Episode Summary: Peggy Olson finds herself sitting on Abe Drexler’s lap for the whole length of their ride from Jones Beach, and later finds herself inviting the young man to her apartment where they spend the night together. Meanwhile, Ken Cosgrove is having dinner with his fiancée and future in-laws where the couple fervently recounts the story of Trudy Campbell going into labor while at the country club. A fellow ad man interrupts their lively conversation from whom he learns that Lucky Strike is moving to BBDO. The gravity of the news forced Ken to excuse himself from dinner, and to drop by the hospital where Pete Campbell is anxiously waiting for news about his wife and his newborn. However, his visit is purely business.Continue reading...
Ken learns that Pete, a partner at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, is unaware of the agency losing the Lucky Strike account. The news rattled Pete that he makes a call to Don Draper who like the rest of them is unaware of the move. The seriousness of the news forced the mad men of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce to abandon their evening plans and hold an emergency meeting at the office. Roger Sterling arrives at his office to find Don, Pete, Ken, and Bert Cooper gravely waiting for him. Roger lies through his teeth that the news they heard has no truth in it. Roger complies with his partners' urging to give Lee Garner Jr. a call, but in reality only feigns a conversation with their biggest client. He makes a show of hearing the news from Lee giving the same performance he had when he first found out.
Pete returns to the hospital reeking of alcohol. Believing that the young man has turned to liquor to drown his anxiety of his wife giving birth, his father-in-law having gone through a similar ordeal tries to comfort Pete only to learn that his unease is due to his agency losing Lucky Strike. Tom Vogel’s advice is for Pete to move to CGC; the agency that snatched the Clearasil account after Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce dropped it for Ponds. Ostensibly, Pete had made such an impression at Clearasil that the clients have expressed their desire of working with him.
After volunteering to pay a visit at Lucky Strike, Roger continues with his lie, and calls from a hotel room to inform the partners that they had indeed lost their biggest client. With him supposedly away, he leaves the rest of the partners to convey the unfortunate news to their employees. Bert announces that American Tobacco has severed their relationship with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce after thirty years of service as a result of a decision to consolidate their business at Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn. Don, noting that they have increased the number of clients they had, appeases the employees that despite the regrettable news nothing will change at the agency. Peggy, her head still in the clouds, arrives at the office late, but soon catches on to the unfortunate news. Don holds a meeting with his team right after the announcement to inform them that they must be on their toes with their existing clients for they cannot afford to lose another one. Peggy receives added pressure on the Playtex presentation knowing that they are not to lose a client, which means that her work must be impeccable. Moreover, Don has expressed his reliance on her. Peggy goes over her presentation with Danny and Stan captivating the men with the sensuality that she has conveyed. The arrival of Abe pretending to be a deliveryman looking for a Peggy Olson interrupts their meeting. Later, Stan sees a satisfied looking Abe leaving Peggy’s office.
The partners along with Harry Crane go over their existing accounts to ensure that they are given utmost care, and to assure them that the agency is not folding. Joan arrives with numbers from Lane Pryce who is still in London, but the extent of their loss cannot be ascertained until he returns. Bert insinuates making the most of the funeral of a senior vice president of a top four agency, believing that there are going to be many vulnerable clients in attendance, an opportunity that they must not miss given their current situation. Before long, their situation becomes more dreadful when Don receives a call from Glo-Coat informing him of their decision to leave the agency citing a need to go to a different direction. He returns to the meeting, and takes his anger on Pete whom he blames for losing Glo-Coat knowing that the young man spoke with the client just this morning. Don believes that Pete’s apprehension towards his wife difficulties in giving birth compromised his job of appeasing existing clients’ of the agency’s situation. Infuriated Pete leaves the office for the hospital only to find Ted Chaough at the waiting room bearing gifts and praises for the ad man whom he is trying to snatch from SCDP. Ted makes his offer more enticing with news of Jim Cutler retiring creating the possibility of Pete becoming a named partner at his agency.
Roger consumed with guilt phones Joan Harris who soon learns that the man has not really gone to Raleigh to meet with Lucky Strike. Moreover, she learns that Roger had been given notice weeks before, but had not said a word to anyone. She would not even have known the truth if not for Roger’s overwhelming need to have her soothe his sorrow just as she used to when they had their trysts. Joan did not go to The Statler to be with Roger at his time of need, but allowed the man to pay a visit at her house to talk. However, Roger has no intention of talking. She sends the man away to deal with his problems alone. Giving in to the passion that consumed them the night of their mugging, Roger had thought that their illicit affair have resumed. Learning that this is not so, Roger accepts Joan decision and leaves.
Aside from the custodian, Don is the only person left at the office when Faye arrives. Faye realizes his desperation when the man coaxes her into divulging her clients that are unsatisfied with the agencies handling their accounts. However, Faye is a consummate professional; she is not to tarnish her integrity for Don. In their argument, she becomes aware that Don gives more importance to his agency than their relationship.
Peggy is a bundle of nerves waiting for Playtex to arrive at the office. Stan finding Peggy lubricious after deducing that she had copulated with the delivery boy makes a pass at her. He learns soon enough that the man is actually Peggy’s boyfriend. Peggy is once again repulsed at Stan, but the man did succeed in getting rid of her anxiety. Stan worried that he had once again caused a stir in his working relationship with Peggy ascertains that all is good between them despite his boorish behavior. Peggy carries on with her presentation, and their clients at Playtex are pleased in spite noticing the lipstick on her teeth, one that Stan noticed before going into the meeting but made no point of informing her. Soon she learns of this, and of Stan, saying nothing about it, but her relationship with the man has changed that she let it slide.
Roger arrives at the office with more of his lies, and Joan has the unpleasant privilege of being the only one who knows the truth. To add, the man who at that time should be desperately looking for new business has no intention of doing so. Moreover, he ridicules his partners’ decision to attend David Montgomery’s funeral in the hope of acquiring clients. News of Trudy finally giving birth to a baby girl made for an awkward interruption in a hostile atmosphere thanks to Roger’s defiant behavior. Roger still feeling sorry for himself returns home to find that his young wife had published his book, Sterling’s Gold. So it seems that all he had to do to boost his ego is to return home to his wife. Despite Roger’s derision, the partners attend the funeral, and they sit and listen as the eulogies portrayed the family of the late ad man playing second fiddle to his work.
Don returns to the office after the funeral, and finds that his secretary has stayed to wait for him despite everyone having left for the evening. Moreover, he finds that Megan had fixed the CLIO he had smashed in anger after hearing from Glo-Coat their pronouncement of taking their account elsewhere. Megan volunteers to help Don with the campaign briefs eager to learn more about the business, and expressing her desire to become a copywriter. Don learns that Megan has a degree in literature, and has dabbled in writing, painting, and acting. Before long, Don’s plan of spending the night going through campaign briefs is replaced with having sexual intercourse with his secretary who makes it clear to him that she wants nothing more from him, but to be with him at that moment. The two leave the office careful not to give away their affair. Don returns home and finds Faye in the act of leaving him a note thinking that the woman is severing their relationship only to learn that Faye had fallen in love with him so much so that she had allowed herself to compromise her principles for him. Faye, against her better judgment, had gotten Don a meeting with Heinz.
Watch Mad Men episode Chinese Wall
Next Mad Men Episode Summary: Blowing Smoke
Previous Mad Men Episode Summary: Hands and Knees
More Mad Men Episode Summaries
0 Comments:
Post a Comment