Mad Cap: "Out of Town"

Jon Hamm

Welcome to Mad Cap: a daily rundown of every episode of the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men. During this time, I will be compiling my thoughts and highlights as we travel through every moment and season of the Emmy-award winning drama that has come to define modern TV. The goal is to be a refresher on every moment for Don Draper and his band of advertisement executives leading up to the final season. Stay for all of the shocking moments and the brilliant acting performances, and make sure to chime in with your thoughts and criticisms on why the show means something to you.

Season 3, Episode 1

"Out of Town"

"I don't know. I keep going to a lot of places and 

ending up somewhere I've already been." 

- Don Draper (Jon Hamm)

Plot:

It's Don Draper's (Jon Hamm) birthday. Six months after the previous episode, things look to be repaired between Don and Betty Draper (January Jones). However, his suitcase is broken, which is problematic for his trip to see a client named London Fog. Meanwhile, the former Head of Accounts is ceremoniously fired and is replaced by Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) and Ken Cosgrove (Aaron Staton). Also, the British have officially merged with Sterling Cooper and are getting acquainted with everything. During Don's trip with Salvatore Romano (Bryan Batt), they come face-to-face with some stewardesses who they seduce into joining them for dinner. Don takes one to have sex while Salvatore hangs around in his room complaining about the heat. When the repairman comes to fix it, the two end up making out. After somebody pulls the fire alarm, Don takes the fire escape by Salvatore's window and sees his true colors, which makes Salvatore nervous. Pete doesn't handle working with Ken all that well after he finds out that he won't be the only one in charge. He takes it out on Trudy (Alison Brie) and demands some respect. However, he is too nervous to apply any force. Don comes home to discover that Sally Draper (Kiernan Shipka) broke the suitcase because she didn't want Don leaving. Don assured her that he wouldn't be gone long and would return.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Vincent Kartheiser

MVP:

Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)

It has been a rocky two seasons for Pete as Don has gotten all of the glory. Even the finale of season 2 ended on a very defeated note for him. In this episode, the honor that he so desperately wanted and makes him salivate is finally his. The only catch is that he has to share it with Ken, which he isn't all that excited about. He runs the gamut of emotions from ecstatic and drunk to playing a concealed man on the verge of losing his mind. He wants success, but only if he is allowed to do so with his authority. This is a particularly strong episode of Pete facing a harsh reality because Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) and the British team thought it would be interesting to compete against each other. There's cracks of him about to lose his mind, but will he? I'm sure somebody is going to get hurt sooner than later.

Left to right: Aaron Staton and Kartheiser

Best Scene

It was supposed to be a moment of triumph. After Pryce told Pete that he was the Head of Accounts, there was plenty to expect. Pete was already drunk and ready to take it with a grin. However, when the reality sets in and that he is part of an elaborate experiment to see if he is better than Ken, things become more bleak and the desperate man who wanted to get ahead for two seasons finally starts trembling and demanding more respect. In the meeting, he is baffled by his new job and disappointed that he has to share duties. When the meeting is over, he confronts Ken, who is clearly more enthusiastic and happy to have the job. Pete humors him, though there is an underlying sense that he wants to kill Ken, or find a way to quickly usurp him. Along with a later feud with Trudy, this is a particularly strong episode that shows that Pete is more than a slimy sidekick on this series.

UP NEXT: "Love Among the Ruins"