Scandal: Discussion Thread

[Money]

I forgot to mention what was up with Cyrus' hair. That hair piece had a life of it's own.

I'm not a prude but even I had to blush when it was overtly implied that Jake was pleasuring Olivia on the beach. That line about her liking to ride him was crass and not sexy at all. I guess he forgot Fitz stroked that magic pearl several times over.

[Faulkner]

Scott Foley's delivery of that line was poor. What should have been sexy was just kinda EW. He's great-looking but he's not the finest actor.

[thelma42]

That's all he is. I really wish they could bring someone on who could be some real competition to Fitz. Scott Foley is not doing it. The actor sucks. But, maybe that's what Shonda wants.

[gladiator in flip flops]

I was not impressed by much of this season four premier.

I agree with some of you all that Olivia was too quick to come back and the gang (OPA) were too quick to get together.

I didn't feel any spark or excitement.

The Case of The Week- That was a joke!!! It was boring. Been there. Done that.

Shirtless Jake on the other hand was something to look at.

They were too quick to get off that beach though. I would have loved to see Jake and Olivia stay there until at least the next episode.

Mellie was the best. Her story of a grieving mother was right on spot. And that no waxing down there line was the most refreshing and newest, funniest line.

Other than that, it's like Cyrus said, "We've seen this movie before."

~Milo

[slick jones]

Portia de Rossi always plays a good *itch! Iceberg!

MacArthur Park! ..."someone left the cake out...in the rain..." classic!

[Soapsuds]

10.4 Mil Viewers and 3.3 Demo

[Skin]

That's the most watched episode of Scandal ever. It seems they are doing something right. This was never a Grey's Anatomy out of the box kind of success, but it seems to be growing on people over time. I admit to becoming addicted to this show around the beginning of season 3. I still haven't caught up on seasons 1 and 2 though. Off the top of my head Millie is tiring me. I know we are supposed to be grieving for her, but she has to know better than to walk out of the house, looking like that and eating junk food is going to be bad for the President. Olivia is once again the only one who knows how to run that White House. No one else has a clue what to do or what to say.

Beyond tired of the Command storylines and Big Daddy threatening and killing everyone.

[Angela]

I didn't like the premise of this show so only got into it in Season 3 with the fleshing out of Mellie.

Season 4...

Episode One

Olivia is a stronger character when not around Fitz. Her doing her problem solving and not being around Fitz much is something I like. That said, I don't like Jake and Olivia as a pairing much more than I like Olivia and Fitz as a pairing. I used to really like them but they made Jake a little too hard and he just comes off as fake hard. If I wanted to see fingering suggested so dang in your face I'd get Showtime.

Cy's hair? I couldn't pay attention to anything in his scenes besides that hair.

I could not GAF about Harrison due to the real-life issues with the actor that portrays him so that storyline thread was annoying to me.

As much as I don't like them as a pairing, the Fitz and Olivia non-brush of fingers scene was very good. The directing of the scene was pretty great with the surrounding people fading out then back in.

1976, yeah uhm...

The directing in this scene is immaculate. Mellie laying down "with" her son trying to connect with him and the POTUS and FLOTUS symbolically connected though loss.

Episode Two

The unhealthy eating fad - as well as change in dressing habits - Mellie is going through to add levity to the situation is a nice touch. Secret Service requesting a bag of chips for FLOTUS from the President who immediately scurries through the junk food bag, hah.

But, sniffle at this and what came after. Bellamy is knocking it out of da park but I do hope Mellie gets back to her ambitious, kicking butt self by mid-season.

The connection between Huck and Olivia is pretty sweet.

Cyrus trying to manipulate Mellie into going to the SOTU was wrong but he got to me when he was describing what he lost.

Cy falling for this pretty guy's chit so easily...

[gladiator in flip flops]

This episode was much better for me. Things tied in together.

Not only is Bellamy doing a great job as Mellie but so is Abby. I liked when she went into that long speech to the First Lady. That was good.

And David played his cards right for once.

