- Sally makes an unwelcome surprise visit to the office to see Don, Peggy tries to stop an acquaintance from publishing an article that could get her in hot water, and Roger Sterling tries to reconnect with Joan.
- Emotional issues are infiltrating life at the office. An incident with Sally causes Don some problems, both because of the issue itself and how it affects his professional and now budding personal relationship with Faye. Sally and Don's life in combination with this issue is not made any easier with Betty's take on it. Although hiding it, Joan is feeling vulnerable with news that Greg is being sent to Vietnam following his stint in basic training. Roger wants to be a support to Joan, and admits that his support is partly for his own lustful wants for Joan although he doesn't expect anything to happen with her. But an additional stressful situation which Roger and Joan face together may change what happens or doesn't happen between them. And Peggy is being wooed by Joyce's friend, the socially conscious Abe Drexler. Abe's attempts to get into Peggy's good graces go slightly awry, and may even get her fired if a gift he gives her, which was supposed to flatter her, is made public. But Peggy is affected by that gift and her discussions with Abe, especially in relation to her work with Fillmore Auto Parts, a company that does not hire blacks in the south. On top of all these issues, another incident at the office concerning Miss Blankenship surprises everyone but is one that has the greatest emotional effect on Bert.—Huggo
- It's a hectic few days for several people at CSDP. Don is thrown for a loop when 10 year-old Sally shows up at the office. She simply got on a train and went into New York without any money and was 'rescued' by a good Samaritan who made sure she got to the office okay. He asks Faye Miller to help him out but it may have a serious impact on their relationship. Peggy meanwhile is set up with Abe Drexler, whom she'd met at a party. They hit it off pretty well but when talk turns to politics, she's not sure their on the same wavelength. He's particularly concerned about her latest client who refuses to hire African-Americans in the South. Her attempt to raise the issue at the office falls flat. Don's secretary Miss Blankenship, who had been Bert Cooper's secretary for many years before that, has one last surprise for everyone. Joan is upset to learn that her husband will be going straight to Vietnam from his basic training. Roger's attempt to be extra nice to her is misunderstood and it all gets out of hand.—garykmcd
- "Mad Men"- "The Beautiful Girls" - Sept. 19, 2010
Don is arranging a meeting with someone by phone.
Cut to the sound of someone having very loud sex, although we only see two sodas on a table on screen. We hear a crash.
Don and Dr. Miller snuggle post-coital. Don's late for a meeting with Secor Laxatives. She has a 4 o'clock meeting also. She won't tell him what she's doing for her other client. He tells her to let herself out. She wonders if he's sure if he wants to leave her there alone. He says he's taking everything interesting with him.
Roger's on the phone arguing that his book is interesting and the publisher should want it since it's got mystery, intrigue, and romance. Joan enters with signatures for him. He jokes about giving his secretary a hard time and wonders if he can also give her one, nudge, nudge. She plows on, annoyed, and informs him that Lane is taking two weeks off in August. He asks what she's doing for vacation. She won't say. He asks what she's doing this afternoon. She says working, like she always does and departs. His secretary comes in and tells him to lay off because Joan's husband was called up and is going to Vietnam right after basic training.
Don enters the office and Peggy bombards with him info about two separate accounts. He decides to take a nap instead to prepare for his meeting.
Joyce meets Peggy in her office. Stan jokes that Joyce is Peggy's boyfriend. He informs her that she can never do what a man does. Joyce says it's true and licks Peggy's face. They make a date for a drink. Peggy giggles and tells Stan that they're on with Don at 4.
Don's secretary gives him a message from Dr. Miller.
Peggy and Joyce grab a drink. Peggy talks about hiring male copywriters but worries if they're good they could threaten her position. Joyce's friend Abe - the one from the loft party- arrives and she leaves them alone. He says he's happy to run into her, he almost stopped by her office or house but didn't want to be creepy. She's flattered.
Joan sits on the couch in her jammies watching TV. The doorbell rings it's a Swedish massage/mani/pedi team. A gift from a "friend."
