Mad Men C to Z S3E13 Podcast Transcript for Shut the Door. Have a Seat.

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Mad Men C to Z S3E13 Shut the Door Have a Seat Transcript
 
Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.
 
Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to All Things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.
 
Jenna: There's so much to love about this amazing show, and we're happy to connect to fans like us who discover new things with each rewatch.
 
Steve: Be advised, while we aren't gratuitous with spoilers, they can pop up as we discuss character arcs through the final season.
Let's get started with Mad Men C to Z.
 
Jenna: This is Mad Men Season 3, Episode 13: Shut the door. Have a Seat.
This episode was written by Matthew Weiner, Erin Levy, and Kater Gordon. It was directed by Matthew Weiner.
 
This is an outstanding episode in an outstanding series.
It's consistently named as a favorite Mad Men episode of all time by fans, along with The Suitcase.
 
It won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series.
It has a 9.6 out of 10 rating on IMDb, and you know how hard it is to get the Internet to agree on anything.
It's an unbelievably well-crafted episode in an already fantastic show.

 
Steve: The episode opens with Don waking up in bed.
As the camera pans back, we see he's not in the master bedroom at the Draper residence, but rather in the small room that Betty's father Gene occupied.
It's clear that his alarm clock didn't go off because he's late for a meeting with Conrad Hilton.
 
Jenna: Before, Betty might have looked after his wake-up time, but it's obvious she's no longer managing those kinds of things for him. So this is a big shift for Don to have to manage his own wake-up.
 
Steve: And we know that Conrad Hilton likes to start early, and that's contrary to Don's way of operating. So it's kind of a double problem for Don.
 
Jenna: As he enters the meeting, Conrad Hilton gets the first of many instances of “have a seat,” in this episode.
 
He tells Don that McCann Erickson are buying PP&L, including Sterling Cooper, so Hilton will be moving his business to another firm.
Both Conrad Hilton and Don have been avoiding McCann Erickson. We don't know Connie's reasons, but Don elected not to go with a sweetheart deal from Jim Hobart back in season one, when he was courting both Don and Betty.
 
It would be a huge blow to Don's ego to go to McCann as part of a corporate Lego set now.
 
Steve: Yeah, and it's clear this news is a complete shocker to Don.
So Connie spilled the beans, and you can see Don Draper going through the understanding of what's about to happen.
And then we see the emotions start and I think probably the first emotion is anger.
 
Jenna: And this heads-up is a favor from Hilton that he's doing. But Don is offended. He blames him for getting into this mess: Hilton is the reason that Don was pressured to sign his contract.
 
And he says, “you wanted to play with me, kick me around,
knock me down to size, while you call me son.”
 
And that does feel like a fair critique, in terms of Conrad's reception to Don's ad campaign, because Hilton was so manipulative there.
 
But it does seem like an overreaction to what's happening now in this room, because having this information right now is an advantage that Hilton's giving Don. But he's hanging around to complain.
 
Steve: I think it's fair, you know, Don's observation about how Connie has behaved or does behave, but I think it's also very one sided.
 
You know, he was a very attractive client. They were very happy to have his business. They saw his business as an entree into bigger and better things.
I get it. Don's upset, but the one-sidedness of it to me sounds rather childish.
 
Jenna: Yes. Remember that guy from Mohawk, who was so dignified when Don met with him to sever their business?
Don definitely isn't handling this this way.
And he clearly has some daddy issues with Hilton left over.
 
Steve: And we know that Don Draper prides himself on being in emotional control of himself in this scene. I think we see that slipping. And I think it's a combination of the factors.
 
You know, it's his horror and upset at going over to McCann Erickson.
It's his hurt and offense that this father figure turns out to not really be a father figure - he was just a business associate.
 
Earlier, when Conrad Hilton had said that he was like a son, you could see Don Draper was profoundly moved by that.
And now we're seeing what is the value or the implications of that? Well, not really a heck of a lot, because business comes first for Conrad Hilton.
 
This venting of Don in the moment I think is an interesting peek at the mask slipping a bit. And we're seeing the honest Don Draper, at least emotionally.
 
Jenna: And Conrad Hilton isn't having it.
They end up shaking hands and they leave the door cracked open a little for future work together.
And then Conrad says, have a nice holiday.
Don's marriage has blown up and now his work life is blowing up.
It's not going to be a nice holiday at all.
 
Steve: In her commentary, Erin Levy mentions that Conrad is challenging Don to do something, so not to be a passive victim and just sit and take this and go where the wind blows him, provoking him to say, you know, do something. You know, run your life, live your life.
 
It does seem like this is going to spark the kernel of an idea in Don's mind.
We can already see Don Draper starting to get control of his emotions. He's back being professional. He doesn't go back and forth with Conrad Hilton.
And in fact, he responds to Conrad saying, you know, some other time, we'll try again.
 
It's not the most articulate answer Don Draper's ever given, but he says yes, and leaves it at that. And I think that's Don Draper trying to be in control of his emotions, which would probably lead him astray and not burn any more bridges professionally here.
 
Jenna: Connie gives Don some of that pull yourself up by your bootstraps business, because what he says is,
“You know, I got everything I have on my own.
It made me immune to those who cry and complain because they can't, and I didn't take you from one of them.”
 
So it doesn't seem to me to be that encouraging or motivating to Don to get up and go, live your life. It seems, again, it's about me.
Hilton is always about himself.
 
And so if Don receives it that way, I think we can just credit that to his particular type of energy and do-it-yourself mindset that he has.
 
Steve: Conrad Hilton is just laying out his philosophy of life,
and there's only two sides to the coin.
And it's also interesting the way he very bluntly calls Don out on that and basically says, which side of the coin are you, Don Draper?
 
The implications of this on Don Draper are,
you know, his move forward in life, be practical, don't let anything drag you down - I think that all feeds into that philosophy of to wallow and lament what's done and gone and lost - you'll just be mired then, and all the misery that has been your life to this point.
 
And I think the fact that Conrad Hilton calls him on that directly face to face in that moment helps Don Draper to switch channels and get back into move forward mode.
 
 
Jenna: Don comes back to the Sterling Cooper offices and takes a minute to look around at the business.
Now he knows it's on borrowed time.
 
He didn't have that foresight with Betty. I think he always thought they would just reset after Halloween and go on as usual.
And I think he might still think that.
 
A secretary crumples paper, and that takes Don to a flashback to a farmers’ cooperative meeting with Archie in his old family living room.
There isn't a good deal on crops, and Archie refuses to sell at the low price.
In the commentary, Matthew Weiner says he's one man against the group going out on his own, trying to find success.
 
Steve: I think that's the key point of emphasis here. Archie is part of a local collective, and they are trying to deal with regulations and laws that have been passed at the federal level that restrict what they can do and to whom they can sell their crops.
 
But within that local collective, Archie is breaking ranks. He's unhappy with the work of the collective in negotiating the price.
 
And we can see the young Dick Whitman, you know, sitting in the room, hearing all this and seeing this break, but also seeing that Archie, in this moment, feels strong enough about it, that rather he would rather go alone than comply with this cooperative agreement.
 
Jenna: And how interesting that Don works so hard to free himself from the influence of his past and shake off anything he might have retained from Archie and his family, and yet here we can see that this is deeply a part of him, this myth that Don carries around that he is alone.
 
You know, there are a lot of characters pushing back against that, and he seems not to hear it.
Anna tells him the only thing keeping him from being happy is the belief that he is alone.
 
Bert pushes him to sign a contract saying, Sterling Cooper has carried him this far, comparing him to Sacagawea's baby.
His need to keep to himself definitely pushed Betty away.
 
