That's the point. Cutler and Chaough are dealing with Sterling, Cooper, Draper and Campbell the way Hitler dealt with Hindenberg.

What do you mean, "the only person"? I refer you to my lengthy comment near the bottom of page 2 (at least, right now…it's a moving target). 120 likes!

On a second viewing, I noticed some particularly skillful touches (as always happens when I go back to watch again):

There could be a John Cheever story called "Regarding Bob Benson."

What's great about it is, it makes no difference whether he's in the right or not — in fact, he frequently is — because he always sounds like he's in the wrong.

I think that's probably right. They're like Rosalynd Shays on LA Law (or, John Roberts in the Supreme Court): wolves in sheep's clothing. Their steady, self-interested advances are part of the growing ominousness of the season.

What I mean was, she didn't have to steer a romantic/sexual proposition into a business opportunity. It was a business opportunity (and nothing but) from the moment they sat down. ("That's why I'm here.")

@avclub-d7b683529752a4d24d84c4941861a363:disqus Thanks for the kind words, and for the apology, but it's not necessary. It was clear where you were coming from — the fact that I'd hit a nerve — and we worked it all out just fine. I do appreciate it, however. Best to you.

If that smug, dimwitted, lecherous, creepy, lazy, amoral fuck Cutler can do it, then Joan can do it.

@disqus_okgItcD0yy:disqus Obviously I say all this respectfully; as a long-standing liberal, I'm always on the lookout for conservatives with whom it's possible to have an actual conversation, as you and I have had more than once on AVClub.

@avclub-cfe912f5cb3aa572bd1c9ae2a9b82207:disqus Sheer carelessness. Of course O'Donahue belongs in that list.

As I did above, I have to point out that I went back and watched the scene again, and I had the Cutler quote wrong. He didn't say that he couldn't affect the war: he said "I refuse to be distracted by events in which I have no actual stake or participation."

@disqus_okgItcD0yy:disqus Watching the scene again, it's fairly clear that the firm has some established social latitude for discussions of this type. Although they were polarizing and acrimonious, the conflicts of 1968 were still fairly rational and debatable; nothing like the post-Reagan (or post-9/11) caustic…

As has been pointed out above (and in previous weeks), the Vega was eventually a failure. It sold very well, at first. It wasn't until the cars' abysmal longevity became apparent to everyone that it tanked.

I wish there was an "I'm sorry I gave you a hard time last week, because you're funny" button.

That is so funny.

Yeah, it's traditional as hell. It's "risque," but the setup/punchline/double-take rhythms are as old-school as it gets.

Stop using sex as a weapon.

I wish there was a "dislike" button.

Don pulled it off. Don can always pull it off. Even when he's "the straight guy" (in the old-fashioned sense), he immediately becomes the "naughty" straight guy whom all the girls want to tempt. Like James Bond. (Fucker.)