- Don is forced to compete with a cocky upstart rival for a potential account with Honda motorcycles, but Roger's prejudice causes unexpected problems. Meanwhile Betty considers a psychiatrist for Sally because of her behavior.
- The general scuttlebutt within the Madison Avenue advertising world is that Ted Chaough is the next Don Draper, and that Ted's firm, Cutler Gleason & Chaough (CG&C), is stealing all the accounts from Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce (SCDP), the latest being Clearasil. Although not quite the truth, the perception that CG&C is the up and coming ad agency may make life tougher for an already struggling SCDP. Pete has connections for what may be the next big account up for grabs, Honda Motorcycles, worth $3 million in potential billings. Don wants everyone dealing with the account at SCDP to brush up on their Japanese etiquette as the leg up for the firm in nabbing the account. Ted lets Don know that CG&C is also in the running for the lucrative business. Everyone in the know in the ad world seems to want the account, except for Roger, who has strong remembrances of his time in the last world war. When Roger makes a move that may jeopardize the account before they even get it, Don comes up with what he thinks is the only way to salvage their chances, while making the competitors look bad. Meanwhile, Sally has been acting up more of late, first with one parent, and then with the other, which places Don and Betty on worse terms than they were before. With Henry added to the mix, they individually have differing views of what should be done to deal with Sally's issues. Betty, with Henry's advice, has the final say.—Huggo
- Pete Campbell may have struck gold again when he hears that Honda is looking for a new ad agency. He manages to get them on the short list for an interview with company officials but Roger Sterling's view of the Japanese - not to mention his rudeness to them when they visit the office - virtually sinks them. It's left to Don to pick up the pieces and he comes up with a clever plan that he hopes will not only repair the damage Roger has done but get rid of a pesky competitor at the same time. Don's private life continues to be in turmoil. With his two older children visiting, he leaves them in the hands of a babysitter only to have 10 year old Sally lash out. A second incident at a friend's sleepover convinces Betty that Sally needs professional help and enlists the aid of a psychiatrist.—garykmcd
- "Mad Men" - "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" - August 22, 2010
Don's secretary is doing a crossword when he gets a call. She's not sure what to do and buzzes the call in several places.
Don is in a meeting with Faye and her assistant when the buzzes start. The secretary and Don are having communication issues and he's being surly about it. The call is from Walter Thompson a New York Times advertising business reporter. He's asking about the Clearasil and Jai Alai accounts both being taken up by a firm run by Ted Chaough (CGC) who claims when Don looks in his rearview mirror he sees Ted. Don claims he's never heard of the guy.
Roger, Burt, Pete, and Lane have a partners' meeting to update one another about their clients. Pete is taking a meeting with the Honda motorcycle company. They have 50 percent of the market. Roger says they're not doing business with the Japanese. Burt says the war is over. Roger says Lucky Strike is doing great and storms out. Pete, Burt, Lane, and Don are on board and Burt says to keep Roger out of the loop. Pete says they need to get everyone "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" (a 1946 study of Japan by an American anthropologist in order to better understand the behavior of the Japanese) to read because that's what the Japanese recommended they do to learn about their business practices. Burt says he can also help with teaching the customs.
At his apartment Don welcomes Phoebe, who is babysitting the kids while he's out on a date. Sally wonders who the girl is. Don says Bethany. Sally says she doesn't like him going out. He says she doesn't have to.
Phoebe and Bobby watch TV and Sally comes out having cut her hair, badly. Phoebe calls her over, fretting that Don is going to kill her. Sally asks if Don and Phoebe are "doing it." (She understands "it" to be the man "peeing" inside the woman.) Phoebe tells her to ask her mom about that and says she'll try and fix her hair.
Don and Bethany go to Benihana's and she is unimpressed and is mad the restaurant isn't intimate and it's their third date in five months. And she knows why. Just then the dreaded Ted Chaough stops by to chat with Don. Ted talks business about Clearasil and Honda, and jibes him that the best man will win with Honda. He walks away and his, older, wife is aghast. Don tells Bethany Ted is a "fly" he keeps swatting away. He's mad Ted somehow considers them equal even though SCDP is so far ahead of them. Bethany hopes it won't ruin their evening. He asks her teach him how to use chopsticks.
Don comes home to Phoebe apologizing for the haircut. He's mad that she didn't "watch" them. He can't believe "the river of shit" he's going to get from Betty. She says he needs to take her to the beauty parlor. He gives her "severance" and tells her he doesn't want her advice.
