Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

S07.E01: Iowa


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

Ah, all's right with the world again.  Selina's back and the gang's all here!

"Catherine's suffering from post-partum depression."  "How can you tell?"

Jonah in suspenders and hipster glasses.  Yeah.  And Patton Oswalt's character, who spent a season grabbing Jonah's dick, can be horrified about Jonah marrying his stepsister.  Court-ordered chemical castration.  Oh, one can wish...

Love watching not one disastrous campaign, but two.  And Richard, the best at being worst, is on both of them.

"Technically it's more of a goat rape than a clusterfuck."

Hee.

  • Love 13
Link to comment

I felt like the ending to the last season ended the show in a really good place and I was a little wary of where they could go in a final season.  In other words, wouldn't it be better to hint at another Selina run rather than actually watch it?  That might still prove to be the case but this first episode, at least, brought so much biting humor that I'm glad it exists.

Overall, I can't think of what I enjoyed the most.  Was it Jonah's campaign with it coming out that he married his ex-stepsister and how he tried to taunt Patton Oswald's character?  Or was it the way the team reacted every time there was a shooting.  "Was it a Muslim or white guy?  Which is better for me?"  To the last shooting being an answer to their prayers.  Or maybe it was Mike working for the print edition of Buzzfeed and slipping into the meetings without anyone noticing he doesn't belong. 

  • LOL 3
  • Love 3
Link to comment
19 minutes ago, pivot said:

Man I love this show and every one of these incompetent morons. 

ditto. Boy it was so good to see Amy's "I'm so fucking mad but I can't say anything" face.

  • Love 5
Link to comment

The Jonah wife reveal had me dying.  And then they go on CBS This Morning. 

The scene in the hotel room with Selena and Gary, when he's typing her speech.  OOH like Evita. 

When Amy read the "autopsy" book and Selena said "yeah I'll write 500 pages on how you should use concealer". 

  • Love 5
Link to comment
(edited)

On a shallow note, JLD look amazing and I loved the dress she was wearing (first in red and then in powder blue - now I kind of hope she has this dress in every color of the rainbow and we get to see her wearing the same dress in purple, green, white, black, etc. all season and then Buzzfeed will do a side by side comparison of her wearing the same dress in every color).

This show always cracks me up. I was laughing so hard when Bill and Teddy found out that Jonah's new wife was his stepsister. First the complete silence and then both of them yelling, "No! Oh no!" The cherry on this storyline was Jonah comparing himself to Woody Allen. OF COURSE his ratings went up after everyone found out.

I loved Richard randomly telling Jonah's team that he always thought eleven was the funniest number and then giggling uncontrollably when Jonah said that his mom married Beth's dad when he was eleven.

Everyone's reactions to Catherine having postpartum depression were perfect, from Dan saying he thought she was in a good mood to Gary saying her haircut gave it away.

And of course Jonah manages to go from "thoughts and prayers" for the shooting victims to "sometimes lacrosse jerks bring this on themselves."

Even the little moments are funny, like when Selina dismissed Amy's 500 page report and Ben asked her to send him a copy.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
  • Love 10
Link to comment
(edited)

Are Selina and Jonah running for the same party's nomination?

I assumed they were, because they've always been in the same party, so far as I could ever tell.

Edited by Blakeston
  • Love 1
Link to comment
23 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

Are Selina and Jonah running for the same party's nomination?

I assumed they were, because they've always been in the same party, so far as I could ever tell.

I would imagine. He started in the WH as an aide to POTUS when she was VP. Unless he switched parties. 

Link to comment

On Jonah's step sister-wife.

"Did you not oppo research this?  NO! Like I didn't oppo research if he moisturizes with Minotaur semen!" 

Stepsister or Half sister:  I'll bone which ever one ends up not giving birth to a pile of legs. 

  • LOL 2
  • Love 2
Link to comment
(edited)
46 minutes ago, teddysmom said:

I would imagine. He started in the WH as an aide to POTUS when she was VP. Unless he switched parties. 

