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SCDP is shopping a public offering to underwriters, and Joan is blown away that her net worth might soon be in the seven figures. The only potential hurdle is Don, but although the valuation goes well and Pete is confident that Don's tired of playing bush-league ball, it's still hard not to hold your breath in anticipation of Don messing it up for everyone.
Let's come back to that, though. Roger is mining his new piece of tail "Daisy," a first-class airline stewardess, for client leads -- which means he rushes to the airport when a flight is delayed to get a very-much-carefully-selected dude drunk in the hopes of pitching him business. It's pretty great stuff, seeing Roger behave like a hungry Accounts guy when, not even to his knowledge, the company needs him the most. Also, it's Mother's Day, and with Marie in town, Megan confesses that she and Don have grown apart. Marie guesses that Don's jealous of Megan's newfound relationship with her adoring fans, and as such counsels her to dress impossibly sexy. As temporary fixes go, it's fairly successful, although Marie probably regrets her advice when she has to listen to her daughter's moans of ecstasy from the room.
Pete and Benson go to one of those houses in which Don grew up and have a fantastically awkward run-in with Pete's father-in-law Tom, of, you'll remember, Vick Chemical. Ken tells him there won't be an issue, as Tom doing anything to Pete would ensure his own destruction, but Tom actually does end up yanking Vick Chemical's business, calling Pete a lowlife for good measure. Pete proves this by running to Trudy and telling her about her dad's indiscretion, and she reacts by informing him they're officially done. It's the course she should have chosen in the first place, but it's nice that now she really has no reason to doubt herself.
Herb Rennet calls a dinner with Don and Roger to straighten things out from the "fiasco" a couple episodes ago, and when Roger hears that Marie's in town, he gets his hopes up for some under-the-table head. However, his errand at the airport renders him unable to attend, and without him the dinner is an unmitigated disaster – Marie, already furious with Roger, can't stand the vacuous babbling of Rennet's genial but clueless wife and starts drinking like Canada's gone dry. Then, when Don and Herb get a moment alone, Herb advances the suggestion that an associate of his vet Don's work from now on, and Don reacts, much as you'd expect, by telling Herb to shove it. The account is irreparably fractured, and this leads to a screaming fight the day in front of the whole staff in which Pete reveals what happened, and when Joan hears that Don single-handedly canned Jaguar, thus rendering the fruits of her, um, labor largely irrelevant, she lights into Don like no one since Betty ever has.
The saving grace of all this is that the man Roger followed to Detroit is from Chevrolet, and he brings SCDP into a very small competition for their business. What no one at SCDP knows is that CGC is as desperate as they are – not only did they recently dump their own car account in Alfa Romeo, Chaough also finds out that Gleason, the third partner and apparently the art director, has pancreatic cancer, and with the money that would come to him upon his death, he could cripple the company financially – unless their pitch to Chevrolet comes to fruition. I also read that look from last week correctly, as Chaough ends up kissing Peggy, but although she kind of rebukes him, she looks very flattered at the very least, although he's too embarrassed and upset about Gleason to notice. Also, in the time since last episode, Peggy apparently went ahead and bought a place on the UWS, but she's in over her head, both with the needed renovations that seem too much for Abe to handle and the fact that the neighborhood isn't gentrified enough for her. Good thing she's having fantasies where Abe is Chaough, I guess.
Unable to sleep in Detroit, Don goes down to the bar, where Chaough is dismayed to see him, because he's sure GM/Chevrolet is going to take their small-agency creative ideas and give them to one of the bigdogs. Don comes to see things Chaough's way, and I swear the word "merger" came into my head like a lightning bolt right about three minutes before the two of them go rogue and decide to pitch Chevy on the idea of combining their agencies to service the account. Roger and Cutler sign off on the idea, and when Peggy dolls herself up and steps into Chaough's office to see him on his return, her chin falls somewhere beyond the floor when she finds Don with him – they landed the account, and the two companies have merged. So Peggy is the copy chief at one of the top 25 ad agencies in the country and is tasked with coming up with the place's new name "for immediate release." It's just not the immediate release she was hoping for, AM I RIGHT?
Want more? The full recap starts right below!At night at SCDP, a dude with thick glasses is blithely plugging away at an adding machine as Joan (her hair down at the office; that's a first, I think),Bertram, and Pete watch him intently, and Joan breaks the tension by asking the guy if he's sure he wouldn't like them to order in some food. The guy addresses the underlying issue by apologizing for taking so long before counseling them that it's "a common mistake not to ask questions when you want something because you're afraid of the answers." You all can take this one from here. Pete grins that the guy wants something, then, and he affirms that he's interested: "Considering the precedent for small agencies, this is how we might take you public." Well, now we know why at least two of the SCDP folks in the room were watching him like expectant fathers. (One of them's too old to freak out about anything, as we'll see.) The guy tells them that, with 1.5 million shares outstanding (the complete partnership interest, presumably), his concern would sell an additional 400,000 at $9 a share. Bertram thinks 12 would be more like it, and when the guy tells him their figure was arrived at "after careful analysis," Bertram finishes, "Of papers you spent twenty minutes with?" Well, I'm guessing he's exaggerating, otherwise these people really can't sit still in a crisis, but it's good to be assured he's a tough negotiator, not that we didn't know that already.
