| Series: | Mad Men |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 4 |
| Director: | Tim Hunter |
| Guests: |
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| Season Article: | Mad Men season 1 |
| Episode List: | List of Mad Men episodes |
| Prev: | Marriage of Figaro |
| Next: | 5G |
| Length: | 46 minutes |
"New Amsterdam" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American television drama series Mad Men.[1] [2] It was written by Lisa Albert and directed by Tim Hunter. The episode originally aired on the AMC channel in the United States on August 9, 2007.
Pete's new wife Trudy surprises and annoys him with an unannounced visit to the office for lunch, and she then surprises him again by taking him to see a large apartment she wants to buy. Pete protests that this is far too expensive for his current wage; Trudy suggests asking her father for the money, but Pete rejects the idea.
Pete has drinks with his parents, providing a view into his privileged, elite upbringing, where his family live a life of leisure with clubs, yachts, and summer homes on Fishers Island. Pete's father criticizes everything about his son, including his choice of profession, Trudy, and the neighborhood where Trudy would like to live. The purpose of Pete's visit becomes clear—despite his misgivings, he is there to ask his father for money for a down payment. His father rejects it, saying it's "not a good idea."
In the office, Pete, Don, and Sal meet with a prospective client, Bethlehem Steel, to pitch a new idea. He doesn't like their idea, and Don blames Pete for not properly preparing the client for liking the idea and convincing him of it. Pete and Trudy have dinner with Trudy's parents; Trudy goes against Pete's wishes and asks her father for the money, who proudly agrees to give them it. Pete seethes impotently, to which Trudy is oblivious. Meanwhile, Betty begins a tentative friendship with Helen Bishop after helping Helen to evade her ex-husband. Helen asks Betty to babysit her kids while she is gone for the evening working for the Kennedy campaign. Betty is shocked when Helen's son Glen deliberately walks in on her in the bathroom. Later, Glen asks her for a lock of her hair, which she gives him.
After dinner, Pete has a late meeting with Bethlehem Steel, during which he pitches his own advertising idea without the knowledge of anyone else in the office. The next day, Don is enraged when the client expresses great enthusiasm for Pete's unauthorized idea from the previous evening. Once Pete and Don are alone, Pete expects to be recognized for his brilliance and initiative. Instead, Don is livid and fires Pete, leading Pete to melt down and get drunk in his office.
Don and Roger meet with the company's senior partner, Bert Cooper, who tells them that they cannot fire Pete due to his family's extensive connections with New York's hereditary wealthy elite. Don and Roger later confront Pete; putting on a show, Roger angrily tells Pete that he and Bert wanted him fired, but Don fought for Pete to have a second chance and Pete owes Don a great debt. A grateful Pete obsequiously thanks Don. That night, Pete and Trudy inspect their prospective home. When a new neighbor says how impressed she is by all that Trudy has been telling her about Pete's Knickerbocker connections, Pete suspects the true reason for his remaining at Sterling Cooper, and wanders away to stare dejectedly out the window at the New York City skyline.
Pete and his co-workers listen to the comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which Paul Kinsey compares unfavorably with Lenny Bruce. Don discusses an ad that will play during commercial breaks of Bonanza. Pete offers to take a client to a production of Bye Bye Birdie. Helen volunteers for John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign. Roger reads a copy of the New York Herald Tribune in one scene.[3] Bert Cooper hums the children's song "This Old Man" after admonishing Don and Roger and saving Pete Campbell's career.
The episode received positive reviews from critics. Alan Sepinwall, writing for New Jersey's The Star-Ledger, praised the episode for developing and "humanizing" the character of Pete Campbell"[4] Andrew Johnston, writing for Slant Magazine similarly praised the episode for its development of Pete's character, as well as John Slattery's performance.[5] Emily VanDerWerff, writing for The A.V. Club in 2013, claimed that the episode was an example of how the series was "capable of such remarkable transcendence."[6]