Some things are not for children.
Don runs into an ex-lover, and can't seem to escape her presence. Joan's husband, Greg, returns from his tour of duty in Vietnam only to reveal that he is being sent back for another year of service. Sally becomes frightened after reading stories on the Richard Speck
murders, leading her step-grandmother to educate her on the concepts of fear and defense. Dawn spends the night at Peggy's apartment after becoming too afraid to return home because of racial violence near Harlem.
This episode contains examples of:
- An Aesop: The episode points out from Joan's story, the Butler Shoes ad, the news about the Richard Speck Student Nurse murders, and how anxious all the women characters got at a possible intruder (Peggy and Dawn screaming when they ran into one another at Don's office, Sally sleeping under the sofa with the butcher knife, and Pauline Francis having the plan to keep the weapon close by) that Romanticized Abuse is anything but romantic and is more about exercising control over another person.
- Ambiguous Situation: Whether Andrea's first visit to Don's apartment was real, or part of Don's fever dream.
- As the Good Book Says...: When Joyce is showing the pictures of Richard Speck's victims to Ginsberg, Megan, Peggy and Stan, she mentions how one nurse managed to survived, and quotes Job 1:15 - "I only am escaped alone to tell thee" (though it's more likely she was referring to this instead). Ginsberg doesn't think she's funny (see Everyone Has Standards below).
- Call-Back:
- Gail Holloway mentions that Joan plays the accordion, which she previously demonstrated in Season 3.
- When Greg protests that being in the Army makes him feel like a good man, Joan tells him "You're not a good man. You never were; even before we were married and you know what I'm talking about," implicitly recalling how he raped her in Season 2.
- Every Woman Has Her Price: For $410 in cash, Peggy will do extra work over the weekend and lie to her colleagues about it. Throwing money at the problem clearly works for Roger — who recently bribed Harry into switching offices — but it's an expensive habit.Peggy: The work is ten dollars. The lie is extra.
- Everyone Has Standards: Ginsberg is disgusted by the graphic photos that Joyce brought of the bodies the nurses Richard Speck murdered in Chicago, and tells off the other SCDP employees who are fascinated with them.
- Downplayed by his crass verbiage, but when the topic of the riots comes up, Greg praises the "negroes" he's fought alongside in Vietnam.
- Fever Dream Episode: A rather subdued example. Don imagines cheating on Megan with Andrea and then murdering her after she tells him that they will continue having an affair.
- It's All About Me: Greg returning to the Army is explicitly stated to not be because any sense of patriotism or wanting to help people, but because being important makes him feel good.
- Jerkass: Any facade of Greg being a good guy is completely shattered here, revealing him to be as selfish jerk:
- He lies to Joan about being forced to return to Vietnam. He volunteered and lied to her face about it.
- He angrily tells her that he's returning to the Army and doesn't bother discussing it further with her, ignoring his own duties to his family, particularly as a new father (having no reason to believe Kevin isn't his).
- It's also really apparent by the end that he only returns to the Army to feel important and not because of any sense of patriotism or wanting to save lives.
- Oh, Crap!: Roger, when he realises he has a meeting with Mohawk Airlines on Monday and has forgotten to get Creative to do the work for it.
- Remember the New Guy?: Andrea, Don's ex-lover who Don and Megan run into by chance, is explained by Don (at this point taking his marital fidelity seriously) as a freelance writer from the old Sterling Cooper firm. We have never seen her before, but given how Peggy was treated after becoming a junior copywriter, having Andrea there in a similar position would have been a big deal. However, Peggy mentioned in Season One (set in 1960) that she was told she was the first woman to do any writing for SC since World War II, which appears to be contradicted by Don telling Megan that he knew Andrea six years ago (which would mean she was at SC in 1960). It could be the case that, as a freelancer, Andrea was only there for a short time (perhaps after Peggy went into labour) — or maybe Don's lying to Megan about how he knew Andrea.
- Take That!: Joan delivers one after another to Greg after she's had enough:Joan: I've been thinking about it and, I want you to go.Gail: I'll put this away.Greg: I'm glad you came around, it's only a year.Joan: No, I want you to go and never come back.Greg: Damn it Joanie. They need me.Joan: Well then it works out, because we don't.Greg: I'm very important there. I have twenty docs and medics who rely on me. They look to me for my skill and leadership.Joan: I'm glad the Army makes you feel like a man, because I'm sick of trying to do it.Greg: The Army makes me feel like a good man.Joan: You're not a good man. You never were; even before we were married and you know what I'm talking about.Greg: If I walk out that door, that's it.Joan: That's it.
- Title Drop: Mystery Date, a real-life boardgame aimed at teenage girls, is name-dropped in a TV ad. The concept of the game — the players draw cards to advance to opening a door, hoping to find one of a variety of desirable male dates on the other side while simultaneously hoping to avoid the undesirable ones — ties in with the paranoia about the Speck murders that permeates this episode.
