Veep (Season 4)

Halfway through the series, Veep changes showrunners from Armando Ianucci to David Mandel. Season 4 would be Ianucci's last season, and wow did he go off with a bang. All of Ianucci's seasons had been steadily improving, but Season 4 isn't just his best season, it's the best season of Veep period.

Continuing where Season 3 left off, Season 4 essentially has two running storylines. The first storyline is the continuation of the election storyline, as the season builds up to and ultimately ends with the long-awaited 2016 presidential election. Selina ends up getting a running mate this season in Tom James, so much of the second half of Season 4 deals with the tension between those two fighting for attention, which ultimately comes to a head during the finale is the absolute best way possible. The other major storyline is the fact that Selina is now president, which once again expands the scope of what the show is able to accomplish since she's no longer locked out of anything. Her failures also have even greater consequences than ever before, leaving to some hilarious subplots about Selina dealing with speech typos, a data breach, and a bill that initially seems like a good idea before quickly turning toxic.

But I think what really solidifies Season 4 as my favorite in all of Veep is Selina's toxicity this season and the tension within the main cast. By now, it's obvious that Selina is a really crummy and awful boss and I feel that Ianucci wanted her to actually face some consequences for her actions towards her staff for his last season working on the show. Season 4 has some really tense and well-acted confrontations between Selina and characters like Gary, Amy, and Dan, with several of her staff up and leaving for much of the season. These confrontations make for easily the best moments of the season, and all of the buildup in Seasons 1-3 help to make them feel all the more impactful. In addition, Season 4 is where the show really starts to solidify the hilarious duo of Jonah and Richard, whose banter makes for one of the best things about the second half of Veep.

Highlights:

East Wing: While already a solid episode, East Wing became especially great because of the big fight between Gary and Selina in the ending. The acting from Julia-Louis Dreyfus and Tony Hale was fantastic, and seeing Gary finally stand up for himself felt incredibly powerful and important given how much of an ass-kisser he usually is. When even Gary calls Selina out, it really puts into perspective just how toxic she's starting to become.

Convention: Easily one of the best episodes of the series, Convention really has a bit of everything. It has a huge shake-up in the plot as Selina has Tom James become his running mate, it has a lot of fun satire and comedy within the titular convention, and best of all, it has a phenomenal scene where Amy completely snaps, rips Selina a new one, and quits.

Testimony: The ending of Season 4 is a one-two punch of two of the best episodes in Veep, starting with Testimony, which has the whole cast get put on trial during an investigation of Selina's Families First Bill as well as the data breach. While both of those loose ends are tied fairly neatly without any major consequences, it's the writing and comedy that makes this one of my favorite episodes. Seeing the cast (especially Jonah) embarrass and accuse each other in a court makes for a very entertaining episode.

Election Night: Coming directly after Testimony is my favorite finale in Veep, resolving all of the storylines in a grand and unpredictable way, living up to all the hype and build-up of the last two seasons and then some. There's such a great blend of chaos and emotional pathos as the whole staff deals with the emotional rollercoaster than an election, and the ending having the election end with a tie and Tom Jones potentially being able to win is just such a genius twist that lets Selina stay a little longer as president as well as brings her tension with Tom to a head. 

Overall, Season 4 is the best season of Veep hands down. Between Selina's time as president, the election storyline coming to a climactic end, the fantastic lineup of episodes, and the tension between the main cast erupting in the best ways possible, Season 4 is ten episodes straight of sitcom perfection.

5/5 Stars