Scandal: Discussion Thread

[Money]

Olivia treats Edison worse than a dog and I actually cringed when she told him to get out. I don't understand his purpose at all. It makes Olivia look even worse since she clearly cannot even stand to be in the same room with him yet she keeps him around as her clutch away from Fitz.

I agree that when Mellie ranted about Fitz she looked like the scorned wife who "would dance on his grave if he went through with the divorce" which did not make her sympathetic and I'm pretty sure that was Shonda's attempt but it made her very human to me. There are so many times you can actually feel where Mellie is coming from but the camera never stays long enough on her to play out those vulnerable beats because Fitz and Olivia would have no rooting value.

This doesn't work for me because if this is the case then I need Shonda to show me without the Olivia factor why they grew apart to make Olitz palatable since from everythign we're seeing, she does not deserve his contempt. That's why her rant about Olivia reaping the rewards was effective for me. A sympathetic delivery would have made her too likeable but the rant came from an ugly place. The blame squarely lies on Fitz

I incorrectly called Abby Alison in my OP but I could not agree more. The apology was too generic. She inflicted serious damage on both Quinn and especially Abby and they deserve to know the truth. Their blind loyalty ceased working for me a long time ago and at this point it is completely unrealistic. Harrison encouraging her to continue to wear the "white hat" was eye roll worthy.

[marceline]

I love Mellie. I just adore her! That scene in the nursery with Cyrus. ("I loathe Olivia Pope. But it's a boring hate. Cliche. I can't even really get my back into it...") was just wonderful. I really do love the way Bellamy Young plays her.

I also cracked up at Huck dressed in Harrison's clothes. I gotta hand it to the wardrobe folks, every character on this show has a definite individual style.

I didn't think Liv's breakdown was rushed at all. We've been watching her unravel for weeks. Pacing in her office, making bad decisions, etc... I'm surprised she didn't completely come apart when she was forced to plan Fitz's funeral. It's seems to me that both Fitz and Liv have hit a point where nothing matters anymore. They've each had an experience that brought them to the point of having nothing left to lose. Fitz decided to divorce Mellie and Olivia decided to turn in Hollis. Each of them has chosen to set fire to their lives and see how it burns. Cyrus told Mellie that the new Fitz is an enigma to him. That's no different than the way Edison and the Gladiators felt about broken Olivia. The poles on this world have quit working and the planet is off its axis.

[London]

Beautifully put marceline.

I also feel bad that Liv basically has to be the strong one, remember when Mellie, who was clearly losing it for more than a few weeks, was asking Liv what'd she'd do without Fitz and this and that and she sort of had to be strong for the both of them and get Mellie to come to gripes with the situation and get a hold of herself, because she needed to be strong for the nation and putting their mind at ease with the President.

[marceline]

The thing I like about Liv's breakdown is that it forced the others to step up. It's finally a chance to spread the strength around and develop other parts of the cast. Harrison's "I got you" was lovely and very necessary. I think he's now playing the role that was originally meant for Steven. Huck's hopping into bed with Liv gave some lightness and humanity to a character who was very close to becoming a caricature of toughness. Quinn showed a nice bit of leadership by pulling them all together and putting the facts on the table.

[Wales2004]

She will look even worse if she accepts his proposal as a way of keeping Fitz at bay. It won't even matter if she ultimately sends him on his way after. Sure, that makes for great drama and angst if want Fitz and Olivia together. I don't care whether they end up together or not as long as the writing supports whatever direction is chosen. I just think it was wrong to throw Edison in the mix as someone to whom she was previously engaged. Can they not spare any time to delve into that former engagement and shed some light on why he would still want to marry a woman who treats him like a pair of uncomfortable old shoes?

I am kind of neutral on the character of Olivia because she's not interesting to me. There's no real depth there but I attribute that mainly to KW's acting. I've reached the conclusion that she has rather limited range. The character has done some things that are terrible yet I barely have any reaction to her.

I don't think about what the intent of the writing is when it comes to Mellie. Bellamy Young does a good job but I don't see Mellie as any better than Olivia in terms of how they both handle Fitz. He's like a piece of clay that they take turns at manipulating and molding. I was initially interested in where their marriage went off track but my interest is long gone.

I am thinking that this might have been better as a mini-series than as a sustainable episodic.

I don't mind Harrison, Huck or even Abby (since she doesn't know the truth about David) wanting to support Olivia but they know she had something to do with rigging the election so to blindly support her is even more ridiculous that it seemed before. Quinn is in a slightly different category because Olivia indirectly caused her problem by going along with the vote rigging but my point was that Olivia needs to tell her the whole story. While what Olivia did was wrong, in terms of going along with the others, she did not cause Quinn to have a greedy devious boyfriend. Olivia did the right thing by saving Quinn but Quinn does deserve to know the details. It would just seem better if she knew the facts before she decided to ride along with the other devotees.

Harrison's dialogue should have ended at his having her back. No one on her team should continue to have dialogue that pretends as if she's some sort of angelic crusader. It would be nice if he encouraged her to go on despite what might happen.

[London]

HOW INSANE WAS THAT EPISODE?! I loved it from start to finish. I never get tired of laughing at David Rosen.... it just kills me that they manage to make a fool out of him every episode.

Poor Quinn... she wanted to pay Huck to kill Hollis. I know she wants closure and I hope she gets it.

Harrison to Abby was just crazy! I swear sometimes they remind me of militant troops with their ideology and what they say in every show.

DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN FITZ IS COLD BLOODED! I did NOT see that coming!

Him & Mellie was so OOC to me, I didn't get it but Liv better move the hell on.

