Shut Up It's On

[Just as a warning, this and all future rewinds, Mad Men or not, will contain spoilers throughout for not only this episode, but others as well.]

Just in case you’ve forgotten, Don and Pete are in Cali and no one else matters for this episode. We didn’t get a lot of Don in the last episode so clearly it’s mostly about him. With a little home office storyline thrown in to keep everyone happy.

Jane is lying in bed reciting poetry she wrote about her man, Roger. He comes in and they talk of their relationship, how she thinks one day he’ll out grow her and he thinks he’s a bit too old for her. These fears are unwarranted though, they love each other and Roger wants to get married. Of course, Jane says yes.

The boys and Peggy are in the conference room discussing Right Guard and without Don there to keep them on task they talk about anything but. Not even Peggy is really down for working, much to Ken’s chagrin. They all agree they should go out for lunch and pretend it’s on Right Guard’s tab. They all rush out to avoid the eyes of any superiors, but before Kurt and Peggy leave they continue to talk of Bob Dylan. He says he’ll take her to a concert and she willingly accepts.

When a new clients drops off doughnuts at the office the following morning, the boys congregate in the break room to devour them. Kurt confirms the date with Peggy and the boys immediately start teasing them. Kurt doesn’t seem to understand, everyone thinks its a language barrier but no, Kurt is gay. The boys are floored and throw out a few unnecessary but 60’s acceptable remarks once Kurt leaves that seem to offend maybe someone else in the room. Sal, I’m looking right at you.

Elsewhere in the office, Roger is meeting with a divorce lawyer. Women are exceptionally irrational when angry (sigh) so Roger should probably take another route, says this guy. Roger is finally happy with his life and he wants Jane to officially be a part of it, so prepare for battle. As he is leaving, Duck shows up to meet with Roger and funny, he knows the lawyer. Duck came in to discuss the possibility of moving around in the company, partnership more specifically. Roger thinks he hasn’t done enough and it’ll be a hard sell so make yourself worthy. Duck leaves grateful for his frankness on the matter and is taking the advice.

Over on the west coast, Don and Pete are poolside but only for a moment. TWA has lost Don’s luggage and he’s not happy. Pete wants to relax the day before the seminars and things but Don is all about working. He has Pete go and do something while he walks through the hotel bar. He is approached by a man named Willie and he says that a young lady has been speaking about him incessantly since he arrived. He calls her over, Joy, and introduces her. They ask him to dinner but he politely refuses as Pete shows up, being Pete, and scares them away.

Pete and Don are at a presentation of a new type of bomb that can pinpoint 14 separate locations and total annihilation of whatever they want. Kind of like that bomb that destroyed Dick Whitman and turned Don into Don.

They come back to the hotel and in preparation for their next meeting, Don has Pete put their books at the front desk. While away, Don sees Joy and they share a moment, she invites him to Palm Springs. He says he can’t but at the last possible moment gets in her car and off they go.

They show up at a random house, a loaner from a friend and Don is introduced to this motley crew of drifters. Joy suggests a swim but the heat gets the best of him and he passes out. Luckily for Don, a man there is a doctor. He refuses any meds but just some aspirin and rest will do. When he emerges for dinner they are all happy to see him and he immediately fits in with his charm and intelligence. Him and Joy go to their room and even though there is a large age difference, 36 to her 21, she doesn’t care.

Don walks up to find Joy reading and they talk a bit about how much Don must love sex. Willie walks in and remarks on how beautiful Don is and he finds out he’s Joy’s father. This is so awkward.

Later in the evening, they’re in the pool discussing what’s next. They’re all leaving to go to the Caribbean and Joy wants Don to come. He’s standoffish and she tells him to not worry about the money, Willie likes him. Before Don can really make up an excuse as to why he isn’t going, a man walks in with two tired children. He talks of divorce and the strain it’s having on the kids. Don offers them his room and they walk away and Don thinks of his own children he is probably going to have to fight over as well.

Back in New York, Duck is meeting with some fellow we will get to know better later, St. John Powell, his former boss. He offers Duck a drink and he declines without making it obvious he’s a teetotaler. He basically asks for his job back, and Powell tells him there is just no room for him. Powell points out he moved back here for his family and he’s doing well, they toast to this and thus Duck is forced to drink his martini down. With that liquid courage inside of him, Duck discusses with him the possibility of buying up Sterling Cooper to open up their American market. Duck points out that Roger is about to lose a boatload of money to his wife so he would be willing to sell the namesake for the cash to live his life. What an evil man.

That same night is Kurt and Peggy’s…well it’s not a date anymore, is it?Peggy invites him in and almost instantly he becomes her gay best friend. He says frankly that her look is old fashioned, she needs to update herself to get better men. He offers to cut her hair and she agrees to a trim. And then he cuts off her whole ponytail.

The next day at the office, Pete comes back to no one really caring about him, since Kinsey is down south while there is a lot of trouble brewing. He notices Peggy’s haircut and learns “Kurt’s a homo”. Way to be frank, Cosgrove.

Duck receives a whole box of Tanqueray from an unnamed source, but we all know it’s from Powell for the tip off. He gives a whole bottle to Joan, almost making you believe he doesn’t even want it. But when he’s walking to Cooper’s office, he had to pop a few lifesavers to maybe cover up the lie that is his life. Duck proposes the offer to Coop and Roger as if he wasn’t the one to initiate it and they go for it. They are now just waiting for Putnam Powell and Lowe to make their offer.

We see Don waking on the couch and he immediately makes a phone call. He wants to meet someone, most likely in the area. The head scratching part? He refers to himself as Dick Whitman.

Also Don’s luggage gets returned to his house and just as he would be, it’s left outside.

A few notes and quotes:

• Loretta Young was mentioned by Sal and of course he would love this broad. The upholstery wasn’t the only thing bad about this show though, The New Loretta Young Show was cancelled after only one season.
• Don has never had Mexican food! No wonder people back then only ate casseroles and meatloaf, there was zero cultural influences on food back then. No wonder my grandparents eat the weirdest, most plain foods on Earth.
• The way Kurt talks to Peggy in her apartment, only a gay man can get away with being so insulting and then turning it around into something wonderful and beneficial to her life.