Synopsis: Pete Campbell frets over having to tell his father-in-law that the agency has decided to drop the Clearasil account, but news of Trudy being pregnant erases his worries. Dr. Faye Miller conducts a focus group for the Pond’s account, which results in Allison breaking down to tears and coming to a decision to leave Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Meanwhile, Peggy makes a new friend, and becomes acquainted with artists.Episode Summary: Don Draper and Roger Sterling spent a good amount of time on the phone with Lucky Strike in an attempt to appease their spoiled client, Lee Garner, Jr. who among other things got wind that the agency has been billing expenses for other accounts under Lucky Strike. Meanwhile, Pete Campbell is told that Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce had been asked to let go of the Clearasil account due to conflicts with the higher billing client Ponds. Pete could not believe the request he has received given that Clearasil is an account he won through his father-in-law, one he had to convince to join their new agency.Continue reading...
To add to Pete’s already vexing day, he learns that his old rival, Ken Cosgrove, is now engaged to a woman whose father is the CFO of Corning. Moreover, Ken is working for an agency twice the size of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and is currently in charge of the Mountain Dew account. Harry advises that Pete come along in spite of the bad blood between them. Pete wastes no time to meet with his unsuspecting father-in-law to deliver the bad news only to learn from him that Trudy is pregnant. Overjoyed with news that he is to be a father, Pete loses the opportunity to inform his father-in-law of the matter about Clearasil. Pete arrives home to a worried wife who has recently learned of her father’s slip-up, but Pete is too delighted of the news that he could not care less where he learned of it. He informs Trudy of the real reason for meeting her father, and his missing the opportunity to deliver the bad news after being caught off-guard by the surprising good news his father-in-law had for him. Trudy volunteers to be the one to deliver the news about Clearasil for she knows that her father is already so guilty for breaking the news about her pregnancy to Pete that she is sure that news of the agency dropping his company for another one will not upset him as much.
With Don’s permission, Dr. Faye Miller assembles a focus group of young women employees to understand what they do to make themselves look beautiful. Megan confesses that she doesn’t use Ponds for she follows the same routine as her mother whom she claims to have beautiful skin in spite of just using water to wash her face. Dotty then shares having used a night cream only to have her boyfriend laugh at her face; the man eventually broke their relationship. Allison begins to share her opinion about men, but realizes that Don is in the other room watching and listening that she catches herself and decides to keep her opinion to herself. Luckily, Dotty has taken control of the focus group with her sad story, but Don’s eyes are still on Allison who is now on the verge of tears. Dotty informing the girls of how she felt that she had given her boyfriend everything and got nothing in return caused Allison to break into tears surprising everyone in the room and making Don uncomfortable. Allison walks out of the room, and Megan asks Dr. Miller if she should go to her aid, but Dr. Miller’s argument is that the young woman must have wanted to be alone. Peggy, feeling responsible for getting her into the focus group, excuses herself to attend to Allison. Peggy tries to make Allison feel less embarrassed for breaking down to tears and walking out of the focus group by informing her that somebody always cries in those groups even grown men. However, learning that Don is the reason why Allison broke down catches her by surprise, and the young woman insinuating that the only reason why Peggy is where she is now is because she too had a relationship with Don infuriates her.
Lane checks in with Pete regarding dropping Clearasil, and learns that Pete has not done so. With Roger having informed Pond’s that the agency has already gotten rid of Clearasil, Pete has no other choice but to break the news to his father-in-law at dinner. Pete decides to inform Lane of having learned that he is going to be a father, and is disappointed with Lane’s initial response of using the news as a vehicle to lessen the blow of the bad news he is to deliver. Catching himself, Lane apologizes and gives Pete a proper congratulatory response. Later, Pete agrees to have lunch with Ken and Harry, and finds himself alone with Ken after Harry receives a phone call at the restaurant. Ken takes the opportunity to clear the air between him and Pete whom he accuses of stabbing him in the back with false accusations such as Ken being the one driving the tractor when the accident happened. Moreover, Ken accuses Pete of telling Harry that he is marrying for money, one Pete openly denies, but later apologizes for what he may of may not have said. With the bad blood between them now all water under the bridge, Ken begins to show that his life at a bigger agency working on a huge account is not all what it seems. Moreover, he confesses that he would rather be a slave to creative than anyone else.
Don reluctantly enters his office knowing that Allison is in there, but is relieved to see her done with her weeping. However, what he was afraid of has happened when Allison closes the door of his office to confront him of what transpired between them. Allison has come to a decision to move on, and asks Don for a recommendation. Don agrees but suggests that Allison write the recommendation herself, and just hand it for him to sign. This is the last straw that put Allison out of grief into a rage that caused her to pick up a desk ornament and to throw it at Don. The crashing glass, and shaking of the walls caused the people near Don’s office to check the scene, and finds a distraught Allison running out of her boss’ office. Soon after, Joyce, the assistant photo editor for Life magazine whom Peggy made an acquaintance with at the elevator drops by for a visit. The young woman invites her to an event at Washington Market that her photographer friend who shot the nude photos that Life rejected is hosting.
Pete arrives home and is received by his in-laws who have come for dinner. Alone with Trudy’s father, Pete finally takes the opportunity not only to drop Clearasil, but to get his father-in-law to let him get the Vicks Chemical account. Meanwhile, Peggy decides to attend the event downtown, and finds herself in the company of artists. She sees Joyce, and asks for a beer, but gets a joint instead. Moreover, she quickly learns that the young woman is interested in her, but Peggy handles herself very well, and makes it clear without being offensive that she is not into women. Peggy finally meets the artist, Davey Kellogg, whom she offers a job at her agency only to get told off for doing so. Soon after, the lights go out, and Peggy finds herself in a middle of a raid. Thanks to Joyce’s other friend, Abe, the two of them find a closet to hide into to escape arrest. She learns that Abe had been arrested before for refusing to leave the boycott in Harlem, a story he was covering. Joyce finds the two of them in the closet kissing, and instructs that they leave, but Abe hearing that the police are beating up civilians finds the urge to go to the scene to cover it, while the two women make their escape. Don, on the other hand, returns home and begins to type a letter of apology to Allison, but quickly changes his mind about it.
Don arrives at the office, and finds that Joan has assigned him a much older secretary, Ms. Blankenship, a woman who is nearly senile. Pete greets Don with news that he is about to sign Vicks Chemical into the agency, and that they are to have lunch with their new clients. Peggy shares her eventful night to Joey, and shockingly learns that Trudy is pregnant. Peggy decides to forego signing the greeting card, and personally congratulates Pete instead even though the news did put her in a foul mood. Peggy returns to her office and spends the hours lying on her couch clearly disturbed at the news that Pete is having a child with Trudy. Her brooding is broken only by a last minute invitation to go out to lunch with Joyce and a bunch of her young friends who wanted to catch a glimpse of the receptionist, Megan. She, however, is once again reminded by the news that troubled her so when he sees Pete out by the foyer chatting with clients, one of which is his father-in-law.
Meanwhile, Don meets with Dr. Miller in spite of him asking Ms. Blankenship to move their meeting. Faye informs Don of the results of the focus group only to have Don reject the conclusion of their study. Don is opposed to running a campaign that links Pond’s Cold Cream to matrimony, because he is already set on the idea of women having a routine or ritual, and not with the idea that women only want a husband. Their meeting quickly turned into an argument where Don comes up a winner only because he is the client. Don returns home, and finds his neighbor an old couple out in the hallway. The wife is returning home from the grocery, while the husband anxiously wants to know if the wife bought him pears.
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