Speaking of which, Bertram tosses out the threat of approaching other underwriters, so the guy, who it might amuse you to learn was a series regular on Herman's Head, counters that he needs twenty-four hours with the documents. Joan and Bertram wordlessly agree, so the meeting breaks up, but not without the guy telling the room that the financial papers are "spotless. My compliments to the chef." Joan nods her thanks, but after Bertram has walked the guy out, Joan exhales the ten breaths she's been holding as she wonders if Bertram pushed the guy too hard. Pete assures her it's all going according to plan before fixing Joan with a half-skeezy (his baseline setting) smile: "Everyone wants you, don't they?" Joan's voice drops as she cuts that little line of conversation off like she's reprimanding a dog, fittingly enough, but it's worth noting that despite Pete veering and leering into fairly lascivious territory here, Joan treats him entirely normally. She's not holding any kind of grudge over Pete's hand in the Jaguar bargain, and maybe she's feeling generous since she stands to make so much money in the deal, but that's really the point -- she did what she did to reach this goal to achieve this end, which gives extra weight to her speech to Don later, not that it needs it.
Speaking of Don, when Pete smiles that he thinks the primary hurdle has been cleared, Joan wonders about the secondary one, so Pete assures her that Don won't stand in the way before telling her that even at nine a share, her part of the company alone with be worth almost seven figures. Joan's head can't help but swim at that, but she's still clear-headed enough to point out that Don doesn't care about money. Pete surprisingly concedes that point without argument or acrimony, but does think that Don is "tired of playing in the bush leagues," and the new capitalization will double SCDP's size. And Pete's entirely right, but leave it to Don to solve his problem an entirely different way. With that, Joan turns down Pete's offer of another drink and leaves, but first she reminds Pete that the day is Mother's Day, so that means we're on a Saturday here, which both underscores that this process is being initiated in a clandestine manner and that Joan would never wear her hair like that around people for whom she needed to set an example. Pete, slightly ruefully, says he's aware, and I guess he still hasn't told anyone about his estrangement from Trudy, since there's no way Joan would have brought it up so casually otherwise. Given that Peggy went through a New York closing since the last episode, that's saying something.
In a large bed, Roger awakens and bites a fairly young piece of tail on her shoulder, which reveals that she's awake. Not only that, she's already been to the bathroom to put on her makeup, and as such now tells him she needs to go. She sits up, and Roger tells "Daisy" and her side-boob that she's a tease; talk then turns to the fact that she's an airline stewardess who seems to work exclusively in first class and that Roger expects her to call him with, apparently, certain bits of information about her clientele. "I feel like you only call me when you want to see me." Hee. Along that line, Daisy asks if she's going to get to enjoy Roger's company the following day, and he says she will "if there's a flight filled with P&G executives headed back to Cincinnati." Ah, I didn't completely absorb this line on first viewing, but it makes the fact that he's trolling the first-class lounge when Daisy tips him off that it might be worth his while. He asks about that night, but Daisy tells him she's got plans with her mother. This gives Roger the idea to leverage his dead mother to guilt Daisy into staying for another go-round, and I know he said his mother was a teetotaler, but if she's seeing Roger grab an ample handful of Daisy's ass, I wouldn't be surprised if she's ordering her first-ever cocktail.
Speaking of upsetting bedroom sights, Pete strips down to boxers with a fully skeevy smile of anticipation before sliding into bed and pawing at Trudy, but rather than whack him over the head with the frying pan she should be keeping on the nightstand for just such a situation, she sleepily comes to and tells him to stop. He gets snippy in a hurry -- nice Mother's Day behavior, guy, not that I'd expect any different -- as he sniffs that they'll just maintain every aspect of their marriage "except the one that matters." I mean, on top of the general ew, I can't imagine he'd consent to wear a condom here, and does anyone want to see Trudy end up expecting another child at a time like this? Speaking of which, Trudy's like, you do remember our daughter, right, but Pete only asks her to "stop holding the axe over my neck," which I'll admit would be tough temptation for just about anyone to resist. Trudy, evenly enough, asks if he'd rather she divorce him merely for the sake of settling where things stand, and Pete tries to be like, "You don't care that I want you," which obviously was never the issue; it's the wanting and having of other people that's been the problem. Trudy, however, a better person than many of us, tells Pete that she's taken note of his efforts, and when Pete informs her that he has big things in store on the business front, she replies that she'll take note of that too. It'd be nice if she means that she'll make a mental note of his smug tone, but her playful smile unfortunately suggests otherwise.
Ah, c'est Marie! Julia Ormond, you're always welcome, even if your mothering skills perhaps do not merit their own Day. In French, Megan is telling her mother not to be so hard on her other daughter, as she's got a house full of kids. Marie replies that she couldn't wait to get them on the phone, and they were all, "Grandma! Grandma!" "Why do you think I came here? I hate that." Hee. You see, Don, she's not always talking about you! Small comfort, though, as there's a knock at the kitchen door, and Megan, busy with something in the kitchen, rather frostily asks Don if he'll get it. He grumpily complies, and it's Rosen, who asks Megan if she has any wrapping paper, which apparently was such an emergency he couldn't take the time to get out of his bathrobe. He probably regrets this decision when he sees Marie, but it doesn't stop him from suavely approaching and saying he saw her in the lobby and thought she was Megan. Excellent work not opting for the more standard "You two could be sisters" line, given what we just heard from Marie about her daughter the brood sow. Megan hands over some wrapping paper, and Rosen explains that his son Mitchell came home for Mother's Day as a surprise, and Don, wondering how long Sylvia's doormat is going to be penniless, asks how long he's staying. Rosen's response is a shrug, but he does know that Sylvia's going to expect an actual gift from Mitchell, so Marie offers the vase full of flowers Megan gave her. "I'm quite done with them." Megan, obviously the flower-buyer: "Thank you, Mother." Hee. Rosen thanks them both but leaves without taking the flowers, so apparently he's not ready to break up a mother-daughter relationship for the sake of his son looking attentive to his mother. When he's gone, Megan tells Marie about Rosen's credentials, and Marie's response is to tell Don that she wouldn't leave Megan and Rosen alone. You'd think the crushing irony would inhibit Don's ability to talk, but no: "I'm more worried about you." His will to get a good line out overwhelmed any discomfort, to which I can relate, and Marie gives the whole thing her impossibly musical laugh.
