In “Time and Life,” the true consequences of SC&P’s seemingly advantageous deal with McCann come to light. Roger, Don and the other partners are taken by complete surprise when they learn that the firm’s lease is up in the Time Life building, and that not only will they be moving to the McCann offices, but their firm will be absorbed by the monolithic advertising factory farm.

If the physical body of the firm dies, Roger believes its soul will go as well.

SEE ALSO: 'Mad Men' Episode 10: Just 4 shows left, and we're looking at 'the forecast?'

The partners do their best to pitch McCann on a West Coast version of SC&P, one that would remain a “division” of McCann. But the McCann chiefs reject Don’s LA office pitch before he even gets rolling, and tell each McCann partner what pot of gold awaits them at the end of this journey.

For Ted? The pharmaceutical company of his dreams. Nabisco for Pete. And Don, dejected by the absorption into McCann, hears “Coca-Cola” spoken in his direction — and his eyes, for a moment, light up.

With SC&P now on the outs, Don asks Roger, “What’s in a name?” over (many) drinks. Despite his playful Shakespeare reference, for Don, identity has always been bound to name — “Dick Whitman” brought with it one identity, “Don Draper” with it another. By losing the name “SC&P” to McCann, Don cannot help but feel as if the company’s identity as a whole is being lost as well.

Don and Roger accept their fate in Episode 11 of "Mad Men." Image: AMC

Will Someone Fill Meredith In?

With the move to McCann kicking off the episode, “Time and Life” was marked by secrets — and the struggle to keep them.

SC&P’s absorption into McCann spread through the firm like a bad game of telephone, with nobody — including the secretaries — pleased to be hearing about this news last. Meredith, in an emotional moment, begs Don to inform her of what's going on. After all, Don's already lost his apartment, and everything else that defines a "normal" life — does he want to lose her, too, she asks?

Elsewhere, Roger has been keeping Don in the dark about his budding relationship with Megan’s mother, Marie. Pete and Trudy duke it out with the admissions head of a private school, and Pete learns Trudy has been withholding information about their daughter Tammy’s application process (and how she flubbed an entrance drawing exam).

But the biggest secret reveal came from ...

Peggy Comes to Terms

In a rare moment, Peggy reveals — to Stan, no less — details her past pregnancy. The revelation is spurred by a rather grating casting call with children at SC&P. Peggy struggles to engage with the children in a natural, maternal way, leading Stan to joke that she “hates” kids. That comment sticks with Peggy, and later in the episode she defends herself, following a shouting match with a momager in the firm’s office.

Stan believes that Peggy’s strong sentiments about his “hating kids” comment comes from Peggy bearing regret over never having a kid. But Peggy digs her heels into a discussion about motherhood and feminism, stating that a woman who has a child “should be able to live the rest of her life just like a man does.”

Of course, Peggy has been able to do that, when taken at surface value — she has soared the ranks of SC&P, remained squarely focused on her career throughout her twenties and early thirties. But has she been able to live her life like a man does? Given her reaction to being around children, and the pangs it stirred in her, the answer seems to be “no.” Peggy mentions to Stan, finally, that she once had a son — one who now lives with a family, somewhere. She doesn’t know anything about his life, because “you’re not supposed to know,” Peggy says. “Or you can’t go on with your life.”

NOTES:

Just another sucker punch from the Campbells. Image: AMC

Pete’s conversation with the admissions chief of Greenwich Country Day unravels quicker than you can say “bizarre family lineage.” Apparently the admissions man has been holding onto a long-standing familial grudge with the Campbell clan, leading him — ultimately — to keep Tammy out from their gates. Cue Pete punching Greenwich Day character in the face, and Trudy reminding Pete, “you can’t just go around slugging everyone.”

Is anyone more vindictive than Ken? Eye patch and all, Ken takes sick pleasure in turning down SC&P's West Coast pitch as a client, leaving Roger and Pete in a boat quickly taking on water during the McCann meltdown. However, he still seems to have a soft spot for Don, who can sway him on almost any pitch in the room. As Don does.

Joan can’t help but see the firm’s absorption into McCann as a “disaster.” And while the other partners were offered big-name clients as enticements, Joan notes to Pete that she was given no promises — and that at the overtly sexist McCann, she likely won’t be taken seriously.

Lou is off to Tokyo to become a cartoon superstar and it seems even a ocean’s worth of space isn’t enough to keep him from rubbing the SC&P partners the wrong way. His sendoff to Don? “Sayonara, my friend. Enjoy the rest of your miserable life!”

A McCann executive has one of the most crisp, unsettling lines in “Time and Life”: as Don and co. bristle at being absorbed into McCann, as the exec lays out the success they will all achieve, he states, “Stop struggling. You’ve won.” And doesn’t that define Don’s troubles throughout the back-half of “Mad Men” in just four words?