And he buys into this belief, I think, that he's a creative genius and unique and special, and being a mystery man is part of that artistic persona.
 
A lot of creative people romanticize this idea of the suffering artist and how it feeds their work, and I think that Don really clings to this to his detriment.
 
Steve: The other thing I notice in this scene is this memory will have some rather ironic implications later in the episode,
because it's Archie's decision to go it on his own that's going to lead to a very significant consequence, from a Don Draper or Dick Whitman perspective,
 
I think there's a few different ways one might interpret this decision. It could say, compound the thought that that was a mistake to break from the cooperative, and look where it led.
It feels like Don Draper's arrived on the other side of that possibility to say, oh, you have to break on your own. Essentially, we're all alone.
 
In the end, he's not drawing a connection with Archie's decision to go it alone to the future consequence, which is rather traumatic.
 
Jenna: Don goes right to Bert's office in his socks.
He shares the news of the sale, and Bert doesn't seem overly surprised.
What do we do now? Don asks. He goes from one father figure in Hilton to another in Bert, essentially saying, solve this problem for me.
It's not terribly grown-up.
 
Steve: No. And Bert really doesn't have anything to offer. And we get this schism between the two of them, where Bert has surrendered and given himself to the prior sale and is rather indifferent to a subsequent sale.
 
You know, nothing really changes for Bert. He knows he'll be put out to pasture, but maybe he's got one eye on his ranch anyway.
 
And we can see how, again, this gets the ire up in Don Draper.
We want to build something, and I want to build something.
He even recalls that Bert has done that previously with Sterling Cooper back in the day.
 
Jenna: And that's our first truth call-out in this episode when he says, you know, you did it yourself 40 years ago,
meaning built something. That's true, Bert replies.
 
When Don has this temper tantrum at Bert, similar to the one he had with Conrad Hilton, they exchange these lines:
Bert says,
“Young men love risk because they can't imagine the consequences.”
And Don replies,
“And old men love building golden tombs and sealing the rest of us in with you.”
 
Then Don says, who the hell is in charge? And this seems like a callback to the last episode with the assassination of Kennedy, and feeling like the whole world is tilted.
 
When Don arrives at this idea of, I want to work. I want to build something of my own, finally, Don seems to have some purpose.
We haven't really seen him this focused and engaged in a positive direction since he was trying to work on the Lucky Strike campaign in the pilot.
His other energies have mostly been about hiding or mitigating fallout.
 
Steve: Yeah, and to add to that,
Don has shown a disdain for the account men, for the clients.
So the account men don't add value.
 
And the clients can be wrong or too foolish or blind to see the brilliance of the advertising campaign. And Don's quite happy to storm out of the meeting or kick the clients out of the building.
This brings us to Bert's comment to Don about, you might not have the stomach to build something.
What do you think Bert's referring to there?
 
Jenna: Well, he's going to have to get over his diva self. And when we talk about disdain that extends to his own team, he certainly has disdain for the creatives as well.
He spreads it around very generously to everybody he knows.
He has disdain for his wife. He has disdain for his mistresses. He thinks he's above it all.
 
So to build something,
he is going to have to appreciate people, invest in people,
and we haven't seen him do that.
 
It feels like Bert is dependably a grownup in the sense that he does whatever he has to do for the good of the business.
But that same quality can also make him less likable, because he seems less invested in the people around him.
They're just tools.
And we've seen Don treat people as tools as well.
 
Steve: I'm going to lean on that a little bit and differ.
I think Bert is now in float mode and is coasting, so I don't think his motives are what's best for the business at this point. I think he's given up, he's checked out, he's comfortable,
and he's making his peace with being sidelined.
 
I do see Bert as the voice of reason and a very pragmatic,
logical voice in the series and in many conversations.
 
And I think this call out of Don about whether he has the stomach for building a business and as you put the emphasis on, I think, you know, the teamwork and collaboration that would be necessary to build up a successful firm, I think that's a crucial call out.
 
But it sort of slides through and Don doesn't bite on it in the conversation with Bert.
And quickly they get into the problem solving challenge of, you know, what would it take to start building something?
 
Jenna: You use that expression about Bert a lot. You say he's the voice of reason, but that's exactly what I'm saying when I make the point that he uses people to get what he wants to reach his ends.
 
And when he talks about,
if you really want to do this, we need Roger.
And Don says, you know, well, you talk to him and he's like,
no, you're going to have to talk to him.
 
So he's nobody's plaything and he doesn't care about people's feelings. He sees the machine, right? It's. What did he say it was? The giant watch and it's the cogs and how the pieces move together.
 
And in many ways, Don is similar to that, except Don only thinks about how the machine works in terms of service to himself,
and Bert looks at how the machine works in terms of the whole company and how those pieces fit together.
 
Steve: Bert is very unemotional in this scene, in contrast to Don Draper and to me. That's another interesting comparison between the two. Don is upset and lashing out, trying to figure out what action can be taken
 
Even when he trades insults with Bert, you don't get the sense that there's any sting of Don's comments on Bert and any emotional response. Bert is very much sticking to the facts and the realities of the situation.
 
And even as the conversation morphs into problem solving and figuring out what actions they can take next and what needs to happen,
it's a very cold, calculating, rational Bert who's contemplating the problem.
 
And I feel Don Draper is coming off a bit of his emotional heat and trying to get into that constructive mode, and then quickly runs into the issue that, you know, he doesn't talk to Roger, and he doesn't like Roger.
 
And then I love how Bert throws that up as really getting back to this. Do you have the stomach for what this is going to take? I think part of that is reconciling with these people you were quite happy to have tiffs with.
And it's like you can't afford to do that if you're going to build something, and you need them as critical partners to it.
 
 
Jenna: Bert and Don head into Roger's office. He's on the phone with Jane, and we learn she's still watching news about Kennedy a lot. Roger says she's obsessed.
 
Roger absorbs the sale information and their plan to buy the company pretty quickly, but he's going to make Don work for it.
 
Steve: If I'm useless, so be it.
You know, it's not that he's happy to be useless,
but I wonder how much energy or struggle he's willing to put up with.
 
And it seems initially he's not going that route. And then we've got Bert and Don making the pitch to Roger, which is some really great writing and back and forth.
 
Jenna: Don's argument is that they don't want to work for McCann. They want their control back.
And Bert's argument is about vanity,
that Roger has lost his appetite for business and wants to coast.
 
And at some point, Bert gets a lot more direct, saying a really ugly truth.
He says to Roger, “You sold your birthright so you could marry that trollop,” meaning Jane.
 
And that's the thing Roger's been fighting. He's trying to frame himself as a romantic who's finally found love, but this foolishness for a young girl identity, definition, is what everybody else sees in him.
 
Steve: I hate to contradict myself from one scene to the next, but it seems to me Bert shows a flash of emotion here when he says that to Roger.
There's a venting of Bert here, of a grudge festering all this time.
 
Jenna: Bert blames him and has blamed him this whole time because Roger was the one who pushed the sale to the Brits. And Bert has not had that purpose.
He tried to find it. He went to Montana. He didn't find it there.
 
I think Bert is hungry to grab back some of that control,
just as Roger, who was left off the org chart and certainly Don, always wants control.
 
Steve: And I think, too, when Bert says to Roger, you know, if you've lost your appetite, you should retire. And then in three years, and he shows, you know, the body falling over dead because it has no purpose,
that fear or consideration probably applies to Bert himself.
 
But I also think it's a great pitch to Roger, who I think, in his whole quest to find young love, has a fear of aging and a fear of becoming redundant.
I think that's a brutal pitch to Roger, but a great one. And I think subtly more effective than it would appear on its surface, where on the surface, it almost seems a bit laughable, right. Oh, you'll retire and die in three years.
 
