[9.6/10] As I said, I really enjoy a good format bender, and this was a doozy. I love not only the use of the documentary format, but the way that this integrated little details happening behind closed doors throughout the rest of the season. Little details like Mike’s impending firing, Doyle finding out that Selina had promised the Secretary of State job to Graves, and Amy begging for the Nevada job really shed a light on other stuff that happens in the season that we see from a different perspective.
Comedically, I love two things in particular about this episode. One is that I love love love how Catherine subtly makes it about her and her romance with Marjorie. On the one hand, it’s so true to the way that young filmmakers insert themselves into their work and miss the bigger story for what’s important to them. On the other, it’s a nice sign that despite her different demeanor, she is still her mother’s daughter with the narcissism that comes with. Her getting back together with Marjorie with Selina’s reaction to losing the election going on in the background is the perfect encapsulation of that.
The other is that I love Jonah’s race to the House floor. Much of it is just more Jonah-Richard pal-ing around which is always delightful, but I also loved Graves stalling for time on the floor of the House, dragging out sentences and even stopping for a prayer. I also liked that we got little glimpses of people’s lives outside the office which is pretty rare. Details like Ben marrying all of his nurses or Kent being in a motorcycle gang or the saga of Mike remodeling his bedroom are all delightful little everyday wrinkles as to who these people are. And the closing run-through of everyone offering quick comments on other people in the administration was rapid-fire comedy gold.
We also got some legitimate insight into Selina for what feels like one of the first times, or at least a first time we’ve gotten to know her as more than a single-minded political opportunist. Her story about her dad not only telling her that people don’t like Nixon, but that they respect him, and that that could be her too tells us way more in 30 seconds than anything in “Mother.” (That said, the only words we ever hear from Selina’s mom being a rude correction is a good character-detail moment too.) And learning that she went to a “spa” that was really a cover for a mental breakdown humanizes her a bit too.
I’d be lying if I said Selina was my favorite character on this show, but the episode does a lot to sum up why she is the way she is and how deep the depths of her cravenness and ensuing despair and desperation go in an effective manner. The fact that she’s willing to get O’Brien elected just for the chance to run again is a testament to that, and her devastated scream in the background of the film is the right way to deliver that.
Overall, this might be the series’s best episode, one that mixes together plot, cleverly set up gags that pay things set up all throughout the season, character history, great comedy, and a novel format to create one distinctive and entertaining package.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2017-05-23T02:17:03Z
[9.6/10] As I said, I really enjoy a good format bender, and this was a doozy. I love not only the use of the documentary format, but the way that this integrated little details happening behind closed doors throughout the rest of the season. Little details like Mike’s impending firing, Doyle finding out that Selina had promised the Secretary of State job to Graves, and Amy begging for the Nevada job really shed a light on other stuff that happens in the season that we see from a different perspective.
Comedically, I love two things in particular about this episode. One is that I love love love how Catherine subtly makes it about her and her romance with Marjorie. On the one hand, it’s so true to the way that young filmmakers insert themselves into their work and miss the bigger story for what’s important to them. On the other, it’s a nice sign that despite her different demeanor, she is still her mother’s daughter with the narcissism that comes with. Her getting back together with Marjorie with Selina’s reaction to losing the election going on in the background is the perfect encapsulation of that.
The other is that I love Jonah’s race to the House floor. Much of it is just more Jonah-Richard pal-ing around which is always delightful, but I also loved Graves stalling for time on the floor of the House, dragging out sentences and even stopping for a prayer.
I also liked that we got little glimpses of people’s lives outside the office which is pretty rare. Details like Ben marrying all of his nurses or Kent being in a motorcycle gang or the saga of Mike remodeling his bedroom are all delightful little everyday wrinkles as to who these people are. And the closing run-through of everyone offering quick comments on other people in the administration was rapid-fire comedy gold.
We also got some legitimate insight into Selina for what feels like one of the first times, or at least a first time we’ve gotten to know her as more than a single-minded political opportunist. Her story about her dad not only telling her that people don’t like Nixon, but that they respect him, and that that could be her too tells us way more in 30 seconds than anything in “Mother.” (That said, the only words we ever hear from Selina’s mom being a rude correction is a good character-detail moment too.) And learning that she went to a “spa” that was really a cover for a mental breakdown humanizes her a bit too.
I’d be lying if I said Selina was my favorite character on this show, but the episode does a lot to sum up why she is the way she is and how deep the depths of her cravenness and ensuing despair and desperation go in an effective manner. The fact that she’s willing to get O’Brien elected just for the chance to run again is a testament to that, and her devastated scream in the background of the film is the right way to deliver that.
Overall, this might be the series’s best episode, one that mixes together plot, cleverly set up gags that pay things set up all throughout the season, character history, great comedy, and a novel format to create one distinctive and entertaining package.