Hi elle-elle! My opinion is that it only happened in Peggy's mind. I wonder about her pregnancy also.
I posted my thoughts in another thread.

Don sees Peggy as a kindred spirit: an insecure, miserable person with a big secret.

He obviously thinks she has talent as well, but Don is a lot like Richard Nixon, a man who had a huge inferiority complex and was pathologically envious of those who had the comfortable upbringing he didn't (like JFK or Pete Campbell).

As Don is written now, he's probably going to jump out a window by Season 5, but he'll leave behind the next great advertising genius, Peggy Olsen.

She is one of the few people, if not the only person, that Don truly trusts.

I don't think Peggy was missing for "months and months." She had the baby the night before Thanksgiving. When Don sees her the hospital, he tells her that her Christmas present is sitting on her desk. I'd say it's more like 2-3 weeks.

We don't really know why he looked for her. Because she's so talented and gifted? I don't think so. There is a connection between them that hasn't been revealed yet.

When Peggy opens her eyes and sees Draper sitting in the chair, she doesn't say, "Mr. Draper! What are you doing here?" She simply says, "Is it you?" And he replies, "Yes." Nothing else needed to be said. This denotes a strong familiarity between them.

It definitely was not her imagination. The fact that Don called Peggy to bail him out of the drunk tank and take care of Bobbi is testament to that.

Peggy and Don definitely have each other's backs. We just don't know why yet.

Peggy matters to Don. He identifies with her and respects her. She's an important ally. Do you think he'd let someone like that just disappear....like he does, come to think of it....without tracking them down? Especially after he gave her a promotion. He needs Peggy. If he didn't know how much he needed her then, he knows now.

Oh he needs her all right. We just don't know why. I don't think Peggy ( or anyone ) "matters" to Don, other than they serve a purpose. He has everyone compartmentalized in his life.

Peggy is important to Don and I think he may even be a little afraid of her. We just don't know the reason yet. However, I would not confuse his need to keep Peggy close with respect, affection or his desire to be a mentor. There is something else going on here.

All of the above: I mean I agree with many of the possibilites. I thought Don's appearance in the ward had a vision quality to it, but as was said here, he called her, and that seemed to make his visit to the hospital real. Do you notice he has no male friends, only clients or neighbors or business people. It could be as simple as that Don doesn't get close to people easily (his bed hopping aside) and Peggy gives off such a mixture of independence and vulnerability that perhaps he feels responsible for her. He knew she didn't have close friends at work, may have heard some comments made by the secretaries or the junior execs about her not being around. Maybe Joan mentioned it to him. I wrote on another thread (long ago it seems like) that Personnel had to know and if she had insurance, it had to be filed with someone. Maybe that is how he tracked her down. Office paperwork. He might have seen it as a case of 'if not him, then who?".

I see two sides to Don. I do see some caring. He said that he h ad just given her a promotion and then her disappearing didn't make sense. It appears to me that he admires and trusts her and that he cared about what happened to her so he went looking for her. There is a human side to him for sure at least that is how I see it.

I see two sides to Don. I do see some caring. He said that he h ad just given her a promotion and then her disappearing didn't make sense. It appears to me that he admires and trusts her and that he cared about what happened to her so he went looking for her. There is a human side to him for sure at least that is how I see it.

hmm, these are all interesting but keep in mind that 18 months have passed between now and Peggy's giving birth so this could be one of many flashbacks to come!

also, i think it was episode one this season when all the ad men that Don works with were in one room. one of them insisted Peggy go find out where Don was and as soon as the door closed behind her one of them says: "he won't yell at her." [hello?! at first i thought they were saying this because she's a girl but maybe not!]

they also start gossiping about how she was missing for quote: months! and the guys start speculating on what happened and what Don had to do with it. also, Pete comes in shortly after pregnancy is brought up and asks what they're talking about and they say when Peggy went missing and he says something about a fat farm so I guess he's not the only one in denial.

I think Don sees a lot of himself in Peggy. She is trying to make a new, better life for herself, just as Don did. She is smart and talented, just as Don is. She is closemouthed, just as Don is. She is a lone woman holding her own in a man's world - Don is a loner paving his own way.

