Mad Men Recap: SCDP pitches Jaguar, Pete makes an indecent proposal and our hearts bleed for Joan and Peggy
Previously on Mad Men, we worried about Lane’s money problems, saw Harry reconnect with a Hare Krishna’d–out Paul and discovered that Roger knows he’s Kevin’s dad. Most importantly, we were treated to the delightful punchline of “a guy and a bombshell walk into a midtown bar” as Don and Joan got business-drunk and bonded. In this episode, we see that Don was serious about his promise to work on Jaguar around the clock: we pick up with him and some freelance creatives hunkered down in the boardroom plastered with inspiration boards. So let’s see what they came up with…
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When Stan pitches: “Jaguar, the mistress who’ll do things your wife won’t.” What we’re really thinking is…
Stick to the art, Stan. And what’s with all the British flags in the room—is that really going to help?
When Peggy looks on as everyone (even freelancers) working on Jaguar eats lobster, what she’s really thinking is…
“I’m getting everyone’s leftover clients, but there’s no chance I am getting any leftover lobster.” Poor Peggy: laxatives instead of lobsters.
When Pete and Ken are schmoozing the head of the Jaguar dealers and he declares he wants a night in heaven with Joan Harris, what Ken’s really thinking is…
“There’s no way Joan will hear about this through me, but this would make an excellent short story. A warlord from the planet Raugaj has the mineral that another planet needs, but will only trade it with them if they let him spend the night with their Flaming Empress of the Glowing Globes.”
When Don tells Megan about the wife/mistress analogy for the car, what she’s really thinking is…
“You should have no problem getting inside the head of a Jaguar buyer who wants his car to be like his mistress since you’ve gotten into the pants of so many women.” We’re guessing Megan will only let Don buy Buicks from now on.
When Pete drops in on Joan, and tells her about what Herb wants in the least subtle way, what she (and we) are thinking is…
Pete, are you for real?! Seriously, you couldn’t be grosser right now. As if calling Herb a “handsome guy” like that would actually help your proposition? Dude.
When Pete retorts to Joan in that same conversation: “Do you consider Cleopatra a prostitute?” What we’re really thinking is…
Pete’s not referencing the 1963 film Cleopatra itself, but he might as well be because it was the most expensive film ever made and destroyed both Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton’s respective marriages when they had their on-set affair. It’s a famous example of how throwing huge amounts of money at something doesn’t guarantee a return on investment if the creative isn’t strong. Also, a sex scandal can overshadow even the grandest project.
When Chevalier wants to pull their advert, but Peggy sells them on a Valentine’s Day Lady Godiva, what we’re really thinking is…
What the heck does Lady Godiva have to do with pop music and Valentine’s Day? But kudos to Peggy for making it work. (Also, why would Lady Godiva be riding a horse through Paris, and would teenagers even know who she is? Am I missing some 1960s resurgence in Lady Godiva’s popularity?)
When Pete tells the partners about Herb’s indecent proposal for Joan, what we’re really thinking is…
It’s no shock that Lane is the most outraged by Pete even proposing it to Joan, much less mentioning it as an option. He and Don are the moral bookends, while once again Burt seems unfazed by anything scandalous (we wonder what he was like in his youth) and we’re even more disappointed that Roger didn’t punch Pete out Lane-style for talking about the birther of his baby in such a fashion.
When Lane leaves Pete’s office and gives him the side eye about the whole Joan thing, what that look is really saying is…
Whatever the British equivalent of “you schmuck” would be, like: “You bloody wanker.”
When Pete is reading Goodnight Moon to Tammy, what we’re really thinking is…
We’re sorry Tammy has such a slimebag for a dad. And, Trudy, we love your quilted bed jacket!
When Don tells his Jaguar team to: “Knock off the grab-ass and give me some lines.” What we’re really thinking is…
Did we miss the grab-ass? We’d have enjoyed seeing some grab-ass. Please don’t tell them to knock off the grab-ass and then not show us any grab-ass, that’s just unfair.
When Don throws money at Peggy and tells her to go to Paris, what we’re really thinking is…
The Indecent Proposal references keep coming this episode. What’s next? Megan finds Don hanging out on a foggy dock, bereft?
When Ken offers to run away to another agency with Peggy if Paris doesn’t come through, what Ken’s really saying is…
“I don’t have any ties to this agency.” Having just seen the way Pete behaved about Joan, we’re sure talk around the Cosgrove dinner table often turns to how morally repugnant Ken finds his colleague.
When Peggy has coffee and dessert with Freddie Rumsen and he says: “I can never tell, ballerina, whether you’re ambitious or you just like to complain.” What he’s really saying is…
“If I speak for you at another agency, you better show you’re the former not the latter.”
When Joan tries to kick Lane out of her office, appalled to hear the partners were talking about the proposal, what we’re really seeing is…
The real Joan. If she were hearing this from Peggy or anyone else (besides maybe Don), she’d be just as angry, but she would put her guard up and wouldn’t show how upset she really is. With Lane she doesn’t hide her hurt and embarrassment and the truth that the money is tempting.
When Lane suggests Joan take a partnership in the firm instead of cash, what we’re really wondering is…
What percentage of this suggestion is born out of his feelings for her (which they talk about in a tightrope walk of direct/evasive) and what percentage is out of his need to cover his own ass in terms of the credit extension?
