Mad Men Episode 1.09 Shoot

Don steps out into the lobby of a theater. He seems less than thrilled that Fiorello! is only half over when Jim Hobart approaches. Jim, the head of a rival advertising agency, mentions how he and some of New York's most influential were talking about Don's campaigns at the Athletic Club. He encourages Don to consider moving up in the professional world. "If you were with me at McCann, you'd have over 500 people at your disposal," he says. "We can get a lot of things done."

Their wives approach. Adele, Jim's wife, links arms with Don to get drinks at the bar while Jim chats up Betty. He sees an uncanny resemblance in Betty to Grace Kelly. She admits to dabbling in modeling when she was younger, and Jim thinks she could be just the look for his Coca-Cola campaign. She takes his business card.

The next day, as Betty tidies up the kids toys -- including a BB gun -- she tells Francine about Jim's offer. She remembers when she was a muse to Italian fashion designer Gianni. Within moments, they are in her bedroom as Betty tries on all the dresses he'd made for her.

When Don gets to his office, he notices a package on his desk. It's from Jim, and it's a membership to the Athletic Club. Don calls him and proceeds to listen to Jim's pitch, which includes a high salary, an international network and clients that include Pan Am and Esso. Don thanks him for the gift and hangs up.

At Dr. Wayne's office, Betty continues to revel in her days as a model. She explains that she met Don while modeling a coat. She also remembers how her mother was dead set against her nascent career, comparing modeling to prostitution. "You're angry at your mother," Dr. Wayne stated. For the first time, Betty took offense to his provocation: "She wanted me to be beautiful so I could find a man -- there's nothing wrong with that."

In the Sterling Cooper conference room, the men watch a 30-second video of Jackie Kennedy speaking in Spanish and discuss their plan of attack for how to handle Nixon's campaign. Salvatore thinks women will hate Jackie anyway: "It's like their better-looking sister married a handsome Senator and now she's going to live in the White House? I'm practically jealous."

Back at the Draper residence, Betty pulls a ham from the fridge while she reveals to Don that she wants to return to modeling for a few days a week. Don starts to argue but gives up.

The next day, Peggy feverishly scrubs a piece of paper with an eraser when it drops to the floor. When she bends to pick it up, she hears a loud rip. Her skirt split down the side. She ties a sweater around her waist and goes into the break room, where Joan, Marge and Lois are chatting. Joan offers Peggy her spare outfit to avoid ruining her silhouette.

Meanwhile, Roger shows up in Don's office with golf clubs. He says they're from Jim and mentions the bonus Cooper gave him. "It was designed as a kind of armor against men like Jim Hobart," he says. "I like to think there's more holding you to Sterling Cooper than trinkets." Roger tries to explain that big clients such as Pan Am aren't as glamorous as they seem and the hands-on approach doesn't follow to big companies, but Don remains silent. "It's business," he says.

As the other men gossip about Don's offer, they notice Peggy in a very attractive yet ill-fitting dress. They switch subjects and focus on Peggy's newfound big-headedness now that she's writing copy. Pete, however, just listens before leaving entirely.

He and Harry retreat to his office to discuss the Secor laxatives campaign before they go on a tangent about fraternity memories. As Pete's halfway through a story about how one of his pledges had a funeral for the house dog, Mamie, during a beauty pageant parade, he gets an idea. To boost Nixon's chances in the undecided states, they'll need to decrease Kennedy's presence there -- and they'll do that by buying up on-air ads for laxatives. "We're selling laxatives, Nixon's selling Nixon and Kennedy's watching Mamie's funeral," Pete says.

In the reception area of McCann Erickson sit a row of young models. Among them is Betty, wearing the dress she'd tried on earlier. Clearly overdressed, she fidgets with self-consciousness until Jim arrives. His colleague Ronnie Gittridge, who handles the art for Coca-Cola, escorts her to the audition.

The phone rings at the Draper residence. It's for Betty. She's the girl with the Cola. Feeling proud, she seduces Don, and as he unzips her dress, he seems genuinely happy for her.

The next day, Betty puts on a smile for the photographer as she sits on a picnic blanket with her bottle of soda. Meanwhile, Ethel -- in her 60s -- sits asleep on the couch as Robert, Sally and their dog Polly barrel through the living room into the backyard. Just then, their neighbor Ross lets some pigeons out of a cage and Polly grabs one in her mouth. Quickly, Ross grabs Polly by the collar and the bird falls from her mouth. It's wounded but healthy. "I see that dog in my yard again, I'm going to shoot it," he says.

That night, Betty wakes up to the sound of Sally sniffling and sobbing. She had a bad dream that Ross was going to kill Polly. This is news to Don and Betty. Angry, Don gets up to have a few words with his neighbor, but Betty stops him.

In Don's office, Harry, Paul and Pete all compliment -- some more reluctantly than others -- Don's work on the Lucky Strike campaign when >Roger and Cooper barge in. "Who is responsible?" Cooper asks, regarding the purchase of yet unproduced Secor commercials. Harry and Pete timidly take ownership, and to their surprise, get nothing but congratulations.

Before Don leaves, he gets another envelope from Jim. This time it's pictures of Betty and her ideal family from the shoot. A bit disgusted, Don flips them face down and leaves and beelines for Roger's office. He demands a raise with no contract and Roger obliges, happy with Don's decision to stay. Don assures his boss that if he leaves, it won't be for advertising. "I'd like to stop talking about it and get back to it some day," he says about life.

Don calls Jim to decline the offer, despite Jim getting his wife into the company. "It's a pity to lose both of you," he says. Meanwhile, Betty poses for another shoot when Ronnie approaches with some bad news. They're looking for more Audrey Hepburn, less Grace Kelly.

Pete and the boys are celebrating his success in the bullpen when Peggy walks by. As they did before, they make fun of her. "They call a girl like her a lobster," Ken says. "All the meat's in the tail." All of a sudden, Pete clocks Ken in the jaw. They fight onto the ground while Don and Roger leave, unphased.

That night, Betty tells Don over a casserole that although they offered her many possibilities, she doesn't think she wants to go back to modeling after all. Don gets it. The next day, Betty goes through her morning routine and sits in the kitchen. When she notices the pigeons circling the sky, she grabs the BB gun, takes aim and fires at the birds.