Mad Men Recap

Episode Seven, “Seven Twenty Three”, is almost as gross as last week’s episode that feature a lawn mower running over someone’s foot because it featured the comically named Duck Phillips and Peggy doing what in the late 80’s we called “The Wild Thang”. Let’s face it, Peggy is an acquired taste in the looks department and Duck is just creepy to the nth degree.

At the Draper castle, Betty has an interior decorator because, hey, Don makes all of this money. The actress who played the interior decorator must have thought she was supposed to do an imitation of Lovie on “Gilligan’s Island”. Betty, of course, has to drag Don into her pretension. Don amazes everyone with his insight on where to put an end table.

Don gets to office and guess who is there? Conrad Hilton. Hilton wants Sterling-Cooper to handle three of his hotels. This makes Don the star of Sterling-Cooper, if he wasn’t already. The Big Three (Roger Sterling, Old Man Cooper, and the British guy) want Don to sign a three year contract with Sterling-Cooper for a lot of money. This makes Don mad, for reasons unknown.

Meanwhile, Betty has the Ossing Junior League because she wants to be a Secretary so she has an excuse to ignore the children besides her usual (massive depression). The Junior League is up in a tizzy about a water tower and Betty knows just the man to talk to: the man who wanted to touch her belly at Roger’s party.

Over the weekend, an eclipse takes place. For some reason, Miss Future Hippie Teacher is leading a group of kids in making a box you can watch the eclipse with. Her and Don get into a conversation in which she makes in clear that she is not only a Future Hippie but a tease.

Someone who is not teasing is Peggy, who after getting a royal undeserved reaming by Don, runs over to return an ugly scarf Duck gave her. Well after she informs Duck she would rather work for someone who constantly berates her for doing good work, Duck makes his big Duck move on her. This makes the first idea Duck has had that works in years.

Betty meets that Rocky’s aide at a bakery. Betty then proceeds to bore up the joint with revelations that she went to Bryn Mawr and she studied anthropology. As they leave the bakery, they spy an ugly couch that Betty buys much to the horror of the interior decorator (this takes ten minutes).

Roger decides to lean on Don about the contract. Don does his usual ‘if it is not from my mind, it must not be important’ pout. When Don goes home, Roger calls the house and speaks with Betty, informing her of the contract, which must have been the first non-Betty thought she had the entire day. Don comes in, Betty confronts him. Don leaves, because that he what he does when he gets mad with Betty.

While driving through the night on a two lane road, cig in one hand, booze in the other (aw, the good old days). Don picks up a guy and girl that are going to Niagara Falls to get married.

Don showing the typical Draper wisdom, takes a couple of pills from the couple, who ended up beating him up and stealing his money, but not before Don imaging his step-dad berating him for having soft hands.

Don shows up to work and Old Man Cooper is sitting at Don’s desk. In the first season, Pete exposed Don’s true identity as Dick Whitman to Old Man Cooper. Old Man Cooper reminds Don that he knows Don’s big secret. So Don signs. This could have been done days ago over the phone.