Abe talks to Peggy about civilization falling apart and that America being organized is an illusion. They discover they're both from Brooklyn. He's obviously anti-corporation and she talks about the ones she works with like Vick's Chemical and Fillmore Auto Parts. She says most of them are really family businesses. He points out that Fillmore won't hire Negroes. She hasn't heard that and is aghast that the company would have those hiring practices. She says in advertising they try not to judge people but help them with things like that. He can't believe this and wonders if she would've done a campaign for Goldwater. She says that would've been spectacular but of course didn't vote for him. They discuss the civil rights movement and she points out that most of the things Negroes can't do she can't do either and no one seems to care. He points out that there are no Negro copywriters. She says they can fight their way in just like she did. He quips patronizingly "Alright Peggy we'll have a civil rights march for women." She is justifiably offended. He points out that no one's shooting women to keep them from voting. She's had enough. He says they're just engaging in discourse and feels badly that she's upset saying he's "better on paper." She leaves, annoyed.
Bert is doing a crossword puzzle. Don arrives and tells Mrs. Blankenship to let him know when Dr. Miller arrives.
Joan enters Roger's office and thanks him for the massage, etc. He says he knew he was rubbing her the wrong way so he got someone to rub her the right way. He tells her everything will be okay. He offers to take her out. She gets mad that it seems like he's incapable of doing something nice without expecting anything in return. He says he didn't mean it that way.
Abe arrives at SCDP to give Peggy an essay he's written called "Nuremburg on Madison Avenue." He wants her to read it immediately saying it says what he wanted to say to her the previous evening.
Dr. Miller presents at a meeting for Fillmore Auto Parts about how suburbanites want to get their hands dirty and that ladies love a man who's good with his hands. The Fillmore guys only cater to professional mechanics and are worried if they're pros see a coat and tie in their stores they'll think the prices went up. They argue with each other about what to do and one brother says they have enough problems with the boycott. Ken offers a compromise tag line like "where the pros go and everyone's welcome." Don says that isn't a single strategy, its' two strategies linked by the word "and." He says he can't do both. Ken says "sure you can." The brothers fight some more. The two on the end ask the silent one in the middle what he thinks. We hear why he was silent as he stutters "I don't know." Don gets called out of the meeting.
It turns out Sally is in the waiting room. She hopped on the train with no money, by herself, and an older woman named Vivien Winters rescured her. She scolds Don for not keeping track of her. In his office Sally says she simply didn't want to wait two weekends to see him. He calls Betty who basically tells him to stew, saying she'll pick Sally up the following evening when she and Henry are in town. He leaves and tells Mrs. Blankenship to not let her leave the room. He goes back in his meeting.
Peggy reads Abe's story and is aghast that it is basically calling her a war criminal by working for people like Fillmore Auto Parts. She says if he publishes it she will lose her job. She rips it up and says she's not a political person. He says she's political whether she likes it or not and that she was supposed to be flattered by the essay. She inspired it. He realizes he read her wrong. He thought she was "earnest." Dejectedly, he says he won't bother her again. She goes back to her office and tries to wake up Mrs. Blankenship whose head falls on her desk. She is dead.
Don is again pulled out of the meeting. He goes to Mrs Blankenship's desk and says "Jesus, poor thing." Joan says she'll take care of it instructing Megan to get a man and a blanket. Don can't believe it since she seemed fine a minute ago. He goes back into his meeting.
He walks in and asks where they are. As everything is explained to him the drama with moving Mrs. Blankenship's body plays out behind the Fillmore brothers' backs but in full view of Ken and Dr. Faye. Dr. Faye explains the new idea to attract pros and joes: "for the mechanic in every man." The Fillmore Brothers like it. Don writes out an agreement longhand, stalling for time for Mrs. Blankenship's removal and asks for a signature.
Don asks. Dr. Fay to take Sally to his apartment. She awkwardly introduces herself. Sally is sullen.
The coroner's office arrives to take Mrs. Blankenship's corpse away. Bert is very upset and directs that the body be taken to a funeral home instead of the morgue. He goes to call her niece. Roger is also upset, Joan is sympathetic. She follows him to his office and asks if he's okay. He says he doesn't want to die in this office, since he almost has twice. She reassures him he won't. Roger observes that Mrs. Blankenship died like she like she lived: surrounded by people she answered phones for. He threatens to kill himself as a way to make a date with Joan.
Don arrives home and Dr. Miller takes off. He thanks her. Sally asks if they can order a pizza. He makes her promise she will never do this again. She does. She curls up on the couch contentedly.
Roger and Joan grab a bite. They smile over old times. He says he wishes she would talk to him about things. She says Greg doesn't like that. He says she must've expected the possibility of him getting called up. She says she wasn't consulted about Greg's enlistment. Roger can't believe it. She points out he probably doesn't share everything with Jane. He asks if she listened to his memoirs. She hasn't. He apologizes for pestering her and says he's not expecting anything to happen. She appreciates it.
