering the mouthpiece and distractedly telling Peggy to write up an idea she had as a hypothesis for the focus group, that being, as she tells us, that women go through the ritual of applying Pond's and look in the mirror for 20 minutes feeling good and not vain. So, vanity is in the eye of the beholder, then. Don gives the idea a literal thumbs-up and Dr. Miller compliments it as well, and after Dr. Miller gets Don's permission to grab some of the 18-to-25 girls from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce for the focus group, he dismisses them. But Pete and Pryce show up at that moment, and also, Don opens an envelope to find an old Polaroid of him and Anna with a note from her (dated February 19th) that reads "Stephanie doesn't think we look old." Well, glad to know she's still alive, but would she really send this to the office? Seems a little contrived and only serving to make a fairly redundant point with Allison.
Anyway, noting what's going on, Pete asks why he wasn't told about the Lucky Strike call, and Roger says he should thank him: "I saved you an ass-ache." Despite the setup, I think I've made enough jokes about Lee Garner, Jr., so I'll opt to keep moving here. Roger steps out of the office to break some news to Pete -- Cal Rutledge, the somewhat-reformed boozehound from Chesebrough-Ponds, has an issue -- he feels Clearasil is too close to Pond's for comfort, and as such wants them to drop the former. Pete points out that "pimple cream and cold cream" are fairly far apart, but Roger tells him their view doesn't matter, and Pryce chimes in that Pond's is worth a significant amount more to them. Somewhat desperately, Pete appeals to Roger, saying Pryce as a bean counter won't understand, but he had to go to great lengths just to get his father-in-law to bring Clearasil along to SCDP. Roger, however, is of the opinion that Pete's been good to them, sales-wise, so there won't be any cause for resentment. "Throw yourself on the grenade. Protect the agency -- you're a partner now." He slaps Pete on the arm for emphasis, and then Pryce, after asking Pete to do it that evening if he can, hilariously slaps Pete on his other arm. Pete just stares into space, no doubt thinking, "Didn't I just hear something about being saved from an ass-ache?"
Also hilariously, Roger gets back on the phone after that little excursion to tell Garner how dedicated to their needs he is, "but if you want to get into the line-by-line of the costs we've billed for, I'll have Lane Pryce at the foot of your bed in 20 minutes." Well, I've had sexier mental pictures, I have to admit. At whatever response comes from the other end, Roger rolls his head back in disgust, prompting Don to claim that there's a fire outside. Jumping at the proffered opportunity, Roger chimes in that it's right down by Radio City, and they have to go. Well, it's not as funny as blowing fake "You're breaking up!" static into a cell phone, but it certainly got the job done. When they're off, Roger and Don look at each other like they know this conversation does not bode well for the firm's future, and then Allison asks if she should type everything up. Roger says yes, and continues that she should remind him to tell Caroline to tell Pryce that Lucky Strike noticed they're being billed for all the work done for everyone else at SCDP. "You know what? I don't want that on paper." I see the wisdom, but while you're at it, you might get her to excise the part about the fake fire, too. Once Roger takes his leave, Allison grabs the empty bottle of booze and asks about the letter; when Don tells her it's from a "dear friend," she wonders if it's the one from California. Don tersely tells her yes as he hands her his outgoing correspondence, and she looks slightly hurt at his failure to offer anything more personal. Will that theme pay off with physical violence? You'll just have to wait to find out.
Pete enters his office, and the support beam in the middle of it prevents him at first from seeing that Harry's eating at his desk. Once he catches sight of him with a start, he seethes, "I hate this office." Harry replies that Pete wanted to be close to Roger, like, who asked you and what are you even doing in there, but I guess the answer is that he wanted to ask Pete if he's seen Sunday's paper. Pete, pouring a drink, tells him that if he's referring to the Playtex ad therein, he's been told the printer mistakenly swapped paper stocks, "and I don't care if she looks like a Puerto Rican. Puerto Rican girls buy brassieres." If this is based on personal experience, I don't want to know about it. Of course, I want even less to know about Harry drooling over the memory of a Puerto Rican woman he saw on the subway, so let's move on to where he shows Pete an announcement in the paper -- Ken is getting married. Pete asks what that is to him, so Harry tells him that Ken took him and Jennifer to the opera the month prior, and they had great seats and now he knows why -- his fiancée's father is the CFO of Corning. "My father-in-law's a bus driver -- the only place he can take me is to the moon." The Honeymooners reference aside, are we taking up a collection here? Pete wonders why Harry was fraternizing with the competition, but Harry dismissively says that "Geyer" is twice their size, and besides, they're friends. Pete disgustedly tells Harry not to be always looking for a job, although when he reads the transcript of the Lucky Strike conversation I wonder if he'll change his tune, and Harry basically tells him it can't hurt to keep ties with a "comer" like Ken, who by the way has Mountain Dew these days. He adds that he's having lunch with Ken the day, and Pete should come along. "Worst case, Kenny'll brag too much, and then you can steal a client from him." Heh. First time Harry's made me laugh in a while, I tell you what, but Pete's too down about the way his day's going to appreciate it, and when Harry's gone, he goes and rests his head on the support beam. The beam is like, "I thought you hated me!"
