New York City, May 17th, 1968
For Immediate Release
That is how Mad Men concludes this week.
It starts with a banker valuation as the partners, minus Don, have decided to try and take the company public.
They want $12/share. The banker initially says $9 and then comes in at $11. This will make all the partners millionaires. Why isn’t Don there? Because he doesn’t care about money. What does he care about? Winning.
But he does not handle power well. He irrationally fires Jaguar in a meeting which was set up by Roger but not with Pete’s blessing.
Pete confronts Don on this with all the partners as Roger announces they have a play at Chevy. But Joan takes this especially hard. She sold herself for the account and Don couldn’t handle one dinner. Even though Chevy is a big opportunity, Don just lucked into it. He could have torpedoed the IPO which he knew nothing about.
But things continue to unravel. Pete bumps into his father-in-law at a midtown brothel. This means the Vick’s account is being taken from the firm as well.
Things look bleak. But Peggy is flirting cheating on her boyfriend with Ted. They kiss and she wants more. But Ted has just learned that one of his partners has pancreatic cancer and may force a buyout which will destroy Ted’s future.
Things get worse for Ted as he cannot sleep and wanders into the hotel bar in Detroit to see Don. Two smaller firms competing, he opines, means that they are dead in the water. In a glimpse of maturity, Don realizes the game is fixed. He then devises a plan to merge the two companies for the pitch.
Peggy enters Ted’s office to start a tryst. She is surprised when Don tells her that we did it. Peggy realizes that what she has run from is now finding her. She is told to write up a release describing the company she wants to work for.
We are in for a merger. A major change. One thing we know, Don doesn’t handle change and power well.
New York City, May 17th, 1968
For Immediate Release
Season Six Mad Men Recaps:
