President Meyer’s staff misjudge the power of their ineptitude.
Here is our review of Veep Season 4 episode 8.
Power to the people.
The people are truly fucked.
The presidents people know it and its an open secret in congress.
It wouldnt be so open if the White House wasnt trying to cover it up so much.
He is ready to throw anyone under the campaign bus.
Ben underestimates the incompetency of the staff.
It is truly, as Tom James (Hugh Laurie) calls it, an infestation of mediocrity.
But when an incompetent is tasked to do something badly its got to spiral out of control.
Ben was using the staffs ineptitude as a weapon and it went nuclear.
This is a comic law of physics.
Think of each characters failing as electrons, neutrons and protons, crashing into each other.
Basic burlesque ballistics say thats adds up to a meltdown of China Syndrome proportions.
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It all begins with Gary (Tony Hale).
Everything begins with Gary.
He is, after all, the center of Selina Meyers universe.
The Families First Bill must die.
Gary plays Deep Throat as he cluelessly yet knowingly diverts funds to lobby against it.
Dan (Reid Scott) and Amy (Anna Chlumsky) are no longer power-hungry.
They know that money cant exactly buy power, but it can.
They also know that power spends money.
Mike McLintock (Matt Walsh) is the press secretary.
What he doesnt know he cant lie about.
But everyone insists he know.
He cant get around it.
It is so fun watching Walsh play with this.
He does everything but stick his fingers in his ears and hum.
Hes forgotten it all.
Hes actually a great press secretary.
Its like he practices Transcendental Amnesia or something.
It was such a quick scene, but it encapsulated everything about his character.
Even as he has forgotten it, he gets pulled back in.
His entire body shrinks.
you’re free to see him implode and hes doing nothing at all.
Tom James (Hugh Laurie) endures a lot and comes out swinging for the president.
Something has to be wrong with him to go to the mat for her like that.
James is a politician and therefore, by definition cant be trusted.
Dont get me wrong.
Tom is perfect, whichever side of the fence hed want to straddle.
Hes got a black belt in jujitsu bullshit.
If Selina crashes, he can go down with her or jump ship like the last veep.
Jonah (Timothy Simons) is thinking of running for office.
Not now, and maybe not in the foreseeable future, but the thought is in his mind.
That turns Veep into a potential horror series.
Watch for a particularly funny battle-of-the-inappropriates between Jonah and Dan in a hospital room.
Veepwas created by Armando Iannucci.In the Loophappens to be on Netflix right now.
Anna Chlumsky is in it.
So is James Gandolfini fromThe Sopranos.
Tonights episode was damned suspenseful for a political satire.
It is unfair and yet somehow apropos to compare this with ShowtimesNurse Jackie.
But this episode reminded me of last seasons closer.
Edie Falco completely immersed herself into that descent while Louis-Dreyfus surrenders herself to the flu.
When Selina comes out of one of her snoozes she greets Gary with Its an otter.
If only Gary got the flu instead of Selina, all this would still have been unavoidable.
Rating:
5 out of 5
