The Rejected (Mad Men)
Encyclopedia
"The Rejected" is the fourth episode of the fourth season of the American television drama series Mad Men
, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by Keith Huff and series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
, and directed by John Slattery
, the actor who portrays Roger Sterling
on the show. It originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 15, 2010. Reviews of the episode were generally positive, emphasizing particularly the emotional tension between Pete Campbell
(Vincent Kartheiser
) and Peggy Olson
(Elisabeth Moss
).
has returned to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce after a several years absence, as a freelancer, primarily trying to help Peggy. He has delivered Ponds Cold Cream to the agency and he does not want Pete Campbell
, who previously got Freddy fired because he informed Roger that Freddy peed his pants years before, to work on the account. Ponds complains to Roger Sterling that they feel that Clearasil is their competition (even though Clearasil is an acne cream aimed at teens and Ponds is cold cream aimed at single women looking for a husband). Roger orders Pete to tell his father-in-law Tom (who is a high-level executive at the Vicks Chemical
Company) that they need to drop the Clearasil account because Ponds bills more than Clearasil. Pete is worried about how this will affect his rocky relationship with Tom.
Pete telephones Tom and tells him he wants to meet him at a bar because he has something he wants to tell him. They both show up early, and a very nervous Pete is scared to tell him they are dropping Clearasil. Tom believes that Pete is nervous because he is about to tell Tom that Trudy is expecting. As Pete is about to tell Tom about Clearasil, Tom says, "You crazy kids!" Pete is confused about what Tom is talking about. Tom accidentally informs Pete that Trudy is pregnant. Pete is stunned because Trudy has suffered infertility for five years. When Pete arrives home, a worried Trudy tells Pete how sorry she is that her father told him, and that she only wanted to wait a few more days until their (fifth) wedding anniversary to surprise him. Despite Pete being angry over Trudy's desire to adopt, and indifferent over Trudy's infertility for several years, Pete is overjoyed at the news.
Dr. Faye Miller (Cara Buono
) meanwhile is conducting interviews with a few single women about how they take care of their faces and what they use to keep beautiful. The discussion quickly turns to men treating them badly. In this group is Don's secretary Allison (Alexa Alemanni
). Weeks earlier, Don, who was drunk, seduced Allison at his apartment and had sex with her on his couch. Allison feels hurt and used by Don and grows angry and depressed during Dr. Miller's meeting. Don, Peggy, and Freddy are watching the women through a secret 2-way-mirror and Allison, knowing that Don is sitting behind the mirror, looks at him, shaming Don. Allison soon runs out of the meeting in tears. Peggy comforts her and Allison lets Peggy know that Don used her. Allison is sure that Peggy, once Don's secretary, got promoted because she must have also slept with Don. Peggy is offended by Allison's insinuation, and angrily tells Allison, "your problem is not my problem" and that she needs to "get over it!" Allison informs Don that she is leaving and wants him to type of a letter of recommendation for her so she can find a job elsewhere. Don tells Allison she does not have to leave, but Allison is uncomfortable. Don instead asks Allison to type her own letter on his stationery and he will sign it for her. Allison takes this as Don knows nothing about her and that he is uncaring, and again she feels used. She throws a brass cigarette dispenser at him shattering items in his office. The noise startles several employees who lean into the hall to see Allison storm off and out of the office for good. Don is shamed as now other women employees realize that Allison and Don slept together. Peggy stands on furniture in her office that is next to Don's, to look through high glass windows to see what the commotion was about and what Don is doing. Don immediately starts to drink.
Peggy Olson
(Elisabeth Moss
) makes friends with a young lesbian photo editor at Life magazine named Joyce (Zosia Mamet) who works in the same Time Life Building as Peggy. Joyce introduces Peggy to her friends who are a group of marijuana smoking bohemian artists. There is a police raid and Peggy and Joyce run down the street laughing.
Pete decides to "force Tom's hand" and wants his father-in-law to give him the entire Vick's Chemical Account worth over $6 million in advertising billings. Tom would have to transfer Clearasil to another agency so it wouldn't conflict with Ponds. Tom is angry at what he considers blackmail and while Trudy and Tom's wife are looking at the future nursery room in Pete's apartment, Tom mumbles "son-of-a-bitch" while Pete's back is turned pouring drinks. Pete turns around and just shrugs.
