Mystery Date (8 Apr. 2012)

Three news items affect the SCDP staff and their families. The first news item is the rape and murder of nurses in Chicago. Although Henry's mother Pauline, who is babysitting Sally while ... See full summary »

Director:

Matt Shakman

Writers:

Matthew Weiner (creator), Victor Levin,

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
Jared Harris	...	Lane Pryce (credit only)
Aaron Staton	...	Ken Cosgrove
Rich Sommer	...	Harry Crane (credit only)
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
Teyonah Parris	...	Dawn Chambers

Storyline

Three news items affect the SCDP staff and their families. The first news item is the rape and murder of nurses in Chicago. Although Henry's mother Pauline, who is babysitting Sally while Henry and Betty are on a business trip, doesn't believe such news stories should be heard or read by someone of Sally's age, it ultimately becomes a meeting point for the two in what is otherwise an antagonistic relationship. The second news items is the general race riots taking place across the country. This news item initiates a meeting point between Peggy and Dawn, the two seeming outsiders at SCDP. And the third news item is an airlines mechanics strike which has a different affect on Mohawk than it does on its larger competitors. As Mohawk is still operating through the strike, they continue on with their other business such as their advertising. This news catches Roger off guard, he who has to think fast or get someone else to think fast to get a pitch ready from scratch over the weekend. ...

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Plot Keywords:

strangulation

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

8 April 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles Center Studios - 450 S. Bixel Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lionsgate Television, Weiner Bros.

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

Joan Harris: [Regarding Greg's military service] I've been thinking about it and... I want you to go.
Gail Holloway: I'll put this away.
Greg Harris: I'm glad you came around. It's only a year.
Joan Harris: No, I want you to go and never come back.
Greg Harris: Damn it, Joanie, they need me.
Joan Harris: Well, then it works out because we don't.

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Soundtracks

"He Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)"
(uncredited)
Written by Gerry Goffin & Carole King
Performed by The Crystals

User Reviews

Unsettling ...

No doubt this was one tremendously powerful episode, and one that reflects what was becoming an increasingly darker time. It's 15 July 1966, the day after Richard Speck raped and killed eight nurses in Chicago.

Don Draper is sick with a bad cough, aggravated by smoking, and he meets an old flame from six years before. We end up seeing him have a dream where he gets "punished" for his infidelity, and where he "kills" the old flame, and it ends with her body underneath the bed, her leg sticking out like the Wicked Witch of the West. References to Cinderella also abound.

Likewise, the Speck killings have an effect on little Sally Draper, who manages to read about them in the newspaper. And we see her creepy step-grandmother give her a pill to deal with her anxiety, which makes one wonder what might happen with drugs.

In the midst of this, we see Joan finally break up with her husband, making reference to the rape she sustained before their marriage. One reviewer thought this might end the direct contact with the Vietnam War, but given the tone this series is showing this season, don't be too surprised if we hear of his passing.

A powerful and unsettling episode.