Don calls Dawn for his messages first thing in the morning. She doesn't have much time for him with her new responsibilities as office manager, but does let him know that Megan's agent Alan Silver called. Megan is undermining herself as an actress with desperate behavior towards casting directors and Alan wants Don to intervene. Don hops on a flight out west and surprises Megan. She's initially happy to see him, but angry when she learns the real reason for his visit after they make love. And even angrier when he reveals he hasn't been working at his old agency. She tells him to leave and go back to New York.
Bobby is excited to be going on a field trip to a farm upstate. He's also happy to have his mom chaperoning him. While she's a little out of place, the trip goes well enough until she finds out he traded her sandwich for candy to a girl who hadn't brought a sandwich. When she gets home she broods to herself and to Henry. As she sees it she's already lost Sally, is losing Bobby now, and with Gene it's only a matter of time.
The Clios are coming up. SC&P is only up for one award, a Playtex ad Michael wrote. Peggy's ad for St Joseph's pain reliever wasn't even submitted. Lou Avery doesn't care, being so indifferent to quality he doesn't even want Stan to do artwork until an ad is already in production. Peggy does care but doesn't feel comfortable saying anything.
Back in New York, Don takes a dinner with another ad firm trying to woo him away and fends off what may or may not be a call girl they hired to sway him. After dinner he drops in at Roger's hotel room. After a testy exchange Roger invites him back to work. As this is an impulsive move that Roger didn't run by anyone else, everyone is surprised when Don arrives the following morning (Roger's running late) and the other partners are less than pleased. Most of them want Don gone, but Roger points out that they have no grounds to fire him, and that buying him out would financially cripple the company for at least the next four years. Eventually, they decide to let Don back to work, but under a stringent new set of guidelines. He agrees.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: When Don returns to the agency unannounced, almost no one shows any joy at seeing him. Ken Cosgrove, a Nice Guy in general, is one exception. Ginsberg is another, surprisingly enough given their history.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Most of the partners are pretty gung-ho about firing Don when they have a meeting to discuss his future in the company. Roger, who invited him back to work without consulting them, asks the other partners how they intend to buy back his shares, considering it wasn't all that long ago that they paid substantial sums to the families of Lane Pryce and Frank Gleason, and they just invested in an incredibly expensive, room-sized computer, leading to an Oh, Crap! reaction from Bert and Joan.
- Blatant Lies: Henry's response to Betty asking if she's a good mother. Not that he has much choice.
- Call-Back: Ken shows Don a photo of his son, Eddie (named for his father-in-law, presumably). He says that taking Eddie to the carousel in Central Park reminds him of Don, harking back to Don's Kodak Carousel pitch.
- Cold Turkeys Are Everywhere: Don is still trying to stay faithful and make things work with Megan. First there's the woman who interrupts his dinner (who may or may not be a call girl hired for that purpose). Then Roger's polyamorous lover Sherry clearly shows an interest.
- Failed Audition Plot: Deconstructed with Megan. When she's unsatisfied with one of her auditions she basically stalks the producer for another chance, alarming her agent sufficiently that he reaches out to Don.
- Farmer's Daughter: Bobby's teacher, who's taking her class on a field trip to her father's farm. Betty and the other mother present quickly notice that her rather skimpy attire does not include a bra.
- First-Name Basis: Don is enough of a frequent flier that he and the flight attendant greet each other by first name.
- Hypocrite: Betty during her lunch with the now working Francine, lightly scolds her for not finding being a stay-at-home mother satisfying enough to retain. Francine lightly references Betty's divorce from Don (so much for being "old-fashioned") and Betty is shown (as she was throughout the series) to only enjoy the privilege of being a upper-class housewife and not the work (like spending time with her children).
- It's All About Me: Don comes clean to Megan about being suspended from work. He also tells her that he's reduced his drinking. Her response is probably not what he expected.Megan: So, with a clear head, you got up every day and decided you didn't want to be with me?
- Metaphorically True: Harry asserts the superiority of SC&P's computer over another agency getting attention for their data-driven technique. When Jim sets up a profile in the Wall Street Journal, Harry has to tell him they don't really have a computer, they just use someone else's.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Megan interprets Don's shiftiness as a sign that he's found another woman. It doesn't really help when she learns the truth.
- Mood Whiplash: Betty's rare attempt at bonding with Bobby seems to be going rather well ... until he swaps her sandwich for some candy.
- Parenting the Husband: Gender-flipped with Don and Megan. He flies out to LA after her agent calls him because he's worried about her behaviour and thinks Don may be a stabilising influence. Her sarcastic response (to her somewhat older husband) when she finds out that this is why he's come to see her invokes this trope.Don: I'll admit it, I was worried.Megan: Thanks for the visit, Daddy!
- Revenge Before Reason: Jim is so determined to get Don out of SC&P that he's willing to risk the company being put in a financial hole for the next four years by buying out his shares. Fortunately for everyone, Bert and Joan are a little more reasonably-minded (and they really look down on most of Creative).
- Silent Treatment: Betty to Bobby for pretty much the rest of the day after the sandwich swap.
- Stay in the Kitchen: During a lunch with Francine (now wearing a stylish pansuit, her own jewellery, and working as a part-time travel agent), Betty tries to shame her for not finding staying home and being a mother fulfilling, Francine snarkily calls out her hypocrisy.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jim, after finding out that Harry flat-out lied to a client about SC&P having a computer.Jim: You have stiff competition, but I believe you to be the most dishonest man I've ever worked with.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Bobby is this to Betty, he is very pleased she wants to come on his field trip and goes out of his way to please her, but all it takes is him giving her sandwich to a classmate to have Betty declare he ruined "a perfect day".
- Xanatos Gambit: The SC&P partners agree to let Don return on the condition that he agrees to a clause in his contract which means that if he so much as looks at a client the wrong way, he'll be fired, lose his entire shareholding in the business without compensation, and be placed under a non-compete agreement, thus effectively ending his advertising career. Their intention is presumably that either Don will relent and drop down to being a silent partner in the company, or mess up immediately and allow them to dispose of him once and for all with minimal fuss.