Pete informs Lane Pryce that they will be handling Vick's the next day. A secretary comes into a break room where Peggy and Joey are sitting. She wants them to sign the card and Peggy thinks it is just a congratulations card for Pete for bringing in a large and prestigious account. Peggy is shocked when the card has a stork on it and it is actually a card congratulating them on Trudy's pregnancy. Joey tells Peggy, "I can't believe that guy is married to her. I would get her so pregnant." Joey (and everyone at SCDP except Pete), is unaware that Pete got Peggy pregnant the night before his wedding, exactly five years previously. On Joan's advice, she started birth control pills her first day at work, but slept with Pete that same night (the pill wasn't effective since she only got the prescription that same day). Peggy does not sign the card and is shaken by the news. Peggy is heart-broken, but walks into Pete's office to congratulate him. Pete thinks she's there to congratulate him over bringing in Vick's Chemicals. Instead she says, "congratulations about the baby." Pete thanks her before realizing that Peggy had given up their son a few years earlier; her awkward statements render Pete at a loss for words. Peggy walks back to her office, trying to catch her breath and not cry, and instead bangs her head on her desk several times.
Dr. Faye Miller enters Don's office and announces the results of the focus group for Ponds. She reports that the best strategy for marketing Ponds is to tap into young women's desire for a man, essentially, that Ponds will improve their marriageability. Don rejects this strategy as pandering, and he says that he will not make an advertisement based on the strategy. His skepticism about Dr. Miller's psychological approach, hinted at in previous episodes, boils over, and he rejects her very role in the creative process that he believes in. He says that his job is not to pander to emotions but to make people experience new emotions they did not realize they had. Ultimately, the conversation ends unresolved, and Dr. Miller leaves the office.
At the end of the episode, Peggy is lying on the couch when Joyce telephones Peggy to meet her and her beatnik friends in the lobby to have lunch. Meanwhile, Pete Campbell is waiting in the lobby with Roger Sterling and important executives from Vicks Chemicals for a lunch meeting. Peggy is waiting outside the glass doors of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce with her young beatnik friends and looks through the glass at Pete, with the older, suited men. Pete catches her looking at him, and the two share a dramatic scene, subtly smiling at each other.
, the actor who portrays Roger Sterling
on the show. This was Slattery's first work as a director.
emphasized the "moment of poignancy that didn't seem forced" between Peggy and Pete towards the end of the episode, after she found out about his wife's pregnancy. Zurawik found this a welcome relief from the "Don Draper TV-phony existentialism" that had dominated the season so far. Noel Murray, reviewing the episode for The A.V. Club
, gave it a grade "A–". Murray liked the episode "a lot", and also pointed to the scene with Peggy and Pete as the episode's highlight. At the same time he also voiced concerns that "Weiner’s stubborn insistence on keeping Don a lost soul could lead to creative stagnation". Mark Dawidziak, of the Cleveland newspaper The Plain Dealer, also highlighted the "poignant and telling glances" exchanged between Peggy and Pete, providing an "emotional payoff punch" to the episode.
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, and the 43rd overall episode of the series. It was written by Keith Huff and series creator and executive producer Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner
Matthew Weiner is an American writer, director and producer of television drama. He is the creator, executive producer, head writer, and show runner of the AMC television series Mad Men. He is also noted for his work on the HBO series The Sopranos, on which he served as a writer and producer...
, and directed by John Slattery
John Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
, the actor who portrays Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling, Jr., played by John Slattery, is a fictional character on the AMC TV series Mad Men. He formerly worked for Sterling Cooper, an advertising agency his father co-founded in 1923, before he became a founding partner at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in late...
on the show. It originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 15, 2010. Reviews of the episode were generally positive, emphasizing particularly the emotional tension between Pete Campbell
Pete Campbell
Peter "Pete" Campbell is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by Vincent Kartheiser.-Biography:...
(Vincent Kartheiser
Vincent Kartheiser
Vincent Paul Kartheiser is an American actor known for playing Connor in Angel and Pete Campbell in Mad Men.-Early life:Kartheiser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Janet Marie and James Ralph Kartheiser...
) and Peggy Olson
Peggy Olson
Margaret "Peggy" Olson is a fictional character in the AMC television series Mad Men, and is portrayed by actress Elisabeth Moss. Initially, Peggy is secretary to Don Draper , creative director of the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. Later, she is promoted to copywriter, the first female writer...
(Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
).
Plot
It's February 1965, and reformed alcoholic Freddy RumsenFreddy Rumsen
Freddy Rumsen is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by Joel Murray. As a copywriter for Sterling Cooper, he is noted for his alcoholism. He was, however, the first to recognize Peggy Olson's talents and encourages her...
has returned to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce after a several years absence, as a freelancer, primarily trying to help Peggy. He has delivered Ponds Cold Cream to the agency and he does not want Pete Campbell
Pete Campbell
Peter "Pete" Campbell is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men. He is portrayed by Vincent Kartheiser.-Biography:...
