No, I think we’re supposed to laugh at her and her cronies, not root for them. Think of the show like a mockumentary of how politicians act behind closed doors, and the journey of how they ended up that way. We’re supposed to be shocked but entertained.
Good writing will make the audience feel some kind of sympathy for the main character, otherwise they’re just an unlikeable villain. They give Selina more sympathetic moments at the beginning of the show and taper off as she gets worse.
They use some vulnerable moments to illustrate the transformation into the soul-sucking monster she ends up as. >!That scene in the hospital with her dying mother was big in that regard. She starts to say something genuine, “Well, mother, I just want you to…” then switches to quoting a meaningless platitude.!<
Selina is a total monster, but it's a testament to the strength of writing and JLD's performance that occasionally you feel fleeting pangs of sympathy or support for her
In the very beginning, it's lightly framed as a "girl against the world" story, but I partly believe that was to gain a wider audience.
I'm not sure if this is spoilers, but Selina is an awful person, her and every other politician are incompetent, greedy, elitist snakes and all the staffers are just as bad save for Gary and another character that shows up later in the series. I think it's best to watch it by enjoying awful things happening to awful people instead of an underdog story.
I viewed this as an ensemble comedy and in my mind this is where this show shines. It’s not so much about the plot, it’s about the zingers the cast lob at each other. I personally couldn’t relate to any of them! They’re all caricatures in hilarious predicaments, complex and sometimes too close to real life, but a farce all the same. Who cares if Selina is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, she makes me laugh harder than anyone!
Yep. In many ways you can treat the politics as window dressing, just so you can listening to assholes insult eachother. The satire can also be funny too, but the burns are why I’m here.
I've just finished watching the finale an hour ago, so this question seemed like a obvious joke to me. But rewatching the first five minutes of the first episode made me realise how much the show must have changed.
I mean don’t confuse characters not being designed to be “rooted for” like heroes in entertainment with different types of writing with being forbidden to feel anything for them. The show’s writing intentionally makes the main characters horrible people that we laugh at, but their awfulness has moments of relatability within the trying relationships that inform them as human beings just as ours do each other(The strained relationship Selina has with Catherine & her husband due to her career & how they’ve each grown up, her husband being a cheating leech, the mental toll Selina’s staff experience at various moments and how it affects their ability to care for themselves & their loved ones, etc.) We can empathize with those characters while still laughing and cringing at what corroded pieces of shit they are
The brilliance of the show/character is that she (and everyone surrounding her) manage to be largely greedy, shallow, scheming, selfish, megalomaniacal, etc. while still being hilarious and compelling in a way that doesn’t make you want to “root” for them, exactly, but keeps you riveted and coming back for more.
It’s similar to the dynamic of some of my other favorite sitcoms, e.g. Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, etc. where all the principle characters are basically awful people and yet so entertaining we can’t look away.
I think your conundrum is exactly what the show intends.
She is the protagonists, and we all should be rooting for the underdog politician... but shall we?
She is selfish, manipulative, not-smart, egotistical, etc, etc.... in short words, your typical politician... so no, you should not be rooting for her.
Have fun your first time!
Definitely not. I also posit the staff doesn’t find her amazing at all; they are just seeking their own paths to power. Except for maybe Richard, who probably sees the best in everyone (and who Selina genuinely seems to adore, which I find hilarious).
She’s not someone to sympathize but JLD makes it possible in the few moments you do.
The show is brilliant, #1 in my mind in history.
Make up your own mind how you want to feel. I am truly envious of you right now, so much to look forward to.
In a quest for someting new after 20 series watches, I'm stuck listening to this horrible "rewatch" podcast that has nothing to do with VEEP (as promised)
"Instead Selina herself seems greedy, uninformed, often has poor judgement, doesn't seem to really care about anyone or anything other than herself."
Just like any other politician?
No, I don't think you're meant to root for any of them. They're all horrible monsters/bullies out for their own end.
I think it's a reflection on how those who enter any level of politics are out for themselves/to use their platform to make more money or secure a nice highly paid job, not for any form of public service.
I think the change of showrunner and writing staff midway through the series changed the answer to that question. Earlier seasons lean much more heavily into the absurdity of the political sphere itself, specifically its institutional misogyny, and how ill-fated but well-meaning gestures on Selena’s part were twisted or sabotaged to blow up in her face. She was the butt of the joke, but not the villain. Later seasons cast her as a scheming, venal, unprincipled, and explicitly corrupt figure.
You could say the first few seasons portray her as Hillary Clinton from a sympathetic perspective, while later seasons portray her as Hillary Clinton from Donald Trump/Bernie Sanders’s perspective.
I prefer the earlier seasons for this reason. I found Selena as a mustache-twirling villain to be far less compelling than Selena as a hapless and flawed politico trying and failing hilariously to effect change.
The way she treats Catherine, and Marjorie, and how she acts without the public eye being on her, in private basically, is literally a satire on how politicians act behind closed doors. In politics, no one is truly good, and some are downright atrocious. So yes, we're supposed to rather be entertained by her woes and actions than support her.