Peggy gets on the elevator and sees a young woman holding a binder, attached to which is a pink slip that reads "REJECTED." Astute as she is, Peggy offers that that looks like bad news, but the woman says the bad news isn't hers -- she's Joyce, an assistant photo editor at Life, and she looks impressed that Peggy's a copywriter. Peggy says she loves Life's photos, but Joyce says she'll never see the ones she's holding. Conspiratorially, she shows Peggy some of them, and they're female nudes, which I guess is what the nudity warning at the top of the hour was all about. Peggy admits that she'd be shocked if she saw them in Life, and Joyce tells her the photographer is a friend of hers, but her boss hates nudes. "Who hates nudes?" Peggy, thankfully and wisely, decides not to get into all the complaints they must get about any ads seen to violate the merest standards of propriety, instead pointing to another picture and opining that it's beautiful. Joyce is like, "Oh, REALLY," and after they say their goodbyes the way she stares after Peggy makes it clear her les-dar is pinging in a big way. Sorry, Joyce, but she likes male parts. I mean, considering the sexual partners of hers we've seen, there's no alternative explanation.
Tom, Trudy's father, is already waiting at the bar of some establishment when Pete enters; after a brief hesitation, he moves to join him. After Pete orders a drink, Tom asks what's so important, and on second view he does have this playing-along-with-the-charade look on his face, which is fun. Pete tells him he hopes he knows he's always tried to do his best by him, and with eyes looking like they're about to pop out of their sockets from stress, he babbles for a while in attempting to break the news, but Tom, totally misinterpreting, laughs that Pete is "some kind of high WASP, all right," and says he already knows before giving Pete an affectionate kiss on the cheek. Pete, astute as he is, figures out that this isn't really an appropriate reaction to getting dumped, and so asks what Tom is talking about, and Tom jovially says his wife Jeannie went to the doctor with Trudy. Pete, having long had reason to believe his wife is as barren as the ladies of her station in The Handmaid's Tale, is stunned, and Tom sticks a wing tip in his mouth before removing it and saying it was Monday that she got the news, so why hasn't she told him? Pete, who even through the surprise seems a lot happier than you might have expected, muses that he doesn't know before breaking into a grin: "I'm going to be a father?" Aw. An enjoyable moment is made far more so by Kartheiser's work as he puts his hand over his heart and says he feels like it's going to burst, and Tom, doubly happy now that his faux pas has already been forgotten, orders a bottle of champagne and says they're going to tie one on. He doesn't, however, forget that Pete had something else he wanted to discuss with him, but Pete hems and haws for a moment before he says they're putting new Creative on Clearasil, and Tom replies that he doesn't care. That's pretty clever from Pete, because if Tom later asks, he can claim he said they're putting no Creative on Clearasil. Tom starts babbling about how they would have had more kids if not for his wife's forced hysterectomy, but Pete's already lost in his own thoughts...
...and when he gets home, Trudy greets him in a state; Tom just called her, drunk and in tears, and confessed his error. She adds that she was just waiting until their anniversary that weekend to tell him, but Pete kisses her and says he doesn't care how he heard, and Trudy's overjoyed at his reaction, but when he says it feels different than he expected, she asks, "How would you know what this feels like?" What a bizarre thing to say. He's talking about being a father, right, and he didn't say he knew what it felt like, only that he had an expectation in advance, so... what? Did she think he was claiming to know how being pregnant feels? Anyway, they sit down, and Pete considerately asks how she's feeling, but Trudy's still on about her father, so Pete confesses the news about having to drop Clearasil and how he didn't have the wherewithal to do so once he got the other news, as he was "so bowled over." As adaptable as she's proved to be, it's no surprise when Trudy offers to break the news to her father herself: "He's already so guilty he'll never feel the knife go in." Pete doesn't want to let her do that, and points out that SCDP needed Tom, but Trudy firmly replies, "And now you don't. Tomorrow night. Yankee Pot Roast." So, pregnancy hormones make you shrewder and more calculating, is that the lesson here?
