Flight 1 (Mad Men)

"Flight 1" is the second episode of the second season of the American television drama series Mad Men. It was written by series creator Matthew Weiner and Lisa Albert, and was directed by Andrew Bernstein. The episode originally aired on AMC in the United States on August 3, 2008.

The episode opens on February 28, 1962, with a party hosted by Paul Kinsey in his New Jersey apartment. Other Sterling Cooper employees and their significant others are in attendance, though many are uncomfortable with the Beatnik and multiracial locale. Paul introduces Joan to his new girlfriend, Sheila, who is black. When the women are alone, Joan makes condescending comments to Sheila and muses, "The last thing I would have taken Paul for was open-minded." During the party, Peggy makes out with a man she has just met, but rejects him and goes home alone.

The following morning, Don Draper and Roger Sterling come into the office to see all the employees huddled around a radio broadcasting news of the crash of an American Airlines plane in Jamaica Bay. Don orders everyone back to work and has them pull all newspaper advertisements for the agency's client, Mohawk Airlines, to prevent a Mohawk ad from appearing next to an item about the plane crash. Several of the employees make insensitive jokes about the disaster.

Pete receives a call from his brother, Bud, with news that their father was on the plane that went down. In shock, Pete awkwardly approaches Don for advice. Don advises Pete to go home to his family, saying "there's life and there's work." At a family gathering later in the day, Bud tells Pete their father was broke, having spent most of the family money on high living. The sons do not tell this to their mother.

The Drapers have their neighbors Carlton and Francine over to play cards. During the game, Betty mentions that their son Bobby traced a drawing at school, but pretended he drew it himself. Don defends him, pointing out that his whole art department traces, but Betty dislikes Bobby's dishonesty. When Carlton and Francine leave, Betty and Don end up in an argument over Carlton's previous affair. Don believes Carlton is unhappy, but Betty states that he should be grateful to still be with Francine.

Peggy visits her mother and sister in Brooklyn for dinner. Her mother tries to convince her to attend Mass on Sundays with them, but Peggy refuses. Peggy's sister alludes to Peggy being considered unfit psychiatrically by the State of New York. When Peggy leaves, she reluctantly looks into the bedroom where her sister's children sleep. There has been much discussion about whether the youngest child is Peggy's son; Matthew Weiner has said that he deliberately made this scene ambiguous.^{[citation needed]}

Roger, Duck and Cooper speculate that American Airlines will hire a new ad agency to rebuild their public image and want to position Sterling Cooper for the opportunity. Don disapproves of their plan, since conflict of interest would require them to dump their account with Mohawk Airlines, a loyal customer, before they could try for an American Airlines account.

Joan and Paul have a barbed exchange over her comments to Sheila at the party. Joan accuses him of being phony about his lifestyle and only dating Sheila to seem "interesting." Paul secretly makes a photocopy of Joan's driver's license and posts it on the office bulletin board, revealing to everyone that Joan is 31. Joan complains to Peggy that people cannot leave their personal lives outside the office.

Duck offers condolences to Pete and tries to enlist his help in getting the American Airlines account. Pete feels too close to the situation and turns Duck down, then attempts to go to Don for advice. Frustrated over having to drop Mohawk, Don snaps at Pete and turns him away. Pete, changing his mind, unexpectedly shows up for Duck's meeting with the American Airlines executive. He reveals his father's death to the executive, using it to guilt him into considering Sterling Cooper.

In the evening, Don meets with the Mohawk Airlines CEO and tells him Sterling Cooper is letting them go. He expresses sincere regret at being made to do so, but the CEO does not appear to believe him. A waitress at the restaurant flirts with Don, but, after considering her for a moment, he turns her down.

The episode ends with Peggy in church with her mother and sister. When their row is called up for Communion, Peggy remains seated. Her sister hands Peggy her baby, who begins crying as soon as Peggy holds him.

• Jennifer Crane: Harry's wife, a telephone line worker with a blue collar background.
• Sheila: Paul's new black girlfriend who is also a social activist for black rights.
• Bud Campbell: Pete's older brother, Trudy's brother-in-law and Andrew and Dorothy's other son whom they favor over Pete.
• Judy Campbell: Pete and Trudy's sister-in-law, Bud's wife and Andrew and Dorothy's other daughter-in-law alongside Trudy.
• Gerry Respola: Anita's husband, Katherine's son-in-law and Peggy's brother-in-law who has a bad back.
• Anita Olson Respola: Peggy's older sister, Katherine's other daughter and Gerry's wife.
• Katherine Olson: Peggy and Anita's mother and Gerry's mother-in-law who is a proud and strict catholic.

• Andrew Campbell: Pete and Bud's father, Dorothy's husband and Trudy's father-in-law who dies in a plane crash. He was written off the show because Christopher Allport passed away in real-life before filming could begin.

"Flight 1" was watched by 1.3 million viewers.^[1]

"Flight 1" was positively reviewed by critics. Eric Goldman of IGN said, "This was a great episode of Mad Men, as some deeply personal issues mixed with the ad game in the worst possible way for the ever-fascinating character of Pete." This episode received a review of "Amazing", and 9/10 stars because the writers included many historical events that lead to strong story lines.^[2]

Series creator Matthew Weiner says "Flight 1" is about how the characters deal with change. "The second episode to me is about...how you should react to anything and what you were told you should do..." Pete Campbell has to deal with the loss of his father, and goes to Don asking how he should react. Weiner had Pete's father die in the American Airlines crash because Christopher Allport, the actor who played Pete's father, had died in an avalanche.^[3] They thought since Pete and his father did not have a good relationship, that it was better to have him die rather than recast the part and keep that storyline going. Peggy Olson is still dealing with the birth of her child. Weiner still wanted to portray Peggy as a young girl. Although she has had a child, that does not stop her from going out and having a good time. Peggy seems to have done what was recommended to her by not keeping her baby: rather, she has let someone else raise it. This episode showed many characters do as they "should" and follow the advice of others.^[4]

• "Flight 1" at AMC
• "Flight 1" at IMDb