Veep ‘Chung’: A Veep In Deep

Part of being a politician is compromising, something Amy and Dan are reminded by Senator O’ Brian near the end of ‘Chung’, an episode which focuses around one single off-camera blunder brought on by an under-researched fact about the Gov. Chung from Minnesota. But part of all those compromises – a continuous string of them through the first four episodes – are starting to reveal an interesting paradox of American government: the more radical of a change you want, the more you’re going to lose trying to get just a smidgen of what you originally intended.

This, of course, is being manifest in the season-long arcs about the filibuster reform bill and the much-maligned Clean Jobs bill. The first three weeks we’ve seen Selina’s big political endeavor as VP go from being a personal moment of success (potentially), to a half-alive, completely compromised committee now featuring two oil men, one current and one ex. Those moves of course, have alienated her allies, and people like Senator Doyle are starting to jump ship. That, combined with the racist overtones of her off-the-air but on-tape offhand remark about Chung, and Selina’s hole is slowly getting deeper and deeper.

And the deeper she goes, the more she’s losing herself politically. Amy and Dan have spent a lot of their time so far doing damage control, some of which has been effective, but mostly just involves Selina seceding power over her own policy proposals. All in favor of trying to pass a ‘legacy-defining’ bill that’s is nowhere near the same as what it was when she was campaigning and politicking for it. It speaks volumes about our political system, and how something as simple as public opinion or political influence can make a bill a generation-defining moment, or simply another piece of forgotten trash on the Senate floor.

Thankfully, ‘Chung’ doesn’t try to over expose us to the realities of Selina’s constant concessions to her “allies”, and gives us plenty of other humorous moments to enjoy. We also get small glimpses of this man Ted that Selina is banging, a character I have no doubt will lead to some seriously awkward moments in the future – as if their poor phone sex didn’t already make it clear. We also get a lot of Amy and Dan working together, one of the show’s most interesting dynamics (and a set-up for a romantic relationship if I’ve ever seen one, they’ve got some nice personality contrasts and parallels going already).

I didn’t think Amy’s barbs towards Jonah were as sharp as they usually were, but there’s something being built up with Jonah’s growing over-confidence in his position. Not only is he chiding the VP of the United States, but he also has to be reminded what to wear to the office when working on a Sunday. I can definitely see a situation emerging at the end of the season where Jonah fucks up, and finds himself groveling to join the Meyer PR team, which would make for a fantastic group dynamic heading into season 2.

Sue also gets some well-deserved screen time in the episode, another reminder of how important each and every cog is in a politican’s machine – and in Scott’s case, how fucking up once can turn a well-oiled machine into a sputtering pile of smoke and burning tar. It’s those little things – and the heavy emphasis on politicians having to constantly be reminded who and what they stand for – that makes the cynical satire of Veep so much fun to watch. ‘Chung’ wasn’t as stingingly hilarious as last week’s episode, but it’s subtle themes make for quite a great half-hour of satire.

Grade: B+

Other thoughts/observations:

– the football team debates were hilariously spot on. Gotta support the home team, be able to be ‘American’ and talk football, and most importantly, know that “Ray Rice… he play nice.”

– “It’s the White House, not the Yellow House!”

– Best shot at Jonah this week: “Jonah, you’re not even your mom’s favorite Jonah.”

What did you think of ‘Chung’? Feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below!