S05.E10: Inauguration Day

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SEASON FINALE!

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Selina and her staff get ready for inauguration day. Mike suffers exhaustion; Catherine gets a makeover.

Promo:

[Dots And Stripes]

So they got away with a twist I wasn't expecting. Unfortunately, this may be my least favorite episode of Veep ever. The Montez twist was unexpected but not something that I really want to see what happens next. 

I thought that sending Selena back to being Veep was bad but this is just...nothing. I've had enough of the weird twists and turns. Just get back to the weird little problems Selena had to deal with in the first few seasons.

Richard was the bright spot. He did a good job picking hot interns. Thanks, Richard.

[tomsmom]

"Selina we found the missing Nevada ballots and you won"

Nice!

And you just knew there was no way Catherine's film was gonna see the light of day!

Edited June 27, 2016 by tomsmom

[Frisson]

I loved how Richard asked if they could keep the intern who made the good latte like he was a new puppy. Richard's delivery kills me no matter what he says, but he gets really good lines, too.

[Rinaldo]

Actually, this felt an awful lot like a series finale. This is how you'd end it. Except that they're renewed for next season. So I don't know where they're going. I do know that my love for Richard keeps going. 

[Maysie]

5 minutes ago, Rinaldo said:

Actually, this felt an awful lot like a series finale. This is how you'd end it. Except that they're renewed for next season. So I don't know where they're going. I do know that my love for Richard keeps going. 

Really? It has another season? I can't figure out how. I did not expect this ending and when it played out like it did, I figured it meant it was the end of the series. It would have been the right ending, imo.

[bmoore4026]

Once again, this series out does itself its writing.  Selina's "Grassy knoll Jodie Foster Fan" comment was jawdropping!

Also, once again, we see why Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tony Hale get Emmy nominations because they knocked it out of the park this episode.  I hope they do get nominated again for this.

Lastly, did anyone else expect a bird to poop on Selina when it began raining on her?

[Delwyn]

"No such picture exists in the known universe." I love you, Richard. 

[pivot]

So, did they really find the Nevada ballots? If not, how are they going to keep this show going?

[Kloie]

1 minute ago, pivot said:

So, did they really find the Nevada ballots? If not, how are they going to keep this show going?

Right - does that suggest the subsequent drama is invalid?

[pivot]

5 minutes ago, Kloie said:

Right - does that suggest the subsequent drama is invalid?

I have no idea. If they found the ballots but after the vote was certified, I am not sure that it matters. 

[ganesh]

I thought being veep again would be too cheesey, so I'm glad that didn't happen. I don't know why Tom James didn't win and Selina became State because that could make for a good show too. I really don't mind shows that change and evolve every couple of seasons. Weeds was like that. I don't know where they go from here. In olden times, presidents served in politics after being president, but that's very rare now. 

[CTrent29]

This is just wrong!  The show was just starting to explore Selena as the President, and the new showrunner wants to make her a mere senator?  And with Sue no longer her private secretary?  Did the new showrunner want to get rid of Sue as well?  

[Muffyn]

I am speculating that they find the extra ballots that would give the win to Selina and her team gets together to prove that Montez was born in Mexico, not New Mexico, as was hinted during the world's most painful coffee.  Montez is out.  They find some way to finagle Selina back in.  After all, Ben can't hang out at Disneyland forever.  And Mike will not be a good stay at home dad to his babies and 6 year old daughter.  This also would allow the recurring joke of the woman who kept getting interviewed to be played out again.  Oops!  You thought you were working in the west wing; guess not! 

Sue stays with the office.  She is a government employee, not a political appointee.  It had been mentioned before how many presidents she has worked for (when they were joking about her age).

Damn, now we have to wait for this show to return. 

[Dots And Stripes]

25 minutes ago, pivot said:

So, did they really find the Nevada ballots? If not, how are they going to keep this show going?

