Three Up
3. Pete Campbell. Pete gets to announce to the partners that he's gotten SCDP back in the running for Jaguar. The exec that Lane knew left Jaguar, and the new guy knows Pete. In fact, Pete's been working Jaguar for some time. He considers this quite a coup, but never gets the reaction he wants. He's even upstaged by Don when the announcement is made to the staff. But it's a good bit of work for him, even when...
2. Bert Cooper bursts his bubble by noting that Jags are lemons. Bert deflates Pete with one sentence, and it's glorious. Robert Morse really needs more screen time.
1. Harry Crane. Not often a winner, he gets the top spot by trying to do a good thing for Paul. Two good things, really: one, get him out to LA to see if he can finally find his niche as a TV writer, and two, to get him away from Mother Lakshmi, whose interest in Paul is solely as a recruiter. Paul is ready to commit to her and move away to start a farm, and is much more into her than the other way around, as seen when she offers herself up to Harry as a trade for him to keep away from Paul. Harry's not totally clean in this - he takes Lakshmi up on her offer, and he lies to Paul to give him the confidence to leave New York. But it's a case where the lie may be the best thing for Paul. This may be Harry's shining moment for the season.
Three Down
3. The Drapers. Don and Megan go to a play which is either an indictment of advertising or consumer culture, depending which one you talk to. This leads back to Don commenting on Megan's quitting the firm. Later, Don and Joan pose as a couple to test drive a Jaguar, but they spend most of the day at a bar, engaging in a knife's edge conversation which makes you think that the two of them will wind up in a dark corner trying not to get caught in flagrante delicto. They get by this, but Don later sends Joan flowers. This could just be supportive - there's a mutual admiration there - but given Don't history, there's room for worry. Megan senses this, too, and rips into Don for being out all day, not returning for dinner, and not calling. Don thinks this is more angry foreplay, but it's not. At the end, when Don says the firm is going to work non-stop, including weekends, to land Jaguar, you get the sense that he'll be happy to work rather than have the home life he has now.
2. Paul Kinsey. Paul's been calling Harry to meet, and when Harry finally does it turns out Paul has joined the Hare Krishnas after crashing and burning in advertising. He seems dedicated, but it turns out that he's as confused and wrapped up in status and standing that he can't reach the sort of peace that others do. He's pretty much only committee to Mother Lakshmi, who he wants to settle down with. The noise in his head also includes a desire to keep writing, and he's followed through by penning a spec script for Star Trek (which he watches through a pizza parlor window). The script isn't that good, and Lakshmi only thinks of Paul as a recruiter for the movement. He finally gets a lifeline from Harry in the form of $500 and Harry's suggestion that he move to LA to write. Paul notes that Harry is the only person who's ever done something for him, which just makes things all the more sad. Harry Crane is your white knight? And had a vision during his first chanting session? Go west, Paul Kinsey!
1. Lane Pryce. Personal financial problems come to a head for Lane, and he has to come up with $8000 in two days to pay off his back taxes. Thus beings the fraud: Lane gets the firm a $50,000 credit line extension, then announces to the partners that they have $50,000 for bonuses. He proposes giving them immediately, but when that's voted down Lane winds up forging Don's signature on a check so he can get the money he needs. He then dodges having to pay for Rebecca and Nigel to return to the UK by saying that Jaguar has come back to him and he has to stick around to get the deal done, and doesn't want to be alone again for the holidays. Rebecca is thrilled at the Jaguar news and promises that they'll stay. Then he finds out that Mohawk is cutting its ads due to a machinist's strike, and Cooper suggests that the partners delay their bonuses until January.
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