A scathing satire of the White House and its various idiosyncrasies, Veep has made waves not only because of its twinkling wit and convoluted pitfalls, but also its star: the incomparable Julia Louis-Dreyfus. For the role of Selina Meyer, she has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress a record six times (all of them back to back from 2012 to 2017.)
In Season Five, Meyer fires on all cylinders — a lot more so than before — as she tries to get her public and various political bodies to help break the tied election. This season was extremely well-received by critics; but audiences had their episode preferences clearly marked, however slight, in the form of IMDb ratings.
Best: C**tgate (Episode 6) - 8.8
The show tackles one of the most common expressions of misogyny directed at powerful women — the c-word. Selina is upset that one of her staff was responsible for damaging her image, only for it to be discovered that it was Amy all along (at least Mike takes advantage of privacy before he goes that far.)
The genius of this storyline lies in its believability, as the media can't stop wondering about this event, that they dub "c**tgate", rather than the banking crisis threatening to ruin the American economy.
Worst: Inauguration (Episode 10) - 8.7
Selina tries to make a deal with China, claiming that she will soon become the new vice-president under Tom James (although her goal was really to become Secretary of State.)
However, things don't quite go as planned, as the Senate vote also results in an explicable deadlock. Instead, Laura Montez is proposed as the ideal person for the job of POTUS, resulting in Meyer and her team looking for alternative employment. Unfortunately, Selina is forced to watch the Montez inauguration, uncomfortably, as she waits for her ride to arrive.
Best: Camp David (Episode 8) - 8.9
Selina, along with Catherine, Gary and Marjorie, travel to Camp David, where she plans to have a relaxing vacation away from the stress of political life (which follows her, anyway.) She is told that her sanctions on China need to be lifted if she is to have a firm stake on the presidency, which is mediated by Minna Häkkinen.
The Chinese delegation then happen to see Catherine and Marjorie making out with each other, and, confusing the latter for Meyer, insist on altering their deal. At the end, though, Selina expects the Chinese president to open a discussion on Tibet.
Worst: Morning After (Episode 1) - 8.5
After the tumultuous results of the election in the Season 3 finale, viewers were left on a high that could not be fully satisfied by the Season 4 opener. Selina immediately gets her charm on, running after various members of Congress to get them on her side. Not to mention having to simultaneous handle a so-called "stress-pimple" (and the collapsing economy.)
The Meyer squad finds hope in a potential vote recount in the state of Nevada, with Richard showing his genius off by elaborating on the minutiae of the recount system.
Best: Congressional Ball (Episode 7) - 8.9
Of all people, Gary Walsh finds himself the object of adoration when he appears on the "50 Hottest Staffers" list on The Hill website. Thankfully, balance is restored when it is revealed to be a mistake, a simple typo from Welsh to Walsh. Selina employs the timing of the Congressional Ball to obtain support in her favor (traded for with political deals.)
She learns, to her chagrin, that Tom James is playing a similar, yet totally different game, by requesting that House reps just refrain from voting altogether — which would allow the vote to reach the Senate, with whom he stands a better chance. If the situation wasn't fraught with enough complexity, Selina and Tom hook up with each other.
Worst: The Eagle (Episode 3) - 8.4
As a sort of predictive precursor to the actual POTUS and his fascination for tweeting, Selina gets in trouble when her Twitter mockery of Arizona Senator Bill O'Brien is accidentally disclosed to the world. In order to save face, Ben Cafferty offers the possibility of pinning the guilt on China (that Meyer then takes too far by suggesting the government place sanctions against the country.)
Bob Bradley is shown to exhibit several traits common to Alzheimer's patients, such as forgetting people's faces, not wearing footwear in public, and consuming a dangerous plethora of arbitrary meds. His character, while appreciated, doesn't fully receive the empathy he deserves.
Best: Mother (Episode 4) - 9.0
Selina's mother, Catherine Eaton, undergoes a stroke, and is taken to a hospital. However, she is upset when she finds her ex, Andrew Meyer (along with his new girlfriend, Monica) at the hospital, having been invited by her daughter.
It gets considerably more emotionally complicated when Selina is given the task of taking her "brain-dead" mom off life support, and she turns to prayer for spiritual support. Of course, her divine demands are more focused on her career — but, to be honest, there is no reason for her to think of her awful mother in any way than through anger and frustration.
Worst: Nev-AD-a (Episode 2) - 8.2
Tom James seemingly admits defeat, extending his assistance towards Selina's imminent presidency via the Nevada recount victory (which, as they didn't know at the time, was not going to happen.)
Charlie Baird is taken on a personal tour of the White House, culminating in a sexual romp with Meyer. At the end of the episode, she discovers that he has agreed to work in O'Brien's future Cabinet, but his claims of having made the decision before his encounter with Selina are bluntly rejected. A scattered episode, to say the least.
Best: Kissing Your Sister (Episode 9) - 9.2
Catherine Meyer's exquisite "documentary-style" narrative exposes the personal struggles of presidential candidates, as well as the irreparable damage done to anyone involved with them. Unfortunately, this leads to unforeseen problems for Selina, for instance, her decision to get rid of McLintock as soon as the inauguration is complete.
Meanwhile, Jonah Ryan rushes to get back to the House of Representatives all the way from a one-night stand in Maryland, under great pressure as his vote could be the deciding factor in the final outcome.
Worst: Thanksgiving (Episode 5) - 8.1
Selina hopes to have a pleasant Thanksgiving having her eyes cosmetically enhanced, but at the last minute (right as her consciousness fades under anesthesia), she finds out about a potential problem with North Korea as well as a new strain of turkey-based salmonella.
The nation is confused about Selina's lack of statement on these concerns, unaware of what she's actually up to. At the same time, her team plans to defeat Judy Sherman, the sweetest lady to ever run for Congress, pitting the "spectacular dumbass", Jonah Ryan against her. Nevertheless, the convoluted plotlines are unable to resolve themselves very well.