Don's demeanor has changed toward Peggy the last few episodes. He seems almost pissed at her, if not just defiant towards her interactions with him. She used to be a protege of his in a way. But now he doesn't give her the time of day.

Is there a reason for this that I'm just not remembering?

I noticed Don and Peggy's relationship started taking a downturn in episode 2 "Love Among Ruins."

Don and Peggy clashed over the campaign for Patio soda. Don says to her (referring to Ann-Margaret) "I know you know how this works. Men want her. Women want to be her." Then he gets mean-spirited and kind of cruel. He tells her to "leave some tools in her toolbox" --in the end he basicly tells her to be an adult and be more sexual.

Peggy does just that and picks up the college boy at the bar.  "I work for a jerk," she said.

I agree that's when it seemed to happen, but what fueled it, I wonder. Was she not "man enough" to be his protege? Or is she a little bit better as a creative strategist than he would like? Ultimately she was right about the Patio campaign.

I'll have to see this episode again, perhaps I misread it.
To me, it seemed that Don, Harry, Joan, Roger, et.al., were all telling Peggy that although she is smart and competent at the business and creative end of things, she is just too "plain" to really venture an opinion on any sex-appeal aspect. You know, "You're the smart girl, not the pretty girl. Stick with your strengths."
That's why I thought it sad when she danced and sang into her mirror; and I thought it fueled her trip into the bar to see if she was sexy enough to pick up a man. Interesting that instead of feeling any Catholic shame over it, it seemed to boost her ego and confidence. She is growing as a person this year.
She had the guts to ask Don for a raise, and I have a feeling that if he doesn't reevaluate his answer, she will soon tell him to stick it. She asked Duck if they (she and Pete) had to be a package deal. I don't recall if Duck answered her, but I think he'd take whatever he can get.

I see what you're saying about what they said to Peggy. I hadn't gotten it at the time, but what Jetset said about "keeping your tools in the toolbox" was probably hurtful to her. Peggy is very interesting because she keeps reinventing herself to do well in her career.

Anyway, I agree that this is the moment we first saw her lose favor with Don. But it seems to be getting worse. I do think that this moment we're talking about was integral for the two of them because she was, ultimately, right. And having worked in this business as long as I have, I've noticed creative directors don't like it very much when their underlings have better instincts than them.

The toolbox comment may have been a reference to Peggy being a lesbian.  Or his perception of Peggy as a possible lesbian, anyway.

I would like to comment on Jetset's post.  Peggy is a smart woman.  In picking up the boy, I feel she was emulating Joan, who she is also obviously a protege of, of sorts.

The "I work for a jerk" line I don't interpet so harshly toward Don.  I feel like Peggy was in unchartered waters, a bar by herself, very Joan-like, and that she might have been saying that merely to make conversation, to seem human, as it's something that most can identify with.  I certainly did.  I work for a jerk too.

Now if Peggy was serious, I think she'd be slightly out of line.  Her career would have been ruined by that pregnancy if not for Don.  Whatever tensions may be now present, Peggy owes Don for geting her moving again, and Don owes Peggy for bailing him out of jail.

The 'tools in the toolbox' thing could be construed as a compliment.  In a way, he's saying that Peggy is capable, and has a lot of talent and different skills.  As a mentor though, at that moment they were selling sex, so Don shot with her straight, as she was being naive, and therefore Don was probably not being a jerk but offering a useful critique.  Also, I think they were alone at that point so it isn't like Don was trying to embarrass her.

Then this week, you had the champagne exchange.  Quite obviously Don has finer tastes and Peggy is still the girl there with some stars in her eyes.  Don was more pissed at the inspection and maybe disappointed at no promotion, and was therefore very blunt.

Since they are the two most compelling characters for a lot of people, it makes sense that the writing would include ups and downs for them and their relationship. 

It's getting to the point however where Peggy might not need Don as much as Don might need Peggy.  A very interesting dynamic.  I, for one, am dying to see how it plays out.

You're right, crack. Very interesting indeed.