Joan marches up to Allison's desk with a slightly older secretary in tow and says it's time, and that "Caroline" will watch her desk. Allison asks why Caroline doesn't have to do this, and Joan rather acerbically replies, "You don't have to do this. You're getting paid." Caroline, however, jokes, "We're old and we're married. They don't want us!" She taps Joan's arm in an "Am I right?" gesture that I'm surprised doesn't result in her being burned to a crisp by Joan's Eyebeams Of Death, and then adds that she does use Pond's. Joan gives a tiny yet detectable eye-roll before shepherding Allison off into a room with the other girls, and she and another girl "Megan" close the curtains...
...while in the adjoining room, Don and Peggy are joined by Freddy and Dr. Miller, the latter of whom, holding her usual business suit on a hanger while she wears a much less threatening blue sweater and skirt, snits that she had to wait until the girls left the ladies' room to change. Freddy pointedly pipes up, "You could have used my office, but I don't have one." Well, I would have suggested you build one and bill Lucky Strike for it, but it sounds like that ship has sailed. Peggy hands Dr. Miller a nametag, and Dr. Miller says there's a mistake - she did want her first name, as is on the tag, but she also wanted it deliberately misspelled (leaving off the "e") because it would show the girls she's not that important and thus make them trust her. Well, if you're going to be that devious, couldn't you lie that your name is actually spelled "Fay?" Maybe that's one too many untruths of which to keep track, but the oversight by the writing staff does make it seem like she missed a trick. Dr. Miller hands the tag and her wedding ring to Peggy, and then Joan comes in and warns her "there's lots of perfume." Dr. Miller: "There always is." She heads out, and Joan opens the curtains and switches on the speaker, saying that she supposes (I guess they're in her space) that she'll go work in Roger's office. "He won't be coming." She exits...
...and inside, Dr. Miller introduces herself as "Faye," and then makes a show of looking around for a nonexistent nametag. "I guess they forgot about me." The women chuckle as the observers in the other room look like they want to take a shower, and it is rather disturbing the way Dr. Miller is playing into the way these women feel they should be subservient and stupid by concealing the fact that she is not those things. I'm not saying it's unrealistic, just unsettling, and it does have the intended effect, as one of the participants offers that they spelled her name wrong. Faye (if that's how she's going to refer to herself here, I'll take the opportunity to type fewer characters) tells the women they should relax and feel like they're among friends; in the other room, Peggy absently tries on Faye's ring until she notices Don looking at her with a shit-eating smirk. Well, at least Freddy didn't catch that, or she'd really never hear the end of it. Faye pours the girls some water as she says they're going to talk about the things they do to keep themselves beautiful, and offers that she has a routine -- she brushes her hair as many times as she did when she was a girl, "but of course, only the nights before I have it set." Boy, is this scene making me miss Gretta, the Commandant of Focus Groups. In the other room, Freddy sighs, "Can you imagine? Your financial future is in the hands of a roomful of 22-year-old girls." Don, amused: "Not mine." And a good thing too, considering most of them have a voodoo doll of you full of pins.
Back in the focus group, Faye takes a bite of a Danish and then "confesses" that "sometimes" she watches her weight, and the girls giggle, and my God, how exhausting must it be to have to lead them by the nose to get them to do every little thing? I'm waiting for her to give input on their breathing technique. Also, her comprehensive insincerity in this situation makes me think her self-deprecation when we met her was horseshit. Anyway, with pastries now flying freely, Megan feels comfortable enough to pipe up that she doesn't use Pond's, as she's "of French extraction" and as such has beautiful skin -- in fact, her mother only uses water on her face, and she does the same. By the way, now that I get a good look at her, I see that the casting director must have been the third person that watched Jack And Bobby to the very end, as Megan is played by Jessica Paré, who played Courtney, who was the daughter of -- wait for it -- John Slattery. If Bradley Cooper is going to show up as Bertram's long-lost son or something, I can't say I'll be upset. Faye draws Megan out about her routine, prompting Peggy to opine that Faye is "amazing," and somewhere, Joyce gets a very hopeful feeling and has no idea why. Another participant starts to talk about the night cream she uses but happens to mention her boyfriend in the process, and that's where things start to go downhill, as her neighbor generalizes about boyfriends being unappreciative, and Night Cream Girl confesses her guy dumped her a year ago. Allison then gets in on the act, saying it's worse sometimes when the men notice your beauty, and then gives Don a quick look through the mirror glass, like, is the slow class tuning in this week?
