I’ll be honest, this was not the most thrilling episode of the season so far, but funny enough I found myself drawn into the story, maybe its because it takes us away from the Liv Fitz dynamic which I have grown out of, but even when its less than thrilling Scandal has something over and above other shows that makes them look trivial. Scandal on its less thrilling day beats Revenge, Downton, Betrayal (good God that is the worst show ever) and all the others on their best days.
This one was brought to you courtesy of buffoonery provided by one Anthony Weiner, he of the sexting scandals. It was a bit of a whodunit but we knew it, if you watch enough of SVU etc, that is.
Pope and Associates have a new client; a philandering Senator who likes to sext naked mole-y pictures of himself, a la Weiner, to his young, barely legal lovers. One of the girls end up dead and of course he is fingered for the crime. Without much of an option Olivia has to accept him on as a client because they have bills to pay, not that he is much different from her style of clients- this actually harks back to episodes in Season One- but he’s a paying customer and times are rough for Pope and Associates and Harrison does a side booty pop, so its all good. Even if slut shaming a dead girl is what it takes to pay the electricity bills…
But Liv gets played by the Senator’s wife. Well duh! Its always the wives with pearls and the french rolls and the pinched expressions isn’t it. Liv is unfortunate to have the type of wife who knows where the bodies are buried and knows just how and when to strike. This is the kind of wife that has her husband by the balls; she’s accomplished, intelligent, smart an over achiever, Ivy League educated, holds a senior position at a prestigious firm. She keeps up the appearance of a woman that can have it all, come hell or high water, but she will eventually accept that hers is a political marriage of convenience because of her husband’s recklessness and stupidity. But something the buffoon of a husband will do, will make her snap and reality check will set in and when she strikes, it will be deadly.
For the life of me I don’t know why Liv’s famous gut did not tell her that early on…money, money, money. Liv does a play that everyone thinks is brilliant only to realise that she is the one being played…DAMN.
“…like you said Olivia, we all deserve a second chance.” OUCH!
Olivia is not on her best game, everything has thrown her off and when I say everything, I mean Fitzgerald, the knob head, he gets in her mind and he throws her off her game, ever since that scandal slandered her name she’s taken a hard knock but this episode really showed her more humane side. Before now I NEVER expected Olivia Pope to be flawed, she comes off at the seams and talks about burying her head in the sand when she maintains she would rather be ignorant about B613, She just wants to be a daddy’s little girl and go to Sunday dinners and play nice with Papa. Liv are you kidding me? This is what you live for not playing nice. You wear the white hat! She has to be the one to shut her father down and Jake knows that, matter of fact Huck knows it too and when they both show up at her apartment, like Liv we are doing this whether or not you want to, I was there for that moment. And now she knows Fitz was a part of Remington, she knows someone else took the fall for him and now she must get to the bottom of it.
Again, with all these revelations about Fitz I am hoping it is clawing away at her feelings for him.
I LOVE JAKE FOR LIV. ALWAYS AND FOREVER. He is the one who deserves to get the girl, she is the girl in the fairytale. Jake is her guy not Fitz and he more than proves it when he kept dogging her to take a look at the flle and face facts about her father, B613 and his involvement in Remington. If it were Fitz he wouldn’t have encouraged her too, I don’t believe, of course he would’t it makes him look like a chomp. But Jake, who was a part of the mission, is sticking his neck out and saying, yes I was there and this is what happened and you can look at me like the monster but at least I’m not hiding behind the skirts of my mistress and playing these silly foolish games…at least I think that’s what Jake is up to.
I absolutely am for him and Huck getting together to take Command down and I want to see how you take down a man who is basically the ghost and a law unto himself that even the President cannot touch him.
Lisa Kudrow plays Josephine Marcus a Democratic politician who could run against Fitz in the election, she’s a fabulous slant to add to the mix, she’s going to cause some trouble, don’t you know. She criticises Fitz and takes a dig at him over his scandalous few weeks and Mellie is the one who gives Marcus more ground by mouthing off about her, unfavourably of course, which gets caught on the mic of a Congress woman after a press conference and earns her nicknames “Mouthy Mellie” and “Worst Lady” amongst others…lol. I look forward to Mellie’s scenes, even more so this season, she brings it all. She obviously learnt nothing from Gordon Brown and his mic faux pas. She starts a media situation which Cyrus has to handle but not after the dressing down he gives her. And who should stick up for her? Fitz of course.
