Mad Men - Episode 4.04 - The Rejected - Recap

One week after an episode that focused on Don, Joan, and Lane, “The Rejected” centers on Peggy and Pete. It felt necessary to see more of these two, as both have been mainly in the background so far this season.



Don and Roger begin the episode on a conference call with Lee Garner Jr. discussing restrictions that have been put on advertisements for Lucky Strike. Peggy enters the office with Faye Miller to talk about the focus group for Pond’s Cold Cream. Roger leaves the conference call to talk with Lane and Pete about the Clearasil account. Roger tells Pete that the guys from Pond’s believe Clearasil is a conflict for them, and since the Pond’s account is bigger, SCDP must keep them happy and get rid of the Clearasil account (which Pete acquired thanks to his father-in-law). They tell Pete that he has to tell his father-in-law what has happened, and we found out that Pete is now a partner at the firm.

Pete returns to his office where he is surprised to find Harry waiting for him. Harry is there to tell Pete that Ken Cosgrove is getting married and invite him to lunch with Ken the next day. Peggy enters the elevator to head downstairs and meets a woman named Joyce who works in the building for Life magazine. They strike up a conversation, and Joyce shows Peggy some nude photos her friend had taken that the magazine rejected. Peggy exits before Joyce, but it is clear the two hit it off.

Pete meets up with his father-in-law, Tom, at a bar to give him the news about the Clearasil account. However, before Pete can tell him, Tom tells Pete that he already knows the news because his wife had gone to the doctor with Trudy and found out that she’s pregnant. Unfortunately, Pete didn’t know this yet, but he’s excited about the news and decides not to tell Tom about Clearasil. When Pete gets home, Trudy apologizes for not telling him, and says she was waiting for their anniversary to give him the good news. Pete tells Trudy why he really met with her father, and she tells him she will invite her parents over for dinner the next night and Pete can tell him then.

Back at SCDP, Joan rounds up all the girls for the Pond’s Cold Cream focus group. Faye enters the room to lead the group, while Don, Peggy, and Freddie view it from behind a two-way mirror. Faye tries to make the focus group feel as laid back as possible before bringing up the topic of routine, an idea Peggy had for the potential sales pitch. The girls in the focus group start to talk about their beauty routines, but the conversation suddenly turns to a talk of relationships. As Dotty explains why she broke up with her boyfriend, Allison starts to cry and leaves the room. Faye uses this distraction as a way to get the women back onto a discussion of routine, and Peggy exits the viewing room to talk to Allison, feeling guilty because the focus group was her idea. Peggy tries to console Allison, who begins to tell Peggy why she is upset, but Peggy is surprised when she realizes Allison is talking about Don. Allison had assumed that Peggy went through the same ordeal when she was Don’s secretary, but Peggy is upset by this and goes back to the focus group, which is just wrapping up.

Pete and Harry wait in a booth at a restaurant as Ken comes to greet them. Harry is soon told he has a phone call, leaving Pete and Ken alone at the booth. Almost immediately after Harry leaves, Ken confronts Pete for talking about him behind his back. As he gives examples of what he has heard (Ken was driving the tractor during the accident in “Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency, Ken was only getting married for he money), Pete denies ever saying such things, but apologizes for the misunderstanding. The two then begin to discuss business, and Ken tells Pete about his attempt to acquire the Mountain Dew account. He tells Pete that the only reason they are going after Mountain Dew that it could help lead to Pepsi, but Ken doesn’t believe that will happen.

At SCDP, Don returns to his office, where Allison is hiding, still upset. She tells Don that she is embarrassed, and Don tells her that people cry all the time in focus groups. However, she explains that she is not embarrassed about crying, she is embarrassed that she slept with Don and feels that it would be best if she left the company. She asks Don to write her a letter of recommendation for a job at a magazine that she had heard about from a friend. Don agrees, but tells her to type up whatever she wants, using his stationary, and he will sign it. Allison is offended by Don’s offer, picks up something from his coffee table and throws it across the room, breaking a few picture frames right next to Don. After she storms out of the office, Joan comes to Don’s door to make sure everything is alright, and Don informs her that he will need a new secretary.



Joyce comes up to the office to see Peggy and invites her to a party downtown that her photographer friend is hosting. At Pete’s apartment, Trudy’s parents are over for dinner, and as Trudy shows her mother the new maid’s room, Pete sits his father-in-law down to talk business. Pete tells Tom that Clearasil has been conflicted out by a bigger business, but it wouldn’t have to be the case if he could get the rest of the Vick’s business.

