Season 2, Episode 13

Synopsis

A doctor tells Betty she’s pregnant, and she is disappointed, saying it’s not a good time. The doctor is reluctant to explore other options. After riding, Betty finds Don waiting for her, wanting to give their marriage another shot. She is surprised and standoffish.

Duck tells Pete about the still-secret merger and as the new head of Sterling Cooper, will promote Pete. Don will have to fall in line or move on.

Don watches President Kennedy’s television address about the Cuban missile crisis. Upon returning to the office, Roger tells Don about the merger.

Father Gill gives a sermon referring to the crisis and suggests everyone prepare to meet God. Peggy listens.

At a hair salon, Betty tells Francine she doesn’t want the baby. She mutters something about different doctors, but concludes the best thing to do is nothing.

Ken, Sal, Paul, and Harry struggle with a television, trying to get an update on the possible nuclear war. Lois adds to the tension, confirming rumors that Sterling Cooper has been sold, and there may be “redundancies.”

Betty drops the kids off at Don’s hotel while she goes shopping. She visits a bar where a man buys her a drink, leading to a one-night stand in a back office.

Father Gill tells Peggy that her guilt may condemn her to hell. She replies that God wouldn’t act in that way.

Fearing a Soviet attack, Trudy prepares to evacuate. Pete says he wants to die in Manhattan. At the office, Pete tells Don about the pending merger, and how Duck will become the head of Sterling Cooper.

Betty reads a letter where Don has written if they split up. he’ll be alone forever. The letter concludes with “I love you.”

At a merger meeting, the British executives put Duck in charge of the new company. His ideas for the future clash with Don’s right off the bat. Duck brings up the non-compete in his contract, to which Don replies he doesn’t have a contract. Frustrated, Duck angrily advises to let Don go.

Joan tells Don that Betty called, asking him to come home. Pete asks Peggy to have a drink with him. Spurred by the gravity of the missile crisis, he tells her she’s perfect and wants to be with her. She reveals that she was pregnant with his child and gave the baby away. He is shocked.

Don returns home to his idyllic life with Betty, Sally, and Bobby. Pete sits in his office with a rifle pointed at the ceiling. Peggy goes to sleep.

Don turns off the radio, still covering the ongoing crisis. Betty tells Don she is pregnant. He says nothing, but reaches for her hand across the kitchen table.

Thoughts

Almost too many to list, but I’ll try:

• Don returns from California, wanting his old life with Betty and the kids back. Betty is skeptical.
• Betty is pregnant.
• Betty decided to have sex with a random guy from a bar. This whole season, she had been dancing around the edges of an affair (the road side Samaritan, Jimmy Barrett, Arthur from the stables, the salesman…  a washing machine) – talk about built up tension! Perhaps she wanted to get a taste of what Don had enjoyed this whole time, but in any case, it was a liberating moment, and she now has a secret of her own.
• Duck thought he had finally gotten one up on Don, so the “working without a contract” bit was priceless.

The mind reels at possibilities for the third season. First off, the sale of Sterling Cooper leaves many of its employees in jeopardy. The company might look very different when we next see it.

Betty finally displays the full effects of Don’s wayward behavior. She’s now damaged and distrustful of her husband. But her sadness is due to her new circumstance and lack of options. Don has made a definite choice to return to his marriage, while Betty – although she did invite Don back – essentially has no other choice, because of her pregnancy. So while Don reaches for Betty’s hand, she is skeptical, sad, and standoffish, and as a result, the ending is achingly bittersweet. Unless she wants to become Helen Bishop, she’s stuck with Don.

Peggy, prodded on by Father Gill, finally tells Pete about their child, which has huge ramifications for both characters. Peggy’s last words are rather telling – not just about the baby she gave up for adoption, but about the entire loss of innocence as the fifties moved into the sixties. Based on her upward move on the Sterling Cooper ladder (she now has an office), she has chosen a career over motherhood. Like Betty, she has limited options and is making the best of the path she chose.

Hanging over everything was the threat of nuclear war via the Cuban missile crisis, a great dramatic device to spur action in such usually secretive characters.

Next Episode: Out Of Town
Previous Episode: The Mountain King

TV Shows: Mad Men

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Categories: Mad Men, Television :: ::

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