| Seven Twenty Three | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Production | |
| Season 3 Episode 7 | |
| Air date | 27 September 2009 |
| Written by | Andre Jacquemetton Maria Jacquemetton Matthew Weiner |
| Directed by | Daisy Von Scherler Mayer |
| Previous Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency |
Next Souvenir |
Intro[]
Don's attempts to land the Hilton Hotel account backfires, when Hilton refuses to work with him unless Sterling Cooper signs him to a contract. To land the account, Cooper blackmails Don over his theft of the "Don Draper" identity, forcing Don to sign a 3 year contract. Betty meets with Henry Francis to discuss a project. Peggy tells Herman Phillips she is not interested in changing agencies, but their meeting has unintended consequences.
Synopsis[]
It's daylight. Peggy Olson awakes beside a sleeping man. Elsewhere, Betty Hofstadt reclines on a plush red couch. Don Draper, his nose caked with blood, rises groggily from a motel room floor.
On another morning, Betty and her decorator show Don the Drapers' living room makeover. When Betty asks what they should place in front of the fireplace, the decorator tells her it must remain empty as the “soul of your home."
At work that day, Roger Sterling grumbles to Don about competitor David Ogilvy's "Confessions of an Advertising Man. "It's the book everybody writes," Roger says. "It should be called A Thousand Reasons I'm so Great."
Conrad Hilton pays Don an unscheduled visit. Connie describes himself as having a "wandering eye" despite having his needs met. The upshot: He wants Don to handle Hilton's three New York City properties.
Betty hosts Francine Hanson and two other members of the Junior League, which is campaigning to prevent the installation of a huge water tank that will drain the scenic local reservoir and mar the landscape. Betty says that she knows someone in the governor's office, Henry Francis, the man she met at Roger and Jane's party, who might have influence.
Pete Campbell congratulates Don for the Hilton deal and expresses interest in the account. Don shifts the conversation to Pete's sales prospects: With conflict likely in Vietnam, Pete says that he’s close to landing North American Aviation.
Betty calls Henry. He agrees to meet about the reservoir on Saturday afternoon.
Peggy receives an expensive Hermès scarf from Herman Phillips. "Send it back,” Pete advises. Herman Phillips is trying to use them to get back at Don for ousting him from Sterling Cooper.
Roger Sterling, Bertram Cooper, and Lane Pryce congratulate Don for the Hilton coup, but say that there's a hitch. Connie's lawyers want Don under contract to Sterling Cooper to ensure continuity. Lane hands Don a 3 year contract. Connie will “enjoy something he can't have", the reluctant Don contends.
Betty and Henry meet at a local bakery, both making excuses for arriving alone. Henry says that he's not sure he can help with the water-tank project. Betty sighs. "Don't give up so easily," he says.
In a park, Sally's teacher, Miss Farrell, helps her students make camera obscuras to view a solar eclipse. The kids' dads, including Don, assist.
The eclipse occurs as Henry and Betty leave the bakery. Henry shields her eyes when she gazes at the sun. "I feel a little dizzy," Betty says. Henry sees a pink fainting couch in a nearby antiques store. "That's what you need," he says, explaining that Victorian ladies would use them whenever they felt "overwhelmed."
Back in the park, Miss Farrell interprets Don's small talk as a come-on. "We're just talking," Don says.
On Monday, Peggy calls Herman Phillips about returning the scarf. He suggests she do so in person at his hotel suite. "Please don't contact me again," Peggy says.
"You think you're more dangerous without a contract?" Roger asks Don later that day. It's affecting business, he adds, because Don is Sterling Cooper's David Ogilvy -- though Roger is not convinced that Don even wants to be an ad man anymore.
Peggy drops by Don's office, fishing for the Hilton assignment. "You have an office and a job that a lot of full grown men would kill for," Don fires back. "Stop asking for things."
Roger calls Betty and encourages her to persuade Don to sign the contract. It's the first she's heard of it.
Peggy visits Herman Phillips's suite. She indicates what she might want from his agency to leave Sterling Cooper, but quickly decides she can't jump ship. Herman Phillips holds her hand, then kisses her. "What do you want from me?" she asks. To "give you a go around like you've never had," he replies. The two begin a passionate kiss.
That night, Betty and Don argue about the contract. "No contract means I have all the power," he says. "What's the matter?" Betty asks. "You don't know where you're going to be in three years?"
Drink in hand, Don leaves the house and drives away. He picks up a young couple hitchhiking to Niagara Falls. They say that they're eloping so the man can avoid being sent to Vietnam. The man says that they haven't any money but can get Don high. Don swallows two of their phenobarbital pills.
Later in a motel room, Don dances with the young woman until the man cuts in. Don, his eyes glazed, has a vision of his father, Archibald Whitman. "Look at you," Archie reproaches. "Up to your old tricks." Moments later, the young man punches Don in the back of the head.
The next morning Don, his nose bloody, reads a message from the couple. They've stolen his money but left his car.
Peggy awakes beside Herman Phillips, still in his suite. "I love the morning," he says when she attempts to leave. They start kissing.
At the Draper residence, Betty's decorator scolds her for buying the fainting couch and blocking the fireplace with it.
Peggy, wearing the previous day's outfit, enters Sterling Cooper as Don does. "Fender bender," Don says, pointing to his bandaged nose.
In Don's office, Cooper insists he sign the contract. "Would you say I know something about you, Don?" Cooper asks. "I would," Don agrees. "Then sign," Cooper says. "After all, when it comes down to it, who's really signing this contract anyway?" Don acquiesces, but demands that all contact with Roger cease.
Don returns home to find Betty resting on her fainting couch. "I signed it", he says.
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 (credit only)
- Bryan Batt as Salvatore Romano
- Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey
- Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove (credit only)
- Rich Sommer as Harry Crane
- Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper
- John Slattery as Roger Sterling
Guest Star[]
- Jared Harris as Lane Pryce
- Mark Moses as Herman Phillips
- Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper
- Chelcie Ross as Connie
- Christopher Stanley as Henry Francis
- Anne Dudek as Francine Hanson
- Kristoffer Polaha as Carlton Hanson
- Abigail Spencer as Miss Farrell
- Trever O'Brien as Doug
- Erin Sanders as Sandy
- Joseph Culp as Archibald Whitman
- Susan Krebs as Cynthia
- Jacqueline Hahn as Charlotte Stevens
Co-Star[]
- Alexa Alemanni as Allison
- Jared Gilmore as Robert Draper
- Jeanne Simpson as Marilyn Farrelly
- Dani Repp as Waitress