| Red in the Face | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Production | |
| Season 1 Episode 07 | |
| Air date | 30 August 2007 |
| Written by | Bridget Bedard |
| Directed by | Tim Hunter |
| Previous Babylon |
Next The Hobo Code |
Intro[]
Roger joins Don for an evening of dinner and drinking, during which Roger's behavior leads to a rift in their friendship. Though Don accepts his apology, there are further consequences for Roger. Pete faces trouble at home as he continues to struggle with the demands of his new marriage. A trip to the supermarket quickly turns sour for Betty.
Synopsis[]
Don Draper calls Arnold Wayne, Betty's psychiatrist, to find out how she's doing and what she's been talking about. "She seems consumed by petty jealousies and overwhelmed with everyday activities," he says. "We're basically dealing with the emotions of a child here." It seems such behavior is common among housewives who constantly try to measure up to their husband's success. He expresses that they are still in the early stages of Betty's therapy, and are on the right path in trying to dig into deeper psychological difficulties Betty may have. Dr. Wayne acknowledges that the death of Betty's mother plays a part in that.
Dr Wayne and Do discuss Betty. Red in the Face.
"Yes I am drinking my milk." Red in the Face.
In a nearby office, Roger Sterling is enjoying his morning milk-and-vodka when Bertram Cooper walks in. Still on the phone to his wife, Roger expresses taking Margaret to Mont Clair might "wipe the scowl off of her face". Nixon's people will be coming by the office at the end of the week to see if the agency is right for the presidential candidate. "The ones with the best products make the worst clients," Roger says.
Joan declines Roger's invitation. Red in the Face.
As the day winds down, Roger notices Joan Holloway dabbing on some makeup. He invites her to his house; his wife and daughter are out of town for the weekend. Already with a suitcase packed Joan remarks that she could have taken her packed suitcase anywhere that weekend. Just then, Joan's roommate Carol McCardy interrupts their conversation, announcing she has refilled her thermos with coffee and grabbed sandwiches for "the trip". Roger takes Joan to one side acknowledging the fact that they will go away together sometime, where ever she wants to go. Joan replies, "I don't care if it's Cuba, I need a little notice". Joan then leaves with Carol.
"One drink, you owe me that." - Red in the Face.
Roger, eager to fill his evening, approaches Don. "One drink, you owe me that," he says, although Don is reluctant he agrees to one drink, to avoid disappointing Betty with a tardy welcome home. Just then, Pete Campbell approaches inquiring about Roger and Don's evening plans, but Roger brushes him off, calling him Paul in the process as he and Don walk away laughing.
Pete makes an attempt at Peggy. Red in the Face.
Trying to recover, Pete chats up Peggy Olson. When she tells him she's writing copy for the Belle Jolie lipstick account, Pete finds himself surprised Freddy would trust a secretary with such responsibility, first assuming the copy was for sanitary towels. In mid-conversation Hildy interrupts, letting Pete know of his wife's whereabouts. He offers to take a look at it once she's finished, citing that he often does it for the male copywriters, Peggy accepts the gesture.
Roger notices something. Red in the Face.
At the Oak Room Bar, Roger and Don talk shop, they look upon the youthful women, when Roger avows that that certain youthful glow comes with an expiry date. Roger mentions how Mona Sterling stopped cooking ever since Margaret Sterling stopped eating. Don invites him to the Draper house for dinner, Roger accepts the offer. Rushing to put the kids to bed, Betty in only her undergarments answers the phone where Don shares Roger is going to be a guest at their table. Betty worried she doesn't have enough food protests until Don tells her to consult the freezer filled with frozen food. Betty smiles before she hangs up the phone.
Roger, Don and Betty have dinner in Red in the Face.