When Megan drops by and surprises a sleeping Don and locks the door of the office wanting to harness her confidence, what she’s really saying is…
“Obviously, I am great in bed.” But Don’s response shows he hasn’t forgotten the times she’s pushed him off, saying to her: “That’s not what this is.” He tries to show her he can be just as coy, but it’s clear he doesn’t have her willpower.
When Julia is climbing over the table pretending to be a jaguar, what she’s really saying is…
“Please hire me for your commercial; Dark Shadows doesn’t pay so hot.”
When Ginsberg looks like he’s gazing out at a full moon with wet eyes and says of Megan: “She just comes and goes as she pleases, hunh.” What we’re really thinking is…
That’s a great idea for a slogan for Jaguar! And, why does he look so heartbroken?
When Pete tells Trudy he wants an apartment in the city and complains she’s dressed for bed at dinner, what he’s really saying is…
“I’ve been reading what that other Sunday night villain King Joffrey on Game of Thrones has been doing and I really need to up my game this episode by being a colossal jerk to everyone.”
When Joan tells her mom not to badmouth Kevin’s dad in front of him, and mom says he’s just a baby: “He doesn’t know we all wish his father was dead.” What Joan is really saying is…
“I may have acknowledged to Roger that Kevin is his, but I am still not up to sharing the secret with mom, so it’s Daddy Greg.”
When Megan gets a callback, Don is happy until he finds out she’ll be in Boston for eight weeks plus, and tells her to: “Forget it.” What he’s really saying is…
“I fell apart that one night after Howard Johnsons; I can’t handle you being so far away from me.” Megan might have thought Don was trying to stifle her success, but we think he can’t stand the thought of being without her.
When Pete says to Joan about Herb: “He’s not bad.” And Joan replies: “He’s doing this.” What we’re really thinking is…
Joan might as well be talking about Pete, not Herb.
When Ginsberg pitches Don: “Jaguar. At last. Something beautiful you can truly own.” What we’re really thinking is…
It’s a slogan tailor-made for the Herbs of this world.
When Don goes to Joan’s and tells her sleeping with Herb is not worth it, and Joan tells him he’s a good one, what we’re really thinking is…
After last week, we had such high hopes for how these two would become Work Wife and Work Husband, but now it feels like Barbra Streisand should be singing, “The Way We Were” as Joan palms Don’s face and says goodnight.
When Herb gives Joan an emerald, what we’re thinking is…
It’s just like she said, her mother raised her to be admired. It’s so like Joan to point out that this guy gets two different stories mixed up. We also love that he’s dying to see “them.” The tears in her eyes broke our hearts. Our Joanie finally kicked the rapist out, for this?
When the boys make their Rat Pack entrance at Jaguar, what we’re thinking is…
They could’ve scored some way more awesome music for that walk and pitch. It should’ve been more Pink Panther.
When Don gives his pitch and talks about deep emotions, desire, longing for some other thing, flipping by flesh in a Playboy and seeing a Jaguar, and a bunch of other sexy stuff, what Herb is really think about is…
Let’s be honest, Joan’s rack.
When Don asks Joan to come and have a celebratory drink, but she declines, what she’s really saying is…
“I am avoiding you in the hopes that I can put off knowing what you’ll think of me when you learn the truth.”
When Megan goes to her call-back in her audition dress, and they ask her to step forward and turn around, what she’s really thinking is…
Sex might give her confidence, but being ogled by turtlenecked theatre dudes in a sexual way is a pretty crap blow to your confidence.
When Peggy dresses up in a fetching dress and meets up with another turtleneck, Teddy Shaw, what she’s really thinking is…
“I hope he thinks my dress is hip, and I am hip by extension.”
When Teddy Chaough offers Peggy a salary of $1,000 above her asking if she doesn’t take any more meetings, what she’s really thinking is…
“No more relying on cash bribes from Roger to pay my cab fare home.”
When SCDP gets the good news about Jaguar, and Don sees Joan in the partners-only meeting and realizes what she did, what we’re really wondering is…
Will this just get swept under the rug and Don and Joan will go on as they were, or will there be awkwardness? When Joan only hugs Lane in celebration, we fear we have our answer.
When Peggy congratulates Don, but seeing he’s in a bad mood remarks: “You really have no idea when things are good, do you?” What she’s really saying is…
“I can’t imagine ever sharing a celebratory chocolate milkshake with you.”
When Don and Peggy go into his office, and she breaks the news she’s leaving, what Don is really doing is…
Going though the Five Stages of Grief. Denial: He thinks Peggy is asking for a raise. Anger: He points out that every single good thing that’s ever happened to her was because of him. Bargaining: Name a number, and I’ll get it for you. Depression: Don’t wait until the 3rd, I’ll get by with freelancers. Acceptance: The kiss on the hand as though he’s taking in her essence so he can always remember her.
When Peggy takes her bag, hat, coat, thermos, mug and that’s it, what we’re really thinking is…
What about Ken? What about their pact?
When Joan sees Peggy go but doesn’t go after her, what we’re really thinking is…
Joan was the one to welcome Peggy to Sterling Cooper and she’s the last to see her go. Peggy looks back and goes into the elevator (her future) smiling, and we know it’s what she needs, but feel like we’re nervously watching a bird leave the nest. And we’re sad.
Mad Men airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on AMC. Tune in next week when Ginsberg finds out Peggy has left SCDP and shows up outside her window with a radio blasting the 1960s equivalent of “In Your Eyes.”
