Mad Men

Episode Report Card
Couch Baron: A- | 2 USERS: A+
California, Here I Come…
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description!

In Don's office and in front of the whole Creative team, Pete reads from a long list of companies, all of whom will apparently be represented at an upcoming aerospace conference in Santa Monica. Paul, who's going on the trip with Pete, is excited that they'll be so close to Pasadena, despite Pete's assertion that its residents are "just people with TB," because it has "jet propulsion laboratories. And Ray Bradbury." Paul does strike me as a Fahrenheit 451 kind of guy. I'm just surprised we haven't seen him give Harry more shit about his new involvement with television. Don sternly tells them it's a business trip (although Pete is allowed to play business golf), and Crab Colson guarantees that there will be some astronauts out there. "Every scientist, engineer, and general is trying to figure out a way to put a man on the moon -- or blow up Moscow, whichever one costs more. We have to explain to them how we can help them spend that money." I'd push for the former option as being easier to sell. I mean, everyone with a TV will get to see a moon landing, while if you blow up Moscow, only Alaskans will have a birds-eye view. Paul starts pompously babbling, only to have Don cut him off: "Campbell, you do the talking. Kinsey, you do the listening." Paul looks bummed, as he should, because when Don's using Pete to show you up your stock has plummeted indeed. (Uh, sorry.) Peggy pipes up that Don wanted her to remind them about "the Congressmen," and Pete thinks she's referring to the fact that they control the money, causing Don to correct him with much irritation: "No. They are the customer." He goes on that they want aerospace in their districts, so Pete needs to let them know that SC can bring those contracts to them. At Pete and Paul's uncertain looks, Don snaps, "Did you read anything that [Peggy] prepared?" The answer is clearly "no," so Don adds, "Maybe I should send her." Perhaps, but she doesn't have the golf handicap to replace Pete. And as for Paul, that's going to go down so exquisitely that I will beg you not to screw with it.

Pete's reading a travel guide to LA as Trudy comes to bed and solicitously angles for an invitation, promising that she'd stay out of his way. He, however, tells her if she's there, it will make him "look less serious in the office." It's always a challenge to parse the rationalizations upon rationalizations that are 99 percent of what makes up Pete Campbell, but this time I honestly have no idea what he's talking about. Just say "People don't bring their wives to these things," which itself is code for "We're all going to be hitting on stewardesses and waitresses, and I know you don't like/do that" and be done with it! Trudy lets it go easily enough, musing that she could go down to see her parents in Rehoboth, and this paves the way for her to tell Pete that her parents are "concerned." Pete warily asks what about, and Trudy, with that naked sadness she gets whenever her lack of fertility is the subject, answers, "Nothing's happening." Pete asks why she insists on making him angry before he goes to bed, and she doesn't answer but I'd imagine it's because it's fun to get him all steamed when he's wearing those cute little pajamas. Anyway, Trudy is talking about adoption, and says there are some very reputable agencies, but Pete doesn't want to hear about "someone else's child," saying it's not natural. Trudy refuses to give up, saying she felt that way at first too, but she knows that Pete would fall in love with the baby they pick, and by the way, they're ideal candidates. Pete, his resolve starting to weaken, puts an arm around her and asks if her parents think he just says no to everything. Trudy, breaking my heart as no one else on this show seems to be able to: "We're not related by blood, and you love me." She may not be a Joan, or a Peggy, or a Betty, but this season, she's going to get what she wants, I tell you what.

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Mad Men




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