, who previously got Freddy fired because he informed Roger that Freddy peed his pants years before, to work on the account. Ponds complains to Roger Sterling that they feel that Clearasil is their competition (even though Clearasil is an acne cream aimed at teens and Ponds is cold cream aimed at single women looking for a husband). Roger orders Pete to tell his father-in-law Tom (who is a high-level executive at the Vicks Chemical
Vicks
Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...
Company) that they need to drop the Clearasil account because Ponds bills more than Clearasil. Pete is worried about how this will affect his rocky relationship with Tom.
Pete telephones Tom and tells him he wants to meet him at a bar because he has something he wants to tell him. They both show up early, and a very nervous Pete is scared to tell him they are dropping Clearasil. Tom believes that Pete is nervous because he is about to tell Tom that Trudy is expecting. As Pete is about to tell Tom about Clearasil, Tom says, "You crazy kids!" Pete is confused about what Tom is talking about. Tom accidentally informs Pete that Trudy is pregnant. Pete is stunned because Trudy has suffered infertility for five years. When Pete arrives home, a worried Trudy tells Pete how sorry she is that her father told him, and that she only wanted to wait a few more days until their (fifth) wedding anniversary to surprise him. Despite Pete being angry over Trudy's desire to adopt, and indifferent over Trudy's infertility for several years, Pete is overjoyed at the news.
Dr. Faye Miller (Cara Buono
Cara Buono
Cara Buono is an American actress, screenwriter and director, probably best known for her role as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men.-Early life:...
) meanwhile is conducting interviews with a few single women about how they take care of their faces and what they use to keep beautiful. The discussion quickly turns to men treating them badly. In this group is Don's secretary Allison (Alexa Alemanni
Alexa Alemanni
Alexa Alemanni is an American actress. She recently appeared as Allison, secretary to Don Draper on the AMC original series Mad Men .- Life and career :...
). Weeks earlier, Don, who was drunk, seduced Allison at his apartment and had sex with her on his couch. Allison feels hurt and used by Don and grows angry and depressed during Dr. Miller's meeting. Don, Peggy, and Freddy are watching the women through a secret 2-way-mirror and Allison, knowing that Don is sitting behind the mirror, looks at him, shaming Don. Allison soon runs out of the meeting in tears. Peggy comforts her and Allison lets Peggy know that Don used her. Allison is sure that Peggy, once Don's secretary, got promoted because she must have also slept with Don. Peggy is offended by Allison's insinuation, and angrily tells Allison, "your problem is not my problem" and that she needs to "get over it!" Allison informs Don that she is leaving and wants him to type of a letter of recommendation for her so she can find a job elsewhere. Don tells Allison she does not have to leave, but Allison is uncomfortable. Don instead asks Allison to type her own letter on his stationery and he will sign it for her. Allison takes this as Don knows nothing about her and that he is uncaring, and again she feels used. She throws a brass cigarette dispenser at him shattering items in his office. The noise startles several employees who lean into the hall to see Allison storm off and out of the office for good. Don is shamed as now other women employees realize that Allison and Don slept together. Peggy stands on furniture in her office that is next to Don's, to look through high glass windows to see what the commotion was about and what Don is doing. Don immediately starts to drink.
Peggy Olson
Peggy Olson
Margaret "Peggy" Olson is a fictional character in the AMC television series Mad Men, and is portrayed by actress Elisabeth Moss. Initially, Peggy is secretary to Don Draper , creative director of the advertising agency Sterling Cooper. Later, she is promoted to copywriter, the first female writer...
(Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
) makes friends with a young lesbian photo editor at Life magazine named Joyce (Zosia Mamet) who works in the same Time Life Building as Peggy. Joyce introduces Peggy to her friends who are a group of marijuana smoking bohemian artists. There is a police raid and Peggy and Joyce run down the street laughing.
Pete decides to "force Tom's hand" and wants his father-in-law to give him the entire Vick's Chemical Account worth over $6 million in advertising billings. Tom would have to transfer Clearasil to another agency so it wouldn't conflict with Ponds. Tom is angry at what he considers blackmail and while Trudy and Tom's wife are looking at the future nursery room in Pete's apartment, Tom mumbles "son-of-a-bitch" while Pete's back is turned pouring drinks. Pete turns around and just shrugs.
