'Veep' Season 4, Episode 6 recap: 'Storms and Pancakes'

Few things go right for President Selina Meyer in “Storms and Pancakes,” which felt like a throwback episode to a more innocent time when Selina was on the campaign trail. Of course, the big difference now is that Selina is actually POTUS, so she has to juggle real obligations with campaigning.

Nothing could tell you more about how much this show has grown than the start of the episode, which had another classic moment of Selina shaking hands. But instantly, Tom Jones (Hugh Laurie) begins stealing the scene. He’s a better Selina than Selina. Kent lists off the amazing nicknames the press has come up for them, but Gary doesn’t like the one that calls Tom the best POTUS we’ve never had. Even the New York Times profile on Tom calls him a “lone wolf.”

Selina is now jealous of all the acclaim that surrounds Tom. Still, even she’s infatuated with him, since she thinks there’s sexual tension between them (especially after he called himself a “lone squirrel”). She does tell Mike to ask the press to write op-eds about how great Selina is for picking Tom as her running-mate. At this point, we first learn that there’s a hurricane about to hit North Carolina from behind.

Even at a bike rally, Selina competes with Tom. She later tries to clear the air with Tom, trying to remind him of that night 12 years ago where they almost had sex. Tom only remembers weird things about that night, like the color of Selina’s shoes. It wasn’t anything special to him, since it just ended with him walking off that night.

Selina confides in Gary, telling him that she’s crushed. And while Gary wants to comfort her, she pushes him away. She’s going to “go commando” at the pancake breakfast tomorrow. Yes, she will be wearing underwear, but she just doesn’t want Gary hanging over her. The point is that if Tom can schmooze with people without help, she should be able to as well.

However, the pancake breakfast doesn’t go too well. Selina can’t come up with fun facts instantly like Tom and she doesn’t know anyone there like he does. (He even knows that some guy is going to need skim milk in his batter!)

But Tom is not infallible. When they hear that the hurricane is going to hit North Carolina, Tom tells Selina to have the governor declare a state of emergency, since that could trap Selina’s rivals in Florida. But when they arrive in North Carolina, there’s no storm! Instead, the storm is going to directly hit Florida. Whoops. Looks like Mike is going to need a new weather app.

They try to make the best of their situation in North Carolina by visiting a dental molding plant, where the owner says they actually sustained some damage. However, it turns out to be nothing and the visit is turned into a campaign stop.

Meanwhile in Washington, Ben learns quickly that Sue doesn’t like to talk with her co-workers when she doesn’t have to. And Jonah is scrambling to figure out his future. He goes to a job interview, which is really a meeting with other people who want to sue Teddy for sexual harassment. Of course, they are all middle-aged women who strangely look like Jonah.

Dan actually does something nice for someone else by helping Amy get back on her feet. He gets Amy a job at PKM, only to see it blow up in his face when her access to the White House is more impressive than his. He also suggests that Amy relax and go to a spa, but she can’t figure out how to just put work away.

There’s also a brilliant scene when Amy starts screaming in the parking lot as a way to relieve her stress. Sure it feels good for her, but it doesn’t look like that way to police who think Dan is doing something to her.

During the credits, we see Tom coming to terms with the idea that he’s only needed for campaign stops, not presidential business. We also see Sue hiding from Ben. After all, who would want to get stuck in a conversation with Ben?

You can check out my recap to last week’s episode right here.