As I mentioned above, it's apparent from the get-go that Peggy already went through with buying a fixer-upper, and she enters it and tells Abe, "there's poop on the stairs again." Worse, she believes it's the product of the "junkie" from upstairs, so I'm guessing the building isn't owner-only yet. Sorry, but when a New Yorker stumbles on the topic of New York real estate, he focuses on it to the exclusion even of human feces, although surprisingly, Abe in overalls and no shirt is coming close to penetrating my real-estate bubble. Peggy then sends an accusing look Abe's way about the traffic noise and vaguely ethnic sounds coming loudly from outside, all "This was your idea, hippie" about it, so Abe wisely deflects attention by asking after Peggy's mother. Peggy tells him she wants to come visit, and I don't know if he's reacting to that news, but Abe at this moment has some kind of accident with a nail or staple or God knows what that prompts Peggy to suggest they hire a handyman. Abe tells her that's a waste of money, but she points out he has no idea what he's doing, and although even a liberal like him is going to feel wounded in his male pride, Peggy's position is backed up by the fact that he's bleeding. "Linda Mulata" (thank you, closed captioning) then starts playing upstairs, but this time the music merely evinces a wry smile from both of them. All is well and good, but we'll see how it goes when it happens at two in the morning.
Pete catches Don on his way into the office and informs him that Herb Rennet is canceling their dinner for that night. Don, like most people, finds this a welcome relief, but Pete suggests the two of them take the opportunity to have dinner together and discuss a few things. Don: "Let's enjoy our reprieve." At least Pete's gotten better at pretending he doesn't care when Don blows him off like this. When Don enters his office, though, he finds Roger, who asks if Pete told him the dinner's off. Don: "Yes. Unless it was the world's most boring dream." Hee. Roger, however, tells him it's actually on, and he's going to be taking Pete's place at the dinner because Herb wants a word with them alone "to straighten things out." Don dismissively asks why Roger can't handle it, and given that they've both heartily agreed in the past that Don should stay away from Accounts, it's a valid question, but Roger thinks the account is in jeopardy, so Don has to go. He adds that he wants to "pack it with spouses" to "limit the explosion," and when Don protests that Marie's in town and she and Megan have plans, Roger practically sprouts wood as he tells Don to bring Marie along. Given that he hasn't even taken off his coat, Don looks like he wants to walk right out and give starting the day again a try.
A secretary is announcing the start to the partners' meeting over at CGC, which means we get to meet the third stooge, Frank Gleason. After Cutler condescends to the girl for a bit and we learn this is actually a Creative meeting, Chaough pulls out a portfolio case and says he wants to go over Chevrolet again, "and devote our final days to overdoing it on the artwork." Not that he could have known, but that's a sentence he probably would go back and rephrase. Cutler complains that he can't look at the sketches again, and adds that "they" are very keen on "the rocket ship thing with the astronaut anecdotes." Chaough is horrified that Cutler spoiled the Chevy people on the pitch, but that's forgotten when Gleason blurts out that he doesn't want to draw any more rockets and they never should have dropped Alfa Romeo (the implication being that they did so just to be able to pitch to Chevrolet). Chaough tries to cheerlead Gleason's work -- they're apparently even a smaller agency than SCDP if a partner is still doing sketches -- but Gleason mournfully says he doesn't want to draw any more astronauts, and given how evocative they are of the future, that's going to prove to be more than understandable.
Chaough sends the girl out, and after Cutler trails after her with a silly line -- he really is a low-rent Roger -- Gleason informs Chaough that he has pancreatic cancer, adding that he already told Cutler and he figured he passed the news on. Chaough reels from the news, and is even more blown away when Gleason starts to talk about the company's financial future, pointing out that now that they don't have the financial security Alfa Romeo provided them, when he dies, the monetary interest that will revert to him will cripple the company unless they land Chevrolet. After Chaough has a moment to process, though, he leans forward with his usual can-do attitude, saying he needs to stop talking about money, as they're going to get Chevrolet, and as a result, "you're gonna build a wing at Sloane-Kettering and beat this thing." Gleason is glad enough of the pep talk, but after they walk to the door and Chaough asks if Gleason will tell Cutler he shared the news, Gleason lets Chaough not he's not really fooling anyone: "He'll see it on your face." I realize you need a nap, Gleason, but comments like that aren't helping Chaough hold it together.
Daisy calls Roger and, sotto voce, tells him that she "has one," and his flight's even delayed. Just like that, Roger is grabbing his airline go-bag, out of which he removes a few copies of Sterling's Gold before leaving. If there's any early indication of how much more sensibly Roger is making decisions now, that would have to be it.
