#veep meta

Before I get into my answer anon, bear in mind that I’m not American. Racism is the primary fault line in American culture in a way that is very hard for non-Americans to get their heads around.

It’s not that other societies don’t struggle with racism and problems of exclusion and so on, because of course they do - it’s just that politics fractures along different issues. Racism can inflect and be inflamed by those issues (think secularism in France) but it doesn’t necessarily lie at the heart of them.

This is why I often find within fandom Europeans and Americans talking at cross purposes when it comes to race and representation. I have lost count of the number of times I have seen someone I would consider a pretty standard white European described as ‘brown’ and therefore excluded - is that a function of my privilege (quite possibly) or of how race is constructed within a different political culture?

To give you a weird example of this, I don’t know how many discussions I’ve seen of racial representation in Harry Potter - and rightly so, it’s an important topic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a conversation that points out the near total absence of Welsh, Scottish or Irish characters (no Welsh that I can recall, and only one each of the others) - or, that in Harry Potter land, Irish independence did not extend to Wizards, who still come under the British ministry. That’s a major and still contested political problem that Rowling effectively pretends doesn’t exist. And like Enid Blyton before her, she places her school firmly in the Celtic fringe (Cornwall for Blyton, Scotland for Rowling), but includes almost no characters from that place. It’s a pretty backdrop in which English characters interact.

Now, I’m not saying fandom should talk about this - I’m more using it to illustrate that the problems we perceive in a work are to at least some extent reflective of our own political priorities - and because fandom is largely American, the representation of race in Harry Potter has become one of the dominant strands of criticism (in many ways I would argue that the anti-Muggleborn prejudice in the story more closely resembles anti-Semitism or maybe anti-Catholic prejudice than racism on the strictest definition, but anyway).

All of which is a long winded way of saying, my answer to this is likely to be partial and frustrating to American reader, because there are aspects of how racism functions in American society that I just don’t get. (To get personal for a moment, I remember giving an American directions in London the summer before Obama was elected - during which I said “see the white house ? Turn right after the White House.” I’m still angry with myself for not responding when he said “like our White House - but it’s not going to be the White House for much longer.” I was so stunned and baffled that he would even think that, let alone say it, to a stranger, that I had no idea what to say. In retrospect perhaps it was a warning).

On the most basic level, I don’t find the racism in Veep’s final seasons as viscerally upsetting as the sexism. And probably this has a lot to do with it not feeling personal to me in the same way, but I think a big part of it is that it’s not something the characters are actually doing to each other. They say the most appalling things, but by and large the actions they take against each other are not racially inflected - as in, setting aside what they say, Richard is not abused or denied opportunities or humiliated on the basis of his race by the narrative. Whereas, the narratives treatment of Amy and Selina seems highly dependent on sexist assumptions of how women are supposed to behave, which they are punished for not living up to by the story.

Now, you may disagree with me on that one, which is fair enough. I should say, I think there is a fair argument to be made that the world the characters of Veep inhabit is relentlessly and unrealistically white - other than Danny Chung and one Congresswoman on the panel in 4.09, I can’t think of any non-white politicians in the first six seasons of the show. And the two black characters in the main cast - Sue and Richard - play somewhat marginal roles in the team. They also don’t get to be involved in the down and dirty politics in the same way as everyone else - Sue because she is too professional (I’d argue that a black woman being the most professional person in the cast is a comment on how these things function, but it’s very buried) and Richard because he (somehow) becomes an exemplar of integrity despite having the social skills of a three year old.

It’s an interesting thought experiment to imagine recasting the characters - would Jonah or Dan or Ben exist in the same way if they’d been cast with non-white actors? I highly doubt it. (I can however imagine recasting Amy or Kent that way).

So, I don’t think Veep’s narrative structure is intrinsically racist in its final years in the way it became intrinsically sexist - though I’m certainly open to being pushed on that.

However, it did become highly reliant on constant racist jokes for humour in the Mandel years. I have the same objection to them that I had to the “beefy blonde” line about Amy - they’re not funny. Sure, they’re shocking - I gasped at some of the things Selina said in the opening of 7.06 - but there’s no wit or insight in them. Not one of them made me laugh - I just felt a kind of weary disgust.

