'Mad Men' Recap: Don Fights For Tobacco Account; Ginsberg Cuts His Nipple Off

by Chelsea ReganMay 12, 2014, 12:00 amNews >

At the start of Mad Men’s "The Runaways," Don Draper is being the model employee, doing as he’s told by Peggy and Lou Avery, contributing his ideas to both the Burger Chef and Handiwrap campaigns. Furthermore, his marriage to Megan seems like it could be improving again.

Mad Men Recap

In a week, Don (Jon Hamm) is scheduled to fly out to California to see Megan (Jessica Pare), but a phone call forces him to bump the flight up a week. When he receives a phone call from the niece of Anna Draper (wife of the first/real Don Draper) who says she’s pregnant and homeless, he’s determined to help her. Don tells her to go to Megan’s address in Laurel Canyon and that’ll he’ll meet her there by day’s end.

Don’s plans to swoop into California may be derailed, however, when Lou (Allan Havey) goes on the warpath at Sterling Cooper & Partners. Some of his underlings found photocopies of Lou’s artwork for a cartoon called Scout’s Honor. After hearing them mock his military monkey cartoon in the bathrooms, he unloads on them during a creative meeting, calling into question their patriotism. No one – including Don – is going anywhere this Friday night until all the work is done.

Out in California, Stephanie (Caity Lotz) arrives at Megan’s home and receives a surprisingly warm welcome. After Stephanie gets some sleep and cleans up, she and Megan start talking about Don Draper/ Dick Whitman. Through the conversation, Megan starts to feel jealous about how much Stephanie knows about her husband, perhaps more than she does. Rashly, Megan decides the best course of action is to get the threat out of her sight, so she offers her $1,000 to go. When Don arrives Saturday, Megan claims Stephanie refused to stick around.

Don Parties With Megan & Amy

With Stephanie out of the picture, Megan also gets to throw the party she’d been planning. During the festivities, Don watches on as Megan dances with a young actor. At first he seems annoyed, but then indifferent. He’s also indifferent when Amy makes a play for him. He is interested, however, in catching up with Harry Crane, who is there with an actress girlfriend. In conversation at a local bar, Don learns that SJ&P is trying to get a Philip Morris cigarettes account.

When Don gets back to Megan’s home, he finds her high with Amy. To his surprise, Megan tells Amy to go tuck Don in and joins them in the bed. She wants them to have a threesome. Though Don initially protests, he gives in. Don seems, on some level, to see Megan’s brazen behavior as her own insecurities peeking through.

Ginberg Suffers A Breakdown

Also suffering from some insecurity is Ginsberg, who feels threatened by the IBM 360 that’s perpetually whirring and humming in the office day after day. He can’t quite put his finger on the machine’s danger, but thinks he’s onto something when he spies Cutler (Harry Hamlin) and Lou meeting in the computer room. Hanging out with Peggy in her apartment, he implies that the machine is making the men gay. Later, it’s shown that Ginsberg’s bizarre claim is likely to do with his own same-sex attraction.

Later on, Ginsberg (Ben Feldman) tells Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) that he’s conquered the feels the computer made him feel and is more sure than he’s ever been that he has feelings for her. It seems like Peggy could be contemplating Ginsberg as a suitor – that is until she opens up the box he presents her with and finds his severed nipple. She dials up the hospital and watches as he's wheeled away on a gurney, his hands cuffed to the rails.

Don Makes A Play

Back in New York, Don makes a b-line to the Algonquin where Cutler and Lou are pitching Philip Morris’s Commander Cigarettes. Going off script and therefore breaking that contract he signed, Don commandeers the pitch in an effort to use his bad history with tobacco companies to their advantage. He’s willing to take a beating publicly for siding back with big tobacco in order to land SC&P the client and make a solid pitch for the big time project.