Thankfully, we get a break from that session, as Pryce comes into Pete's office to find out how it went with Tom, and Pete has to tell him he didn't get the chance to break the news. Pryce suggests he take care of it ASAP, especially since, to Pete's irritation, Roger already told Pond's that it had been dealt with. Pryce starts to leave, but Pete calls him back, prompting Pryce to lean back out from around the support beam, and I'm starting to think that thing should get separate billing in this episode. It's gotten more screen time than several of the series regulars. Pete tells Pryce his happy news, and Pryce opines, referring to the Tom situation, that it "should take the sting out of all this." Pete looks a little hurt, but Pryce, to his credit, apologizes and shakes Pete's hand, saying that it's "the very best news." As far as SCDP is concerned, he doesn't know the half of it.
Night Cream Girl is now in tears about her ex, like, I wouldn't mind the deal where I get paid to go to therapy, but the point, I suppose, is that what she cared about was getting married, and now that the relationship is over she feels like she has nothing. Allison then breaks down, like, we're talking wracking sobs here, before leaving the room, and Peggy whispers that she feels kind of responsible, to which Don gives a rather hilariously guilty look before nodding his assent that Peggy go check on her. When she's gone, Freddy crows that he was right -- the girls just want to get married, and they'll buy anything that will help. Ugh. Seeing the social change that's going on in other subplots this season just makes this harder to watch.
And speaking of which, Peggy finds Allison crying at her station and leads her into Don's office. Things start off pleasantly enough, with Peggy telling her that she's been in a bunch of these things and people cry as a matter of course. "I think it just feels good to talk." Pretty funny coming from a woman so tight-lipped about her life that a priest almost shook her by the shoulders to get her to open up, but Allison isn't laughing as she says she can't even say anything, since "he" is right there. Peggy seems not to get it at first, but Allison continues that she doesn't know how Peggy can stand it, with how hot and cold he is. Peggy says Don's name, but Allison misinterprets her slowness on the uptake as dissembling, and tells her to stop it, as she realizes Peggy must have gone through everything she has. Peggy's ire starts to build as Allison continues that Don is a drunk, and they get away with murder because they forget everything, and in the emotion of this scene it's easy to overlook how significant this is, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time on this show anyone's openly referred to anyone else, particularly someone successful like Don, as a "drunk." Add to that the constant presence of someone in AA now, and I think the show is making it official that Don doesn't have a problem with alcohol; he has A Problem With Alcohol. Peggy, however, isn't interested in the nuances of Don's drinking, as she vehemently tells Allison, "Your problem is not my problem. And honestly, you should get over it." On the one hand, it feels a little dated for the character to have what feels like a defensive reaction toward Don, but it also could be related to the fact that she was in an analogous situation with Pete and held it together, and besides, I'm not arguing with her on the merits. As much as I enjoyed Allison, at this point I feel like Don is a known quantity, so... do what you need to do, but this is your life and vocation we're talking about here, so maybe don't use the focus group as an excuse to make a scene. Anyway, Allison begs Peggy to leave her alone, and in frustration, Peggy leaves.
When Peggy returns, things are wrapping up, which seems like quite the liberty, timeline-wise, but at least Freddy informs Peggy, "Nothing else good happened." Heh. Right afterward, Faye comes in and opines that it went very well; Megan then opens the door and asks if "she" is okay, and Faye is like, "Who?" I'm pretty sure I already got the sense that this woman's hard as nails and doesn't give a crap about any of these girls, thanks. It's a small point, but it annoys regardless; the same sentiment could have been conveyed by a disinterested look, and I don't buy that someone as precisely calculating as Faye would let fly even one line that would compromise her one-of-the-girls image to Megan, even now that the session is over. Peggy assures her Allison's fine, and after she withdraws, Joan enters from the other side and asks if it's okay to restore the place to normal, so Don suggests they adjourn to his office. Peggy, however, with Allison on the brain, hilariously suggests they go in the focus-group room, which is what they end up doing. Joan closes the curtains, for which I thank her, as I have had more than enough of the goings-on in that room for one day.