In fact, they feel fundamentally puerile to me. There are times and places when it is necessary to depict racist attitudes in order to critique them, but I don’t think Veep really did that. If anything, I felt its inclusion of horrible racism felt...complacent.

Over and over again, I got the feeling that the show was using racist language in the same way it used swear words - the jokes are treated as though they are shocking in the exact same way. Now I’m not going to quote the language here, but if the word fuck shocks you as much as explicit racism, you either do not understand the words you’re using, or there is something wrong with your moral compass.

With that in mind, I felt like Veep was able to use the language in that way, because the writers rested on the assumption that everyone agrees that racial slurs are taboo, everyone agrees that dehumanising refugees is wrong. And sadly, that isn’t the case.

The one point where I thought the writers used racism intelligently was in Jonah’s storyline. Part of the problem with the lines coming from Ben and Selina is that their opposition, the person questioning their racism, is always framed as an over sensitive millennial - a positioning that delegitimises critique before it’s even made.

But with Jonah, I think it was made very, very clear, that the problem was him, that he was whipping up racism because he was a hateful, ignorant person, and that it was based on nothing but intellectual laziness. Though even in Jonah’s story there’s a sharp devolution - in season 6 he leaves a party due to the rampant fascism on display, in season 7 he whips up hatred of Muslims. It’s not a particularly credible character arc.

I previously wrote an exhaustive (slash exhausting) (take your pick) analysis of Amy’s costuming in Veep, and so I thought I would dive in and do one for season 6.  Without wanting to sound like I’m assigning homework, it may be worth having a look at that, as her costuming in season uses the same motifs - just in new ways.

As always, Amy’s costuming is very much defined by the chief relationships in her life - in the case of season six Buddy, Selina and Dan (and I’m going to look at them in that order, for reasons that will hopefully become clear as we go through). We left Amy and Buddy in season 5 looking like this:

I think I’ve talked a lot about Amy and pregnancy already, so I hope you won’t mind my skipping that for now.  

In some ways, I think the pregnancy is almost going to force more development of Dan’s character than of hers, and it’s going to be fascinating to watch.

Because Dan had it both ways with Amy for a very long time, and it clearly suited him down to the ground.  He was the most important man in her life, the centre of all her emotional energy (the emotions weren’t always positive, needless to say, but they were there), and her first phone call.  Amy abandoned her anniversary dinner, with her boyfriend, so she could talk to Dan.  He had her companionship all the time - we know they would have meals together and go for drinks, in addition to working together - and he never had to date her.  He could sleep around as much as he chose, and even have the pleasure of seeing Amy look…dispirited at the thought of it. And on some level, I think Dan fooled himself into thinking things could always be like that, that she’d always like him so much, she’d put up with the way he was treating her.  Which was never the case - it was always a completely unsustainable situation, on his side as much as hers (something that would have become clear much earlier, I think, if Ed had been more of a threat to Dan’s position).

Dan has basically been dancing around this dilemma since season 2.  He wants to have Amy’s undivided attention and love and desire… and he wants to be a completely free agent, able to sleep with anyone and everyone - and he has tried to duck the obvious problem that those desires are completely incompatible all through the show.

Except, (and I’ve written about this elsewhere), when the status quo of their relationship collapses in season 5 and Amy effectively abandons him for Buddy, Dan gets what he wants (in a way).

He can sleep with everyone - and does - and he doesn’t have anyone developing irritating expectations of him, like that he’ll be nice to them.

Turns out, Dan doesn’t actually like that.  

The way Veep uses costumes to demonstrate character has interested me for a while, and so I’m diving in to the subject just this once.  Everything I learned about ‘reading’ costume I learned from reading Tom and Lorenzo’s Mad Style recaps (if you’re a Mad Men fan who’s somehow never encountered them, go forth and read).  Needless to say, this won’t be anywhere near as comprehensive, and in fact will be chiefly focused on one character, which is Amy.