Who knows, adgal, but thank you kindly.

I was thinking some more about Don and Peggy...they mentioned the Lane to India idea, and they rarely throw something out there w/o tying it up.

The new major domo was gonna be the guy who lost his foot, and that's now done.  I think Lane will still be sent to India.

Don has seemed to be doing more in terms of bringing in big clients than he has been with the creative type stuff...getting Madison Square Garden, though the Brits negged it, and now with Conrad Hilton.

Don should be the new president of Sterling Cooper and should concentrate on talking up big clients.  He should make Peggy head of creative.  That would be quite a coup for them both, especially for Peggy...talk about improbable success stories.

That would be fun to see.

This last episode he was pretty harsh on her, but then again she did have that expectant attitude... I believe she should be paid what she's worth, but at the same time what Don said about working hard and getting better is how it should be.  The problem of course is that since she's a woman, there's no guarantee the higher ups will reward her in the same customary way they reward their men.  So until then she just has to keep asking.  Good luck, Peggy.

"Keep your head down, work hard, and stop asking for things."  Doesn't sound like Don wants to be her mentor anymore. Barring a major ownership changeup, I think Peggy has reached her glass ceiling at SC/PPL.

Yes, that's the term.  Now I'm really intrigued at how Peggy will play her cards.

To me "Keep your head down, work hard, and stop asking for things." sounds exactly like the sort of thing that a mentor like Don would say. Especially when you consider what he said afterward..."You're good. Get better." He's not dismissing her so much as dishing out hard lessons for the ones who can take it.

After all, it appeared obvious to me that Peggy was in fact taking liberties with Don's time and connections.

I agree with John.  I don’t think Don would have snapped any less if one of the male crew had come into his office that way asking to be put on Hilton.  AND aside from the sexism part of his tone “grown men” could should have her job,  he was correct that he enabled her to leap over others who had paid their dues, went to college, interned (did they have interns then?) etc.

I think part of his consideration for mentoring Peggy was that he felt a tiny bit responsible for her after he pulled her from the brink after she gave birth.  “this never happened.”

Also, Don will be with SC until Bert Cooper dies.  I didn’t think of the blackmail aspect for keeping Don on.  Even after the three years are up if he leaves and he is a threat to the agency for them to loose current clients or even prospects Cooper will put in a call to his contacts in government and some G-Men will come knocking on Dick Whitman’s office putting him in handcuffs for a variety of crimes relating to being an imposter.  The charges could include desertion and fraud for any GI benefits.  He could also plant a great story in the press about Don being an imposter stealing a hero’s identity.  Don would become radioactive in advertising and end up back on the car lot somewhere in the Midwest.   

As depressing as the prospect is of ‘owing his soul to the company stoooorrre’ he isn’t working in a coal mine.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Word, James.  Good stuff.  Cooper is definitely dangerous.  He probably would use that info whenever it was beneficial to him, the way he did Sunday.

BTW, Don wouldn't be doing Peggy any favors by coddling her.  She needs to hear what she needs to hear.  If Peggy can handle that type of thing from Don she will be the better off in the end.

To piggyback on CB's comments: I work in middle management in a male dominated industry and have had a female boss for the last 35 years and several female peers.  Consequently, I've had plenty of chances to observe when they share their candid views.  Their most oft repeated comment,even in the supposedly enlightened 21st century, is "A woman in this business needs to be twice as good as any man in order to succeed."  This would have been more true for Peggy in 1963 when an overt prejudice against women was more generally accepted in the wider society and the world of business.

The first time I saw the exchange with Don, I thought he was transferring stress in a "kick the dog" kind of way.  After watching it a second time, I noticed how much he emphasized "You're good - get better!"  He may have been direct and abrupt, but I also think he was giving her some much needed counsel.

Peggy is ambitious and by her own ambition wants everything Don has.  She has some idea of her own talent.  My sense is that she has a disconnect between "wanting" and "getting".  She knows what she wants but she doesn't have a clear vision of how to get there - she's not "centered" in that respect.  IMHO, her "tragic flaw" seems to be a growing belief that she has to imitate the men around her in order to achieve the same level of success they have instead of charting her own course.

