4. 1968 Democratic National Convention
Matthew Weiner enjoys bringing relevant historical events to the fore in his 1960's period piece. The assassination of JFK had almost an entire episode devoted to it, affecting the characters ad showing how they cope with the death of a president. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s murder also featured prominently in an earlier season six episode, the tragic news putting a halt to the ad agencies' evening gala party. This week's episode dealt with Mad Men's cast coming to grips with the dramatics and brutality elicited from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968. As the Democratic Party itself struggled with cobbling together an anti-Vietnam War platform, protests became heated and the police used force to put down the gatherings. Different characters displayed allegiances to conservatism and siding with the police, and others allied with the protestors and free expression. Chief among these dichotomies was Don and Megan, both watching the violent police action, Megan emotes "how would you feel if you got cracked in the skull?", to which Don replies, "they were throwing rocks". Authority and control are elements central to this week's episode, and the characters who try most to exact as much of it found themselves cheering for the use of force by the Chicago police.