Spoilers are for those who haven’t seen tonight’s episode, which we saw last week. It was apparent that all the conspiracy theories about Bob Benson and Pete Campbell’s high-water marks were one-upped by the secret greatness of Mad Men’s most previous season. This display of dedication sparked knee-nudge loaded with disgust and panic, filling even the most persnickety-Pete with more righteousness than ever before.
Turns out, Bob Benson is a fraud with a fabricated past. As Draper Duck revealed, Bob had a secret someone discovered when he abruptly vanished from his office on day one. He was supposedly taken by Queen Elizabeth to Europe as a senior “manservant” in the VP agency. People at the agency remember him, but his job is the only verifiable one he had. He might not even be 28 years old, and he probably didn’t go to Wharton or Beloit. Beware of alliterative job applications from Bob Benson!
Pete said, “I have learned not to engage with your type of creature. However, I believe that I am more skilled in my endeavors than you are in yours. I don’t understand how individuals like yourself accomplish it. Undoubtedly, you excel at it more than I do. Moreover, there is a perception of entitlement. Individuals who strive for success through hard work are always expected to achieve it. Those who can cleverly manipulate their way to a foothold consistently outperform others. Pete, being perceptive due to his upbringing and playing cards with Manolo, understands this concept well. Without the security of a middle-management position and feeling dejected in terms of his own talents, Pete always felt bitter towards those who attained recognition and success. This revelation came after Cooper, Bert, and Whitman spilled the truth about Pete’s unrecognized talents. Nevertheless, Pete could anticipate future moves and acknowledge that anyone who started from nothing and possessed shrewdness to gain an advantage through manipulation would always surpass someone for whom success was anticipated and sought through hard work and entitlement. Pete concluded, “I don’t comprehend how individuals like you achieve it. You are undoubtedly superior to me in whatever I do. However, I have learned not to engage with your type of creature.”
He knows who walked around holding two glasses of vodka all the time, maybe in the early days at Don’s Sterling Cooper. He turned Bob into a career salesman, complimenting Pete’s tie at SCDP as his job. He wasn’t always imperious and slick like Don, but once he was a fur aw-shucks salesman who turned into an evening drunk. It didn’t seem like this was all foreseen, like a checkmate, but Bob seemed stunned by the turnaround. I’m closely off limits, but I too didn’t seem to understand when Pete asked him to work together on GM, instead of firing him.
Starting from Monday, Seitz Zoller Matt will provide a comprehensive recap of everything else that happened in the episode, including the discussion between Benson Bob, Sally and Glen’s return to school, the absence of Glen’s mustache, the warm welcome of the threesome Baby Rosemary’s Ted/Peggy/Rosemary’s, Cheney Dick Ken’s hunting moment, and more.