Veep season 6 finale recap: Selina For You

Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

photo: Colleen Hayes. Acquired via HBO Media Relations site.

The band (mostly) gets back together in the time warped Veep Season 6 finale.

Politics are cray, y’all. Given the insane sh*tshow that is the U.S. government right now, it’s only fitting that the Veep Season 6 finale came full circle by announcing Selina’s fourth (!) bid for the presidency.

But given the fact that both Seasons 3, 4 and 5 focused on the last Meyer campaign, this isn’t just any old redux. No way. If the end credits of the season are to be believed, it appears as if Selina (Julia Louis Dreyfus) will be pitted against the wildly incompetent Jonah (Timothy Simmons) for the highest office in the land. And, as we all know, Jonah is a freakshow of a man who’s quite possibly one of the most unqualified people ever to run for the office – present President excluded, of course.

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Since the impossible happened while Veep Season 6 was mid-production last year, the series didn’t have much of a chance to course correct and comment on the situation. Now, renewed for a seventh season of stellar insults and singing political commentary, they’ve got their chance.

A high stakes election is really the only fitting move for a show about politics in this moment in time. Jonah and Selina are two ridiculous, disliked candidates going head to head to win the hearts of the American people. As South Park so disgustingly put it this past year, it’s like choosing between a giant douche and a turd sandwich. We all know Jonah is the douche, so I guess Selina gets to be the sandwich. And, like a certain losing candidate, Selina has been in the sandwich shop several times before. But no one wants to order up what she’s selling. What makes this go around any different?

But let’s start at the beginning….

“I am not about to be buried in a twat of my own making!” – Selina

The episode opens on Amy presenting Ma’am Meyer with a presidential library for ants. The thing definitely looks like a vagina, and even the usually tight lipped Marjorie (Clea DuVall) can’t help but comment on it. Yet, even the ‘vagilibrary’ conversation is short-lived as news comes to light that the site of the building is planned on the old slave quarters at Yale. Yikes. Given that Catherine (Sarah Sutherland) is about to have a baby that’s half black, she’s not happy at all. Of course Selina doesn’t give two sh*ts.

Despite all the crazy, Selina wants to move forward with the project anyhow, and so they solider on. The team heads to Yale for the groundbreaking, but the Dean puts an end to the event due to the pending scandal. Oddly enough, Yale did indeed have a recent – and highly publicized – kerfuffle involving past ties to slavery, but for an institution with centuries of history those issues come pretty standard with the legacy package.

Of course Selina knows this. She doesn’t want the library because she doesn’t want to be perceived as a former President. That’s why she planted the story about the slave quarters to begin with. If nothing else, the woman is a great actress. (Read: Liar.)

However, there’s no time to explain this situation to her team quite yet, because Catherine goes into labor. Welcome “Little Richard” into the world! Already prepping for her future campaign, Selina uses the momentous occasion to trot her lesbian daughter and her interracial baby in front of the press and make bold claims about mental health. Oy. And we’re off to the races, Veeple.

“The president doesn’t want you to do anything other than continue to be a woman.” – Ben

Even though Selina doesn’t truly care about her new grandchild, Veep cleverly punctuated the finale with moments of Selina at her most vulnerable. Several scenes illustrate her soft underbelly, and, while it’s not all that soft, these glimpses still provide windows into the damaged and power hungry persona that is Selina Meyer. First, we see her as she makes a concession speech during her initial run for President. She’s down but not out. Then, we follow her at a high point right after she’s earned the title of Vice President. However, Ben (Kevin Dunn) is there to bat her down with the assertion that she’s only there as lady window dressing. Her disappointment is palpable, but we’ve seen this struggle before.

It’s the truly personal moments that dig deep here and give Dreyfus more of that Emmy fodder she always tackles so brilliantly. We’ve never seen Selina so open as when she’s at the “spa” visiting with Catherine and Marjorie. It’s quite a marvelous sight to see her with her sharp edges retracted and emotional walls lowered. When she babbles on and on to Catherine about how beautiful she is, Catherine stares back in amusement and disbelief.

Toward the conclusion of the episode, there’s a telling moment from sixteen years ago when Selina catches Andrew cheating on her. Just after a shaggy Mike (Matt Walsh) notifies her that she’s out of funds for her Senate campaign, she busts into her tour bus and catches one of her donors mid-fellatio. Instead of letting her emotions run their natural course, like a good WASP, Selina stuffs any sort of genuine feeling she had about the situation and turns it into an opportunity. She insists that the buxom donor write a check. A cool quarter mill for the privilege of sucking Andrew’s used cock? I’d say she overpaid, but Selina knows what she’s doing.

For a woman in politics, is success all about swallowing pride and putting up ironclad barriers to self-actualization? President Montez (Andrea Savage) and her current administration would seem to suggest not, but in the real world of misogynistic American politics, it’s yet to be seen what a winning combination looks like.

“We are gonna ride that Dalai Lama like Mrs. Lama on book club night.” – Selina

As Selina and the team gear up for yet another campaign, she knows there’s one thing left to do. She must break up with her boyfriend Jaffar (Usman Ally). It’s going to be sad to lose Jaffar, especially after what appeared to be his connection to Selina, and vice versa.

In a genuinely heartbreaking moment on the series, we watch as Selina breaks it off with someone she truly cared for. During the act, she’s steely eyed and pragmatic, but as she leaves the hotel, she’s alone with her thoughts. As she rides the escalator back down to her car, a few tears spill down her cheeks. In a moment of true emotion, we’re witnesses to a moment of pure and unadulterated emotion. Even when a fan recognizes her, she doesn’t shy away from her sorrow, allowing herself to live in the moment instead of stuffing it down. Perhaps she learned a few tricks at that spa, after all.

“I’m pregnant. It’s yours.” – Amy to Dan

As the gang all assembles at the Madison Monroe dinner, there’s one notable change. Mike is out. Leon is in. And he’s already much better than Mike ever was. Poor Mike.

But there’s another addition to the crew, and that’s Amy and Dan’s little oops baby. Amy and Dan (Reid Scott) shippers have been waiting for this hook up for a long time, and while we didn’t get to see the two in action  – why, Veep?! WHYYYY?!! – we do get the pretty shocking aftermath. Honestly, since we found out that Dan’s swimmers aren’t at their peak earlier in the season, the twist is more shocking than Selina’s return to politics. Amy’s probably just really really fertile.

As for the future, we all know that Amy is likely doomed with a baby on the campaign trail. Maybe Dan will have her back. Maybe?

Until next season, Veeple…

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Random Thoughts Before I Go:

• After being ousted from the Meyer team, Mike gets a job as a community college teacher. Makes sense, but I’m willing to bet that he’ll be back in the fold at some point next season.
• Before Jonah goes to Sherman Tanz to beg for his support again, there’s a fun moment where Richard (Sam Richardson) visits to cheer his old buddy up. Like two children, they hang out in loungewear, play video games, and chow down on junk food.
• What the what was going on with Catherine’s freaky nursery decor? I’m rarely with Selina in her critiques of Catherine, but that Native American insanity is just asking for a child with PTSD.

‘Veep’ Seasons 1 – 6 are currently available for streaming on HBO GO and HBO NOW.