As we know, Roger doesn't need the money, so they've got to find a reason for him to do this separate from that, you know, for a lot of folks, the financial aspect would be a prime attraction.
 
Jenna: My favorite part of this scene is that Roger finally gets the apology from Don he was really seeking when Bert sent them to the barbershop.
 
Roger accuses Don of not valuing what he does any more than McCann does.
And Don says he was wrong. He learned that from Hilton.
And Roger doesn't just accept that and roll over.
He says his own truth at Don, just as Bert gave it to Roger. He says, you're not good at relationships because you don't value them.
Would you agree that's true about Don?
 
Steve: Yes, I think it is.
And it's interesting because I think this whole episode is almost a tour through Don Draper's relationships and him seeking to reconcile or make arrangements and tidy things up.
How about you?
 
Jenna: I think Don is terribly afraid of being lonely.
He does really struggle to engage in meaningful, authentic relationships outside of Anna and probably Peggy.
 
But Don says to Roger, I value my relationship with you.
It doesn't feel incredibly sincere, since he's avoided Roger for most of the season, but it is the right thing to say.
 
And it feels to me like Don's purpose, his moving forward energy towards something constructive instead of running away.
That seems to carry the day.
He says, we have to try.
 
And Roger says, “So you do want to be in advertising after all.”
 
Steve: I think this is when the pitch starts to land on Roger, and he starts to get that energy and enthusiasm for the possibilities here.
 
I love Roger's quips earlier in the conversation when Bert and Don are taking turns making their pitch towards him. And Roger's, you know, just so quick on his feet, throwing shots at them.
 
So he summarizes Bert's as a join or die and says, oh, Don's doing better with his.
And they're just very fun and witty that even in this tense moment where Bert and Don have this serious agenda, they're trying to move forward.
 
Typical Roger being this smart aleck, throwing things out there and letting them land on them even as they come around at the end of the scene to some sort of unity to say, yeah, let's pursue this and let's figure out what we need to do.
 
Jenna: It feels like so much has fallen into Don's lap because of his looks and his charm and that he's been coasting in so many areas, not investing in his family or in friendships or in his health.
 
Seeing him try is really inspiring, because we want that for him. You can talk about creative geniuses all day, but it matters when they do something about it. And here he is, finally doing something.
 
Steve: In this case, it's clear Don will say anything to get Roger on board so they can do this. That to Don Draper. The bigger danger is McCann, and he wants to go down fighting.
 
So, okay, he's highly motivated, and now he needs to reconcile with Roger, and he'll say whatever he needs to to get Roger on board here.
With all that expediency, it still leaves me with a question for the character to say. Has he really seen the light? Is he going to start making that change?
 
Or is he just a smart guy who's got an objective in front of him and is doing whatever it takes to get closer to that objective? And the winds may shift tomorrow.
 
 
Jenna: Don's had a rough day at the office, and when he gets home, Betty invites him to sit at the kitchen table.
She's in the chair he normally sits in. She has the power here.
This is our second official “sit down” in this episode.
 
She tells him she made an appointment with a divorce attorney, and she didn't want him to just get a call at his office to find out about it.
Don pushes against this. It's like he really doesn't believe what she's saying.
 
He doesn't have the same energy about saving his marriage that he has about saving Sterling Cooper, but he isn't accepting the divorce talk is final.
 
Steve: No, he really seems to be clinging to this idea that this is just a phase. And I guess there's a long track record where he could say they've had frictions and blow ups and then things have been smoothed over and reset. So it's not illogical that he clings to this.
 
But looking over at Betty and seeing her determination here and just the steps she's taking, you know, making an appointment with a divorce attorney, and just her comments where, you know, he's trying to say, oh, you know, it's been a tough two weeks.
 
And she says, it's been a tough year.
He says, well, you know, I won't let you break up this family.
And she says, I didn't break up this family.
It's a tense scene because we feel two people talking past each other in the moment.
 
Jenna: It seems to me it's more that he thinks Betty is erratic and will change her mind, than it is that he wants to be with her.
I guess it's hard to summon the energy to fight so hard to preserve the status quo.
But that's what I think he wants instead of specifically being with Betty.
 
He's super condescending.
He says, you haven't been yourself.
Maybe you need to see a doctor, a good one this time.
 
I know he had a bad day at work, but this is not how you talk to someone you respect and love. This is how you speak to someone you want to put off for a little while longer.
 
Steve: And he's had a good track record of succeeding with that tactic, right. So he's going back to the well and thinking this will work again. So, yeah, I totally agree with you.
 
His desire here is to retain the status quo with all its flaws. Because I think if we rewind a few episodes when we said, Don Draper's on top of the world, that status quo worked about as well as anything has in his life to this point. So to him, that's a high water point,
even as we know on the other side from Betty's perspective,
and she's realizing she can't tolerate this. She can't live in this world.
 
And I think the wild card in Betty's life has been the introduction of Henry, where she starts to get a view as to the other side of the fence and the possibilities of being with somebody who is committed to her,
who is in love with her and behaves in that manner.
 
 
Jenna: The next day at the office, Don, Roger, and Bert are waiting for Lane. And we get the official title line here:
Shut the door, have a seat.
 
They tell him they know PP&L is being sold and they want to buy Sterling Cooper back.
Lane has known that Sterling Cooper was for sale since The Color Blue.
He tells them he's sorry, but the company is worth more than the purchase price plus 12% that they were willing to offer.
But he won't tell them how much.
 
Lane is professional here. It's not that he's happy to give them bad news, but he does seem a little bit happy to be in the know.
 
He says it isn't PP&L, it's just Sterling Cooper that's being sold.
Just like when he told Pete that Ken got the top job, he doesn't have a lot of energy for consolation here.
 
Steve: No, he's all business and very professional. And you can see how this crushes the three Americans’ plans.
 
And we can see Roger already retreating in this scene. He says, look, my contract's only for another year. Don’s is three. They can try again in this undefined future.
 
 
Jenna: The scene shifts to Betty with Henry visiting with the divorce attorney.
There aren't a lot of reasons Betty can get a divorce in New York, so he advises them to go to Reno for six weeks to get one there.
 
Steve: I think this is another example of one of those time capsules which is difficult to get our heads around in the modern world, where divorces are so much easier to arrange and where the rights of both parties are so much stronger.
 
Looking back at the situation in 1963, it's almost shocking to me that in living memory you've got a circumstance where one partner has very few rights and may not be able to secure, you know, monetary support, and may basically just be kicked out the door of their entire life with nothing to show for it.
 
Such a contrast to the modern world. And I know a lot of noise is made about how divorce rates skyrocketed once these types of rights and treatments in the courts changed in the late 60s and 70s,
but it really makes me think of one of the reasons divorce rates were so much lower was because laws and treatments like this really made it prohibitively costly and difficult for one party to seek a divorce and to move on with their lives, so that only in the most extreme circumstances would they even contemplate it.
 
Jenna: In terms of a settlement. Betty says she wants whatever she's entitled to.
But Henry pauses. He says he will provide for her and her three children.
He doesn't want her owing Don anything.
 
Betty seems happy with that, but it does feel like she's trading one box for another.
You'd think a woman in these circumstances would want some financial independence from any man going forward.
 
Steve: I definitely think Betty does want that. I just don't think there's a legal path for her to get it. And I think the lawyer makes it very clear.
Without his consent, you're not going to be able to squeeze him for what you feel you're due.
 
So the solution that Henry comes up with is, oh, he's got the financial means, so I'll become your provider and look after it, and then it's not a problem for you that you can't get anything out of him.
 
I totally agree with your point. These two men of privilege hold all the cards between them,
and Betty's the one trying to navigate and find the right path for her between the two.
 
