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Lee Garner Jr. fires SCDP, which may eventually pave the way for the return of Sal, but for right now reduces Roger to begging for thirty days to get the firm's affairs in order. Meanwhile, Joan tells Roger she's quite late, and if there's a problem, it's most certainly his. They go to a doctor who, after chewing Roger out, sends them to someone who can perform an abortion, but after an encounter with a mother in the waiting room who thinks Joan's also there for her daughter, Joan looks conflicted, and even though in the end she tells Roger the deed has been done a tiny bit of me wonders if that's really true.
Pryce's father shows up with the news that if he wants to see his son, he's going to have to go back to London, and while Pryce doesn't want to hear that, he does drag Don out with him and his father to what looks like the Playboy club, a place Pryce has obviously visited before, since we learn that he's in love with an African-American Playmate that he addresses as his "chocolate bunny," who is apparently the reason he's staying in the States. When Pryce tries to get his father to come out for dinner with the two of them, though, he declines on racial grounds, and then he rather brutally and with the aid of physical violence tells Pryce to pick a side of the pond and stick to it. At the ensuing partners' meeting, Pryce announces that he's returning to London for a month or so to straighten things out there, and given how little he's been on the show lately that amount of time will surely fly by without notice.
North American Aviation comes in and tells SCDP that they've upped their ad budget, which seems like good news, but a side effect is that they send people to the Francis home as part of a background check on Don. Despite the awkwardness of the questions and the opportunity to make Don's life difficult, Betty vouches for Don's allegiance to the country, but when she calls him to tell him what happened, he's completely flustered and admits that he didn't know anything about it. The idea that his life is being checked into send him into booze, and then he checks in with Pete, who realizes the problem, which is that Don might be arrested for desertion as Dick Whitman. Confronted with the prospect of Don enduring incarceration or leaving town to avoid same, Pete offers to use a friend's connection to look into it; meanwhile, Betty tells Henry about the FBI visit, but not why they might have been interested in Don, and Don sets up a trust for his kids in case something should go wrong. Faye comes in to see Don in the midst of his crisis, and after she takes him home, he has a stranger-precipitated panic attack, but even though he tries to get her to go, she won't leave him, and after he gets through the worst of it, she gets him to admit his Korean deception and the fact that the background check may mean that his life is over. As shocked as she is, though, she stands by him, and she's not the only one, as in the end, Pete not only lets NAA go but takes the blame for the loss in the process, which only makes me wonder how Don will end up repaying him.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Roger is morosely sitting in his office watching that drinking bird do its thing, and if he's this bored now, I'd suggest he find some more entertaining diversion given the fact he's going to have even less to do around here soon enough. Joan slides in and locks the door as she softly says she needs to speak with him, and even though this is Joan, you can see where she's going with this so I'm thinking this isn't exactly the distraction he was hoping for.
He does not get it at first, mentioning that it's been weeks since they, er, celebrated not dying together, and then trying to get amorous, but she softly says it -- she's late. "I'm very late." Roger stays flip, congratulating her, but she tells him Greg's been gone too long for it to be his. After the shock sets in, Roger asks if she's had a test, but Joan, with a hint of desperation, tells him she can't go to her doctor. He tells her everything will be fine and that they should take it one step at a time, and after she apologizes, which I take as an example of the frustrating mentality that it's the woman's responsibility for birth control, he reassures her again, whereupon she goes to and unlocks the door and then resumes her normal volume: "Very well then. I'll wait on your word." I guess the Things Women Have To Endure theme is not quite over yet. As Joan smiles at Caroline, Roger buzzes the latter to get him an outside line, and I'm glad he's at least dealing with this before going back to watching the drinking bird.
Betty is using her sewing machine when Don calls and asks if he can speak with Sally, and Betty, not without amusement, offers, "You can try." Guess the pendulum has swung back to détente this week. When Sally enters the room, she hesitates when she hears Don's on the phone, which indicates she's still not over him not allowing her to stay with him. However, Don shows that he's brought all his resources to bear on the problem when he informs Sally that he'll be taking her to see the Beatles at Shea Stadium on Sunday, and Sally shows that she's familiar with both the band and their fandom by dropping the phone and literally screaming at the top of her lungs. Not clear that said shrieking is entirely joyful, Betty takes the phone and asks what's up, but when she hears the news, it's a nice moment as she smiles big, without any jealousy, and encourages Sally to thank Don, which she does. Don tells her not to be mad at him if he wears earplugs, and while she promises she won't, I'm wondering if everyone there will be so agreeable about the matter.