I assumed that was just the crazy guy (whose name I can't remember) being crazy. I didn't take it seriously for a second.

They found the missing ballots weeks ago and they went to O'Brien which is what caused Selena to lose the popular vote. 

[ganesh]

Of course Sue stays on. Who wouldn't want to work with Sue? But, yes, she'd be a civil servant and not one of the political appointees. 

I didn't think the ballot mention was meant to be real either. I guess if it was then Selina could sue and have the supreme court rule on it. With only 8 members she'd be in the face of another tie. I honestly don't know where they go from here, but if they're kind of rebooting the show, I'm all for it. I guess having her on the cabinet wouldn't make sense because what president would want a former president in their inner circle. She could be ambassador to the UN. There's a lot one could get out of that in terms of tv. I just don't see how the core cast remains in tact. Though I think Gary and Amy would follow her to her next position. 

[Irlandesa]

That was weird. I kept waiting for the twist that would keep them in office.  When Catherine walked in all gussied up, I thought we were heading for a dream scenario. (I loved the little bit of how Catherine was critiquing Selena's look when it's usually the other way around.) I didn't want that.  But I also didn't wat Selena back in the veep role.  If that ever happens, it should be the series finale.

It felt appropriate and right for a series finale.  Not taking the obvious routes out was refreshing for an ongoing series.  But it does make nervous about where it will go next season with so much up in the air.

My guess is we'll have a time jump. Last episode we saw Selena politicking and desperately calling Jonah to vote for O'Brien so she could run in four years which she didn't feel she could do if Tom James won. Now that the other party is in office, she can run again in four years.  I don't know if they'd want to mine election territory again but having a time jump would set up some intriguing possibilities.  All of the characters would be in different positions in four years.  Some might be with Selena.  Others might still be in the media, like Dan. And if any of the large cast wanted to move on, it's a natural separation point. 

[TV Anonymous]

My question on the twist is that this is a new administration - no matter how ridiculous it came to be - how come The Eagle (a Selena Meyer political operative) gets to roam as he likes around Oval Office?

[CaliCheeseSucks]

David Mandel, interview published on Deadline after the finale:

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DEADLINE: So, Selina’s really out of office – because at the end of the finale, we had the reveal that Sufe Bradshaw’s Sue is staying at the White House with the new president, Laura Montez (Andrea Savage) and then Martin Mull’s Bob Bradley walks up to President Montez and says, said, “Selina, we found those lost Nevada ballots. You won.” Feels like you are opening the door to another Meyer presidency there.

MANDEL: (laughs) No, that’s just a joke for those of you who enjoyed the Eagle character Martin played. You have my word that she’s not president of the United States. She is not vice-president of the United States. Veep will be the continuing adventures of former president of the United States.

Edited June 27, 2016 by CaliCheeseSucks

[CaliCheeseSucks]

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Now that the other party is in office, she can run again in four years

Technically, Mendez is just the Vice President, and would only be inaugurated as such. She is acting President until the House of Representatives resolves the tied vote. The show suggests that it is a one-off vote and that's it - which is incorrect. They would continue voting until either Selina or O'Brien have met the required threshold of states. 

(Can't figure out how to edit my prior comment to amend this point, sorry.)

[txhorns79]

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The show suggests that it is a one-off vote and that's it - which is incorrect. They would continue voting until either Selina or O'Brien have met the required threshold of states. 

I find this element very distracting.  I can't really believe partisans on either side (or the American people) would accept a result where neither candidate for President wins, and a Vice Presidential candidate ascends to the Presidency.

[CofCinci]

This felt like a series finale.

Curious to see how they can get the whole gang back together next season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I loved that everything stopped during Gary's temper tantrum. Dan recording it was hilarious, as was Ben saying that it made the entire year worthwhile.

Kent and his literal nature cracked me up when Ben jokingly asked if he was shopping a YA novel and then suggested that Kent should write romance novels.

her team gets together to prove that Montez was born in Mexico, not New Mexico, as was hinted during the world's most painful coffee.  Montez is out.

