It’s been 15 years, and I still can’t believe Don Draper (Jon Hamm) lost a fight to one of his biggest detractors in arguablyMad Men’s most famous episode. Written byMad Mencreator Matthew Weiner and directed by Jennifer Getzinger in 2010,Mad Menseason 4, episode 7, “The Suitcase” was hailed by critics as one of the best episodes of television in the 21st century, and ranks among thegreatest episodes ofMad Men,if notthegreatest. “The Suitcase” is a brilliantly depicted study of the relationship between Don Draper and Peggy Olsen (Elizabeth Moss).
InMad Menseason 4, episode 7, “The Suitcase,” Peggy opts out of her birthday celebration with her family and boyfriend, Mark (Blake Bashoff), to work on Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce’s Samsonite account. While the rest of the office is watchingMuhammad Ali’s fightwith Sonny Liston, Don receives a call that Anna Draper (Melinda Page Hamilton), has passed away.Don and Peggy butt heads, go out to eat, and gain a greater understanding of one another,although their dynamic snaps back to normal at the end of the episode.
Don Draper falls deeper into alcoholism inMad Menseason 4, and he drinks heavily to numb the inevitability of calling back Anna’s niece, Stephanie (Caity Lotz), to confirm that Anna was gone. Meanwhile, Peggy’s affair with Herman “Duck” Phillips (Mark Moses) rears its head, as Duck has also fallen off the wagon. WhenDuck comes to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce looking for Peggy,he has a confrontation with Don, and the outcome still shocks me.
Not How I Expected That Fight To Go
I didn’t expect Duck Phillips to beat up Don Draper inMad Menseason 4, episode 7, “The Suitcase.” A drunken Duck broke into Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce looking for Peggy, and he decided to defecate in Don’s office, although he mistakenly went intoRoger Sterling’s (John Slattery)office instead. When Duck called Peggy"a whore,“Don took a swing at Duck, but Phillips overpowered Draper and won their brief fight.Don cried"Uncle,“and surrendered,giving Duck the satisfaction of finally getting one over on Don Draper.
Don is younger and bigger than Duck, so one would think he’d have the upper hand. Both Don and Duck were inebriated, so they were roughly equally impaired. Draper and Phillips are also both veterans. However, as Duck bragged when he could have finished Draper off, he killed seventeen men in Okinawa during World War II.Duck has a killer instinct that Don lacks, since Draper’s own stint in the Korean War was brief before he was shipped back to the United States by taking advantage of the US Army mistakingDick Whitman for Lt. Don Draper.
Don practiced his own advice after Peggy gave birth: “Move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.”
Don Draper has suffered a number of humiliations inMad Men.Don has been mugged, robbed, and beaten, usually while Draper was drunk and making poor decisions, like picking up hitchhikers. However,Don being so easily manhandled by Duck Phillips is still surprising.Unlike Don’s other incidents, Peggy was a witness to Duck beating up Don. Yet Don brushed off Duck’s revenge immediately. It never bothered him, and he never brought it up again, as Don practiced his own advice afterPeggy gave birth:“Move forward. This never happened. It will shock you how much it never happened.”
Don Originally Recruited Duck Into Sterling Cooper
Duck Phillips was recruited by Don Draper in the first place. Following Roger Sterling’s two heart attacks inMad Menseason 1, Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) gave Don authority to hire someone new as Sterling Cooper’s head of accounts services. Don hired Duck after weathering a blackmail attempt byPete Campbell (Vincent Kartheiser)for Roger’s job. However, Duck and Don soon found themselves in a constant power struggle. WhenMad Menseason 2 begins,Duck Phillips is frustrated by Don Draper’s power within Sterling Cooper.
Mad Menseason 1’s timeline was March to Thanksgiving 1960, andMad Menseason 2 picked up in February 1962 after Duck Phillips had been head of Sterling Cooper account services for about 15 months.
Duck’s failed attempt to secure American Airlines as a client inMad Menseason 2, which required Don to fire Mohawk Airlines, ended any chance that Draper and Phillips could co-exist. Duck secretly negotiated Putnam, Powell & Lowe to buy Sterling Cooper, with Phillips installed as President. However, PPL lost interest when they learned Don doesn’t have a contract with Sterling Cooper, and Duck lost his composure when the buyout failed.Duck despised Don ever since.
Duck’s Career Kept Intersecting With Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce
A recovering alcoholic, Duck Philips' career spiraled when he was bounced out of Sterling Cooper, and he resumed drinking. ByMad Menseason 6, Duck reinvented himself as a corporate headhunter for advertising. Pete Campbell asked Duck to investigate Bob Benson (James Wolk), which resulted in Bob leaving Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. At the end ofMad Menseason 6,Duck had the satisfaction of returning to SCDP with Lou Avery (Allan Havey), Don’s replacement as Creative Director, when Draper was placed on permanent leave.
InMad Men season 7, Duck claimed he had worked it out with his family after he lost them because of his alcoholism.Duck hit rock bottom several times yet managed to continue working in advertising, and found ways to ingratiate himself with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. After SCDP was acquired by McCann Erickson inMad Menseason 7, Duck approached Pete Campbell with an opportunity to work for Learjet. Pete left McCann and moved to Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Trudy, (Allison Brie), and their daughter, thanks to Duck.
The ways Don and Duck mirrored each other contributed to their rivalry.
Although Duck Phillips lacked Don Draper’s good looks and charm, as well as Draper’s luck, the two men share many similarities. They are both heavy drinkers, and their alcoholism derailed their promising careers. Both Don and Duck lost their families because of their drinking. Draper and Phillips are also both ultimately devoted to their careers in advertising. The ways Don and Duck mirrored each other contributed to their rivalry, although Phillips envied Draper whereas Don rarely gave Duck any consideration. When they came to blows inMad Menseason 4, however, I would have bet on Don Draper, and I’d have lost.
