Veep season 6 episode 7 review: The government shutdown

On Veep season 6 episode 7, the show managed to find a way to bring back Hugh Laurie as Tom James. He was one of the great characters from last season of the show — he was entertaining, aggressive, and much more of a politician than he came across during the early days of the show.

So how did he come back tonight? Well, much of it stemmed from Selina wanting to use her sexual history with him for her upcoming book. After all, she knew that it would sell — and it probably will. Tom begged her not to include it, but that didn’t deter her for a split second. She was going to include it without second glance, but once again, she found herself played by Tom. He actually had included it already in his own book, and was trying to throw her off of the scent to a certain degree.

Given that Veep had Laurie for the entire episode, they really did try to make the most of him being there. They used him for multiple different scenes, and several arguments to go along with that after Selina saw him at her big unveiling ceremony. He challenged her, but that’s the funny thing: Selina likes being challenged, since so few people actually do it. Maybe something would have actually come from this moment, had Tom’s new wife not shown up.

Selina’s story this week ended with a painting being unveiled of her at the White House, one that was met with some applause — but also some awkward moments as she talked about the misgivings of other Presidents over the years.

Other odds and ends

Jonah was responsible this week for a government shutdown — this is the sort of thing that can be presented almost without context, mostly because the idea of him controlling anything is sheer madness. His decision is one of the reasons why Selina’s ceremony was so short, and why she barely got a speech at all from the President.

Also, Dan’s new pairing at CBS This Morning was a little dodgy, mostly because viewers weren’t connecting with the chemistry between him and his new co-host.

Final Verdict

This episode was certainly funny, even though it also didn’t go anywhere necessarily from start to finish. What Veep is lacking in the post-Presidency era for Selina is direction. After she’s President, what else is there? It’s rather interesting now that the bigger story is Jonah’s incompetent rise to power, given that there is more weight to it given that he is in such direct control of things. Grade: B.

What did you think about Veep season 6 episode 7 as a whole? Sound off with some of your thoughts now in the comments below!

Meanwhile, head over to the link here in the event you want to get some other news when it comes to the show. (Photo: HBO.)