Megan and Marie return from shopping, and in the elevator, two young women tell her how much they love her show, even delaying getting off to secure an autograph. Marie looks like she doesn't hate this as much as being called "Grandma," but it's close.
Across the lounge, Daisy smiles at the mark, a rather portly middle-aged guy who's quite taken with her, and then a different angle reveals Roger there with her. After the two lovers exchange a conspiratorial smile, Roger starts chatting the guy up about how they're both going to Detroit (okay) and how he should have driven. "I'd live in my car if I could." God, even in 1968 I can't imagine how tricked out it would be if that were the case. Roger Sterling seems like the poster child for "boys with toys." Roger then shakes hands with "Mikey" before offering to get them drinks, and after Mikey requests a Jim Beam, Roger returns to Daisy and tells her to get him "a glass of water with an onion" and a double Jim Beam. Hee. If therapy is bringing Roger back to the level of competence at his job he once enjoyed, it's just another reason for Don to give it a try. (Real therapy this time, because I can only imagine that his quasi-sobriety journal committed suicide a long time ago.) Roger also orders Daisy to get him on Mikey's flight, and I certainly hope that he buys her something nice for this. But no travel -- busman's holiday and all.
Marie joins Megan, who's standing in her walk-in closet in a bathrobe, and notes that she's not ready yet. After a slightly snippy exchange about the dinner, Marie offers that she's overstayed her welcome, but Megan tells her she's glad she's there. Then Marie, the voice of experience, notes that she's talking like a woman who's been married far too long, adding that she knew something was wrong. "We have not had a fight." Hee. Megan tells her that Don has been distant to the point where she feels like she has to make conversation with her own husband, but Marie points out that she's "confounded everyone's expectations," adding that it's difficult to stand to someone giving an autograph. True, but most people manage to do it without looking at their watches. Megan thinks Don doesn't care about all that, but Marie sternly demurs, saying he may think Megan belongs more to other people than to him. She's not wrong, but her analysis exposes the height of Don's hypocrisy, as these days Megan's a distant third behind Sylvia and Don's work. Megan, however, concedes her mother's point, and Marie goes on that it's easily fixed -- Megan needs to, in essence, dress more slutty. "The only thought he should have at this meal is how quickly he can get between your legs." It sounds slightly classier in French, but not much. Julia Ormond just rules, though, as we'll see even more in a moment. Megan giggles, and after Marie heads off to presumably get a jump on her evening's wine intake, Megan turns back to her closet...
...and then we're at the dinner, at which Herb's wife is babbling vacuously about shopping and whatever, and I could give specifics of why Marie is staring couteaux at her, but the fact that her name is "Peaches" probably gives you sufficient explanation. Herb winds up her story by telling the room what he always says when she comes home from a shopping spree -- "How much damage didya do, Peaches?" -- but while Megan laughs, Marie looks like she's getting ready to brain the entire table with one swing of a wine bottle. Watch out as soon as she gets to the bottom, people. Of course, her foul mood has its roots in the fact that Roger is not there. I have the feeling he got so swept up in his machinations with the Detroit guy that he forgot to call and tell anyone about it because I cannot believe for one second he'd let Don and Herb in the same room without at least some Accounts presence there. Speaking of which, Don returns to the table and admits he didn't get hold of, as Herb calls him, "Silver Bells," so Herb says he's done waiting, whereupon Marie starts to exit so fast that you'd see a dust cloud if not for Megan explaining that they're not leaving -- they're simply going to go ahead and order. Peaches explains that "Herb gets very peckish," and after Herb gruffly adds that he skipped lunch, Marie looks wide-eyed with shock that no one's going to touch that one.
Bertram comes into Pete's office and, after settling in on the couch with a self-satisfied sigh, informs Pete that he did a great job in getting the company ready for this day -- and the valuation came in at $11 a share, so it's only due diligence in their way now. I can think of another word beginning with "D" between them and wads of cash, but Joan already made that point for me. For now, though, Bertram requests a celebratory drink, and after Pete fails to come up with brandy or "spirits of elderflower," Bertram settles for whatever Pete gives him. Benson then passes, bidding Pete goodnight, but Pete asks him if he might fetch Joan and some ice, and obviously you know he's going to have no problem with that. Pete then asks Bertram when they'll break the news, and it was convenient for the Benson point but you'd think someone would have closed the door here, and Bertram tells them to call the meeting for the day. Pete swigs his drink in one gulp, and it's not like he knows to fear anything, but this is where the bad things start.
Speaking of chugging alcohol, Marie is opening her throat as if Roger were actually present for her glass of wine, unable to stop hate-watching Peaches, who drones on about their dog giving unexpected birth, at which point Marie reaches for the bottle again and can't restrain herself from telling Megan in French, "Listen to this idiot." Peaches is momentarily thrown by the language change, and I was wondering if the kick was going to be she actually speaks French -- it wouldn't be the most obscure coincidence in history. But Peaches gets back to her story, and although Don manages a reasonably sincere-sounding "I love puppies," Marie makes me realize I mined her for a joke earlier when she offers to break the empty bottle over Peaches' head. In my defense, it would have seemed like something she'd do even if I hadn't seen it already. Whether Peaches notes the venom dripping from Marie's mouth or not, she suggests the women go to the powder room so the men can discuss their business.