Another consideration of all of this is that advertising is definitely a "pay your dues" kind of business. From my perspective (20+ years as a copywriter) Peggy, no matter how good she is, hasn't paid her dues. Talent is really only part of the job. Discernment is another. Shrewd observation another. And experience and sales ability are yet others.

I might have mediocre talent in comparison to a hot, young creative, but chances are good that a) my idea will be more strategic and b) I'll sell it better than my young compatriot. Clever isn't always what sells and experience really does lend a lot to this business. Peggy needs a few more years under her belt and Don is aware of that.

Hey 'adgal', does Don strike you as a guy who paid his dues or as a guy who had overwhelming talent?  If you had to pick one or the other...

Yo 'Jack Kerouac'...the thing w/Don criticizing/mentoring Peggy and telling her straight reminds me of Coach Boone in 'Remember the Titans' when he tells the other coach not to coddle his black players because he was 'crippling them for life.'

I liked Adgal's and Jack's comments very much.  My other Q for adgal is how hot is her young compatriot...LOL.

And for JK59...you ever been to Hotel Boheme is SF?  If you are a Kerouac man, you need to hit that place.  No AC though...

Well, we haven't seen any indication of his career as a copywriter (which, I believe, is apparently what he did to become creative director). So I would say that Don got his position because of his ability to sell himself and he keeps it because of his business savvy. Which means I'd choose "talent", but not necessarily creative talent.

Although an incorrect stereotype, creative people are stereotyped to  be dreamers who don't have a head for business. So Don probably stood out. I'm guessing he was mediocre to good at writing and excelled at management and sales. He also has a keen ability to not only judge the work of others, but to know WHY it's right or wrong so he can give direction as to how to change it.

As for my compatriot, she/he is fictional, so they're as hot and willing as you'd like to make them, crack.

CB - Was in SF a few weeks ago - visited City Lights, JK Alley and a few other sites.  Time did not allow for a longer tour but fell in love with the place and will certainly be back.  Thanks for the recommendation.

Adgal--so it's not her, it's them is it?  Good news indeed!  I agree with you totally about Don.  I guess they are gonna get into his early years at SC in flashbacks and whatnot, the way they did with the other things in his past.

JK59--bro, I was in SF last w/a few friends...we were working on a film.  The funniest thing happened.  No lie.  My friend hooked up with a tranny.  It was disturbing, creepy, and super funny.  My boy was destroyed.  We had him on suicide watch for 2 days.  It was so great.  I called all of our friends to spread the news.  My boy was so motherflipped that he kept trying to pretend it was really a girl--we called that the denial stage.  Then he started asking God "why'd you do this to me?" and he was all advocating for God's possible motives for trannying him...

It was the greatest.  When we came home, he started doing all this tranny research.  We actually learned a lot from that about bisphenol releasing estrogen and how that could affect sexuality.

We will never let him live it down.  To this day, it remains the most asked for story in our circle, with a close second going to the time my friend El sh*t his pants at a banquet celebrating the creation of Eritrea's (sp?) constitution.  One of his professors walked in on him naked in the bathroom and covered in sh*t.  It really made Africa fun.

LOL

We also have that throwaway scene in which Don gives his opinion to the interior decorator at Betty's request and she says she thinks he is right. All of this would seem to suggest a sort of almost innate sense of how to read a situation.

RE: Dons experience before SC:

Don and Betty met when he worked for an ad agency.  He wrote the copy for a fur coat she modeled.  She mentioned that she loved the coat so much she hated to take it off.  He asked for a date but she refused.  A few days later the fur coat was delivered to Betty, a gift from Don.    That was the beginning of Don and Betty.   

This is also where he met Midge, his free spirited  diversion from season 1.  She worked for the same agency.

Wow, you really DO remember it well. Thanks! I forgot the part about Betty and the part about Midge flew right past me, but it makes total sense.