Selina and team head to South Carolina, where she seeks an endorsement from a key leader. Gary gets a long-awaited promotion. Marjorie excels in her new role.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of
"South Carolina" was written by Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck and directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller
Would so many candidates actually suspend their campaigns following the New Hampshire primary? Sure, it leads to that very amusing scene where Jonah and Buddy Calhoun both approach each other to see what they could get in exchange for an endorsement. Plus, it would seem perfectly reasonable for the various campaigns to talk about whether or not they have the actual momentum to continue pursuing the nomination. But it also comes across as the show briskly moving the pace forward this season because of its decreased episode order. This final season will only consist of seven episodes. And now, the show is essentially saying that Selina is going to win the nomination thanks to election meddling from the Chinese. That is insanely relevant at the moment because of everything that happened in the 2016 election in real-life. Selena, Ben and Kent even discuss just how complicated the acceptance of this help can be as well. Plus, it's amusing to see how Keith Quinn may not be as naive as he initially seemed. In fact, he may be the perfect point person for this latest initiative. His work can actually help her get elected as well. It's not like Gary handling the faith-based program to encourage voter turnout. That's a promotion he asks for in the hopes of getting more responsibilities after working for Selina for many years. He doesn't know how to lead a meeting though. He doesn't have a specific strategy for how to best utilize faith as a voting tactic. He is much more comfortable making sure everyone is taken care of and appreciates the spread he brought in. Of course, Marjorie may also prove to be a better bag woman than Gary has ever been. She has reorganized the bag in a way that makes more logical sense. She puts together outfits for Selina that she may appreciate more. She is also brutally honest. That's the quality that ultimately pushes her out of the job though. Selina essentially wants to be surrounded by a bunch of yes men. She is willing to do and say anything in order to win. She wants her team to be just as flexible and gung-ho as she is. She doesn't want too much push back from the people who work for her. She just now happens to be coordinating her campaign and potential victory with the Chinese. She makes that decision in the heat of the moment. She was more than willing to blow the dogwhistle of racial injustice in this country in the middle of a church service. Instead, she may have been intimidated into backing the people who didn't loom large in that particular room. She understood the crowd she was speaking to as a threat who would personally be harmed by her words and actions. As such, she was more accepting of the threat that wasn't there even though the Chinese can't be trusted and may only further compromise her ability to govern. This entire series has chronicled the various characters' quest for power. Selina is on a high at the moment because she's winning. Sure, her sleeping with Dan is unexpected and random. It may just be an excuse to fire him from the campaign. He may reteam with Amy as the managers of Jonah's campaign. He suddenly surges in the polls because he actually taps into the racist rhetoric that influences so many people. Amy suddenly sees a path to the White House. She's willing to actively promote that despite how morally corrupt it is. It convinces Teddy and Bill Erickson to leave the campaign. But Amy is actually inspired because all of this is essentially a quest for power. Jonah may have a path to it now which may be attractive to some people. But it also seems inevitable that power won't ultimately be worth it in the end because of the actions and compromises taken to get there along the way - for both Selina and Jonah.
"South Carolina" was written by Alex Gregory & Peter Huyck and directed by Beth McCarthy-MillerWould so many candidates actually suspend their campaigns following the New Hampshire primary? Sure, it leads to that very amusing scene where Jonah and Buddy Calhoun both approach each other to see what they could get in exchange for an endorsement. Plus, it would seem perfectly reasonable for the various campaigns to talk about whether or not they have the actual momentum to continue pursuing the nomination. But it also comes across as the show briskly moving the pace forward this season because of its decreased episode order. This final season will only consist of seven episodes. And now, the show is essentially saying that Selina is going to win the nomination thanks to election meddling from the Chinese. That is insanely relevant at the moment because of everything that happened in the 2016 election in real-life. Selena, Ben and Kent even discuss just how complicated the acceptance of this help can be as well. Plus, it's amusing to see how Keith Quinn may not be as naive as he initially seemed. In fact, he may be the perfect point person for this latest initiative. His work can actually help her get elected as well. It's not like Gary handling the faith-based program to encourage voter turnout. That's a promotion he asks for in the hopes of getting more responsibilities after working for Selina for many years. He doesn't know how to lead a meeting though. He doesn't have a specific strategy for how to best utilize faith as a voting tactic. He is much more comfortable making sure everyone is taken care of and appreciates the spread he brought in. Of course, Marjorie may also prove to be a better bag woman than Gary has ever been. She has reorganized the bag in a way that makes more logical sense. She puts together outfits for Selina that she may appreciate more. She is also brutally honest. That's the quality that ultimately pushes her out of the job though. Selina essentially wants to be surrounded by a bunch of yes men. She is willing to do and say anything in order to win. She wants her team to be just as flexible and gung-ho as she is. She doesn't want too much push back from the people who work for her. She just now happens to be coordinating her campaign and potential victory with the Chinese. She makes that decision in the heat of the moment. She was more than willing to blow the dogwhistle of racial injustice in this country in the middle of a church service. Instead, she may have been intimidated into backing the people who didn't loom large in that particular room. She understood the crowd she was speaking to as a threat who would personally be harmed by her words and actions. As such, she was more accepting of the threat that wasn't there even though the Chinese can't be trusted and may only further compromise her ability to govern. This entire series has chronicled the various characters' quest for power. Selina is on a high at the moment because she's winning. Sure, her sleeping with Dan is unexpected and random. It may just be an excuse to fire him from the campaign. He may reteam with Amy as the managers of Jonah's campaign. He suddenly surges in the polls because he actually taps into the racist rhetoric that influences so many people. Amy suddenly sees a path to the White House. She's willing to actively promote that despite how morally corrupt it is. It convinces Teddy and Bill Erickson to leave the campaign. But Amy is actually inspired because all of this is essentially a quest for power. Jonah may have a path to it now which may be attractive to some people. But it also seems inevitable that power won't ultimately be worth it in the end because of the actions and compromises taken to get there along the way - for both Selina and Jonah.