Pryce is working when a buzz tells him he has a guest in Reception, which given last week and the previews I expected to be his son, and given the stuffed Mickey Mouse and balloons he takes with him to the meeting, I wasn't the only one. However, it's only Pryce's aged but, despite his cane, sturdy father, with whom I think we've been made well aware that he's not especially close, even though they do shake hands cordially enough. After two passing clients joke about the balloons and bear being their reception, Pryce The Elder informs Pryce The Younger that he hasn't in fact brought "Nigel" with him; instead, he's there to take Pryce home, as his estranged wife Rebecca doesn't want to see him unless he's in London. Well, given her feelings about New York, I wouldn't take that part personally. Pryce The Elder says he'll be at the Warwick until Friday, which should be enough time for Pryce The Younger to get his trip back to London arranged, but Pryce The Younger informs him that he's wasted his time. He softens, however, and suggests they dine together that evening, and Pryce The Elder agrees. I hope you won't take it as a spoiler when I offer that that's about as good as it gets. After Pryce is back in the interior of SCDP, he takes a moment to recover from the disappointment of his son's absence, and then puts the gift down on the table and walks away. Pryce, they do have mail to London, you know.
So it turns out that the two guys who passed the Pryces earlier are from North American Aviation, and they've passed out materials to the SCDP people with more blacked-out parts than a first-draft script from The Event. The basic idea, under all the cloak-and-dagger stuff, is that "Senator Murphy" would like people to know how much he's done for the state of California, and NAA wants to promote its cutting-edge technology while, as Harry puts it, "never [having] to say the word 'bomb'." In addition, they have a sixty percent increase in their ad budget to play with - it's now four million dollars - and they're taking the whole thing very seriously. Pete assures them that said seriousness is mutual, and the one guy assures him that there will be "fewer black bars" as the process moves forward, not that that's going to be relevant, of course.
When the NAA guys are gone, Harry says he's got to get out to California, but Don orders him to make sure to get him those tickets before he leaves. Harry tells him not to worry, and Don replies that he's not worried, in a voice that means, "If you don't get me those tickets you'd better stay in California, home-slice." Or something in that vicinity. When Harry's gone, Pryce, who joined the meeting late, asks Don to accompany him and his father to dinner that evening, adding that he'd consider it a personal favor. And if you're wondering why he doesn't add that it's going to have to be a more highbrow evening than the last one they shared, you'll get your answer soon enough...
...because we cut to the three of them entering the Playboy Club. The music is too loud to hear what's said, but Pryce The Younger does greet one of the staff rather warmly enough that it seems obvious even now that he's a regular here. Anyway, once the three of them are seated and some small talk is exchanged, Pryce The Elder tells Don that he was quite impressed with his office, and Don counters that the view is better at their current location. As if to agree, a certain "Judy" reaches their table and informs them she'll be their Bunny for the evening, and she inspects Pryce The Younger's key and ascertains that he is in fact the "keyholder." I'm hoping that's different from the Keymaster, although it would be hilarious if Pryce The Elder turned out to be Gozer.
Pryce The Younger orders three whiskey sours, and even though it was evident that he was speaking for the table, Pryce The Elder sniffs, "She's asking what you want, not how many you've had." As Homer Simpson once said, seems like the classy thing to do would be not to call attention to it. Pryce The Elder orders a bourbon, but Don, at least hip to the disapproving father vibe, sticks with the whiskey sour, and then Pryce The Younger asks Judy if she could arrange for, indicating an African-American Bunny across the room, "that lovely creature" to stop by at some point. Judy graciously agrees, and after she vanishes, Pryce The Elder tells Don he once was a salesman, "and therefore no stranger to places such as these." Indeed.
The African-American woman then turns up, and Pryce The Younger tells "Toni" that he'd like to introduce her to some special guests of his, including his father. Oh, Pryce, if this is the have the girlfriend meet the parents moment, it could use some work in both venue and letting all concerned parties in on the joke. Pryce The Younger conspiratorially tells Toni that he tried to get them seated in her section, but it seems that she's "very popular." He puts a hand on her stomach but withdraws it after a raised eyebrow and a "Mr. Pryce" from Toni, but there's clearly some affection between them, and Don at least sees it. Probably just as well that Pryce The Elder doesn't seem to, because I doubt physical violence is smiled upon here.
