Seven Twenty Three

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Plot

The episode opens with Peggy Olson naked in bed with a man that we cannot see and then immediately cuts to Betty Draper lying on a couch and seems as though she is trying to get comfortable. We then see Don Draper lying face first on the floor in what seems to be a hotel room. He starts to get up and we can see that he is beaten up as he grabs his throat and rubs his face. We see him get up and start getting ready, but we soon realize that he is getting ready at home prior to the incident as we hear Betty call him downstairs. She asks for his input on their redecorated room, while the decorator is standing right there, and he says to move the end table, to which the decorator agrees.

Don then gets on the elevator and Roger Sterling follows on after. They have a brief discussion then walk into work. Salvatore Romano, Paul, Harry Crane, and Pete Campbell are all waiting outside Don’s office as he approaches, and they inform him that Conrad Hilton is in his office. He tells them to come back in twenty minutes and shoos them away. Don greets “Connie” as “Connie” explains that he has a personal matter. Before explaining, “Connie” tells Don that he is concerned that he does not have a Bible or family photos on his desk and also tells Don to show up to work on time. He proceeds to tell Don that he has an involvement and that his needs are being met, but has significant needs, and wonders what to do when his eyes start to wander. He then proceeds to give Don a few of hotels in New York to do creative work on. He explains to Don that having him in his life will change things for Don, and Don walks him to the door. As Don turns around everyone claps for him.

Betty is having a meeting in her living room with Francine and two other women, and it seems that Betty will be replacing Francine as the secretary of this club. They discuss a proposed water tank and they need to go to the governor in order to halt the operation. Betty says that she knows someone in the governor’s office and it is decided that she will call him to discuss the water tank.

Don along with Harry, Sal, Paul, and Pete are seen in Don’s office discussing Jai Alai. Pete asks how Don knows Conrad Hilton and he says they met at a party. Don dismisses everyone and Pete stays back to tell Don he wouldn’t mind helping on the Hilton account. Don responds by telling Pete that Pete should be the one bringing in big accounts, with Don begging to be on them. He then proceeds to ask about North American Aviation and tells Pete to settle that before they discuss Hilton.

Betty is calling Henry Francis, the man she knows from the governor’s office. She leaves a message with who it is and almost immediately after she hangs up Henry Francis calls back. She tells him why she is calling and they set plans to go look at the reservoir the next day. Peggy is in her office opening a package, when Pete walks in saying that he knows it is from Duck and continues to ask what she is promising him. The package is a scarf and Pete states that he does not trust Duck. Peggy says she is keeping the scarf, that she and Pete are not tied together, she will keep her mouth shut and he can do what he wants. Pete says that Don squeezed Duck out when the British took over and that Duck is trying to hurt him where it counts by going after them and also tells Peggy to return the scarf. Don walks into Bert Cooper’s office and Cooper asks Don when he was going to tell them about the Hilton account. They tell Don that “Connie” and his lawyers are having a problem with Don not having a contract. Lane Pryce then hands Don a contract and Don says he will think about it. Pryce is confused as to why Don would not sign it, and Don says that they should tell “Connie” that not having a contract matters to Don. Cooper responds by telling Don to take it home and look over it, to which Don puts it in his pocket and says he will. We briefly cut to Don in the hotel room beaten up and another cut to Betty on the couch.

We see Betty at a bakery meeting with Henry Francis. They discuss the town, as he is from the area, and living in Manhattan. He tells Betty that he is not sure what he can do about the water tank but not to give up so easily.

Don is at an eclipse watching event with the kids where they are making something in order to look at the eclipse safely. Sally’s teacher is the one running the event and Don has a discussion with Francine’s husband.

We see Betty again at the bakery with Henry and he says he has to leave. Betty gives him a folder with information about the water tank and reservoir. She tries to look at the eclipse but he covers her eyes. They walk by a shop and Henry points out a couch and tells Betty she needs it as a fainting couch. She rejects him, walking her to her car and he says he will contact her as soon as he knows something.

Don is still at the eclipse event and talks with Sally’s school. She seems to think Don is trying to make something happen between them but Don says that nothing is happening.

We see Peggy in bed naked as she wakes up. It then immediately cuts to her in her office. She makes a phone call and tells the person on the phone “It’s Peggy Olson regarding Clorox.” We see that the person on the other end of the line is Duck and Peggy tells him that she has not changed her mind and he needs to stop sending her gifts. He tells her to return it in person at the hotel that he is at and Peggy tells him not to contact her again and hangs up.

