This episode was about family and hard truths, when is Scandal never but this episode more so than previous episodes.
The Grant kids are in residence and being exactly how you’d expect teenagers to be: moody, annoying, know it all and just generally ugh. Mellie is still doing the do with Andrew behind closed doors, Olivia throws stones from her glass house and gets a dose of realty biting her behind and Fitz is just generally being a dick about things.
Lets go in-
The first kids: teenagers will always be teenagers I suppose. These ones are no different to the normal angst ridden teenagers but they may have a case to be so because… Mellie and Fitz of course, parents who cannot keep their shit together for the one weekend their kids are at home to play happy families. Matter of fact, these ones want nothing more than to take their parents down in public, so the normal twitter shaming ensues and dumb t-shirt wearing. So predictable. In other teenager fuckery, Karen walked in on her mother going down on Andrew and as the normal teenager without filter, she blabs to her dad. Really though Mellie? And in what can only be the ultimate epic double standard in TV history, Fitz got all shitty about it and went on to punch Andrew for schtuping his wife because you know he’s a saint. *insert eye roll*.
That scene where Fitz is going all HAM on Mellie for screwing Andrew and blaming her for ruining their marriage because he is none the wiser about what his bastard father did to her, played out wrongly in my opinion. This is where Mellie should have served Fitz all doses of the truth and let him have all the seats in the White House. Instead of being tongue tied she should have said something to the effect of “I did not let you touch me for ten years because I have been living with knowledge that our son may not be your son but your half brother because your pig of a father raped me and I bargained with my soul and dignity so he could lay off your sorry ass…” something to that effect is what she should have said because this scene was too heavy to go to waste. It missed its timing. But there is the case of Olivia standing outside the door whilst Fitz launched into his wife with his tirade, belittling her for things he knows nothing about. Liv got to learn some hard truths about her union with Fitz, she was never in his grand plans, if she didn’t come along it would’ve been someone else. She is the help who became Fitz’s flaw, in Mellie’s own words. Its hard not to hate Fitz after these scenarios. He marginally redeemed himself last week helping Cyrus deal with James but he plunged right back into the dirt by reverting back to his piggish self.
I can only imagine that Mellie didn’t say anything to Fitz because the very thought of the fact that Jerry is not his son would ruin whatever shred of fibre keeps them together and damage him more than he knows. Only she knows that. In walks Liv after hearing what Fitz has to say, indirectly, about their relationship and in that crucial time Mellie gets a reprieve for another day. But not after Fitz manages to add insult to Mellie’s injuries by going after Liv. I cannot with this man. I will not. Regardless of what yarn he feeds Liv, she will only always be the help who screwed the boss. Nothing more. Harsh I know, but in the grand scheme of things, its the truth.
In other places Mama Pope and Adnan are setting their plan in motion and Harrison is the one to provide them with what they need: falling for the secret between Adnan’s golden thighs… men. Ugh.
Charlie has become the jealous boyfriend and this will play out one of three ways; Quinn dies, dear God please let her die. Huck kills Charlie and rescues Quinn from his creepiness or Charlie kills Huck and proceeds to make Quinn’s like a living hell…Am I reaching?
Papa Pope had the definitive parting line though, “because we are family” he tells Liv when he calls to give her information about B6-13. Yeah right…