Two men show up to Betty's door, and one of them you may recognize as the wonderful Rob Nagle, who played Jen's therapist Dr. Tom Frost back in Season Four of Dawson's Creek. They introduce themselves as special agents from the Department of Defense, and Betty shows them in, but offers that she's sure they'd rather speak with Henry, and he's not home. However, they're there to talk about Don, as he's about to enter into business with the U.S. Government, and as such they need to confirm his application. Rob Nagle assures her that it's a routine check, but Betty's mind has already gone to that box she found in Don's study, and as such unsmilingly grabs her cigarettes and lights up to steady her nerves before the questions begin. Rob Nagle, after ascertaining that Betty and Don were married for eleven years, asks if she'd describe Don as a man of integrity, and Betty neatly sidesteps the intent of the question by pointing out that they divorced. "We obviously had differences." When Rob Nagle asks if Don read any subversive publications or belonged to any clubs worth mentioning, Betty's on firmer ground, but the $64,000 question is inevitable: "Do you have any reason to believe that Mr. Draper isn't who he says he is?" Betty pauses, probably wondering if she can get away with "It depends on who you mean by 'Mr. Draper.'" However, she abandons the idea and settles for a simple no...
...and then she's calling Don, clearly upset from the whole experience, and asking if he couldn't at least have given her some warning. Of course, given that advance notice of these things would defeat their purpose, Don has no idea what she's talking about, but when she explains about the G-men and that they asked about such things as his military service and his name, dread creeps into his voice as he asks what she said. He's mildly relieved to hear that she didn't tell them anything, but he's still shaken beyond measure, and even Betty looks taken aback to me by the force of his panic as she pauses before wondering if she should even be discussing this on the phone. This prompts him belatedly to put on an act here, and he tells her that of course she should - there's no problem with any of this. Betty catches on, putting artifice to match his into her voice as she reminds him that Henry works for the Governor, and she should have told her the men were coming. Don apologizes, but before they say goodbye, he drops the act and sincerely thanks her, and Betty, hilariously giving wary side-eyes like she thinks Rob Nagle is going to pop out from behind the bookcase, hangs up and regards the phone in distress.
Don, for his part, rushes out of his office like it's on fire and asks Megan if he was contacted by the DOD, and she has to tell him that yes, there was a form she filled out and he signed. Over his obvious consternation, she produces a copy and tells him it's all standard stuff that's on his employment record, but when that fails to calm him down, she tells him he's totally right and she'd understand if he wants to fire her. But even though everyone else in the office has perked up to see if "fired" is going to win Ken's pool, Don's mind has moved on, and he tells Megan to inform him as soon as Pete returns from lunch before leaving her to wonder from which unexpected direction the storm is going to approach. Inside his office, Don goes straight for his bar but ends up staring into space without drinking, and even with his recent forays into sobriety I still think this means he's rather out of sorts.
Toni, in normal clothes, comes down the stairs at the Playboy Club and is surprised to find Pryce The Younger there. He tells her about Nigel not coming, and she calls him "baby" and expresses sympathy but chastises him for all the public familiarity, adding that she could lose her job because of it. He apologizes, but she's not really mad, and he goes on that he loves her. "My chocolate bunny." I wouldn't have thought I'd find Pryce The Younger using any term of affection, much less "chocolate bunny," to be cute, but what can I say, Jared Harris is a great addition to this cast. Toni tells him she loves him too, but when he tells her he just wanted his father to meet her, she proves we see eye-to-eye at least on some things by opining, "Well, that was a silly way to do it." She adds that she doesn't know why he's asking for trouble, presumably referring to the difference in their skin color, but Pryce The Younger tells her she's in his life, and he wants his father to know why he's staying. With all due respect to Toni, it does seem like they're somewhat conveniently dropping both of Pryce's love for New York and his job here in order to upsell Toni's importance, but it's not like I doubt his feelings are genuine or anything, and after he tells her he'll phone, he looks after her lovingly as she exits.
