- Don is oddly drawn to a diner waitress as he learns about the loss of an old acquaintance, Peggy and Joan are disrespected by a chauvinistic client, and Cosgrove is in for big changes after his biggest business connection retires.
- McCann Erickson's fifty-one percent purchase of Sterling Cooper has led to bigger changes to SC than most of the partners or higher account executives realize. The partners are now all millionaires, and they believe that they can leverage McCann's business to further their own. Topaz is one such account, which is causing problems for Joan and Peggy, the account leads. Topaz, whose primary business is affordable drug store hose, is being squeezed from below by Hanes' new mass market line, Leggs, which not only sells in drug stores but also supermarkets. In consultation with Don, Joan and Peggy go into a meeting with McCann account managers to discuss the proposal. The mixed results lead to an angry Joan evaluating the way she presents herself, while it affects a blind date Peggy has with Mathis' visiting brother-in-law. The Topaz account and another creative involving a commercial where the chosen model will wear a chinchilla fur coat makes Don think about someone from his past. What he eventually learns about her leads to him trying to make amends in his own mind about their past relationship, as well as think about a waitress he sees in a diner, she who triggers an emotional response with what is going on in his more open life, which includes an imminent divorce from Megan. And Ken's father-in-law finally retiring leads to thoughts between Ken and Cynthia about Ken's own future and what he really wants. What Ken decides to do is spurred by something that happens at work.—Huggo
- It all appears to be business as usual at Sterling Cooper after their adversaries purchase just under half of the company. McCann still pulls some of the strings however as is evident when they insist that a senior employee be fired. Joan and Peggy are having trouble with a client, a stockings manufacturer who is now being undercut by a new entrant to the market. They realize part of the solution is store branding and reach out to their partners at McCann for help but it only leads to humiliation, especially for Joan. Don Draper tries to help them out by contacting Rachel Katz but is surprised at what he learns. Peggy meanwhile goes out on a blind date.—garykmcd
- "Mad Men" - "Severance" - April 5, 2015
And we're back for the last seven episodes of season 7. We shall hold our tears until the very end.
So, it's not exactly clear what the date is but from the outerwear it seems springy and it's likely 1970 because S&P is now fully integrated with McCann.
We open on what, at first, appears to be Don having another one of his liaisons with a hot woman in a fur coat. But it turns out to be a casting call for an ad and there are several other men in the room with them as the models are instructed to strut and show themselves off. A bit of Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" plays over the scene.
We cut to Don and Roger with three hot chicks in a diner as Don tells a story about his mother and "Uncle Mac" and the tale of the toaster at the boarding house. Roger is sporting some serious sideburns and a mustache. Roger calls over to the waitress for the check and he's kind of snarky to her. Don thinks she looks familiar but she says they don't know each other. Roger leaves $100 tip as an apology. They depart with the hot chicks but Don lingers for a moment looking at the waitress who reads a John Dos Passos novel at the counter.
Don heads home alone and checks his messages on his service, several women have called for booty calls. Don calls one back, a stewardess, Tricia from TWA. She shows up they chat momentarily and then they start making out. She drops some wine on the carpet as they head into the bedroom. She starts to clean up but he stops her and throws the comforter on the floor over it and they go to town.
The next day at the office Peggy, Joan, and Harry chat with the Topaz folks about the new Hanes product L'eggs, which come in eggs and are dirt cheap. The Topaz guys would rather just do a knock off: pantyhose in a container shaped like a topaz. Peggy and Joan try to steer them away from this idea. Ken comes in to take them to lunch with nothing resolved really.
Don arrives and Meredith tells him he has casting in an hour. He is back in his old office which used to be Lou's.
Peggy runs into Mathis and he proposes setting her up with his brother-in-law Stevie, who he claims is very handsome and says Peggy is a catch and his wife has a knack for this stuff. Peggy doesn't like the set-up idea and what might happen at work between them if it doesn't work out so she turns it down.
Joan goes to see Don about Topaz and floats the department store idea. He suggests McCann client Marshall Fields.
Ken's father-in-law Ed is retiring from Dow chemical. Ken bought him a new set of golf clubs. Ed says he has a lot of time to make up for and is going to enjoy new things like cooking, he made a Pop-Tart and says it was very good.
Ted and Don continue on with casting and fur coat women and Rachel Menken walks in. Of course, this is a dream. He awakes, disturbing the hottie of the night beside him. He tells her to go back to sleep.
Ken and his wife have a late night chat and she urges him to quit SP and do what he loves before it's too late like her dad. She tells him it is time for him to pursue his writing and to write something sad and sweet and says he gave them his eye and not to give them his life. He gets defensive and says her father is a cog in a giant machine that makes weapons and poisons. She points out that he sells them. He says he's proud of the company and he wants to see if he gets a raise. Then their baby wakes up.
Don arrives for more casting. He tells Meredith to set a meeting with Rachel Menken re: Topaz.
Peggy and Joan meet with the McCann guys to try and see if they can get Topaz into a department store. The men of course steer the meeting towards disgusting sexism and innuendo. It is yucky and completely directed at Joan who one of them says should clearly in the bra business. Both women are clearly annoyed but try to keep the meeting professional.
In the elevator afterwards they debrief -- "I want to burn this place down," says a heated Joan-- and it goes awry fast with Peggy blaming Joan for the sexism based on the way they dress and Joan insinuating that Peggy is not attractive enough to have it directed at her. Yikes all around.