Pete and Harry are at a steakhouse, and Harry congratulates him on his news, even offering that he and "Jen" have a closetful of "baby crap," should Pete be inclined to take some off their hands. I guess that means Harry and Jennifer aren't planning on procreating further? Good to know. Ken arrives, and right after that, a waiter informs "Mr. Crane" (he actually speaks to Pete, to Harry's dismay) that he has a phone call. When they're alone, Ken fumes for a few seconds before telling Pete he's got something to say: "I would appreciate it for the future if you would not say shitty things about me behind my back." Given that he did that the entire time they were working together, it seems ironic that Ken would both notice and have a problem with it now, but Ken goes on to say that he heard Pete described him as "an all-American idiot who fell into everything," and what's more, he told Trudy that Ken was the one driving the Deere when it lopped off Guy MacEndrick's foot. Pete supposes that he probably only told her he was involved, as they all were, and that it was Ken's account, but Ken plows on (sorry) that Harry told him Pete said Ken was just marrying for money. Pete half-yells that Harry is the one that said that, and hilariously, Ken is basically like, "Harry's a douchebag and everyone knows it, but when you say it, it actually has some import." He adds that Trudy knows his fiancée via "some garden club," and Pete apologizes for the whole thing.
Predictably, that's all Ken needs to hear, and they settle in to look at the menus as Ken says he's just glad to be out of the office. Pete asks how things are, and Ken says he's doing okay, but it isn't a love affair, although it's much better than McCann. "My mother was a nurse at the state hospital in Vermont, and that was the last time I saw so many retarded people in one building." How odd it is to see that Ken is no longer quite the happy golden retriever he once was. I could get used to it. Pete congratulates him on his impending nuptials, and divulges his big news, and I'm surprised given what a hen he is that Harry didn't blow up his spot there. Ken warmly congratulates him and says he can't wait to be in that position himself, although I'd imagine he's looking forward to the trying part just as much, and then goes on that while he knows they're all slaves to Don over at SCDP, he'd rather answer to Creative than "some old fart." I know Aaron Staton is still a series regular, so he's going to be around in some capacity, but I do hope he returns to SCDP; no one makes Pete behave more hilariously than he. Ken goes on that Geyer is supposedly hoping to turn Mountain Dew into Pepsi, "but the only reason Pepsi would do it is to make BBDO sweat. This whole idea that we'd get the bigger company is a joke! We'd just end up with a bunch of little pieces." Little pieces with large dollar values, true, but it's still too bad Harry's not hearing this, just so he could thank Bertram again for not leaving him to be a mid-level cog in the machine of McCann. Pete is sympathetic, but Ken laughs it off, saying they're still very lucky, and then muses, "Another Campbell. That's just what the world needs." Heh. Pete seems to take that with a sense of humor, which shows that he does keep on making strides forward.
Finding his office door closed and Allison nowhere in sight, Don tentatively knocks; getting no answer, he enters to find her sitting on one of his chairs. He tells her he's glad she's feeling better, and while it's true she's not crying at the moment she's a complete disheveled mess, so once again he's picked the Wrong Thing To Say. It won't be the last time, either. Once he's walked in, she closes the door and says she's embarrassed; he willfully pretends not to get it, so she tells him, "This actually happened! We made a mistake, and I feel like it's awkward, and it's better for both of us if I move on." He tells her that's unnecessary, although not with any of the compassion or sincerity it would take to get her to change her mind, and Allison says it's what she wants, and a friend of hers told her about a job at a magazine. "I thought that might be interesting, working for a woman." HA! I don't think that was meant to be nearly as hilarious as I found it. Allison concludes that she would appreciate it if he'd write her a recommendation, to which he readily agrees. However, he suggests that it might be even better if she were to just type something up and have him sign it. Now, much like with the Christmas bonus, I don't think he's being intentionally jerky here, at least not completely -- what he's proposing is fairly common practice. But as obtuse as he's capable of being, he still has to know that this entire situation has come from his failure to treat her with any kind of personal warmth since their physical encounter. Especially when you consider that skill with the language is how he makes his living, he could have realized that a few words of praise from his own hand might have resulted in Allison not throwing a paperweight in his direction and shattering a picture frame, which is what happens in practice. Outside, the noise attracts both Peggy and Joan, although Peggy understandably looks a lot less surprised that it's come to this; inside, Allison has started to cry again as she tells him she doesn't say this easily, "but you are not a good person!" She grabs her things and runs through the now-gauntlet of observers, and Joan takes a moment to process and figure out how to play this one...
