I have to disagree with the Modern Urban Gentleman about Don Draper’s intentions. Perhaps I’m naive, but I don’t believe Don is playing Peggy. He has had way too much growth in the last two seasons to throw all of that away. What do you think this is, How I Met Your Mother?

Draper Campbell Olson. Has a nice ring to it.

As mentioned previously, the theme of this episode was family. However, it was about more than just family; it was about the competing interests of family and career. Since the beginning of the series, Don Draper, Pete Campbell, and Peggy Olson have made questionable decisions about their families in order to continue advancing in their careers. Pete and Peggy have a child together, and Peggy chooses to ignore its existence, partly due to the shame associated with unwed mothers, but also due to her unwavering, arguably selfish, need to succeed. Of course, Don and Pete are no better, as they have both largely ignored their children to the point where Tammy Campbell hardly recognized her father. Don has only recently even been able to express his love for his children, and his shock when Sally expressed her love for him still gets me.

This episode shows that one does not have to choose between a family and a career. Joan, apparently a rabid progressive, has embraced the idea of family in a new age. She is unwilling to settle with Bob Benson, whom she obviously cares for and respects, because she knows they could never truly be in love. Joan, always able to read people better than anyone else, can clearly see that Bob is gay and that homosexuality is not a choice. Again, this is the 1960s. Joan is much happier accepting the non-traditional family of a child, mother, grandmother, father-posing-as-friend, and friend-acting-as-uncle. Joan sees that her family is different and loves them just the same, refusing Bob’s offer to be her boy’s adoptive father.

And despite this unique family, or perhaps because of it, Joan is highly successful. Joan has achieved the status of partner in an ad agency in the 1960s. Joan, like Peggy, represents the change in the business world as well. No longer is a mother expected to stay at home and watch her child, despite the obvious prejudice which still exists in much of the older generation.

Peggy realizes in her exchange with Don that the nuclear family isn’t real — perhaps it never was — and manages to find peace with the two men with whom she has been at odds for so long. Pete and Don both finally give Peggy the respect she deserves after an interesting scene of role reversal. Does this respect mean that Don has stolen Peggy from Lou for the inevitable war? And was adding Harry Crane as a partner a move to further deepen the ranks of the Cutler/Avery army? Don’s vote was obviously made as a way to reciprocate Harry’s help from last week’s episode. Did Cutler realize that Harry spilled the beans, so he made a move to keep Crane in his camp?

If a war is coming, then I’d place my money on Draper Campbell Olson (Sterling Holloway). After all, they’ve been together so long, and they are all so lost, perhaps it’s best to view them as a family.