At his apartment Sally asks Don if he's going to marry Faye. He says no but that he does like her and they work together. Sally says she seems nice. He says good, then maybe she'll see her again sometime.
Roger and Joan are walking back from the restaurant and get mugged at gunpoint. They look down. Roger hands over his watch and ring and wallet. He also takes Joan's bag and rings. The guy leaves. Joan can't breathe, she wants to scream. Roger tells her to calm down, that everything can be replaced. They make out. He stops. She tells him not to. They do it right there on the street.
Sally gets in bed. She tells Don she loves him. He says he loves her too. She says she wants to live with him all the time. She promises to be good. He says she'd miss school, her friends, her brothers. She says they could live there too. He kisses her and tells her to go to sleep.
Don goes to write in his journal. He gets to a blank page and puts the pen down and holds his head instead.
In the morning he wakes up to a noise. He comes out and Sally's made French toast. He wonders how she learned. Carla taught her. She accidentally poured rum on it, thinking it was Mrs. Butterworth's. He offers to push his appointments back until noon and take her to the Central Park zoo.
Roger and Bert are trying to decide who should write the obituary for Mrs. Blankenship Bert can't think of anything to say and is mad he has no office in which to ruminate. Joan comes in and starts working it out for them. Bert says "she was born in 1898 in a barn and died on the 37th floor of a skyscraper, she was an astronaut." He leaves. Roger apologizes to Joan saying the previous evening was a heat of the moment situation. She says she's not sorry but she is married and so is he. He says he feels something and he knows she feels something. She just looks at him and departs.
Don arrives at work with Sally. He leaves her with Megan saying Betty should be by at 5:00.
Ken, Stan, and Peggy await Don for a meeting and they wonder how long Megan will last as Don's secretary and they should start a pool on whether she's fired, quits, or dies.
Don enters and Ken mocks the one Fillmore brothers stutter. Don tells him to knock it off. Fillmore wants a jingle but want to avoid rock and roll so as not to alienate middle class men. Ken suggests names like Pat Boone and Perry Como. Peggy suggests Harry Belafonte to help Fillmore's image in the south. Everyone pushes back. She wonders why they're doing business with someone who doesn't hire Negroes. Don points out that their job is to make men like Fillmore Auto not make Fillmore Auto like Negroes. He tells them to pick a singer and record a jingle. Stan asks after Dean Martin pointing out to Peggy that he's friends with Sammy Davis, Jr.
In his office Don tells Sally it's time to go. She wants to stay, pleads to stay. He grabs her arm and she resists, squirming and yelling, saying "I hate it there." He asks Dr. Miller to talk to her. Dr. Miller tries to tell her "sometimes we have to do things we don't have to do." She tells Dr. Faye to shut up. Don wonders what has got into her and grabs her arm again. Sally breaks off, runs down the hall and trips and falls on her face in front of everyone inlcuding Peggy, Joan, Dr. Faye, and Megan. Megan helps her up and Sally hugs her. Megan says it's going to be alright. Sally says "no it's not." Don leads Sally to Betty. Betty tells Sally she was worried. Joan, Peggy, and Dr. Faye come and watch. They leave just as Joyce enters. Don thanks Megan.
Don goes back to his office where Dr. Miller is waiting, having a drink. She's very upset that he put her in that position with his daughter, watching her and asking her to talk to her even though she has very little child psychology experience. She admits to not being good with kids and often wondered if she'd meet Don's and that this wasn't the ideal way to do it and it felt like a test nd she failed it. He looks down, seemingly understanding, comes to her, takes her by her shoulders, and apologizes. She says she loves children but she chose to be where she is and she doesn't feel like a failure. He says it doesn't matter. They hug and he says "Jesus, what a mess." She says "part of it's good right?" He says yes, and they kiss. She says they can make dinner plans for the weekend. It ends okay. And then Don grabs her unfinished drink.
Joyce enters Peggy's office and Peggy wonders what surprises Joyce has in store now. Joyce blames the whole Abe kerfuffle on him just being a man and men's need for women to contain them, like a pot for soup. Peggy disagrees and tells Joyce to go on without her. Joyce wonders if she's angry or lovesick. Peggy says she doesn't know.
Joyce departs in one elevator. Joan, and then Dr. Fay, and then Peggy enter another and the door closes.
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