I'm so torn - I think leaving was so right for Peggy but I'm worried about what it will do for the show.

I'm certain Peggy will stay on the show. It's not titled Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, so they can follow her to another ad agency. Be nice if Ken went with her and they competed against their old firm. And then they hire Sal! Yay. (Just dreaming. Sal's probably in L.A. working as a director of commercials by now.)

I think that's what they're setting up for next season.

Speaking of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, I'm thinking they're headed towards Lane's suicide.

I wouldn't be surprised if Burt dies, Roger retires and the firm breaks up and maybe we see a Cooper Olson Campbell firm by the last season. Or something like that.

So, I have been reading some critics reactions to the episode on twitter and some claim that it was one of the best eps of the series (!!!!) while others are pretty disgusted by the episode - not only the events that transpired, but also because in some instances, the critics feel characters acted out of character (!!!!).

I am wondering what you all think about this. I am definitely not in the former camp. I liked the episode but didn't enjoy it. I think the objectification of women was a bit too on the nose in parts. But what I cannot reconcile is whether I think the characters acted out of character. I think Don didn't at all. I think Pete did. The whole time. But what about Roger, Bert, and most particularly Joan? From what we have known about her, would she have done this? Was this a set of plot contrivances to get her to this place (e.g. finance problems, appliance maintence, divorce, Pete lying to her). She is at once strong but one who has put up with all kinds of bullshit (her husband raping her). So perhaps she would do this figuring it would offer he long-time financial security?

The only problem is that I think Joan is too smart not to figure that once this step has been taken, this might make it easier for such a request in the future. Perhaps from the same asshole. You aren't going to tell me this wouldn't have crossed the mind of a "real" Joan.

Joan's a partner now, and not a silent one. She made a one-time trade for a huge change in status. She wouldn't do it again.

As for being in character, Joan's somebody who early on used her sexuality and sex to get leverage. A lot of her early dynamic with Peggy was about her saying (in essence) "If you want to make it, you need to dress sexier and less childlike and use that to your advantage." And what she's seen and learned to respect about Peggy is that Peggy didn't do that. And Joan has learned to earn her respect in the firm through her uber-competence.

So, that's one reason why it was so devastating to have her dragged back to somebody primarily valued for her sex appeal.

Pete seemed completely in character to me. He was quite the sly Iago, especially with his "It was her idea" line. He massaged everything and worked in the space where characters weren't communicating to each other.

If Don had talked to her before, then I don't think she would have gone through with it.

The only one that seemed a little out of character was Roger. Though we have seen him use Joan to advance the Firm's interests before, he values her too much. But that might've been a bit of a miscommunication in there that Pete took advantage of. If Roger thinks that Joan is okay with it, then it just slots with his experience of Joan as a woman who will use sex to advance herself. Something she did with him at one point.

Really it was masterful of Pete (and quite evil) to set everything up as he did. If everybody's agenda was really on the table then Roger would know that Joan didn't really want to make that trade. And Lane is completely cornered by the embezzlement and he would have said "No" if he wasn't financially compromised. It would have been Don, Lane and Roger voting "No."

Joan will never be with Roger now since she knows/believes that he thinks of her as a whore.

I wondered too about Joan's husband trying to get at her Partnership stake.

I don't know if I could say I enjoyed this episode, but it certainly got to me, so in that sense it was a good one.

I can see Joan deciding it's something she's willing to do for a partnership. She's seen what being competent and even excelling gets her - not as much as it should. But I also think it crossed a line in her own mind that she'd rather not have crossed. And I agree, she took into account that agreeing to this opens the door to someone suggesting it again down the road, or at least considered it.

Why do you think Pete acted out of character?

I have been curious as to what's happened to Sal. SCDP has interacted with a few gay men recently, brought him to mind. Which, on a soap opera, would mean he was coming back...

Joan will never be with Roger now since she knows/believes that he thinks of her as a whore.

I feel like she had already closed that door. But yeah, that puts a nail in it.

David,

I have a different interpretation: I actually think Joan would have gone through with it even if Don had caught her first. It is a "isn't it pretty to think so" (Sun Also Rises) scenario for me. Despite the fact the male partners made this request of her (facilitated by pimp Pete), she said yes. She controlled the compensation and I think with Joan - once a decision is made and options are weighed. That's it.

I see this as a parallel to Peggy in that respect. Don couldn't talk Peggy out of going and I'm not sure he could have talked Joan out her evening with Herb.

And that's what he thinks happened, since he thinks he spoke to her before and then there she is a partner. I hope that doesn't mess up how thinks of her too much, I like their friendship.

I think Don telling her not to do it affected how she thinks of him more than her calculation of what to do, even if he had caught her in time to make a difference.

Roger thinks no more of pimping Joan out than he does of using Mona or Jane for his business purposes.

I think that it bothered Roger, and I think that there were a lot of layers --1. He thinks that she wanted to do it. 2. She has refused his help, so his ego is bruised. 3. She isn't his girl, if they had been together, he would have put his foot down.

I think that if her husband tries to take the partnership stake, I would argue that the asset was obtained after the papers were filed, and is therefore not subject to consideration. Also, he had no part in obtaining the asset. Finally, as a military officer, he has no need of her support. They probably wouldn't even ask.

OMG, the elevator shaft, yes. I love the gun on the mantel stuff this show does. I didn't *think* that the show would do that, but I didn't *know* and that was worrisome. I mean, they ran over someone with the lawnmower, and I didn't see that coming.

I do miss Sal.

And I also think we somehow glossed over what I thought would be the changing importance of television. I thought we were going to see the weighting of importance between print and other media, and the specific people involved in those roles. We kinda are seeing it in art vs. photography. But still, I thought way back we were being set up for that shift in dynamics and it still hasn't happened.

The thing about Pete is that it's absolutely in character, I feel, and also it's fascinating that he's so competent (at being a ruthless asshole furthering his goals in the company) while he's so miserable. It's a bit of a race to the bottom, really; I'm not sure who's going to hit the point of suicide first.