Veep Season 5 Episode Guide
5.01 "The Morning After" - Review
5.02 "Nev-AD-a" - Review
5.03 "The Eagle" - Review
5.04 "Mother" - Review!
5.05 "Thanksgiving" - Airs May 22 2016
5.06. "C**tgate" - Airs May 29 2016
5.07. "Congressional Ball" - Airs June 5 2016
5.08. "Camp David" - Airs June 12 2016
5.09. "Kissing Your Sister" - Airs June 19 2016
5.10. "Inauguration" - Airs June 26 2016
Veep 5.04 "Mother"
Directed by Dale Stern & Written by Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck
Veep continues its fifth season and four episodes in under the new showrunner it isn't slowing down, and has remained as strong as ever, with Mother being no exception. This episode sees Selina say goodbye to her deceased mother, meaning that the group had to go to a funeral, which as usual, provided for plenty of comedy. This half hour really allowed Julia Louis-Dreyfus to show just how good she is, and even with the fact that she was dealing with her mother's death, Selina's resolve never broke. This worked two ways as not only did we learn more about the relationship between Selina and her mother we also learnt about why Selina and Catherine don't get on that well.
Selina's annoyed reaction about the fact that her mother had a stroke continued when Amy called to express her sympathies. But naturally, Selina thought that Amy was calling about the recount. However Catherine seems to be closer to her grandmother than Selina ever was and as a result she's confused by how devastated her daughter is. However, her stroke has actually brought good news for Selina in terms of winning support and we got to see how she attempted to capitalise on the newfound goodwill. Claire Underwood would have been proud.
For now though Selina headed to the hospital, bringing Gary along with her. She wants to become the first female President of the United States, she claims, for her mother, and to help ease her pain and suffering. It isn't long before her grandmother actually dies, and all the good news coming out of Nevada appeared to be a bit premature because she's now losing the recount. And to make matters worse she's informed by Ben before her funeral speech that Karen couldn't have stopped the recount. They've just lost Nevada, and that's when the real tears start flowing for Selina. It's an effective end to the episode that gave us far more information about the characters' past than flashbacks could, working well in an effective way that pays off and allows for some great one-liners in the process.
Whilst death may be considered a darker topic on more serious drama series, Veep uses it for comedic gold. Scenes such as the one where it was revealed that Selina's mother was leaving the majority of her estate to Catherine rather than her gave us some great information about the character and her relationship with her grandaughter. Selina also wondering commenting, "Maybe I'll get assassinated," also is worthy of note as well, and even though it's highly unlikely we'll ever see a death to the recurring characters on this show, it's interesting to wonder what if But at the same time, the fact that it's not likely to happen is also great news, as the more we get of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina, the better. Her repeated Emmy wins are really justified by performances like this, and time and time again, we're reminded of just why Veep continues to remain the best comedy on television.
Be sure to look out for the latest episode tonight at 10:30 after Silicon Valley on HBO and let me know what you thought of Mother in the comments section below!
Overall Episode Verdict:: A+
+Julia Lous-Dreyfus' performance.
+The entire funeral scene.
+Catherine & Selina's fracturing relationship.