When they're gone, Herb sleazily compliments Megan's appearance, to which Don gives him an "I can't even, with this" look, deflating Herb a little. Don then asks why they're there, so Herb tells him it's "nothing serious," but he had an idea, and he goes on for a while, but basically, he's got a kid who's been writing very effective flyers for him at some of his lots, so he'd like Don to allow the kid to give input on his work at all stages. This of course being the excuse Don's been craving, he writes down the kid's name, hands it to Herb, and tells him he's going to be handling his account from now on. Herb lectures Don about "overheating," adding that he's having to do somersaults because Don's so touchy, to which Don replies, "Really? A man your size?" Too bad Marie's in the ladies' room -- a spit-take from her would really be a treat. Pushed past his limits, Herb lambasts Pete and Roger before informing Don that he'll end up working for the kid on the card, "and he could teach you somethin'. Like knowin' where your bread is buttered." But as Joan reminded us, Don does not care about money, although he does nastily suggest Herb buy him one last dinner. "I'm tired of taking it out of your account." Herb makes it official that he's "done with all a youse," and just then, the women return, whereupon Don tells them not to bother sitting, as the dinner's over. They're like, "Um...," or at least Megan is; Marie looks like this is Christmas come early. Megan asks if Don's okay, and Don, with a triumphant look at Herb, says he's never felt better. Herb looks chastened that his big power play went this badly, and he says nothing, although Peaches does offer a bubbly, "See you soon!" Aw. She's the dictionary definition of "harmless," and what a fate to be married to this jerk.
At home, Don grabs Megan as soon as she comes into the bedroom despite her protest that Marie needs an aspirin, and I'd like to chalk this up solely to Marie's advice, but I think he's feeling turned on by his dismissal of Herb more than anything else. Soon, they are Doing It, and Marie, sitting in the living room, can't get Bottle of Wine Number Three open fast enough. The phone rings, and when she hears that it's Roger, she tells him not to bother apologizing, and her ire then only increases when she realizes he called to talk to Don. Roger tries telling her "you were , I swear," which is what every woman, ESPECIALLY Marie, wants to hear. She berates him for dragging her out to dinner with "that disgusting man with his disgusting wife. She's the apple that goes in the pig's mouth." Marie would have livened up that Hawaii season premiere, I tell you what. Roger deliberately tries to tell Marie that "something came up," as if Marie's the kind of woman who's going to fall for lines that will eventually be used on The Brady Bunch, and Marie awesomely calls him out for speaking slowly so she'll understand, and fires back with this deliciously enunciated delivery: "Forget. My. Name." She didn't eat anything, and she's not even slurring in her second language! She hangs up, and it's hard to make that more genius, but Marie does so anyway by proceeding to (a) swig wine directly from the bottle, and (b) hang up immediately when Roger tries calling back. And given that the phone call gave her a respite from her daughter's background moaning, she must be really mad at him.
Benson is waiting patiently in what I'm guessing is that same house of ill repute we've seen the SCDP men in before, and when a, um, staff member emerges, he asks her if it's possible for him to pay for his "friend." She tells him it is in theory, but it's too late for that, and then Pete comes teetering out with some silly macho words, although the fact that apparently Benson's fake name in the place is "Curious George" is fairly amusing. And look, the character may be a toady, but James Wolk is rather hot enough that I think he'd be able to negotiate a discount in here. All this fun, however, comes to an end when a well-built African-American employee sashays out of a room and walks on by, after which emerges her client -- Tom Vogel, Trudy's father. Well, I guess her liberal leanings run in the family. It's a contest as to who looks like he got hit with the colder water, but Pete eventually recovers to say hello, and Tom responds with a fairly stunned "Good night." Benson, sharp as a tack, asks if Tom isn't a client, but Pete just looks terrified, as well he might. Think of the in-law dinner!
Pete comes into Ken's office with "a high-level Accounts question," and after Pete then waves away Benson and his two coffees (gotta love that character continuity), Pete gingerly tells Ken what happened at "that party house" on Lexington Avenue; as he puts it, he saw his father-in-law emerge from a room "with the biggest, blackest prostitute you've ever seen." Pete! I thought people like you didn't see color! After laughing for a bit, Ken tells a story involving running into one of his teachers at a dirty movie when he was a kid, the point of which is that neither of them could say anything, as it was a situation of mutually assured destruction, and since Pete's situation is as well, he can rely on Tom not to spill. Oh, Ken. That logic didn't work on Veronica Mars and it's not going to work here. Pete is mollified, but that doesn't last long, as Ken gets word that the British guys from Jaguar are on the line. Geez, Ken has gotten fired from a lot of accounts lately through no fault of his own, right?
Oh, here's Don, sauntering in like he owns the place (well, you know what I mean), and when he asks Caroline if she has any idea where Roger has been, Caroline tells him no as if the topic is the furthest thing from her mind right now. Of course, this is explained when Pete comes storming down the stairs -- actually falling on his ass in the process, which is AMAZING -- and lights into Don for having "harmed the company irreparably." A crowd is already gathering as Don, voice raised as well, tells him they'd already lost the Jaguar account, as Herb was going to bring in "some kid to write copy." This does nothing to calm Pete down, and soon, he's practically screaming that they had a public offering underway, which is now RUINED!
