The Collaborators

The Collaborators
Production
Season 6 Episode 3
Air date	14 April 2013
Written by	Jonathan Igla and Matthew Weiner
Directed by	Jon Hamm
Previous The Doorway, Part 2	Next To Have and To Hold

Intro

Don clashes with a client. Pete entertains a guest. Peggy struggles to motivate the staff.

Synopsis

The episode opens at a party thrown at Pete and Trudy's house. Pete is talking about the play Hair with two of the women and Trudy is talking about neighborhood events with the men. One of the men mentions the pool, and he means he wants them to go skinny-dipping.  

Don rides down in the elevator and it opens to reveal Arnold and his wife Sylvia arguing about money. Arnold suspects that the cash he gives Sylvia shes sending to her kid and tells Don he is lucky his wife works and tells him not to worry that they would have money by Wednesday in time for their dinner.Arnold advises Don to stop smoking.  

After Arnold gets off the elevator he returns to Sylvia. More about Don's past is revealed in this episode. Flashback sequences begin with his arrival at the whorehouse run by his "Uncle Mack". Don, known at this time as Dick, arrives at the bordello in Philadelphia with his pregnant stepmother, Abigail. Abigail advises Dick to keep his eyes down and mind his own business. One of the girls notices Dick. This is shortly after the death of his father, Archie Whitman. Uncle Mack tells Dick that he is the "rooster in the henhouse." It goes back to the present to Don in bed with Sylvia. Sylvia says she found out the maid smokes so she and Don light cigarettes. She asks if he is bothered sitting across from her husband and his wife. He says they're both good company and have nothing to do with the affair. Sylvia reveals that Arnold wants to impress Don and Don says that Megan likes Sylvia, which Sylvia reciprocates. Don then gives Sylvia money and tells her she found it in the cookie jar. The scene is reminiscent of a transaction between a prostitute and a client. Don and Sylvia are stunningly naive of any such significance.  

Peggy is having a meeting with three copywriters, They are going over potential ads but she doesn't like any of them. She says she is happy with them but that the work still needs work. The staff says they will try their best. 

At Pete's apartment in the city one of the women from the party joins him. He offers her various snacks and drinks which she turns down. They kiss passionately and Pete leads her to the bed.  

At SCDP Heinz baked beans rep is introducing Heinz ketchup to Ken Cosgrove and Don. The Baked Beans rep, Raymond stays behind and tells the team that there is to be no further communication between Timmy and SCDP. He says no one at Heinz has paid attention to him until he worked with SCDP. He then says if they make any move on ketchup he will terminate the account. Ken apologizes to Don for a waste of time. Don wants to stay loyal to Baked Beans since they were there in the beginning.  

Back at Pete's apartment the woman says that her apartment needs a woman's touch. She says when she parks the car in-front of the driveway she is thinking of him.  

Megan is arguing with her maid because she had been washing her bra in the washing machine and not by had like she said so the bra is ruined. She also mentions that she left the vacuum on the balcony and then fires her maid. Sylvia had entered the room at some point during her conversation with the maid and offers comfort to Megan. Megan begins to cry and she and Sylvia go up to her apartment. Megan talks over her story line with Sylvia and then mentions she had a miscarriage. Sylvia initially thinks its about the show but then Megan says it happened two days ago. Sylvia appears nervous to talk to Megan about it. Megan says she got pregnant by being sloppy in Hawaii. She said she had not told Don and felt guilty over losing the baby. She mentions her and Sylvia's shared religious background and says she is a horrible person. She states that it was bad timing and that she was relieved she did not have to make the decision on whether or not to keep the baby. Sylvia reveals she had a miscarriage about a year after having her son Mitchell so she understands some of what Megan is going through but states that the rest of it is not even a consideration. She says Megan must feel that way too or else she wouldn't be that upset. Don arrives and Sylvia leaves. Megan tells Don she fired the maid and Don appears pleased.  

Peggy is looking at a bottle of Quest, a feminine hygiene powder. She brings it to Ted thinking it was a new product they needed an ad for. However Ted reads the folder and it is meant as a joke at Peggy saying that quest kills overly critical bacteria and is meant for professional women and other Olsens. She states that when you want the men to be funny they're useless.  

Herb arrives at the office and sees Joan. He flirts with her and states she can have a jaguar for as long as she likes. Joan then goes into Don's office informing him that Herb has arrived. Bob Benson gives Herb a drink.Herb wants more foot traffic into his store. He suggests moving sixty percent of the ad budget to local dealership ads with his store's phone number. He wants the SCDP team to recommend the idea to Jaguar because Don is "so damn persuasive". Don says Herb is gutting the national ad campaign.  

Peggy is at her desk and gets a call from Stan. She says her day was only ok and that everyone hates her there. Stan says he did not work for her he worked with her. He tells her about the Heinz ketchup incident. Ted arrives in the office, Ted says that somebody must miss Peggy.  

Don arrives home and Megan tells him shes not feeling well. Megan says she didn't cancel and sends Don off to the dinner with Sylvia and Arnold alone and he sends her to bed.  

Pete is on his couch and hears someone calling for help. He opens up the door and sees the woman he had an affair with standing there beaten. Her husband yells that she is Pete's problem now. Pete is sent to get medical supplies to help her.  

Don arrives at the restaurant and informs the Rosen's that Megan is not feeling well. They talk about the Koreans and Vietnam. Arnold gets a call, and Sylvia leaves the table, leaving Don alone for a while.  