That's what I'm asking - did he switch?

They've made it pretty clear that Selina is a Democrat, but Jonah's campaigning since he took office would suggest that he's a Republican (like his strong support from the NRA). And it isn't remotely plausible that he'd get anywhere in a national Democratic primary.

But I think the show ignores things like that in the name of humor.

Edited by Blakeston
  • Love 3
Link to comment
30 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

That's what I'm asking - did he switch?

They didn't say, unless the fact he tried to start a caucus called "The Jeffersons" was supposed to mean something. 

  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)
Quote

The position the show has always taken, according to JLD  Ianucci and David Mandel, is that the party is never referred to or implied. 

They had to show their hand during the election because we saw the electoral map of red and blue states and Selina was definitely blue. 

I was worried I would have trouble remembering who was who and what was going on last season, because it's been such a long break and I didn't do a re-watch. But I was able to slip right back into it without much trouble. It's really so character driven you can dive back in without having to worry about past plotlines much. 

I was worried the "speech" that Selina was dictating to Gary about how the country owed her eight years in the White House was somehow going to wind up getting released. Everyone on this show is such a bumbling idiot nothing would surprise me. I'm amazed she hasn't already been caught on a live microphone or hidden camera saying some of the awful shit she says.

Edited by iMonrey
  • Love 12
Link to comment
53 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

That's what I'm asking - did he switch?

They've made it pretty clear that Selina is a Democrat, but Jonah's campaigning since he took office would suggest that he's a Republican (like his strong support from the NRA). And it isn't remotely plausible that he'd get anywhere in a national Democratic primary.

But I think the show ignores things like that in the name of humor.

While the official line of the show is that which party everyone belongs to is not addressed, it's quietly demonstrated that Selina et al belong to the Democrats. There are some clues from policy positions, and characteristics of people in the party and the opposing party. i.e. Selina a former Maryland Senator running against O'Brien a Texas Senator for the Presidency.

That's why the NRA support was such a great little tag, it's part of identifying Jonah as this bizarre wild card in the party's nomination. Officially his party is more anti-NRA policies, so the NRA loved being able to latch onto him.

Speaking of guns. I've got to wonder what Selina's unfiltered quote to Mike (Buzzfeed, the print edition...) will turn into. She's so used to talking to him like he's on her staff she just let fly despite the fact he had a recorder in front of her.

I don't think anything will ever top the "Consistency... with Change" campaign motto, but "New. Selina. Now." may be equally fantastically dumb.

  • Love 6
Link to comment

Julia looks fantastic.

Jonah's wife is going to end up being the candidate isn't she? She's able say two sentences without putting both feet into her mouth. And she's pretty much not insane.

More of a goat-raping than a clusterfcuk. I feel like that's gonna become a meme. Or it should.

Quote

loved the dress she was wearing (first in red and then in powder blue - now I kind of hope she has this dress in every color of the rainbow and we get to see her wearing the same dress in purple, green, white, black, etc. all season and then Buzzfeed will do a side by side comparison of her wearing the same dress in every color).

I liked that too and got the subtle point they were making about the treatment HRC received for her suits of many colors. Male politicians can get away with wearing the same basic outfit throughout their campaigns but the women get dissected on every level from their hair to their shoes. Bare arms are just now being accepted as non-scandalous. In my state one candidate actually ran ads trying to shame some of their rival's, uh, avant-garde wardrobe choices years ago when they were young adult. (But I bet no guy running for POTUS will dare to wear a tan suit though. The horror! 😑)

The dialogue on this show is so brilliant. I'm going to miss it.

  • Love 7
Link to comment

Its good to finally have the show back, they haven't dropped a beat and I am sure thats gonna be an excellent final season.

This is one of those show where the script for one episode is bound to be twice as long as a regular half hour programme with that amount of dialog. There was a huge amount of funny bits and references in this season premiere too.