Joan and Roger are in with an older doctor who snaps at the latter: "What kind of man are you? You've used this woman. And you've ruined her." It's lucky this isn't a tipping profession. Roger tells the guy they came for his discretion, not his judgment, but while that doesn't slow his tirade one bit, he does eventually hook them up with a dude in Morristown who will perform an abortion. Hey, that's closer than Francine's guy!
Don is waiting for him when a puzzled Pete enters his office, but when Don asks if he was aware that they applied for a security clearance to the DOD, his expression changes to pride as he asks if that went through already. Oh, Pete. At Don's "Think for a minute, hotshot" face, though, he realizes what happened and asks why Don filled out the form. When he hears how it happened, he feebly suggests that Don's been fine this long, but Don tells him out of eight answers on the form, three of them are lies, and then recalls that Pete once mentioned he has a friend at the DOD. Pete wonders what the friend is supposed to do, but Don firmly tells him to stop the investigation, or at least to give him some warning. Catching on to that last bit, Pete wonders why he'd want it, getting this response: "You can run the agency without me." And it's not clear whether that's a bluff, the ultimate vote of confidence, or a combination of both, but whatever it is, Pete isn't ready for it and promises he'll look into the matter immediately. After a long, appraising look, Don leaves Pete to it, but when he needs Pete and Betty to join forces to save his life I wonder how much longer he can last like this.
Joan and Roger are out in a diner, although not the one from last time, and Roger is lamenting their situation before wondering if it's a sign. "I haven't stopped thinking about you. Maybe I'm in love with you." No offense to the complexity of people's feelings at any given time, but "maybe"? You love her even more than you love Don, and that's saying a lot. Joan asks if that means he wants to keep it, and even though he reflexively answers no, he adds that if there's going to be something between them, he doesn't want it to start with this. He speculatively goes on that she could keep it and pretend it's Greg's -- tons of people did that in his war and no one did the math - but if she went that route, he wouldn't take any responsibility for the child. "If he comes home." Joan sighs that Greg dying is not a solution to this problem, which probably comes as a surprise to many viewers of the show, but also cracks me up because her tone sounds like if it were a solution she'd kill him herself.
When Roger offers that he's only concerned with what's best for Joan, she tells him she's going to take care of it, and she'd prefer that he not accompany her. He asks if he can at least drive her out there, but she points out that they shouldn't be seen together, and I nod in sage agreement as I continue to watch the two of them in a public place. Seeing his unconvinced expression, she assures him she doesn't need him to come, but I think his problem is that he wants her to need him to come. Which: Get over it.
Henry, already in bed, calls to Betty with an apology for missing dinner, but when she joins him, after some consideration, she tells him the real reason she's out of sorts by coming clean about the visit from the FBI, although she leaves out the part where she lied to them on Don's behalf. Without that information, Henry doesn't see the big deal, and even suggests that one day, if all goes well, she may be answering the same questions in regard to him. Well, it seems rude to cast aspersions on a man's career, Henry, so I'll take the high road and simply say I hope you're divorced long before it's come to that. Betty lets Henry know she's telling him because she doesn't want any secrets, and the hilarious way she pauses in the middle like she realizes she's painted herself into a corner means she's still the character who unwittingly makes me laugh the most by far. Henry takes this as a positive, though, and they cuddle. Ick.
Pete's already on the elevator when Don joins him, and after Don waves someone else away so he and Pete can speak freely, Pete assures Don that his friend is looking into it, and he's very discreet and it will all be okay. When he suggests that they can ride it out if need be, though, opining that the statute of limitations must have kicked in by now, Don reminds him that they're talking about desertion from the armed services here. Pete sniffs that he thought no one cared about these things, which is hilarious given, you know, Vietnam, and seethes that Don should know what to do, as he's been lying for years. "I don't have to live with your shit over my head." Not given that you're already waist-deep in it, no. They arrive at their floor, but before Don can get off, Pete grabs him by the arm and reminds him of the little irony that he signed NAA after Don, well, deserted him in California, and he's grown it from cocktails into four million dollars. Don, with equal passion: "Get rid of it." Well, that was easy to settle!