Back at the Campbell's, Trudy offers to find a hotel for the women. Pete accuses the woman of saying something to her husband. Trudy drives her to the hotel.  

At the restaurant Sylvia and Arnold return but Arnold must leave for a medical emergency. Sylvia states that she is not hungry. They flirt over deciding what to order. Don is friendly while Sylvia is cold. They argue. Cut to them continuing their affair. Don says he wants Sylvia all the time. Sylvia apologizes for being jealous of Megan and Don. She says they must be careful not to fall in love.  

Pete is in bed when Trudy arrives home. She turns off the light he left on for her and goes to the bathroom.  

Don arrives home and Megan confesses that she had a miscarriage. Don appears upset at the news. He asks her if she is ok, and how far along she was. She says she didn't tell Don because she didn't know what Don would want or how he would feel. Don says he would want what she wants. She asks if he wants to have the conversation and he says what ever she wants.  

In the morning Pete kisses Trudy and asks where Tammy is. Trudy says she gave Pete permission to have affairs when she allowed him to have an apartment in the city. She kicks him out but refuses to be a failure and states that Pete will only be there when she wants him there.  

Ted wants Peggy to find out everything she can on Heinz ketchup. Ted says Heinz is taking meetings, which she says he learned from her. Ted says Stan is not her friend but an enemy.  

Pete is in a meeting with Herb and the rest of the Jaguar team. He is pitching Herb's idea. The team asks Don's opinion, and he persuades them to go with the idea. Don makes the ad campaign seem cheap, and for the average guy and housewives. He did this knowing that Jaguar would not accept the new proposal staying with the original idea as he wanted. Herb yells at Pete for allowing Don to do that.  

In Don's office Roger congratulates Don on getting his way. Pete yells at Don for throwing the meeting. Pete is the last one to leave the office that day as Bob Benson talks to him. Pete says its all about what it looks like and Bob offers to get him something from the deli but instead has him go buy toilet paper.  

Don arrives at Sylvia's but Arnold is there so she says for him o come back in the morning.  

There is another flashback to Dick watching Abigail and Uncle Mack (through a peephole) while they are beginning to have sex, but he is then caught by the prostitute who noticed him earlier telling him to go to his room. 

Don then arrives at his apartment but sits outside the door instead of going inside.    

Trivia

• The television news report that Pete is listening to after the "Welcome Wagon" dinner includes news on the Battle of Khe Sahn which began on January 21, 1968 and the capture of the USS Pueblo by North Korea on January 23, 1968. The USS Pueblo remains a commissioned vessel in the U.S. Navy, but it is still being held by North Korea. It is the only U.S. Navy ship currently being held captive by another nation.
• Young Dick Whitman's age in the bordello flashback contradicts an earlier flashback in "Babylon", where he originally depicted him as being far younger during Adam's birth and in Uncle Mack's presence; the bordello flashback however depicts Dick as an early-teen just as he is introduced to Uncle Mack while Abigail is still pregnant with Adam. Brandon Killham continues to play young Dick in the flashbacks, despite aging considerably since his previous appearance in "Shut the Door. Have a Seat" three years prior.
• The bordello flashbacks will become a prominent feature in this seasons episodes. Their significance will culminate in the meeting that Don has with Hershey chocolate representatives. Don will also take his children to the house when he explains his past to his children.
• The radio news broadcast from WQXR announces the beginning of the Tet Offensive, the first phase of Viet Cong attacks in South Vietnam that began on January 30, 1968. WQXR is a radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey and serving the New York City metropolitan area. WQXR has been in operation since the 1930s.
• The USS Pueblo's capture is referenced again during a dinner between Don, Arnold Rosen and Sylvia Rosen, along with the storming of the American embassy in Saigon, during the First Battle of Saigon of the Tet Offensive, on January 31, 1968.
• While Don and Sylvia are alone at the restaurant and later in the maid's room, the music in the background is from the opera Norma. That opera is a about infidelities, broken vows, thoughts about infanticide, and anxiety over war with Rome.
• Pete is watching the January 31, 1968 broadcast of the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson". Carson's guest for that show was Earling Carothers "Jim" Garrison, District Attorney for Orleans Parrish, Louisiana. Garrison claimed that he had uncovered a conspiracy to murder JFK, but was blocked from prosecuting the case by a federal cover-up. Garrison's story was the basis of Oliver Stone's film JFK. Kevin Costner played the part of Garrison. Carson's interview with Garrison is delayed to allow a special 15 minute NBC news program about the war situation in Vietnam to be aired via satellite. The mention of the "Kennedy Assassination" by Carson foreshadows the assassination of Robert Kennedy on June 6, 1968.

Trivia

• End Credits: Bing Crosby, "Just a Gigolo"

Cast

Main Star

• Jon Hamm as Don Draper
• Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson
• Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell
• January Jones as Betty Hofstadt
• Christina Hendricks as Joan Holloway
• Aaron Staton as Ken Cosgrove
• Rich Sommer as Harry Crane
• Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper
• Jessica Pare as Megan Calvet
• Christopher Stanley as Henry Francis
• Jay R. Ferguson as Stan Rizzo
• Robert Morse as Bertram Cooper
• John Slattery as Roger Sterling
• Ben Feldman as Michael Ginsberg

Quotes

Trudy (confronting Pete): "I refuse to be a failure. I don't care what you want anymore. This is how it's going to work. You will be here only when I tell you to be here. I'm drawing a 50 mile radius around this house and if you so much as open your fly to urinate, I will destroy you. . . . Do you understand?"