Don is in his office and Roger walks in and asks Don about his weekend and the contract. Roger tells Don that he only needs a letter of intent and questions whether Don doesn’t want to do it there or at all. Peggy shows walks into Don’s office to show art for Martinson’s and proceeds to ask Don about Hilton. Don gets upset because he didn’t need to sign off on the work so Peggy just used it as a way to come ask him about Hilton. He tells her to focus solely on her work, to get better, and stop asking for things.

The phone rings at the Draper residence, Betty picks up and it is Roger. He starts to discuss Don’s contract with her and she is confused. He wants her to get Don to sign it and she says that Don will do whatever he wants anyway and that it is disrespectful for Roger to go behind Don’s back, then she hangs up the phone.

Peggy shows up at Duck’s hotel room to return the scarf and he invites her in for a drink. They sit down on the couch and talk. He is still trying to get her to come work with him and she says that she can’t. He responds that he is sorry he won’t be seeing her everyday and proceeds to kiss her. Duck says he wants to take her into the bedroom and have sex with her and they continue to makeout on the couch.

Don walks into the house and Betty brings up Roger’s phone call and tells Don how comfortable it was. Don says he is going to call Roger but Betty is upset that she never heard about the contract in the first place and questions why he won’t sign it. He says it does not concern her because she is taken care of and she asks again. He explains that not having a contract gives him power and then leaves the house.

It cuts to Don driving, then to Peggy and Duck having sex, then back to Don driving as he sees people standing on the side of the road. He stops to pick them up and they discuss the war and advertising. They say that they are high and that they cannot pay him in money, so they give him some drugs and he immediately takes them.

All three are in a hotel room and Don is dancing with the female, and soon after the boyfriend takes over. Don has an hallucination of his father telling him a joke. The couple starts making out on the other bed. Don’s father tells him that he is a bum and Don refutes, to which Don’s father tells him that he can’t be tied down and Don agrees. The boyfriend questions why Don is passed out yet and punches him in the face. It immediately cuts to Don being beaten up the next morning, looking in the mirror. The couple left a note telling him thanks for everything and that they left him his car. He looks in his wallet and only finds a $1.

We see Peggy and Duck in bed waking up and Duck wants to have sex again. At first Peggy is unsure, but she eventually agrees. It immediately cuts to the Draper residence where we see that Betty has bought the couch that Francis pointed out and her decorator is upset about the purchase.

Peggy walks into the office and Don walks in immediately after her, with a bandage on his nose. He says that he got into a car accident. He finds Cooper is sitting in his office waiting for him. He is trying to get Don to sign the contract and insinuates that he believes what Pete said about his identity. Don signs the contract and says he wants no more contact with Roger. It cuts to the Draper residence where Betty is lying on the new couch when Don walks in. He tells her he signed the contract and walks upstairs, which is where the episode ends.

Cultural References

Roger mentions reading the book Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy. Don meets with Conrad Hilton who wants Don to run the Waldorf-Astoria, New York Hilton, and Statler Hilton. There is also mention of the environmental science book, Silent Spring. Pete mentions an account with North American Aviation. Betty mentions that she attended the female liberal arts college Bryn Mawr. There is also mention of “His Master’s Voice” which is both a painting and a saying in the recording industry. Duck mentions the retailers of Hermes, Macy’s, HJ Heinz, and Revlon. A couple is heading to Niagara Falls which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Bert Cooper mentions famous Native American Sacagawea and her journey across America.

Reviews

Keith Phipps writing for the A.V. Club graded this episode an A and points out how packed this episode was with different events. He very much appreciates the character development and turns that the characters are experiencing, while they are also being left open ended. He is unsure, however, about how he feels about Bobbie as a character. James Poniewozik writing for TIME magazine saying he enjoyed the parallel set up of the episode. He enjoyed the relationship between Connie Hilton and Don. He liked the way the show introduced the cliche of the changing times culture of the 60s because the show doesn’t get hung up with those.

Production

“Seven Twenty Three” was written by André Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, and Matthew Weiner and was directed by Daisy Von Scherler Mayer. Matthew Weiner discussed that for each episode he likes to try and have a different film theme, and for this episode that theme was film noir. This episode is really about impulse and Don signing the contract. When it comes to the contract Don has no other choice but to sign it; he knows who he is on the inside and it conflicts with who is signing the contract. Duck is appreciative of Peggy and it seemed to be a natural extension of both characters. In this episode we see Betty meet with Henry Francis, who is everything that Don isn’t.

External Links

"Seven Twenty Three" at AMC / "Seven Twenty Three" at IMDb

References

This article "Seven Twenty Three" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Seven Twenty Three. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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