I have to admit to having second thoughts about not including Don Draper in the most recent Three Up, Three Down. It was not a good episode for him, from the aborted pitch to McCann about keeping SC&P West running to not being able to find Diana to his inability to pitch the folding into McCann as a new beginning to the SC&P staff. As has been the case for this half season, Don is losing parts of him at every turn, to the point where all he has is his assumed name.
But I left him off because the four people had arguably worse episodes. Joan, whose position as an executive has always been shaky, is going to get sidelined at McCann. Peggy has to go to McCann if she wants the sort of career success she's already identified as what she wants (all while keeping the stress of giving up her son under the surface). Roger is facing mortality even more squarely than usual, with the Sterling name now, as he notes, ultimately only naming the family crypt. And Trudy Campbell is facing parts of all of these issues, being a single divorced mom who knows that, soon, the husbands who keep sniffing around will stop doing so.
So as much as this episode continued Don's decline, I don't think it did so in a way that made things as measurably bad for him as the episode did for others. I do think Don's the one character in this group who is least likely to find the new beginning that he tried to sell to his SC&P colleagues. Unless he decides to head west on his own to take over the SC&P West space (maybe with Joan in tow if she decides to marry her new beau?).
Monday, April 27, 2015
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Time & Life"
Three Up
1. Pete Campbell. OK, it feels very odd to put Pete here, especially as his role in this last half of the season has been minimal, but for once he has an episode where he's (mostly) not a schmuck. He works gamely to keep Dow Chemical, even when Ken is clearly jerking them around. He stands up for both his wife and daughter in regards to day school admissions (he even gets to settle a score related to an ancient clan feud). And after the meeting where McCann says the absorbsion of SC&P is a done deal, he even has a good moment with Joan. He also gives Peggy a head's up on the move to McCann, which is also surprisingly chivalrous.
2. Lou Avery. He had to go overseas to do it, but Lou finally found someone interested in turning Scout's Honor into a cartoon. He's moving to Tokyo and working with the same studio that did Speed Racer. Roger is probably right that the Japanese will eat Lou alive, but for now Lou is pretty happy with himself - especially as he got to deliver the news to Don in typical asshole fashion.
3. Ted Chaough. Ted's happy with the move to McCann, as it means he'll stay in New York and get to work on the pharmaceutical account he's always wanted (assuming Jim Hobart isn't full of it), and not have to be in a leadership role. He'll also get to work on his new relationship with a woman he knew in college.
Honorable Mention: McCann-Erickson. Folding SC&P was pretty much always in the cards, you'd have to think. The only down side is that they'll have to cut loose some conflicting accounts, which they'll likely make up elsewhere.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. The folding is going to be especially hard for Joan, given how poorly they've treated her to date. She's also the only partner to whom Jim Hobart doesn't mention a specific, high-level account. She's going to be sidelined at McCann, and will be lucky to even keep Avon. The only bright side to this is that her new beau is dropping everything to come to New York to help Joan through the difficulties.
2. Peggy Olson. On the personal front, a casting call with children brings up tough memories for Peggy, which leads her to tell Stan about her son. She makes the argument that women should be able to move on from giving up a child just like men, but may not completely believe her own argument. Professionally, Peggy meets with a headhunter to see what her options are, and he suggests staying with McCann. Three years and she'll be able to write her ticket. But she's ambivalent about staying given that her treatment by the McCann execs. In the end she decides to stick with McCann and forward her career.
3. Roger Sterling. As one of the prime movers of the McCann deal, Roger feels pretty guilty about what's happening, and that he's pretty much powerless to stop it. When the announcement is made to the SC&P staff, Roger is unable to hold the audience, which dissolves into several small conversations before the staff walks off on their own. Roger also has to admit to Don that he's in a relationship with Marie and explain why he'd not mentioned it previously.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. The issues with Tammy not getting into Greenwich Country Day, outside of the ancient MacDonald-Campbell feud, mostly lie with Trudy. Trudy didn't submit applications to other schools, which struck the headmaster at GCD as arrogant. Trudy also didn't share all of the information about Trudy's rejection with Pete (low test scores, for example). Trudy also is having larger issues living in the suburbs as a divorced mom - the husbands won't stop pestering her, and she fears that in 10 years no one will want to pester her.