Everyone starts buzzing about that one, but Joan pulls the brass into the conference room -- Ken joins them -- and asks what the heck is going on. Don gets in the first salvo, asking why the hell he didn't know about the public offering, but Pete bites out that he tried to tell him the night before, "but you'd rather have dinner with Herb Rennet!" Pete, you're not Don's favorite person, but I don't think THAT'S true. Roger then jauntily enters and announces that he's got good news and bad news, at which point Pete finally announces that "Don fired Jaguar." Joan's, "WHAT!" portends evil things for Don, but Roger's unfazed: "Then I just have good news!" Hee. He explains that they're giving a presentation "this Friday on Chevy's top-secret new car," and after Pete and Don give appropriately flabbergasted reactions, Roger happily tells the group that his "friend Mikey O'Brien; look him up" said he was seeking something cutting-edge, but none of the agencies had it. Don turns to Pete and is like "Chevy, am I right?" but Pete isn't impressed, snarling at Don not to act like he had a plan. "You're like Tarzan, swinging from vine to vine!" Hee. Don is unfazed as he starts giving orders pursuant to getting the pitch ready, but when he tells Joan to get the Creatives into his office, she replies in a voice carved from ice for him to get them himself. Uncomprehending, he asks if she doesn't feel "three hundred pounds lighter," but Joan tells him actually, she does not. The resentment causes her voice to quaver as she tells Don that if she can stand Herb, he should be able to, and what -- she went through all of that for nothing? She starts to storm out, and when Don calls to her that he'll win "this," she turns back and snaps, "Just once, I would like to hear you use the word 'we'." She adds that they're all just waiting for him to decide what's best for their lives, and then exits, leaving the men to look glum. On the plus side, there's no need to send someone to assemble the Creative team, since they're all standing outside watching.
I wouldn't necessarily say that scene completely played -- in particular, Roger standing by and letting it all unfold seems false, as does Joan not even seeming to notice that Roger was going to dump Jaguar anyway -- but I'll take Don being told off where I can get it, even if he doesn't seem as fazed as he probably should be. Speaking of the Creatives, they scatter when he turns and sees them, but he barks at them to get in his office, which they and Roger do. Ken wonders if they should go in as well, but Pete seethes that he doesn't care and stomps off...
...while Roger is giving the room what he knows, which he says boils down to Chevrolet's top brass "trying to build the perfect car." After some talk of how good a sign it is that they're being brought in at such a late date, Roger informs the group that "the guest list" consists of two huge agencies and CGC, the names of which he reads off a piece of paper, getting this from Ginzo in his usual straight delivery: "You had to write that down?" Hee, but we'll see if your memory's a hundred percent when you're sporting some silver hair of your own, Ginzo. From the complete lack of photos, Don realizes that Chevy is going for something completely unlike any car they've made, so he orders his team to do research on the Ford Mustang, as GM knows there's been nothing before it and nothing since, "but they're hoping it's this." He informs them that no one is leaving his office -- well, other than the people who are going to do the research, I'm guessing -- and then he and Roger beam at each other like the non-carnal lovers they always have been.
Peggy's heading out for the day when she hears a noise coming from Chaough's office, and when she investigates, she finds him sitting on the floor to a TV he was apparently hitting, as "I just wanted to watch Hazel, but I couldn't get any reception." Ah, the days of banging TV sets; another favorite was trying to position the antenna just right and then hoping that a fly wouldn't land on it and throw the whole delicate business off. Of course, Chaough's mission here is being affected by the copious amounts of alcohol I'm guessing he imbibed to deal with the Gleason news, but Peggy doesn't know about that, so she good-humoredly helps him get the TV back in its place as she suggests he go home. Chaough tells Peggy that he loves how she works every account like it's make or break, and confides that he has a new way to go with Chevy, "but it's top secret and it may be terrible." I mean, the latter part is always the case, surely, but it makes it more real to say it out loud.
Chaough berates himself for a bit and then tells Peggy that he's depended on Gleason and "his paintbrush and his negativity to balance me out for the last twenty years!" I can see the value, but I wonder how he'd describe Cutler's contributions in his truth-telling mode here. Peggy doesn't connect the dots about Gleason, but she does offer that she's worked with negative people, and she likes that fact that Chaough's... whereupon he gets up in her face and tells her not to say he's nice. Peggy, however, is like, I was going for "strong" there, tiger, and sure enough, he lays one on her. She doesn't stop him at first, but does soon place her open hands on his chest in a pushback manner, and he breaks the kiss and apologizes, saying he's just grateful for her. Even in a moment like this, he plays as pretty nice, consdiering with the doe eyes she's giving him, it wouldn't take much for those hands on his chest to be wrapped around his back. But he steps away and bids her goodnight, so she, having no idea what happened in most of that scene, takes off, but not without a fairly adoring look at her boss's back. Well, maybe Abe's into Nan Chaough and they can salvage a swinger's evening out of this mess.
Don's in the elevator when Rosen joins him and asks if he wants to go celebrate. "I just quit my job." Given his line of work, hopefully he finished what he was doing first. Rosen explains the circumstances, and the details are honestly a little confusing, but basically, it sounds like his hospital didn't push for him to perform a groundbreaking heart transplant, and now he's not going to have the place in history he thought. "Fate hasn't chosen me." Don, however, tells him that he doesn't believe in Fate. "You make your own opportunities." Of course, the flipside of that philosophy is that you have to take responsibility when you royally fuck things up, but Don isn't as good with that side of the coin. Rosen practically begs Don to go for a drink with him, but Don needs to attend to the massive amount of Chevrolet stuff he's toting. When Rosen trudges away, Don does look bummed, but that might be due to the fact that this news means Rosen's going to be home more.
