In the Season 2 finale, in the shadow of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Betty learns she is pregnant, Don returns to the office - and his family, and Duck makes a play to become the president of Sterling Cooper. Peggy finally makes an important confession to Pete, and the office guys convince Lois to share details about the company's future. Write a prose poem to a potato chip and rewatch with us!

View the full episode transcript of Mad Men Season 2 Episode 13: Meditations in an Emergency on our Mad Men C to Z website

Mad Men C to Z S2:E13 Meditations in an Emergency Transcript

Jenna: Hi, I'm Jenna.

Steve: And I'm Steve. Welcome to all things Mad Men, from Chip and Dip to Zou Bisou.

Jenna: There's so much to love about this amazing show and we're happy to connect to fans like us who discover new things with each re-watch.

Steve: Be advised, while we aren't gratuitous with spoilers, they can pop up as we discuss character arcs through the final season. Let's get started with Mad Men, C to Z.

Jenna: Welcome to season two, episode 13, Meditations in an Emergency. This episode was written by Matthew Weiner and Kater Gordon, and directed by Matthew Weiner.

We start with Betty at the doctor's office. The office is part of the doctor's home and we know Betty has seen this doctor for a while, because she was referring to Dr. Aldridge in the first season when she was talking about seeing a psychiatrist.

Steve: Yeah, and given the rough treatment doctors get from this time period in this series, the doctor seems on the sympathetic side of things relative to what we've seen so far.

Although there is all the underlying sexism and doctor feeling like it's his place to advise Betty on how to live her life and what she can do. Betty's pregnant and it's a surprise pregnancy, and it's pretty clear that she doesn't welcome the news.

The part I found interesting was that even in this pre Roe v. Wade era, it's clear that there are options for a woman like Betty who has means. And the doctor seems intent on discouraging her from aborting the pregnancy.

Jenna: I agree when you noticed that he was kinder than some of the other doctors we've seen. But yes, he is still condescending at first. He thinks that she might be worried about her figure. He says, oh, you've been blessed with a really resilient figure. And she says, you don't understand. It's a bad time. And he says, when you tell your husband and your friends, you're going to start to feel better about the idea.

She's not in the same situation as Peggy last season, but this pregnancy does threaten some of the agency she has claimed for herself in terms of setting boundaries with Don.

Steve: Yeah. And his solution is the opposite of agency, right?

It's not about what you think, Betty. Once you tell your husband and friends, then they'll decide that this is a good thing and change your mind so that you see it as a good thing.

I also thought the line that abortions are for poor people and young people --

Jenna: He says that is an option for young girls who have no other option.

Steve: Yeah. So, again, it's this judgmental expectation of the doctor, of what Betty's supposed to do here, and there's not a lot of thought about listening to her getting in behind her reasons for not wanting another pregnancy.

Jenna: Also, so far in Mad Men, there is a 100% chance that a character finds out they're pregnant in the season finale, so we'll have to track whether that holds true in the future.

Steve: Betty doesn't stick around for his examination. She collects her things and walks out of the office. It strikes me that Betty hasn't made a decision of what she's going to do.

Jenna: Yes, when the doctor steps out for a minute and Betty leaves, it's a little bit like running away from bad news, but also maybe some progress in terms of her independence.

We see that she got rid of the psychiatrist who she said was looking down her dress and told Don whatever it was she said in her sessions. And now she's not going to hang around to hear why this baby is good news for her.

Before, I think Betty would have just stayed and put up with it. Do you think this is her claiming independence, or do you feel like this is her denying what's in her face?

Steve: I do get a vibe that it's the new Betty who's not going to just passively take everybody else's guidance and direction. I kind of like seeing that spine from Betty of, you know, I don't want to stay here. I was happy her character walked away.

Jenna: In the first episode of this season, all the office guys were fluttering around about Duck hiring younger creative associates and what that meant for their jobs.

So in the finale, it's a nice callback to that to see them worried again as Ken hands Harry a binder with numbers from accounts, and they gossip about how maybe Don is away in California planning to open Sterling Cooper West.

Steve: Yeah, it doesn't seem they have any clue of what's going on, so they're casting about for any possibility. And it's also interesting how they are - I don't know what the term is - almost deferential to Peggy, you know, in soliciting her views on this.

