'Veep' Season 4, Episode 3 recap: 'Data'

When President Obama gives his now-famous anecdotes, they are usually seen as innocent stories told in an attempt to show that the most powerful person in the world still connects with the average citizen. But in the world of Veep, an anecdote becomes so dangerous that someone has to get fired. By the end of “Data,” Selina Meyer finally gets rid of a member of her often incompetent staff.

While promoting Families First on CBS This Morning, one of the children Selina lists in her examples of who would benefit is a little 8-year-old girl who lives with HIV. It turns out that the people in the girl’s town knew who she was and her medical data was also leaked on Reddit. The staff know has to figure out how this happened. “Bozos, disassemble!”

Before we get to the point of the pink slip getting handed out though, Dan is stuck working with Jonah (again) to put together a campaign fundraiser event’s fireworks. As this is happening, more parents groups are pulling their support for Families First. It’s a total sh*tstorm.

Jonah is obsessed with getting the music and fireworks timed, so he sets them up with The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” since that’s the music Doyle wants for his entrance. Mike thinks that song could easily be used to make fun of the situation, but Jonah - who was supposed to put on “Eye of the Tiger” - uses it anyway. Amy notices that #EveryLittleThingSheDoesIsTragic is already trending on Twitter. “Screwed over by the Police!”

Selina’s speech goes over well, but they are already losing micro-donors. She agrees to give a statement about “MediLeaks” after the speech, but the fireworks drown her out.

At first, the team isn’t too worried after the speech. If someone needs to be fired, they can just fire one of the “Expendabelles” - the random young women staffers who walk the halls of the White House. Leigh is the one who will be fired, even though Kent sees “splashes of myself in her.” So, Dan - who is the last person on earth you want firing you - tells Leigh she has to go.

Later, Catherine reveals that she wants to join an anti-bullying campaign. Earlier in the episode, Catherine was really angry that pictures of herself vaping were published. In her ongoing pursuit to look better, she thinks the anti-bullying campaign will be the best. But Selina thinks that joining such a campaign would make it look like she is being bullied by her mother. Catherine doesn’t see it that way. She’s not being bullied by Selina, but because of Selina.

Dan runs into Jonah again, who is being sexually harassed by Teddy. Anyway, Jonah lets it slip that the “I Care” emails from Selina was sent to bereaved parents. How did the government know about these parents? They used breached government data. That’s a federal crime which could end up with someone in prison, as Selina points out when Dan and Amy tell her about it.

At first, Selina suggests that Ben take the fall, but behind Dan’s back, they go with Dan. Of course, even announcing a resignation can’t go well, as Mike is about to tell the press that Ben is leaving. Amy rushes in to get the right speech to Mike and Dan is officially out of the White House.

All this is happening while there is the annual Easter Egg Hunt on the White House lawn. Armando Iannucci and his crew sure like to have innocent events as backdrops for nefarious political maneuvering. It was the perfect place for Ben to rip right into Dan’s guts, giving Kevin Dunn a brilliant opportunity to show off his skills. Dunn has been on fire this season so far.

During the credits, Jonah pranks Dan by leading him right to the press. Bill reveals that he was the one who suggested Dan be fired so that Ben would be around to be fired when another scandal happens. (And we know that another one will happen.) Dan starts calling people up in his car, but no one will pick up.

You can check out my recap for the previous episode right here.

image courtesy of INFphoto.com

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