While Veep did a good job of establishing its writing style from the very start, its first season was so short that by the time the show got really good, it had already ended. However, with a full 10 episodes, Season 2 has the potential to fully expand on what its predecessor had established.
Season 2 mostly focuses around the slowly simmering tensions within the cast, as Selina has been getting more and more frustrated with the president for locking her out of stuff, while also dealing with her reputation worsening literally every episode. Seriously, Selina has awful luck this season, from being responsible for a marine's injury, to offending Europe, to being blamed for the government shutting down. Of course, all of her employees become aware of this and start planning to look for other jobs, culminating in a pretty crazy finale that brings together all of these aforementioned plot threads in a great way. While I don't think Season 2's plot is as developed as that of Season 1, that season didn't really have a developed plot either, and the fact that this season actually stuck the landing with a great finale that had more of a buildup to it leaves me generally preferring the story in Season 2.
I still wouldn't say that Season 2 is one of Veep's better seasons, though, the comedy still isn't quite as consistently strong as it would get in later seasons. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure if this season reached the heights of the previous one comedically either. What Season 2 has improved on, though, is the scope and scale of the series. Selina's actions start to have consequences on people other than herself, like when she causes a soldier to lose his leg in Hostages. There are more episodes that take place outside of the White House, like how Helsinki takes place in the titular location and establishes a trend of Selina traveling in almost every season. There are even more episodes that deal with big happenings in the government, like government shutdowns and elections. There's just a greater variety in Veep's episodes this season, and it makes Season 1 feel a lot more basic and rudimentary by comparison. The larger scope also allows the political satire to hit even harder than it did in Season 1 as well.
Highlights:
The Vic Allen Dinner: As mentioned above, Hostages was one of the more noteworthy episodes of the season, as it ended with Selina causing a soldier to lose his leg. I think The Vic Allen Dinner is the better episode, as it deals with Selina and her team trying to do damage control, which is always a good time, and ends with a singing competition between Selina and Chung.
Running: Selina runs into a glass door. Do I really need to say more?
DC: Easily one of the better finales in Veep and a huge improvement over last season's, DC has such a strong feeling of finality to it. Every single character (except for Selina) has a subplot where they have to decide whether to stay or leave and have a normal life, while Selina herself deals with the shocking reveal that the president has decided not to run for a second term and decides to run herself, which is probably the point where Veep really comes into its own. Selina being vice president is fun but her attempts at making president are the best parts of the show, easily.
Overall, Season 2 is a solid improvement over the first, with a strong ending and an increased scope. However, its less focused plot and less consistent humor shows that the series hasn't fully come into its own yet, at least not until the finale.
3/5 Stars
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