Jenna: We also get from this scene how committed Betty really is to making this change.
When she was talking with Don, his comments were making it seem like divorce might not really happen.
But she is all in with Henry here.
It doesn't feel like she's going back to Don.
 
Steve: Yeah, absolutely. She has a strong determination throughout this episode in a variety of different scenes. One more add here: This idea of, oh, you can go out to Reno and get the divorce.
That's another hallmark of socioeconomic class there, where if you've got the means, you can fly away to another jurisdiction, establish residence,
and then secure the divorce that you can't get in your own state. A lot of people in the country would not have any sort of option of doing that.
 
 
Jenna: Back at Sterling Cooper, Lane calls St. John to tell him they've learned it will be sold.
He's very loyal. He kept the secret from Bert and Roger this whole time. And as soon as he hears that they know, he calls the home office.
Unfortunately, that loyalty isn't reciprocated.
 
PP&L is being sold along with Sterling Cooper, and they didn't tell Lane,
and they don't have work for him.
So now Lane is adrift with the others to be sold along with McCann.
You're essential to the transition, St. John says,
but that's temporary, even if they keep him on for that. And he knows it.
 
Steve: When St. John says, oh, you'll make yourself, you know, irreplaceable. You always do. It's such a throwaway thing to say, you know, easy for you to say, St. John, compared to Lane, who's seeing his whole world rocked.
 
And I love this scene because we can watch Lane on the phone shifting from one side of the table to the other.
Compared to his earlier conversation with Bert, Roger And Don,
now he realizes he's on that side with them.
In many ways, his position's even more precarious.
 
The shock and the hurt. You know, Jared Harris in this scene, I think just does a fantastic job of emotionally taking us on this realization for Lane.
 
Jenna: And I love that difference in his character. And I think we might not respect Lane quite as much as Don, but Lane isn't throwing the temper tantrum here. Don just threw two.
 
He had one with Conrad and one mini one with Bert.
The Brits have no loyalty or respect for Lane at all. And when you imagine working for people like this for decades and how it's beaten him down, you have a lot of sympathy for him, and you wouldn't blame him for erupting, but he doesn't.
 
He says thank you politely,
but then he slams the phone down.
Here is a guy who has always done what he was told,
and here's the thanks he gets for it.
 
Steve: And I believe slamming the phone down like that does constitute a British temper tantrum.
 
We should note the contrast between that and Burt Peterson's temper tantrum when he was let go and walked out of the office screaming and throwing things. Yeah, that's an American temper tantrum.
 
Jenna: Stay classy, my friends.
 
 
When Don gets home that evening, he glances toward his old bedroom with Betty, but there's no contact.
When he goes into Gene's old room, Sally is sleeping on his bed, covered by his plaid bathrobe.
She misses him.
 
It could sound a little bit odd if you've never lost somebody, but the scent of a familiar person is so comforting.
Don hasn't paid much attention to Sally,
but he's so important to her life, and here she is, clinging to the pieces of him.
 
Steve: We know that Don and Betty aren't the best parents, and so often it feels like the children are an afterthought.
And to see this dependency of Sally, it's a heartbreaking scene,
the fact that she's terrified of that room.
 
You know, she thinks the ghost of Grandpa Gene is there. She hates that room. Yet she's gone up there and laid in his bed because she needs and loves her father.
I think Don feels guilt about the deficiencies in his parenting.
 
Jenna: Don sits down in the rocking chair. This used to be Baby Gene's room. And now the crib is moved in with Betty, but the chair is still there.
 
He moves into a flashback where he remembers Archie and Abigail fighting over money.
“We got nothing, and we're about to have less,” she tells him.
So he yells, “Fine. I'll sell my crop for nothing. I'll go to Chicago tonight.”
 
He's drunk, he's outside with his horse, and he laughs as a young Dick Whitman takes a drink from his whiskey jug and winces.
 
Steve: There's a clap of thunder, it spooks the horse and it kicks Archie,
severely injuring him.
 
Dick Whitman is witness to all of this and completely horrified. And as he looks down where you can see the the wound from the horse hoof on Archie's face, Dick Whitman gets physically ill at what he's seeing.
 
 
Jenna: Back in the present, after that memory, Don crawls in bed next to Sally, wrapping his arms around her.
 
Steve: I wonder if this is Dick Whitman's first taste of alcohol, and if it's almost the handing of the alcohol from Archie, who we know is a drunk and in this moment, his last act is basically handing the booze to Dick Whitman.
 
Jenna: What a sad legacy,
especially since we know where that's going to take him.
 
 
In the office the next day, Don calls Bert, Roger and Lane in to meet with him, saying, in our fourth instance, “Close the door, have a seat.”
“If you're going to read us your will, I want the Cadillac,” Roger says,
but Don wants to go directly to McCann to buy the company.
 
Lane admits he tried and that they were right. PP&L is being sold, not just Sterling Cooper.
And Don gets bossy at Lane, saying he wants him to find out the price. And Lane snaps back at him that he should fire him for conspiracy.
 
Roger critiques Don for drinking at 9:30 in the morning,
but Don is struck by Lane's comment,
Fire us,
sever our contracts,
let us go.
 
Steve: I love this negotiation here, where Lane's comment about firing Don for conspiracy is the spark of the idea that he can free them all from their contracts because he has the authority to do that.
 
I also like that in that instant when this idea starts to grow,
Lane realizes his value and utility in this course of action.
As quickly as Bert offers to make him a partner, Lane suggests that it's worth something more than that and gets his name put on the door of the prospective firm.
 
Jenna: At first they're all standing, but the scene shifts as Lane starts to talk about the tricky part of collecting accounts to take with them.
And they only have the weekend. Now they're all seated co conspirators.
 
And it's so satisfying to see Lane step up and be at the top of his game when so often he's acting at the beck and call of the Brits, and you're never totally sure where his heart really is in that.
 
“Anybody they approach must be a certainty,” Lane says, “If news spreads, they'll lock us out.”
They don't have a budget to take everybody, and they're going to have to steal materials for the accounts that they take with them.
Matt Zoller Seizst compares this to Ocean's Eleven.
 
And we noted in prior episodes that they have made allusions to specific genres like horror or film noir, and this one is like a heist movie.
 
Steve: Within the heist, it really feels like Lane is the one driving the bus. It's obvious they have no understanding of cash flow,
so they rely on Lane to provide them an arbitrary number as to how much cash flow they need, you know, which is to cover their expenses.
 
And then they start to assess accounts, and Lucky Strike gets them most of the way there, but they still need another 8 million worth of accounts.
 
The other piece I love about Lane here is he takes advantage of the time difference and the weekend so that he can fulfill his duties to notify the home office, knowing they are not going to see the telex until the following Monday, which gives them time to pull off their little coup, steal the accounts before the home office comes calling and potentially locks them out.
 
Jenna: We talked about Don on his apology tour or his giving credit tour.
So Don has already said something nice to Roger,
and now he's making nice with Lane. It's just one line,
but he says, “Do you know how to do what he does?
I don't.”
 
So here's Don throwing some credit Lane's way, and then you get to see Lane being great at it. He does have skills that they don't have.
 
I liked that Roger was reluctant when Don goes, we'll put your name on the door, and Roger goes, I don't know.
Roger only wants his name on the door.
 
So I love that he stays true to his character, but they are acknowledging success, and we don't see Don do that very often.
He doesn't give credit to other people for their skills.
 
Steve: But to be fair here, this isn't Don just giving credit for its sake. This is ruthless and mission focused.
Lane is a resource they cannot do without,
and Don will ruthlessly leverage that and take advantage of it.
 