They are kindred spirits. Personally, I think Don has some guilt over the way he handled the situation with Adam, his little brother, and may be trying to make up for that by mentoring Peggy.

I don't think it's strange that he went looking for her - in those days, almost any boss would have done it or had someone else do it. People were different in those days - not like now where egomaniacism reigns and you take care yourself and no one else.

Don womanizes, but he is basically a decent person. Most men did womanize in those days and plenty of those suburban housewives "entertained" the repair men and Fuller Brush salesmen who came to their doors, as well.

Don is a good father - for that time - and I forgive a lot in a person if they are a good parent.

I think Peggy's family would've contacted her boss/Sterling Cooper to inform them she was ill, and gave out the TB/quarantine story to make the length of time plausible. Though I think the timeframe is a little over a month, and not much longer.

Don was probably checking up on her progress because of no real straight answers from the family. I bet once he got to the hospital and assessed the situation, he went to Peggy directly to see what was up.

Peggy does mirror Don's history in so many ways, yet I think in the end her life story/personality will be a stronger and more whole version than Don's life. After all, Peggy has family and her mother's love, religion (though she doesn't seem terribly attached to its tenets to not violate them). Peggy has a stronger personality foundation than Don by virtue of what she started with. She may be rejecting them, but in the end I think she will far exceed Don in becoming a more "whole" person.

Also, the two complement each other's temperament. Don is the dreamer, Peggy the realist (after Pete - not before). They can be tremendous support to each other - bringing in what is lacking in the other for balance, when a situation requires it. Peggy's remark to Bobbie about Don being "the man that he is" (or something like that) is both realism and acceptance. Don's neither a pedestal idol or perfect; Peggy knows and accepts that because Don's loyal, and so is she.

>> Don is a good father - for that time - and I forgive a lot in a person if they are a good parent.

That "good parent" was all set to abandon his wife and children and run off to the coast or Mexico with Rachael, remember? Rachael was astounded and said to him, "You'd run away and leave your children?" And Don replied that the children would be fine ... They would be taken care of.

When push comes to shove, Don cares about Don. He'll do whatever neccessary in order to fill his needs and survive. Peggy either serves a purpose or she has something on him. That's my gut feeling.

Slowly, she seems to be taking control. PEGGY decides where to pick up the rental car and Don doesn't argue. Peggy comes up with the brilliant idea of picking up Bobbi's dry cleaning. "This can be fixed" Peggy states.

Notice that Peggy no longer has a roomate. Her salary wasn't raised all that much with her promotion. Even in Brooklyn at that time, most single working girls had roomates because that is what they could afford. Even Joan has a roomate.

After Bobbi passed out in the car, Peggy says to Don, " I dont' want you to treat me badly because I remind you of what happened."

Hmmm ... was she talking about the situation with Bobbi? Or something else.

Why would Draper come looking for Peggy like that? Like Don, she's a climber, an outsider making her own way so there's some bond there. But the deeper answer is kinda freudian I think. Don's prostitute mother died in childbirth, and children often internalize guilt over their role in their own mother's deaths. Here Don comes to a girl his mother's age and tells her that she has a life waiting for her -- she doesn't have to let that Peggy "die" for giving birth out of wedlock. She can go on, move forward, like Don. Maybe that's the subconscious message he longed to give his mother--to live--but he's transferring to Peggy.

I'd like to throw in a thought- My mother was hospitalized in the 60's for a "nervous breakdown" but was actually just a nasty divorce and stress of raising three kids with no support. Anyway, by her own decision, she was hospitalized. However, she had to be signed out by a "responsible adult" in order to leave. It is entirely possible that Peggy couldn't leave the hospital without someone signing for her. The writers of this show know their stuff and while it is quite a soap opera, the show does keep to the era it is protrayed in. Peggy couldn't leave that hospital on her own and needed a person who could sign her out. I believe that was Don't role (certainly not something her family would have done willingly, given how upset they were with her.)

I don't know. Peggy's mother said to the doctor, "She doesn't belong here. She should be home." Peggy's mother would have signed her out on the spot if she could.

She then said, "I'm going, Peaches, but I ain't leaving."