Pete informs Lane Pryce that they will be handling Vick's the next day. A secretary comes into a break room where Peggy and Joey are sitting. She wants them to sign the card and Peggy thinks it is just a congratulations card for Pete for bringing in a large and prestigious account. Peggy is shocked when the card has a stork on it and it is actually a card congratulating them on Trudy's pregnancy. Joey tells Peggy, "I can't believe that guy is married to her. I would get her so pregnant." Joey (and everyone at SCDP except Pete), is unaware that Pete got Peggy pregnant the night before his wedding, exactly five years previously. On Joan's advice, she started birth control pills her first day at work, but slept with Pete that same night (the pill wasn't effective since she only got the prescription that same day). Peggy does not sign the card and is shaken by the news. Peggy is heart-broken, but walks into Pete's office to congratulate him. Pete thinks she's there to congratulate him over bringing in Vick's Chemicals. Instead she says, "congratulations about the baby." Pete thanks her before realizing that Peggy had given up their son a few years earlier; her awkward statements render Pete at a loss for words. Peggy walks back to her office, trying to catch her breath and not cry, and instead bangs her head on her desk several times.
Dr. Faye Miller enters Don's office and announces the results of the focus group for Ponds. She reports that the best strategy for marketing Ponds is to tap into young women's desire for a man, essentially, that Ponds will improve their marriageability. Don rejects this strategy as pandering, and he says that he will not make an advertisement based on the strategy. His skepticism about Dr. Miller's psychological approach, hinted at in previous episodes, boils over, and he rejects her very role in the creative process that he believes in. He says that his job is not to pander to emotions but to make people experience new emotions they did not realize they had. Ultimately, the conversation ends unresolved, and Dr. Miller leaves the office.
At the end of the episode, Peggy is lying on the couch when Joyce telephones Peggy to meet her and her beatnik friends in the lobby to have lunch. Meanwhile, Pete Campbell is waiting in the lobby with Roger Sterling and important executives from Vicks Chemicals for a lunch meeting. Peggy is waiting outside the glass doors of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce with her young beatnik friends and looks through the glass at Pete, with the older, suited men. Pete catches her looking at him, and the two share a dramatic scene, subtly smiling at each other.
Production
The episode was directed by John SlatteryJohn Slattery
John M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
, the actor who portrays Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling
Roger Sterling, Jr., played by John Slattery, is a fictional character on the AMC TV series Mad Men. He formerly worked for Sterling Cooper, an advertising agency his father co-founded in 1923, before he became a founding partner at the new firm of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce in late...
on the show. This was Slattery's first work as a director.
Reception
David Zurawik of The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
emphasized the "moment of poignancy that didn't seem forced" between Peggy and Pete towards the end of the episode, after she found out about his wife's pregnancy. Zurawik found this a welcome relief from the "Don Draper TV-phony existentialism" that had dominated the season so far. Noel Murray, reviewing the episode for The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
, gave it a grade "A–". Murray liked the episode "a lot", and also pointed to the scene with Peggy and Pete as the episode's highlight. At the same time he also voiced concerns that "Weiner’s stubborn insistence on keeping Don a lost soul could lead to creative stagnation". Mark Dawidziak, of the Cleveland newspaper The Plain Dealer, also highlighted the "poignant and telling glances" exchanged between Peggy and Pete, providing an "emotional payoff punch" to the episode.
Guest cast
- Cara BuonoCara BuonoCara Buono is an American actress, screenwriter and director, probably best known for her role as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of the AMC drama series Mad Men.-Early life:...
as Faye Miller - Jessica ParéJessica ParéJessica Paré is a Canadian film and television actress. She has appeared in the films Stardom , Lost and Delirious , Wicker Park , Hot Tub Time Machine , and co-starred in the vampire horror-comedy Suck...
as Megan - Randee HellerRandee HellerRandy M. "Randee" Heller is an American television and film actress. Her most notable roles were in the film The Karate Kid and one of its sequels, as Daniel Larusso's mother, and on the 1970s serial sitcom Soap as Jodie Dallas's roommate Alice, one of the first recurring lesbian characters in...
as Miss Blankenship - Charlie HofheimerCharlie HofheimerCharlie Hofheimer is an American film, television and theatre actor. He landed his first film role as Jim Garland in the 1994 version of Lassie. He has also made many TV guest appearances in a number of TV series....
as Abe Drexler - Zosia Mamet as Joyce Ramsay
External links
- Official episode guide at AMC