Yeah, I think Don does see the utility of Lane absolutely. In the abstract. But there's also a very mercenary, pragmatic reason why he needs to leverage Lane.
And Lane has made himself a very nice nest in the midst of this necessity.
 
Jenna: I get that you're talking about the purity of character motivations,
but I'm talking more about the structure of the episode where the writers have crafted these little moments in every scene for Don to be able to throw some credit to each character he interacts with along the way.
 
And it's notable because we don't see him doing that. It's all about me, me, me, and how great I am.
And it's kind of nice to see Don attributing a little something.
 
Steve: It really is such a contrast to what we've seen of Don Draper to this point. And it feels to me like this entire episode is almost like the Don Draper collaboration tour.
 
Jenna: So all four of them vote in favor of the motion, and Lane fires the three of them.
Roger closes out the scene, saying, “Well, it's official. Friday, December 13, 1963. Four guys shot their own legs off.”
 
Steve: I love Roger's quips throughout this episode. They're always wickedly funny and just perfectly delivered by John Slattery.
 
And again, my man crush on Jared Harris. In this episode,
I'll also confess to being a huge fan of Jared Harris's father, Richard Harris.
This is the point in Mad Men when I really start to be a fan of Lane’s character.
 
 
Jenna: Don comes out of his office, mission focused,
telling Allison to send a memo that the office will be closed for carpet cleaning.
He wants to talk to Mr. Campbell, but Pete's out sick today.
 
Next, he calls out to Peggy, and it's our fifth “Shut the door. Sit down.”
 
Steve: Don makes his pitch to Peggy,
but similar to what we've already seen with Roger, there's a lot of scar tissue there, and Peggy seems more suspicious than enthusiastic.
And then she starts to air her grievances with Don Draper.
 
Jenna: Her grievance, namely, is that he hasn't made a pitch to her.
She says, you just assume I'll do whatever you say.
I'm not going to beg you. Beg me? You didn't even ask me.
Fine. I'm asking.
Real smooth, Don. Very charming.
 
He does expect that she'll do whatever he says.
He says in two sentences,
“I need you here Sunday evening to get your things and help us collect whatever else we need.”
 
And Peggy doesn't roll over.
She says credibly, “Everyone thinks you do all my work. Even you.
I don't want to make a career out of being there so you can kick me when you fail.”
 
We know Peggy well enough to not be worried for Don, that she'll tell anybody when secrecy is such a key part of their plan.
And I think we're proud of Peggy for standing up for herself here.
But I have anxiety over Peggy not being part of this new agency they want to build, just when Don is finding his mojo.
 
Steve: Well, and I think the tell here is in the face of Peggy standing up for herself and saying, look, you know, everybody thinks you do all my work, even you.
Don basically confirms it, because rather than coming clean or making amends at this moment, he floats, well, maybe Kurt and Smitty are an alternative.
 
To me, this is really the surrender of Don Draper.
Peggy's absolutely right here. And he doesn't even offer a fight on the point, thinking he can bluff her or scare her. And it does not work.
 
 
Jenna: Next, at Pete and Trudy's apartment, they're bustling around, getting ready to host Don and Roger.
Pete called in sick because he was interviewing with Ogilvy.
He puts on a robe and messes his hair.
 
Trudy has the fantastic chip and dip out and puts it to use.
After all, they got two.
As Don and Roger come in, Pete is wary. Trudy excuses herself, and they're direct about the sale of Sterling Cooper.
 
Steve: In his commentary, Matt Weiner mentions that there's almost a mafia wise guy soprano esque vibe, with the two men in black showing up at the door and walking into this apartment where we know they're not especially welcome.
 
As you mentioned earlier, it's a nice nod to those types of gangster films and, and TV series.
 
Jenna: Pete, unsurprisingly, doesn't hesitate to show his temper.
He says, “Oh, am I getting a few more adjectives added to my title? I have other plans.”
 
And in a glorious moment, we hear Trudy calling from the bedroom. Peter, may I speak with you?
And all three men know that's translated into,
“Simmer down, idiot.”
 
Steve: And listen, I love that line and that dynamic,
and it just reinforces that Pete - Trudy, partnership. She's on his side, she's in his corner, and she has real value.
 
And she tamps down on Pete's emotions in this scene, which is also a little funny because, you know, we have that sexist stereotype of the emotional female.
 
And yet throughout Mad Men, we often see the men are losing control of their emotions and. And it's the women having to reign them in. So I love playing against that stereotype.
 
Jenna: Very early in this conversation, Pete says, so Ken turned you down, but they haven't gone to Ken yet. They say Ken is the one who got the top job.
So why do you think they went to Pete first instead of Ken?
 
Steve: Despite what Lane said about Ken is better account man than Pete, I suspect the reason Ken doesn't get the call is Because Ken has a strong moral code and they need to be sure of anybody they ask so that they'll either come across to them or keep their beak shut if they opt out.
 
I suspect that the reason Ken doesn't get the call is that there's some uncertainty that his code may lead him to feel the need to put up his hand or to prevent them from dismantling the organization in the event that he didn't choose to slide over.
 
Whereas I think Pete ticks all the boxes in terms of they can appeal to his self interest. Pete doesn't have an ethical code that's going to preclude him doing this or that.
 
Plus he's disgruntled anyway, so he's not going to go running and do any favors for PP&L or Lane, as Pete perceives Lane to be this outsider at this point.
How about you?
 
Jenna: Ken seems a lot easier to work with, and this is a pretty cynical take, but I have to wonder when Bert said, one never knows how loyalty is born, if part of Don Draper's mind isn't thinking,
Pete knows something about me and maybe it's better to have him closer.
 
Steve: I think that's got to be a consideration here because it would be very devastating to the reputation of the firm if there was some dirt out there.
Although I wonder how Pete could spread it or do harm with it.
Just as Roger wanted to hear the apology from Don,
we can see Pete directly saying, I want to hear it from him.
 
Jenna: Don rises to the groveling occasion pretty well. He says, we need you to keep us looking forward. You've been ahead on a lot of things.
 
And we talked about this as early as the pilot when Pete read Greta's research report about smoking and the death wish and Don dismissed it as garbage.
But at the end, Pete insisted I still think she was right.
 
That's not to say that Pete should have tricked his way into Don's office to steal the report, or jumped in with creative ideas during the meeting.
But he is open to possibilities that Don and the other execs and clients have shrugged off.
 
Steve: And in his groveling, I think Don Draper does a good job of citing specific examples where Pete has been proven to be ahead of and he mentions aeronautics, teenagers,
and I think it's that substance and sweet talk that is one of Don Draper skills when he's on his game.
And he's definitely using all his magic here to try and win Pete over.
 
Jenna: The most Pete thing ever comes out of his mouth when Pete says,
“I want to be a partner and I want my name in the lobby.”
 
And they're not handing out partnerships so generously, in spite of the fact that they just offered one to Lane.
Pete can be a partner if he can get enough accounts by Sunday and the title will be a goal, they tell him.
 
Steve: Don rather brazenly says that Pete had been treated poorly, and he doesn't blame him for being upset about it. But Don Draper is part of the poor treatment of Pete, and we all know Pete brings a lot on himself.
 
But it's so funny the way Don Draper divorces himself from the bad treatment and shines the light over on PP&L and Lane as the source of his mistreatment at Sterling Cooper when we all know Don Draper's been in the tub with all of them.
 
Jenna: Pete is very mission-focused when they leave. He's so happy to be part of the band instead of feeling snubbed all season.
And Trudy is equally proud to see him in this mode.
 
We don't like complaining Pete, but we also know that overconfident Pete does some pretty unlikable things, so it's hard to catch him in a good moment and notice Pete had the client files at home.
 