I hope we get Hugh Laurie in a few episodes, he works well with JLD.

  • Love 3
Link to comment
1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I was worried the "speech" that Selina was dictating to Gary about how the country owed her eight years in the White House was somehow going to wind up getting released.

I was expecting the same thing, and then Selina told Gary he couldn't use any of that.  Because of course he would have put her rant, verbatim, into the Teleprompter.  Plus a few sycophantic choice additions ("pretty" girl).

1 hour ago, Traveller519 said:

Speaking of guns. I've got to wonder what Selina's unfiltered quote to Mike (Buzzfeed, the print edition...) will turn into. She's so used to talking to him like he's on her staff she just let fly despite the fact he had a recorder in front of her.

Probably the only thing that might save her is that Mike is even more incompetent than Selina and the rest of her team.  He can easily find a way to botch it.

Damn, I've missed this show while it's been gone, and before you know it, I'm gonna miss it again for good.  Thank dog HBO keeps the entire series available on-demand.

  • Love 3
Link to comment
15 hours ago, MrWhyt said:

Boy it was so good to see Amy's "I'm so fucking mad but I can't say anything" face.

I loved her binder and want to know what's in the rest of the 500 pages.

I don't know if I can pick a favorite character. I guess that varies on who last makes me laugh. Jonah is horrible, but man does he make me laugh. I love Gary. Love them all.

Dan is also horrible, though I did laugh when he told Amy he'd go Dutch with her on the abortion, then called himself a gentleman as he entered the elevator before Amy.

I don't know which is better, the writing or the acting. My brain is unable to recall the fantastic lines, but right after I laugh, I'm awestruck. 

  • Love 14
Link to comment

For some reason I think Selena and Jonah are going to be fighting over who gets to be Hugh Laurie's running mate.  She'll end up as Veep again. Jonah will probably be Secretary of State or something else he doesn't deserve. 

I think those three (Selena, Jonah and Hugh Laurie) are going to be fighting it out for the nomination and then whoever gets to be running mate. 

  • Love 4
Link to comment

I truly missed this show.  I can only guess that the writers have a blast writing for this show with little or no interference of the insults they can create for the characters.  With this show and Game of Thrones soon finishing, I'll be a little less happy in the future.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

I always thought the conventional wisdom about this season was that Jonah would ultimately win the Presidency this final season of Veep.  I don't know how that's going to happen if Selina and Jonah are in the same party.  I'm still not certain they're in the same party.

  • Love 2
Link to comment
9 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Jonah's wife is going to end up being the candidate isn't she? She's able say two sentences without putting both feet into her mouth. And she's pretty much not insane.

She married Jonah. She's definitely insane. 

  • LOL 9
  • Love 8
Link to comment

I believe Armando Iannucci once said that he tried to obfuscate which party Selina was from. I don't know if Mendel continued that tradition but I do seem to recall there being "tells" in either direction.  Selina might embrace a policy typical of a democrat in one episode and one of a republican in another.  That obfuscation continued when they discussed which states she was winning in the presidential election with a map that didn't look typical. 

Jonah could be of the same party.  Or he could have switched parties. Or he could have been part of the party he's a part of because of his family.  Or he was a member of the opposite party working in the WH which is known to happen. 

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

They weren't making fun of mass shootings, after all. They were making fun of the way politicians deal with them with "thoughts and prayers" then move onto something else.

Yep.  Or what the discussion will look like depending on the race, ethnicity, religion and/or political philosophy of the perpetrator.  I know some reviews I read had a problem with the jokes too but I didn't see it as mocking mass shootings but the political response to mass shootings.    

  • Love 2
Link to comment
1 hour ago, zibnchy said:

Selena's not nice, she's not particularly smart, and she's mean. She's a shitty mother and grandmother and a horror to work for. Has been from Day 1. But I, personally, look for growth in characters.