You know, what do you think's happening? What do you know? So it's interesting, in the midst of all the sexism we've seen Peggy face this season, in this moment of crisis and nervousness on their part, they're very much looking towards Peggy as a potential source of new information that they don't already have.

Jenna: And her only line is, I haven't heard anything, which she would have said if she had heard something. Or in this case, she hasn't. So that's a true professional right there.

Steve: Yeah, she's all business and she stays outside it, whether she knows anything or not. She's certainly not contributing anything.

Jenna: After the meeting with the office guys breaks up, Peggy goes to Pete's office and she tells him that everyone had to turn in their numbers early and they noticed that Clearasil was missing.

She asks him if he said anything about Clearasil yet, because in the last episode, he confessed to her that he's lost that account.

Pete has been putting it off. You know, it's embarrassing to confess that he lost the account because now his father in law hates him. And I wonder why Peggy took the time and effort to go tell Pete this in the first place. It seems like she's going out of her way to make his life a little bit easier.

Steve: Yeah, I don't know, maybe it's just another reflection of her professionalism. You know, a key account is missing. She's going in to remind the account owner that it's missing.

And then it rolls into this confession from Pete to Peggy. And her advice is, Pete should just be honest and tell it how it is. And then I enjoy the line where she says, don't blame creative as she heads out the door.

Jenna: Yes, this is so crucial, the set of lines she has. I think it's almost series-defining in terms of all of the efforts of all these characters to pretend to be something they're not, and advertising itself.

And she says, Pete, just tell the truth. Don't worry about the outcome. People respect that.

And Pete has never been that way ever, not ever in his whole life. But here he sees the sense in it, and he actually thanks her. And I agree: I love that she's like, yeah, don't blame creative about this.

Steve: It's a really strong episode for Vincent Kartheiser's acting. The suggestion of, hey, tell the truth. Like, I just love the way he acts that scene physically as sort of, oh, what a novel concept.

He's just got the perfect delivery of it because if he goes too far, it'll be a little clownish. He's got just the right balancing point there where you think, yeah, this is a character who telling the truth isn't in his sort of top three options for any given approach.

Jenna: Betty has been told not to go horseback riding now that she's pregnant from the doctor. And we see that she is in fact riding her horse.

And I love the expression on January Jones’ face when she gets off the horse and she sees Don is waiting there for her. She's surprised and then confused. And then she turns herself into steel as she walks toward him. And I think it really matters here that Don goes to Betty first, not to the office first.

Steve: Yeah. And there's a lot of tension and energy, I think, in this scene as the two get together and we're wondering, you know, how this is going to play out. The fact that he's tracked her down to the stables and made this approach. I think we understand that Don is coming to her, cap in hand.

She gives him a pretty hard reception. Right. You know, where have you been? You disappeared. He says he needed some time to think about things. She takes a shot and says, oh, it must be nice that you can disappear and take your time as you need it. She's not cutting him any slack in the first part of this scene.

Jenna: Well, I feel like when she says, you disappeared, that shows that she cares, right? She noticed. It mattered. She was worried. But she is also definitely very icy.

And when she says this, oh, how nice it must be to need time and just take it all on your own terms. Of course, he's been guilty of doing that for two seasons and probably well before that.

And finally, finally he admits, I was not respectful to you. And it's a relief to her. It's not even painful. She says, well, now I know I'm not crazy. That helps.

Steve: Let's note, too, he doesn't offer that of his own volition. He says he wants to undo what happened. And she says, well, what did happen? And squeezes this out of him.

Jenna: I think all along, maybe a part of her thought that she was inventing it. You know, he's that good a liar to make her doubt just a little, still.

And I also think outside of just who Don Draper is, I think she has definitely been raised that she would fall in love and get married, and have this perfect life where somebody would love her and take care of her and cherish her forever, and she'd live happily ever after.

And to acknowledge this and face this, she's saying, no, this is a sharp turn, and I don't have a guidebook for how to proceed with this actual truth here.

To look it in the face is painful, of course, but it's also to give up this plan that she's had her whole life, but to say goodbye and close the door on that dream and say, no, this is the actual reality of my life.