Peggy gets to the party and finds Joyce. After being introduced to one of Joyce’s friends, Peggy asks if she can get a beer but Joyce offers her marijuana instead. Peggy accepts, and as she smokes it Joyce tries to kiss her, but Peggy backs away good naturedly and tells Joyce she has a boyfriend. Meanwhile, Don sits in his office, drinking alone, until he hears the cleaning crew and decides to head home. Once he gets there, he sits down and begins to write an apology letter to Allison, but after writing only a line he decides against it.

Back at the party, Peggy and Joyce watch a movie that Joyce’s photographer friend has made. Peggy asks to meet him, and is introduced both to him (Davey Kellogg) and Joyce’s friend Abe. As they discuss Davey’s work, the lights go out and people begin to frantically scream that the cops have arrived. Abe grabs Peggy and the two hide in a closet, where they kiss. Soon after, Joyce opens the door and leads them to a fire escape so they can leave unnoticed.

The next day, Don enters the SCDP office to find he has a new secretary; an elderly woman named Miss. Blankenship. Roger is waiting for a meeting with Don, and uses this chance to make fun of Don for his new “girl.” Lane and Pete join them, and Pete informs them that he is working on signing the entire cough line of Vick’s medical (but no longer Clearasil) and will be going to lunch with them that afternoon.

As Peggy and Joey discuss Davey Kellogg’s photography, and the shooting of Malcom X, one of the secretaries comes in to tell them some people are chipping in for a bottle of champagne for the Campbell’s. Joey agrees to sign the card, but is not willing to chip in for the champagne. When Peggy realizes what it is for, she decides not to sign the card, but goes to Pete’s office to congratulate him personally. While she seems genuinely happy for Pete when she congratulates him, she is also visibly shaken by the news as she returns to her office and lightly bangs her head against her desk a few times.

Don heads back to his office and tells Miss. Blankenship to reschedule Dr. Miller; unfortunately she misunderstands and tells Dr. Miller that Don needs to see her immediately. When she arrives, Don tells her what happened, but Faye uses this chance to tell Don about the results of the focus group. She tells him that their original hypothesis was rejected (the idea of routine), and that her recommendation is to link Pond’s Cold Cream to matrimony (which was Freddie’s original idea). However, Don doesn’t believe it is a good idea and wants to stick with the original plan, telling Faye “you can’t tell how people are going to behave based on how they have behaved,” and she decides not to argue with him and leaves the office.

As Peggy lays on her couch, she receives a phone call from Joyce asking her to lunch in five minutes. Peggy agrees to meet Joyce outside of the SCDP reception area, which is filled with the partners (and Freddie) waiting to go to lunch with the men from Vick’s. While Peggy waits for the elevator with her friends, she looks back into the office and shares a look with Pete. As the episode ends, Don returns home to see his elderly neighbor waiting for his wife as she returns home from the grocery, repeatedly asking her “did you get pears?” However, she doesn’t answer him, saying they will discuss it inside, and Don gives them a long stare before entering his own apartment.

Unlike “The Good News,” which was quite an ironic title, “The Rejected” was very much literal. SCDP rejects working with Clearasil in the future (although Pete uses this to acquire an even bigger account), Allison rejects working for Don any longer, and Faye rejects Peggy’s idea for Pond’s. Overall this was not as strong an episode as last week, but still a solid showcase for Pete and Peggy. Since the very beginning of Mad Men, Pete has been one of the most unlikable characters on the show. Whether it is because he is now a partner, or because of the news that he will be a father, something has changed Pete and he is suddenly not as arrogant and obnoxious. I felt like Pete was as likable in this episode as he has ever been, and I hope that he remains this way (or at least has some more redeemable moments) throughout the rest of the season. I also enjoyed Peggy in this episode, as she felt more free-spirited and happy in the scenes with Joyce. There are many times at the office when Peggy seems uncomfortable and unhappy, and even with her boyfriend it doesn’t seem as though she feels free to be herself, so this blooming relationship with Joyce should be good for her. I’m not sure if we have seen the last of Allison, but I certainly don’t blame her for leaving after the way she has been treated by Don. Again, I thought this was another solid episode, but what did you all think?

Mike