Last night's episode, Favors, seemed like maybe it should be called, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished..
We start with Silvia's son, Mitchel who is 1A (first up on the draft list) asking Megan if she can help him get into Canada. Don scratches that quickly, and though he tells Megan to stay out of it, starts trying to find his own solution. First Don goes to Pete, who is not helpful at all and points Don toward Chevy with their government contracts, but not without getting in a jab about his not being on the account so he can't help. After taking Chevy's "temperature" to see if they can help our draft dodger at a client dinner with Ted, Jim Roger, and a couple Chevy guys doesn't go well Ted comes to the rescue. But Ted's favor isn't free, he wants Don to stop competing with him, like in this episode with OceanSpray and Sunkist. Don seems like maybe he isn't even aware he is doing that, but agrees to cut it out and genuinely thanks Ted for his help. How this will effect the company is yet to be seen.
Ted's favor does lead to Don and Silvia reconnecting. Silvia is of course moved that he has saved her son from being drafted, but I think mistakenly assumes he did it for her, I think he did it for Mitchel to save him from what Don experienced. We don't know how but Don and Silvia end up back in bed, which really isn't good for either of them.
In another story line we have Sally and her friend staying in the city at Don and Megan's meeting Mitchell and thinking he is cute, like
Mark Lindsay lead singer of Paul Revere and The Raiders according to Sally friend Julie. The two girls make a list of all the things they like about him, his smile, shoulders, ass etc... Julie decides to sign Sally's name to it and slip it under the Rosen's door. When Sally is, understandable, upset by this she tells Sally she'll thank her for it. Another favor? Sally goes back to her father's apartment to get the letter, asking the door man for the building keys, as she has earlier. This time she goes to the Rosen's apartment and opens the service door. When the letter isn't right in front of the door she steps in and sees it on the opposite counter. She walks across the room to get it which allows her to see into the maids room, where she sees her father and Silvia having sex.
All these good deeds, some definitely better than others but it all leads to pain and destruction anyway. Don chases after Sally and ultimately gives her a lame excuse about "comforting Mrs. Rosen and it being complicated." Sally seems to say OK that's the story we'll try to tell ourselves about this. But unlike so many things in Mad Men characters lives this happened and I don't think Sally will ever be able to forget it. Basically, she will never be surprised by how much this didn't happen. Don knows he's completely blown it too based on how awful he looks.
In yet another story line the nurse that Bob referred to Pete for his mother appears in this episode and seems to have started a physical relationship with her. Pete is not happy and wants to fire him. When he calls Bob on the carpet to confront him about his referral, Bob tells Pete he doubts it because the nurse is gay. Pete calls him a degenerate, which you can see makes Bob flinch. Then Bob launches into a long speech about how if someone took care of your every need couldn't Pete see developing feelings for that person and it not matter who they were. All topped off with placing his leg so it touched Pete's. I have to say I was surprise they had Bob call this one so wrong. Is he really suppose to have thought that Pete would go for him??? Still it is another example of favors not paying off for anyone. Pete's mother isn't going to be happy with the loss of her nurse and Bob just lost an ally in Pete. I wonder if Joan know Bob's gay?
This and that:
Poor Peggy in her scary apartment. She tries to get Stan over to help her with her rat problem even offering to "make it worth his while" which he doesn't believe. The closing scene finds her eating dinner in front of the TV with a cat. Feels like foreshadowing of a lonely life alone.
Peggy and Pete together again. When Peggy tells Pete about his mother's relationship with her nurse. They have a very close moment where Pete says Peggy is the only person who really knows him and she agrees. When Ted comes back to the table he can sense their closeness and doesn't like it. I still don't know what Ted's intentions are toward Peggy, maybe he doesn't either...
When Henry comes home and is calling through the huge house and finds Sally and Betty in the kitchen saying why do we have a mansion when we are always in the kitchen.
I felt like we saw a lot of TVs on in the scenes in people's homes, more than usual. Maybe just a nod to the fact that media is changing and people have really embraced it.
Stan has a poster of
Moshe Dayan over his bed. He is such a poser.
Sally's Disneyland silhouette over her bed at Don's house
Peggy's face when Pete's mother start talking about their child.
Ted gets Mitchel into the Air National Guard which I believe is how George W. Bush avoided Vietnam.
