The ‘Veep’ Series Finale Was Darker Than ‘Game of Thrones’—And Way More Satisfying

Sunday night revealed what happens when a woman’s craven desire for power drives her mad. By the end of the episode on HBO, we were treated to the scorched earth left in her wake as she finally, as many had predicted—and some have feared—became the Mad Queen. Er, excuse me: the Mad President. (Mad-ame President. Hey-o!)

It’s perhaps by pure coincidence that so much of the series finale of Veep mirrored the controversial events of the Game of Thrones episode that aired before it, save for one crucial way in which the episodes diverged. In every way that characters behaving in angering, irrational ways or meeting unsatisfying fates pissed off fans of Thrones, it was deliciously gratifying on Veep.

Especially as series finales go, the episode was wildly, breathlessly plotted and paced, accomplishing more narrative in 45 minutes than most comedies do in a season. It all led up to an end that was harrowingly bleak, nihilistic, and so dark it nearly veered on glib. But in contrast to what happened on Thrones, and certainly in tonal opposition to nearly every great comedy series that came before it, every bit of that darkness was earned.

Read more at The Daily Beast.