There’s a simple reason for this - Amy is the most dynamic dresser on the show.  Which isn’t to say that she’s necessarily stylish - Selina knows how to dress to convey very specific messages (as does Dan), something Amy mostly doesn’t do (with one hilarious exception).  But there are two reasons why Amy’s style changes so much more than anyone else’s over the course of the show.  

Within the world of the show, Amy starts off as a comparatively young woman (say approximately 30 at the beginning?), and one who has never felt particularly comfortable with her own beauty or confident in her ability to attract men.  She also desperately wants to be taken seriously in an environment that is not particularly friendly to her.  Outside the world of the show, Anna Chlumsky has had two babies - which means her body has gone through far more dramatic changes than any other member of the main cast.  (Reid Scott and Timothy Simmons’ receding hairlines don’t really compare).  

So let’s look at season one.

This is, to my mind, Amy’s most important costume in the pilot - and certainly the one that is called back to the most.  Note how informal it is.  She’s not dressed to impress here - she’s wearing a comfortable blouse and a cardigan, and the cardigan is in a notably feminine colour.  This is important, because a lot of Amy’s costumes in season one are in direct opposition to this specific outfit.  Why?  

Because of this asshole.

Dan arrives and immediately disrupts Amy’s safe working environment, undermining her dominance in the office and reminding her (and everyone else) that Amy can be vulnerable in an explicitly feminine way (i.e. she can be disappointed/hurt romantically).  Not only does he threaten her position with Selina, as Amy’s ex he is also threatening to her emotionally.  Note how he’s dressed in blue-grey to Amy’s pink - it’s the costume designer’s way of really underlining the ‘boy-girl’ nature of their storyline.  (Something to remember for later). 

Interestingly, and perhaps as a way of differentiating their characters, Amy and Selina wear red (or colours in the red family) in very, very different ways. When Selina wears red, it’s to make herself feel powerful - and Selina in red has become part of the iconography of the show.

But Amy tends to wear red or pink only in moments when she is emotionally vulnerable - usually, but not only, tied to romance.  It’s a direct reversal of how Selina uses the colour.  So putting her in pink when Dan invades the office is a way to underscore the threat he poses.  Because even early on, it’s clear… those two have a connection, whether Amy likes it or not.

Episode two and Amy wears what would appear to be a fairly standard outfit for her at the time - a skirt and top.  She looks good - professional - and it’s a light outfit for the heat… which Dan matches exactly.  Amy wears black and grey, Dan wears black and grey (and white).  Unsurprisingly, this is the episode where their romantic connection is made explicit, and Dan is a lot more overtly flirtatious with Amy (invading her space, blowing air kisses - I don’t know how she didn’t throttle him) then he ever will be again.  Tying them together colourwise is a trick that the costumers will use again and again… but not for a while.  

Because look at Amy’s reaction to Dan coming back into her life.

Suits.  Lots and lots of suits. 

Dan is both an emotional and professional threat, and so Amy puts on her armour to deal with him.  The suits mimic menswear, putting them on a more even footing, and because Amy’s suits are always so boxy, they hide her femininity.  

Her suits are also - unlike Dan’s - cheap.  And one of the ways that becomes clear is that they never really fit right - note the way the jackets are constantly gaping over her chest.  Selina’s suits - when she wears them - never do that, they lie flat against her the way they’re supposed to, probably because Selina gets them properly tailored.  (Selina would have the money to do that mind you).  (And Amy is more busty than Selina, which makes suits more of a challenge)

Selina’s suits are brightly coloured and fit her perfectly, whereas Amy’s are blocky and invariably in colours that mimic menswear - brown, grey or black.  In other words, Selina wants attention and Amy wants to avoid it.  

But gradually, gradually, she starts to gain confidence.  She gets used to having Dan in the office, and she gets a boyfriend.  

Look at that bold, declarative red in the third picture.  Amy’s connection with Dan might not have gone away - in Andrew, the episode where Dan asks her out, their costumes are matching again - but she’s dating someone new, and I think it’s safe to say that she got properly laid on her date with Ed.  With the exception of the episode immediately following this one, we never see Amy wearing such a strong, saturated red (with matching lipstick) again.  No wonder Dan was pissed off that night in the bar - he knows her well enough to know what that means.

