Lane Pryce KOs Pete Campbell on "Mad Men"
by Gautham Nagesh
Fans of pugilism and middlebrow period serials were treated to an unexpected display of the fistic arts on AMC Sunday night, as Lane Pryce stopped Pete Campbell during the latest episode of Mad Men.
The incident was sparked after a night of carousing and whoring with a potential client, which led to a conflict the next day between Campbell and Pryce over the latter’s value to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
“You have no idea what you’re doing. In fact, as far as I can tell our need for you disappeared the day after you fired us,” Campbell taunted the Englishman, who rose to defend his honor.
“That will be enough of that. Mr. Campbell, you and I are going to address that insult,” Lane said, removing his jacket and unbuttoning his shirt.
“Are you kidding me?” Pete replied, looking nervous.
“No. You’re a grimy little pimp. As soon I raise my hands, I warn you it shall be too late to run,” Lane said looking deadly serious.[[MORE]]
Pete looked nervously to the other partners for support, but Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper merely stared back, eager to see how Pete would respond. To his credit, after realizing he had no other options, Campbell gamely rose to the challenge.
“Fine, you want to take your teeth out, or you want me to knock them out?” he spat at Pryce.
“I know cooler heads should prevail, but am I the only one that wants to see this?” asked Sterling as Draper drew the curtain across the conference room windows.
The actual bout was short and fought at a deliberate pace. Pryce opened up in the classic British stance that may look familiar to fans of Boxiana or early-20th century lithography. Campbell was also orthodox but a bit more modern, bobbing and weaving his way in before missing with a wide right hand. But Pete’s jab found home, followed by a straight right to the body that caused Pryce to wince and Cooper to declare the entire affair “medieval.”
Pryce came back with a big right hand followed by a double left hook, to the body and the head, which drew blood from Campbell’s nose. Pete squared up again but his response was missed, as the producers cut to a reaction shot from the voluptuous redhead in Lane’s corner.
Back in the conference room, Lane came back with a straight right followed by a powerful left hook that would have made Joe Frazier proud. Campbell collapsed to the credenza, unable to beat the count. He shrugged off Sterling’s offer of help, while Draper only looked at him and said “You’ll be fine.”
Overall, it was an excellent performance from the British veteran, who overcame his opponent’s advantages in speed and quickness with experience and superior technique. Lane used his right hand to set up the left hook, which appears to be his money-maker. Campbell wasn’t expecting Lane’s left, and it’s always the punch you don’t see that gets you.
Pryce is now a contender to be reckoned with, though still no threat to the reigning beltholder Draper. Campbell showed admirable spirit but he remains the lightweight of the group, aside from the retired Cooper. A much-anticipated showdown with the largely inactive Sterling remains his target, but after this loss I’m not sure he has the heart to last 12 rounds.