The same-sex marriage [ban], besides being horrible, unto itself is horrible because its Catherine. We do like the long con. Maybe at that moment she sticks her toe in that regret pond, but then quickly pulls it out, and moves forward with her miserable selfalone, and without anyone or anything in her life of meaning. And in this case, she didnt even say it, she had the FBI guys come and grab me. Though she was fatally shot by the president of her fan club in 1995, the 23-year-old was able to accomplish some huge feats - from being credited with catapulting Latin music into the . How did you get her to return? I mean, its the most vicious thing youve ever seen. He has no clue what is about to happen as they celebrate her nomination. He knows all the secrets. First off, the fact that Gary has beenseparated from Selina now that shes President has been emotional suicide for him. Maybe, just maybe obviously with all the people from the measles, maybe people will start to go, Well, wait a second, if they were right about vaccines, maybe they were right about the climate.. Furlong, I think would be up there with Amy. ", "You look beautiful," he said, loyal to the very end that he did not know was here. We should also point out that as shes kicking these people out of the office, were ending in a White House where, yes, Sue is outside, but in her inner circle, theres nobody there from the old show. Gary disposed of a body for her. Oh, no, no, no!' He legitimately was there to say goodbye. It was just covered with a lot of dysfunction. No votes? Labor Day represented the "reentry" into city life and the retirement of white summer clothes after a summer of leisure for the upper classes, Steele says. This isn't the first time the story of Selena's epic rise to fameand untimely demise in 1995have been put to film. Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from Coffy to Jackie Brown. Desperate to find a fall guy for her scandals with the Meyer Fund and illicit ties to the Chinese government (whom she actively courted to meddle in the election), Selina chose the best man(child) for the job: poor, naive Gary. So I think later in life he might have seen how ridiculous that was and let himself go a little bit and freed up. I think he could be a great boss if he somehow liked you, or thought you were like, his guy. Obviously hes got a hair-trigger temper, but I do think the sun can shine from Jonah, he says. It was nice to be able to let loose. So what is the worst thing that she could do that is unlike anything shes ever done? Everything is so normal that when she starts to try and ask him like maybe she was going to ask him to just take the fall flat-out and she never finishes the sentence but, of course, his assumption is: do you need me to run across the street to get some coffee? But I so respect his decision. But it feels pretty definitive. Im just not sure either of them has the ability to get to that step. Its completely void of any joy. (An earlier version of the script had him saying that she looked stunning.) Pam Grier reflects on her most iconic roles, from. Selina snaps out of that moment of sad solitude when the Israeli Prime Minister calls, and shes charmingly back to doing what she does best. Dan 2.0 in a different way. Throughout their 12-year marriage, Andrew was always . Its just so much joy to be able to talk about all that stuff any time we get together. Gary was complicit in this hideous relationship in which he chased affection and validation that was never available. And you showed no mercy with Amys abortion storyline. I can't imagine the amount of work that that woman had done to her face. From what I remember, I think we did the scene several times before the balloons. I think it was hard not to infuse that scene of saying goodbye to him in the wings with too much emotion that was coming from me, personally. How did you and Louis-Dreyfus approach how to play the scene? He just keeps bouncing back to this dysfunction. Sie knnen Ihre Einstellungen jederzeit ndern. Broken to its bones. Shell never allow herself to sit in those feelings, but she does feel them and then stuffs them down and turns it back on. So Im really deeply going to miss it, really bad. Theres no rule that says she has to, but at the end of the day, thats who she is. And I think he honestly was there to pay his respects. Initially, when she says the name and he corrects her, we were on Andy Daly a little longer for his explanation. He placed the lipstick on the coffin and touched the coffin somberly before walking away. To read what Louis-Dreyfus and Hale thought of Selinas betrayal of Gary, head over here. This master-and-servant dynamic gone wrong, between the vainglorious VP-turned-POTUS-turned-legacy chaser-turned-POTUS (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and the bootlicking bag man/dumped-upon doormat who kept her secrets and prepared her snacks (Hale), served as the beating black heart of HBO's shrewd, crude political comedy for seven seasons. Obviously, it affects millions of same-sex couples, and its horrific. My mind goes to some dark places during that scene. TVLINE | The argument is diffused when she is reminded of what he did for her on Labor Day. The takedown of Tom James is three years in the making. It took that. Totally. How did you keep those emotions in check? As a whole, I