Basket of Kisses

This episode takes place approximately between July 21st and August 4th, 1962. It opens one week before the dinner party, which is on a Sunday night. It ends some time the following week, and in Episode 2.09; Six Month Leave, which opens on Monday, August 6th, Don had only been away for one weekend.

Saturday
At the stable
Betty is riding a horse, hard. She dismounts and, exhausted, rests her head against the horse.

Don and Betty’s bedroom
Betty, home from the stable, starts in on Don, who is still in bed. She doesn’t have any of the sweetness as when she gave him her ˜honeydo’ list in Marriage of Figaro. She has chores for him in preparation for a party they are giving in a week.

Sunday
Anita’s place
Peggy arrives with colored pencils for the boys and a Horatio Hornblower book for Gerry. Anita complains about Gerry; feels that he may be a malingerer. The doorbell rings; Father Gill pays a surprise visit to check in on Gerry. Anita goes to see if Gerry is awake, leaving Father Gill and Peggy to talk. He offers up that she doesn’t seem comfortable at church, which she denies. He suggests, admittedly selfishly, that she get involved with the publicity for the CYO dance. She protests a little, but he really kind of bullies her into taking this encourages her to take this to her boss as a pro bono project.

Monday
Duck’s office
Duck informs Harry of a situation involving their Maytag client. The ABC Sunday Night Movie had a character, a murderous Russian spy, who was referred to repeatedly as ‘The Agitator’, and this led right into the latest Maytag spot promoting ‘The Amazing Agitator’. Duck emphasizes the importance of avoiding mistakes like this: Politics aside, you need to be aware that a client will take any excuse not to pay us. Harry assures him that he will get to the bottom of this.

Harry walks out and encounters the boys (Paul, Ken & Salvatore), sitting around the table in the main area. Harry, a bit panicked, asks if any of them can help him read television scripts. They remind him that’s what ‘juniors’ are for.

Don’s office
Duck and Pete come in to discuss a meeting they just had with the folks from Heineken, and explain the challenge in promoting it. Don feels that housewives are the untapped (no pun) market; that a beer from Holland has an elegance they would be prouder to entertain with than the average Bud. To test this theory, Don suggests getting it into supermarkets up and down the Hudson; northern New Jersey, Connecticut (‘the cash belt’). It would be displayed on end aisles, away from the other beers, surrounded by cheese and crackers. Pete agrees and Duck gives the okay. Duck and Pete go to leave, when Duck turns back to Don saying that he hates to disappoint his wife (Don’s) but he may have to bail on Sunday night. Don points out that Roger really wants this opportunity for them all to schmooze with Crab Colson. Pete asks Who’s Crab Colson, Duck says Duh, Rogers and Cowan (but without the duh) and leaves. Hilarity = Pete’s silent absorption of all this while trying not to express any of the disappointment, and Don’s equally silent Is there anything else?.

The Drapers’ dining room
Betty is readying the place. She notices one of the dining room chairs has a wobbly leg, tries repeatedly to shake it better, then whacks it on the floor until it is broken in several pieces. She picks up the remnants and leaves the room. Sally and Bobby see this from the living room couch, where they are watching TV. They look freaked.

Harry’s office
Roger is buzzed in. He tells Harry that he heard from Mitch (in media, a character we’ve never seen) that Harry wants to expand the department. Harry explains that there should a dedicated man for broadcast operations; reading scripts and having meetings to discuss. Roger says there’s no money for this position, and after some discussion (with office-mate Warren at his desk the whole time) he tells Harry that he will have to do the job himself.

Peggy’s office
Peggy is at her desk. Her phone rings, she answers ‘Peggy Olson’s office’. It’s Father Gill, who asks to speak to Miss Olson. She totally pretends to be her own receptionist and puts him through. He is calling with feedback on her flyer. The title is ‘A Night To Remember’. Father Gill says that the committee feels that it sends the wrong message. She tries to get him to take care of their objections, but he insists that she meet with the committee.

Harry’s office
Harry is at his desk, watching TV. Joan comes to see him, saying that she’d received a memo from Mr. Sterling’s office saying that he needs a girl to help him with his workload. Harry is less than thrilled, saying this is not what he had in mind. Joan mentions that her force is spread thin. Warren, out for a soda, comes back, sees Joan, and greets her with something between a quiver and a pant, and Joan is appropriately dismissive. Harry describes the extent of his needs; someone to run the commercial scripts past the networks, and also read the network scripts and run any concerns past Harry. Joan says she’ll make sure everything at least gets read, takes the scripts and leaves. Warren expresses disappointment in himself for not being able to speak to Joan as comfortably as Harry. “She’s so much woman”. Harry could seriously care less; he is so stressed out.

Sunday
The Drapers dinner party
In the living room, a tutu’d Sally is dancing for the guests, while Betty and Carla are preparing. Roger is remarkably engaged and impressed with Sally’s performance; he is excellent at this game. Crab, Roger and Mona talk about their daughters growing up. Don offers to refresh drinks, and Petra Colson, already trashed, has her hand out for her next drink.