After Megan tells Don that a "Mr. Keller" is in his office, Don rushes in to meet the older gentleman, whom you might recognize from the season premiere as his accountant, and after they sit, Don tells him he wants to set up a trust for his kids. The accountant asks from what age, but Don tells him it should start immediately and that Betty should also have access to it. The guy looks at Don like he just suggested they split a basket of puppies for dinner before asking what's going on, but Don declines to burden him with dangerous information and instead is able to convince him he's fine. Keller finally smiles: "Now please tell me you're shtupping that girl out there." Don doesn't actually reply "Hmm," but there will be time enough for that.
Joan's in the waiting room with a sad mother-daughter pair, and she tries to keep her eyes on her magazine as the teenaged girl heads in for her procedure, declining her mother's offer to accompany her. When it's just the two of them, though, the distraught mother can't help crying, her posture hind of heartbreakingly collapsing under the weight of despair, and Joan, never made of stone, asks if she's okay. The woman, who's young enough herself, says she'll be okay, but then confesses that her daughter is only seventeen, and wonders what she can say to her. "I had her when I was fifteen, and I don't regret it, but...she seems so much younger." Joan offers that her daughter is beautiful, and the woman thanks her before explaining that she has no one to talk to. Joan says she understands, and Roger notwithstanding she certainly does, but the woman goes on to misunderstand by asking how old Joan's daughter is. Joan pauses and chooses to lie, saying that she's fifteen, and it's not like I wouldn't do the same to get out of an awkward social situation with a stranger, but from the look on her face it certainly seems like she's seeing her own situation a little differently...
...but we won't know anything about that for a while, so let's return to Don, who's lying on his office couch when Megan informs him via intercom that Faye is there to see him. He sits up before having Megan send her in, and he apologizes for not having called but says he has to cancel their plans. She observes that he looks sick, and instead of telling her she doesn't know the half of it, he allows her to feel his forehead and proclaim he's got a fever. He tells her he'll be fine, but she insists on taking him home, and he smiles and kisses her hand. Can you imagine what his life would be like at the moment if people weren't going out of their way to be nice to him?
Roger is out to dinner with Lee Garner Jr., and it's all the typical war stories involving various degrees of sexual harassment at first, but when Garner reaches for the check, Roger knows something's wrong, and Garner breaks the news: "It's over." Roger asks if Garner is actually trying to kill him, and while I understand his point I think if he wanted to do Roger in he would pick a slightly less subtle method, given that he's like Caligula for the modern day. Anyway, Garner explains that since his father's "incapacitation," the board has been more aggressive, and they now want to consolidate everything - one agency, one rate, all the brands. Roger offers to get Don in a room with them, but Garner tells them they're set on going to BBDO, and he doesn't want Roger to think he's being canned for cause. "There's no reason. There's nothing you can do. Nothing you could do." Roger, however, is not prepared to take the news with the sang-froid with which Garner is delivering it, and tells him they've been in business together almost thirty years, and as such are family - he even invited him to his daughter's wedding. "I don't know why you didn't get the invitation!" Heh.
Garner patiently allows Roger to ramble on, but he's unmoved even when Roger contends that this will mean the end of SCDP, and says they'll be calling for the files on Monday. Roger asks for a thirty-day reprieve, and when Garner balks, Roger pounds the table in anger as he seethes, "After all the lies I've told for you, you owe me that!" Okay, obviously I don't know specifics, but why wasn't THAT in his memoirs? It'd be a national bestseller! Garner, as you might imagine, didn't get to where he is by being easily intimidated, and he leans forward and somewhat menacingly tells Roger he doesn't owe him anything, adding that Roger inherited the account, so Roger takes by far the more advisable tack and begs for the thirty days to get their affairs in order, and Garner magnanimously gives in.
Roger then saves what face he can by giving Garner back his cash for the dinner, and Garner sticks out his hand: "No hard feelings." Roger looks at the outstretched arm like he's considering pulling it straight into his heart to end his suffering, but eventually shakes, and the countdown to the official end of Lucky Strike's relationship with SCDP has started, and also possibly, as I noted in the recaplet, to the return of Sal. Also, when Garner's gone, Roger pops what's probably some blood-pressure medication and looks like he's going to die of stress, and Roger, I don't know what to say other than that you might derive some small comfort from the knowledge that you're not the only one this episode.