Now I’m  going to guess that Anna Chlumsky’s first pregnancy fell somewhere between seasons 2 and 3, because when we hit season 3 a change has occurred.

Colour.  Lush, vibrant colour.  

Within the show, the reason is simple - having a boyfriend, even one as milquetoast as Ed, did wonders for Amy’s confidence.  Her clothes are more feminine, and far, far more flattering than they were previously.  (One could even suspect that looking more feminine was Amy’s way of lulling Dan into a false sense of security, but I think it’s unlikely - she doesn’t really dress that strategically).  They’re also easier to move in, for which I give you exhibit one:

The external reason is that - odd though it may sound - it’s much easier to conceal a pregnancy (or the natural changes in a woman’s body that follow a pregnancy) in a sheath dress than a suit.  Which sounds odd, because these dresses show off Amy’s body a lot more than the suits ever did, but being all one piece, and all one colour, allows them to smooth over any unexpected lumps and bumps.  

Fortunately, for Amy to have gained confidence this year makes sense - as I’ve said, she has a new boyfriend, and this is the year where she finally vanquishes Dan, her nemesis throughout the show.  (Made all the sweeter by him not realising it happened).

But there are some things Amy just can’t avoid.

Their costumes at Mike’s wedding are kind of hilariously on point.  Dan literally has Amy all over him.  His tie matches her dress (a trick that the costume designer will repeat many times in the coming seasons), and his waistcoat matches her hair.  They may consider each other enemies, but even a full season of open competition between them doesn’t change one simple fact.

They complement each other.  

The repeated colour combination - green and blue - at the beginning and end of the season makes it clear… they have a connection that just won’t go away.

And the costumes in season four make this more and more explicit.  

They match.  Constantly.  In all of these pictures the colours of their outfits call back to each other - with Amy’s white blouse with the black pattern even calling back to Dan’s tie.  (That outfit will be repeated in the Inauguration episode in season 5, where, perversely, it underlines their new lack of connection - calling back to a time when Dan and Amy were a team and working together, instead of sniping at each other constantly - but unfortunately, I can’t find a pic).

And in no episode is this clearer than Storms and Pancakes, when Dan pretty explicitly brings Amy into his new world.

This is so costumey as to become almost ludicrous - look how well matched they are!  Every colour in Amy’s outfit appears in Dan’s outfit - and since he spends most of the episode as close to her as humanly possible, it’s kind of hard not to notice (I suspect because he is, sensibly, trying to make her feel more at ease in the new setting, so that she, and therefore they, will be successful.  In this environment he’s the only person she has to trust).  And he has good reason to do this, because I’d argue that, going by costumes alone, Storms and Pancakes was the most vulnerable Amy’s ever been in the show.  

She’s been separated from Selina, Mike’s publicly called her unstable, and her peers are gleefully agreeing with that assessment, as we see at Dan’s dreadful party.  Amy’s career is hugely important to her, she draws most of her self-confidence from the knowledge that she is good at her job, and to have that so publicly called into question is almost unbearable to her.  How do I know - look at her dress:

This dress fascinates me, because it is completely unlike anything Amy’s worn before or since.  With the high slit, she’s showing a lot more skin than she usually does, and the nude band across the top makes her look more ‘naked’ than she actually is.  Amy is feeling horribly, horribly exposed, and this dress reflects that.  She’s a raw nerve.

(Note that Dan is wearing the same suit as earlier in the day.  My guess is that Amy had forgotten about the party and had to buy something to wear in a hurry - that’s the only explanation I can think of for such an uncharacteristic outfit).

But she wants to get better, so she takes Dan’s advice:

Note that this is the only time Amy wears ‘nude’ in the show - with Dan, and again with Sophie.  They are the only people she feels able to be around when she’s this vulnerable.  (Does this make Dan even more of an asshole for sleeping with Sophie?  You betcha).

Still, eventually, she gets her mojo back, by beating Dan at his own game.

And she’s right back in the colours that were used to tie her to him at the start of the episode - gray and black.  Only this outfit has her covered back up - and as result she looks comfortable all of a sudden.  

