Scandal ‘It’s Handled’ review: You’ve just been schooled

Just a quick review…

There weren’t many returning dramas I was anticipating this fall — Homeland, Revenge, Nikita — but Scandal was still at the top of the list. If you watched the second season of Scandal, then you know why: there’s just no way any other broadcast show is toppling on cliffhangers and plot twists like Scandal is right now. It’s a whirlwind of snappy lines and even snappier developments. Nothing happens too quickly in the Scandal universe, and yet it was taking forever to finally debut its third season.

That it did, last Thursday, though. And, man, was it not glorious? Not even Homeland could deliver something as thoroughly entertaining and engaging as Scandal‘s premiere.

Now, that’s not to say there weren’t some quibbles. But there was only one. One. In my humble opinion, I wasn’t a fan of leaking some other girl’s name and just destroying her life. (I also don’t buy the media just gobbling that up, no questions asked.) However, my mind quickly changed when it turned out that she was now Olivia’s latest and only client. Things are about to get really good.

Besides, I think we had our payoff with having Olivia’s secret out there. Sure, we all reveled in all the characters yelling at each other, but the true peak of the episode was Olivia, Fitz, and Mellie in that secret bunker. It’s a testament to those actors, but it’s also a testament to the characters and how well they play off each other and what their motivations are. They’re each so complex and so manipulative in their own way that a scene where they plan how to play the media in the coming weeks is what sets this episode apart. The payoff for having Olivia’s named being leaked isn’t the “scandal” that surrounds it, it’s how these three characters deal with their interconnected relationship thereafter. And it’s magnificent to watch. If nothing else, that scene proved that a bottle episode with just these three would be compelling to watch.

Of course, that all spirals into the bombshell that Fitz leaked Olivia’s name, finally overtly declaring war on Mellie. (Can someone make a Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck photoshop of them?) Nothing has changed, and I can’t wait to see them continue to battle it out this season.