Selina is a dark, dark satire of the stereotypical craven, soulless, mercenary politician, on steroids, and the antithesis of what many people (mistakenly or otherwise) think a female president would be, a warm, caring mother figure.  There's no room in her character for growth.  She's had a few random moments of humanity, like when she realized someone had lost his leg (IIRC) because of her orders, but otherwise she evaluates every news item only in the context of her political career.  She reached the pinnacle of her career when she became President and it still wasn't enough and she didn't change.  But was funny as hell. 

It would be out of character for her to learn from her mistakes, especially when she has no one around her (except maybe Catherine) to tell her otherwise and point her toward a better path.  She's got the Three Stooges, Tweedledum and Tweedledumber, Laurel and Hardy, and Forrest Gump on her team.

I for one will be majorly irritated if the writers crap out and give us a redemption arc and a happy ending.

  • Love 17
Link to comment
(edited)
15 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Jonah's wife is going to end up being the candidate isn't she? She's able say two sentences without putting both feet into her mouth. And she's pretty much not insane.

5 hours ago, vibeology said:

She married Jonah. She's definitely insane. 

Or at least deeply stupid. I can't see a sane intelligent rational person voluntarily marrying Jonah!

ETA: I can't wait to hear the backstory about her first marriage and her son's father. Hopefully she isn't related to that guy too!

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
  • LOL 2
  • Love 1
Link to comment
(edited)
20 hours ago, Traveller519 said:

That's why the NRA support was such a great little tag, it's part of identifying Jonah as this bizarre wild card in the party's nomination.

Wasn't there a line  in this ep about a screw up because Richard (and maybe others?) are "working on two campaigns" and were tired? I assumed the two campaigns were Jonah and Selina, since that is all we saw in detail. But in any case, how could you have someone working on two, competing campaigns at the same time?

23 hours ago, teddysmom said:

When Amy read the "autopsy" book and Selena said "yeah I'll write 500 pages on how you should use concealer". 

I thought Amy's port mortem was unusually ballsy. I wasn't surprised she did one; I was surprised that her opening statement directly blamed Selina, and there was no context or lead up around how maybe she was mad when she did it and wasn't mad now. Selina has fired people for much less.

12 hours ago, zibnchy said:

I guess I'm in a minority group of one who thinks this show should have been allowed to die 2 years ago. I didn't laugh and I was high af while watching.

Really? We're making fun of post-partum depression now?

Fat shaming pregnant Amy? Repeatedly.

"Jokes" about mass shootings and Muslims?

It's "funny" that Selena doesn't give a shit about anyone but herself. Did she really refer to her grandson as "it"?

Selena Meyer is really more believable as a MAGA and that's not funny. It's ugly and mean spirited.

I'll see myself out.

I *LOVE* that the writers let fly with things that many people think but don't say. 'What do you do when the baby is being an asshole?" Yep. " "I would nuke America." Yep. "Thoughts and prayers is a cliche (and also, it became one because we have so many shootings, what is wrong with us?)." Yep.

Also, I didn't see the show as making fun of post partum depression at all. Throughout this series, Catherine has grasped onto any and all hobby, illness or behavior issue that she can for attention, and then tried to force everyone else to do whatever it is she wanted. I think the characters, and the viewers, have seen this enough that when PPD was brought up, everyone collectively rolled their eyes because it was *Catherine*. And the show then emphasized that by showing even while supposedly in the midst of PPD, Catherine is perfectly able to insist that no one use the word 'No" around "Little Richard" (I chuckle each time they say that) because saying no "stunts his emotional development." Puh-lease.

If anyone takes offense at this show, then stick with According to Jim! Because the beauty of it is that behind many of the "mean" comments is a truth. Like what they said about Iowa. And hiding the baby when they go to New Hampshire. Though, to be honest, I would have thought they would have hidden the baby in Iowa, too, based on my experiences living in the Midwest. Oh,wait - Iowa is meth labs. Got it!