Duck arrives, apologizing to Betty that his date canceled. She replies that she might have been able to find him a replacement. What a weird world. Duck says hello to the kids, remembering Sally from her day at the office. Betty takes the children upstairs to bed. Duck apologizes again, this time to Don, for being late, saying his own wife would have freaked over an uneven table count.

Duck and Don join the party in the living room, and Roger makes all the introductions, particularly relishing “Crab, Duck; Duck, Crab”. Duck asks for just tomato juice, Petra gives him a bit of grief over not having a drink, and Duck very smoothly says he’ll have something with dinner. There is small talk about the route to the Drapers, boat owning, and when will the Drapers join Willow Oaks (yacht club). Betty comes in and announces dinner, and Duck immediately gets Crab’s ear about Rogers and Cowan. Roger is pleased. Petra smacks into the doorway.

At the head of the dining room table, before her guests are seated, Betty announces the international-themed menu with poised perfection. When she gets to the beverages, she offers a choice between Burgundy from France, or a frosted glass of beer from Holland. Which happens to be Heineken. Duck immediately assumes that Don has set this up to prove his point, but Don says he had nothing to do with Betty’s purchase. Betty is confused until Roger explains that Heineken is their client, and Duck fills in that Don “….said you are the market, and you are.” This is all while everyone is still standing. Betty keeps smiling, but Mona appears to pick up on her embarrassment.

In the church
Peggy meets with Father Gill and the CYO committee. She professionally presents the flier, and the ladies have many suggestions for what might change. She reluctantly agrees to look into options, (though she had believed her work to be done), and asks to speak to Father Gill when they are finished. Privately, she tells him that these changes are completely unnecessary, and that it was his job to back up her expertise and put the committee’s trust in her work. He finally gets it and apologizes for the extra work.

Joan’s apartment
Joan is on her couch, surrounded by scripts. Greg, her fiancee, comes into the apartment with Chinese takeout, for which Joan had forgotten to set the table; she had been so immersed. She talks about a soap opera script, asking Greg if what she is reading is medically relevant. He doesn’t understand why she is reading for her job, saying she should be focused on finding a house. She reminds him that he’s put the kibosh on the house hunting. Greg reinforces that her goal should be, as opposed to reading about soap operas, watching them while eating bon-bons to satisfy her (imply pregnancy-induced) cravings.

Back at the Drapers
Carla and Betty are cleaning up while Don watches TV in the living room. Betty sends Carla home, saying they can pick it up again in the morning. Carla offers to stay longer and let Betty retire to the bedroom, but Betty insists. The minute she leaves, the second that she is alone with Don, she goes to the ledge. She walks straight to the TV room and turns off the television. You embarrassed me. Don has no idea what she’s talking about, but she persists. And Don won’t budge. You embarrassed me. He is a smooth opponent; denying, condescending, dismissive. I’m not going to bed. But she doesn’t back away. Not until you tell me why you insist on humiliating me. And finally, she leaps.

I know about you and that woman. There. She’s said it. Betty does not back down; Admit it. He won’t. You’re lying. Deny, deny, deny. Don goes to bed.

Betty opens their bedroom door, sees Don feigning sleep, and closes the door again. She enters the children’s bedroom, takes off her shoes, and crawls into bed with Sally.

Monday
The Drapers’ kitchen
The next morning, Don comes into the kitchen. The kids are having breakfast, Betty is smoking a cigarette and is fully ignoring Don; she is still wearing her party dress and is quite ‘undone’ (probably got no sleep). Don is being cheerful, as though nothing has happened, but she won’t react. He grabs a bit of food off of Sally’s plate and heads out to work.

Sterling Cooper reception area
Mr. Pastern and Mr. Kostis, the Maytag clients, are chatting with Harry, having just finished up a meeting. Joan stops over and Harry introduces her, explaining that she’s been handling Broadcast Operations. The men are happy to put the face (to say the least) with the voice.

The Drapers’ residence
Betty, still in the party dress and with a glass of wine in hand, begins searching through Don’s clothes. She’s in every pocket, pulling things out, smelling things, tossing garments to the floor. Then she’s in his office, going through each desk drawer. All she finds are scraps of handwritten advertising slogans/concepts.

Duck’s office
Pete brings the Heineken clients”Phil and Francis”to meet with Duck and Don. The Sterling Cooper crew had run some tests on their own, and they are ready to present the results to Heineken. The client hadn’t known about the research and the news is exciting. Don describes how they had marketed the product, explaining that though they’d tried it on a very small sample, it had done well. Duck jumps in, saying that Don was being modest”he described Betty’s dinner party, and how it had featured Heineken. Duck describes Betty: “She’s exactly who we’re after; well-off, educated, with plenty of time to shop. And it’s important for her that she’s the perfect hostess, the perfect wife.” Don looks uncomfortable with this portion of the conversation. Duck goes on to say they are even considering using Betty’s menu, verbatim, in ladies magazines. Phil likes the idea of advertising in this new territory, which is what Don has been pushing for. They agree to start in a few regions.

