What I’m Watching: Veep

Veep: Season 2, Episode 7 “Shutdown” (B+)

A government shutdown is a big thing, but I like that, in this case, it came down just to garbage, furloughs, and a man in Minnesota being eaten by a bear. Sue and Dan were interesting but somewhat logical choices for Selina to furlough at the beginning of the episode, and I enjoyed seeing what both of them did with their time off before they were dragged back into Selina’s world. Dan’s first business meeting was horribly unproductive, and getting burned so badly after his lunch companion didn’t even eat his lobster was unfortunate. Chung, on the other hand, was surprisingly receptive to the prospect of working with Dan in the future, and asking Amy where Selina was going was an intriguing hint of mutiny. Always the loyal servant, the hapless Gary bringing Jonah along to help him sift through the trash that he had ill-advisedly hired a government contractor was fun, and I like how Selina reacted so concernedly when both Gary and Jonah mentioned her trash to her. His unintentional blackmail aside, Jonah attempting to get his passport renewal fast-tracked so that he could go to London was a stupid idea, and it’s a miracle it worked. Selina talking to Amy about her sex life with Andrew was awkward and amusing, but the best conversation of the episode took place between Selina and David Rasche’s Speaker of the House, who wasted little time in telling Selina that he didn’t care about pleasing her and spent longer discussing how uncomfortable the chairs in his office were.