I really like Peggy's mother. You really believe she loves Peggy with all her heart.

Just a sidenote: When Don and Peggy were planning how to cover-up the accident and Bobbi was passed out in the back, I had to laugh. I was looking at the two of them and thinking, "Now THERE'S "Leopold and Loeb." lol

As has been said, Don sees something in Peggy, maybe himself, and he wants to see her succeed.

As far as Peggy, I don't know when her father died or what their relationship was, but she obviously did a good job for Don and I think he's taken on a fatherly role. It was Don who promoted her and it was Don who found her when she was 'lost.'

because peggy and don are the stars of the show

I don't think Don thinks of Peggy as an insecure, miserable person. He sees a person who is his "equal" in the sense of being superior to the others. Someone smarter, stronger, ruthless at times, less emotional and trivial...And I agree with Jamm that they each complement each other in their respective strengths.

They each make mistakes, but unlike others who wallow in guilt, regret, etc. they move on, try not to repeat them and forget.

Matthew Weiner must definitely be a big Ayn Rand fan! This show is chock full of Objectivist Philosophy meeting Nihilism!

And what cad men said.

"By cad men on August 27, 2008 9:05 AM
because peggy and don are the stars of the show"

LOL! I've said that in a few posts. Jon Hamm and Elizabeth Moss are the first 2 names in the credits. Unlike most regular shows, Mad Men has a rich supporting cast that its taken them some time for the male and female leads to share scenes again. But, if you look closely you'll see, for the most part, the secondary stories are very closely related to the lead character's stories: all the jazz with Betty deals with Don's stuff, all the stuff with Pete and Trudy fits into Peggy's world.

But to make this more about the characters: I think at first Don called Peggy because, knowing what he knows, he felt he could bully her into going along with and helping him cover-up what just happened. But then Peggy surprised Don and he realized that she's a much stronger ally. This may work to their advantage.

I can't wait for more flashbacks between these two. I also want to know how she was able to afford to live in her own place in Brooklyn. And what part of Brooklyn? Cobble Hill? Brooklyn Heights? Brooklyn has its bad parts too.

Don knows Peggy wants to break away from the stifling, limiting constraints of her family background and roots - there is a wide social and economic gulf between blue collar Brooklyn and elite Manhattan - and Don knows what that's like.

Don also empathizes with people who remind him of himself.

Peggy was 22, an adult, when she gave birth in November 1960. However, laws were still paternalistic then and it's possible that it took a male's intervention and assistance to convince the Doctors to release Peggy from that mental hospital.

Back in season one, when Adam was sending mail to Don it was delivered to him by Peggy. Don was in a meeting when Adam showed up unannounced and Peggy went to get Don from the meeting. We don't know what Adam said to Peggy, or how much info he gave her about his identity. Don probably felt at the time that Peggy was the only one who knew he wasn't who he says he is. He proably went looking for her to keep wraps or tabs on her. He needed her back at the office, to keep her close. Now Don had something on Peggy. They both know dirty little secrets about each other. Of course later, Don had to deal with Pete knowing his identity and Don had to deal with it. I don't think Don would otherwise be going out of his way to help Peggy's career initially. I think that once he sees she is a valuable asset with a lot of talent, he is the type of person that would keep anyone that made himself look good.

MicheleKay, good observation about Leopold and Loeb! What a laugh, plotting their "crime" and how to cover it up!

I have to keep reminding myself that Don isn't an altruist. He promoted Peggy onto the Clearasil account as junior copywriter to say "screw you" to Pete, not for Peggy's betterment. Getting Peggy out of the mental ward probably had to have something to do with his own reputation as much as it is about Don identifying with her dilemma. It wouldn't have reflected well on Don to have his "newly promoted" female copywriter disappear immediately afterward - like what the hell kind of person did he promote? She has to look good, to make him look good (and he's already failed with the Duck promotion - that guy sucks).

Peggy had a roommate in season one (first episode). What happened to her?

I agree, MicheleKay, about the "familiarity" of Peggy's "Is that you?" when Don was at her hospital bedside. When was such familiarity born? I'm absolutely positive there is no romantic relationship - Peggy is not his type - so how and when did they become so intimate?

