You hit that nail on the head. And with daddy dead and mother being a prick, Pete may start to become human and live his own life. He will not inherit anything. No pedigree required.

There is jsut something about Pete that Peggy sees and we don't.

57Chevy: That's exactly it! Something Peggy sees in Pete that we don't. After the adoption agency declaration at the office I was hoping he would go home and embrace this new chance with his wife ... and then he went and threw the chicken out the patio door like a petulant child! I was appalled, but loved how is wife grew some and stuck her finger in his face and told him to never speak to her like that again. And Peggy's quip about "sleeping with Don and it "working out" for her" was truly funny and even made him laugh. I think the two most important women in his life are fighting back and I'm so excited for the fireworks to continue ....!!!

57Chevy: That's exactly it! Something Peggy sees in Pete that we don't. After the adoption agency declaration at the office I was hoping he would go home and embrace this new chance with his wife ... and then he went and threw the chicken out the patio door like a petulant child! I was appalled, but loved how is wife grew some and stuck her finger in his face and told him to never speak to her like that again. And Peggy's quip about "sleeping with Don and it "working out" for her" was truly funny and even made him laugh. I think the two most important women in his life are fighting back and I'm so excited for the fireworks to continue ....!!!

57Chevy: you got that right. I have NEVER understood what it was about Pete that Peggy saw or could never truly deny. Hmmm......still eludes me!

As far as Peggy and Pete coming together, not for a few years. I think Peggy alternates between the "highs and pleasures" she gets from her career over any romantic yearnings for now. If she stumbles across someone new that catches her attention, I think Peggy will act on it, but it's not going to be Pete for a long, long time.

I still think pete's a jerk, but I'm glad he stood up to his meddling father in law. I've had one before, and in-laws can be controlling if you let them. I'm glad pete told him to shove it. And his wife is being really selfish, and doesn't realize she's trying to make Pete something he isn't. Father material. She' s a spoiled brat and shame on her for taking her marital problems to her Father. Pete's right, it's between A Man and Wife not some meddling man who won't let his kid grow up and realize this is one thing he can't get for her.
Poor Joan, settling for a man who rape's her, and who see's her as used goods. Did you see the look in her eyes when she looked at peggy? I saw envy and respect, and a realization that Peggy was doing it on her terms. I'm rooting for Peg, and she is loyal to Don, and I hope she save's his bacon in the future, because if he doesn't come back soon, Duck is going pull the rug from under him and take it all. Maybe even his wife.

P.S. Sorry for not commenting on the subject. As for Peggy and Pete having another romance. I hope not. Pete will try and drag her down to his level. He is a destroyer like his mother.

Also, I thought Pete's congratulations to Peggy had more the air of grudging respect from one colleague to another. Pete seemed to be acknowledging her as his peer or equal in business and treated her thus rather than being his usual condescending self.

What made me laugh was the amount of smoking and drinking Peggy was doing in this episode - Peggy has definitely started to acquire some of the "habits" of the "boys" and has become "one of them".

I think timing is what brought Peggy to Pete. She met him and slept with him before she knew him. She came into the office thinking she was expected to put out for the execs. At least to some degree. The only one who jumps on her is Pete. We watched as his feet of clay dissolved in front of her and she was hurt by seeing who Pete is instead of who she thought Pete was. Well, we've all been there, haven't we?! But Peggy doesn't throw away people (with one possible exception!) just because they have flaws. But she is no longer the push over who opened her door to him the night of his bachelor party.

I thought Trudy looked much bigger last night. Pete is still trying to please his mother, since it is her hurtful words about adopting that he doesn't want to go against. Or does Pete agree with his mother on adoption? I see Pete's turmoil as his trying to live up to his family standard and Trudy stopping him by bringing in her family to get things done her way. He didn't want the apartment, she did and brought in her parents to seal the deal, for example. the same with the adoption. They are both childish people who think they shoud live by their parent's rules. Trudy is a cliche and Peggy is the opposite. In a way, and I hate to make the comparison, Peggy is to Pete what Anna is to Don.

.......jamm.....Did you see what Snivelling Twit Campbell did with that chicken??

Sigh.....memories........

I am surprised that I haven't read about the obvious solution to Pete's adoption problem.

Since he only wants his own child, Peggy learns of his wife's longing to adopt and finally tells him they have a son.

It may not happen in Season 2, but it could certainly happen next year if they decide to renew their contact.

Better hope Hildy never finds out he was the one who trashed the idea of adoption. Not that she had a whole lot of respect for him before she received the call from the adoption agency...