...before she appears in Don's doorway and asks what's going on. Don tells her he's going to need a new secretary, and when Joan pointedly asks if he'd be open to Allison returning in a couple days, Don is like, sure, if that's what she wants. However, Joan shows that she's perfectly aware of what's happened by simply asking, "Really," and Don admits, "No." Knowing how protective she can be of her girls, I think it's safe to say that Don's stock just dropped in her book, and she withdraws without another word. Don of course loses no time in going to his bar, and with his back to their shared wall, he doesn't see Peggy stick her head up and check out what he's doing. Heh. As buttoned-up as she can be around the office, it's nice to see her just being nosy. When Don starts to turn in her direction, she ducks down, and then her intercom buzzes with the news that Joyce is there to see her. Peggy starts climbing back down...
..as at Reception, Joyce is chatting with the Megan. Honey, she wasn't the one with the man trouble. Peggy comes out and asks if Joyce would like to see her office, but Joyce is in a bit of a hurry -- she just wanted to invite Peggy to a thing (well, a happening, although she doesn't call it that) that her friend the reject photographer is having downtown. After grabbing a pencil and paper off Megan's desk and thanking and calling her "sweetheart," she tells Peggy, "It starts at nine. I'll be there at ten." Might as well tell her when you're planning to kiss her, too, just so she has all the relevant information. When she's gone, Megan offers, "She's kind of pretentious," and honey, you're not kidding, but that's apparently what Peggy's looking for, as she dreamily replies, "I know," before heading back inside. Well, she's got bad taste in guys, too, so at least she's consistent. By the way, Bertram was just sitting out there on the couch, which I think is the first time we've seen him since he was being a crotchety coot at the Christmas party, and I love the old guy, but for all they're using him for they might as well just have him stuffed.
Pete arrives home to find his parents-in-law on the living-room couch, and when Trudy joins them, she pinchedly and pointedly tells Peter she's "a little behind." So, not quite so easy to leverage the bun in your oven as you thought? She tries to arrange a socially acceptable scenario to get her father alone so she can dump the bad news in his lap, but Pete tells her to go off with her mother, and she obliges him. When they're alone, Pete starts once again to break the news, but Tom interrupts to say that he gets it -- they need a bigger apartment. Pete: "Every time you jump to conclusions, Tom, you make me respect you less." HA! If this episode had just been the Pete parts, it would have been an A-plus. Pete goes on that "we" are grateful for Clearasil, but there's only so much business it's going to do. Tom's demeanor cools noticeably as he opines that's in SCDP's, and Pete's, hands, but Pete says he's done auditioning. Tom asks if Pete is mad at him, but Pete is beyond such petty indulgences -- he's trying to build a business, and since Clearasil is being conflicted out, he wants all of Tom's Vicks business. "Who's doing a better job for you than I have?" Tom fakely tells Pete he's given him something to think about, but Pete thinks the situation is actually quite simple. Tom: "You son of a bitch." So, they've had an in-law get-together? But this is just awesome -- instead of using the baby news to soften the blow about Clearasil, Pete built a better mousetrap by using it to get a bigger piece of the Vicks pie. And I like that it's not spelled out, in true high WASP fashion, but I think the idea is now that Pete has cemented his relationship with Trudy by giving her a child and being positive about it, it would be easy for him to turn her against her father were he not to play along with this business request. Regardless, Tom obviously feels like he has no choice here, which means that Pete can look forward to having his picture up on the SCDP Employee Of The Month wall.
Don's drinking alone in his office when he hears the janitor doing the floors outside. God, Don, with Lucky Strike line-iteming everything, how can the firm afford your liquor bills? He heads out, but not before exchanging a nod with the guy that's probably fairly awkward for both sides.
Peggy turns up at the party, which is in the sort of run-down commercial-looking space you'd expect. She eventually finds Joyce, who's chatting with a woman of color she introduces as "Sharon, one of Davey's models." Peggy, like a good Catholic girl, asks Sharon what her mother said about her nude modeling, and Sharon admits she doesn't know about it. I wouldn't risk it, Peggy. Your mom seems like the type to find out everything. Noticing a film playing on a screen in the room, Peggy asks what it is, and Joyce tells her Davey screws around with movies, too. "He's not as good at it." Peggy asks if there's any beer, but Joyce offers to smoke her out instead, and she readily accepts. While she's puffing away, however, Joyce leans in to kiss Peggy on the neck, and Peggy's like, "Whoa! How about dinner first!" Well, not exactly, but when Joyce explains that she's "hungry," Peggy tells her she has a boyfriend, getting this response, "So? He doesn't own your vagina!" Now, I almost never am bothered by the fact that the dialogue on this show is often a bit more modern than is realistic, but I do wonder whether this term was bandied about even by lesbians at sixties happenings. And regardless, I'm not sure how we got Down There quite so fast, but Peggy has the comeback to make everything okay: "No, but he's renting it!" Nice. And I'm not particularly surprised at Peggy's non-reaction to Joyce's orientation, although it does make me wonder if she still hangs out with my beloved Kurt.
