- Don strikes up a friendship with the surgeon in his building, Peggy tries to save her campaign, Roger makes a scene at his mother's funeral, and Betty goes to Manhattan to find Sally's friend.
- With Megan working everyday, Don has time on his hands. He attends a wake for Roger's mother but has had a bit too much to drink, leading to a memorable afternoon. Roger gets particularly upset when an unexpected guest arrives. His daughter is quick off the mark when it comes to the family's finances. Sally's friend Sandy has run off and Betty sets off to find her. She spends the better part of a day in a flophouse waiting for her to show up. She decides she needs a change in her life. Don's presentation to the Royal Hawaiian group doesn't go over too well. Peggy meanwhile seems to have found the solution to her ad campaign. The Drapers have a few of their neighbors over on New Year's eve....and Don seems to have reverted to his old ways.—garykmcd
- The funeral for Roger's just deceased mother doesn't end up quite the way anyone expects, the turn of events which starts with an unfortunate incident by Don. But it ends up being somewhat of a cathartic situation for Roger as he clears the air with Jane, Mona and Margaret. This situation eventually opens up the floodgates for Roger as he receives some more tragic news. At CGC, Peggy is struggling both with her own thoughts and those of her creative team in trying to manufacture a fix for the Koss Super Bowl commercial, which isn't helped by not being able to get a hold of Ted, who is away on Christmas vacation. At SCDP, Don, who inserts a little of Jonesy's near fatal incident and what he himself felt while being in Hawaii, comes up with an experiential campaign for Sheraton, which evokes much the same imagery from all those concerned, which in turn may not be as unexpected as Don would like to think. Someone in the office calls Bob out on what he believed was his quiet campaign to get noticed by the brass at SCDP. Megan's Hawaiian absence from "To Have and to Hold" does not seem to have hurt her upward trajectory on the show. Betty learns of a lie told by Sandy to Sally, which sends Betty on a quest into Manhattan to find Sandy. And the Drapers officially ring in the new year with a small three couple gathering in their apartment, while Don unofficially rings in the new year with a relatively new acquaintance.—Huggo
- "Mad Men" - "The Doorway Par 2" - April 7, 2013
Don is awakened by Megan telling him she's needed on the set so she won't be able to make Roger's mother's funeral. (Don tosses the lighter in the trash as he gets ready.)
In the Francis household Sally informs Betty that Sandy went to Juilliard early. Betty is surprised and oddly upset. She goes to her mirror and pulls off a picture of Sally and Sandy.
It's a good thing Megan didn't go to the funeral because Don starts drinking before he gets there and continues until he is soundly drunk, he engages in awkward small talk with Ken, Harry, and Pete. Harry informs Don that the rumor is that Megan will soon be moving to four days a week on the soap.
Roger deals as well as he can with all the old biddies offering condolences. Jane arrives and offers hers as well. She offers to give Roger back the ring that he gave her which was her mother's. He tells her to keep it. Food from Bob Benson and the firm arrives. Mona arrives with her new husband and this sets Roger off further.
One older woman, Hazel, was his mother's best friend and insists on speaking first. She begins to go on and on about how much Roger's mother loved Roger and when she gets to the part where she recalls that she called Roger her sunshine, Don starts puking. Literally. The three stooges hustle him out.
Roger suddenly gets angry and yells at Mona's husband and kicks everyone out, but no one moves, so Roger storms off to a bedroom.
Betty heads to the Village and asks passers-by if they've seen Sandy. No one has.
Mona goes to Roger, who is lying on his mother's bed with her furs. He tells her she shouldn't have brought her husband. She agrees. He says his mother is dead and he says he doesn't feel anything. She says he seems emotional. He says he needs a drink. She says she knew he loved her so there's nothing to drink about. She gently prods him to spend more time with his daughter Margaret. He sits up and tells he she looks great and basically hits on her. She laughs him off.
Pete and Ken bring Don home and he drunkenly asks Jonesy what he saw when he died. He reports he saw a light and then says he doesn't like to think about. Don wonders if the light was like hot tropical sunshine and if he heard the ocean.
Back in the Village Betty finally finds the house where Sandy was staying with a bunch of squatters. She is appalled at the condition of the rundown building and its rats. Eek. She wanders around and spots among other things, a guy peeing and people hooking up on dirty mattresses. She then sees Sandy's violin. She asks two guys in the kitchen about her. They said she was around but haven't seen her. She watches them try to make a makeshift goulash with pork butt and onions, lentils, paprika, and snow. The leader of the squatters arrives and says Sandy split for California, no forwarding address and is pretty rude to Betty and keeps calling her "Blondie" and a member of the establishment that only cares about money. Betty tries to leave with the violin but the leader says it's his since he bought it from her. He almost basically mugs Betty for the cash in her wallet. As she leaves, her coat gets caught on a nail and rips. She sets the violin down.
