7x06 Oslo

[7.0/10] There’s nothing wrong with this one, but it’s still a little underwhelming. I absolutely love the Selina/Minna dynamic, and I consider it one of the high points of the show, but something about it just felt off here. Selina going to collect the Nobel Peace Price Jr. while at the same time admitting war crimes and cozying up with war criminals is an amusing concept, but doesn't really translate into actual laughs in practice.

And the show blows through plot like Selina getting sequestered in the embassy and Catherine and Marjorie getting married and her making deals with the Chinese. This has never been a show where the plot is the most important thing, but it feels like the show had to try to move some machinery in place and it got in the way of the humor. Keith Quin’s “lapdog” challenge, and the awkwardness of praising the freedom of Tibet right after you’ve sold it out to the Chinese is kind of funny at a high level, but again, didn’t have the right balance of actually chuckles for me.

Jonah’s bit is a little undercooked for me as well. I like the idea that all Jonah needed to be at least a somewhat better person is a dad, but the show bounced off that concept pretty quickly. (Though I did appreciate the anti-vax satire.) Amy still crushing on Dan while he’s dating her OBGYN feels like the payoff to something the show hasn’t developed enough yet. And while I do love Richard continuing to accidentally climb to the top of the political ladder, I wish the show had done more with Michael McKean.

Overall, this one isn’t bad, but it’s disjointed and less hilarious than other episodes this season have been.