Trudy had said in the last episode that he should start gathering his clients and that they'd follow him wherever he goes.
So he's already been gathering business for himself.
 
Steve: Yeah, we can see the ambitions of Pete Campbell here,
and I think that's the huge appeal to this adventure for him.
He can go somewhere else and then start down on the ladder again and try and build up, you know, his account credentials.
 
Or he can jump across here and be the man in accounts because his arch nemesis, Ken, is not coming across.
At least not to anyone's knowledge at this point.
 
 
Jenna: Next, we get the scene we have wanted all season.
Roger and Don are in a bar with real talk. This is the friendship we've been missing.
They bond over hating on Pete a little bit and how he was planning to leave.
 
Roger makes a really important confession. He says, I acted like I started a business my whole life, but I inherited it.
He's nervous now. He's going to have to do the work.
 
But that truth isn't news to Don't.
He responds with a confession of his own.
I need an attorney.
Divorce.
 
And in a truth call out, Roger asks, so it's true, huh?
So Don's confession to Roger was also not news.
 
Steve: Yeah, and we can see the shock on Don Draper's face here. And then Roger mentions Henry Francis,
and Don is just gobsmacked that Roger seems to know all about it. And it turns out Margaret is friends with Henry's daughter.
So that's how Roger's been read into what's going on with Henry.
 
Jenna: Don, New York man of mystery, thinks he's so secretive about his life, and here Roger knows something that Don doesn't.
 
“I was gonna tell you. No, I wasn't. I thought you knew,” Roger says.
 
Steve: It almost feels like the reconciliation between the two of them gets sidetracked by this because Don is so blown away by what's going on in his marriage, and. And to learn it from Roger, of all people, in a bar, it's just really dark comedy.
 
Jenna: And here Don is planning a heist at his company,
and he realizes the woman he's been lying to for a decade has just successfully pulled her own heist on him.
 
Steve: We know Don and Roger are drinking together in the bar.
So this is an explosive combination because we've got Don liquored up,
and he's just learned this truth about his marriage.
 
And if he was hoping on clinging to it and that things could be saved,
surely this is the instant where he starts to realize that ship has sailed.
 
 
Jenna: The next scene is so ugly. Don marches into Betty's room where she and the baby are sleeping, demanding to know who Henry Francis is.
“You're good, and everyone else in the world is so bad.
You're so brave with your little white nose in the air. You never forgave me,” he says. “I'm not good enough for some spoiled Main Line brat.”
And this is a nod back to Bert telling Roger the ugly truth about marrying Jane.
 
This is what Don thinks when he sees Betty, that her act is to be long suffering and noble, when really she's been cheating, too.
But that's not how it really is.
 
Betty would never have gone to Henry if Don hadn't been lying to her.
It's a lot more convenient to blame Betty, and Betty certainly has her flaws, but who is responsible for the demise of this marriage?
 
Steve: And these tropes about, oh, he's not good enough for her, and this and that. This is just Don Draper feeling sorry for himself.
 
He's drunk now. He confirms all his fears and insecurities that are really saying a lot more about Don Draper and Dick Whitman than they do about Betty.
He just comes across as very weak and whiny in this scene.
 
But simultaneously, we've got this drunk man in the middle of the night, and he's got this imposing physical presence. So there's a real tension in this scene that's created by that because we can see how angry and hurt Don is in this scene.
 
Jenna: And he's grabbing her and it's menacing.
He says she won't get a nickel, and he'll take the kids and they'll be better off.
We can pause on that for a moment. Betty really isn't an invested mother, but are the kids better off with Don, who's such an absent father?
 
Maybe in his good moments.
It's an ugly thing to say, especially after season one when he says he would have given anything to have had a mother like Betty, like an angel.
And now here he is shaking her and saying, “you're a whore.”
 
Steve: I think it's just a power flex by Don here, because he knows how the legal system and the laws are in his favor and his control.
So he's saying, I'm not going to give consent. I'm going to make it difficult.
 
The interesting thing for me is how Betty pushes right back at him. She doesn't waver for a second. And even with his physicality, as he wakes her up and is imposes himself physically in her space.
 
I mean, as a viewer, I feel afraid in this moment. What's he going to do? Is he going to strike her?
And yet Betty doesn't back down for a second. And she says she's going to Reno, she's going to get that divorce, and he will consent.
 
And you can see that just infuriates him even further, that he's playing his power cards on the table here to no avail. And Betty is just a stone wall in opposition to him.
 
Jenna: Betty really hasn't been an individual person to Don for most of their marriage.
She's a placeholder.
And in some ways, maybe she's been a mother figure he never had. And her going to Henry makes her a fallen angel of sorts.
 
Betty always represented his fake dream life instead of an authentic, loving partnership. She's just part of the set of his success.
And when she disrupts that, he's really angry.
 
But how hypocritical is he to be this mad?
Midge, Rachel, Joy, Bobby, Shelley, Suzanne. And that's just the past three years.
Don's not upset about losing Betty. He's upset at the blow to his ego and the loss of a big part of his facade.
 
Steve: I really think that's true.
And I was thinking, as you mentioned, the names of Don's various partners, you know, when you're a whore.
 
Oh, wait a minute. No, that was Don Draper, too. Betty. It's just so hilariously backwards and it's pure projection here. If. If there's a whore in this room, it ain't Betty.
 
 
Jenna: It's the weekend, and Pete greets Harry in the elevator going up to the offices.
Harry doesn't know the details and when they explain it to him, he says, I'll have to call my wife.
 
Jennifer manages Harry's work decisions in a less supportive way than Trudy manages Pete's. But of course he has to check in and Bert nixes that.
He says, “If you turn us down and elect to become a mid level cog of McCann Erickson, we'll have to lock you in the storeroom until morning. I'm sure you understand.”
 
Steve: It's funny how cold blooded Bert is in this moment, knowing that he can completely overwhelm Harry's indecisiveness with this intimidation. And of course it works.
 
Jenna: So they're gathered around, they've got job sheets, they're missing materials, and nobody knows how this works.
And the whole audience is thinking,
We know! We know someone who knows how all this works.
 
Steve: It's such a lovely scene, because I think if one of the main themes is the Don Draper apology tour this episode,
surely another one is that business is a team sport, especially creating a new business from the ashes of the old.
 
And this moment, I think despite their lack of power and ill treatment in the office,
we can see how some of the strong women, like Peggy, like Joan,
are just so essential to how everything works and the overall success.
 
And in this desperate moment,
these men finally realize how critical these ladies are and they start to get their share of the spotlight.
 
Jenna: So Roger leaves to make an important phone call and somebody asks, where's Don?
Don is in the living room with Betty and the kids, explaining the divorce.
 
Even here, as Betty says, “Your father's going to be moving out,”
Don says, “It'll just be temporary.”
Betty shakes her head at him.
 
Do you think he says it will be temporary because he thinks it's letting the kids down gently,
or do you think he thinks Betty really will take him back?
 
Steve: I think it's more the former than the latter.
But I do think the latter is present in his hopes or his mentality that somehow, some way, he can get a reset back here.
 
Even though we know consciously, he's got to know that ship has sailed. There's no shot of it. It's such a heart rending scene.
 
And I think we talked about how divorce rates have increased and how much easier it is to get one nowadays.
Well, one of the prices of that is surely got to be this conversation, which I think many of our viewers will be able to relate to, when they faced a similar circumstance and either got the news or gave the news to their own children.
 
And. And it's just so difficult. And we can see how the children struggle to understand it. They struggle to understand if they're responsible for it.
 
And also that sense of betrayal in the children, particularly Sally, where she basically calls out Don and Betty in turn about this outcome, which is definitely not what Sally Draper wants.
 