Tossing the chicken off the balcony. Yeah, that's the Pete we love to hate.

You'd think Pete and Trudy would have discussed the "having children" issue before they got married. I guess it was assumed back then. But when they began having difficulty conceiving, Pete considered a life without children, and found that he liked that idea just fine.

And now, all this arguing and hysteria! ... a thing like that!

yes, it was assumed back then during the final years of the baby boom, that everyone wanted children and could have them. i remember as a chid in the early 60s, in our suburban single-family home neighborhood with 2 or more kids per house on every street, there was a house as big as ours and only the husband wife lived there. i asked my parents why they had no kids. they gave a good answer - "well, maybe they want to wait, or maybe they can't have them, or maybe they don't want kids and like being together, just the two of them." the answer, "some people can't have kids" made sense to me and i thought no more about it, except i wondered what they used the extra bedrooms for.

for that matter, nowadays it may not be assumed that a couple wants to have kids immediately, but most people do want to have kids, eventually. most people assume it will be no problem (especially men - they assume because they can ejaculate they can father a child).

peggy is not raising her child and i doubt her sister is raising it. by now it's 2 years old and probably was adopted by strangers shortly after birth when peggy's parental rights were terminated by the court. adoptions were closed and peggy would have no idea where the child is now. as close-mouthed as peggy is, i doubt she would reveal to anyone what was, in those days nearly a half-century ago, an extremely damaging and shameful secret.

i rarely approve of pete's behavior, but he's right to resent his wife's conduct regarding adoption. it's a highly personal decision and she has no right to assume he agrees with her. no spouse should try to force another to become a parent against his or her will - whether it's conceiving a child as a couple, or some artificially-assisted form of conception, or by adoption. if he's against it, he has that right to refuse to cooperate. if she's hellbent on being a mother, she can either wait and see whether he'll change, try to convince him (by fair methods, not emotional or economic blackmail) or divorce him and marry a widower with young kids or another man willing to adopt.

it's also totally wrong on any wife to go running to her parents, especially a rich or influential daddy, to tell them "what a selfish beat" her husband is for refusing to accede to her demands, and to get their help to force her husband to bend to her will. the only time the parents should be involved is if the wife's being beaten or abused, and needs help to get away from the dangerous husband. trudy's first loyalty must be to her husband, not her father.

want to turn off your husband and ruin your marriage? go running to mommy or daddy whenever things don't go your way.

I've known more than one couple who, after years of trying, finally adopted. And within two years, had a child by regular means.

...I find it strange that many ideas about adoption are still present today- even on this board.
I have adopted, and it was regular means.
People still, today, think of adoption as second place to biological family, or you couldn't have one of your "own" so you adopted, or "what a wonderful thing you have done, giving an unwanted child a home"....
Somethings don't change.

@Dry Manhattan: yeah, l laughed pretty good when the chicken AND platter went over the balcony. What a mess it would've been if it'd been a gravy bowl. LOL

My only claim to throwing fame is a bike and phone against the wall; a drink in the face; and beating my Coleman cooler to death with my aluminum softball bat. Haven't done any of that kind of stuff in years. Don't know if it's arthritis or old age - now I just cry!

Hi Dry Manhattan and jamm54!
All I could think was, who got hit on the head by the "flying" chicken?

I KNOW 60's child! Talk about a deadly weapon from the sky! Just like when Midge threw her tv out the window! Bombs away!

I think Pete and Trudy are headed for a divorce. Maybe she'll go back to Charlie who was really into her.

Pete, I think, is in love with Peggy. And I think Peggy still has a thing for Pete. And the baby may be living at the sister's house; we just don't know for sure.

Fertility is a funny thing. Our neighbors across the street from us when I was growing up adopted 2 kids and then had their own biological child. Another friend of mine adopted then had one of her own. It happens all the time.

Who knows? Maybe Trudy would be able to have a baby with Charlie or somebody else? Maybe her and Pete's chemistry just doesn't jibe?

One of my uncles and his wife had a child after 15 years of marriage. You just never know. . .

Ooohh...just had a thought...
What if Peggy's son was given up for adoption and the baby we keep seeing at Anita's is actually Anita's baby.? She was pregnant when Peggy gave birth. They only show one crib in the boys room. One toddler at church. If Anita has custody of Peggy's son then where is her own baby? Something is not right there... Maybe Anita's baby died and Peggy's lived and that's where the resentment of Peggy's refusal to acknowlege her sin is really stemming from...that would be hard. Losing your own loved and expected baby then having to raise your unrepentive, uncaring sister's love child

I feel like Peggy's moved on. There will always be an connection there, but she's become too independent to fall back to a guy who'd let her go through what he put her through. Frankly, I'd rather see her hook up with the priest.

