Jim Cutler attempts to have Don fired for breach of contract, but Don quashes the effort with Roger, Pete and Bert's support. Don phones Megan to tell her of the plot to oust him from the company; she is encouraging that he could find success elsewhere, but rejects his offer to join her in California.
Later, the characters gather in various locations to watch the Moon landing. Sally seems smitten with the older son of one of the Francis' house guests, but after a phone call with Don she instead kisses the boy's younger, bookish, and more motivated brother. Meanwhile, Bert passes away on his couch shortly after witnessing the landing.
With his status in the company uncertain thanks to the loss of Bert's tie-breaking vote, Don decides that Peggy should lead the presentation to Burger Chef. She nails the pitch, winning the account.
As a counter to Cutler's plans to out-vote Don from the company, Roger holds a secret meeting with Jim Hobart of McCann Erickson, negotiating a deal to sell 51% of SC&P and make it an independent subsidiary of McCann, with Roger as its president. The remaining partners, all offered five-year contracts, agree to the deal, with Don persuading Ted that he will be happier under the new arrangement and Jim eventually relenting, since each of their shares are worth millions of dollars. Harry, meanwhile, misses out on his partnership and the payout.
The episode ends with Don having a vision of Bert performing "The Best Things in Life Are Free" with a chorus of secretaries.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Character Death: Bert dies after watching the moon landing.
- Decided by One Vote: Jim (who also votes proxy for Ted) and Joan vote to fire Don, while Don votes to keep himself, as do Roger and Pete. Bert's vote to keep Don ultimately ends up being decisive, seeing how he very firmly wants nothing to do with Don at this point, but is even more annoyed that Jim brought up the vote without consulting the other partners — and Bert's death naturally ends up further complicating things.
- Every Man Has His Price: For his share of the proceeds of the McCann buyout (somewhere between $3-5 million), Jim will forego his vendetta against Don.Roger: Really?Jim: It's a lot of money.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Upon learning that he will very likely get fired, Don goes to Peggy and tells her that she should deliver the pitch to Burger Chef instead. This guarantees that she'll be able to keep moving up in the agency whereas he could have leveraged a successful pitch to help him land a job in another agency.
- Imagine Spot: Don images Bert singing and dancing to "The Best Things In Life Are Free" at the end of the episode.
- Joisey: Peggy (Brooklyn born and raised) gets in a dig at the Garden State when an upset Julio tells her that he has to move there due to his mom's new job:Julio: I don't want to go to Newark!Peggy: No-one does.
- Laser-Guided Karma: By holding out of the offer of a partnership in the hope of a better deal (despite Don's advice to just take the offer), Harry ultimately misses out — not just on the partnership he's wanted for years, but also on the big payout the partners are getting from the McCann offer.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Jim gives a particularly brutal one to Don:Jim: You know, Ted and I, whenever we would hear that your agency was involved, we'd always be so intimidated. What was that man up to? Such a cloud of mystery! Now that I've been backstage, I'm deeply unimpressed, Don. You're just a bully and a drunk; a football player in a suit. The most eloquent I've ever heard you was when you were blubbering like a little girl about your impoverished childhood. [Pause] Oh, you want to take a swing at me? It would save us all a lot of trouble!
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Averted — Ted wants out of the advertising business, but Don talks him round.
- Stock Footage: Of the Moon landing, which most of the characters watch on TV.
- Wham Episode: In perhaps the series' biggest drama bomb since "Shut the Door, Have a Seat", Jim Cutler attempts to fire Don for breach of his contract, but all the other partners — except for Joan — vote to keep him. However, Bert Cooper then dies suddenly while watching the Moon landing, leaving the company in crisis, especially as Cutler is open about seeing it as an opportunity to permanently rid the company of Don. Meanwhile, Roger, shaken by Bert's death and Cutler's reaction, arranges for the company to be bought out by McCann Erickson, ultimately saving Don and ruining Cutler's plan, but potentially compromising the future of the company. And meanwhile, on the home front, Megan, in an awkward phone conversation, implies that she wants a divorce. Wow.
