Did you ever think Don would be the most normal, upstanding guy in the room? “Cummon Don, work, work, work” – even Roger Sterling can’t get him to partake in the girls at the “party”, all in the name of advertising. Don may appreciate of the sexuality of a Jaguar car, but is not easily impressed with a “whore house” – he grew up in one. We know he’s maxed out on life experience, but did we ever imagine he might evolve into a devoted, appreciative monogamist? No, Don’s not a cop, or a nun, but his experiential moral compass seems to have a magnetic pull that effects others – whether it’s for good or bad. When Don is forced into schooling Pete about virtue – “Roger’s miserable, I didn’t think you were” – Don tries to get it through Pete’s head that he’s got everything, he just needs to recognize it before it’s too late. And though we’ve known it all along, Pete finally admits: “I have nothing” – but that’s simply because he’s empty inside. The only angle that works for Pete, as the prostitute discovers, is one that feeds an insatiable ego: “You’re My King” does the trick. I had to hit replay twice to make certain I heard it correctly, that the boys’ night out left Lane Price’s potential client with chewing gum stuck to his pubis for his wife to discover (it sounds even more absurd with an English accent). Not exactly the plan. But that’s okay, because it does lead to the most dramatic office moment since the lawnmower scene. Campbell finally gets the ass-whooping the audience has wanted to give him themselves since, well, Season One. We’re happy cooler heads did not prevail; that Don did not stop the beating down of moral ineptitude, instead giving it space to sort itself out, and allowing us the privileged behind-the-curtain view of the inept brawl between Pete and Lane. “Consider that my last piece of advice” Lane states as he walks out the door after knocking Pete to the ground. In this instance good seems to win. Actually, this episode gives us more hope then usual that good has its place. Die-hard fans seem to over-do the fawning of Mad Men, but as this episode proves, it’s with good reason; each scene packed with subtle quality, innuendo; each character representing an aspect of our psyche. In this episode we are Pete, we are Lane; we all need a bit of schooling now and again. “What do I do here?” Existential or reality, Mad Men has succeeding in using the ’60s backdrop to glimpse us the evolution of modern day society; its temperament, ideology and moments of medieval despair.’
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