1. Pete Campbell. OK, it feels very odd to put Pete here, especially as his role in this last half of the season has been minimal, but for once he has an episode where he's (mostly) not a schmuck. He works gamely to keep Dow Chemical, even when Ken is clearly jerking them around. He stands up for both his wife and daughter in regards to day school admissions (he even gets to settle a score related to an ancient clan feud). And after the meeting where McCann says the absorbsion of SC&P is a done deal, he even has a good moment with Joan. He also gives Peggy a head's up on the move to McCann, which is also surprisingly chivalrous.
2. Lou Avery. He had to go overseas to do it, but Lou finally found someone interested in turning Scout's Honor into a cartoon. He's moving to Tokyo and working with the same studio that did Speed Racer. Roger is probably right that the Japanese will eat Lou alive, but for now Lou is pretty happy with himself - especially as he got to deliver the news to Don in typical asshole fashion.
3. Ted Chaough. Ted's happy with the move to McCann, as it means he'll stay in New York and get to work on the pharmaceutical account he's always wanted (assuming Jim Hobart isn't full of it), and not have to be in a leadership role. He'll also get to work on his new relationship with a woman he knew in college.
Honorable Mention: McCann-Erickson. Folding SC&P was pretty much always in the cards, you'd have to think. The only down side is that they'll have to cut loose some conflicting accounts, which they'll likely make up elsewhere.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. The folding is going to be especially hard for Joan, given how poorly they've treated her to date. She's also the only partner to whom Jim Hobart doesn't mention a specific, high-level account. She's going to be sidelined at McCann, and will be lucky to even keep Avon. The only bright side to this is that her new beau is dropping everything to come to New York to help Joan through the difficulties.
2. Peggy Olson. On the personal front, a casting call with children brings up tough memories for Peggy, which leads her to tell Stan about her son. She makes the argument that women should be able to move on from giving up a child just like men, but may not completely believe her own argument. Professionally, Peggy meets with a headhunter to see what her options are, and he suggests staying with McCann. Three years and she'll be able to write her ticket. But she's ambivalent about staying given that her treatment by the McCann execs. In the end she decides to stick with McCann and forward her career.
3. Roger Sterling. As one of the prime movers of the McCann deal, Roger feels pretty guilty about what's happening, and that he's pretty much powerless to stop it. When the announcement is made to the SC&P staff, Roger is unable to hold the audience, which dissolves into several small conversations before the staff walks off on their own. Roger also has to admit to Don that he's in a relationship with Marie and explain why he'd not mentioned it previously.
Honorable Mention: Trudy Campbell. The issues with Tammy not getting into Greenwich Country Day, outside of the ancient MacDonald-Campbell feud, mostly lie with Trudy. Trudy didn't submit applications to other schools, which struck the headmaster at GCD as arrogant. Trudy also didn't share all of the information about Trudy's rejection with Pete (low test scores, for example). Trudy also is having larger issues living in the suburbs as a divorced mom - the husbands won't stop pestering her, and she fears that in 10 years no one will want to pester her.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "The Forecast"
Three Up
1. Joan Harris. Joan gets sent out to LA to help interview new staff, and manages to meet a nice, older gentleman, a retired developer named Richard Bergoff who got lost while looking for his eye doctor. They hit it off immediately, to the extent that Richard follows Joan back to New York. Their courtship hits a bump when Joan admits to having a young son. Richard, who has grown kids, admits that he doesn't want to start over and be tied down. This leads Joan to decide to send Kevin away so she can choose love. Thankfully, Richard has decides he wants to be in Joan's life, including her son.
