| Brow Beat Last Night's Mad Men: The Vietnam Theory By Forrest Wickman
Posted Monday, May 20, 2013, at 05:49 PM ET  Spoilers ahead
Is the Chevy account Mad Men's Vietnam?* The Internet's army of recappers seems uncharacteristically unsure of what to make of last night's episode, complete with company-sponsored juicing, exhaustion-fueled hallucinations, and a song and dance number from Kenneth Cosgrove. But I have a crackpot theory: After a season that began by teasing a year of violence in Vietnam, this episode's trip down the rabbit hole finally led to that distant war abroad—a "fever dream" treatment of the nation's panic not unlike the show's treatment of the Kennedy assassination—or at least that's how I'd explain everything that went down at the office.
That's where most of the episode takes place, with Draper, Chaough, and co. faced with an uphill, years-long battle—to conquer the apparently impossible demands of the Chevrolet—that they're deluding themselves they can win. On some level they all seem to know they can't do it. Early on, someone notes that they need to recruit more men. But instead they press on with blind optimism, on the grounds of what they see as their heretofore perfect record. That's how Don sees it, anyway: "In my heart I know we cannot be defeated," he says, in a delirious rallying speech that seems oddly hawkish for an ad agency. Some say their work will take several years, he explains, but all it will really take is an idea. If only they could figure out what ... To continue reading, click here.
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