That's not what I got from The Most Awkward Coffee Date ever. Laura is playing up being Mexican. Notice the way that when she was sworn in, the guy pronounced her name the American way and when she repeated it back, she used the Spanish pronunciation. Then during her speech she kept throwing in Spanish phrases. Her last name is Montez because her husband is Mexican so she is using that to her advantage. She's not quite to the level of Rachel Dolezal, but Selina knows what's up which is why she pointedly asked where in Ohio Laura is originally from. She's a regular white girl from Cleveland who is letting people assume that she's latina. That aspect reminded me of the Donna Chang episode on Seinfeld.

[Pop Tart]

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Technically, Mendez is just the Vice President, and would only be inaugurated as such. She is acting President until the House of Representatives resolves the tied vote. The show suggests that it is a one-off vote and that's it - which is incorrect. They would continue voting until either Selina or O'Brien have met the required threshold of states. 

At one point - perhaps during the inauguration scenes - they were showing things as they appeared on tv and the chyron below the swearing in said something like "House of Representatives won't hold another vote" or something like that. So I think Montez is here to stay.

[LuciaMia]

9 hours ago, Muffyn said:

the world's most painful coffee. 

The most excruciating small talk , ever!

Now just where the heck did Montez come from? Talk about out of left field.

Ha, that little girl just kept getting older as the episode wore on. She so proudly said "Im six!"

[candall]

Mike wagging around a six-year old in a baby basket was hilarious. 

But her head circumference is, like . . . ?

 

.

Edited June 27, 2016 by candall

[revbfc]

Didn't the news reports of the inauguration (in the show, obvs) directly state that Montez's people negotiated for Tibet?  Wouldn't that be a violation of the Logan Act?

[Roaster]

I don't think you should think too much about how realistic anything is here.  The writers saw another opportunity to make Selina feel bad by denying her Tibet, so they took it.

[ganesh]

When they showed the news about Tibet, I thought about Reagan and the Iran hostages. 

I actually think it wasn't a good idea to stomp all over Selina in the finale. I would have thought that at the least the Tibet thing would come out for her so she could walk away with a win. 

[Muffyn]

I saw the Tibet thing as more silliness of the news media.  Of course Montez did not negotiate the Tibet deal but they gave her credit.  This did put Selina back into her VP type role - even if she did the work she did not get the credit.    

I have to rewatch because I was having a hard time staying focused last night (not the fault of the show, of course).  Kent's comment on the circumference of Mike's daughter's head was so perfect.  Only Kent.   

[represent]

Quote

Now just where the heck did Montez come from? Talk about out of left field.

Wasn't she suppose to be someone's running mate, way back when Selena was vetting for who would be her running mate. 

I could have sworn that came up a season ago before they got Tom James and she had commented on her opponent possibly picking Montez to get the Hispanic vote. 

I can't wait to see what on earth they are going to do next season. Not only is she not VEEP anymore, she's not even on the playing field.

Edited June 27, 2016 by represent

[revbfc]

21 minutes ago, represent said:

I can't wait to see what on earth they are going to do next season. Not only is she not VEEP anymore, she's not even on the playing field.

Speaking engagements.  A whole lot of speeches for fat cash...And living like a begger with her daughter.

Edited June 27, 2016 by revbfc

[Ms Blue Jay]

I was wondering where I saw this Montez woman before, and it's the therapist in Step Brothers that Will Ferrell falls in love with, if that interests any of you.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0767242/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t7

[Dev F]

3 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

At one point - perhaps during the inauguration scenes - they were showing things as they appeared on tv and the chyron below the swearing in said something like "House of Representatives won't hold another vote" or something like that.

Which makes a tiny bit more sense than Speaker Marwood blockading the vote for Tom James. At least this way he's ensured that a member of his party becomes president. Which presumably was his plan all along -- to ditch their damaged nominee, who will be forever marked as the loser who couldn't win the presidency, and elevate his more likeable running mate instead.