2. Betty Francis. Betty has some reasonable parenting moments, between a talk with Sally about a teen tour she's going on and confiscating a toy gun from Bobby in return for letting him watch the Brady Bunch. Her best moments are with the now grown Glen Bishop. They still have their weird energy, and Betty has to rebuff a pass from Glen, but she's very good with him as he admits to why he enlisted in the Army. Even if she might not believe the positive outlook she keeps spinning to Glen.
3. Peggy Olson. There's not a ton of Peggy in the episode, but what she is in she's nicely assertive. She gets to tell Pete off when he tries to get one of her people fired, while she calls Don on his BS when he mocks her answers as to what she wants for herself in the future. She's never been more confident or fun to watch.
Honorable Mention: Melanie. Don's real estate agent is having trouble selling his place - too empty and in need of new carpets - and while Don tries to tell her that she can find a different way to sell the place, she cuts close to the quick when she says the apartment looks like it's home to a sad person. She's more right than she knows. As a bonus to using Don's apartment to describe him, she also manages to sell the place. It's a win-win! Double her commission.
Three Down
1. Glen Bishop. Glen stops by the Francis residence to see Sally (and Betty), and eventually announces that he's shipping out shortly. Betty tries to be supportive, while Sally is pissed at Glen becoming part of the war machine. Turns out his motivation isn't just love for country; Glen failed out of college and enlisted as a way to keep his stepfather from laying into him (he also had some odd hopes for Betty, which she rebuffs). He knows he's screwed up, and is doing his best to get through things.
2. Don Draper. Don is tasked by Roger to write a speech about the future of the firm. This leads him to ask several SC&Pers about their dreams for the future, all of which he finds lacking. It doesn't help that he's having similar issues personally, now that he's unattached and selling his place. It doesn't help that more than one person accuses him of being sad or empty. He also gets into things with Sally before she leaves for her tour, as she's mad about how he can't turn his masculinity off, even for one of her high school classmates. But the bigger issue is Don seemingly set adrift without a clear vision for his future.
3. Mathis. He gets into a fight with Ed during their pitch for a Peter Pan peanut butter-based cookie and drops an F bomb. Don helps defuse Pete, who wants Mathis gone, and gives Mathis some advice about how to approach their next meeting. Turns out Mathis takes Don's advice too literally, using a line Don once used. He fails miserably, not being Don and not having enough of a sense of the room to know that the line isn't going to work. Mathis gets into it with Don afterwards, and Don fires him. At least Mathis got to tell Don that's he's basically empty inside.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Sally is unable to apologize to Glen in person about his decision to join the Army, which weighs on her given their long-standing friendship. She also gets into it with Don over his constantly engaged libido, and says her greatest wish is to get on the bus and go somewhere where she can be unlike either of her parents. Don's retort is that she will someday realize she's just like her parents, and that it's up to her to be something more than pretty. There is probably nothing worse to a teenaged girl than being told she's going to be just like her parents. Nice to have Sally in an episode, though.
1. Joan Harris. Joan gets sent out to LA to help interview new staff, and manages to meet a nice, older gentleman, a retired developer named Richard Bergoff who got lost while looking for his eye doctor. They hit it off immediately, to the extent that Richard follows Joan back to New York. Their courtship hits a bump when Joan admits to having a young son. Richard, who has grown kids, admits that he doesn't want to start over and be tied down. This leads Joan to decide to send Kevin away so she can choose love. Thankfully, Richard has decides he wants to be in Joan's life, including her son.
2. Betty Francis. Betty has some reasonable parenting moments, between a talk with Sally about a teen tour she's going on and confiscating a toy gun from Bobby in return for letting him watch the Brady Bunch. Her best moments are with the now grown Glen Bishop. They still have their weird energy, and Betty has to rebuff a pass from Glen, but she's very good with him as he admits to why he enlisted in the Army. Even if she might not believe the positive outlook she keeps spinning to Glen.
