Tea Leaves (1 Apr. 2012)

Betty discovers that she has a tumor, Peggy interviews an obnoxious young copywriter for a job, the firm tries to get the Mohawk Airlines account back, and Don and Harry try to court The Rolling Stones to record a commercial.

Director:

Jon Hamm

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Erin Levy,

Stars:

Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jon Hamm	...	Don Draper
Elisabeth Moss	...	Peggy Olson
Vincent Kartheiser	...	Pete Campbell
January Jones	...	Betty Francis
Christina Hendricks	...	Joan Harris (credit only)
Jared Harris	...	Lane Pryce
Aaron Staton	...	Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer	...	Harry Crane
Kiernan Shipka	...	Sally Draper
Jessica Paré	...	Megan Draper
Christopher Stanley	...	Henry Francis
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Stan Rizzo
Robert Morse	...	Bertram Cooper (credit only)
John Slattery	...	Roger Sterling
Mason Vale Cotton	...	Bobby Draper

Storyline

Betty has gained some weight, which she can't shed for whatever reason, which in turn is making her depressed. Or is her depression the cause of emotional eating which is reason for her weight gain? Going to see a doctor for a prescription for diet pills, the doctor instead finds a growth on her thyroid, which may be cancerous and which may be the cause of her weight gain. With Henry not around when she receives the news, she turns to Don for emotional support. This news affects the Draper household. As Betty begins to think about her mortality, she also begins to understand that this tumor is a no win situation for her. Meanwhile, at SCDP, Pete is able to secure the Mohawk Airlines account once again, which is a small coup for the company. Pete begrudgingly assigns the account to Roger, since the Mohawk executives know Roger, and both sides will treat the account like their best drinking buddy. But they need to hire a dedicated copywriter for the account, someone creative but who ...

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Hebrew

Release Date:

1 April 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

2421 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate Television, Weiner Bros.

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Toward the end of this episode, Ginsberg goes home and sees his father, who insists on saying something to him in Hebrew. What he is saying is one of the primary prayers of Judaism, the Priestly Blessing, which is often offered from parents to children at momentous life occasions (like a Bar Mitzvah) or from a rabbi to a congregation from the bimah (pulpit). The Hebrew words ("Yevarechacha Ad-nai v'yishmarecha...") translate to: "May the Lord bless you and keep you; May the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; May the Lord lift up his countenance onto you, and give you peace." This is a passage from Numbers 6:24-26. This prayer also has a mid-1960s pop-culture connection: the prayer sometimes has an accompanying hand gesture, and it was that gesture that a very young Leonard Nimoy saw in his childhood synagogue and years later adopted as the "Vulcan salute" on "Star Trek." Later in the fifth season of "Mad Men," Kinsey tries to write a spec script for "Star Trek."

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Quotes

Don Draper: Your plate is full and frankly Mohawk is going to insist on a regular copy writer.
Roger Sterling: Someone with a penis.
Peggy Olson: I'll work on that...

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Connections

Features The Andy Griffith Show (1960)

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Soundtracks

"A Beautiful Mine"
(uncredited)
Written by by Rjd2
Performed by Rjd2

User Reviews

Fantastic!

What can I say? Mad Men is at it again. In this episode, we finally get a look at Betty. No wonder the commercials never showed new footage with her. It seems like the writers are trying something new with her. January Jones was pretty fantastic here, and for all of the hate that she and her character get, she still remains one of the most interesting characters. Talking about interesting characters, there's a new one here! A new copyright employee at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, one who seems like a fresh addition to the cast. Also, we keep dwelling on the relationship between Roger and Pete, and so far it's been fascinating to watch. Overall, fantastic episode and very much looking forward to the season as a whole.