Mad Men returned on Sunday night with Don still in his precarious position at the ad firm he helped build. His successor as the head of creative, Lou Avery, is as intent as ever to get Don out of the picture.

Mad Men Recap

Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) has been hard at work on the Burger Chef campaign, which Lou Avery (Allan Havey) is using as a way of cutting Don’s (Jon Hamm) legs out from under him. Now that Peggy feels confident that she has a solid pitch, Pete flies in to hear her presentation with Bonnie Whiteside (Jessy Schram) in tow. Lou is surprised to see Don walk into the meeting, but Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) explains that not only does he want Don in on the meeting, but he’s going to want him to make the official pitch to Burger Chef. Though Peggy initially balks at the idea, the men are in agreement that a man should give the pitch.

Later in the day, Bob Benson (James Wolk) shows up for the first time all season, bringing with him executives from Chevrolet. One of the executives, Bill Hartley, almost immediately puts the moves on Joan, who giggles in reply. After hours, Bob gets a call from Hartley, who needs to be bailed out of jail after taking a beating for trying to get physical with an undercover cop. Hartley was under the impression that Benson too was a closeted gay man and could keep the incident a secret. Though Benson says, “I am not of your stripe,” he picks him up only to learn that Chevy is bringing their account in-house. The news will hurt Sterling Cooper and Partners, but could improve things for Bob.

Peggy Doubts Her Burger Chef Pitch

Meanwhile, Peggy is trying to make the best of her bad situation with Don coming on board with her Burger Chef presentation. When he casually mentions he’d been thinking that maybe the ad should offer a kids’ perspective, Peggy becomes bogged down with self-doubt. In fact, she finds it hard to sleep that night, wondering if her pitch really isn’t as good as she thought. Lou Avery’s ringing endorsement could be the kiss of death.

When the weekend arrives, Don gets a visit from Megan (Jessica Paré). As far as Don is concerned, the weekend is going wonderfully. The two cook dinner, have sex and go to the movies and Don thinks that their marriage is on the mend. Megan, however, isn’t feeling the same way, especially after finding a SC&P secretary surprised to learn Don was married. Upon returning to Don’s apartment, Megan gathers up some stuff and is eager to get back to LA. The next time they see each other, she wants it to be on neutral ground so that they can see if there’s anything left between them that would sustain their marriage.

Pete Reunites With Trudy; Joan Turns Down A Proposal

Pete isn’t having the best time with relationships either. When he goes to pay Trudy (Alison Brie) and their daughter a visit in Connecticut, he finds his daughter afraid of him. Furthermore, Trudy had made plans to stay away during their reunion, which infuriates Pete. When Trudy returns home, Pete is roaring drunk and accuses Trudy of going on a date, which he says is “immoral.” Spending the time with Trudy, he ends up missing a showing of Oh, Calcutta! with Bonnie. A disappointed Bonnie tells Pete she doesn’t like the New York version of him and ends up flying alone back to California.

Spending the Sunday with Joan’s (Christina Hendricks) family, Bob Benson is playing the day perfectly. He arrived with flowers for her mother and a construction toy set for her son. When they’re finally alone, Bob gets down on one knee with a newly purchased ring and asks Joan to marry him. Joan hesitates to find the words to let him down, and settles on telling him, "You don't want this, Bob," she says. "You shouldn't be with a woman." She adds that she wants love for herself, and that he should want it for himself as well.

Don & Peggy Dance

Back to work on Monday, Don and Peggy resume their brainstorming for the Burger Chef ad. Peggy very seriously wants Don’s help on the ad, and for him to show how to approach finding the perfect pitch. He advises her to convey what she wants through the ad. Eventually, she comes up with a campaign centered on the family and just then Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” comes on. The colleagues begin to open up about their deepest fears – being alone, not making a mark – and then get off the couch and begin to slow dance. The next day, the reconciled pair pitches Pete Peggy’s family ad idea.

Mad Men returns next Sunday with it’s mid final season finale.

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