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The climb

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Twenty-one of ninety-two. Pete Campbell wants in - to the partnership, the clients, the family name's worth, the life next door - and this is every episode where he gets nearer or further from it. A thread through an ensemble show, not a way to watch Mad Men - the series cross-cuts less than most, which is why this works at all, but you will be missing everything happening in the other offices. If this is your first time, take The Essentials instead.

For following Pete, or rewatching the show for him.

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Where the story lives

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in the path skipped other arcnumbers below are seasons · hover any mark for the episode

The path

Tick episodes off to track where you are. Turn on spoiler hiding below if you have not seen it yet.

Season 15 in the path
2 skipped
Back from honeymoon and already unable to want what he has. The engine of the character, running in episode three.

Pete's return from his honeymoon stirs up conflicted emotions about his bachelor-party dalliance with Peggy; Don and Rachel's business relationship shifts; Betty sets tongues wagging when she invites the neighborhood divorcée to her daughter's birthday party.

He goes over Don's head to a client using his family name, and finds out what that name is worth here.

Pete oversteps his bounds in dealing with a valuable client, puts his foot in his mouth and gets a lesson from Don in toeing the company line. At home, he gets pressure from his newlywed bride to buy their own apartment unit.

2 skipped
A wedding gift returned, a rifle bought instead, and a marriage neither of them is ready for.

A boys' night out for Roger and Don ends badly as Roger's erratic behavior damages their relationship; Pete encounters problems on the home front as he and his bride continue to adjust to being married.

3 skipped
Frustrated at home and passed over at the office, in the same week.

Peggy is assigned a difficult project; Don seizes the opportunity provided by Roger's latest work woes; a frustrated Pete develops more problems at home and in the office; Betty seeks new relief for her mounting frustrations.

He plays the only card he has against Don, in front of the man who can least afford to care.

The Sterling Cooper staff pulls an all-nighter watching Nixon-Kennedy election returns; an ambitious Pete directly challenges Don.

Season 24 in the path
5 skipped
A fertility specialist, and the first thing he has wanted that ambition cannot get him.

Joan might have found Don a perfect secretary; Peggy comes to the rescue when Don finds himself in the middle of personal issues between a TV comedian and the man's wife; Pete and his wife see a fertility specialist to deal with her inability to conceive.

3 skipped
An opening at the office, seized with a speed that startles even the people who like him.

Freddy Rumsen strikes out during a pitch meeting with his team; ever-eager Pete seizes a chance to exploit an opportunity at the office; an old friend is the beneficiary of Don's loyalty; Sara Beth proves to be a welcome ally for Betty.

His mother, the family money, and the discovery of what the Campbell name actually amounts to.

Betty visits her ailing father; Paul's girlfriend, Sheila, advises him about his civic responsibilities; Pete's mother tries to put the kibosh on an important family move that he and Trudy are planning.

1 skipped
His private life spills into a major account, and he is the only one surprised.

An old friend and Don renew acquaintances; Pete's personal problems impact a major account; Joan introduces her fiancé around the office.

Season 34 in the path
1 skipped
A restructure hands him half of what he wanted and gives the other half to a friend.

In the third-season opener, Pete and Ken are among those affected by the corporate changes at the firm. Meanwhile, Sal accompanies Don on a business trip to Baltimore, where both men succumb to the powers of persuasive seduction.

6 skipped
A neighbour in his building, an evening alone in the city, and the worst thing he does in the first three seasons.

Don decides to include Betty on a company business trip; Pete lends a hand to a neighbor in his apartment building.

3 skipped
A weekend of national grief, and a decision about his career made inside it.

A candidate makes an impression on Don; Peggy's taste in men proves questionable; and Pete faces a major decision about his career.

The new agency is assembled overnight, and he finds out where he ranks when the list is written.

In the third-season finale, Don has a pivotal meeting with Connie (Chelcie Ross); Betty is the beneficiary of some interesting advice; and Pete has a serious sit-down with some clients.

Season 41 in the path
3 skipped
An edict from the partners forces a choice between a client and his own family's connections.

When Pete receives an edict from Roger and Lane, he finds himself confronting personal dilemmas at work and on the home front. Meanwhile, Peggy befriends Joyce, a photo editor at Life magazine, who invites the copywriter to a party at a downtown loft, where Peggy gets hit on from a number of sides. And Faye's self-deprecating remarks at a focus-group meeting don't sit well with Don.

Season 52 in the path
13 skipped
A dinner party in the suburbs, a dripping tap and a fistfight in the office. The show's funniest and bleakest hour about him.

Lane makes an interesting friend; Pete plays host to an assortment of guests.

7 skipped
The season ends with everyone getting what they asked for, and him discovering what his came with.

Season 5 concludes with opportunities abounding for everyone at the agency, while Pete encounters an interesting stranger on a train.

Season 62 in the path
5 skipped
A client run-in he cannot smooth over, in the middle of a merger nobody consulted him about.

Roger changes tack to make new business; Pete has an awkward run-in with a client.

An unexpected guest in his apartment, and a domestic situation he has no idea how to manage.

Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce tries to placate competing clients; Pete is blindsided by an unexpected guest.

Season 73 in the path
11 skipped
An invitation to a club he has wanted his whole life, arriving when he has stopped enjoying that sort of thing.

Peggy does research for a pitch; Pete is invited to join an exclusive club; Joan seeks time spent with a friend.

6 skipped
A friend blindsides him with an offer, and he says the thing about his own life he has never said out loud.

Don has trouble sleeping; Pete is blindsided by a friend; Henry arranges a family reunion.

The finale. His is the ending the show is least cynical about, and he has done nothing obvious to deserve it.

The stories of Don Draper, his family and his coworkers come to an end in the series finale.

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