Roger and Ferguson Donnelly meet with Ken. "Ferg" is an executive from McCann who has an axe to grind against Ken-- who briefly worked there after the SCDP formation-- and they tell him they are putting Pete on Dow. Ken thinks it's because Ed is retiring. Ferg says it's that they don't want Ken on any business, essentially he's getting fired. Ken is outraged and tells Roger sarcastically that he appreciates his loyalty.
Meredith tells him she set a meeting with a man from Menken's. He wondered why Rachel didn't want to meet. Meredith informs him that Rachel passed away and Don is gobsmacked. She died last week.
Peggy tells Mathis she's changed her mind and will join them for dinner. Mathis said they made other plans. Peggy says to give Stevie her number.
Don heads back to the diner and asks that same waitress to wait on him. She recognizes him, mistakenly thinks he, not Roger, left the $100 tip and is back to "collect" on the expectation that came with it. They go out back and have sex in the alley on her break. They straighten up and head back in. It is all very strange. Don sits at the counter and asks when she's done. She tells him he got his hundred dollars worth and to leave her alone. He is confused.
The next day at the office Don runs into Ken at the pay phones outside the office. Ken is nearly delirious with the firing, feeling both outraged and liberated and wondering how he will go back in. Don tells him not to do anything rash. Ken tells him about the talk with his wife and says it was clearly a sign and a good thing.
Joan gets a call from Dennis at McCann, the gross guy from the meeting. She refuses his call and decides to do a little retail therapy instead. The salesgirl asks if she used to work there, she says she has her confused with someone else. (Remember when Joan worked retail?)
Ken and Pete go over the accounts that Pete will be taking on now. Pete complains about all the money he got from the sale and how he'll have to buy a building to stay under the tax threshold. Ken wryly notes what a pain in the ass that sounds like. Ken says he might get back to writing. Pete says he will look great on the book jacket. Pete says he's envious and says he thought things were changing out in California but now it all feels like a dream.
Ted and Don go over the casting photos in Don's office. Ted is also sporting a sweet mustache. They are having trouble picking a girl. Apparently, Ted is now single and is throwing a party and invites Don.
Peggy goes on a date with Stevie, who seems nice. Maybe too nice. When he gets the wrong order he seems too sheepish to send it back and then makes Peggy feel bad for making him feel sheepish. But they recover nicely. He tells her that Mathis told her she was funny and fearless. She offers him her cannelloni -- which is like lasagna she says-- for his veal saying "I love veal" and oddly making it sound like "I love you."
Don goes to Rachel's where they are sitting shiva. He runs into her sister who knows exactly who he is and asks after his family. She seems happy about his two divorces. He notes Rachel's two kids on the couch and undoubtedly thinks about what might have been. He brought cake. She explains she had leukemia. He is clearly saddened. She says she doesn't know what he is looking for. She pointedly tells him that Rachel was happily married and loved her kids and had everything she wanted. She walks off. He is sad as he watches the men pray.
We return to the Stevie-Peggy date in progress where she is joking that people must be disappointed when Mathis-- whose first name is Johnny-- shows up. He explains he is interviewing for a firm in Boston, he's a lawyer. She talks about how she has always wanted to go to Paris and she has never taken a vacation and she proposes that they go to Paris right now. Stevie is in. Except when they get to Peggy's apartment, she can't find her passport. They make out and it starts getting hot and heavy and she sends him away saying now that she actually really likes him, she doesn't want to sleep with him on the first date. He has to go back to Boston. She proposes going to Paris the following weekend. He has a job interview in D.C. They decided on the following weekend. They make out some more and he says he will call her when he gets back from D.C. He leaves, she is happily besotted.
Don lays on his bed watching Nixon give a speech about Vietnam. (Definitely 1970).
Peggy awakes, clearly a little hungover.
Roger and Pete meet about the accounts. Ken arrives and says he won't be collecting severance. Roger says that's honorable since he's clearly gotten a new job but he is still entitled to one. Ken gleefully tells him it wouldn't be right because his signing bonus from Dow would make it feel like a second helping. He is practically giggling: he is the new head of advertising at Dow and will still work with the firm. Pete says that must mean that he is firing them. Ken says nope it will be much worse than that, he will be their client and he is very hard to please. It is delicious.
Peggy finds her passport in her office desk. Stan comes in to go over a campaign and she tells him to keep his voice down. Mathis enters with water and Alka-Seltzer and sweetly snarks that it sounds like she has a good night and tells Stan that Peggy and Stevie are going to Europe. Stan is giddy and impressed. She says she had too much wine and embarrassed herself and won't be getting on a plane with someone she barely knows. Stan points out she would get to know him and it could be fun.
Don gets set to leave and reminds him about the meeting with the man from Menken's. He thanks her.
He heads back to the diner. The waitress sees him and tells him that "that" is not going to happen again. He tells her about his dream about Rachel and how he found out the next day she was dead. She tells him to think carefully about when he had the dream because when people die, everything gets mixed up. She says when someone dies you just want to make sense out of it but you can't. She tells him the next time he comes in he needs to bring a date and she just works there. He says he just wants to sit there. She says okay. She works. He sits.
And Peggy Lee returns to ask "Is That All There Is?"
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