Don gets home, and starts to write a letter of apology to Allison. However, when he's gotten as far as "Right now my life is very..." he can't think of how to continue, and instead throws the letter out and goes to the couch to pass out. Sometimes there's just nothing for me to add, you know?
Back at the party, Peggy is stonedly mesmerized by the countercultural imagery of the film; she tells Joyce she thought she was going to get to meet Davey, prompting her to call over some other dude "Abe" and asks where "Kellogg" is. Abe asks if Peggy is "with" Joyce, and Joyce asks, "Are you?" like, give it a rest here, honey. Peggy neatly sidesteps her, simply introducing herself, and then there's a bit about how Abe and Joyce can't believe Peggy isn't doing any writing other than at her job before the artist himself appears and does a good job of making Joyce seem unpretentious by comparison while deriding the idea that there could be art in advertising post-Warhol. We then hear a police whistle, signaling a raid, and the lights go out and everyone disperses in a panic. Peggy ends up in a closet with Abe, who is perfectly tolerable even by standards higher than this party's, and he confesses to Peggy that he was arrested once (I think he's a journalist), but instead of going to jail, his sister came and got him. Heh. There's getting the story, and there's getting strip-searched. He whispers that he feels like he should kiss Peggy, and she obliges him for a long, if rather chaste, exchange, until Joyce opens the door and tells them the police chased everyone down the fire escape, and they took the film. Abe thinks he should investigate the story and asks how he can find Peggy, and Joyce, not without a little jealousy, I think, says she knows where she is. Peggy and Joyce steal away...
...and outside, they run and giggle about the adventure they just had. Aw, it's cute to see Peggy having a good time. That'll last, right?
When Don arrives at work the day, he finds an elderly woman, with an accent I would describe as "New York Truck Stop," at Allison's desk. He greets her as "Miss Blankenship," and I don't believe we've seen her before, but I'm pretty sure she was Bertram's secretary back at SC. Anyway, as I mentioned in the recaplet, I think her advanced age will serve to solve the problem Don had with Allison (nice work as usual, Joan), and if it doesn't, I think he's beyond help. She tells him that Mr. Sterling would like to see him, and then turns to her side, "RAH-jah! He's hee-yah!" Heh. Yes, Roger is sitting there watching the whole scene with amusement, especially the part where Mrs. Blankenship barks into the phone, "Could you fetch Campbell and Lane, Pryce, Mistahs?" Ha ha. When Don goes over to him, Roger wonders what Don did "to make them take her out of mothballs?" He adds that she was working in Bertram's apartment. "You know he works without pants?" I did not know that, in point of fact, and was quite happy as such. Anyway, the purpose of the convocation of the partners is so Pete can announce his coup with Vicks Chemical, which gets the predictable reactions: An approving smile from Roger, wary indifference from Don, and unmitigated glee from Pryce. Pete adds that he thought he'd throw Clearasil over to Geyer, which seals him and Ken as bros again, and then Pryce says they'll be taking Tom and "Phillip Coakmeyer" to lunch. Roger, to Don: "Don't worry, we already checked with your... girl." It could be the high of the new billing, but even Pryce giggles at that one. Don shakes Pete's hand and tells him to keep it up, and I think it's significant to both Pete's journey and Don's that Pete has a normal, rather than schoolgirl-ish, reaction to the praise. On his way back into his office, Don tells Mrs. Blankenship to reschedule Faye...
...while elsewhere, Peggy is babbling excitedly about the nude photos to Joey, who I wish would get a subplot, but I'm still happy to see any time. Joey indulges her patiently, but when she asks if he knows Malcolm X was shot last Sunday, he sighs, "Do you ever read the stuff between the ads?" Heh. One of the girls then comes in with an envelope and says they're sending a bottle of champagne to the Campbells, and Joey says he'll sign the card. She sniffs that she was hoping for a contribution, and Joey replies, "No, thank you!" Hee. When Peggy sees the card with a stork on it, she chokes out, "Trudy's pregnant?" You... care now? I know we're getting the hard sell about Peggy wanting to get married, but I still don't believe it, sorry. It's been too long, both in dramatic and actual time, and on top of that, it's inconsistent with the way Peggy is living her life. I'm not saying she should have zero feelings about it, but I don't buy her giving the card back without signing it and looking like she's about to vomit; I think they're trying to shoehorn her into this "rejected" theme this episode has going on, as well as punish her for being so unsympathetic to Allison earlier, and I'm just not really convinced. Luckily, Joey isn't paying any attention as he muses that he can't believe Trudy's married to Pete. "I would get her so pregnant." I'm surprised Roger hasn't adopted Joey as his son-around-the-office, because he cracks me up with the best of them. Peggy gets up...