3. Peggy Olson. There's not a ton of Peggy in the episode, but what she is in she's nicely assertive. She gets to tell Pete off when he tries to get one of her people fired, while she calls Don on his BS when he mocks her answers as to what she wants for herself in the future. She's never been more confident or fun to watch.
Honorable Mention: Melanie. Don's real estate agent is having trouble selling his place - too empty and in need of new carpets - and while Don tries to tell her that she can find a different way to sell the place, she cuts close to the quick when she says the apartment looks like it's home to a sad person. She's more right than she knows. As a bonus to using Don's apartment to describe him, she also manages to sell the place. It's a win-win! Double her commission.
Three Down
1. Glen Bishop. Glen stops by the Francis residence to see Sally (and Betty), and eventually announces that he's shipping out shortly. Betty tries to be supportive, while Sally is pissed at Glen becoming part of the war machine. Turns out his motivation isn't just love for country; Glen failed out of college and enlisted as a way to keep his stepfather from laying into him (he also had some odd hopes for Betty, which she rebuffs). He knows he's screwed up, and is doing his best to get through things.
2. Don Draper. Don is tasked by Roger to write a speech about the future of the firm. This leads him to ask several SC&Pers about their dreams for the future, all of which he finds lacking. It doesn't help that he's having similar issues personally, now that he's unattached and selling his place. It doesn't help that more than one person accuses him of being sad or empty. He also gets into things with Sally before she leaves for her tour, as she's mad about how he can't turn his masculinity off, even for one of her high school classmates. But the bigger issue is Don seemingly set adrift without a clear vision for his future.
3. Mathis. He gets into a fight with Ed during their pitch for a Peter Pan peanut butter-based cookie and drops an F bomb. Don helps defuse Pete, who wants Mathis gone, and gives Mathis some advice about how to approach their next meeting. Turns out Mathis takes Don's advice too literally, using a line Don once used. He fails miserably, not being Don and not having enough of a sense of the room to know that the line isn't going to work. Mathis gets into it with Don afterwards, and Don fires him. At least Mathis got to tell Don that's he's basically empty inside.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. Sally is unable to apologize to Glen in person about his decision to join the Army, which weighs on her given their long-standing friendship. She also gets into it with Don over his constantly engaged libido, and says her greatest wish is to get on the bus and go somewhere where she can be unlike either of her parents. Don's retort is that she will someday realize she's just like her parents, and that it's up to her to be something more than pretty. There is probably nothing worse to a teenaged girl than being told she's going to be just like her parents. Nice to have Sally in an episode, though.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "New Business"
Three Up
1. Megan Draper. Megan is still living off of Don's generosity, but is coming to New York to get her things and hopefully finalize the divorce. Things then get worse when she has to fend off Harry Crane's casting couch advances and then discovers that her mom not only stole all of Don's furniture but that she had a fling with Roger Sterling. What turns things around for Megan is (a) a million dollar payout that Don makes so she can have the life she deserves, and (b) the realization that she, like her mom, has done something to get out of a bad situation (unlike her sister, Marie-France, who is a total pill). If nothing else, Megan now has the money to buy a place that will fit all of her ill-gotten furnishings.
2. Stan Rizzo. Stan starts off the episode getting bumped from Cinzano in favor of Pima Ryan, an art photographer. He clashes with her to start, but then she sees his drawing, likes his talent, and suggests that he shows her some of his photography. He does - shots taken of his girlfriend - and Pima suggests that he should focus on drawing. And that his girlfriend isn't that into him. Stan and Pima do it in the darkroom, but the bigger win for Stan is getting a dose of reality.
3. Marie Calvet. Not only does she mastermind the theft of Don's furniture, she winds up making a life change by staying in New York with Roger, who bails her out when the movers demand more money (to their credit, they weren't expecting to move an entire apartment). It's not great that Megan catches her post-dalliance, and it seems unlikely that Marie's stay with Roger will be permanent, but for now she's made a positive step away from a very unhappy home life.