10 hours ago, meowmommy said:

There's no room in her character for growth.  She's had a few random moments of humanity, like when she realized someone had lost his leg (IIRC) because of her orders, but otherwise she evaluates every news item only in the context of her political career. 

Exactly. This show is funny precisely *because* none of them ever learn. They are who they are. And having spent significant time in DC, some of it around political staffs, I know people like these do exist. Most are not as exaggerated, but the basic behaviors are similar. And truthfully, I understand it, because their main job is 1) to get their candidate reelected, which depends on the American public, and 2) dealing with the American public 24/7. I understand why they may be cynical, annoyed, sleepless, irritated and sarcastic. When I was in high school I worked at a movie theatre, and after a few months my mantra was, "The public is stupid." It is.

Jonah is just a delight. What a tool, and yet he pushes relentlessly forward. 

Edited by Ottis
  • Love 15
Link to comment

The other thing I thought was funny about the shooting joke was that it wasn't so much a joke about shooting but joking about how soulless the politicians are with trotting out the "thoughts and prayers" each time because they don't want to piss of the NRA and they don't want to piss off half of voters. Similar to when Selena was afraid to actually say anything about abortion a few seasons ago because she didn't want to piss people off. I will say that at least Jonah speaks his mind (his vacant terrible mind). Most of the politicians on the show refuse to have an opinion because they are afraid of losing votes. 

  • Love 7
Link to comment
17 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Ordinarily I would agree but I think this is the one show that can get away with it. They weren't making fun of mass shootings, after all. They were making fun of the way politicians deal with them with "thoughts and prayers" then move onto something else. I think it was telling there were, what - three mass shootings within the timeline of this one episode? The show is saying something about the prevalence of them, and that's important.

Exactly! They're poking at politicians feigning outrage,  wondering if this will help them some way politically and then forgetting about it.  I don't think anyone is making fun of victims of any shootings, they're showing how shallow and ineffective politicians can be on this subject. 

19 minutes ago, EdnasEdibles said:

. Most of the politicians on the show refuse to have an opinion because they are afraid of losing votes. 

image.thumb.png.ba22cda27f4eeb6fa77c5f73f00bf3ee.png

  • LOL 5
  • Love 7
Link to comment
(edited)
Quote

And having spent significant time in DC, some of it around political staffs, I know people like these do exist. Most are not as exaggerated, but the basic behaviors are similar.

I have a couple of friends who worked in DC during the first Clinton administration, and both have said Veep is scarily accurate and sadly, *not* exaggerated in some cases. "Really the only difference is we cussed a lot more than they do on the show." LOL

Edited by LGraves65
My English teacher rose from her grave and said, "Really? You're going with that?"
  • LOL 7
  • Love 3
Link to comment

IMO, the show gave up on the whole "we won't reveal Selina's party" thing the moment they showed her - and all of her competitors for her party's nomination - supporting abortion rights.

They disagreed on when a woman should no longer be eligible for an abortion, but they all agreed that abortion should be legal in the first trimester, and well into the second. There's no way in hell that was the Republican party.

Jonah doesn't seem like a Democrat to me (particularly in his communication style), but without any indication that he crossed the aisle, I guess he's supposed to be in Selina's party.

  • Love 2
Link to comment

When Selina (hey folks . . . it's Selina with an "i" not Selena with a second "e" . . . just trying to be helpful!) was saying America owed her eight years in the White House, it got me wondering . . .

In real life, could Selina actually be elected to 2 terms? I mean technically she has already been President. She became President when President Hughes resigned. I know she wasn't President very long, but would that count as a term? Isn't there a 2-term limit? Or does the law say you can only be elected twice, meaning her first term wouldn't count?

  • Love 1
Link to comment
Quote

In real life, could Selina actually be elected to 2 terms? I mean technically she has already been President. She became President when President Hughes resigned. I know she wasn't President very long, but would that count as a term? Isn't there a 2-term limit? Or does the law say you can only be elected twice, meaning her first term wouldn't count?