The next day when Don drops off the kids Sally has a hat on. Betty makes her take it off and yells at her and slaps her face. Both Don and Henry are aghast. Betty says it's like leaving them alone when they spend time with Don. Don says little girls do this and she shouldn't hit her. Betty agrees since she says hitting her doesn't work and instead she yells up that Sally can't do her upcoming sleepover. After Don leaves, Henry tries to talk to her and she says she wants Don dead. Henry feels the same way, and can't believe Don left her alone. But he says that Don is right that little girls do this and it's not Sally's fault. Betty says she was impulsive for hitting her and she'll apologize. Henry, having had a daughter that age, counsels that punishment will only make things worse so she should let her go to the hairdresser and have her sleepover. They kiss and she calls him "soft."
At the office Pete is excited about the Honda meeting. Don tells him about running into Chaough and is mad to find out they're competing that way and how Chaough is "drafting" off of them. Pete tells him that three firms have meetings.
The Honda folks arrive and Don shows them around. A translator tries to describe what Don is saying. The men are openly impressed with Joan's "assets." The men say they are looking forward to the presentation. Pete tries to give them a gift. After some protestations the main Honda guy takes it. Pete tells them what they are. And then Roger arrives. He is hot under the collar and says he didn't know this meeting was happening but knows how "some people like surprises." He takes jabs at them. Pete tries to end the meeting but the Honda folks first say they have to present their "rules." They give each firm $3,000 for a competitive presentation. Roger tries to tell them we don't want any of your "Jap crap" and tells them "sayonara" and storms out. Burt tries to apologize. Pete says Roger's wife is sick and that he's been drinking alot. The Honda men say SCDP still get a shot at the presentation.
Don goes to confront Roger and tells him he can't kill this account, Roger says maybe the Japanese will "do it themselves." Roger starts talking about pledges he took with his fellow soldiers in the war. Pete says it's been 20 years and the world has moved on. He accuses Roger of wrapping himself in the flag because Pete is trying to bring in new business and, if successful, would mean SCDP would be less dependent on Lucky Strike, and therefore, less dependent on Roger himself. Roger freaks and goes after him. Don stops him and says Pete's right.
Sally is at a friend's house for a sleepover watching "The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)" Her friend is sleeping nearby and Sally starts to touch herself. The friend's mom enters and freaks out.
Henry and Betty are making love when the doorbell rings. The mother has brought Sally home. She explains what Sally did and is clearly disgusted. Betty is upset and apologizes and tells the woman she would've done the same thing. The woman softens and apologizes and goes home.
Betty goes and asks Sally what is wrong with her and tells her you don't do that in private and you especially don't do it in public. Sally said she didn't do anything. Betty tells her not to lie or she'll cut her fingers off.
Betty goes to Henry and tells him what happened and how embarrassed she is. Betty asks what's wrong with her and that that woman will tell everyone. Henry says if she's that serious there is a solution - a psychologist. Betty says she doesn't want to do "that." He says it's one thing after another and that they should let a professional handle it. She says she went once and it didn't help her. He says his daughter would've been worse off without one.
Don meets with Pete and Lane about Honda. Pete heard it was a disaster from their contact and 20 minutes later Lane heard from the same contact that they were looking forward to the presentation. Don theorizes that there's an angry guy like Roger at every firm and the Honda guys have outgrown it and SCDP hasn't. Burt enters with Roger who apologizes and says the next account will have his full support. Pete says the meeting is still on. Burt says it means nothing, it's over the Japanese are probably expecting them to show up and resign and points out that they haven't received a gift which they would've if the Japanese were really interested. Don asks his secretary, Mrs. Blankenship, if he's gotten any packages, he has and she brings it in. It's a gag gift of sake from Ted Chaough. Don says Chaough wins by default. Don says they should go all out and just do an outrageous campaign. Burt and Lane tell him that breaking the "rules" will not help them and it's over. Plus they only have the $3,000 with which to work. Don says it's worth going out of pocket. Lane says that's not possible and could jeopardize their entire budget. Pete says it doesn't matter, they're already dead in the water.
Don smokes and reads "The Chrysanthemum & the Sword" in bed. Betty calls tells him that she and Henry feel that Sally needs to see a psychiatrist because she was masturbating in front of a friend. Don wonders if it was a boy or a girl. Betty wonders what it matters and says Sally's out of control. Don says she's ten years old. Betty points out that Sally understands plenty since Don has a parade of women at his bachelor pad. Don points out that she brought another man into Sally's actual house. They hang up contentiously.
