Betty's had modest success losing weight, but various stresses and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday threaten to derail her progress. Meanwhile, Megan draws heat from a friend for giving condescending acting advice and flaunting the luxury of being picky about which auditions she takes. When Betty picks up the kids from Don's apartment, she catches a glimpse of Megan changing.
Michael Ginsberg's work on the Sno-Ball campaign stokes a competitive fire in Don, who comes up with his own idea for the pitch. Creative moves forward with both their ideas, but when Don meets with Sno-Ball, he "accidentally" leaves Ginsberg's idea in the taxi and only presents his own. Don's is good enough that they make the sale, but literally everyone around the office knows that Ginsberg's was better, and Michael sees through Don's behavior... And its motivations.
- Ginsberg: I feel bad for you.
Don: I don't think about you at all.
Megan helps Sally with a family tree for a school project. Betty tells her that she should include Don's first wife, Anna — who Sally has hitherto not known about, but Betty knows Megan does know about. Next time she stays with Don and Megan, Sally grills the latter on the subject. When he finds out, Don wants to call and berate Betty but Megan stops him; overhearing their argument, Sally realises that Betty is using her to get back at Don. Don later confronts Sally about it and explains that he was married to Anna, but it was a practical and non-romantic situation. Sally realizes she was the woman whose house they had visited when they went to California. She later lies to Betty, telling her that Don spoke fondly of her.
Roger leverages his Jewish connections (Michael Ginsberg and his recent ex-wife Jane Siegel) to get in good with Manischewitz, a kosher wine distributor that is looking to expand to the gentile market (or, as Roger puts it, "sell wine to normal people"). Jane wants a new lease of life without the baggage of Roger and gets a new apartment in exchange for putting her best face forward at the Manischewitz dinner, but when she and Roger sleep together in it after the dinner's success, it negates the whole reason she wanted it in the first place.
Betty, Henry and the kids gather round the dinner table for Thanksgiving. Sally, who got a good mark for the family tree project, says she's thankful that she's doing better at school. Betty's celebration?
- "I am thankful that I have everything I want. And that no one else has anything better."
This episode contains examples of:
- Blatant Lies:
- Don tells Ginsberg, "I don't think about you at all."
- Betty saying what she's thankful for during Thanksgiving.
- Call-Back: Peggy chastises Roger for getting Ginsburg to moonlight for him, when she did great work for him in Mohawk Airlines.
- Deadpan Snarker: Bert teases Roger about his divorcing Jane:Roger: Jane and I are getting divorced.Bert: (checking his watch) Already?
- Every Man Has His Price: For $200 in cash ($100 up front, the rest on completion), Michael Ginsberg will do extra work for Roger, even after his culturally insensitive remarks. Roger who's been throwing money at various problems all season, realises that this is an expensive solution.Roger: I've got to stop carrying so much cash.
- Fat Bitch: Betty's weight gain and bitter envy of Megan's classically lissom figure contribute to the petty cruelty she displays in this episode.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Envy is explored very heavily throughout the episode.
- Don's a little rusty with coming up with pitches for ads and quickly becomes envious of Ginsberg's output. He opts to pitch his own idea for Sno-Ball and intentionally leaves Ginsberg's in the taxi.
- Betty's envious of Megan and Don's new life and attempts to poison Sally against them by telling her to include Anna Draper in her family tree assignment. Megan doesn't bite, telling Don that Betty shouldn't have the satisfaction of poisoning their life.
- Peggy shows this when Roger opts to solicit help from Ginsberg rather than her, when she already did so just a couple of months prior in "Mystery Date".
- Jews Love to Argue: Ginsberg comes across as this, although in fairness Don is behaving like a dick towards him.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Sally overhears Don and Megan arguing about Betty's attempt to poison their life, and quickly realizes she's being used by Betty. She gets back at Betty by lying to her that Don showed her pictures and that they spoke fondly about her.
- Rule of Symbolism: The smog that enveloped New York during Thanksgiving in 1966
could symbolize the jealousy and insecurity among the characters. - Shout-Out: To Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ozymandias":Ginsberg: "Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"Stan: Should've read the rest of that poem, you boob.
- Also, Don's reading Odds Against by Dick Francis.
- Thanksgiving Episode: The episode ends on Thanksgiving. Ironic, considering that the episode primarily centers on envy.
- Weight Woe: Betty's taken steps to address her unhappiness with her weight by attending Weight Watchers meetings.