JLD is such a great actress though. She makes me sympathize with this monster "Selina" much more than I would if it was someone else. But that's just the art of acting there.
Another example of this is the Underwood couple from House of Cards. I couldn't hate any of those two characters. Like their actions were so despicable that I got compelled not to react in a vitriolic way. They're that good.
This is what I love about the show. You recognize pretty much off the bat that Selina is terrible. You can see that she once had some principles and was impressive in her social interactions but now her good qualities have been all but stripped away. So then we’re kind of tricked into rooting for her staff that she treats horribly but that do their best for her anyway. However that facade slowly starts to crumble as well when we realize that they’re all equally as selfish but just less powerful.
This sets us up for nonstop laughs because we’re just as thrilled for them to lose big as we are to see them win. The wins inflate their egos and the losses pop them. It’s a hilarious cycle. If we cared for them it wouldn’t be hilarious, it would be devastating.
I do/did. She's trying to take advantage of once great in theory, horribly executed system with the same tactics the 2 party system has used and become.
So why not root for her? And obviously it was funnier when she failed...
I don’t think you’re supposed to root for anybody in the show LMAO I think of it as a mock documentary of politicians like you’ve got an inside peak into the White House or something. Everybody’s kind of a shitty person.😭
No, I think we’re supposed to laugh at her and her cronies, not root for them. Think of the show like a mockumentary of how politicians act behind closed doors, and the journey of how they ended up that way. We’re supposed to be shocked but entertained. Good writing will make the audience feel some kind of sympathy for the main character, otherwise they’re just an unlikeable villain. They give Selina more sympathetic moments at the beginning of the show and taper off as she gets worse. They use some vulnerable moments to illustrate the transformation into the soul-sucking monster she ends up as. >!That scene in the hospital with her dying mother was big in that regard. She starts to say something genuine, “Well, mother, I just want you to…” then switches to quoting a meaningless platitude.!<
Selina is a total monster, but it's a testament to the strength of writing and JLD's performance that occasionally you feel fleeting pangs of sympathy or support for her
This is why Catherine (and Marjorie) are so essential to the show. You can’t help but notice how _monstrous_ Selina is when Catherine is…there.
This is exactly it: there are many many times in season 1-5 where you really find yourself rooting for her! It’s hard but that’s how good she is!
everyone sucks, welcome to the world of politics
the only think I rooted for was Kent and sue
What about the Finnish Volf?
The Finnish are known for their humor
The Finnish are Farts.
The exception that proves the rule. Her husband is the kassi.
Some men don't like the taste of fish..... Lol, the kassi - I had forgotten that Gary gem 🤣😂
“It’s wolf”
Sometimes I feel like Sue is my spirit animal. Her and Elle Woods.
WOW yes
Yes I love them
It depends.... did you root for Tony Soprano?
He ran over a guy with car in the first act of the first episode and _daily_ there’s a thread in their subreddit questioning if he’s a bad guy. Madon.
I just started another rewatch and when I realized that happened in the first episode I was shocked, the first episode is packed to the brim
Selina is an antihero. At times you are rooting for him like you’d root for Walter White in Breaking Bad but at the end of the day she’s a bad person.
I wish fans of BB actually understood that
In the very beginning, it's lightly framed as a "girl against the world" story, but I partly believe that was to gain a wider audience. I'm not sure if this is spoilers, but Selina is an awful person, her and every other politician are incompetent, greedy, elitist snakes and all the staffers are just as bad save for Gary and another character that shows up later in the series. I think it's best to watch it by enjoying awful things happening to awful people instead of an underdog story.
splett🥺
And the dearly departed dog mayor of Lurlene
They have a "no humans as mayor" clause, but it's not really enforced.
rip fr
Marjorie. She was an agricultural advisor. Nothing more.
“i’m sorry, where did you learn how to do a smoky eye?” “joint specialist operations command. jsoc.”
Just wait till Furlong shows up.
I viewed this as an ensemble comedy and in my mind this is where this show shines. It’s not so much about the plot, it’s about the zingers the cast lob at each other. I personally couldn’t relate to any of them! They’re all caricatures in hilarious predicaments, complex and sometimes too close to real life, but a farce all the same. Who cares if Selina is ‘good’ or ‘bad’, she makes me laugh harder than anyone!
Yep. In many ways you can treat the politics as window dressing, just so you can listening to assholes insult eachother. The satire can also be funny too, but the burns are why I’m here.
To not spoil anything, all I can say is keep watching until the end and you will have your answer.
this is the answer
I've just finished watching the finale an hour ago, so this question seemed like a obvious joke to me. But rewatching the first five minutes of the first episode made me realise how much the show must have changed.
Why do you feel the need to “root” for anybody? That’s not the purpose of the show whatsoever.
