Mad Men: Seven Twenty Three

October 5th, 2009

Season 3, Episode 7

Synopsis

Flash forward to Peggy waking in bed with an unidentified man, Betty resting on a “fainting couch” and Don lying on an unfamiliar hotel room floor, unconscious.

As Don leaves for work, Betty and an interior decorator ask his opinion on a new living room arrangement. He suggests moving one end table, and leaves.

In the elevator, Roger tells Don about the book Confessions of an Advertising Man. Don finds Conrad Hilton waiting at Sterling Cooper, wanting to give Don his business.

Betty and Francine meet with the Junior League, who want to stop installation of a water tank. Betty remembers meeting the politician Henry Francis at Roger’s party.

Pete asks Don if he can work on Hilton, and says American Aviation is ramping up due to Vietnam.

Still intent on poaching Peggy and Pete, Duck sends Peggy an expensive Hermes scarf. Pete admonishes her to return it.

Roger, Cooper, and Lane are pleased about Hilton, but bring up Don’s non-existent contract. They want him sign on for three years, including a big raise. He promises to consider it over the weekend.

Betty meets with Henry at a bakery. They are friendly and cordial, although Henry admits he can’t do much about the water tank. As they leave, Betty complains of feeling dizzy, and he recommends she buy a fainting couch. She declines Henry’s offer to walk her to her car.

Don and other fathers help Sally’s teacher Miss Farrell cut cardboard boxes so the kids can watch an eclipse. Later, Don makes small talk with Miss Farrell, but she brushes him off, saying she is propositioned often.

On Monday, Peggy calls Duck asking to return the scarf. He tells her to bring it to her hotel suite. Roger is annoyed upon learning Don didn’t sign the contract. Peggy asks Don if she can work on Hilton. Angry, Don tells her to stop asking for things, saying she already has an office and job many men would die for. Meanwhile, Roger calls Betty and asks her to pressure Don.

Peggy visits Duck’s hotel room and reiterates a reluctance to change jobs. He offers her a drink and kisses her.

As soon as Don arrives home, Betty mentions the contract and wonders why he never mentioned it. Don says no contract gives him power. Betty asks if he has a problem with commitment. He storms out of the house.

Driving through the night while drinking, Don picks up a young pair of hitchhikers en route to Niagara falls in avoidance of the draft. They admit to being “high” and give Don some phenobarbital. They check into a motel. Don dances with the woman while the man opens up a beer. Under the effect of the drug, Don sees a vision of his father, Archie, who lectures Don about having soft hands, and how advertising is just growing “bullshit.” The young man hits Don, knocking him unconscious.

Don, his face bloodied, awakes to find his wallet empty and the couple gone. Peggy wakes up in a hotel bed next to Duck. The interior decorator is annoyed to see Betty has thrown off the living room arrangement with a huge piece of furniture.

At work, Bertram confronts Don, saying they nurtured him and it’s time for payback. He produces the contract and reminds Don that he “knows something.” Don signs, while mentioning he wants no further contact with Roger.

Don arrives home, and tells Betty he signed the contract as she rests on the fainting couch.

Then And Now

Confessions of an Advertising Man: was written by David Ogilvy. Archie would call this a Farmer’s Almanac for growing bullshit.
Hanging up a phone before another one on the same line is picked up cuts off the call. No cell phones. Lives were so tragically hard back then.
Phenobarbitol is a barbiturate sedative created by Bayer in 1902.
Drinking while driving, a Mad Men pastime.

Thoughts

Liked the flash forward and showing what came before, featuring three of the main characters: Peggy, Betty, and Don. All three experienced what will likely prove to be pivotal events.

Roger’s hokey party turns out to be quite important to both Drapers as Don met Conrad Hilton, and Betty met Harry, who with under the guise of politics, led to a meeting with some sexual innuendo. I think that piece of furniture – that totally threw off a perfectly planned living room – will see some use other than fainting.

Although I didn’t see Peggy sleeping with Duck coming, her behavior is consistent: she had a one-night stand earlier this season, and also slept with Pete in the show’s first episode.

Don’s lack of a contract comes back to haunt him in a big way. His reluctance to be tied to Sterling Cooper is skillfully twisted by Betty to imply a lack of commitment to her. And she’s right to doubt he’ll stick around, since he’s prone to vanishing in California.

Cooper uses his knowledge of Don’s true identity (Dick Whitman) – brushed off at the time – to trap Don. Perhaps Bertram shrewdly decided to save this knowledge until it could be of use, which is rather slick, as he usually acts aloof or clueless. He doesn’t explicitly threaten Don with exposure, but subtly reminds Don of his knowledge. The true meaning of both his and Betty’s conversations with Don is inferred, yet Don gets the messages loud and clear.

Then add in Don’s confrontation with the hitch-hiking kids. Literally beaten down, he realizes he isn’t the independent, street smart loner he was just a few years earlier. Miss Farrell mentions he looks just like all the other domesticated, suburbanite fathers – he has become one. Dick has become Don, and the fabricated lie is now a reality he can’t easily extricate from and escape.

Boxed into a corner, Don signs the contract on 7/23 (the episode’s title). He signs it as “Don Draper,” as if declaring the alias a reality, closing the door on “Dick Whitman.” Wonder what Anna would say about this.

Next Episode: Souvenir
Previous Episode: Guy Walks Into An Advertising Agency

TV Shows: Mad Men

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