It must be pretty late, as Megan's lying in bed with the lights off, although she is awake when Don enters. He tells her he's not sure how it went, and while he had intended to get some sleep, he now thinks he's going to shower and turn right around and go back to the office. Megan gets out of bed and tells Don she loves him like this, and he replies, "Desperate and scared?" That would have been my guess, but she smiles that she means "fearless" before telling him she wants to do whatever she can to make sure he succeeds. "Then you can jump from the balcony and fly to work like Superman." Let's leave aside the fact that this practically ensures that someone is going to go over that balcony before this series ends and focus on the fact that Megan's idea of wifely support is to slide down out of frame to the point where my captioning reads "buckle clicking." And it's been a while since I've made a comment about her teeth, but between them and what we know about Don's endowment, that can't be safe, can it?
For the second time this season, we get a transition designed to please the teenage boys in the audience, as we cross-fade to Don while hearing the background noise of a plane taking off. He and Roger are at the airport being served cocktails by Daisy, and Roger asks if she can get "those lugs from Dancer" bumped off the flight. Daisy basically is like, please don't ask me to do anything that would get me fired, and after she's gone, Roger apprehensively notes that they've got like eight people there. One of them approaches and asks Roger, referring to Don, if he's taking his kid to look at colleges (hee), but Roger shoots back that they're actually car-shopping. The guy's momentarily thrown but recovers by bringing up Vick Chemical, which is news to Roger and Don. The Dancer guy then fake-coughs and then asks if any of his team have a lozenge. "I know they don't!" Don and Roger realize the pressure on them just got even higher...
...while, speaking of high pressure, Pete, with Bertram present, is yelling into the phone for someone to get Tom on the phone or he's coming over there. Joan then rushes in having gotten word from Roger, and Pete yells some more and then storms out as Bertram offers to talk to Roger. Joan worries that they don't need this kind of news right now, but Bertram evenly assures her that Roger will handle it, and it's kind of touching that Bertram has so much faith in Roger after all this time. Still, it wouldn't shock me if he soon reaches for his record second drink of the episode.
Sure enough, Roger returns to Don with another round of drinks and tells him, with no hint of deception, that the Dancer guys are screwing with them. "Daisy's gonna lose their luggage." Heh. When Don isn't looking, though, Roger's face falls...
...while Pete's face is positively clenched in a frown when Tom enters his own office and closes the door. After a bit more heat, Pete sits and tries a conciliatory tack, saying that while they're both vulnerable, they're also both adults, so he wonders what he can do "to bring you back to reality in this obviously impulsive decision?" Well, what started as "conciliatory" veered off rather quickly into "smarmy" and "smug," not that Tom needs much justification for his stinging reply that Trudy could have had anyone. "I knew there was a reason you never wanted children. You have no business being a father." Pete invokes Ken's metaphor in pointing out that Tom just "pressed the button," but Tom, getting to his feet, tells Pete it makes him sick to think of him with his daughter and granddaughter. Pete disbelievingly suggests Tom have a look in the mirror, but Tom's not intimidated: "You can either walk out like a man, or I can have you thrown out like the lowlife you are." Tom would have gotten along with Lane Pryce, I have the feeling. Pete turns to go, but honestly wonders: If he's such a scumbag, why would Tom would push him like this? Tom confidently replies that Pete will do the right thing, and either he's playing a deep game and figures exactly what Trudy will do if Pete does tell her, or he's gone temporarily insane. Both possibilities seem equally likely.
Peggy enters the bedroom in her nightgown with a bandanna tied over her mouth and complains that the paint fumes are making her sick. Abe tells her the windows are open, but that's only one of a laundry list of complaints, which includes "those kids" and "their music" and the fact that Abe keeps waving to them. Oh, Peggy. Abe tells her the neighborhood is changing, and not only that, their lives are changing for the better -- the war is going to end and they're definitely going to get a new President. "Maybe McCarthy; worst case Kennedy." This is obviously open for a comment, but there's really no time for that, as right here Peggy suddenly fantasizes that Abe is Chaough, with his slicked hair and rich-guy clothes, and even though she might be attracted to what Chaough represents (i.e., not the hellhole she's in now) as much as the man himself, I have to say this setup isn't exactly the most subtle I've seen from the show. But it works to get Peggy and Abe making out, which I guess is something that matters.
Don's lying in bed with airplane noise audible, and given that he's alone I don't think it's meant to be as hilarious as before. He checks his watch...
...and then he's dressed and in the bar. Heh. I mean, it's a major metropolis, but I still wonder how late hotel bars stayed open, especially when there was only one customer, even one as good as Don. But the population doubles when Chaough enters, and when he sees Don, he proves how nice he is yet again because he settles for "Damn it!" when the rest of the world would opt for "Motherfucker!" Don, of course, isn't fazed, since he knew CGC was coming, but Chaough, after ordering a drink, complains that he "spent six weeks on this pipe dream, and now it's going to be over in two seconds." Don's like, hey now, but Chaough informs him that they're both dead -- one small agency has a chance, but two simply means the client is going to take their Creative and give it to one of the big dogs. Don argues the point for a bit, but when Chaough tells him it's the size of the team that matters to GM, he comes to concede that Chaough's probably right, and I do like the subtle message that Don has never really concerned himself with the business side of things in many situations. It's also right about here that the word "merger" started buzzing insistently in my head, and it's not something I ever had considered before now but it does make sense on a lot of levels, which is a compliment.
