Commissions and Fees

"Commissions and Fees"

"Commissions and Fees" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American television drama series Mad Men and the 64th episode of the series overall. It is co-written by Andre Jacquemetton and Maria Jacquemetton, and directed by Christopher Manley. It aired on the AMC channel in the United States on June 3, 2012.

Plot

Lane Pryce (Jared Harris) has breakfast with a member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, who praises Lane's fiscal track record and asks him to serve as head of the association's fiscal control committee. Lane accepts. Examining the company financial records, Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) finds Lane's forged check and accuses Don of giving an unauthorized Christmas bonus. Don (Jon Hamm) calls Lane into his office, shows him the check and serves him a drink. Lane protests at first but then apologizes and argues that was his money. Don demands his resignation and gives him the weekend to think of an "elegant exit", assuring him that this is the worst part of starting over. Lane wanders over to Joan's office with the drink still in his hand, but she (Christina Hendricks) sends him away after he makes a lewd comment.

At a partners meeting, Pete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser) says Jaguar would like to pay SCDP via a fee structure instead of straight commission. He adds that Jaguar's tire supplier, Dunlop, is interested in meeting with SCDP. Later declaring that he is tired of meager accounts, Don tells Roger Sterling (John Slattery) to arrange a meeting with Ed Baxter at Dow Chemical Company. Roger calls Dow the "Moby-Dick" of accounts and reminds him that Ken Cosgrove is hesitant about doing business with his father-in-law, but Don does not care. Over drinks, Roger tells Ken (Aaron Staton) they are going after Dow Chemical but assures him he is not obligated to work on the account. Ken agrees to keep the proceedings secret from his wife if Roger agrees to force him onto the account and to exclude Pete from all meetings. Roger tells Don he arranged a meeting with Baxter on Monday.

As Betty (January Jones) packs for a family ski vacation, Sally (Kiernan Shipka) complains that she would rather spend the weekend with Don and Megan. An angry Betty calls Don to say she is dropping Sally off at his apartment. To Megan's surprise, Sally shows up at the apartment and informs Megan (Jessica Paré) she will be staying for the weekend. Megan later complains to Don for not telling her about Sally's visit. Don confides that he had to fire Lane for embezzlement. Lane arrives home drunk to find that Rebecca has surprised him with a new Jaguar. She tells him her reasoning — he never spends on himself. He vomits but the next morning reassures Rebecca (Embeth Davidtz) that he likes the car. Lane attempts to commit suicide in the middle of the night using the new car's exhaust, but the car fails to start. He then walks into SCDP's empty office and types a letter at his desk.

Sally invites Glen Bishop (Marten Holden Weiner) to visit while Don and Megan are at work the next day. He agrees. The next morning, she waits for Megan to leave the apartment before rushing to change out of her pajamas. Glen arrives at the Draper apartment. They visit the American Museum of Natural History. He admits that he told friends he was going to "do it" with her, but that he thinks of her as a little sister. Feeling ill, Sally runs to the bathroom and finds blood on her underwear. Arriving home, Megan looks for Sally and sees Glen's duffel bag. Sally takes a cab to the Francis house and sprints to the bathroom. She later hugs Betty tightly and explains that her menstrual cycle has started. Glen shows up at the Draper apartment and tells Megan that Sally left him at the museum. Betty phones and tells her that Sally "became a woman today," and just needed her mother. Megan insists Glen stay until she can drive him to his train. Betty gives Sally a hot water bottle and assures her that starting her cycle means "everything is working".

Roger rallies Don as they wait outside Baxter's office. Inside, Don puts aside Baxter's concerns about the advertised anti-smoking letter and insists Dow Chemical needs a new agency, despite having 50% of the market share. Don chides Baxter and his staff for allowing Dow to be satisfied with a 50% market share when they should go after more - and SCDP is the agency that can help them do it.

Lane's secretary drops off some company records with Joan, saying Lane has not arrived and his office door is locked. Joan tries to open Lane's door to find it blocked. She alerts Pete, Harry and Ken, who peer through the adjoining office window. Pete gasps and Ken holds Joan as she bursts into tears. Back from their meeting with Dow, Don and Roger arrive to a nearly-empty office. They soon discover Cooper, Pete and Joan seated in the break room and are informed them that Lane hanged himself. Cooper tells them the other employees do not know yet, and were sent home on a contrived pretext. Don forces his way into Lane's office and they lay Lane's body on his couch. Roger picks up a note from the floor and opens it. He reads Lane's boilerplate resignation letter to the group.

At home, Don offers to drive Glen back to his dormitory. Glen states that "everything you think is going to make you happy just turns to crap". Don asks what Glen would do if he could do anything. Later in Don's car, Glen drives and smiles as Don helps him steer.

External links

• "Commissions and Fees" at AMC
• "Commissions and Fees" at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com episode