Back at the Sterling manse, Margaret chats with Roger. He gives her a jar of water from the River Jordan that his mother kept and used to baptize all the family members. Margaret wonders if she left anything else, say more, you know, monetary. It turns out her husband Brooks wants to make an investment in the refrigeration business. They've heard tell you can ship fruit all the way across the country in refrigerated trucks! Roger tells her to have him sit down with him and a business proposal. She is thrilled.
Megan finds a hung over Don and reports that she "pushed Derek's mother down the stairs." They're making her character into a "lying, cheating whore" and she's clearly thrilled which means her part will be bigger. She asks if he will still love her if she's a lying, cheating whore. He says he will but will walk behind her on the stairs. She also gives back the lighter which the maid found in the garbage.
It's late on New Year's Eve and Peggy works and her boyfriend brings her a meatball sub. She asks him to try the headphones and think of some words. Her staff comes in with new lines for the ad, to be used over the voiceover, dropping out the original audio. They say they have three ideas and read her three lines. She asks for other ideas and they say that was all of them. She points out that was three versions of the same idea and if they can't figure out which part is the idea and which part is the execution of the idea then they are of no use to her. She notices her boyfriend jamming out on the headphones, lost in the music and gets an actual idea.
Betty arrives home. Sally is on the phone and closes the door in her face. Betty sits on the bed and exhales and Henry notices her torn coat. She leans against him and he hugs her.
Don arrives in the office for the presentation to the Royal Hawaiian people and gives Dawn the lighter and asks her to find a way to get it back to him.
Roger is back in analysis talking about his ex-wife and daughter. He talks about his mother and says she gave him his last new experience and now it's just a slow march to death. The therapist says he feels lost. Roger says he doesn't feel anything.
Ken says hello to Bob, who is now loitering in the lobby. He tells him to go back to his office and do some work otherwise people will think he has nothing to do.
The Sheraton people show up for the first pass. Don shows them an ad. It's a drawing of shoes, a suit coat, and tie with footprints next to it leading into the ocean. He says they're not selling a geographical location but an experience. He waxes poetic about the air and the water and how the place puts you in a state. The tagline is "Hawaii. The jumping off point." To the execs, it looks like the guy committed suicide a la "A Star Is Born (1954)." He is confused that they're reading it that way. They wonder where the hotel is and think it's a little morbid. Don is not thrilled, of course. They say they're not afraid of provocative they just don't want, you know, a suicide note as an ad.
Betty comes home on New Year's Eve as a brunette. Bobby hates it and says so and calls her ugly. Sally mocks her and says "what happened to you." Henry saves the day and says "Elizabeth Taylor, what have you done with my wife?"
Caroline informs Roger that the shoeshine guy died. His family sent over his kit because Roger was the only one who asked about him. Roger takes the shoeshine kit into his office and opens it. He takes out a brush and starts sobbing.
New Year's Eve finds the Drapers entertaining the Rosens and another couple from their building. They're all getting nice and toasty. The other couple relays a story about a man from his office who got caught in the men's room at Bloomingdale's getting it on with another guy. Don shows slides from their Hawaiian trip. He lingers on the snap Megan took of the Dinkins' wedding.
Later, on New Year's Eve, Peggy chats with Stan over the phone as they both work. They gossip about Roger and Joan are still getting it on. Ted comes in to talk to Peggy. She explains she may have found a solution. She shows him out-takes of the ad where the actor in the toga was clowning around in the headsets. She says she envisions a voice over saying "Koss headphones: sound so sharp and clear you can almost see it." He loves it. He tells her she's good in a crisis and to let the workers go, it's New Year's Eve.
Cut to later in the night, the other couple has left the Drapers. The Rosens and Drapers had such a good time that they missed midnight. But then Dr. Rosen gets a call for emergency surgery. There is a blizzard outside, so Don and Arnold Rosen head down to the building's storage room and get his skis. Don asks what it's like to have a life in his hands. He says it's a privilege and an honor to have the responsibility. He says the whole life and death thing doesn't bother him and for guys like them it's why they get paid. He says Don gets paid to think about things people don't want to think about and he gets paid not to think about them. Rosen gets on his skis and heads off. Don heads back in, and promptly sleeps with Arnold's wife, Sylvia (Linda Cardellini), the one who gave him "Dante's Inferno" to read. She asks what he wants for the new year. He says "I want to stop doing this." She says she knows.
Don goes home and picks up the newspaper. It's 1968. He gets into bed with Megan. She kisses him and wishes him a happy new year.
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