......so many people being loyal to Freddy, and valuing him for more than his latest mistake. I wish the workplace were really that way.

I may be wrong but I can guess that 6 months leave is not only referring to Freddie, but maybe to Don't marriage and his stay at the hotel.

They are all headed down Freddy's road. He is a little older than Don, and Don is older than the junior execs. But they all drink.

I found Peggy's reactions to the whole Freddie situation to be very interesting. She obviously wants to rise in this business, but clearly never considered doing so on the backs of others. I think she would have refused the promotion Don was giving her if it meant Freddie could come back. But, since that is not possible, she is going to take the new responsibilities and run with them. I don't think for a moment, however, that she will forget that Pete is the one responsible for Freddie's leaving. Now she has two reasons for seeking revenge against Pete.

The chickens are coming home to roost! Don has a morning cigarette cough, Betty swills wine all day and in Freddy we have our first confirmed alcoholic, unless you count Duck. This epi was all about actions having consequences. Don sees the consequences of his cheating, Betty sees the consequences of marrying a man she knows nothing about. Marilyn Monroe and Joan see the consequences of making your way in the world as a sex symbol. Peggy has already given birth to her consequences, now she is caught up in the ugly world of advertising, where one person's ceiling is another person's floor.

I also felt this episode was signalling the passing of the old guard to make way for youth. Freddie Rumsen was there at the start of the firm with Roger's father, and yet Roger didn't hesitate to cut him loose.

Monroe/Joan embody the fifties, the older "generation", yet the young ones (Peggy, Jane) are replacing them.

Like Zerelda, I also thought Peggy's reactions to the Freddy thing were very interesting. In the scene where she was in his office with Sal and Pete, she was very protective of him, almost in a caretaker sort of way, which made me wonder if somebody important in her life might also have suffered from alcoholism. Perhaps her father, who is dead? But in the scene where Freddy walks into Peggy's office, she lights up when she sees him, but when he leaves, she has a funny luck on her face. I could not figure it out -- was it a look of disgust? Despair because she knew instinctively that all would not end well for Freddy? Something else? And then when Pete said, "And if weren't for me, you would still be a junior copyrigher," Peggy had a brief "lightbulb" moment like "oh wow, a raise and a promotion" but but she still seemed kind of repulsed by the whole thing -- her own career advancement that came at the expense of her friend, Freddy, plus the realization that she had once been attracted to a conniving creep like Pete.

I think this may have been Freddie's "swan song". I am still thinking he will commit suicide.

Hi Dry Manhattan! So true...so true!!
I thought I was in the minority thinking that the workplace is full of back stabbing, lying, coniving fruit loops!! Mixed in with some decent people (like us, of course)!

One, I couldn't believe was Pete taking credit for Peggy's promotion (only Don can do that). Pete's going to act like he did Freddie in for Peggy's benefit? Give me a break! Please, someone beat Pete to death with a desk lamp! If Peggy bought that reasoning (which it looks like she did), she needs to be whacked alongside the head, too. Pete would NEVER do anything to help Peggy in the work world.

I think Peggy felt both pity and compassion for Freddie. Peggy's first response is loyalty, immediately followed by amibition. Kind of gives you a clue as to her path in the years to come. What do you think Peggy will do if it's between her and Don in business? Do you think Peggy would show compassion and protect Don or if it was a chance to step up in advancement and satisfy her ambition, she'd throw Don under the bus? I don't know, but it'll be interesting to watch.

@60's child: Funny you should mention Freddie committing suicide - I thought the same thing. I think Freddie will be dead in 6 months, either some kind of drunken accident or our first Sterling Cooper alumni to go out the window.

There was an air to Freddie's goodbye party that struck me as very other worldly. Freddie knew he was being let go, Roger and Don were being gentlemanly about it. Using their own version of gentlemanly, of course. Freddie knew and had accepted the long goodbye and smiled through it. He presented his proposal, it failed, and he left in his cab, without making a messy scene. All that sort of signaled the end of an era to me.

Jamm54:
Pete definitely didn't do it for Peggy. He did it because, for whatever reason, he was totally disgusted by Freddie's behavior. Really off-the-chart disgusted. Which is why he told Duck, a recovering alcoholic, who can't stand Freddie's drinking and who subsequently brought it up with Roger.

That Peggy was promoted to Freddie's position was simply a by-product of his actions. In reality, Pete didn't gain anything by his actions.

Freddie's "six month leave" situation by SC reminds me of Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman, a man who didn't know who he was without his job. In fact, his father seems to have been like Willie Loman, a route salesman. Which makes Freddie, Happy Loman, Willie's son?

Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe's husband. Coincidence? I think not.

Oh, that Death of a Salesman reference just made me so sad...

I really did love Freddie--he was kind of a fool, but that may have been the alcohol. He was also talented and brave, and he respected people and treated them well. But alcohol took his spirit and talent and he hid his bad memories in a bottle and though I don't think he'll kill himself literally, he's probably going to pull a Leaving Las Vegas and die very quickly.