If Selina only served a year as President, she can run for two more terms.  I believe the 22nd Amendment says you have to have acted as President for two years before the next election in order to only be limited to one more term. 

  • Useful 2
  • Love 3
Link to comment
(edited)
25 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

If Selina only served a year as President, she can run for two more terms.  I believe the 22nd Amendment says you have to have acted as President for two years before the next election in order to only be limited to one more term. 

Yes, the 22nd Amendment states: 

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.

They had the show discuss this when Tom was in the running during S5. I don’t think she checked with Kent or Richard about how Tom’s Presidency would be counted since he would have been voted in by Congress but would serve more than two years (which would make him eligible to run for one term after serving his first term). 

Quote

Selina: If O'Brien wins the Presidency, I can run against him in four years. But if Tom James wins, he's going to be President for the next eight years, Amy. Eight!


Amy: Uh, twelve, ma'am.
Selina: Huh?
Amy: Tom's first term won't count because technically he'll be an elevated Vice-President. But I sound like Kent.
Selina: Omigawd, in twelve years I'm going to be shriveled up can of ass. Seriously, I can't. I mean, my political window just slams shut the second I can't wear sleeveless dresses.

Edited by ElectricBoogaloo
  • LOL 1
  • Love 3
Link to comment
(edited)

I dont think the show cares that what party Selina is in, to be honest. The satire is of politics in general, not about a specific party. I always assumed that Selina is kinda of supposed to be a Democrat, but thats not the point. Its a parody of the cold, mercurial nature of the machine, not about particular parties. Its like with the jokes about mass shooting, and the stamped out "thoughts and prayers" response of politicians, and the "white guy or Muslim? Which one is better for me?" thing was so true, and so very sad. Its not making fun of the actual victims of shootings, its about the cynical ways people try to use tragedy to their advantage. When your making a dark joke like that, you have to ask, "who is being laughed at?" and here, its not the innocent people involved with the shooting, its the people trying to use it for their own career, and for their own agenda. 

I love this show and its merry band of assholes, and I am so happy that its back.

"I really thought my 50s would be about me fucking and sucking my way through the Shorstein Center."

"You and me both, ma’am"

Edited by tennisgurl
  • Love 9
Link to comment
On 4/1/2019 at 1:10 PM, Aulty said:

I hope we get Hugh Laurie in a few episodes, he works well with JLD.

I hope he doesn't come back.  He takes away from the better comedians.  The regulars alone are when it's the funniest.  

Link to comment
On 4/2/2019 at 12:50 PM, tennisgurl said:

I dont think the show cares that what party Selina is in, to be honest. The satire is of politics in general, not about a specific party.

I agree. I wonder only as a reference to other candidates, and I think that's what some of these posts are really about. Without party identification, sometimes I don't know who is running against whom for what. Maybe the show should use colors consistently or something. Orange and Purple. 

  • Love 2
Link to comment

Because of this episode, I have unfortunately gotten into the habit of saying “That’s not our plan,” to my cat instead of “No.”

It does not work.

It does not work, but I can’t stop saying it to her.

  • LOL 5
  • Love 3
Link to comment

I didn't get Amy's odd behavior.  Were we supposed to surmise she hopes or expects Dan will jump aboard the Daddy train?  When she switched positions in bed when Dan knocked on the door, was that to make herself more appealing to Dan?  It stuck me as strange, not seductive.

Link to comment
13 hours ago, Roaster said:

I didn't get Amy's odd behavior.  Were we supposed to surmise she hopes or expects Dan will jump aboard the Daddy train?  When she switched positions in bed when Dan knocked on the door, was that to make herself more appealing to Dan?  It stuck me as strange, not seductive.

That’s about right for Amy, though, isn’t it? I didn’t know what she was doing either. Probably neither did Dan. 

Also, does she know it is his because of a DNA test? If she is assuming, and we are assuming, it is because he is the only guy she remembers sleeping with, it wouldn’t surprise me if this show has a weird reveal about that. 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...