Jenna: In spite of what happened the night before,
Betty and Don are reasonably calm about this conversation.
They don't blame each other or yell in front of the kids.
 
Sally still isn't taking this lying down.
She says, “Why are you going?”
Don says, “.I'm not going. I'm just living elsewhere.”
“That's going,” she says. “You say things and you don't mean them, and you can't just do that.”
And that is the essence of Don Draper.
He says things and he doesn't mean them.
 
How long can he do that is the question. But he's running out of time with Sally on that front. So when you talk about costs, you can see it right in front of him.
 
And as you say, Sally is angry with both parents. She accuses Betty, saying,
“You made him sleep in Gene's room, and it's scary in there.”
 
Steve: And then as well,
Bobby's hug to Don is so childlike and just that unconditional love of a child for their parent and begging him not to go.
 
And you can see Betty putting her face in her hands here.
You know, she's on the verge. And, you know, again, Betty's determined. She knows she has to do this for herself.
But the cost to the children is so high. It's a very painful, touching scene.
 
Jenna: It's sad and it's real.
Moving forward means leaving things behind.
 
Earlier this season, Gene was born, and Betty redecorated this very living room for their future together as a family.
But now the furniture doesn't mean anything.
 
And that baby, which was born after some separation sex, isn't going to have his original family.
I love that the show doesn't let it be all good or all bad. Most things aren't.
 
It's probably healthier for both Don and Betty to let this relationship go,
but that doesn't mean it isn't hard for their kids, no matter how many awkward family dinners they've been having.
 
 
Steve: The next scene has Don Draper at Peggy Olson's door.
Don asks to come in. It's clear he wants to revisit his pitch to Peggy.
 
Jenna: “You were right,” he tells her.
He told Roger he was wrong about Hilton. He told Pete he was right about a lot of things.
And now he tells Peggy,
“I've taken you for granted, and I've been hard on you. I think of you as an extension of myself, and you're not.”
 
And that is the issue.
He heard her, and he understood it.
He never did that with Betty.
He's fighting for his relationship with Peggy much harder than he ever did with Betty, I think.
 
And that's where we get our sixth “Please sit down” in this scene.
 
Steve: I like that observation. He's fighting here for Peggy,
and I love that Peggy is still holding fast to her position.
Peggy says,
“Thank you for stopping by,” and almost says it dismissively, like, you can go now.
And it's Don who needs to persist and ask her to take a seat.
 
Jenna: He reaches out to her: “Do you know why I don't want to go to McCann?”
And she knows him and his I'm alone philosophy. And she goes, “Because you can't work for anybody else.”
[Laughing]
 
And maybe there's more to that.
Maybe Sterling Cooper will accept Don and his foibles in a way a bigger company won't tolerate.
 
Steve: It feels to me like Don Draper is being about as truthful as he can be in this scene. And I think that gives a credibility and substance to trying to win Peggy over.
 
If he lacked it or she detected insincerity, it would blow him out of the water. So he's got to come with his guns unloaded into the room. And I think he does.
 
Jenna: I'm going to push back on that.
Don says,
“There are people like you and me, and something happened, and the way that they saw themselves is gone.
Nobody understands that, but you do, and that's valuable.”
 
And I love that he's fighting for her,
but I don't love that speech. He's basically saying, I know you survived something difficult, and you made it through that. And I know what that's like, too. So we're alike.
 
She was talented before she had the baby, before she survived the way that she saw herself before.
And he never told her what his own change was.
She doesn't seem like she needs to know, but it's not like things are equal between them.
 
Instead of saying, you've been through hard things, Peggy, and I respect that, I wish he would combine the talk about her viewpoint with her work ethic and her creativity.
 
Steve: I don't disagree with you that I think that would be nice if he truly did see and value her in all the ways she contributes.
But I think it would be insincere, because I don't think he sees all of that. So what he's saying here about her utility and ability to be effective and that he wants her to work with him,
I think that is the extent of his appreciation of her.
 
And I agree with you. I don't think he's seeing the full picture, and I think she's more than what he's acknowledged to this point.
But I also think this is the limit of Don Draper as a human being and what he's seen at this point.
 
And we as viewers can see how much Peggy brings and how professional and dedicated she is.
And it's like, why the heck can't her supervisor see what we see?
 
Jenna: Don Draper gets it right when she says, “If I say no, you'll never speak to me again.”
 
And in the most romantic yet platonic thing he ever says on the show, Don Draper says,
“No. I will spend the rest of my life trying to hire you.”
 
If that's not Mr. Darcy coming out of the - coming out of the woods on the English plain. I mean, that is a beautiful thing to say.
 
Steve: I think this is a nice parallel to the prior scene where when she says she's not going to come over and he suggests that she's replaceable, that, well, maybe Smitty and Kurt would come over.
 
We're at this inflection point here when she challenges him, you know, will you ever speak to me again?
And he can't go the strong, hard way there of, like, yeah, absolutely. You know, I'll banish you, and we won't speak.
 
He goes the other direction, and I think that's the right one here in terms of winning her over.
I think it's also important that if he respects and values her,
his answer he gives has to be the truthful one, because if he gives the other answer, then he's just confirming, I don't respect and value you.
 
So, yeah, it's such a great moment between the two of them,
and I really feel like it's Peggy who's brought him to the edge of the cliff and forced him to look over it in a way that I don't think he would get there himself.
 
So, as a fan of the Peggy Olson character, I love this moment for her because I think this means a lot to her in the bigger picture.
And it also opens the door to her, to this potential move as part of Don Draper's starting a firm of his own.
 
 
Jenna: Back at The Sterling Cooper offices. At last, Joan shows up again. She is instantly ready to pivot.
 
We were celebrating Peggy's ability to improvise about the Western Union and Aqua Net ads. But there's no question Joan is not just prepared, but flexible.
She knows who to call.
She knows where the stuff is. She knows what to do first.
 
 
Don shows up with Peggy. She's in.
Pete tells Don which accounts he brought with him. He made the amount required.
 
It is great seeing everybody pulling in the same direction professionally here. And you get to see the unique strengths that everybody brings.
 
Steve: Joan strutting into the room in all her power and glory, and just Christina Hendricks looks fantastic entering in that scene.
It's just so gratifying as a Mad Men fan, because we've missed Joan, we've missed this character. And now she's back in larger than ever.
 
I also like how everybody else almost heaves a sigh of relief with her presence because she starts allocating resources, focusing people, telling them what to do.
We see Bert instantly relax because everyone knows Joan is in charge and will make sure this gets done the right way.
 
Jenna: When they go to the art department, and Don kicks the door down, I hope so much they're going to get Sal back.
 
Steve: Absolutely. It feels like it would be an opportunity to bring him back now.
We should also mention that when Pete mentions the accounts he's managed to swing over,
it includes Clearasil, which, as we all remember, was pulled by Trudy's father back when they were having those issues and frictions.
 
The fact that Clearasil is back in the fold to me,
I can't imagine that it's Pete who brought that. That's Trudy. Trudy called her father and said, thou shalt give thy business to my husband, who's starting a new firm.
 
 
Jenna: We get a bunch of quick scenes with them working over the weekend.
Roger flirting a little with Joan, Bert asking if somebody washed their hands,
Roger asking Peggy if she can get him some coffee, and her saying no, not even looking up.
 
They're all the same people, even though they're making this monumental shift. It's so good.
 
As they all start walking out, Pete has his rifle with him.
He's carrying that second chip and dip over his shoulder.
 
Don pauses and tells Joan he's at the Roosevelt and he'll need her to find him an apartment.
Furnished? She asks. For the time being, he says,
I'm sorry, she replies.
 