But of course this bucolic phase can’t last, and Amy and Dan, through working together, end up dragged in front of Congress.  It’s clearly an intimidating experience for both of them - something that becomes obvious when we look at Amy’s outfit.

A suit.

A suit the likes of which we haven’t seen in several years at this point.  Like I said, suits are Amy’s armour.  It doesn’t matter that they’re unflattering - or that in this picture, frankly, her suit makes her look like Dan’s Mini-Me - when she’s feeling unsettled, they’re what she defaults to.

Unsurprisingly, their testimony does not go well.  It’s clear that, behind the scenes, they got together before their next appearance, because…well, look:

I think we can confidently say that this is the one time Amy was consciously dressing for effect - because it’s so hilariously OTT it has to be purposeful.  (Note, Selina didn’t make this mistake.  Selina wore a serious grey dress and serious glasses, but nothing so unusual for her that people would comment on it).  I don’t doubt that seeing this outfit was a laugh out loud moment for many people in the audience - it’s not like Amy at all.  But Dan’s tie still matches her perfectly (as does his expression).  (On a side note, either Dan’s watches are always enormous or Reid Scott has teeny-tiny wrists, I’m not sure which).

But what I haven’t talked about is probably the most important costume Amy had in the entire season.

Remember when I said red, for Amy, meant vulnerability?  This is the most blatant example of it by far.  The swirling pattern hints at all the frustrations she’s been suppressing for years on end, and the deep red makes her stand out in the scene.  Selina has disappointed Amy more than anyone else - Amy has spent years dedicated to Selina and her career - and so the moment where Amy walks away from that is a profoundly vulnerable one for her.

But we can’t talk about Amy and vulnerability without diving into a theme that comes very much to the fore in seasons 4 & 5.  Romance.  

Because there are some common themes in how Amy is dressed for her romantic scenes (though when I say romantic, I mean scenes that play on her relationships with Dan and Buddy, not necessarily scenes that are romantic in and of themselves).

Remember when I said to remember the pink/blue-grey combination?

I don’t know if the costume designer rewatched the pilot before seasons 4 & 5, but it’s noticeable how consistently the pink/blue-grey combination is applied to Dan and Amy across both.  (Dan wears blue-grey because he’s not the kind of man who’d own a vibrantly blue suit - at least, I think that’s why).  Again, it really underlines the gendered nature of the interaction - and note that a lot of the shots also emphasise just how much bigger than Amy Dan is (something they usually try to avoid).

And the clearest sign of all that Amy has given up on Dan at the end of season 5?  She’s wearing pink - but it’s for Buddy.

It’s interesting, because pink definitely isn’t Amy’s “I feel pretty” colour.  We’ve seen a lot of her formal wear, and it’s clear she defaults to one colour more than any other.

Like so many blue-eyed blondes, Amy knows that there’s one colour which will always work on her - blue - and so when she wants to make an impression, that’s what she jumps to.  (When I say Amy isn’t as stylish as Selina or Dan, I don’t mean she dresses badly - clearly she doesn’t - but that she doesn’t really know or, I suspect, care, how to dress for maximum impact - something that both Dan and Selina are very, very good at it). (Her dress in Finland also reads as a less mature version of Selina’s slinky black number, a way of indicating just how aligned these women are).

The other theme that pops up is skin, and I do mean that literally.  With the exception of season three, (when I suspect it was unavoidable due to Anna Chlumsky’s pregnancy), Amy doesn’t tend to sport visible cleavage.  And yet:

(I feel super creepy pointing this out, but she does have cleavage in the third pic - it’s just that Dan’s hand is in the way).  

In all of the scenes Dan and Buddy are covered up - by standard suits - but Amy has both arms and chest uncovered.  Which is a classic way to signal vulnerability - and Amy clearly does feel vulnerable, because in the scenes with Dan she usually sits with at least one arm (and sometimes two) in front of her chest.  It’s subconscious - and involuntary - self-defence.  However attracted Amy may be to Dan, she’s still afraid of opening herself up to him - and for very good reason, as we all know.

