Scandal- S4. Ep.2- The State of The Union

The characters-

Liv, I really don’t know what’s going on with her, its like she back but then she’s regretting her decision. Mellie is still mourning, Red is finding out she may be out of her depth or will forever be in the shadow of Liv, Fitz has us on a swing, is he or isn’t he for Mellie? Huck and Quinn are back to being weird and annoying. Cyrus is being Cyrus’d by Lizzie Bear, who is definitely not a Care Bear. All in all it could be season three again and I don’t like it.

The story-

Liv is back to working for the White House or at the White House’s beck and call, at Fitz’s behest and Cyrus gets to make her do things she would really rather not do. It makes Liv weak and I hate weak Liv, except this is leading to something I feel like we are back where we left her, too weak to say no because at the heart of it she is still pining for Fitz whilst Jake is still her something on the side. This storyline is redundant and tired. She is brought in the make sure the Elliots, poster couple for gun control, make it to Fitz’s state of the union but then, of course what goes on behind closed doors is really the story; the Elliots are the worst kind of people, together for the fame and the money, and tired of each other. Its Liv’s job to clean up the mess and make Fitz look good. Cyrus threatens her with some bullshit weak threat and just like that, she is big eyed and vulnerable all over again. How she cannot say no and walk away is beyond me. If this is how it’s going to be with the whole Fitz and Liv dynamic I am out after this season. It’s a bore.

David Rosen just cannot catch a break in life! The past has come to bite him in the ass and threatens to derail his appointment as Attorney General, something Lizzie Bear is strongly against hence she went digging into his past. A past that is not of his own doing but Liv’s, of course. Season 2/3 anyone? But he learnt a thing or two from his brief stint as a gladiator and proceeds to get his own way, by blackmail and justice for all. Good on you David, now use that power and do some good with it… or something.

Mellie and all her fried chicken thighs is still a mess so she won’t go to the State of The Union address for all the chicken in…wherever the hell chickens are the business. KFC? Fitz and Cy try to convince her but she is not here for it. We see a glimpse of the human side of Cyrus when he tries to reach out to her by sharing his own grief for James but Mellia has checked out of this situation and tucked back into her tray of chicken. She is the only character who has done it for me this season so far and it looks like she will be the only one who leaves us with an impression. I love that her grief is palpable, and that she doesn’t really care about anything, how she sticks it to Fitz and how he is bent on being a dutiful husband. After all this is their loss not just only hers. What will happen the rest of the season we have to wait and see now that he has seen Liv…

Jake got a hotel room for booty calls and was whining about them not being in the sun anymore; no shit sherlock. You are few miles away from the man you know she is pining for and the best you can do is a hotel room for booty calls? Really Jake go get a job, a dog and a hobby in no particular order.

Whilst I liked seeing the gladiators back at work on their natural habitat, this story fell flat for me because it had overtones of Fitz and Liv. Vermont might never happen or be a lifetime away, but Fitz and Liv will always be Fitz and Liv and I think there in lies the issue, because they have become boring to the point of annoying, despite their chemistry. We need Liv’s story to move on from this. How many times can I say this? How many more puppy dog, single breath moments do we need? She is still stuck Fitz does not need to seek her opinion on anything and she just needs to learn the word NO. And use it as often as possible.

One last thing…

Is Harrison really gone. Jake is working on something and we know B6-13 is not all it seems and Shonda is one for letting people back eventually. Whilst he won’t be back in full capacity, maybe he will be the one to take down B6-13 or something… am I reaching?

Are we supposed to believe that Cyrus is getting played and doesn’t know it? This is a script from his playbook, and he did something similar to James.

Abby, stop selling Abby short. I mean she’ll never be Liv, but in this new role she needs some back bone and who knows she and Mellie might see eye to eye but time will tell, there is a scandal brewing round the corner that will prove to be her biggest test yet so we’ll see. But she’s got good hair at least. And coats.

Lastly, a republican president for Gun control? Water would be easier gotten from a rock than that happen.