"Was this the first time that Don Draper was actually invested in what the creatives were pushing at SCDP?"

Confidentiality relates to things discussed in private between the agent and principal. Stuff the principal does in public (like stalking a casting director) isn't confidential, although things she told the agent in private about it (she got the director's home number from a classmate) may be. She may have felt like…

Oh, I bet Lou had a lot of leverage. After all, they needed a new creative director immediately when they decided to sideline Don (and wasn't it holiday or weekend or something?). Lou had a good gig (he'd shown up in a previous ep as the guy one of the big firms was sending to Detroit to pitch against Ted and Don). He…

Don thought the same. He even made the extremely poor taste comment "Don't you feel 300 pounds lighter?" which was really awful since presumably Joan actually knew what it felt like to have those 300 pounds pressing down on her, at least for one night.

I think you're right, but at the same time I think it says something that this infraction is much, much less significant than Betty's doctor reporting to Don. Technically, I don't think that the agent saying "can you help me talk some sense to her" is a violation of confidentiality, particularly when what he's telling…

My bad. Probably indicative of my pro-Joan bias that I credited her with a good observation.

I think this is Don finally encountering adversity he can't bluff his way out of and doesn't want to run away from. He could start over, the way he did with Betty, the way he did when the original Sterling Cooper was acquired. But this time, he wants to face the music and do right by the people he's wronged. There's a…

They get the power the only way they can: Don gives it to them. That paper they handed him must be an amendment to his contract that says "violate this, and you forfeit your shares." No lawyer in his right mind would let Don sign that, and heaven only knows if it would hold up in court. Still, a minority partner…

I wouldn't go that far. After all, wasn't she the one who admitted that Lou's merely "adequate" at his job?

It didn't quite strike me as having "I'll call your bluff" bravado. What we saw was Don Draper finally facing the music, deciding to stay and play out a tough hand rather than running away.

This was actually a great episode for that, since her voice slipped into a more natural mode a number of times as the outrage over Don's return overcame her.

Duck's one hell of a headhunter.

A List of Fictional Characters, Sorted by Their Success or Lack Thereof: You Get Lane's Old Office, Not That That's a Hint or a Suggestion or Anything Edition

I think you're missing a "Whoa!" at the beginning there, big guy.

I think we're talking around each other. Yes, they're supposed to be a family. If a member of my family was dying, someone had medicine that could help, and they refused to help, I would probably try to break in and steal the medicine, and I might just kill anyone who tried to get in my way. I can believe that Coulson…

"It is not about right or wrong: it was just deciding between letting Skye to die or not. He put Skye life over some random guy stopping him from retrieving the cure for her."

Gaad first announced the plan to kill the Rezident at the Beeman's housewarming party, with Chris in attendance. It was payback for the FBI agents that were killed by the East German bomb guy who P&E failed to call off in the previous episode.

Well, Gaad's being blamed for that because he kinda ordered it, though Beeman was originally supposed to put the hit on Arkady rather than Vlad.

Also, biggest pro of the night has to go to Mrs. Beeman. Dr. Ruth's talk of lubrication and pillows goes from cringeworthy '80s moment to emotionally devastating when it becomes clear that she's listening to sex advice because she's planning on having sex with someone else.

That scene with Arkady is super-awkward when you remember that Gaad's plan was to wack Arkady, not Vlad. Since Vlad was nabbed while on a jog that he and Arkady usually took together, Arkady probably knows that he was the intended target.