This shorthand is so great. She fully understands the import of this conversation, and she's discreet and he knows it.
But part of me thinks Don should find his own damn apartment instead of making Joan do it.
 
Peggy said no to Roger on the coffee. It would be kind of amazing if Joan was like, oh, find your own Don.
 
Steve: I hear you on that.
But I also, in the context of how things operated in the past and what jobs, you know, the office manager or the administrative assistance provide, you know, this is bread and butter for them.
 
And I love, love this idea that Joan can do this sort of thing in her sleep,
throw a few more tasks her way. It doesn't overload her or stress her out.
To me, it's just a nice further underlining of what they were lacking after Joan departed and what they're getting back now to bring her into the new firm.
 
 
Jenna: Roger and Don are the last to leave and they spare a moment to look around the office. A lot has happened here.
 
Steve: Roger asks how long will it be till they're in a place like this again?
And Don has this great answer where he says, I never saw myself working in a place like this.
 
 
Jenna: The next morning, Alison walks into Don's office.
Everything's askew and she thinks they've been robbed.
 
When Lane comes in, Mr. Hooker informs him the Brits are on the line.
They've called multiple times that morning.
 
St. John's calm, patronizing messaging to Lane is replaced here by an all out tantrum.
“You're fired for costing this company millions of pounds. For insubordination, for lack of character!”he shrieks, as if that's the worst possible accusation he could make.
 
“Very good. Happy Christmas,” Lane replies, completely unruffled,
which is the most James Bond cool thing Lane gets to do. And I really love it for him.
 
Steve: I also love that it's St. John who loses his cool here. So all this time, you know, St. John and team had Lane dangling on a string. And in this moment, the worm is turned.
 
Lane's actions have cost PP&L millions of dollars. He's blown up the whole thing and St. John can't control himself. And I think there's a certain triumph there for Lane on the phone to hear St. John losing his cool.
 
And meanwhile, Lane is happy as a duck in water, his cheerful Happy Christmas, the retort that Lane's wanted to give someone like St. John for years, no doubt.
And Lane's the one who's winning in this moment.
 
 
Jenna: The next scene takes us to the hotel room where the new agency is taking shape.
Joan is running logistics, and when the phone rings, she first formally answers.
Sterling Cooper Draper Price. How may I help you?
It turns out it's just Harry asking for the room number.
 
Steve: And I love the organized chaos in this hotel room. Right. They're all crammed in there. Don's typing away.
You realize how they really are starting from nothing here and working out of boxes in this one location.
But the gang's all together there.
 
 
Jenna: The others back at Sterling Cooper are left to sort things out. And I'm so glad they gave us this scene, because as much as we like the rebellion and the heist, there are costs.
 
He didn't even leave a note, Allison is crying to the others left behind.
And that would have been the decent thing for Don to do for his secretary.
 
Paul isn't looking for a note.
He storms into Peggy's office and sees her things are gone.
Poor Paul. They wanted Peggy, not him.
 
Steve: And as a viewer, I really wonder, you know, what is going to be the fate then of Paul, Ken, Smitty, Kurt?
Because they weren't major characters, but we saw quite a bit of them.
 
Jenna: Yes, Ken is still there and he hears Pete tried to poach John Deere over the weekend.
These are people we've been with for three seasons and having been left behind, you can't blame them for having some hard feelings.
 
 
Steve: Speaking of hard feelings,
the next scene is back in the new office as Trudy arrives in a divine outfit, brings sandwiches and cake to the group.
 
Don gets Harry to leave the bedroom so he can phone Betty.
 
Jenna: He tells Betty where he's working, and he says he won't fight her on the divorce.
He says, I hope you get what you always wanted.
And she answers,
you will always be their father.
 
Does this feel like enough to you from either of them?
 
Steve: That's an interesting question.
It feels to me like Don has made his peace that his marriage is going to end and his motivations for being a grown up about it and moving forward.
 
Maybe it's less about him wanting to do right by Betty and be a good guy. And maybe there's a big element of just this suits his needs to move on and not get mired down in a losing battle.
 
Betty's all business here. You don't really get any vibe of emotion, but she's got to have a big sense of relief that he's not going to be fighting her on it.
I don't know. Are these just two exhausted boxers who've decided to stop punching at this point?
 
Jenna: I think his line, I hope you get what you always wanted is so sad, because that's his acknowledgement that he wasn't enough, when she spent the whole time we've known her, she's felt like she wasn't enough for him.
 
And her line to him, you will always be their father,
it sounds like an insult in response to what he said in some ways, but I think it's her opening the door to say, I'm not going to make things difficult for you in terms of having access to them.
 
It's what they can give each other in this moment. Even though things are still raw and difficult.
 
Steve: At this point, Don has really tied up all his loose ends professionally. They've got the new company.
In terms of his relationship with Betty, he's agreed to move on.
Quite a landmark moment after three seasons.
 
 
Jenna: The closing montage shows Betty with baby Dean next to Henry on a plane to Reno.
Then we see Carla giving chocolate milk to Sally and Bobby.
There's that cost again, just like with Allison left behind at the office.
 
Although Carla seems really kind to the kids, so maybe it's more stable if she is with them than with either of their parents.
And we see Don taking his suitcases from a cab into his new apartment in the Village.
 
 
Steve: When we see Betty's face on the plane to Reno holding Jean next to Henry,
she doesn't have a smile on her face.
And I thought that was an interesting contrast, because in many ways you would think or hope for her that it would be a smile if she's able to move forward.
 
But she seems to have a uncertainty about what the future holds for her.
And I thought that was interesting because clearly Henry's thrilled to have her at his side.
 
Jenna: It was interesting to me that Henry was asleep beside her and she was awake thinking about her future.
 
Steve: The episode closes with the Roy Orbison song Shahdaroba,
which has the notable lyric, the future is better than the past.
 
But there feels like there's a lot of ambiguity with this ending, and there's new futures that are being unfurled here.
 
Jenna: The lyrics say,
When your dream dies and your heart cries,
fate knows what's best for you.
Face the future and forget about the past.
In the future, you will find a love that lasts.
 
As we head into the future with Sterling Cooper Draper Price and into season four, maybe our characters will find love that lasts, and fulfilling employment, and exercise their skills for good.
 
Or, since it's Mad Men, they'll probably show flashes of genius and plenty of pain and mistakes as they reach for new things in 1964.
 
Steve: Like you said, off the top, I just love this episode. It's so satisfying to see all these threads and plot lines and moments for these characters. The return of Joan. The revenge of Lane.
The resolution on the Draper marriage.
 
Don Draper having to come clean and express value and contrition to key coworkers in the office.
Peggy standing up for herself.
 
So many satisfying moments for these characters that we've we've come to know over three seasons. So I have to agree with a lot of people out there. I think this one is near the tippy top.
 
 
Jenna: We want to give a listener shout out today to April I.
Thank you so much for supporting our production costs through Buy Me a Coffee or in this case, a Chip and Dip.
 
We really appreciate your kind message and thank you for listening.
 
 
We are excited to start Season four. It's so challenging for us not to binge rewatch ahead of our recording pace, but we have a lot of great Mad Men episodes to look forward to.
 
We are thankful to every listener, and if you like our show enough to share it with other Mad Men fans, we'd really appreciate that.
 
Steve: That's it for this episode of All Things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou. Visit our website, MadMenCtoZ.com to vote for your favorite Sterling Lines and to share your opinions on our Double Dip questions for each episode.
 
Jenna: You can find us on Instagram and YouTube @MadMenCtoZ. And please listen, like, and subscribe. That's what the podcast's for!
 
Steve: Thanks for listening everybody.