Still, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Most importantly, a person who is still vice president doesn't get to nominate his/her own vice president. And the notion that horse trading would repeatedly trump partisan politics in a presidential election is not only inconsistent with real-world politics, it's inconsistent with the reality of the series as it's been portrayed for five seasons.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Veep will be the continuing adventures of former president of the United States.

I'm honestly not sure how interesting that would be. I can see them going two ways  next season - one would be following the cast of characters "post mortem" to show what becomes of them once they're out of power. But with them all separated it diminishes what made the show so strong. The other possibility is that - despite the show-runner's assertion to the contrary (show runners lie all the time, hello Jon Snow) - Bob Bradley did in fact find extra ballots in Nevada which would give Selena the win. Technically I'm not sure how that would all play out, but it would keep the characters in the same orbit working for the same goal. 

[Dev F]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Bob Bradley did in fact find extra ballots in Nevada which would give Selena the win. Technically I'm not sure how that would all play out, but it would keep the characters in the same orbit working for the same goal. 

The Nevada vote has long since been certified. Finding more votes now is meaningless.

[txhorns79]

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I can see them going two ways  next season - one would be following the cast of characters "post mortem" to show what becomes of them once they're out of power. But with them all separated it diminishes what made the show so strong. The other possibility is that - despite the show-runner's assertion to the contrary (show runners lie all the time, hello Jon Snow) - Bob Bradley did in fact find extra ballots in Nevada which would give Selena the win.

I could see them perhaps doing a flash forward with the next race where Selena tries for a comeback and ends up in a quasi-Ford/Reagan '80 situation where she is told she'll be a co-President, but is essentially forced back into a Veep-situation again. 

[CaliCheeseSucks]

5 hours ago, Pop Tart said:

At one point - perhaps during the inauguration scenes - they were showing things as they appeared on tv and the chyron below the swearing in said something like "House of Representatives won't hold another vote" or something like that. So I think Montez is here to stay.

Well, that's a massive Constitutional liberty the show is taking, that would not be reality. I doubt very much Ianucci would have done that - he seemed to enjoy the real minutiae and fuckery of how government works - but the broad, cartoonish hand of David Mandel is indeed very different (and I would argue, not very good). 

Edited June 27, 2016 by CaliCheeseSucks

[Iamsweetdee]

Season 6 Reinvention: 'It's Uncharted Territory'

[ganesh]

I think Ford was '76.

[txhorns79]

Quote

I think Ford was '76.

In 1980, he and Reagan briefly considered the idea of running a sort of co-Presidency.    In '76, Ford and Reagan battled it out in the primaries, but Ford ultimately prevailed and put Dole on the ticket with him. 

Edited June 27, 2016 by txhorns79

[Traveller519]

That final scene with Selina was pure bliss, just sitting there taking in everything that's fallen down around her, probably only safe enough to go back and recount what mistakes she's surely made along the way. I'm sure her staff would rank near the top.

There's inevitably a bit of, "where do we go from here?" to consider I'm wondering if some sort of final season of Parks & Recreation is in the books, where we've really tied off the main plot, now we'll wrap up each of the characters. Selina, at the Palm Springs House with all the animals. Mike and his family. Ben presumably drinking himself to death. Jonah and congress...

[ganesh]

Does that warrant a full season of show though? There's not really any narrative there. 

[Ellaria]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm honestly not sure how interesting that would be. I can see them going two ways  next season - one would be following the cast of characters "post mortem" to show what becomes of them once they're out of power. But with them all separated it diminishes what made the show so strong.

I think that this is precisely what they will do. And it does diminish the show. The interaction between Selina and her team and how they dealt with the crazy world of DC was unique, harsh and hilarious. The change in the group dynamics by moving them out of each others daily orbit sounds forced. Ben without Kent and vice versa isn't interesting. Neither is lots of Catherine and the dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship. Or Mike and all of his kids. For me, it worked because there was a higher goal that these ambitious characters were striving for.