That said, Pete's clearly draw to strong-willed women and Peggy does seem to serve as some sort of beacon to him. Maybe a glimmer of a better self that HE could be.

I felt genuine pain for Joan when Peggy got her office. Peggy's fast rise in the agency feels like a bit of a stretch. Even though she's not a sexual threat (to most of them) she's still given a lot of opportunity and credit for that day and age.

As a wife in the middle of a fight with my new husband during Sunday's Mad Men I must say if offered a lot of insights.

If Pete hadn't belittled and ignored his wife so much in the past I would have been on board with his temper tantrum. As soon Hildy mentioned the adoption to him i winced. I think he may have been won over by toward the idea if she hadn't forged ahead and informed his office of the decision.

And as Gail Klein was saying, I too know of a lot of stories of women getting pregnant when they stop trying. I'd say a lot of the time they're so tense and stressed about getting pregant they're body's won't accept a pregnancy. Who would be surprised if our dear Trudy was a little tense?

As for Pete and Peggy, the scene in her new office was classic. When he asked how she got it he was so snide and bitchy and she met him head on with her response about sleeping with Don.

I don't think those two will get back together. Pete's kinda sad to her now. She still feels affection for him but it more in the way one would feel for a dog that can't stop chasing his tail then for a man she would like to be with.

Pete was initially against adoption. Then when his mom was against adoption, Pete was for it.

When Trudy (in the form of setting up an adoption service appointment) pushed and then Daddy-in-law pushed, Pete was against it.

Anyone else notice this pattern? Pete's growing a backbone. He starting not to let other people tell him what to do. Yes, he's still an a**hole but he's becoming his own man.

Additionally, he didn't badmouth Don back at the office to the Guys for blowing off most of the conference and the meetings with possible clients. Everything he told Peggy was the truth, not gossip.

My parents tried for children for 10 years without luck. Then they adopted me. Then they proceeded to have 4 children over the next 5 yrs. There are lots of stories about this happening. It's really something.

yeah, i've known of several cases where the wife supposedly couldn't conceive, they adopt and within a year or so, the wife gets pregnant. they used to attribute it to excess anxiety about getting pregnant, which supposedly hampered fertility. since stress and anxiety can cause all sorts of other physical problems, why not that? who knows.

adoption is fine, if you want to do it. if you don't, that's fine too. adoption isn't more noble, admirable or morally better than having one's own biological child. all babies are born through biology. not all babies are parented by their biological parents.

let's be honest about it, most couples start out assuming that they will make their own babies through sexual intercourse. for those confused on the issue, this is the "regular means" applicable around the world. what's wrong with wanting or even preferring that? the point is, parenthood should all be voluntary. a problem can arise when the issue of adoption is not discussed by couples beforehand.

me, i've never wanted children regardless of how they come into the world. but if someone has a very strong drive to parent a child, my question is, should it matter that it's not a child you bore or sired?

LaurieB: Your story is amazing!

Since MM is a story about the unfolding of the 60's and the evolution of the characters, I agree that Pete is evolving too. Hopefully, he will become a better man. Remember what Bert said to Don: "One never knows where loyalty is born."

I think he already feels some loyalty to Don for keeping him at SC. And there's no question that he has enormous respect for him professionally.

Is people really thinking this child is Dons. Hellll naw Peggy is so not his type he likes women with style (something she is getting to become now) and please somebody give me clarificatioon on why this is being said?? Being a Madmen fan from day one I never seen any attachment other than Don secrets that she know about and the secrets he know about her that's where I thought it ended. I never seen him give any notion that he liked her other than a friend that he can go to. Someone let me know the deal?

JAMM54 and Dry Manhattan:
Yall funny ass hell!!!!! That was hilarious that he threw that plate out!!LOLLOL I still hate his little boy ass he's such a wimp.

Well at least Pete retrieved some of his testicles from Trudy and his father-in-law. It'll be interesting to see where Pete and Trudy are next year if they even "are" as a couple next season.