Honorable Mention: Bobby and Gene Draper. They get screen time! And Don makes them chocolate milkshakes! Hooray!
Three Down
1. Diana. Don tracks down Diana in an attempt to get to know her better, and we learn that she's like Don in a few ways - she's not from New York, and is running away from a past tragedy (she lost a daughter). She's also like Don in that she's not always entirely truthful. She did lose a daughter, but has left another daughter (and a husband) in Racine. In the end she tells Don that she doesn't want anything from him, and would like him to go away. When she's with him she forgets about what she's left behind, which she doesn't want to do. Diana is keen on punishing herself, and can't let Don get in the way.
2. Don Draper. Don's rebuffed by Diana, cuts Megan a huge check out of guilt for the way their marriage went, and has to see Betty's happy homelife after time with the boys. And his former mother in law steals his furniture! The episode closes with Don standing, confusedly, in his bare living room, and it's a nice depiction of where Don is right now personally. There are bits and pieces of his past life, but for the most part things are a blank canvas.
3. Roger Sterling. He has two secretaries and three phones, which is more of either than he'd care for. He has to dodge a golf meeting so he doesn't have to be around Bert Peterson. And he's apparently gained a new woman now that Marie has decides she's staying in New York. That should be fun for a while, and Marie can certainly keep up with Roger verbally, It's just unlikely that she's going to be good for him long term.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. We've seen more of her brothers (and her room in Don's apartment) than we've seen of Sally in the second half of this final season. She'd better make a significant appearance in the next episode.
1. Megan Draper. Megan is still living off of Don's generosity, but is coming to New York to get her things and hopefully finalize the divorce. Things then get worse when she has to fend off Harry Crane's casting couch advances and then discovers that her mom not only stole all of Don's furniture but that she had a fling with Roger Sterling. What turns things around for Megan is (a) a million dollar payout that Don makes so she can have the life she deserves, and (b) the realization that she, like her mom, has done something to get out of a bad situation (unlike her sister, Marie-France, who is a total pill). If nothing else, Megan now has the money to buy a place that will fit all of her ill-gotten furnishings.
2. Stan Rizzo. Stan starts off the episode getting bumped from Cinzano in favor of Pima Ryan, an art photographer. He clashes with her to start, but then she sees his drawing, likes his talent, and suggests that he shows her some of his photography. He does - shots taken of his girlfriend - and Pima suggests that he should focus on drawing. And that his girlfriend isn't that into him. Stan and Pima do it in the darkroom, but the bigger win for Stan is getting a dose of reality.
3. Marie Calvet. Not only does she mastermind the theft of Don's furniture, she winds up making a life change by staying in New York with Roger, who bails her out when the movers demand more money (to their credit, they weren't expecting to move an entire apartment). It's not great that Megan catches her post-dalliance, and it seems unlikely that Marie's stay with Roger will be permanent, but for now she's made a positive step away from a very unhappy home life.
Honorable Mention: Bobby and Gene Draper. They get screen time! And Don makes them chocolate milkshakes! Hooray!
Three Down
1. Diana. Don tracks down Diana in an attempt to get to know her better, and we learn that she's like Don in a few ways - she's not from New York, and is running away from a past tragedy (she lost a daughter). She's also like Don in that she's not always entirely truthful. She did lose a daughter, but has left another daughter (and a husband) in Racine. In the end she tells Don that she doesn't want anything from him, and would like him to go away. When she's with him she forgets about what she's left behind, which she doesn't want to do. Diana is keen on punishing herself, and can't let Don get in the way.
2. Don Draper. Don's rebuffed by Diana, cuts Megan a huge check out of guilt for the way their marriage went, and has to see Betty's happy homelife after time with the boys. And his former mother in law steals his furniture! The episode closes with Don standing, confusedly, in his bare living room, and it's a nice depiction of where Don is right now personally. There are bits and pieces of his past life, but for the most part things are a blank canvas.
