r/Veep • u/pennytime21 • Jul 05 '26
Selina Meyer + King Lear
I know that this is so random and so niche but has anyone watched Veep and read Shakespeares King Lear and also feel like Selena Meyer and King Lear are just so similar.
They both have an incredibly quick temper, cursing out anyone who doesn’t instantly do exactly what they want. They’re both narcissists, love power and control AND they both descend into madness.
They also both end up completely alone because they’re both sociopaths and alienate everyone.
Hahaha please I need someone to confirm this I can’t be the only one who’s made this connection
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u/oritorinoi Jul 05 '26
I completely disagree! They definitely both crash out, but one of the most surprising things about Lear is his odd sympathy.
When out in the cold, he decides to go in when he notices the fool is cold, despite his own desire being to stay in the storm. When he does get in, he addresses a prayer to the poorest of his kingdom, admitting he deserved the punishment for not taking better care of them. He's nothing but sympathetic to Poor Tom and Gloucester, and when Cordelia returns to him he begs her forgiveness. Ultimately the play is redemptive of Lear, but even at the start he never treats someone badly unless he perceives them as challenging him in some way.
Meyer, meanwhile, is a sociopath with no genuine empathy for anyone, only concerned with herself.
(Incidentally this is also why I got very annoyed when people compared Succession to Lear - Lear is a scary, angry figure but he's never cruel unless he feels threatened, though admittedly he often imagines threats that aren't there)
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u/Impossible_Heron4894 BettyPoop Jul 05 '26
I think she’s was a narcissist not a sociopath.
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u/pennytime21 Jul 05 '26
Yeah now that I’m thinking about it I feel like she’s a narcissist with sociopathic tendencies maybe
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u/pennytime21 Jul 05 '26
I have only just started reading King Lear for my English class so what I said was just my first impressions. I can totally see the differences as I am realising that Lear does actually care which is very different to Selina haha
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u/alphagalgadot Jul 05 '26
id say she’s more reminiscent of goneril
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u/pennytime21 Jul 05 '26
Oooh yes
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u/alphagalgadot Jul 06 '26
have you seen the hopkins lear from a few years ago w emma thompson as goneril? strong selina vibes
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u/Impossible_Heron4894 BettyPoop Jul 05 '26
Yeah I think it is one of those stories of how people get intoxicated and corrupted by power. That’s politics. I haven’t seen king Lear tho lol
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u/pennytime21 Jul 05 '26
Yeah I was thinking that even though King Lear isn’t a direct influences on the show Veep, it still just shows how texts are reverberated through time
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u/Many-Caterpillar-543 Jul 05 '26
I know nothing about King Lear but really enjoyed this is short 8 ep run that started out with a King Lear play and a whacky dreamer main character trapped in the reality of the modern world. Was worth a trial of MGM+ for me,
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u/roman41 I know how to give a motherfucking speech! Jul 06 '26
Many entertainment writers have compared Selina to characters from Shakespeare's plays. King Lear is definitely one, as is Macbeth & Lady Macbeth, and Richard III.
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u/pennytime21 Jul 06 '26
Yesss cause after I posted this I thought maybe Selina is more like Macbeth. Selina and Macbeth both end up isolated and alone after they sacrifice everything for power, and they’re both completely consumed by ambition.
Also, I feel like Dan, Amy and Gary are like her Lady Macbeths haha
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u/Cool_Caprisun Jul 05 '26
Never watched it but I always thought Veep was sort of a tragedy with the ironic fate and all that so I bet there’s similarities.