I'm sure that there is a grand plan that I am missing...at least I hope so.

[Traveller519]

21 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Does that warrant a full season of show though? There's not really any narrative there. 

It likely doesn't. With Parks & Rec, it was a half season that they did. The Season 6 finale felt like it could easily have been as series finale, much like this one did. Season 7 was basically fan fiction in post mortem. I agree that it wouldn't play as well in this show's format. Do we really care about all our characters living happily ever after? We would rather just watch them continue to tear each other apart.

[romantic idiot]

Was this comedy supposed to leave me sad?

[Bean421]

7 hours ago, ganesh said:

I actually think it wasn't a good idea to stomp all over Selina in the finale. I would have thought that at the least the Tibet thing would come out for her so she could walk away with a win. 

 

6 hours ago, revbfc said:

Speaking engagements.  A whole lot of speeches for fat cash...And living like a begger with her daughter.

 

2 hours ago, romantic idiot said:

Was this comedy supposed to leave me sad?

Yes, yes, yes to all of these. I love seeing Selina knocked down but tonight was too much for me. I like to see the occasional win to balance out the punches. Also, I don't know the that watching Selina scrounge for money and speaking engagements is going to be worth a whole season, especially if it means an increase of Catherine. 

[peeayebee]

Here's Sepinwall's interview with Mandel.

I'm curious to see what they do with this post-presidency idea. With her ambition, Selina would probably want to out-Carter Jimmy, though she doesn't have the integrity or selflessness to actually do so.

As for the ep itself, like everyone else I was surprised. Seeing Selina completed defeated at the end, in so many ways, was sad. I had never seen that expression on her face before -- not self-pityingly sad or resentful, but just taking in the finality of her loss and, perhaps, the emptiness of her life. 

Richard drinking with Selina, and then just sitting with her as she lay on the floor was wonderful. I also howled at Selina, hungover, saying the next morning that she hoped she hadn't slept with him. Of course Richard with Jonah was great, too, but Jonah is just insufferable. Although I wouldn't wish cancer on anyone, I was glad to see him turn serious when the doctor said he had a lump in a testicle.

I love seeing the characters interact, so I hope that can be maintained in some way without feeling forced. Who knows -- Maybe new characters will be introduced that are fabulous.

[Irlandesa]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm honestly not sure how interesting that would be. I can see them going two ways  next season - one would be following the cast of characters "post mortem" to show what becomes of them once they're out of power. But with them all separated it diminishes what made the show so strong.

It reassures me because he has such a clear vision and I enjoyed this season enough to trust him.  I actually think it's kind of a brilliant idea in a way.  It brings Selina back to her veep "desperately seeking relevance/importance" status without actually being veep.  Young ex-presidents do not fade away for the most part.  I think George W. Bush kind of did but Carter became quite the statesman in retirement.  George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton did a lot of charity work and have sometimes been called in to act in statesmen-type roles.  Obama's post-presidency plans haven't been fully revealed yet but listening to him talk makes it pretty clear that he probably has more in mind than lounging by the pool with a good book.

I could see Selina deciding that even if she had an ignoble presidency, she's going to fight for a legacy similar to Carter's whose reputation has vastly improved with his post-presidency activities.  And all the hilarity that implies.  They managed to milk a whole season out of a tie, I think they can get a season out of post-presidency.  Now what a seventh season would be about would get tricky.   

[Ottis]

What the hell. I kept waiting for the twist. At one point I thought Richard would blurb out a game changer. Then I expected Catherine's video to reveal some shenanigans that only Selina was innocent of. Then I thought Montez might have a tragic comedic accident at her swearing in. But... Nothing. Just an end. I don't think the cast are nearly as interesting when they are apart from each other. Not sure yet next season holds much interest for me, anyway.