Mad Men - Season 3 - Seven-Twenty-Three

Synopsis
At the office, Conrad Hilton signs with the Agency resulting in Roger/Bert pressuring Don to sign a 3 contract. Meanwhile, Peggy sees both a part of Duck usually hidden from his co-workers and the bad side of Don. At Home, Betty meets with that Handsome Rockefeller aide to save a reservoir and explore other possibilities. And Don -feeling trapped takes another drive on the wild side.



The Good

• Archie's joke was good.
• Bert: "After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing the contract, anyway?"
• Betty hanging up on Roger when he calls about the contract.
• The Duck making the move on Peggy
  
• The show focusing on Don again.
  
• The School teacher shooting down Don.
  
• Peggy wearing the same clothes the next morning after her encounter with Duck
  
• Don's chewing out Peggy - Don can be a real bastard sometimes.
• The whole Betty-Henry Francis interaction was well done. In fact, this was the first episode (this season) where Betty isn't shown as a childish bitch. As shown in Season 2, Betty wants to help Don at his job and expects Don to confide her - but he won't.
  
• Bert: (on Connie) "I met him once. He's a bit of an eccentric, isn't he?" - pot meet kettle.

The Bad

• The Hitchhikers talking about the Draft/Vietnam seemed out-of-place. The draft was at a low point in 1963 and while Vietnam was becoming more prominent in the news, no one was discussing sending more troops. In 1963, it was just military advisers.
• Don's going to motel room with the Hitchhikers. Yes, Don had been drinking but Don is nobody fool and is street smart. The only incentive would be to have sex with the girl, but the hitch-hikers story/behavior makes that unlikely. So why did he go there, except to advance the plot?
  
• Seeing Duck and Peggy in bed - a discreet fade out after the kiss would have been sufficient, thank you very much.
  

Other Matters
Don is incredulous when a father tells him at school that he "runs" everyday. People forget that even as late as the early 70s people thought you were a "health nut" if you jogged or ran. I think it was Dr. Cooper with his book "Aerobics" and Jim Fixx who really made jogging popular.

Would Roger really call Betty to get her to pressure Don about the contract? I don't see that as a good idea from any angle. I think Roger would have been smart enough to know that.

Overall Rating
An excellent show, almost all drama, which focused on 3 of the 4 main characters - Peggy, Don and Betty. Don was more of a dis-likable character in this episode -which is good. He was turning into a liberal hero. And Don's locked in to 3 more years at Sterling and Cooper - so the show will stay at S&C till 1966. **** stars.

Good Reviews
Basket of Kisses
Whats Allen Watching