Mad Men: 10 Greatest Episodes

A shocking, endlessly controversial hour forces us to witness in despair the inevitable, constant objectification of women. We’re utterly powerless to stop it, as the head honcho of the elusive, prized Jaguar account drops an unsubtle hint that a night with office Queen Bee Joan Harris might just be the price of business.

The lone voice of morality - Don Draper - is silenced as the almighty dollar proves too powerful to oppose for an unsettling number of characters we’d hope wouldn’t entertain the thought. The comparison between Joan and the sleek, shiny lure of Jaguar is pulled off with masterful writing - it’s something beautiful you can truly own, for the right price. And if Joan’s ultimately all for it, who are we to argue?

We spend most of the hour hoping she won’t go through with it thanks to Don’s discouragement, but thanks to a directorial trick, we’re stunned to see the dirty deed’s already been done.

It’s a tightly written piece, and one that manages to surprise us with the climactic scene of Peggy finally leaving Sterling Cooper even though her mistreatment in the old boys’ culture of Sterling Cooper was apparent throughout the hour. We’re too distracted by the business with Joan to notice, but the “other woman” can’t be forgotten.

It’s a fantastic episode because it shows us dark, depraved sides to the characters that we really hoped weren’t there.