3. Roger Sterling. He has two secretaries and three phones, which is more of either than he'd care for. He has to dodge a golf meeting so he doesn't have to be around Bert Peterson. And he's apparently gained a new woman now that Marie has decides she's staying in New York. That should be fun for a while, and Marie can certainly keep up with Roger verbally, It's just unlikely that she's going to be good for him long term.
Honorable Mention: Sally Draper. We've seen more of her brothers (and her room in Don's apartment) than we've seen of Sally in the second half of this final season. She'd better make a significant appearance in the next episode.
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Three Up, Three Down: Mad Men, "Severance"
Three Up
1. Ken Cosgrove. Ken's father in law is retiring from Dow, which gets Ken's wife thinking about how Ken shouldn't stick with a job he hates, and that he should quit so he can write. He's reluctant, but the next day he gets what he considers a sign: he's fired due to some ancient history with McCann. So he's ready to buy that farm, right? No. With all the movement at Dow, Ken gets hired to be their head of advertising. When Roger and Pete ask if he's firing SC&P, Ken gets to tell them that it's worse: he's going to be their client. Maybe this will be the basis of the advertising book he mentions to Pete.
2. Peggy Olsen. Professionally, Peggy has an issue with Topaz, as they're getting beaten badly by L'Eggs, the cheap supermarket pantyhose. This leads to a meeting with SC&P's colleagues at McCann, which goes poorly (moreso for Joan, who is the focus of the McCann double entendres). Peggy even gets a dig in at Joan for inviting the comments based on her appearance. On the personal side, Peggy winds up on a date with Mathis' brother in law, and it goes very well. They almost run off to Paris, but Peggy can't find her passport. In the end, she returns to her very Peggy mindset about how she wouldn't run off with a guy she barely knows, but she previously said that she's interested in the brother in law in the long term, which was hopefully not just the wine talking.
3. Pete Campbell. He's getting to take over from Ken as head of accounts, and he's so rich now he may have to buy an apartment building so he can keep his money. Not so great that Ken is going to have his nuts in a vice where Dow is concerned, but Pete's now big enough that his position may just be equal to his ego.
Honorable Mention: Ed Baxter. He's retiring, and will get to enjoy golf, his boat, and his adventures in cooking. His first dish? A Pop-Tart. It was very good.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. She's fully moved into accounts, and is rich thanks to her partnership buyout, but she's still having issues being taken seriously, as seen in her meeting with McCann (though that may be a function of how McCann runs). She's also got some issues at SC&P, based on Peggy's reaction to their McCann meeting and her somewhat prickly meeting with Don about Topaz. Joan's response to all of this is to fake a meeting and go shopping, where's she's almost outed as a former store employee. So while she can afford the retail therapy, it's not going to help the bigger problems.
2. Rachel Katz. Dead of leukemia, which Don discovers when he tries to set up a meeting involving Topaz moving into department stores. She does appear in one of Don's dreams as a model (there's a casting call going on for a fur company), and tells him that he missed his flight. Not a main character, of course, but dead's dead.
3. Don Draper. In some sense he's back to being Don - back running creative and having enough women that his message service is basically a telebordello - but he's really taken aback when he learns of Rachel's death. He tries to pay his respects while Rachel's family is sitting shiva, but he's pretty much stopped at the door by Rachel's sister. She knows who he is, and asks Don what he wants. He mostly wants to know what happened and how Rachel's life went. While Don is processing Rachel's death, he becomes interested in a diner waitress who looks a little like Rachel. They have sex (she thinks a large tip that Roger left previously was some sort of advance payment for services), and at a later visit Don tells her about Rachel, at which point the waitress says that when people die, things get mixed up and people try to make sense of it. Which is kind of where Don is right now - he's getting divorced from Megan, kind of drifting back to his old life, and he has to process Rachel's death.
