Peggy Olson - Peggy's Relationship With Don Draper

Peggy's Relationship With Don Draper

During Season Four (1964–65), Peggy's complex working relationship with Don Draper continues to evolve as he relies on her to handle important accounts. Peggy is often openly resentful of Don's demanding requirements and his refusal to express appreciation for her work, but is also conscious that he is the only one in the firm who views her as an equal to her fellow copywriters, notwithstanding her gender.

Their relationship is solidified when Don forces Peggy to work all night on her birthday. Though she is initially angry at Don for having to cancel dinner plans with her boyfriend to accommodate his work demands, they spend the night discussing their lives and Don reveals to her details of his past. Peggy helps Don through another drunken binge and defuses a confrontation between him and Duck Phillips, who shows up at the office searching for Peggy in a drunken stupor of his own. The two fall asleep on Don's office couch as he lies with his head in Peggy's lap. Later that morning, a distraught Don weeps in Peggy's presence after he learns of Anna's death over the telephone. When Don tells Peggy that he has lost the only one in the world who truly knew him, Peggy tenderly places a consoling hand on his shoulder and replies, "That's not true." Later that day, Don conveys his gratitude to Peggy by pausing during an advertisement-related conversation and embracing her hand, briefly shedding his emotional unavailability and confirming their bond.

Peggy appears surprised and disappointed when Don announces his engagement to Megan Calvet, his secretary. Peggy congratulates Don, to which Don replies that Megan admires Peggy and considers her a role model of sorts. Peggy interprets the gesture as a backhanded compliment, and in a private chat with Joan she remarks indignantly that Don seems more excited about marrying his secretary than about her own success. Joan tells Peggy that Don is no less superficial and shallow than any of their other male superiors, and that his engagement to Megan should come as no surprise.

Peggy and Don's relationship becomes more strained after Don marries Megan, promoting her to copy writer at SCDP. Peggy takes on the role of her mentor and in turn attempts to nurture Megan's apparent talent (although it later turns out that Megan is dissatisfied with being a copy writer). She is also given more responsibility by Don, now that he has married again and is spending more time at home than at work. Peggy is often frustrated by her new workload, and matters do not improve when the agency hires another male copy writer - Michael Ginsberg - who seems to receive more credit than she does for the same amount of work.

After Peggy goes to Don asking for recognition in saving a client account in the Season Five episode, 'The Other Woman', Don throws money in her face, assuming that she is asking for another raise. This is Peggy's breaking point, and she realizes that she can no longer stay at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce. Under advice from Freddy Rumsen, Peggy takes meetings with other agencies, ultimately choosing to go with Don's rival Ted Chaough at Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough, where she will receive more money and an improved title. Peggy breaks the news to Don. After landing Jaguar, Don finally agrees to give Peggy a raise, believing this was her original intention. He is shocked when Peggy turns down a blank cheque salary and realizes he is about to lose his protégé. The two share a moment, in which Don grasps her hand and gives it a kiss. Peggy leaves the offices, entering an elevator that is illuminated with light as she begins her journey away from SCDP and Don.

However in Season Six as there is a merger between SCDP and Cutler, Gleason, and Chaough bringing the two back together.