I haven't even cried yet.
A plane crash causes the firm to go after the account for the airline involved and drop the smaller airline they have an account with. Pete contends with the news that his family is broke when his father perishes in the crash. Meanwhile, Peggy pays a visit to her mother and sister, who are now guardians of a child.
This episode contains examples of:
- Break the Haughty: Joan's Alpha Bitch behaviors bite her on the ass after she makes a racial comment to Sheila about Paul, when Paul approaches her she fails to apologize, then Paul photocopies her license...revealing to everyone she's over 30 and single in 1962.
- Crossdresser: Peggy talks with one of Paul's fellow Princeton alumni, who mentions that Paul apparently did this back then.Eugene: According to him, that's the way Shakespeare did it. note
- Everyone Has Standards: Don is extremely resistant to trying to gain American Airlines as a client, since they will need to dump Mohawk Airlines because of the conflict of interest. Since Mohawk has been a loyal customer for years and hasn't given them any grief, he is repulsed at the thought of tossing them aside just to apply for AA.
- Flat "What": Don, after hearing what happened to Pete's dad. It's likely the first time that Draper has expressed true sympathy to Campbell by this point.
- Green-Eyed Monster: This episode is the first to showcase the tense relationship between Peggy and Anita. There is a bit where Katherine, their mother, remarks on Peggy having "such a pretty face", the camera then jumps to Anita who looks either irritated, jealous ("why doesn't she say stuff like that to me?"), or both.
- Harsher in Hindsight: An in-universe occurrence. Pete's joke about Flight 1's crash ("Some of the passengers were on their way to a golf tournament...") becomes even less funny when it's revealed that his father was on the flight.
- Held Gaze: Pete and Peggy, briefly, from across the office.
- Huddle Power: Don and Roger walk into the office and see the rest of the office engaged in one. When Roger asks what's going on, we see that the office is gathered around the radio, concerned over the news of American Airlines Flight 1 going down.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Pete immediately downs one after hearing about his dad's death. His brother later asks for a big one before telling Pete that their father lost all of his money.
- Informed Attribute: Joan's license notes her to have green eyes, her eyes are as blue as Peggy's in all actuality.
- Ironic Echo: When Don is forced to sit down with the Mohawk representative to let him know that Sterling Cooper is taking their business elsewhere, the rep is quick to point out a few lines from Don's original pitch, which now sound even more hollow, given the circumstance.Henry: You know, when we came in there, they all said Sterling Cooper is Don Draper. That's what you get. That talk you gave me about us growing together. You said Sterling Cooper didn't need a big airline. You were going to make us a big airline.
- Killed Off for Real: Pete's dad, who had appeared once before in the previous season, is revealed to have been on the doomed plane.
- Older Than They Look: Joan, apparently, as a bunch of girls giggle at the piece of information showing her birth date (02/24/31). This would imply that she is 31. An embarrassed (and angry) Joan rips the information off of the wall.Peggy: I never would've guess you were in your thirties.
- Parting-Words Regret: Pete remarks to Trudy that the last conversation with his father was an argument over what kind of dogs Barney Kellogg had.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Paul gets a dressing-down from Joan, who notes that he's a phony that's dating a black girl (who also happens to be a Grocery Store Manager) so that he can feel magnanimous and important.
- Stunned Silence: Pete's initial reaction to the news of his father. He simply hangs up the phone, drinks a glass of scotch, and wordlessly wanders into Don's office. Even relaying the information to Don takes some effort.
- Tempting Fate: Pete caps off the Gallows Humour surrounding the crashed plane with a smug joke of his own. He's soon informed that his father was one of the victims.
- That's What I Would Do: Don tells Pete to go home and be with his family in a time of grieving. Pete's response is to ask if that's something that Don would do, to which Don replies "yes".
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: One of the things Pete is forced to confront is that his father never expressed much approval for his profession or his accomplishments.Pete: Of course, it turns out I really didn't know anything about him except that he did not like advertising.Duck: Ah, that's his style. I'm sure he was proud of you. Some people have trouble saying it.Pete: Yes. That was a problem for him.
- With Friends Like These...: This episode shows that Joan, with all her authority and popularity, isn't truly respected by her co-workers even the secretaries. One moment shows Joan talking with a secretary about someone they know, the other moment shows that same secretary giggling over Joan's age being revealed and running off with some quick niceties when she sees Joan; appears that Joan doesn't have much friends at the office.
- You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Don grows angry when Sterling Cooper decides to jump on the news of the crash by working their way into American Airlines' good graces. The main point of ire come from the fact that they'll be forced to dump Mohawk Airlines (a much smaller business partner that's been nothing but supportive of the firm) in order to even begin negotiating with AA, when the former has done nothing wrong.Don: I can't believe I look like the idiot for wanting to be loyal to these people.