And can we take a second to ponder Rachel's statement in Don's dream that he missed his flight? Is this a reference to the flights he used to take to see Megan, or is it more general towards the show's flight and death imagery? Is Rachel telling Don that he cheated the Grim Reaper?
Honorable Mention: Mustaches. Both Ted and Roger are sporting some really gruesome facial hair. You think all the work on the Wilkinson account would spare us from this sort of thing.
1. Ken Cosgrove. Ken's father in law is retiring from Dow, which gets Ken's wife thinking about how Ken shouldn't stick with a job he hates, and that he should quit so he can write. He's reluctant, but the next day he gets what he considers a sign: he's fired due to some ancient history with McCann. So he's ready to buy that farm, right? No. With all the movement at Dow, Ken gets hired to be their head of advertising. When Roger and Pete ask if he's firing SC&P, Ken gets to tell them that it's worse: he's going to be their client. Maybe this will be the basis of the advertising book he mentions to Pete.
2. Peggy Olsen. Professionally, Peggy has an issue with Topaz, as they're getting beaten badly by L'Eggs, the cheap supermarket pantyhose. This leads to a meeting with SC&P's colleagues at McCann, which goes poorly (moreso for Joan, who is the focus of the McCann double entendres). Peggy even gets a dig in at Joan for inviting the comments based on her appearance. On the personal side, Peggy winds up on a date with Mathis' brother in law, and it goes very well. They almost run off to Paris, but Peggy can't find her passport. In the end, she returns to her very Peggy mindset about how she wouldn't run off with a guy she barely knows, but she previously said that she's interested in the brother in law in the long term, which was hopefully not just the wine talking.
3. Pete Campbell. He's getting to take over from Ken as head of accounts, and he's so rich now he may have to buy an apartment building so he can keep his money. Not so great that Ken is going to have his nuts in a vice where Dow is concerned, but Pete's now big enough that his position may just be equal to his ego.
Honorable Mention: Ed Baxter. He's retiring, and will get to enjoy golf, his boat, and his adventures in cooking. His first dish? A Pop-Tart. It was very good.
Three Down
1. Joan Harris. She's fully moved into accounts, and is rich thanks to her partnership buyout, but she's still having issues being taken seriously, as seen in her meeting with McCann (though that may be a function of how McCann runs). She's also got some issues at SC&P, based on Peggy's reaction to their McCann meeting and her somewhat prickly meeting with Don about Topaz. Joan's response to all of this is to fake a meeting and go shopping, where's she's almost outed as a former store employee. So while she can afford the retail therapy, it's not going to help the bigger problems.
2. Rachel Katz. Dead of leukemia, which Don discovers when he tries to set up a meeting involving Topaz moving into department stores. She does appear in one of Don's dreams as a model (there's a casting call going on for a fur company), and tells him that he missed his flight. Not a main character, of course, but dead's dead.
3. Don Draper. In some sense he's back to being Don - back running creative and having enough women that his message service is basically a telebordello - but he's really taken aback when he learns of Rachel's death. He tries to pay his respects while Rachel's family is sitting shiva, but he's pretty much stopped at the door by Rachel's sister. She knows who he is, and asks Don what he wants. He mostly wants to know what happened and how Rachel's life went. While Don is processing Rachel's death, he becomes interested in a diner waitress who looks a little like Rachel. They have sex (she thinks a large tip that Roger left previously was some sort of advance payment for services), and at a later visit Don tells her about Rachel, at which point the waitress says that when people die, things get mixed up and people try to make sense of it. Which is kind of where Don is right now - he's getting divorced from Megan, kind of drifting back to his old life, and he has to process Rachel's death.
And can we take a second to ponder Rachel's statement in Don's dream that he missed his flight? Is this a reference to the flights he used to take to see Megan, or is it more general towards the show's flight and death imagery? Is Rachel telling Don that he cheated the Grim Reaper?
Honorable Mention: Mustaches. Both Ted and Roger are sporting some really gruesome facial hair. You think all the work on the Wilkinson account would spare us from this sort of thing.
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