Veep‘s latest episode, “The Eagle,” gets it title for the nickname for Bob, the old campaign pro played by Martin Mull. But, in true form, no one in the Meyer administration is very eagle-eyed this week.
A Chinese-hacker subplot tipped at last week comes on in full, with both the National Security Council and State Department systems under attack thanks to the Meyer White House’s poor cybersecurity postures.
Thankfully, this is Veep, so we don’t have to endure Selina’s opponent, Senator O’Brien, spout off some Trumpian line like “China is raping our country,” but it does set up the rest of the season for Selina to bumble around foreign policy.
Meanwhile, the Nevada recount continues to spiral under the guidance of Bob, whose mental state deteriorates in the course of 30 minutes from secure phone calls with Selina to wandering into the Oval Office asking about the day’s soup. Mull nails every moment of it, confirming that even in its later stages, Veep is still capable of assembling a killer lineup of comedic actors.
And it appears Dan did consummate last week’s encounter with Amy’s sister, Sophie, leaving it to Amy to point out—in the cold light of the day after—that Sophie works at CVS, the drug-store chain, not CBS, the broadcast network. “Can you go to ABC News and pick me up some Advil?” is a particularly good cut.
But this week’s hero is none other than Richard Splett, whose usually fail-inducing earnestness saves the recount when he gets O’Brien’s adviser to cough up where the missing Nevada ballots are. If anything, he’s earned our clicks on Splettnet.
Here are a few other things to take away from “The Eagle”:
Just Bob Being Bob: That’s how his former protege Ben describes his many senior moments, which include but are not limited to:
- Guzzling random prescription medications
- Confusing Nevada call girls for reporters
- Puttering around the campaign office barefoot
- Calling Selina “Mr. President,” then saying there will never be a “lady president” (Bob may want to Google “woman card“)
- Telling Jonah “Jews cause hurricanes.”
Group Therapy, Jonah Ryah-style: America’s favorite goon doesn’t get much screen time this week other than to relay Bob’s comment about Jews and hurricanes to Selina, Amy, and Dan, who respond in unison with “Jonah, shut the fuck up!” That had to feel cathartic.
Mike McClintock Health Watch: “The doctor said I’ve recovered from the cleanse,” Mike says during the episode. So, gross. He hasn’t found a new cool-dad health fad yet, though he might not, now that a sudden trade war with China dashes his adoption plans.
Down in the DM: John Slattery is back as Charlie Baird, the charming billionaire-cum-First Boyfriend, to teach everyone an important lesson about Twitter. Charlie sends Selina a direct message, but her reply—”@CharlieBaird Here’s one for you now”—goes out publicly, causing the staff to freak out about Selina’s lack of Twitter skill. If only this White House had listened to Yo Gotti:
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