[Money]

Shonda is so focused on giving us plot twists she's turning the show into a pretzel. There is not one character that has a moral leg to stand on. Everyone is so morally bankrupt that it's a bit unsettling. Shock value was apparently more important than allowing the beats to play out organically so viewers can be kept the edge of their seats. I found this episode interesting but it was also very disappointing. There were just too many twists crammed into the episode. I have a suspicious feeling that for all the interest this episode garnered, it may be the episode the show jumped the shark.

[marceline]

Well it was supposed to be the season finale before ABC ordered more episodes.

I loved it. These people are all completely insane. I cheered when Fitz offed Verna and I cheered when Quinn tried to hire Huck to kill Hollis.

Poor David. He just can't catch a break.

[JSROCKS]

Everybody needs a Huck in their life, not only will he have your back, he'll have your sides, your front, your top and your bottom. He is what the old folk would call "True Blue".

But, "Holy Plot Twist Batman", I was not prepared for what unfolded.

Wonder if David Rosen will joined Liv's merry band of criminals after he finishes licking his wounds.

Great show.

[Money]

Now that I've had time to process the episode...

The most interesting thing about Verna'a confession is that it revealed how resentful she is of Fitz - and so is Cyrus. Deep down neither of them like him very much but they have idolized the power of POTUS that gave them their individual legacies.

Harrison and his damn gladiator speeches is revolting. If Abby doesn't have the right to be justifiably angry that Olivia shows no boundaries with their personal lives then why the hell is she or either of them working for a woman where their lives can be collateral damage at any moment and they simply have to accept it. The cult like mentality that he continues to bestow upon her and expects everyone to abide by is frightening. It would only be fitting if Olivia plays God with his life and Abby tells him he doesn't get to be angry because it's all part of the job. It’s bad writing where Shonda felt it was completely irrelevant that there should be zero fallout of Abby learning the truth.

I have a huge problem with David being screwed by the same people repeatedly with no apologies and the promo for next week shows he needs their help.

It was hypocritical of Huck to tell Quinn if he killed Hollis she could no longer be a member of the team. This coming from the man who goes to AA meetings because he can’t get over his killing fetish.

I shouldn't be surprised that Fitz killed Verna because Shonda had to level the playing field for Olivia. All of these characters are pathological and morally bankrupt. Cyrus putting a hit on James? SMH

I don't even have the satisfaction of Fitz confronting Olivia over her betrayal.

She sitting all alone in the church was fitting. Her little speech to Edison about wanting love messy was poetic justice. I absolutely hated KW's delivery in that scene - so smug.

Love shouldn't be painful... - Thanks Edison.

[marceline]

Ever since Edison joined the show I've seen people asking what the point of him was. IMO everything about Edison was designed to bring Liv to that confession. She wants the pain. It's sick and twisted but at least she's finally honest about it. If she wants pain, well then that's what she's going to get.

In fact a lot of people in this show decided last night that they want the pain: James, Abby, Quinn, Cyrus, Mellie, Fitz all of them made decisions to stay in painful personal situations because they don't want or can't handle normal. I was really sorry to see Abby make that choice because I felt like she was every bit as betrayed by Olivia and Harrison as Fitz was by the secret circle.

[Wales2004]

Verna turned out to be an extremely contemptible character for no real reason. I don't care about her confession to Fitz because she knew she was on her way out before she was sworn in. Her sudden desire to kill Fitz followed by her sudden desire to come clean to David Rosen right before she died seemed like a forced story. She claims concern for the nation but didn't seem the least bit troubled by the death of that staff member and when Fitz reminded her of it....nothing. It felt very much like cheap soap opera drama. Get the dying woman to be the culprit, have her ready to tell all and then she can conveniently die before she gets to say a word. Sure Fitz killed her but it's the same result.

I get the feeling that the viewers will be sold a bill of goods about how the shooting altered Fitz's personality/character. The problem with that is at which point should viewers believe Fitz turned. He wanted a divorce and he showed this strong dislike for his wife plus he acknowledged that she risked their baby's life to manipluate him. Then after finding out that Olivia was in on the vote rigging he kills a woman and wants Mellie to stand by him. Apart from how horrible it is that Fitz is a murderer, the justification for Oliva being with him down the road is going to be that she and the others put him in that position.

It's disappointing that instead of having him confront Oliva and making her immediately understand where her decision led them--since two direct murders (plus the Citron deaths and the family Becky killed) came from that decision, we get this bizarre rekindling of Fitz and Mellie's marriage.

[London]

AHHHHHH! I forgot, Thanks for reminding me marceline. Scandal was renewed for a 13 episode S2 before ABC gave them the back nine they so obviously deserved.

Ok, I loved Shonda's interview about the Fitz & Mellie scene -- now I understand it a little better but I cannot stand how Fitz puts Olivia high up on this pedestal. I just don't get it.

LMAO -- why you cheer?!

[Wales2004]

I don't blieve that much thought was put into it. I don't think any thought was put into it other than giving her someone and that conclusion makes it even more ridiculous that it was someone from her past. When you bring back an old love, it should be for more than just to reveal that she wants love to be painful.

Edison asked her to marry him twice and he didn't even know her. If anything, more was said about him than about her but he's not even worth delving into since he wasn't even used as part of any sort of plot twist. Since there was no intention of actually building a relationship, he was just used to make it convenient for him to propose and her to tell Fitz for that cold knockout preceding Verna's funeral. Edison was a useless character who Olivia treated terribly for no reason other than he was that puppy who kept showing up on her doorstep. I couldn't even feel bad for him.

[marceline]

Because it was Quinn finally coming to terms with everything that had happened to her. Plus I agreed with her that it doesn't make sense that Hollis arranged for the deaths of all those people at Cytron and no one will ever pay for that.