Stan offers to relocate to Los Angeles to support Sunkist and build a west coast presence for the agency "one desk at a time". The agency receives a pitch request from Hershey's Chocolate which Jim assigns to Don. After spending a night in jail (over a drunken fight with a preacher trying to force Don to heed him), Don tells Megan he knows he's lost too much control of his life and wants to move to California, suggests she could pursue her acting career there and they can start over as they once were.
Pete receives a telegram saying that his mother has fallen from a cruise ship and is lost at sea, and later finds out she married Manolo shortly before her death; he thinks Manolo killed her and angrily lets Bob know he holds him responsible for what happened. Bob endures Pete's wrath when they head to Detroit, but then comes up with a cunning way to get revenge on Pete — knowing Pete is barely able to drive, Bob convinces the Chevy execs to let Pete drive a new floor model vehicle. He wrecks the car, and with it any future he had on the Chevy account, which is re-assigned to Bob.
Ted comes to Peggy's apartment and says that he wants to leave his wife and be with her; they sleep together. Ted later reconsiders and decides he wants to move to California with his family, ostensibly to manage Sunkist but also to distance himself from his feelings for Peggy. Ted asks Don to approve the arrangement but is rejected.
Don makes a brilliant pitch to Hershey executives by concocting a tale in which his father would reward him with a Hershey bar for mowing the lawn. They love it, but Don reveals that his story is false and his true greatest memory involving Hershey was when one of the prostitutes at Mack's brothel rewarded him with the occasional Hershey bar for going through her clients' pockets while she serviced them. He tells them that their product doesn't need an ad campaign. He then decides to let Ted go to LA. Ted informs Peggy and Don informs Megan of this, which infuriates both women.
The partners have a meeting on the morning of Thanksgiving and tell Don that his unpredictable behavior has forced them to insist that he take a mandatory leave of absence of at least a few months, with Peggy filling in for Don due to Ted's impending move to LA. Pete visits Trudy on Thanksgiving and they have a peaceful goodbye before he heads off to his new life as the junior member of the LA office. Joan invites Roger over for Thanksgiving dinner, but to be in Kevin's life and not hers; Bob is also attending. Don picks up his children and takes them to Pennsylvania to show them the now-dilapidated brothel he grew up in.
This episode contains examples of:
- Ambiguous Situation: Was Dot's death — she was lost at sea as a result of falling off the cruise ship — an accident, or did Manolo push her?
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Ted ultimately begs for Don to let him to go to California instead of Don for the good of his family:Ted: I'm the one who needs to start over.Don: With Peggy?Ted: No, with my family.Don: I don't understand.Ted: Yes, you do. It's my only chance, Don. I've got kids. I can't throw this away. I can't— I can't go on like this.
- Berserk Button: The obnoxious preacher implies that Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and the thousands killed in Vietnam weren't "true believers" and thus deserved their fates. The next shot is of Don in jail for having punched the guy.
- Chekhov's Skill: Inverted. Bob uses Pete's lack of driving skill to humiliate him in front of the Chevy execs.
- Elopement: Dot and Manolo got married on a cruise ship, to Pete's surprise.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Don's reaction to the partners placing him in involuntary leave is this.
- Flashback Echo: When Don is hassled by a preacher in a bar, he recalls the time when Mack threw a preacher out of the brothel.
- Foil: Ted's reaction to sleeping with Peggy ultimately highlights how different he is from Don; he feels remorse and goes to great lengths (moving to LA, no less) to put considerable distance between him and Peggy so he won't feel tempted to cheat on his wife again.
- Heroic BSoD: Don ultimately hits this from a combination of the stress from all season long and the Hershey account causing some bad memories from his childhood to resurface. It unfortunately comes at the worst possible time since he completely torpedoes the pitch with Hershey's, which ultimately leads the partners to suspend him.Don: The closest I got to feeling wanted was from a girl who made me go through her john's pockets. If I collected more than a dollar, she bought me a Hershey bar.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Don ultimately decides to stay in New York while Ted goes to leave to manage the Los Angeles office.
- Internal Reveal: The episode (and season) ends with Don bringing his kids to see the whorehouse he grew up in, finally revealing to them more of his past.
- Killed Offscreen: Pete's mother, Dot, fell off the cruise ship she was on.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Ted's plea to Don to let Ted go to California instead shows that Ted had the things Don had before: a loving family. Don possibly recognizes that Ted will end up like Don if he doesn't get a fresh start with his family in California.
- Precision F-Strike: Megan gives one when Don starts explaining that they can't leave for California:Megan: Fuck the agency. I quit my job.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After tolerating months of Don's bad behavior, and his reneging on going to California, Megan appears to check out of their marriage, immediately leaving the apartment.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Peggy's seen wearing a pantsuit in her final scene, after Don's been put on an indefinite leave of absence, signifying that she's occupying a more important position, and that she will move on from her relationship with Ted.
- Understatement: Pete's succinct analysis of how he regards finding out his mother was murdered and believing that Bob is behind it all is one of the great Campbell-isms.Pete: Not great, Bob!
- What the Hell, Hero?: Peggy calls out Ted for deciding to leave for California:Peggy: Well, aren't you lucky to have decisions?
