On the campaign trail, Selina is annoyed by press reaction to her running mate's effortless charm and decides to attend a pancake-brunch fundraiser without any of her team on hand to help. When news arrives that a major hurricane is about to hit North Carolina, it looks like it could be good news for her image. In D.C., Amy tries to adjust to her new post-White House life, and Jonah gets bizarrely ambushed at what he thinks is a job interview.
The first half of this season has largely focused on Selina Meyer as President of the United States. Her actions have consequences and it has been compelling to see her actually making all of those executive decisions. She's still not well-equipped for all the power she now has. But she has it nevertheless. Last week's episode brought the focus back to Selina running for the office. She had to find a new running mate on the day of the convention which was a comedic highpoint for the season so far. And now, the show is relaxing into the choice that she made as both she and Tom James hit the campaign trail for the first time together."Storms and Pancakes" is a somewhat frustrating episode because so much of the humor and the story comes from Tom James so effortlessly stealing the attention away from Selina. He has the spotlight right now. Even when the two of them are campaigning together, everyone is so focused on him - and she just doesn't like that. She wants to steer the conversation to how well she chose her VP and not how good he actually is. Tom James just doesn't have to work as hard as she does in connecting with people. Selina always needs Gary over her shoulder to work as her brain for her. She struggles remembering those personal details. Those just come to Tom James naturally. He is able to win over crowds while she just creates more chaos in trying to bring the attention back on herself.
That is a meaningful conflict to explore. And yet, it's not done in an effortless way. Selina loves being the center of attention. Her struggling to win it back brings out all of her narcissistic qualities. She wants to have the last line as the two of them get back on the campaign bus and basically says that the town they just visited is filled with fat people. That's not something the public wants to hear a presidential candidate say. However, it's still reasonably something that Selena would do. It's just more transparent in this episode as she is so desperate for the attention once more.
Selena is even fixated on that time that she and Tom James almost had a romantic encounter 12 years ago. The previous episode implied that the two of them actually did the deed. And now, it's revealed that it's entirely something that Selena has created in her own head. Tom James remembers that night but he doesn't recall any kind of romantic tension between them. Selena didn't want to consider him for the job because of their past. Even in the present, she is still making a big deal about what almost happened and how he is still making romantic gestures towards how - even though he's not.
Selena and her campaign are so focused on making sure that she looks good. It's understandable considering she is the candidate actually running for President of the United States. She has the job already but she still has to win over the American public. That is a very difficult task. Tom James does earn her some good will. But it's not enough to make up for all the awkwardness that she creates in the process.
When an opportunity presents itself for Selena to be at the center of a very powerful image, the entire team rallies behind the cause. A hurricane is coming directly towards North Carolina and she wants to be there amongst the devastation to create a fantastic photo op. The entire team including Tom James coordinate around this entire stunt to make it as effective as possible. Tom James is all for it even though it is incredibly manipulative of the public's perception of her. It's still a great opportunity for the ticket. And yet, all of that careful planning receives a crushing blow in the end. The hurricane moves south and hits Florida where her opponent in the race is while she is stuck in North Carolina at a plant for a product that no one really understands. It is an effective comedic beat. The team does so much to get this picture only to just give it to the other party. It's just a little too much of the same type of humor throughout the entire episode.
Elsewhere, the rest of the supporting characters are somewhat in a holding pattern. Ben is largely just annoyed by the silence back in the West Wing because everyone but Sue is gone. Amy is trying to get her life back together with a job as a lobbyist with Dan. Jonah meets a bunch of women who were also sexually harassed by Teddy. All of these stories simply exist in a way that's simple but not completely great. This needed to be a season where there was more accountability for the characters. Doyle, Teddy, Karen, Dan and Amy have all been fired from the West Wing because of their actions. Before, those actions were able to slide because Selina was only the Vice President. Now that she is President, there needed to be more consequences for all the errors that these people make on a daily basis. It will all obviously be building up to something at the conclusion of the season. However, it does feel a little tedious right now seeing these regular characters interacting far away from the central story. It won't be that surprising at all if by season's end no regular character is still working for Selena at the White House. And yet, who are these characters if they are not in the room making politic change? It's a tricky act to balance that doesn't entirely do so in this episode.
Some more thoughts:
- "Storms and Pancakes" was written by Georgia Prtichett & Will Smith and directed by Chris Addison.
- The slogan on Selena's campaign bus is "Continuity with Change." That is such a Selena campaign slogan to have. It's simple while also completely complex because it says two contradictory things.
- The fact that all the people who were sexually harassed by Teddy look the same was such an easy and lackluster joke to make. There wasn't a complexity or nuance to it. It simply happened solely to bring attention to the fact and make Jonah upset. It wasn't necessary. It only brought too much awkwardness to a story that was fundamentally awkward.
- It's humorous that Amy needs to let her frustrations out and by doing so gets a couple of police officers wondering if Dan is assaulting her. And then, she just basically takes his job from him like it was nothing.
- Sue just doesn't have time for Ben and his need to interact with people. She was so grateful that her fellow secretary covered for her when he showed up once again.
