Season 6 Episode 11: Favors

Favors is at once complex on many emotional levels for the characters but simple enough to move the plot forward.

Roger's juggling at the beginning of the episode represents the upcoming conflict with the Sunkist and Ocean Spray accounts.

For Sally, her continued education into the realm of the sex is tainted by adultery and betrayal. As a favor for Sally, her friend, Julie, forges her name on a note listing the reasons why she and Julie admire Mitchel. This betrayal leads her to the Rosen's apartment where she sees her father having sex with Sylvia. Sally had previously come upon Marie Calvet, Megan's mother, performing fellatio on Roger at a wedding reception. Both of these were adulterous affairs. When Don tries to convince her that he was just "comforting" Mrs Rosen, Sally knew he was lying, but she lied also by agreeing with his story. This does not bode well for Sally first sexual experience or with her relationships with boys.

The funniest part of the episode is when Peggy offered sexual favors to Stan if he came to remove a dying rat. When she asked Stan why he was using his "sexy" voice, she realized that he was not alone but with his girlfriend. "You can bring her too, if you want," she says. Peggy at that moment embodied everything her ex-boyfriend hated about Madison Avenue: that she was willing to sell herself and her self respect. In fact, the image of the blood trail under the couch as a reminder of the previous episode when she stabbed accidentally stabbed Abe with her homemade spear. 

As predicted, Bob came out of the closet to make his move on Pete and Pete rejected it. What are the chances Pete will respond to Bob in the future? And regret it? Pretty high. The favor that Bob did for Pete by providing a nurse for his mother was initially welcomed but now rejected. But Pete has become completely isolated from family and associates at work. Even his mother described him as unlovable and sour. It would not be surprising if he turns to someone who shows him affection, like Bob.

Don's change of heart to offer a favor to Mitchell after having a drink in the bar with Arnold Rosen (with the boxing photos over both of them) makes one wonder if his decision to help was for Sylvia or himself. I was under the impression that Don felt guilty for his actions in Korea and his subsequent life lie (when he assumed another man's identity) was his reason for helping. It was an act of selfishness and not because of concern for Arnold's and Sylvia's child. Don's relationship with Sylvia has always been sexual, but his affection is more rooted with his need for a mother figure than another sexual partner / conquest. 

When Don is in the living room pouring a drink, what is on TV? Run for Your Life. The series which ran from 1965-1968, was about a man who had only one to two years to live, and decides to go experience life before his death. These continued signals to Don's demise are also pointing to other characters in the series. More death references: Ernest Hemingway's suicide by shotgun during the dinner with Chevy; Ted's wife reminding him that their pastor told them that "God can turn out your lights at any time." Mitchell becoming 1A in the draft ("his number is up"). Pete's father dying in an airplane crash. The bloody rat. 

Season 6 Episode 6: For Immediate Release

"I wanted it to be a day of sentiment, not profit."
- Anna Jarvis

The episode opens on a Saturday with Joan, Burt and Pete talking with a banker about the value of the company. If the stock of SCDP is offered on the stock exchange, the partners will become rich. The underwriter says to Joan, "your papers are spotless, my compliments to the chef." After he leaves and while sharing a drink together, Pete says to Joan, "everybody wants you" and hints that they should sleep together. She rebuffs him but says when she is leaving, "don't forget, it's Mother's Day tomorrow." 

The roots of Mother's day began as a pacifist movement and goes back to post Civil War. It was an effort to reunite families that had been divided by the warring sides. But it wasn't until 1914 that Congress made it a holiday due to the efforts of Anna Jarvis. Jarvis, however, when she died in 1948, regretted that it became a holiday due to it's crass commercialization. 

Except for Megan, there are no children shown in this episode. And all the women shown who are mothers, Joan, Trude, and Marie, are not seen as "mothers". The women want to be seen as professional (Joan) or as sexy and desirable (Daisy, Megan, Maire, Peggy, Trude). Marie tells us that she hates it when her grandchildren call her to wish her a happy Mother's Day. She also offers her the flowers that she received from Megan to Dr. Rosen as a gift to his wife. The only woman who played the traditional role of mother wasn't even shown: it was Hazel, the TV sitcom that Ted wanted to watch, but "couldn't get the reception." Motherhood had left the building.

Peaches' story about the dog who had a litter in an oil stain in their garage, where each puppy "had a nipple" had Don rejoin, "I love puppies". Motherhood is sexualized by the men. Roger tells Daisy that his mother died so she will have sex with him. Pete tells Trude, "we'll maintain every other aspect of our marriage, except what matters" when Trude denies Pete sex. Marie tells Roger to "forget my name" when he's a no show for the dinner with Herb and Peaches. She thinks it's because she's not attractive because she is a mother / grandmother. 

Fathers take it on the chin here: Don is oblivious; Dr. Rosen borrows wrapping paper from Megan as he is putting something together at the last minute; Dr. Rosen's son is going to take Sylvia for a walk in the park; worst of all Pete and Pete's father-in-law, Tom, meet at a brothel (party house). Tom becomes incensed with this (guilt?) and pulls his advertising business from SCDP. He tells Pete that Trude, "is his Princess" and Pete "is not fit to be a father". Tom is so wrapped up envisioning his daughter in the traditional mother role that he can't identify with the fact that he and Pete share a common interest in having sex with prostitutes. 

Relationships are juxtaposed and compared: Pete and Trude / Roger and Daisy. Don and Megan / Peggy and Abe. Peggy is back down in a windowless apartment building which she shares with a junkie who defecates in the hallway and street kids who hang out on the stoop throwing firecrackers. She fantasizes about Ted* when she kisses Abe. She wants out of there. She's told us in this episode that she doesn't like change and it is a shock to her when the two firms merge. Peggy and Pete's trajectory are going down while Don and Roger are seen going back up. The two advertising firms merged by necessity. It was a successful "Hail Mary" pass that worked at the last minute: they landed the XP 887 (Chevy Vega) account, a car that was later to be shown to have a history of design problems that resulted in numerous product recalls. 

* A literary joke: Ted is reading "Something" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It could have been called "Anything" as Emerson never wrote such a work.