Shoot (Mad Men)

"**Shoot**"
"Shoot"
Mad Men episode
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 9
Directed by	Paul Feig
Written by	Chris Provenzano; Matthew Weiner
Original air date	September 13, 2007
Running time	46 minutes
Guest appearances
	John Slattery as Roger Sterling; Robert Morse as Bert Cooper; Nathan Anderson as Ronnie Gittridge; Crista Flanagan as Lois Sadler; Anne Dudek as Francine Hanson; H. Richard Greene as Jim Hobart; Dey Young as Adele Hobart; Andy Umberger as Dr. Arnold Wayne;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Hobo Code"	Next →; "Long Weekend"
	Mad Men season 1
	List of episodes

"Shoot" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Mad Men. It was written by Chris Provenzano and series creator Matthew Weiner and was directed by Paul Feig. The episode originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on September 13, 2007.

Plot

During the intermission of the

McCann Erickson. Jim makes Don a job offer and gives his business card to Betty, telling her that she would be a perfect model for their Coca-Cola campaign. Betty is excited, thinking back to her days as a model before she married, but Don is ambivalent to the idea. When he gets home, he sees that Betty has prepared an elaborate meal, and is concerned that she won't be home to prepare such meals if she is working. She reassures him that she will still do so, and that her friend Ethel will watch the kids and he eventually relents. Throughout the episode, Jim continues his headhunt of Don, but he remains evasive. Betty greatly enjoys her work, but while there, Sally

's dog Polly attacks a neighbor's pet pigeon and he threatens to shoot the dog if it happens again.

Meanwhile,

Ken

makes a rude comment about Peggy's weight, leading Pete to sucker punch him, causing a fight which is broken up by Paul who has Pete and Ken shake hands and make up.

Betty and Don find out about their neighbor's threat when Sally has a nightmare. Don is angry, but Betty convinces him not to confront their neighbor. Meanwhile, Roger notices that Don is being wooed by McCann. Don is non-committal about what he is going to do, but when photos of Betty's shoot arrive, he immediately walks into Roger's office to tell him he is turning down the job. He negotiates a better salary and promises that if he were to ever leave, it wouldn't be for another advertising job. This also ends Betty's aspirations to be a model, and she fails to hold back tears at her disappointment.

When Don comes home that night, Betty does not tell Don that she was let go, saying instead that she didn't like the idea of not being home enough to make him elaborate meals, and she was scared of Manhattan. Don says he doesn't care about his meals, only that she's a great mom to their kids, calling her an angel. Betty smiles as she agrees that that is what is most important, not giving any sign of her true feelings. The next day, Betty walks into the front yard with a lit cigarette and Bobby's BB gun and begins shooting at her neighbor's pigeons as they fly overhead.

Reception

The episode was received positively by critics. Alan Sepinwall, writing for New Jersey's The Star-Ledger, praised the episode, singling out Betty's story, the ending of which he described as "scary, tragic, funny, and kinda hot, all in one."^[1] Andrew Johnston, writing for Slant Magazine, called the episode "a relative disappointment" following "The Hobo Code," but still praised the complexity of the episode's story.^[2]

References

^ Sepinwall, Alan (September 14, 2007). "Mad Men: Gianna on the Spot". The Star Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
^ Johnston, Andrew (September 14, 2007). "Mad Men Fridays: Season 1, Episode 9 "Shoot"". The Star Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2014.

External links

"Shoot" at AMC
"Shoot" at
IMDb

[1] Sepinwall, Alan (September 14, 2007). "Mad Men: Gianna on the Spot". The Star Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2014.

[2] Johnston, Andrew (September 14, 2007). "Mad Men Fridays: Season 1, Episode 9 "Shoot"". The Star Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2014.

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