Mad Men gets bloody

Joan perfectly sums up the rise and fall of this episode when she tells Don "One minute you're on top of the world, the next some secretary's running you over with a lawn mower."
The episode is filled with hopes and fears. Betty wants Sally to accept her new little brother, while the little girl fears the baby is some reincarnation of her grandfather (since both shared the same name). The British are coming to the agency, which means a delayed holiday (of Independence Day of all things), and may bring promotions and trips to London to our hero, Don. Joan is about to leave Sterling Cooper when her husband gets promoted to chief resident, though she will miss her work and her importance there.
These hopes are all soon crushed...all but Betty's. Don finally convinces Sally to welcome little Gene. He's not the same person - we don't even know who he is yet. He still has his whole life ahead of him for things to go wrong.
When the Brits arrive, it is immediately apparent that their plans are not at all what Sterling Cooper really want. They are sending Lane Pryce, the man who oversaw the original takeover, to Bombay and replacing him with a young and enthusiastic guy named Guy. Don and Bert Cooper are keeping their same jobs and Roger was completely missing from the new hierarchy. Of course, this was apparently an oversight. Things are looking grim.
In the Harris household, things are equally grim. Joan's useless husband did not get the promotion. He's such a bad surgeon, the only place he could possible get a job is in Alabama. Joan is all support when she reminds him he's still a doctor, that they will figure things out, but he tells her she needs to keep working to support them. Too bad she's already resigned from Sterling Cooper.
As Guy toasts the changes to the company, he wishes Joan a happy send off to better things, caviar and children. Joan, the pillar of stability, can't stop herself as she begins to sob, but her poise quickly returns as she graciously thanks everyone for the send off towards trying to find another job. Frankly, I hope this means Joan will end up working for Harry Crane in the media department - she did such a great job and enjoyed it so much last season.
Her goodbye party is in full swing when Smitty and Lois decide to start riding around the office on a John Deere lawn mower. I'm actually quite impressed that John Deere allowed this, because Joan was not being metaphorical. Lois gets behind the wheel, and runs over Guy's leg.
Blood spurts out, covering Henry, Paul and Ken. Joan takes immediate control of the situation, saving Guy's life and ruining her dress in the process. Meanwhile, Peggy faints. Apparently she doesn't like blood. I really liked seeing her in Pete's arms, as he was the one their to catch her. I can't say I'm rooting for them, because I have no idea what route I want them to take, but I enjoy the moments they share.
The episode ends with the return of hope. Guy has lost his leg. He'll never golf again. He can't possibly do his job in that condition, and so Pryce is reinstated. He tells Don that he feels like he was just at his own funeral and he didn't like the eulogy, making a reference to Tom Sawyer. He's enjoying American literature, and perhaps he'll begin appreciating the way Sterling Cooper does things.
What will happen next? Who can predict...after all Mad Men does not have any specific plot lines. Will we see Joan again? Well all I can say about that is we had better! But if the first half of the season is any indication, Mad Men is heading for a third consecutive Emmy win for best drama. Congrats on the second one this past Sunday.