Sterling Cooper conference room
Harry, Joan, Mr. Hanson (a client from an unidentified brand) (and his unidentified and silent assistant) are discussing ad placement. Harry recommends buying air time on Love of Life; his recommendation based on women as the hot audience for soap operas. Joan respectfully suggests that they put their money into time during As The World Turns. She says it’s going to have an extraordinary summer, because “Someone people think is dead, is not”. She goes on to tell them that this is considered a ‘special summer storyline’, and that she has confirmed with the network that it will be receiving a lot of promotion. Harry chimes in that the price is currently competitive, but its value will likely increase. Harry and Joan close the sale, and Mr. Hanson is very pleased, particularly with Joan.

The Drapers’ bedroom
Betty is laying on her bed, still in her party dress, with some of Don’s suits at her feet. Sally comes in and checks on her, offering her some aspirin. She leaves. Betty drags herself upright, and as she’s putting her feet to the floor, steps on her wine glass. She pulls a pretty big hunk of glass out of her foot and slowly starts to clean up the mess.

Roger Sterling’s office
Harry has been summoned. Roger has been receiving rave reports from both clients and the accounting department. Harry reminds Roger that he hasn’t been doing it alone. Roger credits ‘the secretaries’, but Harry points out that it has only been Joan Holloway. Roger says they can make it a full-time position paying $150 a week, and that ‘he’ has to share an office. Harry is pleased.

The Drapers’ house
Don comes through the front door, the house is dim and quiet. He walks up the stairs and into their bedroom, finds Betty sitting up on the bed, still in the dress. He asks where the kids are, she tells him they are in bed. She tells him nothing happened… nothing. She found nothing. Not in his pockets or in his drawers. Don asks how much she’s had to drink and holds his You’re being ridiculous ground, but she is not having it.  “I would never do this to you. How could you do this to me?” Don answers that he didn’t do anything, and leaves the room.

Don is asleep on the couch, and Betty comes to him. Clean, wet hair, in a plain white robe. Tells him she doesn’t want it to be like this, and that she doesn’t know what to do. But she doesn’t accept his touch, and to each imploring declaration of love and plea of innocence from Don, Betty digs deeper for the truth. “You never say you love me.” “Do you hate me?” Don loves her, loves the children, and doesn’t want “to lose all this.” Betty walks out of the room without a word.

I don’t think it’s the next day because no one hires someone that quickly. But he’s junior enough that he could have been a quick hire. I’ll say a few days have passed.

Sterling Cooper bullpen
Peggy walks Father Gill through the office toward hers. He is impressed with the office. Pete and Ken observe and snark.

Harry’s office
New guy Dan Lindstrom tells a story to Harry and they laugh. Joan comes in, and Harry introduces her to Dan, telling her he’s going to be in charge of broadcast operations. She holds back her shock, horror, disappointment, sadness and rage, while Harry thanks her for the great job she’s done, and asks her to fill Dan in on how it works. She does. Her description, far advanced from Harry’s initial description of it to her early in the episode, highlights (to us, the viewers) one final time how much value she has added to the position.

Peggy’s office/the copy room
Father Gill is at the copy machine. He is mesmerized by it. He tells Peggy that he and the committee realize how lucky they are to have received her help. He then asks her if there’s something she needs to talk about; he’s noticed she doesn’t take communion. She says no, she’s fine. He pushes forward, several times, Peggy continues to swerve. He says that there is nothing that God doesn’t already know. That there is no sin too great to bring to God. That distancing from the church distances her from everything. He asks her if she feels she does not deserve God’s love. At this, Peggy nearly breaks, but doesn’t. She stands up, collects his copies into a box, and he shows himself out.

The Drapers’ house
Betty is checking on dinner, and she joins the kids who are watching The Danny Thomas Show. Jimmy Barrett’s UTZ commercial comes on. Betty stares.

Don’s office
Duck and Don are discussing the expansion of the new Heineken marketing. Don’s covering secretary buzzes in that Mrs. Draper is on the line. Duck leaves (“Thank her again for me”) so that Don can take the call. And take it he does. Betty: “Don’t come home…I don’t care what you do, I just don’t want you here.”

Joan is home, in her bedroom, getting undressed, and she reveals a deep and bra strap-induced welt, which she slowly rubs.

Peggy is home, in her bathtub, looking emotionally frozen. She brings water up to her face, and when she drops her hands, her face is unchanged.

Father Gill is home, in his small room, getting undressed. He smokes a cigarette as he removes his garb. In his white t-shirt, he pulls his guitar out of its case, and, sheet music at hand, strums and sings Early in the Morning.

The song continues playing over the final scene.

Don is in the kitchen, still dressed except for his jacket. He pulls a Heineken out of the refrigerator and sits at the table. The camera pulls back to reveal that he is in the Sterling Cooper office.

Father Gill’s playing is joined by the Peter, Paul and Mary recording, eventually, as the credits roll, his voice fades out and theirs take over.

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