Speaking of which, Don and Faye have reached the former's door when they see two unfamiliar men enter the hallway. Don's eyes widen in fear, and when the two guys approach, he tries to get the lock open but his hands are shaking too much to work the key. Turns out they're just in the wrong building, but Don looks like he's seen a ghost, and once they're inside, he has a scary and full-fledged panic attack, with the sweating and the borderline hyperventilating and the tearing off his clothes in a non-sexy way, and he cries out that he thinks he's having a heart attack before Faye can get him to the couch. He then bristles and asks her not to touch him, conveying the latent shame he feels about all the lies he's told, but she gets him to calm down a little when she tells him her father has a heart condition, and she knows for sure he's not exhibiting the symptoms. He asks her to go, but she refuses to leave, and then it's all too much for his stomach and he runs to the bathroom and lets his lunch fly. Well, Faye and Peggy now have something unexpected in common. We get a close-up of him raising his head from Porcelain Prayer Position, and he looks just about as bad as he gets. I mean, I think a full ten percent of the population might refuse to make out with him here.
Pryce The Elder shows up to his son's place, but gets a surprise when Pryce The Younger has Toni there to introduce to him, "properly, this time." Pryce The Elder tells her it's nice to meet her, but begs off dinner, saying he has to travel the day, as if he didn't already know that when he agreed to come by. Toni, of course, is in a no-win situation, as often is the outcome of polite bigotry, so Pryce The Younger sends her along to hold their reservation while he has a word with his father. When she's gone, Pryce The Younger asks his father if he's more disappointed that he found someone or that she's a "Negro," to which Pryce The Elder bites out that he's coming home. When his son refuses, he takes his cane and rather brutally clocks him in the face with it, knocking off his glasses and sending him to the floor, which was really unexpected and shocking, I have to confess. When Pryce The Younger reaches for his glasses, moreover, his father steps on his hand and urges him to put his house in order, either here or there. "You will not live in between." He keeps his foot where it is until his son breathes a "Yes, sir," whereupon he exits without another word. It's always nice when you get some insight into what makes a person tick. I'm just surprised that Pryce stopped running at New York instead of, say, California. Or perhaps the moon.
Pete's in his pajamas watching TV when a very pregnant Trudy, wearing a nightgown the look of which I would guess was described as "short wedding cake" in the maternity catalogue, comes out and asks him what's wrong. When Pete says he can't tell her, her mind goes to a place of German au pairs, but Pete waves her over and assures her it's nothing like that. When she's settled on the couch to him, he wonders how some people go through life dragging their lies with them, destroying everything they touch. "I loathe it. No one ever knows, except the honest people." Trudy, figuring that the only person she knows that fits the description is Pete's dead father, wants him to tell her about whom he's talking, but he assures her that she doesn't in fact want to know. "And I don't want you to." Trudy's then distracted from secrets and lies by the baby kicking, and then she turns back to Pete: "Just remember, everything's good here." Pete smiles, no doubt thinking that it sure is lucky that his wife has come to be his favorite person in the world.
Oh, poor Joan is taking the bus back from Morristown. No one wants to be alone, but even fewer people want to watch Joan do it...
...and speaking of things that are hard to watch, Roger's got his Rolodex out and is chatting with a woman with whom he's been out of touch, and it's all very lovely until he confesses that he's really calling for her husband and is informed that he's, well, dead. Roger sympathetically apologizes, but as he gets the details he offhandedly rips up the guy's card. As usual, he would be a lot more reprehensible if he weren't so hilarious.
Don's lying in bed like a frightened child when Faye comes in to check on him, saying she might have a Valium in her bag if he'd like it, adding that she never takes them. Instead of running to her purse and sucking down all the contents, however, he reaches his hand out, and when she takes it, he thanks her for staying. She asks who he thought the men in the hallway were, and he says he's tired, but when she presses him, he clarifies what he meant: "I'm tired of running." And here, he comes clean yet again about the identity-switching, but it's significant that this is the first time where he didn't strictly have to -- unless I'm mistaken, all the other people he's told -- Anna, Bertram, Betty -- were in situations in which his back was up against the wall and the truth was already half out. Here, he could easily have gotten away with putting Faye off, but I think both because he's tired of running away from himself and because he really cares about her, he didn't.
