Recap / Veep S 5 E 1 Morning After

On the day after the election, Selina sees a possible road to victory, Senator James gets a new role, Mike prepares for a new addition to his family, and Dan considers his career options.

With the general election ending in an Electoral College tie, Team Selina plan for fighting out the vote in Congress.

Tropes:

• Batman Gambit: Selina gets Amy back on board with her by saying she’s going to hire the politicking super-star Candi Caruso over Amy, igniting her hyper-competitive nature into accepting it first.
• Chekhov's Gun: Catherine is showing filming the election, which will come back later.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • The gang get sidetracked while talking strategy:
    Amy:Which means, every day, you have to do the one thing O’Brien can’t do.
    Selina: Yeah, drive sober.
    Ben:Take a shit without getting a hernia.
    Amy: Be president.
    • They also later spend thirty seconds being confused by and discussing the meaning of “off book” which is finally clarified as being confused with “off the rails”
• Photographic Memory: Kent allegedly counts his steps in his head instead of using a pedometer.
• Remember the New Guy?: Marjorie is introduced as Selina's new Secret Service detail member and body double.
• Ripped from the Headlines:
  • The tie is reminiscent of the Bush-Gore election tie - unclear tie that comes down to a recount in one state, Nevada instead of Florida
• Running Gag:
  • Everyone pronounces the word Nevada as Nev-Ah-da, but Kent keeps insisting it's pronounced Nev-ADD-A. Selina ends up fumbling it mid-word during her press conference
• Take That!:
  • Greece gets a hit.
    Ben:"Two great Greek contributions to society - democracy and getting fucked up the ass."
    Selina: "I've tried both and they're way overrated. Like jazz."
  • Hypocritical anti-abortion activists get one:
    Selina: La Fontaine won? How many abortions does a pro-life campaigner have to pressure his mistress into before people turn on him?
    Kent:Three.
  • Purcell also makes his feelings about older women clear:
    Purcell: You’re as useless to me as a forty-year-old woman.”
• The Scapegoat: Bill is in the midst of being scapegoated and is kicked out by Ben.
• Suddenly Always Knew That: Richard reveals that he has a PhD in constitutional law and wrote his doctoral thesis on recount procedures in the Midwest, making him very qualified for this unusual scenario.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The wild political circumstances destabilize the American financial system, with the Dow dropping 986 points in the worst day since 2008.