(SPOILER ALERT) Sure enough, there is more to the Bob Benson coming-out story. It was merely his weakness—he couldn’t resist taking a chance by expressing his affection for Pete—that leads to the unraveling of his identity. As some have theorized, he is a young Don Draper (like Roger with Don, Pete doesn’t quite remember ever hiring Benson). But the look in his eyes, after Pete tells him “you’re sick,” seemed to indicate Benson might just do whatever it takes to protect his position—who knows what he’s had Manolo do with Mrs. Campbell. But when confronted (thanks to the P.I. work of Duck Phillips!), Benson was ready to pack up. Except Pete, who’s been through this before with Draper, knows that outing him, so to speak, probably wouldn’t make a difference with his superiors—Benson is well liked, especially by Jim Cutler. So Pete calls a truce and warns him that he’s “off-limits.”
Don continues to rain on Peggy’s parade—urging an end to the interoffice romance between the head copywriter and Ted Chaough (he did look goofy, or maybe it’s just his bugging eyes). “You’re not thinking with your head,” he scolds Ted. And he would know. For Peggy, the hypocrisy couldn’t be more evident: It was okay for Don and Megan to live and work together, but not for anyone else. “You’re a monster,” she tells her boss. And he feels it. Draper is in a bad place—beginning with that morning screwdriver. And he curls up on the couch, fetal position, just as he had done on Peggy’s lap. Again—he just wants to be held!
Meanwhile, for anyone following the Megan-Sharon Tate conspiracy, a major hint was dropped when Don and his wife go to the movies and see Rosemary’s Baby, which was directed by Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate’s then-husband. And Peggy and Ted’s idea for a St. Joseph’s children aspirin commercial is also based on Rosemary’s Baby (they, too, were at the theater). And don’t forget that was the book Sally Draper was reading earlier. (I still think this could be a Paul-is-dead spoof.)
Finally, there might not be a more important figure at Sterling Cooper than Harry Crane. For all his complaining and badgering, he’s brought in the big fish: Sunkist for $8 million.
Photo credit: Jaimie Trueblood/AMC