As the third season of AMC’s Mad Men continues, ad man Don Draper (Jon Hamm) finds himself, as he so often does, in turmoil. At the office, the executives of Sterling Cooper’s parent company announce a surprise visit. And at home, his daughter Sally has issues with her new baby brother that go beyond sibling rivalry. As always, Don manages to not only survive but thrive, reminding viewers why he is so endearing despite his many flaws.
The British Are Coming — Another Shakeup at Sterling Cooper
Just when things seemed to be settling back into a routine on Madison Avenue, the chairman of British parent company Putnam, Powell, and Lowe announce a surprise visit to the offices of Sterling Cooper. Eccentric Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) insists that the visit is good news, convincing Don that the executives probably want to promote him to London. Others are nervous, noting the irony of the British executives interrupting everyone’s Fourth of July holiday.
It turns out that the staff were more perceptive. The executives have arrived with a dual purpose. First, they wish to “reward” PPL man Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) for his cost-cutting measures — by moving him to the Bombay office to work the same magic, whether he wants to or not. The second point on their agenda is to install their own man, smarmy Guy MacKendrick (Jamie Thomas King), to run the office, a move that demotes Don and Bert, while leaving original co-owner Roger Sterling (John Slattery) off the organizational chart entirely.
Joan Says Goodbye to Sterling Cooper
The British have managed to interrupt not only the holiday, but also the going-away party for recently-married office manager Joan Harris (Christina Hendricks). Even worse for Joan, though, her doctor husband comes home late and drunk, finally admitting that he has washed out of surgery and will have to continue his residency. When he tells Joan she will need to stay at Sterling Cooper, she responds that it is impossible. He answers that she will just have to find another job.
Knowing this, Joan cries during her champagne toast at the party the next day. As always, she puts on a brave face, even assuring her “frienemy” Peggy Olsen (Elisabeth Moss) that they won’t lose touch after she leaves. Their conversation is interrupted, though, when one of the secretaries, riding a John Deere the company received from that account, runs over Guy’s foot, leaving a bloody, horrifying mess. Always the strong one in a crisis, Joan provides first aid and accompanies Guy to the hospital, ostensibly leaving Sterling Cooper for the last time.
New Opportunities for Don Draper
Don has missed the crisis at the office, having been called to an impromptu meeting with an acquaintance he didn’t realize he knew — Conrad Hilton (Chelcie Ross). Realizing that he had made an impression on the mogul at a party without knowing the man’s name, Don agrees to give Hilton a free opinion on an ad campaign, but only if Hilton will give Don a shot at the account full-time. When Hilton chastises Don for thinking small, Don smiles, replying that he takes things one step at a time. Don is obviously formulating a plan, but whether he intends to use this opportunity to stage a coup at Sterling Cooper or as a chance to leave the agency is anyone’s guess.
The meeting is interrupted by a phone call from Joan, whose last official act is to make sure Don can manage the crisis at the hospital as Guy’s foot is amputated. He seems to be the only one doing so, as Roger remains at the office cracking jokes about how Guy “just got his foot in the door”. Don and Joan share a last moment together, joking and saying goodbye, obviously parting as equals and friends. Afterward, Don is shocked to hear that the British executives believe that Guy will be of no use to them when he cannot walk, and don’t plan on having him return to work.
Don Draper as Family Man
Returning home, Don finds one last crisis to deal with before he can rest. It turns out that his daughter Sally (Kiernan Shipka) is not simply jealous of her new baby brother, Gene. Instead, she is deeply afraid because the baby has her recently deceased grandfather’s name and lives in his old room, even though Grandpa Gene is “supposed to be gone”.
After lashing out at his wife for insisting upon naming the child after someone Don hated and who hated him, he comforts Sally in a way her mother couldn’t. He explains to her that they do not know yet who her baby brother is or who he will become, adding, “and that’s a wonderful thing.” It is a bittersweet moment; Don finally becomes the father no one thought he could be, not in spite of his own secrets regarding his true identity, but because of them.
Click here for a recap of the following episode of Mad Men, "Seven Twenty Three".
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