Pete and Trudy are both spoiled brats. She's still Daddy's little Princess. I was happy to see Pete show some spine and stand up to Big Daddy. Maybe there's hope for Pete yet. I just hope Chauncey was waiting under the window for a home-cooked meal. What a temper Pete has! Better he tossed the chicken than tossed Trudy out the window. And speaking of chicken, didn't the "boys" arrange for a Chinese man and some chickens to be in Pete's office when he returned from his honeymoon? So throwing out a chicken was hilarious.

Does anyone think the loss of the Clearasil account might be a deal breaker or at least slow down the merger?

As for Pete and Peggy together as a couple, I agree with Whitless that Peggy's moved on. At least I hope she has!

Never thought of that former WRG'er (about them both being spoiled or privileged) - probably why they clash so much. Pete has been giving in, but I think he's tired of always making the concessions to Trudy/Daddy.

I think you're right about the Clearisil account being a big deal (well it is national), and maybe a bad sign in the merger offer. Notice in the preview Peggy doesn't volunteer any information when Harry mentions the Clearisil account missing.

honeysuckle i agree, don and peggy = never.

and yes, the loss of the clearisil account will seriously jeaopardize not only pete's job but also the merger. it sounds like one of their biggest accounts and the buyers will want to know what happened to lose it.

I occurs to me as I read thru these posts regarding the whole Pete/Trudy/baby/interfering father-in-law thingy is that there is a reason that I am single and childless :-)

However, here's what I think happened...Trudy called her dad and complained about Pete's increasing cold and near violent behavior (let's face it you all the last time I saw Pete really tender towards Trudy is when he was setting her up to pimp her with her former boyfriend who was now in publishing when he too wanted to have a story he had written published.) Her father probably said what was it this time and she told him about the adoption stuff...He called Pete and yada , yada....

I don't think Pete grew a couple I think he just impotently jerked off again...and now the firm has once less well paying client in at a critical juncture in its history...

Pete and Trudy are just mis-matched. They are not on the same page about having children and that's a huge issue.
I think they'd be better off getting the divorce and getting on with their individual lives.
Even though Pete is the guy you love to hate,I have a newfound respect for him when he put the father-in-law in his place. No one likes meddling in-law's and he was overstepping his boundaries trying to dictate to Pete what Pete should do.
Trudy has never been a sympathetic character .She's a spoiled little princess,daddy's little girl.
I along with others,don't see what Peggy sees in Pete either,but it seems like they do have an easy connection and some kind of mutual respect in their workplace.

Pete & Trudy had problems from day one - remember her wanting to live above his means! They are both immature. All I could think of was where that bird & tray landed. Loved that he called his f-i-l's bluff though. Peggy is looking forward not backward to Pete. I'm not sure what Pete thinks of Peggy. What would Pete do if he knew about his child being adopted? Would he even really care?

I predict Pete will find out Peggy's baby is his, and he will try to adopt it (because it's his precious fruit of his loins after all.) The Mrs. will find out, leave him to raise his love child alone. He can't do that, he's a man, so he enlists the help of Miss Peggy, which brings them together is some barely functional form.
You heard it hear first.

I have already seen the finale and Im happy to report it will blow you away. Unbelievable acting from the entire cast. Jon Hamm is truly amazing (he is the next George Clooney without a doubt). January Jones really comes into her own but the most devastating performance comes courtesy of Elizabeth Moss. I predict the scene between Pete and Peggy will be burning up the blog like Mad! Kudos to the entire cast and Matt Weiner for the only truly outstanding hour of television out there at the moment. Here's hoping the show comes back early enough in 2009 so as keep the momentum. I think AMC will have to pony up to Weiner (who now has considerable clout and could trade on HBO's regret at not picking this series up when it was first offered to them). Sunday nights won't be the same. I'm going to start rewatching all the episodes from the beginning each week to fill in the gap. Cheers all and get ready to be taken on an amazing journey tonite!

I jsut saw the episode where the guys were calling Peggy lobster. I figured from reading posts here that Pete was angry because of his own pride. What I saw was Pete defending her. I honestly do not know if I would have seen that if I had seen season 1 before. Whether pete realizes it or not, he has a thing for Peggy. Jsut the fact that she has really good sex with him is probably one factor. I think Trudy jsut acts like she is fulfilled. I hope I am saying this right, it's making me blush to type what I mean.

I'm surprised Peggy didn't tell Pete long ago about the Baby. I always thought that Pete had a thing for her. Maybe season 3 will see them together.

Do you think Pete is contemplating killing himself.... or Peggy?

The scene with him holding the rifle is cut to a scene of Peggy, finishing up her prayers and settling into a nice sleep.