Don is on suspension following the Hershey's pitch at the end of season six, but is still working by secretly feeding Freddy copy. Peggy, who is impressed by the ideas that Freddy is seemingly coming up with, is at odds with her new boss, Lou Avery, who treats the creative team like children and displays sexist and racist tendencies.
After a tense first meeting arranged by Ken, Joan convinces Butler Footwear's new head of marketing not to drop SC&P. While Roger is exploring the counterculture (a group of hippies having seemingly taken up residence in his apartment), his daughter Margaret tells him she has forgiven him for any past wrongdoing as part of her newfound enlightenment.
Over in Los Angeles, Pete has embraced the Los Angeles lifestyle, while Ted devotes all his attention to his work. While Ted is visiting New York, Don files out west to visit Megan in an attempt to patch up their relationship. They have a pleasant dinner with her Hollywood agent, and their reconciliation seems to be beginning well even if Don will be bicoastal for a while. On his flight back to New York, Don's seatmate is an attractive widow who comforts him when he admits to having been a bad husband.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes.
- Alleged Car: The car that they are developing a campaign for is the infamous Chevy Nova which was later known for rusting.
- Cool Car: Megan's new car in LA is a soft-top Austin-Healey 3000 in British racing green note . Pointedly, Don doesn't get to drive it.
- Fanservice: Don and Megan have sex at night and in the morning, and she looks hot.
- Ghostwriter: Freddy, it turns out, is now this to Don, as the latter is officially on a leave of absence following the events of "In Care Of".Freddy: You're making quite a name for me out there.
- Hippie Parents: While he still dresses smartly for work, Roger is more or less living like a hippie.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Joan after dealing with a client and with the disrespect she's been getting, she gloomily asks the bartender for a whiskey after a meeting.
- Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis: Roger is taking this trope up to 11.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The episode begins with Freddy looking directly at the camera and saying, "Are you ready? Because I want you to pay attention." Always good advice on this show.
- Male Gaze: In-Universe, Joan is annoyed with the constant men that stare at her and regard her as a sex object. When she goes to visit a professor at Columbia there are some students reacting to her rather ... appreciatively.
- Over Crank: Don's arrival in LA — Megan meets him at the airport in a sexy miniskirt and a sports car, and kisses him in slow motion, as the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man" plays.
- A Party, Also Known as an Orgy: Roger is shown waking up after what is implied to have been an orgy, or something similar, in his apartment. Whether Roger and his new friends had disguised it as something else is not stated.
- Scenery Censor: When Roger answers the phone while naked, he uses the phone to cover his naughty bits.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Don and Megan have sex at night and in the morning, and there is a sexy discretion shot in both cases.
- Shout-Out: The sideways view of Don on the airport travelator is a clear homage to the opening sequence of The Graduate.
- Slut-Shaming: Peggy gets this from Lou Avery, who quips that he supposes he's the one immune to her "charms", when she asks him about work.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Joan and Peggy deal with some very sexist men who demean their intelligence at every corner.
- Stepford Smiler: Peggy when Ted stops by the office and she pretends nothing is bothering her, Stan knows better. She truly breaks down from the stress of working her tail off for Lou Avery and from Ted when she's alone in her apartment.
- Timeskip: Two months have passed since the events of "In Care Of".