Here’s the thing; Mellie loves Fitz, that much is easy to see and if Olivia were not in the picture she would have his ear, of course. She is a pusher and loves the power but at the bottom of it all, she wants the best for her husband because they have come a long way even if theirs was a merger marriage. She would kill to have her husband back but he has to want it too. When Fitz absentmindedly holds her hand, as if it’s a natural reaction for him, Mellie is surprised and for a moment, just a moment, they are Fitz and Mellie again without Liv. But that moment is killed when she realises he is not even present with hter. She cannot let herself believe in his rare show of affection. But onto the bigger issue at hand;Is there going to be a shift in their relationship where it gradually becomes something and before we know it, there is another America’s baby on the way? Or am I reaching? Either way, I’m hoping for something for Mellie, I don’t know what but I want something for her…maybe she can have an affair…I’m reaching again.
Quinn gets told off by Huck. FINALLY. NOSEY COW!! About how she’s concerned and blah, blah, blah…yeah right Quinn. Huck sees right through her and basically gives her the back off bitch, speak, because she needs to hear it. Whilst her character adds a good dimension to the programme, I see them running out of ideas of what to do with her. She either needs to be handled and fall back in line or fall off our screens because she is a character that increasingly infuriates the audience with her meddling and her fakery. I have a feeling Abby can take her down a peg or two. And as for Huck I’m getting a little impatient with him playing the psycho troubled guy, we get it. he’s dark and dangerous and has done dark and dangerous things but I would rather there is a different preposition to his outlook.
David and Abby, fooling around, S-E-X-T-I-N-G…Rosen cannot catch a break. Another case lost to Olivia Pope, a smaller victory but this war between them and his tryst with Abby was one of the more fun situations in the episode, especially when she sexts him a picture of her hmms and shows up unannounced outside his apartment. How every high school and how very sweet and. I am here for them.
As for Fitz, he is the kind of person that would put everyone and everything in jeopardy because of his twisted sense of morality. We know he has skeletons in his closet and we know when it comes to Olivia he is senseless, these two are bad for each other, they are just so combustible and he doesn’t deserve her. I know this is an unpopular opinion, I used to be for Fitz and Liv but ever since the whole defiance debacle where he gets all damn pissy and what not and basically how he’s so mean to Mellie sometimes in regard to Olivia, that time in the bunker when he threw it in her face that he loves Olivia, I’ve found it hard to board the Olitz train, he’s got to do something wonderful for me to get back on board, but I also hate the way she puts her life on hold for him.
That was a punk move Olivia, you and Jake sucking face and Fitz calls, you knows its him and you interrupt you kissy session to speak with him, “we can talk” she says. For real Liv? Whilst you ex-lover is right there, moments after you’ve sucked his face…REALLY? Jake was not about to be chomped out though;”more wine” he says in the background, loud enough for Fitz to hear. Its a dick move but where Liv is concerned, between him and Fitz, its a dick swing. Anyway, back to Ftiz, him showing up at the funeral like that is bound to raise suspicions, that’s a rookie move man! Geez. He makes Cyrus’s life and work hard or harder.
Then we get to the dum dum dum…Fitz shows up in Papa Pope aka Command’s office because this whole Remington business needs to be nipped in the bud and only Command can do that. But what we don’t know is whether Fitz knows Command is Papa Pope aka Rowan aka Eli aka Liv’s Pops…I think he does but who knows what he knows?! NEXT WEEK WILL BE A CORKER OF AN EPISODE!!!!
As I said, this was not the most rivetting episode, it was all a bit slow and predictive but seeing Olivia Pope and Associates tackle their clients and sort through issues is what really gets the juice going for me. I want to see how she handles this fall from grace too. I am no longer interested in Liv Fitz drama because of aforementioned reasons, he weakens her. She puts herself on hold for him…And this gave fun and drama and something to chew on other than Liv and Fitz bid to destroy the White House and his Presidency… And Lisa Kudrow is an ace addition to this season.