EMOTIONAL BLACKMAIL
Mad Men Monday: Seven Twenty Three
SILLY ME. I THOUGHT THAT NOTHING ON THIS WEEK'S EPISODE COULD POSSIBLY JOLT ME OUT the leftover cupcake and sangria haze I was in. But I was wrong, people. Very, very wrong.
Last night's episode started at the end and then worked its way back around. The first thing I saw was Peggy asleep beside an unidentified male, and I thought to myself, 'Gee, this is really starting to develop into a pattern. I hope she's learned a thing or two about protection.'
How naive I am, even after three seasons of Peggy Olsen shenanigans. But more on that later.
Since we're only treated to a few telling snippets (Peggy at a hotel with a man; Betty lazily reclining on a chaise lounge; Don waking up on the floor of a dingy motel room with unexplained facial scars), attention to detail is imperative, and I'm already at a disadvantage having drank nearly a JUG of wine earlier in the day. I promise to do my drunken best, Mad Men and Women.
To start, Betty has joined the Junior League of Ossining, and her first task is to block the building of a water tower nearby. To help with the effort, she enlists the help of Henry Francis, the creepy guy she talked to at Roger's painfully stale country club party (you know, the one where he sang in black face and his fiancée Jane got sloshed? Yeah, that's the one). More on this as it develops, but it looks like Henry has designs on Betty, and he could give two shits about the water tower.
Roger's party, poor taste and all, yields a strong business connection for Don too. Conrad Hilton was the guy at the bar, as you may recall, and now he is doggedly pursuing Don's help, much to the delight of Bert, Roger and that British guy whose name I forget. However, while the relationship between Hilton and Draper remains a man-to-man sort of deal, the lawyers (and the agency) want Don to sign a very lucrative (and very binding) three year contract.
And we all know how Don feels about contracts, especially after last season, when he was able to cock-block Duck and basically push him out. But now, Bert and Roger (especially Roger) are not so easy-going, and are really pressing Don for his cooperation.
Meanwhile, Peggy and Pete are still receiving very nice gifts from Duck, like Cuban cigars (for Pete) and an Hermes scarf (for Peggy…you know, in case you mixed up who got what).
Pete is still adamant about not jumping ship, even though he's getting treated like a hotter, steamier, smellier pile of shit with each passing day. Peggy is a little less rigid, although Pete convinces her to tell Duck to forget it. Duck tells her to return her gift in person at his hotel room (could she really NOT see where this was going?), and when she gets there, she once again refuses the opportunity, but totally sleeps with him. Hey, if someone said they wanted to take all your clothes off with their teeth and give you the time of your life, you'd probably go for it. Don't lie.
Elsewhere, Miss Farrell, Sally's teacher, mistakes Don's small talk for a come on, although, given Don’s track record…I'm just saying that even I don't believe that it's just small talk. So it's probably a good thing that she sorta nipped that in the bud. Poor Betty. No wonder she buys that fainting couch, AKA the chaise lounge. It's hard work keeping up appearances, especially when they're so picture-perfect.
Speaking of Betty, she gets an unexpected call from Roger Sterling. This sneaky motherfucker is trying to work her over by telling her about the contract in order to get Don to sign. I mean, it works and everything but not without a big dramatic fight where our dramatic dreamboat storms off and picks up two hitchhikers for kicks.
It's right here that I think if Don weren't always so drunk, he'd be a sociopath.
Anyway, let's make a long story short. Don picks up the soon-to-be-wed-to-avoid-the-draft couple and provides a motel room. Seedy shit happens in motel rooms, like getting high and getting robbed, which is precisely what happens to Don.
Upon entering work the next day, Don finds that Bert is waiting for him, contract in hand.
"Would you say I know something about you, Don?" he asks. "Then sign. After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing this contract anyway?"
Immediately taking his meaning, Don signs, but demands that all contact with Roger cease. Damn, let's play hardball, gentlemen. It's a damn sight better than that jai-alai crap.
This is where the beginning starts to make sense, as we close out the episode with more questions than before. And this is what drives me to drink.
Miz J, who works in advertising, is a regular contributor and resident expert on all things Mad Men at Crabby Golightly. Check out her blog at Miz J
