Waldorf Stories

In April 1965, the firm has been nominated for CLIO Awards for Don Draper's Glo-Coat commercial; Don, Roger Sterling, Pete Campbell, and Joan Harris attend the ceremony, while Peggy Olson is upset at not receiving due credit for her role in the ad; she is also clashing with new art director Stan Rizzo, who rankles her with his flippant and misogynist attitude. She and Don interview a mediocre copywriter, Danny Siegel, who is only there because he is Jane Sterling's cousin, later laughing at his ineptitude.

The firm wins the Clio, and Roger and Don, already drunk at the ceremony, return to the office and crash a meeting with Life Cereal already in progress, to Pete's discomfort. Don drunkenly presents the pitch, which echoes his poignant pitch to Kodak from the first season, but the Life representatives reject it. Undeterred, Don pitches a series of ad libbed slogans, one of which, "the cure for the common breakfast", Life buys; Peggy is the only one who realises that Don has inadvertently stolen the line from Danny. When she tries to tell him, he cuts her off and demands she be "shut in" a hotel room with Stan until they finish their work on Vicks cough drops.

Pete Campbell finds out that Lane Pryce is trying to hire Ken Cosgrove, and is upset. Lane explains the firm's need for Ken to help increase sales, due to Pete being the only partner bringing in new business, and reaffirming Pete's importance as a partner. Pete is reassured, but insists that Ken first meet with him privately.

Don and Roger continue their drunken reverie, and Don ends up home with a woman he met at the bar; he blacks out, only to be awoken by a phone call from an angry Betty Francis. He has forgotten to pick up his children, and realizes it is Sunday, and that he has no recollection of Saturday; he is also with a different woman, who refers to him as Dick. Peggy visits Don to advise him the slogan he pitched to Life was Danny's and to insist that he make it right. Shortly after, Don passes out again.

On Monday, Don is surprised to see Danny is waiting for him in his office. He attempts to buy the slogan but Danny refuses the offer of money, insisting he wants a job. Don gives in to his demand, not bothering to hide his disgust, much to Peggy's surprise and annoyance. At their meeting, Pete agrees to accept Ken into the firm, on the condition that Ken acknowledges that they are no longer equals; Ken, desperate to escape his present firm and realizing Pete is serious, agrees.

Throughout the episode, we flashback to 1953 to see how Roger met Don when the latter was working as a fur salesman and Roger is buying a fur for his mistress, Joan. When Don learns that Roger works in advertising, he tries to give him his resume and portfolio, but Roger throws them out. The next day, Don accosts him in the lobby of Sterling Cooper, angling for a job. Roger agrees to go out with him for drinks, and the next day, Don shows up in the lobby and claims Roger had hired him the day before. A puzzled Roger has no memory of what really happened, and Don smiles to himself, having hustled his way into Sterling Cooper.

• Danny Siegel: Jane's cousin brother, Roger's brother-in-law and a new hire to SCDP's creative department.
• Stan Rizzo: SCDP's new creative art director who becomes at odds with Peggy and also helped with the LBJ campaign.