First Response
Veep | Season 2 | Episode 8

First Response

TV-MA | 27 MIN

Directed by Armando Iannucci
Teleplay by Roger Drew
Story by Armando Iannucci & Roger Drew

"I hate this house, to tell you the truth. It's like living in a doll's jail." - Selina

Selina and her team prepare for her interview with Janet Ryland, which will be conducted at the residence. Dan promises it'll be a "nice, casual conversation between two friends." Meanwhile, Janet and her producer Cody discuss their strategy. Since Selina is expecting to do a puff piece, they're going to switch from "bluff puff" to "rough puff." They've also got the holy grail of dirt - a braggy email between Andrew and a lobbyist promising access to the Veep.

"I know that you want to kill somebody right now, but unfortunately it can't be anyone in the building." - Amy

While the cameras roll, Janet and Selina tour the residence and discuss some of the objects in it. When Selina picks up a spyglass, Janet seizes the opportunity to grill Selina about the hostage crisis, catching her completely off guard.

Janet continues down the warpath, confronting Selina about the Randall Howard book, "Hearts of Power: DC's Most Influential Couples." Selina dodges, insisting she doesn't have a lot of time to read fiction, and that her relationship with Andrew wasn't faked - Andrew did and still continues to support her vision for America.

Mike phones Amy - from across the room - with apocalyptic news. He's just learned of the leaked Andrew email. Before they can warn Selina, Janet launches her attack. A shocked Selina insists Andrew has no influence over her decision making, despite the fact that she just got through assuring Janet that she and her ex-husband are still extremely close.

"Once again, Andrew, you have totally lived down to my expectations." - Selina

Andrew arrives at the residence and Selina drags him off, under the guise of fixing him up for the cameras. "When we were married, he took longer in the bathroom than I did!" She confronts him about the email: "When I invited you here to the residence, to f*** me, I didn't mean this." He defends his actions, suggesting they're both using each other. "How easy is it for the Vice President of the United States of America to get some casual sex?"

"I do occasional media appearances - I give great talking head." - Jonah

Between segments, Jonah bursts in the front door. With everyone on their best behavior for the cameras, the staff is unusually nice to him, politely inquiring about the purpose of his visit. He announces that POTUS will declare the end of the shutdown in fifteen minutes - right after Selina told Janet that she's been very involved in the debt talks and working towards a resolution.

"I love the way they cook the vegetables. The vegetables are always my favorite. I just love vegetables so much." - Catherine

For a lunch segment, Selina and Andrew prepare a salad and roast chicken - to Catherine's horror. She runs to tell Gary, who holds up a note informing Selina that Catherine went vegetarian - and she told her three months ago. Away from Janet, Selina argues with Catherine about eating the chicken for the cameras. Amy steps in to mediate, but Catherine refuses to continue to sacrifice her morals for her mother's career. Amy assures her, "I've done that. It's not that bad."

"Amy, let's go find your dignity over here." - Dan

Meanwhile, a very tightly wound Amy argues with Cody about removing the Andrew email segment from the show, and he lashes out on her. "With all due respect, f*** you! I own the edit on your shit-show politician that you connected yourself to, not me, you little gremlin." The fight escalates after Amy threatens to revoke any future access to the VP. A screaming match ensues before Dan finally pulls her away.

"How about I lift up my dress and give everyone a big fat shot of my cooch?" - Selina

Though Amy knows she went off the rails, she insists she's the only one that's been trying to alleviate the situation, and accuses Dan of "flat-lining" the entire day. He asks her to consider how unimpressive Selina's been, and threatens that if the Veep doesn't "turn this f****** shit-show around" he doesn't know which way he's going to bounce. He orders Selina to save the interview by doing something big and bold - in the next five minutes.

As the family settles on the couch for the "formal" portion of the interview, Selina sees her window to make her big, bold move, and apologizes on behalf of the administration for the failure of communication surrounding the hostage crisis. She tells Janet she had full knowledge of the spy's status, and that it was not the administration's intention to mislead the American people. "Sometimes you have to act, always you have to listen. Because in politics, a backbone and a heart are only as good as your ears - and my ears are my livelihood." The staff is shocked, but impressed, and even Janet thinks the interview is sure to take the spotlight back from the end of the shutdown.

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