This week in and around Team POTUS, Selina’s continually dwindling inner circle is looking even more rough these days as Mike McLintock — who is finding himself increasingly over his head — starts verbalizing his dissatisfaction with his job. Jonah and his assistant Richard keep up their Laurel & Hardy-lite rapport, and Tom James is letting his lefty liberal side show. Amy and Dan are still living it up in the wacky world of lobbying, but despite Amy’s penchant for problem-solving, it still doesn’t compare to the White House for her.
Mike McLintock, Naked and Afraid
This week’s opening scene was one with Mike (Matt Walsh) and his wife Wendy (the ever-hilarious Kathy Najimy) where he began really doubting his ability to continue in his post. As viewers we all know Mike’s ineptitude is a bulk of his narrative purpose, but when he is actually the Press Secretary for the United States Government, you might want someone with a bit of a steadier hand. When Tom James (Hugh Laurie) learns of the larger issue with the administration’s data breach, it’s Mike who eventually caves to give him the full story: it wasn’t just one girl’s information that was inadvertently outed by Selina on national television; the Meyer campaign took action to send targeted campaign mailers to recently bereaved parents of deceased children. With three episodes to go and staffers peeling off like banana skins, Mike “Ol’ Loose Lips” McLintock might be the one to watch in regards to who goes next. After an intruder enters the White House, Mike’s overly animated ducking reaction while standing at the Press Room podium becomes a Vine meme. He closes out the episode lamenting his predicament and drawing parallels to the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes where he first feels he’s the Emperor but realizes he’s more akin to the clothes. Sometimes playing the fool takes it’s toll.
The Many Faces of Gary
Selina’s bagman (Tony Hale) finally started to get a little more screen time in tonight’s episode. If you’ve been following his journey all season long, you’ll know that there was a mighty large schism between he and Selina. Tonight we saw a Gary who was much more relaxed and effective like his old self: making suggestions to Selina that would inevitably be denied, all while continuing his helpful habit of suggesting helpful bits of conversational segues. Most of Gary’s best moments come when Selina’s friends from her old legal firm in Annapolis agree to come dine with their old pal-turned-President at the White House. (A rebuffed Gary is the best kind of Gary.) A particular highlight in the episode is the adrenaline rush he experiences during the intruder debacle. As Sue so perfectly put it “Gary, every room you’re in is a Panic Room.”
Dan and Amy’s Concrete Jungle
The flavor fundraiser of the week that Sidney Purcell has commissioned Dan and Amy to manage is one for the concrete lobby. Amy asks the question on the minds of the audience when she asks “why concrete?” As Sidney explains, it all comes down to national defense money. How? Draw in Big Concrete to draw in the Military, who will need to use plenty of concrete to build the Mexican Border Wall (that will never come to exist.) Dan loves the Möbius Strip-like circle to it all because it’s an endless shuffling of money, and if there’s something that Dan loves more than the prehension of power, it’s the prehension of money. Amy, meanwhile, starts realizing that industry lobbying is not what is going to keep her happy. Yes it will pay her bills, but she’s getting very restless very quick.
The Rest of the Best
Sue again proves to be the most unflappable member of the team. During a second, copy-cat intrusion at the end of the episode, she shushes the Secret Serviceman coming through her office. Seeing Kathy Najimy’s Wendy again was a treat, as she hasn’t been seen much since the episodes where she married Mike and the episode showcasing Selina’s first primary debate before ascending to the Presidency. Poor Catherine is still getting micromanaged by her mother, and it’s hard to tell if she’s still engaged at this point. Tom James proved that a little “sorry” can go a long way, which is a lesson we can all hope Selina might learn through osmosis. After all, having Amy back on the team would be a great way to round out the season over the course of the last few episodes!
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What did you think of last night’s Veep? Let us know in the comments below!
