What I’m Watching: Veep

Veep: Season 2, Episode 5 “Helsinki” (B+)

This Europe song really isn’t going away, and it’s great to have it continue without the messy mastermind that is Mike to manage the crisis, instead putting a clueless Dan in the hot seat. The Finnish Prime Minister was unfriendly enough to Selina, and to have her husband, played by recognizable Canadian actor Dave Foley, grope Selina’s breast made for quite an interesting visit. It’s no surprise that Gary was taught the wrong word for “bagman,” an unimpressive moniker even in its native language, and I enjoyed watching him grapple with the fact that the bag Selina got him has fewer pockets than the one he used to have, something about which Selina was far from apologetic. Seeing snippets of Sue in her home life was jarring and entertaining, and her bizarre sleep schedule was amusing as well. Mike calling Jonah in because he couldn’t handle the numbers was great, and I like that Kent just ignores the presidential liaison’s presence altogether. The revelation that POTUS knew about the spy hostage and expressly told Selina that it wasn’t true is big news, and I have a feeling that she’s going to try to milk this maltreatment for a while. Whether that will get her anywhere is another question, though bringing her back to her home country should help considerably with ensuring that her messages don’t come across in the wrong way quite as frequently as she managed while she was in Finland with a culture that definitely didn’t love her.