I think there's lots yet to be revealed about Don and Peggy. I want to find out what it is between Peggy & Don that makes them watch each other's backs. Remember, it was Peggy who ordered the deadbolt for Don's door after Pete ignored her and entered uninvited and unannounced, and Peggy who demanded her successor secretary to always speak as if Draper was right behind her. This show is SO well-written, and almost nothing is a throw-away line. BUT - why are we all so sure that Don knows about the birth of the baby? On the face of the scene, he said he wondered about her absence from work, and found out she was at the hospital by calling her family. (This is Don??) Then he urged her to do whatever it takes to get out of there: to say what she must, to agree to whatever - "do it" - just like he "did it" getting out of the Korean War. There are sub-surface plot lines here, and I hope we get to know what they are!

bildunginhollywood...
We have not been told what happened to the roommate...nor do we know who told Peggy's sister the baby's father was a married man....

Okay ... who bought a Christmas present for Peggy? "Your Christmas present is still on your desk".

And the enigmatic line, "He's done a lot for me". Like what?

After Peggy said, "he promoted me ..." I agree that Bobbi was onto something when she retorted, "you promoted yourself". What is it? What else? What's going on?

Think about it, Don has been a "good boy" for the sake of his family for the past two years, until Bobbi. I want to say that maybe Don hung out with Peggy a lot over the past two years. The rest of the office is certainly picking up on it. There were no other women, Roger betrayed him, he's not going to hang out with the secretaries, nor the chuckle-boys. And Don has Peggy's number right there in his wallet.

Even in S2's first episode during the whole "sex sells" meeting, Peggy and Don had a lot more familiarity than the others.

I want flashbacks and I want them now.

Getting back to the Christmas gift thing: I don't think Joan would buy a gift, the upper management wouldn't care, none of the other secretaries would, none of the boys would. Who bought the gift and what was it?

I need answers.

Though I don't love the character of Peggy, I do see in her an Athena archetype. An Athena is essentially an introvert, one who values time alone (the new apartment), a craftswoman, a career woman, a strategist and ally of powerful men who are aware of her wisdom and ethical approach to all things. She has a better understanding of men than of other women.

Peggy/Athena is not a natural mother, but as we see, is a dedicated career woman. The baby was much more than a moral dilemma for her; she really does not have motherly qualities. I do see that as a continuing source of conflict, as affection for the child grows. But the child could never be the center of her life. Ideally the childless Pete Campbell's would adopt him, but oh my, what fur would fly in the process. Drama!

In Greek myth, Athena is the daughter of Zeus.the only one of his children that Zeus ever entrusted with his magic shield and the secret of where his lightening bolts were stored. The goddess Athena remained his constant ally and fierce protector, promoting his interests, serving as his advisor.

Don recognizes these qualities in Peggy and is learning to value them. In a very real sense he needs her and is learning to trust the relationship. It will never turn into an affair, but they will forge an even stronger bond. Perhaps. I don't see her turning on him, she's a loyalist through and through. He will mentor her and facilitate her rise through the agency.

But perhaps she will try to supplant him if his failings bring him too low. There's a sort of fulcrum between them. So far, they've maintained that balance, but if Don -- or perhaps Peggy--goes too far, it could spell a sort of warfare where nobody wins.

Looking forward to watching this story line develop.

the 'present' could have come from the clients, like when all the women had dr. scholl's insoles because SC had them as a client. i could see bell-jolie giving lipstick to all the wives and secretaries.

The present may by a Christmas bonus check from the agency.

It just occurred to me that Peggy is the "2nd Generation" of a Don type. Not only is she the female version of him, and how it will play out because of her gender, but she's of a different generation (even though I don't think there's more than a 10-14 year age difference between them).

"Your Christmas gift is on your desk". It's a present from Don. She spent time as his secretary in 1960 and just recently got promoted to Copywriter. Secretary's bosses traditionally get them very nice gifts at Christmas to show their appreciation. The men's wives were expected to pick something out, wrap it and have it ready for the boss to present before Christmas holiday. Usually something like bar-ware, crystal, etc...