So what does season 6 hold for Amy style-wise?

I have no idea - but Anna Chlumsky had just had another baby before filming started, so I suspect we may be in for another style evolution.

Which fortunately, makes complete sense for the character.

The ways in which Selina and Sue dress don’t change that much, because they are both more mature and more confident - they know what looks good on them, and they stick with it.  Amy’s still figuring that out.

But I would draw your attention to this.

Veep does repeat costumes from time to time (in compiling this I’ve noticed that Dan repeats ties a lot), but this isn’t quite that.  This is repeating a ‘type’ of outfit.  

Amy doesn’t wear patterns very often (with the exception of Convention, and I think Fishing, in Season 3), and seeing her in one is usually a hint at some kind of emotional turmoil.

But she has a pattern on in both these outfits, as well as being massively bundled up in thick skirts and cardigans.  

Every time I see commentary that Amy and Dan belong together because "they're both terrible people" I can't help it - I cringe.

Because that, that right there is some super gendered bullshit. Don't get me wrong. I am a totally unashamed believer in "Dan and Amy living together in endless sexually charged banter." Much Ado About Nothing is one of my all time favourite plays, and Dan and Amy are so Beatrice and Benedick (right down to the "he did her wrong in some undefined way in the past that will never be explained but will always underpin everything in their relationship") that I was pretty much bound to 'ship' them. But there is no way, in a million years, that Amy is anywhere near as bad a person as Dan is.

I'm not viewing her through rose-coloured glasses - she can be ruthless, and probably more ruthless than him. Dan's never, or almost never, sacrificed anything he actually CARED about - whereas Amy has shown herself more than capable of weighing up her ideals and sacrificing one to achieve the other. But she has never, not once, displayed his capacity for vindictive nastiness.

Amy can be dismissive and abrasive and insensitive, and probably a real pain in the neck to be around. But I find it...interesting that that is so often read as somehow equal to Dan's tendency to brutally use and abuse everyone around him.

Their two worst deeds form an interesting comparison. Amy got Dan fired/caused his breakdown, and Dan slept with her sister and rubbed her face in it over and over again because he KNEW it upset her. Except, Amy DIDN'T get Dan fired - DAN got Dan fired, through his own stupid decision to "pimp Selina out." Amy also didn't CAUSE his breakdown, though her actions were the catalyst for it, because he had worked himself to that point before she even did anything. And notice the difference in how they handled it. Amy never, not once, rubbed it in to Dan, she didn't take visible pleasure in his distress, she didn't gloat. Whereas Dan ENJOYED the fact that his sleeping with Sophie caused Amy distress. He took actual pleasure in her hurt.

Random or not so random thoughts.

1. The Jonah section of the show is the part that’s working best for me, right now. Kent and Ben’s dead-eyed misery at their situation had me howling, not to mention Jonah getting dating tips FROM KENT. (And Kent’s advice being correct - even the robot knows better how a woman should be treated).

2. Catherine’s having a baby. Oh god - they’re totally going to ask Dan to be the sperm donor, aren’t they? Which, leaving aside the ookiness of it, does not strike me as something he should pursue - if ever there was a way for his connection to Selina to be completely copper-fastened in the public mind… But Dan only ever thinks short-term, and his vanity would be so gratified by the request that he’ll probably go with it.

3. So Selina DID have same-sex experiences in college - mea culpa, I called that wrong. (Though I still think she and Amy would be a disaster - the dynamic is far too unbalanced). Clearly she’s put some effort into telling herself it never happened - which may explain some of her mental health issues…repressing sexuality is unhealthy to say the least, and if she was holding all of that back, she has less mental energy to handle other problems. And politics does demand a higher level of resilience than many careers. Regina also seemed a damn sight pleasanter and fonder of Selina than ANY of the men she’s been involved with.

4. There was a LOT of casual misogyny from Selina this episode, which still seems out of character to me - in particular the comment about female architects. Internalised misogyny is a thing, but looking at Selina’s behaviour as a whole, I wouldn’t have thought that was really her problem - Amy and Sue were (rightly) the two staff members she respected the most. Also, given how acid a commentator she was on the sexism she’s had to face politically…I don’t know, it seems at best uneven.