Betty Draper, unprepared, serves them steaks and has a salad for herself. "You sure you won't have some?" Roger asks. "No, thank you, Roger," Betty replies. "I'm a vegetarian sometimes." The three chat about their childhoods, where Betty shares that she used to be a pudgy child, but due to swim camp she lost a lot of weight. "From the way you drop your G's every once in a while, I always thought you were raised on a farm," Roger says. Don looks at them and quickly changes the subject. A few drinks and three half-full ashtrays later, Roger tells stories about his glory days in the war per Betty's request. Roger shares that his father was also in the war. When Don goes to the garage in search of more liquor, Roger helps Betty carry the plates to the sink.
"You can't tell me I'm not giving you hotpants." - Red in the Face.
Standing very close to her, he slides his hands around her waist. She pushes his hand away, but he nuzzles her. "You've been making eyes at me all night," he says. "You can't tell me I'm not giving you hot pants." When Don returns, he notices something wrong, but Roger quickly takes a drink for the road and says his goodbyes. Don returns to the kitchen and demands an explanation for what just happened. She retaliates, claiming she was just being friendly to his drunken boss. "You made a fool of yourself," he says. "You were throwing yourself at him, giggling at all his stories. Sometimes I feel like I'm living with a little girl."
Roger attempts to make amends. Red in the Face.
The next day, The boys ask why Pete hadn't joined them for drinks the previous night. He recalls that he was at dinner with his in-laws while carrying a box into the office. When Ken asks what the box contains, Pete answers it was a gift from their wedding; a Chip 'N' Dip. He and Trudy Vogel had already gotten the tomato-and-leaves tray, and Pete attends to return the gift that afternoon. When the boys ask how much the tray costs, Pete replies 22 dollars.
Meanwhile, Roger comes into Don's office with a bottle of expensive rye and an apology. "When a man gets to a point in his life when his name's on the building, he can get an unnatural sense of entitlement," he says.
Pete shows off his new toy. Red in the Face.
Don plays it cool, pretending initially to be oblivious to what Rogers apologizing for, just to not make it easy for him but eventually accepting his apology. As a sincere gesture, Roger offers to by a set of one of the glasses he had taken away that night.
Pete forgoes lunch with the boys to stand in line at a department store's customer service so he can return a Chip N' Dip wedding gift. When Pete sees that a young clerk named Rosemary will be helping him, he lights up. Because he has no receipt, she will only give him store credit. He cakes on the charm, but she doesn't budge. Just then, Kicks Matherton appears with a squash racquet. He and Pete catch up, and Rosemary takes to Kicks' flirting far better. Pete notices this. "You should know he summers in Palm Beach," he says. "He has the clap."
Nixon meeting. Red in the Face.
Back at Pete's office, Paul Kinsey, Ken Cosgrove, and Harry Crane arrive to see Pete holding a 22-caliber rifle overhead; his exchange purchase for the Chip N' Dip. He aims it into the bullpen, checking out the secretaries until a pink fuzzy sweater blocks the view. It's his secretary. They have a meeting.
"Nixon's brain trust is coming in tomorrow," Roger says to the group. "The nomination is a lock. We just need an opponent." There's some discussion about Lyndon Johnson and Kennedy. Cooper predicts that Nixon's running opponent will be Kennedy. They share how Kennedy is extremely inexperienced compared to Nixon, thinking Nixon is a straight win. Roger winks at Don and encourages him to weigh in. Once he does, Roger smiles curiously.
Pete gets scolded by Trudy for exchanging the wedding gift. Red in the Face.
When Don goes home that night he finds that Betty has prepared a roast beef for her and Don. In an attempt to make her feel bad about her actions the previous night, Don asks if she is aware he is the only one she is cooking for tonight.
Meanwhile, at the Campbell compound Pete is getting scolded by Trudy for exchanging the wedding gift for a "stupid toy".
Don makes a deal with Holis. Red in the Face.
The next morning, at the building's entrance hall, Don notices Pete arrive, rifle in hand. He gives Pete a quizzical look before stepping on to the elevator. He asks Hollis, the elevator operator a question and hands him a few bills.
Pete shares a fantasy with Peggy. Red in the Face.