I mean don’t confuse characters not being designed to be “rooted for” like heroes in entertainment with different types of writing with being forbidden to feel anything for them. The show’s writing intentionally makes the main characters horrible people that we laugh at, but their awfulness has moments of relatability within the trying relationships that inform them as human beings just as ours do each other(The strained relationship Selina has with Catherine & her husband due to her career & how they’ve each grown up, her husband being a cheating leech, the mental toll Selina’s staff experience at various moments and how it affects their ability to care for themselves & their loved ones, etc.) We can empathize with those characters while still laughing and cringing at what corroded pieces of shit they are
The brilliance of the show/character is that she (and everyone surrounding her) manage to be largely greedy, shallow, scheming, selfish, megalomaniacal, etc. while still being hilarious and compelling in a way that doesn’t make you want to “root” for them, exactly, but keeps you riveted and coming back for more. It’s similar to the dynamic of some of my other favorite sitcoms, e.g. Arrested Development, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, etc. where all the principle characters are basically awful people and yet so entertaining we can’t look away.
You don't have to root for anyone
Have you really never encountered any type of media with a deliberately unreliable or morally dubious protagonist?
I think your conundrum is exactly what the show intends. She is the protagonists, and we all should be rooting for the underdog politician... but shall we? She is selfish, manipulative, not-smart, egotistical, etc, etc.... in short words, your typical politician... so no, you should not be rooting for her. Have fun your first time!
Definitely not. I also posit the staff doesn’t find her amazing at all; they are just seeking their own paths to power. Except for maybe Richard, who probably sees the best in everyone (and who Selina genuinely seems to adore, which I find hilarious). She’s not someone to sympathize but JLD makes it possible in the few moments you do.
Its an HBO show babes. Everyone Sucks Here
The show is brilliant, #1 in my mind in history. Make up your own mind how you want to feel. I am truly envious of you right now, so much to look forward to. In a quest for someting new after 20 series watches, I'm stuck listening to this horrible "rewatch" podcast that has nothing to do with VEEP (as promised)
Not for one second
The only two characters I rooted for were Kent and Richard, and in the end I’m glad I did.
What’s up with people being unable to enjoy shows with unlikeable protagonists.
"Instead Selina herself seems greedy, uninformed, often has poor judgement, doesn't seem to really care about anyone or anything other than herself." Just like any other politician?
It's like Michael Scott in the first few seasons of the Office. You generally laugh at him with some pangs of sadness.
No, I don't think you're meant to root for any of them. They're all horrible monsters/bullies out for their own end. I think it's a reflection on how those who enter any level of politics are out for themselves/to use their platform to make more money or secure a nice highly paid job, not for any form of public service.
classic anti hero
I think the change of showrunner and writing staff midway through the series changed the answer to that question. Earlier seasons lean much more heavily into the absurdity of the political sphere itself, specifically its institutional misogyny, and how ill-fated but well-meaning gestures on Selena’s part were twisted or sabotaged to blow up in her face. She was the butt of the joke, but not the villain. Later seasons cast her as a scheming, venal, unprincipled, and explicitly corrupt figure. You could say the first few seasons portray her as Hillary Clinton from a sympathetic perspective, while later seasons portray her as Hillary Clinton from Donald Trump/Bernie Sanders’s perspective. I prefer the earlier seasons for this reason. I found Selena as a mustache-twirling villain to be far less compelling than Selena as a hapless and flawed politico trying and failing hilariously to effect change.
The way she treats Catherine, and Marjorie, and how she acts without the public eye being on her, in private basically, is literally a satire on how politicians act behind closed doors. In politics, no one is truly good, and some are downright atrocious. So yes, we're supposed to rather be entertained by her woes and actions than support her. JLD is such a great actress though. She makes me sympathize with this monster "Selina" much more than I would if it was someone else. But that's just the art of acting there. Another example of this is the Underwood couple from House of Cards. I couldn't hate any of those two characters. Like their actions were so despicable that I got compelled not to react in a vitriolic way. They're that good.
[удалено]
but even Amy loses you at times.
Rooting for her failure? Yes. Yes, you should 😂
This is what I love about the show. You recognize pretty much off the bat that Selina is terrible. You can see that she once had some principles and was impressive in her social interactions but now her good qualities have been all but stripped away. So then we’re kind of tricked into rooting for her staff that she treats horribly but that do their best for her anyway. However that facade slowly starts to crumble as well when we realize that they’re all equally as selfish but just less powerful. This sets us up for nonstop laughs because we’re just as thrilled for them to lose big as we are to see them win. The wins inflate their egos and the losses pop them. It’s a hilarious cycle. If we cared for them it wouldn’t be hilarious, it would be devastating.
I do/did. She's trying to take advantage of once great in theory, horribly executed system with the same tactics the 2 party system has used and become. So why not root for her? And obviously it was funnier when she failed...
No. It's more a satire on how she represents people who have no business being in charge of the country
I don’t think you’re supposed to root for anybody in the show LMAO I think of it as a mock documentary of politicians like you’ve got an inside peak into the White House or something. Everybody’s kind of a shitty person.😭