Anyway, Faye is understandably shocked, and Don goes on to tell her about the background check and how his life may be over. Faye thinks he can enlist a lawyer and have a fighting chance, but he clearly doesn't have the wherewithal even to consider that at the moment, and sighs that he shouldn't have told her, "but I'm just so damn tired of all of it." Faye, however, surely no stranger to moral compromise given the line of work her dad is in, rises to the occasion by saying she's glad he told her, and after he strokes her hair, she lies down with him for the night. Sure you don't need that Valium, Faye?
In the morning, Don's dressed for work when Pete shows up to his door, saying he didn't want to talk at the office or over the phone. When he and Faye make eye contact, they're both hilariously like "Oh, great," before Faye leaves without a word and Don invites Pete in. Pete tells him that he spoke to "Russ," and Don hasn't been flagged, so if they end things with NAA, the investigation will cease where it is. Don almost collapses with relief, but Pete wonders why it is he has to walk away from a four million dollar account. "Because you can't live in the open? You don't know any other way." He adds that, referring to Faye, he just learned something else he didn't want to know, but Don counsels him to tell NAA that they've decided they want Martin Marietta or Hughes as their defense client. Pete pointedly asks what he should tell the partners, and it's open to interpretation, but I take Don's non-verbal reply as "You're going to have to fall on this bomb, soldier," and the look on Pete's face suggests he reads it the same way as he leaves in a cloud of righteous indignation.
Roger comes in to see Joan, worried because he called her numerous times the night before, but she assures him she's fine. "Everything went fine." And I can't detect any duplicity in her performance, but she did have some time to prepare herself. I mean, I know she wants kids, she's not getting any younger, and she was worried she might not be able to conceive, not to mention the fact that that business in the doctor's offices could only have served to reinforce those concerns. Anyway, Joan doesn't let Roger go on too long about his feelings before she reminds him that they have a partners' meeting, so they head for the conference room, but not before he tells her how beautiful she is. And, of course, there is no argument to be had there.
The partners confer, with Pete looking especially grim, and then when Joan calls them to order, Bertram snaps at her to get on with it, which seems out of character but does at least give him a line before the episode ends. Pete then gets it over with, starting by saying that NAA is moving on and then feeding them a cock-and-bull story about how he overlooked including some names on a document, which insulted a general, and even though he apologized, the damage was done. As Don sits in guilty silence, he adds that the damage is irreparable because he didn't pay enough attention, prompting Roger, who's sitting on a disaster orders of magnitude bigger than this, to take out his frustration on Pete, going off on a tirade that ends in him using the f-word, which prompts Joan to mildly reproach him, Don to leap to Pete's defense, and Bertram to tell him he should apologize. Roger complies, not overly sincerely, and then Don and Pete exchange a side-eye before Pryce announces that he's going to be taking a leave of absence that will last two weeks to a month to tend to his family. However, he assures them that even with the NAA news, "the company is in a state of stability, and all matters financial may be referred to Mrs. Harris." Like Joan hasn't been having a rough enough time lately. Pryce leaves the room, and when he's gone, Roger can't help but laugh at how ridiculous his life has become, although no one else knows the half of it. When Joan goes over the status of their accounts, though, he lies that Lucky Strike is a thumbs-up, and I don't know how he thinks he's going to get out of this one, unless he's just planning not to refill his blood-pressure prescription.
Faye comes to see Don and asks how he is, saying she's been worried, but he tells her that everything's fine. She suggests they get something to eat, but he begs off until the day, saying he thinks it's best if he's on his own tonight. I could see why - it certainly seems like a good time for an eight-hour session with the journal. Faye assures him that they'll figure out what to do, and with a lighter expression than we've seen from him this episode, he replies that they'll see. She leaves, faking some business talk as she goes for Megan's benefit, and when she's gone, Megan comes in with the Beatles tickets, saying she knows how much she screwed up so she got Harry to have them sent over right away. Don's pleased, and when Megan brings up the fact that it's nearly eight, he tells her she can go. She stops to touch up her makeup before she leaves, however, and Don regards her for a good length of time before we cut to black. I hope this is just a reaction to the newfound sense of freedom he's feeling, because otherwise Joan's going to do what it takes to make Zombie Miss Blankenship his new secretary. See you time!
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. You can email him at couchbaron@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/couchbaron, or get information about his most recent film "East Fifth Bliss," starring Michael C. Hall, at https://twitter.com/eastfifthbliss.
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