If there’s one thing we’ve learned on this show it’s: EVERYONE ON THIS SHOW IS BALLS S— CRAZY, Y’ALL! What just happened? Who!? WHAT? Obviously, I liked the finale very much.
Let’s be honest, we love Scandal because it’s a rapid-moving, rapid-talking, completely heightened soap opera. And that’s what yesterday’s finale delivered. We can groan over the fact that Fitz and Olivia are back on back off back on for the millionth time, but the scene where Cyrus tells Olivia that Fitz is a murderer was beyond fantastic. As we’ve seen throughout these two seasons, Olivia and Fitz’s relationship is somewhat toxic. I certainly think so. Everyone who watches certainly thinks so. But the series hasn’t been playing it as such. During that scene, which was acted and produced so well, you could just feel the bomb being dropped. It certainly put their story into perspective.
Elsewhere, I know that people were hoping David would get his revenge on all the gladiators (ugh, please let’s never use this word again), but I’m kind of glad that they kept David a bit pure. Sure, he kind of blackmailed the president, but don’t you think he should be afforded at least that?
Which ties into the story being put in perspective. Olivia may be wearing the white hat this episode, but Billy Chambers’ monologue to David about how she and her associates ruing his life is no less true. All of these people are inextricably flawed people, and they probably don’t deserve a happy ending. As Cyrus said, it’s not a romance novel. I, for one, am glad that the series understands that and they seem to be stating it to us quite plainly. Though, I won’t understand how Olivia was just like, “Meh. You killed someone. Clean slate!” But good enough.
Quinn seems to be taking the Huck approach. As soon as Quinn began taking after Huck, I think we perhaps saw this coming, but to see it finally realize itself was kind of bittersweet. Obviously, I’m not okay with people becoming crazed murderers. However, I think that this development has given Quinn a good story moving forward. It’s weird, because when I first began to watch Scandal (having known nothing about it), I felt as though Quinn was kind of a much bigger character (hell, the season one finale ended on a cliffhanger about her character). And even though the season began about her, her presence hasn’t been as front and center as it used to be or how I perceived it to be in the beginning episodes. So, I like that we’ll get more Quinn because of this and that she’s yet again fallen into the abyss of characters who have become, basically, dark. At the same time, Quinn’s innocence is what I admired about the character in the first place. It’ll be an interesting balance come season 3. Though I think it’s safe to say that Quinn tipped that balance — she freakin’ tortured somebody!
On to Olivia and Fitz: okay, we’re not all happy that they have broken up yet again. But at least it’s on more amicable terms this time around. When Fitz delivered that speech to Mellie about how he was going to be able to transition from divorcing her to being with Olivia, I thought, “Dang! Olivia Pope is good.” Great strategy. And Scandal has been such a whirlwind as of late that who knows, perhaps the writers really would have gone there with them. But if there is one thing that’s stagnant in the Scandal universe it’s the seesaw that is the Olivia/Fitz relationship. And to see Fitz waddle back to Mellie was almost nostalgic; it completely defines their relationship. Whenever he feels like he can’t control a situation, he goes to Mellie for a pat on the head. It was devastating. (But I’m okay as long as we get the same amont of Mellie we’ve been getting. I know some of you can’t stand her, but she’s the best!)
And last but definitely not least: Um… is Olivia’s dad trying to kill her!? We find out that Scott Foley’s character is part of the super-secret CIA division that Huck was a part of. And then it turns out that agents from that same division are trying to kill Olivia, case in point: that lady who worked at the bakery. (Or at least I think that was her.) Here’s how the episode ends: Scott Foley gets thrown into a ditch, just like Huck. But for everyone else, life is going pretty smoothly. Olivia has her workout gear on – all white, of course. Butterflies all having fun, you know what I mean, don’t you know? She opens the front door — bam. Everyone knows she’s POTUS’ mistress.
WHAT!? First, who leaked the information? Unless I blinked and missed something, I don’t remember anyone actually doing so. Of course, the first culprit is Mellie who probably pulled the trigger early on that information. The likelier answer is her father because Rowan apparently is Olivia’s patriarchal unit. On any regular soap opera, this would have been something you saw coming. But knowing you are watching a Shonda Rhimes series, with her forward-thinking casting, your mind just doesn’t go there. Nice, little twist. And it just goes to prove that EVERYONE IS BALLS S— CRAZY.
What an episode. It might have felt a bit slower, only because EVERYTHING that could have happened this season, did. Fitz was almost assassinated, for goodness sakes! Even Cyrus was like, “A heart attack? Ain’t nobody got time for that” this episode.
See you in the fall, Scandal!
Michael loves TV. You can find him at home, where he spends all of his time watching TV with his best friends couch and cable access.