Pete, sitting on the couch in his office, stares at the rifle, Peggy enters with a folder. She asks if Pete would still take her up on his offer to critique her work. He tosses the paper aside and pats the couch for her to sit. "You ever been hunting?" he asks. He goes on to express a fantasy of him being an overly powerful cabin-husband, taking an animal, killing it and bringing back to his cabin where his wife would serve it to him. Although overwhelmed with his fantasy life, far removed from his real life Peggy replies, "that would be wonderful". As she leaves Peggy goes to the cart to eat in a rather distressed state of mind.
"What's wrong with you?" - Red in the Face.
At the grocery store, Betty is sizing up heads of lettuce. Helen Bishop wheels by and, despite making eye contact, doesn't say a word. When Betty asks what's the matter, Helen says that she found some of Betty's hair in her son Glen Bishop's treasure box. Betty tries to explain, but Helen won't have it. "What's wrong with you?" she says. Impulsively, Betty slaps Helen in the face. Later that day Francine stops by the Draper household, obviously hearing of Betty's encounter with Helen at the market. Betty tells her that she is slightly embarrassed by the transgression, although Francine is completely on her side. Calling Helen pathetic.
Don and Roger slurp down raw oysters and liquor at the oyster bar as they talk about the Grand Old Party, sending dogs into space and the second divorce of Desi and Lucy.
The remains of Roger's oyster and vodka lunch. In Red in the Face.
On their way back to the office, the two; drunk and full, realize that they never went over the Nixon plan. Worse yet, Hollis informs them that the building's elevators are out of service. They brave the 23 flights of stairs. Don, hardly sweaty and Roger, armpits soaked and face red, pauses at each landing, struggling to go on. Don arrives at the top to find three Nixon men waiting for them with Pete and Bertram Cooper. Bertram introduces him to the Nixon men when Roger arrives. He opens his mouth to speak but then vomits onto the carpeting. A Nixon man observes that he must have had a bad oyster.
As Roger regroups and everyone files into the meeting, Don has a hint of a smile on his face.
Trivia[]
- The Chip 'n' Dip used in the show was an actual wedding gift for Matthew Weiner's parents’ wedding. It is also only featured in two shots during the episode. Otherwise, the box is empty when on screen.
- The scene where Pete is getting yelled at about the rifle was shot at the same time (and location) that Betty drinks wine with Francine.
- There were originally more lines to the conversation between Don and Hollis.
- The grocery store set was built in the lunch area of the studio and is filled with all real food.
- In the commentary track for season 1, John Slattery says that he and Jon Hamm ate “plastic” oysters during the Don and Roger scenes at the restaurant.
- For the vomiting scene, a tube ran up John Slattery’s leg and was taped to the other side of his face, while someone off camera would push a button to activate the “puke”. The vomit was made up of clam chowder mixed with other food.
- Originally, there was an extra scene between the Roger/Joan scene and the Don/Peggy scene, but it was cut for time. There were also more shots planned for Don/Roger and Peggy/Pete scenes, but they ran out of time.
Cast[]
Main Star[]
- Jon Hamm as Don Draper
- Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson
- Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell
- January Jones as Betty Hofstadt
- Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway
- Bryan Batt as Salvatore Romano
- Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey
- Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove
- Rich Sommer as Harry Crane
- Maggie Siff as Rachel Menken (credit only)
Guest Star[]
- Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper
- John Slattery as Roger Sterling
- Anne Dudek as Francine Hanson
- Kate Norby as Carol McCardy
- Shayna Rose as Rosemary
- Teddy Sears as Kicks Matherton
- Darby Stanchfield as Helen Bishop
- Andy Umberger as Arnold Wayne
Co-Star[]
- Gary Ballard as Waiter
- Alison Brie as Trudy Vogel
- La Monde Byrd as Hollis
- Allison Fleming as Round Mom
- Susan Grace as Delia
- Doug Hale as Charlie
- Maxwell Huckabee as Robert Draper
- Julie McNiven as Hildy
- Flora Plumb as Gaudy Hat
- Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper