Flight 1 – Mad Men Episode Summary 2.2

Synopsis: Pete Campbell receives news that his father was aboard the American Airlines plane that crashed in Jamaica Bay. Meanwhile, Duck Phillips sees a golden opportunity with the tragedy as he sells the senior partners on the idea of getting business from the troubled airline company. This, however, requires that they end their relationship with Mohawk Airlines, a condition that infuriates Don Draper.

Episode Summary: Pete and Trudy Campbell arrive in Montclair to attend Paul Kinsey’s party. Paul lives in a neighborhood his colleagues are not accustomed to, but is quite proud of the town he chose. He is equally proud of his girlfriend Sheila White, an African American assistant manager at the Food Fair. Her meeting Paul’s former girlfriend, Joan Holloway, proved to be an awkward situation.   Continue reading...

Roger Sterling with Don Draper arrives at the office in a sour mood after spending time in traffic due to the closing of Fifth Avenue for a parade to welcome Colonel Glenn whom he finds not much of a hero. His petulance increases at the sight of his employees all gathered around a radio only to learn that all are absorbed with the news of the crash of American Airlines Flight 1 to Los Angeles. Don Draper whose mind is all business puts sentimentality aside, and orders Hildy to turn off the radio. In order to avoid putting their client in an awkward situation with their ads running alongside a picture of the plane wreckage, Don instructs Harry Crane to pull all Mohawk ROP, and to put a stop on anything in production. He expects his staff to put aside their emotions for there will be a ton of work ahead of them given this new development. To the disgust of their female colleagues, the men begin making jokes at the tragedy with Pete Campbell giving the one that had the most laughs. However, the joke is on him.

Pete receives a phone call from his brother informing him that their father was aboard American Airlines Flight 1. In a daze, he walks over to Don Draper’s office to tell him the news, and ask for advice for the young man is at a loss. Still in shock, Pete wonders how he should feel. Don suggests that he go home, and be with his family for it is what people do.

Duck Phillips meets with Bertram Cooper and Roger Sterling to inform them of his conversation with Shel Keneally, a friend of his who now works for American Airlines. According to him, the troubled airline is looking for a fresh start. This catches the interest of the senior partners who immediately summon Don Draper. Don having spoken with their client is pleased to inform the senior partners that Mohawk is not worried about the tragedy. However, this is not the reason for the meeting, as he would soon learn from Duck who is proud to let him in on his conversation with American Airlines. Don is in disbelief that the airline company is already thinking of changing ad agencies when the airline has bigger things to worry about. His annoyance is pushed to the limit when Duck Phillips tells him to get rid of Mohawk to give way to American Airlines, a company that may or may not give Sterling Cooper the account. Duck continues to test his patience when the man points out that Don’s resistance stems from his work going unnoticed. Sterling pulls the reins to prevent his creative director from slugging the head of accounts. Don composes himself, and argues that Mohawk may not be the major airline they hope to have, but it is a client who is pleased with their work, and pays the bills on time. He is against their plan of treating their loyal client like trash for the slim chance of catching American Airlines’ eye.

Pete Campbell meets with his family, and learns yet another shocking news from his brother. Their father died insolvent and broke. Moreover, their mother’s money stashed away in The Dykeman Trust is not as dependable as they thought it would be for their father who was the president and recipient had taken a lot of loans from it. Their father had been secretly squandering their mother’s money on fine things.

Tired and wanting only to be left alone, Don Draper arrives home only to learn that the Hanson’s are coming over for a game of cards. As the women prepare their snacks, he has a disturbing conversation with Carlton who lustfully speaks of the teenage babysitter his wife has employed. Later, Bobby sneaks up to a bowl of treats as the adults play a game of cards. Betty sees him, and tells him to get back to bed. The stubborn boy argues that he heard a noise, and refuses to go back to his room. With a look at her husband, Don gets the child, and tucks him in.

Betty speaks to the Hanson’s of her annoyance with her kids for not being more afraid of facing their father’s wrath than of going to sleep. She does not care whether her children truly are asleep. All she wants is a few hours to her self. In speaking of her son, it is obvious in her tone that she is displeased with him. The Hanson’s and Don laugh at her declaration that Bobby is a liar, and tells them of the time the little boy had fooled his art teacher after submitting a drawing he had traced from a book cover. Don comes in defense of his son stating that his art department does the same thing. Betty argues that she is more concerned of her son receiving praise for the work he did not do. When the Hanson’s have left, Don makes the mistake of implying that Carlton is unhappy. Hearing so made Betty upset, knowing that the man had caused her friend pain after being found out to have been keeping a mistress.

