Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Veep 6x04 Recap: "Justice" (A Tale of Two Heart Attacks) [Contributor: Erin Allen]

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“Justice”
Original Airdate: May 7, 2017

Rumors swirl around Selina being considered to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat, and the stress of trying to grab hold of another opportunity for a legacy manifests as heart attacks for both Selina and Gary.

Amy is back! I love how she is just naturally part of the team again. We don’t need to see how the reunion came to be because we all know she is where she belongs. I also love that her position doesn’t edge out Richard. The two of them working side by side in the same role is going to be great. It already is. Selina yells for Richard and Amy appears, and no one mentions anything of it. It’s fantastic.

The Meyer crew is working on nailing down funding and property for her library... until that is derailed by talks of Montez’s upcoming appointment of the next Supreme Court judge. Selina’s name starts to be thrown around in speculation all because of Mike’s incompetence. “I just habitually deny everything these days.”

We finally get to meet the oft-mentioned Sherman Tanz in this episode as well. Selina controversially pardoned him and he is politically toxic (“When people think about what’s wrong with Washington, they think of him.”), but he has deep pockets that Selina would like access to for her library. Just because Selina is not in office anymore doesn’t mean she can avoid meetings that require sucking up to sleazy men. It is a painful meeting, and not just for Selina. Gary is forced to give the dude a massage! I had the urge to wash my own hands afterwards.

Selina is complaining of back pains and hot flashes, and Amy suggests a check-up and mentions the M-word: Menopause. Selina’s offended freak-out is fabulous. Also, I think she might be having the “heart episode” at that time. “Don’t say that! It’s not that! That is a sexist beyond sexist reaction. I’m just tired, and uncomfortable, and Mike’s hair reminds me of graham cracker crumbs.”

At her check-up, her doctor confirms that it is not menopause, but that she has suffered a small heart attack. Selina is too relieved to care about her “far more serious” condition. “Well, hand me a cracker and spread it up with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Menopause.” Gary takes the news much more seriously — serious as a heart attack. No, seriously, he actually has a heart attack.

Gary’s condition is more severe than Selina’s, and she both uses and ignores that fact. She uses it to dispel any chatter that she is unwell, saying: “If they’re wondering why I’m in the hospital, just put that on Gary because he had a massive heart attack, luckily.” Then, as soon as he’s back on his feet, she makes him carry heavy boxes upstairs. She is by his side a lot more than I expected, though. I mean, as much as a pathological narcissist could be.

Selina begrudgingly lets him stay in Catherine’s brownstone because Catherine and Marjorie have actual hearts and don’t want him to have to make the trek from Hoboken where he lives in a studio with three other people. If Gary thought they were going to bond over their heart attacks, he is sorely mistaken.
Selina: I feel like my chest has been trampled in a Puerto Rican nightclub fire.  
Gary: It’s like I’m breathing through a tiny straw. 
Selina: Oh, a straw. Yeah, I want a water with a straw. 
Gary: Aha.
However, two of Gary’s dreams do come true: Selina waits on him (she brings him an old — possibly rotten — chicken sandwich cut up into pieces, mixed with pasta) and he takes a nap with her (although, when she wakes up, she sneaks out, never to discuss it again. But Gary knows. He knows.) By the end of the episode, they are back to their old posts where Gary fawns over her and she shuts it all down. It was quite the roller coaster ride for Gary which he should probably avoid with his heart condition and all.

Meanwhile, Jonah has trouble telling time.

Team Meyer has redirected Tanz to Jonah to try and get his corrupt for-profit prison legislation through. That is his condition if he is to help fund Selina’s library. Jonah keeps him waiting because he had no way of knowing that it was Daylight Saving (not plural!) Time. He gives him that old Jonah charm and Tanz writes him a check for one cent in return. Then, after fixing his watch to adjust for the time change, Jonah is two hours late to a meeting.
Jonah: I springed backwards. 
Ben: No, you spring forward! 
Jonah: Have you ever watched girl’s gymnastics? That makes no sense.
For some reason, Tanz takes a liking to Jonah and his special form of idiocy, and he no longer has the time or the money to devote to Selina’s library. She learns this after finding out that she is not, in fact, going to be the next Supreme Court justice, but rather President Hughes, her perpetual one-upper. Any good that was coming her way is yanked out from under her like a tablecloth in a magic trick.

Stray Observations:
  • “He was a friend to all people, especially corporations, who he legally considered to be people.”  
  • Dan is once again sidelined to his news show sub-plot. The bronzer bit was pretty funny, and his short time with Catherine and Marjorie was good, but I want him in the mix more. 
  • “Reading. Could it be bad for your child’s self-esteem? Why one Texas housewife wants to phase it out.”
  • “I pardoned Typhoid Moishe.”
  • Gary’s heart attack happens in the background, out of focus, and it is still one of the funniest parts of the episode. 
  • Catherine’s laugh when she learns about her mother’s heart attack is perfect. 
  • “[Daylight Saving Time] is my favorite holiday because it’s like living in a tiny version of Back to the Future.” Richard not only thinks of it as a holiday, but it’s his favorite one.
  • “Buzzfeed confirms.”
  • “Shylock” Tanz (“I think his name is Sherman.”) puts his shady legislation into Jonah’s weird bill to abolish Daylight Saving Time. “This bill will be a call for less government, from our clocks, to our privately built for-profit prisons, to the very watches on our wrists.”
  • “It would’ve been a shame to hide that body under a robe.”

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