Now I hate to be picky (I always am anyways) but wasn't Olivia wearing that same white jacket too long in this episode. She went to New Mexico in it. Then came back and gave an TV interview in it and then at night while calling Jake for a booty call, she was still wearing it. I thought that was too long to go on with the same outfit given that Old Liv is such a fashionista. At night, I would have expected her to be in a white satin robe.

I give Jake credit for moving away and getting his own place. At least he is not fooling himself. He knows the deal. Hey "What's Love Got To Do With It".

Wow Cyrus!!! That was some scene that Shonda got away with. I liked it. I think Cyrus is capable of anything. True he don't pay for sex though. That ain't Cyrus. But I liked seen the old boy get all hot and bothered.

~Milo

[Money]

So Shonda is being crude just for the sake of since Cyrus' boy toy told him he knows he wants to replace the lump in his throat with something more satisfying. Completely ridiculous and unnecessary.

Random thoughts... Last season Olivia said the reason she was leaving was because she was the scandal - the problem - and she needed to take care of it. Since she's back I guess she no longer feels that way as she's settled right back in with her cases of the week?

A lot of her clients left and her firm took a hit during the scandal of her possibly being Fitz' mistress and in the two months that she was gone the firm was completely closed and yet the second she's back it's up and running again. Who was paying rent on the space?

Fitz needs to be bitched slapped and I wished Mellie had slapped him again for all that b.ullshit he was spewing. I just loved his excuse of having to run the country. Since Mellie doesn't have that luxury she should suck it up and put on her big girl panties. Never mind she did just that at The State of The Union address for his ass. How and how long she chooses to grieve for her son is her damn business especially since he doesn't give two chits about her. Him blaming her when he's equally bad at being a father is typical Fitz. If it doesn't have the smell of Olivia he doesn't care which leads me to Olitz..

TG gave an interview where he said people always calls him a dog two timing both women and he reiterated his love for Olivia has always been constant and every time they get the opportunity to be together Olivia is the one who bails. I'll give him that since I've always said Fitz loves her unconditionally and that has never been reciprocated by her. She left him, fled the country with Jake, had no intentions of returning while she and her f.uck buddy drank wine on the heels of his son's death. That was cold blooded and if the roles were reversed twitter would be s.hitting bricks.

Are Huck, Quinn, and Olivia even friends and I'm still wondering how Quinn got back on the team since that was never addressed.

I really feel bad for Abby. She's no longer Olivia's lap dog and can be great at her job if given the opportunity only for Cyrus to tell her she'll never be Olivia. Sigh.

If I were that couple I would have laughed in Olivia's face. She sounded like she was throwing a temper tantrum rather than issuing a legitimate threat. I would have upped my demand for 5 mil for that alone.

I continue to love Papa Pope.He's such a badass. Jake... not so much. Even though he tries. Hard.

[marceline]

I have the impression that one of the things ABC agreed to in exchange for Shondaland Thursday is a more hands-off approach from network censors. I'm not watching Grey's but both Scandal and HTGAWM have really pushed the envelope when it comes to sex. The thing I've never understood is why Shonda hasn't tried her hand at a cable show where she would have more freedom. Perhaps she enjoys working around the limits of network TV.

Fitz was 100 percent right in the way he read Mellie. I saw this as the flip side of the speech Mellie gave him when he was drunk all the time and she had to tell him that the kids didn't want to see him. The truth is they are lousy parents but I chalk that up to the fact that the show doesn't want to write them as parents at all. Can you imagine the freakout in this country if the First Family sent kids off to boarding school? The pearl clutching and judgment would never stop. It's even more ludicrous when you consider Jerry's death. One kid dies, they ship the other back to boarding school and America's Baby is nowhere to be seen all while the First Lady eats chips in the cemetery.

[Skin]

I have to say I completely agreed with Fitz in regards to Mellie's behavior. She's been acting inappropriately this entire season, and she's completely lost it. I couldn't believe she went out the house dressed like that, reading tabloids and eating chips at the ceremony. She hasn't been acting like a woman in her stature should, I mean to compare the situations, you didn't see Jackie Kennedy acting like that after the assassination of her husband. There are standards, and she of all people should know that. She's been getting away with far too much, and has completely lost touch with reality, which is why Olivia is needed to continuously fix their lives.