Possible SC Christmas gifts:

-an album of "zipper" Christmas songs
-a year's supply of Secor laxatives
-a relax-isizer
-paddle with ball set
-socks (from Bert)

You get the general idea!

SixtiesGirl, in a synopsis of Epi 6 (Maidenform), it says Peggy tries to infiltrate an executives' meeting. I don't know - I think Peggy may try to go over Don, in the end! Especially if, as you point out, he becomes too weak or ineffectual to do his job. Peggy may cover for a while, but in the end she would act for her own self-interest, just as her mentor, Don, has always done.

A trailer for Episode 6 shows Peggy's attempt to enter a Maidenform casting call that the males in the office did not tell her about. The men are squirreled away in an office oogling the women and 'taking pictures' of the models.

All rather lurid...nothing to do with Don.

Okay, I just re-watched the first episode of this season and I think the scene where Don and Peggy, with Sal in the background, is very telling about their mentor/protege relationship. Don's giving Peggy advice about the ad mock-up and Peggy's soaking in his advice, both are bobbing and weaving seamlessly in the conversation.

Also the scene where everyone's waiting for Don for the lunch meeting, after Peggy's sent to fetch Don is telling. All the boys know that Don has taken a shine to Peggy and they can't figure out why. She's sent to get him because he won't yell at her. When they wonder what's going on between the two of them Dale chimes in with something like, "Don probably knocked her up and sent her away for two months". Its quite obvious speculation about Don and Peggy is running high. Then follow that scene with Peggy berating Lois about Lois' insinuations.

Rewatch this first episode with the knowledge we've gained from this recent one and you'll start to see the Don and Peggy camaraderie.

Also, listen carefully as Don's mailing that book out. I guess he's reading one of the poems, but, IMHO, what he's saying completely fits with what's going on/has gone on with Peggy.

Very clever.

If they lose the Maidenform account, will all the women in the office have to get rid of their bras like they had to get rid of their Dr. Scholls inserts when SC lost that account? Is there a closet full of bras now at Sterling Cooper? Will we find Roger placing his name and phone number on the tags? Hmm....

They'll go to Playtex or Olga! Roger would be in heaven, but I have an idea that he's more of an ass man than breasts (even though he likes to roam Joan's). He's pretty impressed with Joan's heart-shaped ass by the comments he's made more than a few times!

I think what you need to realize, is that the show in my opinion, is shown through the eyes of Don And Peggy....they are the two heartbeats of the show....a man of his time, talented beyond words completely sure of himself...but teetering on the precipice of madness, lost and really alone.....detached from the world he resides in....Peggy, wide-eyed and naive is trying to find her way in a time of men, and her burgeoning relationship with Don is as poignant as it is laced with nuances and is the heart of the show...they are the only two charfacters that are not cookie-cutter, they are unique often detached and alone in a world of decadence...it is my hope that depite the 14 year age difference...they find some solace...some peace in each other....

@robleft24: maybe in the end, Don and Peggy will become like "family" for each other, that neither really had (Don) or feels connected to (Peggy).

Don sees in Peggy a kindred spirit with his intelligence, toughness, and vulnerability. She comes from a humble background and has the mental toughness to succeed, whatever the odds. In the hospital, he counseled her to compartmentalize, to move on. Because they are kindred spirits, he trusts her more than the others in the office. But he may be underestimating her because she is a great pupil with the capacity to become the same type of cold manipulator that he is to succeed. She does not have the power to totally take him on, but eventually will be able to work him to her advantage.

Whatever the relationship is with Don and Peggy, it doesn't seem consistant. One minute he is promoting her, the next time he is telling Joan that he wants a secretary that WANTS to be a secretary (?) Then Peggy bails him out of jail and he is humble. The next minute when Peggy asks him, "what's wrong?". He snaps back her, "what do you think!!". I wanted Peggy to slam on the brakes and give him one more scar across the forehead! What's up with his Dr. Jeckel / Mr. Hyde behavior with Peggy? It just seems weird at times.

Luvmadmen, it's a game with Don. He sees himself a master of the universe - a molder and manipulator of everyone around him. She in her subservient way sees him as a role model. You can't apply today's mores to the dynamics that existed in interpersonal relationships in Madmen's time.