Inside Mad Men: Season 6, Episode 13, “In Care Of”

Ok, where do we begin? Lots of things packed into the season finale that leads up to the final episodes next year. I have no idea how to start this.

I’ll do it this way. Don Draper basically hits rock bottom. His relationship with Sally is in the dumper. He hits a minister and spends a night in jail. Don feels that he has to stop drinking, but he steals an idea from Stan and decides to leave for a new Sterling Cooper and Partners office in California to handle matters for Sunkist. Megan is extremely happy and can’t wait for opportunities in Hollywood.

Ted Chaough gets jealous over Peggy looking hot for a date and goes to her apartment afterwards to sleep with her. He then announces to Peggy that he’s going to leave his wife. After he gets back home, Ted gets buyer’s remorse and decides that he needs to go to California.

Pete Campbell finds in one of the darkest twists ever on Mad Men that his mother died on a cruise vacationing with male nurse Manolo. Pete immediately suspects that Manolo threw her overboard. He goes after Bob Benson, but Bob exacts his revenge. Realizing that Pete can’t drive a stick shift, Bob has Pete go into a Camaro at the encouragement of GM execs. Of course, the whole thing goes wrong, Pete can’t shift and crashes into a display and also runs over a secretary in the process. Pete gets taken off the GM account. After realizing he can’t win in investigating Manolo, he decides he needs to go to California, but not after visiting ex-wife Trudy one more time.

Roger Sterling finds that his family has rejected him. His daughter and son-in-law are bleeding him dry for money. Realizing this, Joan decides that Roger needs to be in their son’s life (remember Roger fathered baby Kevin) and invites him over for Thanksgiving with Bob Benson.

Ted pleads with Don that he should be the one to go to California. Don thinks it’s with Peggy, but Ted admits that he can’t be with Peggy and needs to be with his wife and two sons.

A meeting is set up with Hershey’s Chocolate to convince them to advertise. It all goes well when Don makes up a story that his father bought him a Hershey bar and it made him feel warm. Hershey’s execs eat it up. Then Don breaks down and tells the executives that he lied and he grew up in a whorehouse. Crickets take over. The partners are shocked. Don tells Ted he can head off to Cali, to Cali, Cali.

Ted tells Peggy that he’s leaving for California with his family and she’ll thank him later. She’s pissed and throws him out of her office.

Don tells Megan that they’re not leaving for California. She’s pissed over quitting her soap opera job, trusting Don and leaves him.

Don is summoned to SCP for a meeting to find that Roger, Joan, Jim Cutler and Bertram Cooper are waiting for him. In essence, Don, the man who helped create the agency, was fired over his behavior. He then goes to the elevator to see Duck Phillips bring in a man from a competing agency to replace him.

Peggy is in Don’s office looking over his accounts while Moon River plays in the background.

At the end, Don brings his kids including Sally to the whorehouse to where he grew up and that is how Season 6 ends as we hear Judy Collins’ Both Sides Now. Don Draper’s circle is just about complete. Consider my mind blown.

Ok, let’s go over the episode. You have Matt Weiner, Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Kevin Rahm and Elisabeth Moss talking about what happened.

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Costume Designer Janie Bryant discusses Joan’s pumpkin outfit at the beginning of the episode, then the suits she wore for a partner’s meeting and for the meeting that led to Don’s firing. Christina Hendricks gives her reaction to her wardrobe. Finally, Janie tells us about Joan’s dress for the Thanksgiving dinner scene. Awesome.

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A bonus video for you. Here’s Judy Collins singing Both Sides Now.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/A7Xm30heHms&rel=0&w=560&h-315]

And so that concludes the recaps for this season. Next season will be the last. I’ll have to find another show to recap after Mad Men.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013. He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television. Fang celebrates the three Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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