I love Freddie too. But I didn't wonder why the episode was "all about him" -- this is why I love this show. It develops every character so richly & beautifully. And yes, Freddie's story reflects something different in the lives of other characters.

It also cannot be a coincidence that Freddie's downfall occurred the same day as Marilyn's death. I don't think he'll commit suicide though. Look at Duck - he came back.

My favorite moments:

(1) When Freddie told Don how much he'd miss him, saying he's "really talented". Don went from arrogant to humble in 2 seconds flat.

(2) When Peggy beamed "I love Freddie!"

LOVE the Arthur Miller reference. I didn't think of that - thank you!!

I'm also afraid that Freddie is the one who's going to die sooner rather than later in this show.

Remember Peggy says to Don "I wish it didn't have to happen this way" (regarding the way she got her promotion because of Freddie's firing). And Don says, "but it did happen this way."

He also reminded her not to feel bad "about being good at your job."

With him it's always "move forward, forget the past." And Peggy is his very apt pupil.

She is gradually developing a thicker skin and will become even more calloused with time. It would be interesting to see what would happen if she had to choose between her loyalty to Don and her own future.

Maybe she will lose all her feminine sentimentality and become the real female Don.

Don better be careful. That "move forward, erase the past and any sentiment attached to it" is already not working for him.

In the case of Peggy, if she literally follows his philosophy, a day will come when she will "move forward" and not be swayed by the past or sentiment to consider Don, as he's being kicked to the curb.

Jamm54: Exactly. OMG, what have the writers got up their sleeves?

I think Freddy was a potentially great man--actually depending on how you measure it, he was a star who had seen better days. BUT, he had a weakness and alcohol fed it and ruined him.

And I think the Pete's of the world are the prigs who destroyed Marilyn.

Pete gets so worked up and hateful whenever he "sees" weaknesses in others. His reaction is never one of compassion or empathy. That's because Pete is so weak himself, so it really sets his alarm bells of intolerance ringing. He is such jackass jerk - that's why I love seeing the weasel once in a while - the guy we love to hate! He's a walking billboard for the worst traits in people.

jamm - You're totally right about Pete and his hate for "weakness". To add on to that, I think he probably heard a lot from his dad in terms of contempt for people who are poor, lower-class, ill-mannered, weak, etc. He hates people who have weaknesses because he can hear his dad berating them (and him) in his head.

It was really cool that Freddy was the focus. As much as I like looking at Don Draper's face, it's good to see the show expand its view of others in the office. Finally, we viewers get to know more about him, that he was a bad-ass WWII soldier and he's a doting daddy. For a show that can often be dark and down, Freddy did bring the funny. I'll definitely miss the Freddy character.

As to Preggy....She frustrates me at times. And her relationship to and with Pete the Punk-Bitch bugs! But what I like about her is that she learns from her mistakes. I highly doubt she'll keep Don out of the loop on anything else! She really seemed thankful to get a rise at SC. Still, she hated to get it at the expense of Freddy, the one person who recognized her copywriting talent.

Have to say, overall, Preggy is a cool character just navigating her way as a very young woman in this sea of sexism and looks-ism. I like her!

I was very sad about Freddie. He was so kind to everyone, really, and creative and a "team" player. His focus was getting the job done, but yes, the alcoholism, I guess (though I didn't really think Freddie was out of control as much as he was a maintenance type of alcoholic - keep his levels up throughout the day) had gotten the lead and was affecting his daily work life.

I do think that Freddie will be dead within 6 months and by suicide (drinking himself to death). It will mirror the Adam scenerio to some degree (Don casts someone off for their own "betterment" and they end up killing themselves - hanging, drinking).

Pete has no compassion hardly, for anyone, not even his own wife. The day will come in Pete's life when he may need others' compassion and sympathy, and I doubt if anyone is going to step forward to offer it (except for Peggy, unfortunately) because he's shown so little of it to others.

Suicide is a possibility for Freddy.

However, another possibility could be treatment and/or AA. As a middle aged, white businessman, Freddy has the demographics for someone that could have been in AA in the early 60's.

It would be a nice turn if the story has a clean and sober Freddy contact Peggy months down the road.

From a historical pop culture perspective, the movie, Days of Wine and Roses was released in December 1962.

Several posts on other threads refer to Duck as a recovering alcoholic. Obviously abstaining from alcohol is important, but just quitting doesn't necessarily mean Duck's recovering.

Rather than scheming with Pete to have Freddy fired , Duck, would have at least tried to get Freddy the help he needs.

Somehow, I don't think that's in Duck's nature though.

I was kind of surprised by Duck's intolerance for Freddie's drinking. Especially because Duck was bounced from his job in London for drinking, wasn't he? You would've thought Duck would have had more compassion, having been there, but I guess not. This almost seems like a set-up for Duck's fall down the line - great ammo for Don. If Duck falls off the wagon anytime in the future, do you think Don is going to show any more mercy for Duck, than Duck did for Freddie in insisting he be fired?