...and goes to congratulate Pete. He thinks she's talking about the Vicks coup, but when she clarifies that she's referring to the baby, his face falls somewhat, and he treads lightly, saying he guesses that's news. She tells him she's very happy for him and Trudy, doing a reasonable job of selling it compared to her performance a minute ago, and after he thanks her and she leaves, he looks uncertain, like he feels like he should have said something more. Pete, you've come a long way, but it's still probably just as well you didn't. Peggy, for her part, goes into her office and bangs her forehead on her desk, which does seem to help her collect herself but is making me think that all the offices in this place should have support beams. I mean, Don could have had cover from that paperweight!
Speaking of Don, he's typing something (another try at the letter to Allison? I'm not holding my breath) when Mrs. Blankenship buzzes that "Dr. Miller" is there to see him. "It's a she." Mrs. Blankenship's shaping up to be another worthy candidate for the Mad Men Road Comedy Troupe, I tell you what. Don looks irritated, but has her sent in, and it turns out that instead of moving the meeting, as he requested, Mrs. Blankenship told Faye that Don needed to see her immediately. He apologetically explains that they're "still working things out," and goes to pour a drink as Faye tells him she's done everything but finish the report, but it turns out "the hypothesis was rejected," and she instead recommends a strategy that links Pond's to matrimony. "A veiled promise." Don loathes the idea ("Hello, 1925") and says he won't do it, and asks what they're going to tell the client. Faye tells him she can't change the truth, but Don isn't done arguing: "A new idea is something they don't know yet, so of course it's not gonna come up as an option." Well, that may be true, but if you're only going to go with the focus group findings when they're what you want to hear, why have them at all, right? Faye doesn't make that argument, but does point out that she tried the "routine" and "ritual" concepts, as he well knows, but all they cared about was finding a husband. Don bites out that you can't tell how people are going to behave by how they have behaved, and it's an intriguing idea but he'd probably be more convincing without a pre-lunch drink in his hand. Faye asks why he's being so hostile, adding that she's had this argument many times in the past, but he replies that she goes in and gets people to talk "just to be heard, and not only does it have nothing to do with what I do, but it's nobody's business!" Oh, Don. Leaving aside your performance in Overidentification Theater, shouldn't you be having this discussion with Bertram? He's the one responsible for bringing Faye in, isn't he? Anyway, sensing there's no winning path here, Faye backs down, acknowledging that he's the client and withdrawing...
...while elsewhere, Peggy's lying on her couch when her phone rings. It's Joyce, who tells her they're having lunch in five minutes. Peggy's in, and asks if they should meet in the lobby, but Joyce tells her no. "My friends want to see Megan." Well, if she's going to be on display, good thing her skin's so wonderful!
Reception's already a bit crowded, however, as the senior executive lunch party has gathered. Pete joins them, and Tom re-introduces him to Coakmeyer, an oldster with no speaking lines. Don is yet to arrive, so they're all still hanging out when Joyce and her hipster friends come skipping up to the glass and moon at Megan, who gives Joyce a polite smile. Peggy appears and asks Megan if she wants to join them, but Megan begs off, so Peggy goes to join her new friends. When she gets to the elevator, however, she looks back, and uncharacteristically sentimental music plays as she and Pete exchange a long look and a wistful smile, and I suppose I read this as them finally Saying Goodbye or whatever, but honestly I think it's ridiculous, so let's move on...
...to Don arriving home. Some old codger has his door open for his wife, who's just returned from the market; he asks if she got pears several thousand times before she sharply replies, "We'll discuss it inside." I suppose this is meant as a counterpoint to Don's assertion that past behavior doesn't inform present behavior, as I get the sense this dude has been requesting pears for the last 57 years, but I'm not going to dwell on it, as I'm finally done with an episode that felt about that long. But Vincent Kartheiser getting nominated for some awards would be just fine by me. See you time.
Discuss this episode in our forums, and read our interview with Lane Pryce himself, Jared Harris. Then see the show's most outrageous moments so far!
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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 and https://twitter.com/eastfifthbliss.
Watch an interview with Trudy Campbell, herself, Alison Brie.
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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 and https://twitter.com/eastfifthbliss.