Don calls Joan, Pete, and Peggy into the office and hatches a plan to win over the Japanese without actually doing any outrageous expensive campaign. Instead they start a rumor that they're producing a commercial so Chaough will think they're breaking the rules and making one and will be motivated to follow suit. The plan involves Joan interviewing the commercial director Chaough mentioned for another ad and having Don roll a Honda motorcycle by her office and saying "you didn't see that." When he goes to Chaough he tells him he'd much rather shoot his commerical of course, revealing what SCDP is up to. Chaough takes the bait and envisions a commercial idea: a Honda bike outrunning a subway train and then revealing that the driver is a woman. He calls in a guy that used to work for Don (Smitty) and he tells them that Don certainly is someone who doesn't think the rules apply to him. He also calls Don a genius, which annoys Ted.
Peggy and Joey roll a Honda onto the same set of soundstages where CGC is shooting their commercial and make sure his guy sees it. The guy tries to sneak onto their soundstage but Joey stops them saying it's a closed set. Inside we see Peggy just riding the bike around the empty room.
Don runs into Dr. Miller in the firm kitchen. He opens the sake from Chaough. They drink and talk. He asks about her focus group and how she gets people to open up to her. She says he'd be surprised what people will say to an interested stranger. He wonders why everybody has to talk about everything. She says she's not sure but it makes them feel better. He asks if has kids. No. Then what her husband does. She's admits she is not married. She wears a ring as a prop, a "stop sign" for the many offices she goes into. She asks if he has kids. Yup. She says it must be hard to be apart. He admits he doesn't see them enough, and when he does, doesn't know what to do, and when he drops them off he's relieved. He says it's not going well and his ex-wife thinks their daughter needs a psychiatrist. Dr. Miller assumes he's against that. He doesn't know. She says she has no data to support it but she's pretty sure if Don loves Sally and she knows it, she'll be fine. She finishes her sake and leaves. He asks if she has fake dinner plans with her fake husband. She bids him goodnight.
Betty talks to the psychiatrist, Dr. Edna, who says it's been an eventful year. Betty says she knows the marriage was fast but thought it would be good for the kids. Dr. Edna says she'll need to interview Sally as well as Don and Betty. Betty says she doubts Dr. Edna will ever meet him. Dr. Edna wonders if the masturbation issue is her main concern. She says the divorce was an issue but that Sally has been different since her grandfather died and that they were close. Betty gets teary about her dad and says she wishes he had met Henry since they would've gotten along. She talks about her strict mom and what hell she would've caught if she was discovered touching herself. (She says on the subject "I was private and mostly outgrew it.") She knows children do this but not in public. She says she feels like Sally did it to punish her. Dr. Edna says that must be a terrible feeling. She says she has to believe her that she had to get a divorce, and that Sally doesn't understand that things will be better. Dr. Edna suggests Betty also talk to someone. Betty says it's unnecessary but agrees to meet once a month with Dr. Edna. Dr. Edna won't tell her what Sally says and vice versa. She wants Sally to start at four days a week.
Betty looks longingly at a dollhouse in Dr. Edna's office.
Don runs into Ted as the cross paths for the Honda presentation. Ted is holding his film reel and asks where Don's is. Don says he doesn't have one. Ted says he wouldn't want to follow what he did with a speech and some posters. But, of course, savvy Don has a plan.
Don enters and says the other partners couldn't make it. He drops their rulebook on the table and says they created rules to even the playing field but not everybody has observed these rules - i.e. Ted - so he's withdrawing from the competition. The translator tells the Honda guys that Don is telling them they didn't honor their own rules. Don hands them a check for their $3,000 and thanks them for thinking of SCDP.
Joan goes into Roger's office where he's moping about Honda. She says she won't watch him feel sorry for himself. He starts to tell a war story about a PFC he knew. She stops him saying her husband is going to be in uniform in days and doesn't want to hear it. He wonders how she'll feel when someday Pete Campbell goes to a Vietnamese doctor. He asks "since when is forgiveness a better quality than loyalty?" Joan says Roger fought to make the world a safer place and he won and now it is. He wonders if she believes that. She says she has to.
Mrs. Blankenship greets Don and loudly tells him his daughter's psychiatrist called. He asks her to lower her voice. Pete and Lane enter his office and tell him Honda loved him. They won't get the motorbike campaign but will be the first in the door on their first little car. Ted and CGC are out of the running. Lane calls the stunt Don pulled unseemly and says he let him do it because their financial future is related to Chaough's demise. Don wonders if it's a reprimand or thanks? Pete says it's thanks. They share a drink.
Carla takes Sally to her first meeting with Dr. Edna.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content