was really satisfied by where they were taking the end because Selina was so awful, so bitter, so narcissistic and so selfish without any empathy. I dont think Selina saw it as a gift, but in terms of his life, it was probably the biggest gift. I think those are two old souls that would really enjoy each others company.. He doesnt see it. Ni dung chnh. But in those quiet recesses, that is when it will just constantly hit her of how its not okay. "And you are a lifesaver, I couldn't have done it without you," she returned, surprising him with a hug. The 15 percent who said no to a Labor Day reveal feel as Eman does: "Some things are more beautiful when left unexplained.". Except the desired outcome would be the opposite: wed be holding our breath to see if Jonah would escape danger but wed be super upset and disappointed each time he survived, MANDEL RESPONDS: Thatd be very funny, he says of having a Carrie-type crier. Yes, maybe not specifically worrying about wheres Catherine and not specifically worrying about wheres Kent [Gary Cole], but all of that hits her. But its that same street fighter that then continues to do all of those other horrible things. Oh my God, shes the worst! Ninety-nine percent of fans said no, with most lamenting the would-be loss of the Season 5 episode C***gate and the series signature insults. Given that Mike never winds up giving that heartfelt eulogy for Selina, could you finish the job right now?I would personally eulogize her as the most wonderfully complicated character I ever got to write. The more the phone rings, the more there are things to do, shes fine. Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States. I think Isles is clearly smarter. Its been a process of first when her mom dies, little bits about her father. Connected to that, having ended up taking the year off, our plans for production were going to probably be later, so we might not have aired until the summer, had we shot pre-cancer. As the bagman to the politician, Hales Gary Walsh is in her ear, primping her body and miming her every move always one heartbeat away from the woman he has long served. Shes willing to get rid of Jaffar [Usman Ally], arguably the love of her life. Theres that part where she asks for the favor and then she stops herself and says, Oh never mind. I asked this question, because it sounded like she was going to say it and then stopped herself. Was one of the messages of the finale, If you have been rooting for Selina all along, you chose very poorly, and were here to not-gently remind you of that?That is the wonderful thing. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894 . But one cant be surprised by everything horrific and morally bankrupt that she does after seeing her in action like that.Were taking advantage of something that Ive talked a lot about, which is people sometimes say to themselves, Oh, I want Selina to be president. And its always like, Well, no. She, more than anyone, could leave and walk away, and doesnt. Oh, thats interesting. Desperate to find a fall guy for her scandals with the Meyer Fund and illicit ties to the . How long had you been sitting on that idea as the ending?There was always this idea of jumping ahead to the funeral. [Laughs] In Garys world, I always had this vision that he comes home at night and says into a recordereverything that is in the bag. Ideas? Oh, that sucks! Not sensing any approaching doom, Gary asked if she wanted coffee from across the street and pointed out that it was a chia seed in her mouth. I love it so much. So that was tricky. Ive said this before, but its like a dog returning to his vomit. (At least Sufe Bradshaws Sue was still guarding the Oval Office, doing MVP work to block VP Jonah, played by Timothy Simons, from any executive privilege.) The gut-punch of a betrayal played out in the present-day ending of Sunday's series finale, which then jumped ahead 24 years to former President Meyer's funeral. It was very satisfying for him. Labor Day's origins go much deeper than backyard barbecues and picnics. I think we cried the entire way shooting through the last episode. I mean, Dan is with who he wants to be. Because Selina doesn't go there very frequently. Sufe Bradshaw returned as Sue to the White House, which was a feel-good surprise in a brutal episode. Mike says Tom won four Oscars, so was the fourth for Philadelphia 2?You think so? And that scene just plays. I kind of love that. Because Gary is so in tune with her emotions, he might have picked up on something in her tone or behind or eyes, and this distracted him so he didnt. It was horrific to film. Was the attitude in the writers room this season one of The cruelty, ignorance and hypocrisy in this world needs an equal and opposite force more than ever, or was it Its our last season, so lets adopt a scorched Earth policy, or maybe a bit of both?I go for a little bit of both, and Ill throw a third thing in. Both Labor Day and May Day, the two worker holidays, grew out of violent clashes between labor and police in the American Midwest.What is known as the Haymarket Riot (or . But in a career of amoral political moves, and especially in a recent tornado of decisions that saw her cravenly crave a return to the Oval Office at all costsselling out her daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland) by outlawing same-sex