Abby is never going to be Olivia, and she needs to realize that, and come to terms with it.

As to the porn tape, I don't understand why they paid the 3 million dollars in the first place. The daughter is clearly underage, and I am certain that they could sue for child pornography. She was also drunk and high -- I am sure there is some level of dubious consent there that could be utilized for coercion or rape. Olivia has done more with less. I get that they didn't want it getting out, but why give these extortioners the money? Why not just strong hold them into giving over the tape and all copies?

[Angela]

I personally haven't and wouldn't give a crap if any of our Presidents send or sent their kids to boarding school. It's just something I expect of rich and powerful parents. Also, it's not like Jackie Kennedy was FLOTUS for more than a few minutes after her husbands assassination.

I'm with Money on Mellie. One, Fitz went off on her because she dared speak not perfectly of his obsession and, two, Mellie AND FITZ weren't present parents most of the time when they weren't drunk - so how does the responsibility to your kids acting the a-- go back to mostly Mellie. Fitz excuse of running the country? Fitz doesn't run the country in any competent way most of the time, it's usually OPA, Cyrus and Mellie fixing chit for him over and over again. At least Mellie is being a PITA because she lost a child, not because she lost her favorite booty. Mellie has not been hurting anybody. She got her behind in a dress to go to his SOTU. She got caught eating chips on a grave, once, big deal. She, with an assist from Abby, fixed that. Fitz came off like a ranting child. His "my wife" rant at Mellie was less childish ... that's why Mellie was able to shut the man down in under 140 characters. Burn.

I do find the dynamics between Olivia/Fitz/Mellie mega-interesting though since they made it clear Fitz and Mellie did love each other at one point and still do care about each other deep down. Olivia has been mind-f**ked about that relationship since the "my wife" episode as she should be. It's kind of true to life, the other woman always believes the bullchit by the cheater but when you really, really go behind the scenes there's a whole different story. I don't want Mellie and Fitz back together, but I do like them playing the tension of it all.

Has nobody told Mellie that one of Olivia's parents did her kid in basically because Olivia and Mellie's husband were smashing too much for their liking? In character, this should make her dislike Olivia as intensely as she used to, again.

Papa Pope basically shooting Jake in the balls at the end of Thursday's episodes? He's so good. He's so bad.

That said this season is a little more cartoonish than usual. A little more contrived. I don't get why Jake waited so long to take Papa Pope out on this EXCEPT for the fact that Shonda wants Papa Pope to survive for as long as possible. He gave Papa Pope all the time in the world to plot his demise. I actually don't get this whole storyline thread as "fun" as it is. Why are they looking for "who gave the orders?" when Mama Pope was already pointed at (and supposedly murdered for it). They're not worrying about properly connecting more than a few things this season. Yeah, I guess, the video of the secret service detail stealing a biochemical agent re-opened the thought process but eh.

Olivia's take down of the scheming parents was pretty terrific. I like most of those fast-paced rants Scandal is known for.

[marceline]

You think so? I actually find it less so. Not that that's saying much. IMO, last season was way more cartoonish between the "election" such as it was and the show basically becoming Black Alias I was almost grateful for the shortened season due to KW's pregnancy.

[gladiator in flip flops]

Poor Jake - He should have never gone to dinner at Daddy Pope's. Or was it Daddy who just got lucky when the President called him? I loved the ending.

Now this whole Olivia/Fitz thing is becoming a bore. I used to couldn't wait to see the love scenes between them two. Now not so much. Been there. Done that. And that Fitz/Olivia music playing in background at the Oval office reunion was old. OMG! Enough with all of that. Don't play it no more unless we are back to season one or two. Play it again, when Fitz is divorce, no longer President and he and Olivia are FINALLY standing in the sun. If not, I don't want to hear it. I am tired of it. I am actually starting to like Olivia with Jake.

Mellie is the one that is truly showing her colors as always. I loved that she could at least have a conversation with her daughter. Maybe they can help each other grief.

~Milo