This episode isn’t quite as bad as the last one, but it’s still weak. The titular plot thread has Selina discovering that bloggers have given her nicknames. She, of course, becomes obsessed with finding out what they all are. I find this story really not funny at all; most of the nicknames are pretty lame. And does a woman who has reached the level of Vice President of the United States after twenty years in politics really not know that people give powerful people unflattering nicknames? And then the episode takes an odd dramatic turn near the end when the President kills Selina’s Clean Jobs bill and Dan, one of Selina’s staffers, manages to get it put on as an amendment to another bill. When the vote (coincidentally) on that bill ends up as a tie, Selina has to decide whether to defy the President and sneak her legislation through or to do the procedurally correct thing and kill the bill and, thereby, her own legislation. It’s really played pretty straight, but it just feels very low stakes and the sudden drama comes out of nowhere. I did really like a side plot where Selina assigns Dan to cozy up to White House liaison Jonah in order to get intel about the White House. Reid Scott as Dan and Timothy Simons as Jonah have really great chemistry and a scene where Dan goes along with Jonah to an extreme metal concert (“You know how extreme these guys are? They DON’T EVEN HAVE A NAME. THAT is how extreme they are.”) is hilarious. Still, even in a season that only runs eight episodes, the mid-season doldrums are still a thing. Hopefully things take an upswing quickly. Above average episode of television. Whatever. 2 ½ stars.
tl;dr – strange shift into drama in this episode’s third act is clunky and unmotivated; a couple of funny scenes can’t elevate a pretty mediocre episode. 2 ½ stars.