And for him to come to her and say, I want to be with you. I wasn't respectful. I wish I could undo what happened. She's not having any of it in this meeting, but I also hear him mention wanting to see the kids. So he does really seem genuinely invested here.

Steve: Yeah, I think he says the right things. And just going back to your comment about - she places importance on that admission from him, like, she needs to hear the admission, whether it's for her own peace of mind that she's not crazy.

But I think also in terms of he needs to admit his wrongdoing to at least some extent. And admittedly, this is probably the least amount of wrongdoing you can admit to. I was not respectful to you.

It's like, okay, that. That's a start. Like you mentioned, Don says, you know, I can't walk away from this. I want to be with you. She puts in a pretty tough shot here when she says, things haven't been that different without you.

And then he flips to, I need to see the kids. And it almost feels like he's changing tactics there from about the relationship and the marriage to then, you know, the shared interest of the children. And at that point, Betty doesn't want to engage with them. She says, I can't deal with this right now. I'll call. I will make arrangements.

Jenna: Do you think she's overly harsh? I mean, did you want her to rush into his arms?

Steve: I wonder if there's an element here of her insisting that she's not going to jump to his timing. He's decided to show up to the stables. He's decided to make this admission. He's decided he can't live without her.

And I get the sense that her character is saying, that's great that you've reached all these things, but that doesn't mean I have to now commit or make the same commitment on the same schedule. So I felt it was a expression of sovereignty and control of herself and her choices here. I liked it for her character because I think in the past, she's been pushed around and forced to concede far too much.

Jenna: Yes, I see it as her keeping some of her power, but I also feel like she needs to hang on to her dignity, that he's stolen pieces of it from her, and not being foolish is something she's really on guard against.

And I think if she were over him, she wouldn't look worried or surprised or need the confrontation. She'd just roll her eyes and want him to go away. And that's not the case.

Also, Matthew Weiner, in the commentary for the DVD, says that when Don says, I was not respectful to you, it isn't that he's trying to evade responsibility, but she probably doesn't want to hear specific details about what he actually did. So that his intention with that line is that Don is being kind about the way he says it.

I also interpret it as it was kind of the minimalist apology. He was only admitting to the bare minimum of what he could. But I also understand, what is it that you're going to say that's going to make this gentle? It's really - there's no way, right?

Steve: It's only a one hour show, so there's really not enough time for Don to get into all the details, you know, starting with, “I bought Midge a tv. She threw it out the window.”

[Laughter]

Jenna: "I was going to take her to Paris."

So Pete goes into Duck's office, to be honest, just as Peggy advised him to be. Pete tells Duck Clearasil is gone and he doesn't throw creative under the bus either. And Duck reads it correctly, instantly. Your father in law. That's a sticky wicket.

Indeed, Pete says.

Steve: I like Duck in this scene. There's been so many cases where Duck has been behaved very professionally and been very on point. I think his response to Pete here is perfectly appropriate and then even kind in some ways because he can tell Pete's nervous about having to share this information with them.

At the same time, we know Duck's got his head on bigger game at this point.

Jenna: Yes. So Duck turns around and confides in Pete that he's going to run the new company and that Pete can be the new head of accounts.

Of course, that's the job that Pete was trying to blackmail Don for at the end of the last season and now it's being handed to him on a platter.

But instead of being overjoyed, Pete hesitates a bit and he asks if Don is on board with this. And we should note, we see Duck drinking again. He's giving Pete a drink, he's taking one himself. And a little personal vendetta leaks out through his professional veneer when he says, I'm the president, I don't need his permission, do I?

It turns out that Clearasil would have been a conflict with another similar company PP&L already has, so one of them would have had to go anyway. So Pete was worried for nothing.

Steve: Yeah. And we can just see Duck oozing confidence here. He's going to be the president. He's triumphed in this battle with Don Draper and creative and he can't resist throwing out the comment, that's why God put non-compete clauses in contracts.

Jenna: So Peggy's advice to be honest turned out to be really good here for Pete. He got some inside scoop. Duck believes in him, and Duck's going to be in charge. So this should be a really great day for Pete.