5. I don’t actually buy the all the other Presidents freezing Selina out thing. In real life ex-Presidents often advise their successors (we’ve seen this with Obama and Clinton), because they’re the only people who understand the pressures of the role. Unlike everyone else, I would expect them to grasp just how difficult a task Selina faced in taking up the Presidency so last minute with so little support.

6. Dan stealing Jonah’s girlfriend. It almost made me sad, because that’s probably the only chance Jonah ever had for love! (But given how vile he was to the other women, only almost). The scene was played beautifully, but there’s something that makes me uncomfortable in the way the show celebrates Dan’s sexiness, even valorises him for it, while Selina and Amy are regularly humiliated for having - or not having - sexual desires. I can’t quite put it into words, but it bugs me. The show didn’t mock Dan half as much for sleeping with Sophie as it did Amy for being rejected by him - and it’s starting to feel mean-spirited. Veep is generally a pretty acid show, but…not usually PETTY the way this feels. Everything romantic is also being played a lot broader, which isn’t helping. (Contrast the bar scene in Tehran, where we’re clearly supposed to find Amy’s attraction to Dan appealing, and to sympathise with her when she feels rejected, with the way the camera lingers on her humiliated face at the end of this episode).

7. Buddy. At this point I almost don’t care how it happens - get Amy out of there, asap. I used to hate the idea of Dan riding to the rescue and making her see how miserable she is - not any more. If it works to get her out of that situation, I’ll take it a dozen times over. She clearly can’t give Buddy what he wants, and she shouldn’t have to go through public humiliation as a result. I’m staring to miss Ed. (What are the odds that Jonah’s going to ask her to audition for Mrs Ryan, once she’s ditched Buddy?)

8. THE COWBOY BOOTS. That’s almost the saddest bit, because Amy is TRYING, she is forcing herself to fit into a role that just doesn’t suit her - she’s not the doting political wife and never has been, and having to play that subservient role is hardening her quite considerably. The conversation with Selina felt more AMY than any other scene she’s had in the last two episodes. (How she didn’t lose it during Buddy’s prayer, I don’t know).

9. WOODY. I damn near clapped my hands in glee - though I gave that line to DAN not Amy. She definitely took it a lot further than I’d thought of though!

10. There was some great physical comedy with Selina and Gary in this episode - I loved all the stuff with the giant red dress.

11. Marjorie actually worked for me, for the first time. Unlike everyone else, she doesn’t take Selina’s behaviour personally, and can actually see that a lot of what’s driving it is genuine pain - which doesn’t mean she lets her off the hook, but does mean she can actually communicate WITH Selina, instead of talking past her.

12. I never thought I’d say this, but Selina NEEDS TO LISTEN TO MIKE. Also, is he commuting every day from DC? Because that would get exhausting right quick.

13. I love Jane - I love how much she’s making Dan suffer - I want her to torment him for episodes on end. She’s so beautifully - and probably rightly - dismissive of him, it has to be cutting him to the bone. Not to mention that I can foresee a lot of fun as his desperation to leave intensifies. (And oh the shamelessness of Veep critiquing TV’s tendency to chase ratings by objectifying people sexually, by objectifying Reid Scott sexually. I love it). (What do you want to bet that Dan’s hair, so fully-loaded with product, didn’t even MOVE when he got in the water).

14. The whole plot line with Selina being torn down for not supporting the artist felt slightly off…Selina’s so politically irrelevant people forget she was President, but the moment she puts a foot wrong it’s a national news story? The fact that all the criticism was focused on her and not only Andrew did feel painfully real though. (And feels very much like they’re riffing on Hillary Clinton - it also drove me crazy how feminists reamed her endlessly for not supporting or protecting Monica Lewinsky. Don’t get me wrong - Lewinsky was treated horribly, and shamed by the press and political class in numerous disgusting ways…but Hillary Clinton is allowed not to like the woman her husband cheated with. Anything else would be superhuman on her part. If anything BILL should have been the one feminists went after, for putting his sexual partner in such a vulnerable position, but of course that never really happened).