Three Up
3. Ted Chaough. Don Draper's nemesis gets to strike a blow to SCDP's creative team for $19,000 a year? You get the sense he'd pay double. That he gets to poach Peggy right as SCDP lands Jaguar is a nice plus, as it will leave them that much more in the lurch. Nice work in limited screen time.
2. Michael Ginsberg. That SCDP landed Jaguar at all owes a significant debt to Ginzo, who was inspired by Megan's ability to come and go in the office as she pleases to find the way to use the idea of a mistress (which Don had put the kibosh on in the wake of the Joan Harris discussion) to sell Jaguars, coming at the concept from a different angle. His pitch to Don was also a nice show that he's getting a little more comfortable with mixing it up with Don, which will help when he's working on pretty much everything, as...
1. Peggy Olsen. Finally has enough and quits SDCP, moving over to CGC. It all starts when, after coming up with an idea for Chevalier Blanc more or less out of thin air, Don doesn't see that it's her work and thinks her desire to stay on it just comes from a want to go to Paris to shoot the ad. The built up indignities leads her to complain to Freddie Rumsen over lunch, and he pushes her to get her name out there and move on if things are so bad. Her meeting with Ted Chaough leads her to take an offer $1000 over her initial proposal, and she accepts. She tells Don in the wake of the firm learning it landed Jaguar, and while he tries to treat it as a negotiating ploy, Peggy is set in leaving. Don finally realizes he's pushed her away (and around) too much. Peggy leaves looking pleased with herself in finally breaking free. But she's not taking Cosgrove with her, not a surprise given that she mocked the pact earlier in the episode.
Three Down
3. Pete Campbell. It's a sign of what's to come with the other guys that the person who basically pimps out Joan Harris only lands third. It starts when Pete and Ken meet with the head of Jaguar's dealerships, who says that Joan caught his eye during their tour of the firm, and that a night with her would secure his vote. They try to talk around it, but the dealer is set in what he wants. Pete presents the idea in a roundabout way to both Joan and the partners. Joan is horrified, while the partners come up with a number to offer Joan to do the deed. Outside of acting as procurer, Pete also floats the idea of a Manhattan apartment by Trudy, who will hear no such thing. Pete complains about the suburbs some more, but Trudy is adamant that she wants to raise their child in fresh air, and why aren't they trying to have another one? Maybe because Pete's too busy trying to set up his own personal knocking shop?
2. Don Draper. Don manages to be a dick to pretty much everyone. He does have some positive moments - he refuses to talk with the partners about having Joan sleep with the dealer, and he even goes to her apartment to try to talk her out of it, for example - but he throws cash in Peggy's face when he thinks she's trying to cadge a free trip to Paris, and is hot and cold to Megan regarding a role that may take her to Boston for three months. Losing Peggy to CGC is the real blow, though, as he now has to replace her work at a time when the firm will have more work than they can handle. He notes the freelancers that were brought in, but you can tell he knows they're not up to it, and that he's really to blame for Peggy's departure. This is more of a career achievement position, I suppose, as Peggy's quitting was a long time coming.
1. Lane Pryce. When the talk about Joan sleeping with the dealer gets serious, and a dollar figure is bandied about, Lane gets defensive about using cash. He later visits Joan ostensibly to talk her out of sleeping with the dealer, but he also plants a seed that a small partnership (5 percent) would serve her and her son better than a one time payment. She does wind up using this idea when she agrees to see the dealer, which seems like it would be in Lane's favor... until it becomes clear that the Christmas bonus money will be needed to get the firm through the period where they're doing work for Jaguar but aren't getting paid. Bad enough to be a pimp or an ass, but at least Pete and Don won't be going to prison for what they did. Assuming Lane doesn't take a swan dive out of the Time-Life Building before that happens.
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