The last straw arrives in the form of a picture he draws of Joan blowing Lane, which he hangs in the common area. The younger guys play dumb and snicker when Joan spots it and confronts the group. She tells them off, saying she hopes they all die in Vietnam, and they’re momentarily quieted, but they still think it’s a funny joke. Yes, if we’re in the Sigma Chi house, maybe.
Peggy marches in to show it to Don, who reminds her that people will think he’s a tattle tale if he intervenes. And, it should be noted that even though he smirks at the cartoon, he clearly doesn’t find it to be a laugh riot. So, Peggy screws up her courage and calls Joey in to fire him. His reply once it’s clear she’s totally not kidding? “This is why I don’t like working with women; you have no sense of humor.” When he let out a low, creepy laugh, I thought for a second he was going to force himself on her. Instead he just dumped out a box of files onto her floor and gathered his things, telling his buddies that the party was over as he headed out. Stan calls it the “power of the poontang” followed by a smash cut to Don and Faye sitting closely on the couch in his office. Well played, Weiner. Well played.
I just rewatched this episode during its rerun on AMC Sunday mornings – the first time I saw it, I noted that it was the first time “Mad Men” ended with the credits rolling but no music playing over them. I wondered if there was something particular in the episode that made it special (like the silent clock in “24”). However, I wasn’t certain, so I’d be interested in hearing what you or other readers have to say about the matter.