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The account man

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Twenty-one of ninety-two. Roger Sterling is the name on the door and the one man in the building who has never had to try. This is what the next seven seasons do about that. 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 Roger Sterling, or rewatching the show for him.

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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 14 in the path
Introduced as the man who does not have to try. The account side of the business, personified, and completely at ease.

At an advertising agency in 1960s Manhattan, the creative director has problems coming up with ideas for a tobacco account and crosses swords with the female head of a large department store that she wants to take in a new retail direction.

5 skipped
A boys' night out, a plate of oysters and a flight of stairs. The first crack in the performance.

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.

2 skipped
The heart attack. The character's whole second half proceeds from this afternoon.

Don is distraught about losing an important account, so Roger, stuck in the city on Labor Day, tries to cheer him up; Joan and her roommate paint the town.

Recovery, and the discovery that the agency has been perfectly fine without him.

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.

Season 32 in the path
16 skipped
His daughter's wedding, arranged the way he arranges everything, over the objections of everyone paying for it.

Betty's father pays a visit; the Drapers dine with the stuffy new British boss (Jared Harris) and his snobby wife; the firm contemplates whether to accede to an unusual request from a client; Roger takes charge of arranging a wedding; and Peggy's personal involvement in a campaign leaves her greatly affected.

A garden party at his own house, and a performance in front of his guests that the show never lets him live down.

A mandatory overtime session leaves the writers trying to stave off late-night boredom; Roger throws a party, and Joan and Greg host one of their own; and Sally and Grandpa have a run-in.

Season 42 in the path
10 skipped
The new agency, and Roger reduced to the one account that carries it - a dependence he jokes about because he cannot fix it.

In the Season 4 opener, Don's reluctance to talk about himself jettisons a prestigious trade-paper interview that the company was hoping would be a boon to business. Meanwhile, the "wholesome" manufacturer of two-piece swimsuits wants to hire the firm but doesn't want a sexy ad campaign; Pete and Peggy stage a stunt in an effort to secure more money from a meat-company client; and Roger plays Cupid for Don.

3 skipped
A Japanese client, and a war Roger has not stopped fighting. The episode where his charm stops working entirely.

Don and Pete disregard Roger's expectations in an effort to land an important new client.

Season 55 in the path
8 skipped
A surprise party he did not want, thrown by a wife half his age, in an apartment paid for by an account he no longer wins.

Don is greeted with a surprise; Roger and Pete clash; and Joan has a run-in with a houseguest.

2 skipped
Buying his way out of work, and dumping it on the copywriter least able to refuse.

Don has an encounter with someone from the past; Joan comes to a momentous decision. Meanwhile, Roger increases Peggy's workload.

1 skipped
LSD at a dinner party. Funny for twenty minutes, and then the clearest thing the show ever says about his marriage.

Peggy has a tough time during a particularly formidable pitch; Don calls on a potential client.

Back on the road hunting clients, and briefly the best in the room again.

Don, Roger and Pete team up to rustle up some new clients; Sally lends a hand to a relative.

1 skipped
Chasing an account behind his colleagues' backs, and the beginning of the year's worst behaviour.

Don's competitive nature comes to the fore; Roger pursues some new clients; Sally is met with a challenge.

Season 63 in the path
5 skipped
His mother's funeral, a eulogy hijacked, and a therapist's office where he says more than he means to.

Roger receives some unnerving news; and Betty welcomes a houseguest.

3 skipped
Chevy. The one late-career coup, landed the way he used to land everything.

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

2 skipped
A recurring dream and an old relationship revisited, in the show's most sentimental hour about him.

Roger is plagued by a recurring dream; Joan goes to the beach.

Season 75 in the path
7 skipped
His daughter has left her family for a commune upstate, and he goes to get her back.

Sterling Cooper & Partners prepares for a guest; Don calls an old friend; Roger confronts problems at home; Pete underestimates Peggy.

2 skipped
A death in the office and a phone call to an old rival. Roger's one genuine act of leadership saves everybody.

Don receives a troubling letter; Pete butts heads with Cutler; Roger gets an unexpected phone call; and a risky venture entails a new future for Peggy.

3 skipped
The plan to save the agency, and Roger's part in discovering there is no agency left to save.

Don comes up with a big idea; Roger asks Joan for help with a clerical error; Peggy has a hard time with casting for a commercial.

McCann, an organ, and a decision he keeps not making.

Don receives a reward for his work; Joan butts heads with a coworker on an account; Roger dodges a big decision.

1 skipped
The finale. Where he ends up is the least likely and most fitting answer the show could have given him.

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

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