BORING!  A full hour of Don Draper behaving himself?!  I didn’t sign up for this, Mad Men!

An even slower episode than usual last night, methinks.  It starts off with Betty and Don visiting little Sally’s teacher Miss Farrell - the same teach who entranced Don during the school’s Maypole dance - to speak to her about Sally’s recent behavioral problems.  Apparently, Sally got in a little catfight with another student. Miss Farrell asks whether anything has changed in Sally’s life recently, and is stunned to learn of the passing of the little girl’s grandfather and the fact that she hasn’t been afforded an opportunity to grieve for him.  Betty leaves the room upset - though more likely unwilling to deal rather than grief-stricken, as per usual.  This leaves Don alone in the room with teach, who starts apologizing for bringing this all up, how she knows what it’s like to lose someone at a young age.

Miss Farrell later calls the Draper household with a drink in hand, hair mussed up, and bra strap all hangin’ down.  Don picks up.  Obviously a bit tipsy, she blubbers out another apology, which Don, of course, accepts. 

Don clearly finds her quite charming, which begs the question: who WON’T Don Draper sleep with?!  I mean, nothing’s happened yet, but they’re totally gonna do it, right?

Minutes later,  Betty walks in and nonchalantly announces she’s going into labor.  “Who was that on the phone?” she asks.  “Nobody,” replies the Drape.

Whilst at the hospital, Betty acts her usual can’t-be-bothered, bratty self (”But I don’t wannnnna give birth, wah wah wah”).  Something, however, is clearly weighing on her mind, as she has two trippy, drug-induced dreams.

The first: she’s walking down an idyllic street, looking lovely, and all of a sudden a green caterpillar springs down from a tree, right in front of her face.  She looks at it, quizzically.

The second: a bit more intense. It’s her father, Grandpa Gene, mocking up blood, while her mother wipes blood off of an African-American man wearing a suit.  Her mom tells her to be thankful for what she has, while Gene basically confirms everything she’s ever thought about herself in a single statement: “You’re a house cat and have very little to do.”

WEIRDED OUT!  What does it all mean?!?!  Where’s my dream dictionary when you need it?

Meanwhile, Don is in the waiting room with another father-to-be: Dennis, a corrections officer from Sing-Sing.  They start bonding, sharing a bottle of scotch.  Dennis tells Don he’s a good man, and that he’s going to strive to be a better person, with the birth of his child - something which Don seems to take to heart.  Strangely enough, when Don later sees Dennis in the hospital halls with his wife and gives him a smile.  Dennis won’t even look him in the eye.  Huh?

Back at Sterling Cooper, Pete Campbell is feeling the pressure of being pitted again Ken Cosgrove for Head of Accounts.  He takes on the Admiral TV account and, in analyzing the sales statistics, realizes the product is quite popular among African-Americans.  What ensues is an awkward conversation in the elevator with the black attendant Hollis, about what television he purchased and why.  Awkward!

Pete DOES come up with an intriguing idea, however: integration.  He suggests that Admiral market their television sets to both blacks and whites.  Unfortunately, this idea isn’t received well, as Admiral doesn’t want to be known as a “colored” person’s company.  He gets flogged for his failure by Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper (Roger: “Well if it isn’t Martin Luther King, Jr.”), while the British dude, Lane Pryce, thinks there might be something there, in America’s current climate.

In another Pete storyline, he gets a call from Duck Phillips, who is now at Grey and wants to get lunch.  When Pete shows up, he finds Peggy Olson sitting at the table as well (Side note: a full 40 minutes into the episode to get some Peggy?!  Sheesh.).  It seems Duck wants to woo both of them over to Grey and, shockingly, tells them he knows they have a secret, mutually beneficial “relationship.”   Stunned, Pete denies the allegation and, pissed that Peggy was invited to the meeting as well, walks out. Peggy doesn’t seem to know what to think.

When Don returns to work, Peggy meets him in the office for a chat, asking for a raise.  The government has enforced equal pay for equal work among both men and women, after all.  Don, however, can’t grant the raise, as Sterling Cooper has been counting every paperclip lately.  Peggy, clearly not thrilled, fingers a baby slipper attached to a gift in the office and tells him “You have everything. And so much of it,” which Don can’t deny, and seems to also take to heart.  One gets the feeling that Peggy isn’t talking just about his career.

Integration, racial struggle, equal pay, feminist issues?  SO TOPICAL!!!!  1963 rules.

Don seems to do a lot of contemplation on what he has, and we see him in a few tender moments: attending the parent/teacher meeting, cooking Sally a midnight snack, bringing Betty flowers, and so forth.  Will he change?  Or is he gonna hook that hottie, Miss Farrell?  We’ll have to wait and see.

At the end of the episode, Betty brings her new baby boy home - named Eugene Scott Draper, after Grandpa Gene. Betty is asked about the labor and describes the labor as “a fog.”  She seems, for once, happy.

Everyone goes to bed and as they’re drifting off, baby Gene bursts into tears in the next room.  Betty sleepily drifts into the bedroom to attend to him.  Back to reality, babe. Fog lifted.

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