marriage, selling out Tibet by secretly okaying a Chinese invasion, selling out America by choosing dangerous dolt Jonah (Timothy Simons) as her VPit definitively answered the question that was thematically draped over the season: How far will Selina go to get what she wants? Thats just a horrific job. Selina Meyer and her staff try to take on the White House in this HBO sitcom. When approaching the end, showrunner David Mandel said he thought about the most horrible thing Selina could do that would have a deep emotional impact, and thats how he landed on the Gary betrayal. So it was just a genuine expression of having missed her, but also having been really glad that she showed up. And perhaps had she just made peace with Kemi [Toks Olagundoye] early on, a lot of this could have been avoided. But this is a woman at the end of the day that has sacrificed everythingeverythingto be in this office. So thats what she did, which is not exactly healthy. He has no personal identity, so Selina becoming president is like getting the key and him becoming president. In one way, their bond can never be broken, and he will always have some measure of twisted devotion to her. Before he walked out the door with his box, he would be back working with her. Welcome to the Quantum Realm. I think he gets an odd kick out of watching the show. Something serious mustve went down to silence Selina like that. Among the whos-who Washington guest list was an older and broken Gary, on parole after serving time for Selina (who never even visited him), and who had a message for his former queen. But I think that care and that base level love is what brought him to the funeral. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. What exactly happened on Labor Day? Hopefully there was a support group within that prison that helped him process. says the actress. Everyone roots for her., As for the naysayers, their position was summed up by Jamie Burgess: No. Shell be the ventriloquist and Ill be the dummy. Selina wasnt a robot. When we learn that Richard Splett [Sam Richardson] becomes a historic two-term president, it feels like some reward and justice in this cold, cruel world. They bring up that something happened to the point where Gary will never speak of it and it stops Selina's rage mid-sentence. But it really is impossible, he says. We were crying during the table read. Votes were also cast for notoriously incompetent Mike, groper Teddy, vicious Roger Furlong, war hero Danny Chung, stoic Kent (Hard to read and even harder to please, Jamie insisted), and puppet master Ben. After all the sacrifices Gary has made for Selina the Labor Day and trash-bag mysteries are so dark, viewers never even got the details the presidential candidate picks her trusted body man as the fall guy in the Meyer Fund investigation and Gary is arrested by the FBI as Selina is accepting the nomination at her partys convention. At what price victory? So the other nine, most of them were dramas. That guy has shown his dark side way too many times (Dans resignation) and has probably done some nasty stuff during his career, Viktor Cegledi reasoned. And they have had this just crazy ping-pong back-and-forth relationship, and he has constantly screwed her over. It just was so stunning to hear the language in this giant ballroom at the Four Seasons. I think people forget that she did rise up through the political system, and that requires a certain amount of street-fighting skills and an inherent political sense, and she has that. That they murdered somebody just too easy, Mandel says. We actually had another scene that we wrote and shot of Jonah in the EEOB that ultimately fell out, of seeing him as vice president in that office. Even with all the dysfunction and all the abuse, he did have this almost spiritual love for her. Copyright 2023 Meredith Corporation. And that was in contrast to how he saw himself the entire time, which was as her first lady. Then he just lost it. How are you doing with your feelings of Veep being over? Im just gonna simply say too easy. She adds with a laugh: "So, tough s---. And as we started doing this season, we werent trying to be greedy, but I wrote down this idea that wed end up back in the Oval and Sue would be there. Sex toy covered in shit. What is left of Gary 24 years later?Look, at some point, there is a sickness in the character. "There's not an authentic foundation there. Im excited to see what ideas he has. Did she get what she deserved, in addition to what she felt she deserved?DAVID MANDEL: Well, I do think she got what she deserved. We talk a lot about that. "Because she's in the casket. Sometimes you have to stand back and remind everybody that were playing a horrific scene, but your characters dont quite know how horrific it is. Because that moment she realized she wasnt going to have to change it to something else. After both Selina and Gary suffer heart attacks this season, she shows a little humanity when she takes care of him in the basement of her brownstone. Hes got huge rose-colored glasses on. She later explained to . He does like the intellectual exercise of imagining how the show could be done without TV-MA language. But yeah, I think this has been a three-year journey of her becoming a somewhat more complete person. You dont really want Selina to be president, you kind of want Julia to be president.