Peggy Olson comes to her mother’s house for a visit, one she does not do often for a good reason. Peggy’s mother is both worried and ashamed that her daughter has been skipping church to the point that she has been lying to their congregation about her absence. With her sister joining in with the pleas to get her to attend mass, Peggy insults her with an insinuation that she unlike her sister is capable of making her own decisions. This, however, backfires when Anita points out that the State of New York, and the doctors found Peggy unfit. After spending a few hours with her family, Peggy is ready to leave. On her way out, her sister reminds her to say good night to the children including her own. Dread fills the face of the young mother, but she does take a peek at the children though she shows them no affection.

Joan Holloway learns that Paul Kinsey has been avoiding her after the incident at his party. Joan who is a bit of a bigot thinks the Ivy League educated Paul is a phony for having an African American grocery store checkout girl for a girlfriend just to make him appear more interesting. Paul strikes back without causing a scene. At the end of the workday, Joan finds the women laughing at a note on the bulletin board. To her horror, she finds a photocopy of her driver’s license with her date of birth encircled. Joan Holloway is already thirty-one years old. She asks Peggy who the culprit is given that she sits in the office where the bulletin board hangs, and starts a conversation with her. Joan finds that some people could not just leave their personal problems outside the office that they try hard to make their colleagues as miserable as they are. Peggy one who is good at compartmentalizing her feelings agrees that personal lives are best left outside of work, and even looks forward to just doing her job without having to worry about her personal problems. Her conversation with the young woman helped Joan blow off steam.

Pete Campbell snickers at the memory of the last conversation he had with his father, which was an argument about the breed of dogs Barney Kellogg bred. To add insult to injury, his father was right. Later, he receives a visit from Duck Phillips who informs him that he went through the same thing. He makes it sound that his dropping in on him is an act of sympathy. In reality, it is a ruse to bring up the news that Sterling Cooper is going after American Airlines, and it is his desire for Pete to lead the campaign. Having just recently lost his father from the American Airline plane crash, Pete Campbell could not help but feel uncomfortable at Duck’s request, and politely turns it down.

Roger Sterling drops by Don Draper’s office with an order to meet with Henry Lamont of Mohawk Airlines to give him the news that Sterling Cooper will no longer be accepting their business to give way to American Airlines. This because Duck Phillip’s will be meeting with Shel Keneally of American Airlines to tell him that Sterling Cooper has severed ties with Mohawk Airlines. Don Draper is reluctant knowing that they will be giving away one of their best clients for a dream. Roger Sterling is not worried even if they do not land the business for he believes that just getting noticed can be considered as a success.

Being the only one on the losing side of the argument, Don Draper concedes, and meets with Henry Lamont to deliver the embarrassing and unfortunate news that Sterling Cooper is ending its relationship with Mohawk Airlines. Henry is not shocked with the news, but rather with the idea that Don had lost the fight especially since he was told that Sterling Cooper is Don Draper. Moreover, the man remembers the pitch that lured them into signing with the agency. In that speech, Don had made it clear that Sterling Cooper does not need a major airline in their list for he believes that they can make Mohawk Airlines one. Mohawk Airlines was nonetheless fooled.

Duck Phillips meets with Shel Keneally who clearly tells him that American Airlines is walking on eggshells, and is not ready to make major changes, which includes switching to another ad agency. Duck, however, already has it in his head that he could grab the account despite the non-existent opportunity. With a change of heart, Pete Campbell makes a surprise appearance at the meeting. In support of Duck, he informs the gentleman of the level of commitment and enthusiasm Sterling Cooper has for this project. Moreover, he assures him that there will be an account person on that team who knows exactly what the company is going through, and that is him. Shel Keneally is caught by surprise with Pete’s revelation that his father was on the tragic flight. Duck Phillips could not be more pleased at how Pete Campbell handled the meeting.

Succumbing to the pleas of her family, Peggy Olson finally attends mass with them. With her family receiving Holy Communion, she is left to look after the restless baby boy whom she clearly finds no affection for.

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