But let's let them get there on their own, as Don, looking more despondent than I've seen him in a while, sighs that their business is rigged. "I should just let Chevy buy my brain and put it in a jar." Well, as long as the rest of you continues to stay functional. They both imagine their company's headstones ("SCDP: The little company with big ideas," CGC: "Giving away Creative, one car at a time." Gotta give Chaough the nod on that one), and then they agree to pitch each other right there, which really is an unexpectedly delightful moment. Don't get me wrong, I always liked Chaough and Kevin Rahm -- the prank phone call that led to Don's "My mistake; that was Eunice Kennedy" is one of my enduring favorite lines -- but this is a new side to him. He talks about how the car is for both the young and the young at heart, and goes on about how the future is now and you have to "hit the road, Jack -- and then I sing the song." Hee. Don compliments the work before giving his pitch -- music accompanying all range of people's faces with different expressions of wonder on them. "What could this possibly be? It's so new, this combination of power, technology, comfort and price that it's impossible to imagine -- but not at Chevy." He wraps up that the future is something you haven't even thought of yet, and you run that ad for a week before introducing the car. So Don's finally figured out how to make his negative-space preference truly marketable. Whether it's his or not, it's the best idea I've seen from him in ages, not that that's saying much.
Chaough sounds lukewarm about it, deeming it "interesting" (although I think he's being sincere in his limited praise) before asking if "we" should go home, but Don is like, "we" -- that is the really interesting bit. He pretty much wastes no time in proposing a merger between SCDP and CGC, and Chaough is not so blown away that he doesn't have a bunch of logistical questions, but Don offers this scenario: He'll get Chevy to think it was their idea to combine the two agencies, while Chaough will figure out what their combined presentation will be. Chaough points out that they both have partners, but Don literally is like, "Do you see any partners?" It's a fair question, given that Don never does, so it'd be good for Chaough to tell him if they were there. Don orders a refill -- not his first of the scene -- but Chaough belays that, saying they're done. "We've got a long night." It's not quite when Draper's Eight formed SCDP, but it's an oddly enjoyable turn.
Just so we know this isn't completely a two-man rogue operation, the day at GM, with "Baby Jane (Mo Mo Jane)" playing, Chaough and Cutler shake hands with Roger and Don, and Cutler is like, "I want to make it clear -- unless this works, I'm against it." Hee, but I think they all feel that way. They go in...
...but then the jaunty music comes to an abrupt halt as Trudy comes home to find Pete. She mildly points out he's not supposed to be there until the weekend, but he asks her to sit down. When she complies, he asks if she knows that her father pulled his business, but while she didn't, she also doesn't care: "He's done everything for you." But Pete just can't help himself from telling Trudy that he "caught him" in a whorehouse, and when he spills the details, she wonders if he'll say anything to hurt her. Pete replies that Tom wanted this way and left him no other choice, but Trudy's not about to let him get away with that: "You had lots of choices!" Starting with appreciating this woman, I feel obliged to point out on her behalf. She also tells him to get his things, as they're done, so I guess he can't complain about being in limbo anymore. Trudy looks upset, but if she's on the market for more than a year, baby and all, I'm missing a bet.
Peggy gets a buzz that Chaough is back and wants to see her, and she gets all filled with girlish glee at the prospect, which COME ON. So it's fairly hilarious when, after touching up her makeup, she enters Chaough's office and injects a hint of sexiness in asking how it went -- to have Don tell her from the couch that "we" got it. Peggy is like, who in the what now, so Chaough crows that GM wanted SCDP/CGC ideas and a big agency, so they gave them both. Don adds that they've officially merged, one hundred percent, and when Peggy still casts around for understanding and continues to look at Don like she's not sure if he's an illusion, Don steps forward and says he did this wrong once before, so they're going to tell her the situation, and she can decide what she wants to do. Chaough chimes in that she's now the copy chief at one of the twenty-five biggest agencies in the country and she's not even thirty. "I'm jealous." Peggy swallows and offers that she just bought an apartment, and Don congratulates her; her brain then seems to catch up to the scene as she asks if they're moving. Chaough tells her they are, and they'd like her to write the press release; Don adds that they don't have a name yet, but she should "make it sound like the agency you want to work for." Peggy still looks kind of uncertain and bummed, and I guess that makes sense because for all the ill treatment she got from him, he never cockblocked her before. (Well, there was that one time, but she kind of did it to herself.) Not to mention the fact that it's pretty clear that as a boss, she considers Chaough the anti-Don, so there's a real cognitive dissonance to seeing them as one. She leaves...
...and returns to her office to process. Soon, though, she's typing the date -- May 17, 1968 -- and writing, "For Immediate Release." And thus was SCDPCGC born, but presumably we'll learn a less bulky name -- week. See you then.
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. His new film, a documentary on online privacy and the sale of personal data called Terms And Conditions May Apply, recently premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January. You can get news on it from the film's Twitter account. Also, you can email John at couchbaron@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/couchbaron, or check out his blog, "Pull Up A Chair," which he'd just love for you to stop by.
...and returns to her office to process. Soon, though, she's typing the date -- May 17, 1968 -- and writing, "For Immediate Release." And thus was SCDPCGC born, but presumably we'll learn a less bulky name -- week. See you then.
John Ramos is a writer and film producer living in Los Angeles. His new film, a documentary on online privacy and the sale of personal data called Terms And Conditions May Apply, recently premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in January. You can get news on it from the film's Twitter account. Also, you can email John at couchbaron@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/couchbaron, or check out his blog, "Pull Up A Chair," which he'd just love for you to stop by.