Scandal Episode 413: No More Blood

Scandal Episode 413: No More Blood delivers Olivia from her nightmarish plight, Ole Randy Andy gets what was coming to him and like Lattimore, Daddy Pope announces that his give a dayumn gave out a long time ago. The title comes from a promise Huck makes to Quinn in an attempt to dial back the crazy that was unleashed in the last episode when he butchered a whole room of folks.

Although she is physically unscathed, Olivia is traumatized by this experience and several of her major relationships may never recover. She needs to know that Cyrus Beene is not her friend with his low down treacherous self. That awful wig is the physical manifestation of his ugly soul. He needs to be dealt with — soon.

The episode opens with Olivia and her captors in the desert meeting with the Iranians who purchased her. The lead person for the other side is an Iranian female who Olivia speaks to in Farsi convincing her that Gus and the boys are planning a doublecross. The Iranian lady believes Olivia and calls off the deal and both parties retreat. Go on then Ms. Pope with those advanced language skills. I guess Rowan really did send her to the finest schools.

Quinn is at the OPA offices drinking brown liquor when Jake walks in and tells her that Olivia is okay because the deal fell through. She had me worried because that firewater makes folks do strange things and we already know that she has tendencies.

Mellie meets with Andrew and spells out the terms of an agreement that he is to sign to make sure that Olivia is returned safely and he keeps his mouth shut. She tries to snatch his wig by telling him that he is just the runner-up but will never be the winner when he tells her that she wasn’t saying all that when he had her on her knees in the White House. Poor Mellie has no luck at all when it comes to choosing men. She might need to try E-Harmony.

Mellie realizes that ole Randy Andy is not going to play nicely so she goes to Mrs. Ellen and tells her that she better reel him in since she took one for the team in sleeping with that pig to get Huck to back off her family.

Jake straightens Huck out explaining that he received the same horrendous treatment from B613 only he did not allow his dark side to take over. “It feels good, that’s the problem. Warm blood on your hands feels good… They warped me too. They added a beast inside me too, and he’s a really good guy. He’s so much fun – you’d like him. But I do not let him out ever. Not when I fight. Not when I kill. Not when I hurt. Because he is not allowed out to play.”

And here we thought Huck was the only bloodthirsty loon in the bunch.

Mrs. Ellen approaches Huck offering to pay him to get rid of Andrew only Huck promised Quinn that he was done killing people because she was freaked out by him going off the deep end in trying to get Olivia back.

The CIA and other high level honchos met Fitz in the situation room to explain how disastrous it would be if Olivia falls into the wrong hands and suggested that they might need to “neutralize the asset.” Although the CIA head says that the Navy Seals only has a 30% chance of successfully extracting her, Fitz tells them to proceed.

Cyrus is angry about Fitz risking so much to save Olivia and hatches a secret plan with the CIA to kill her knowing that so long as she is out there floating around, whoever has her will be able to control the President.

The auction is back on and Huck bids as Marie Wallace.  It looks like they are going to win right up until the last minute when a group of Russians tie the bid at the last minute with a $2-billion offer.

Abby leaks Cyrus’ plans to Huck and the others which propels him to snatch Andrew up because we all know that Olivia is his Ms. Jenkins – he will kill you over her. Huck keeps his promise to Quinn and does not kill Andrew, but he injects him with something that induces a stroke and lands him in the hospital. Mellie later visits him and tells him that he brought it on himself. Ouch. She was like Mr. Big in that R. Kelly Keep it on the Downlow video where he yells “Look at me,  look at me!  I did this to you.”

Jake goes to Mamma Pope and tells her that Olivia will either be sold to rapists or murked by the government. She tells him where to find Eli who is chilling at his fishing hole with several episodes of righteous indignation stored up.

Daddy Pope tells Jake that he has no daughter. “People are endlessly disappointing because you hope they won’t be. I knew that she would need me. I knew that you’d come here begging for help. This was all predictable, all disappointing this is why I am fishing. Because I am never disappointed out here because I don’t expect anything because anything is possible. I can be hopeful out here even in failure. because I know If I just go out there around that tree it might be different. Something might be different. Something I do might make a difference.”

I know he is still salty about Olivia trying to kill him, but I never expected him to be this cold about it.

 

Gus decides to hand Olivia over to the Russians and they are off to the desert again to meet the purchasers. Olivia is walked out with a black hood over her head. When the hood is removed, she sees that the guy who purchased her is none other than Stephen, one of the original gladiators who left in the first season because he wanted to get married and have a normal life.

Stephen Returns to save Olivia

Olivia realizes she is safe, grabs a gun, shoots Gus and then proceeds to kick the crap out of him in some bad Burberry boots. I was like girl, don’t break a heel on that lowlife when you have more bullets. Stephen had to pull her off that fool because she was about to kick a hole in him.

Olivia returns home and finally get some decent locks courtesy of Huck who hugs her really tight and tells her that he was afraid that someone had hacked her into pieces and burned her body. Um, why did she not have him stay for a while just to be safe?

Fitz showed up looking all pitiful as soon as her crew left asking if she was hurt. She assures him that she was not raped but says that there are some things that are worse. She was mad at him for going to war and told him that he was throwing away everything that she sacrificed to get him where he is. She is livid and kicks him out. Here we go again.

• I don’t much care for Fitz, but he did not deserve to be treated like that. I get that she is disappointed in his behavior, but he has proven over and over that he loves her and will do just about anything to be with her. How are you going to be mad at the man for trying to save you?
• How many times is that low down dirty Cyrus going to try to kill folks before calling it off at the last minute? He did the same thing with James and has no loyalty to anyone or anything. I pray that Fitz, Daddy Pope and the Notorious MOM find out about this betrayal because he needs to pay.
• Daddy Pope is understandably angry, but he has to reconcile with his only child. If for no other reason than fear of her crazy mother who is not going to be happy when she hears about him refusing to help.
• Can Stephen please come back for good? Harrison is gone, so there is an opening. Plus, he’s handsome and has a hot accent. And Liv really needs a new love interest.

 

Scandal Episode 411: “Where’s the Black Lady?”

Scandal Episode 411: “Where’s the Black Lady” shows Olivia saving herself from a hellish fate as Fitz, Jake and Huck work to find where she was taken. This episode is much better than the previous week’s offering which was so tedious that I did not even bother to recap it. This title comes from scenes with veteran actress Marla Gibbs who is a friend of the elderly lady who was killed in the last episode. I am still salty with them for killing Big Mamma in cold blood last week because that wasn’t even necessary.

The murdered lady’s name is Lois, and her friend is concerned that she has not been able to contact her, and she knows that Lois gave a spare house key to the nice Black lady who lives across the hall because she helps people for a living — Olivia. This is a pivotal moment because up until then Huck and Quinn were not able to figure out where Olivia might have been taken.

The episode opens with Fitz in the Oval office getting an unwelcome visit from the Secret Service. Apparently ole Randy Andy has co-opted multiple levels of government to get them to watch the President to make sure that he does not search for Olivia. Andrew’s henchman warns Fitz that Olivia will be beheaded if he fails to cooperate by declaring war on West Angola.

Ole Randy Andy is awfully bold in this episode, and I really wanted him to be dropped in the hole with Mamma Pope.

A visibly shaken Fitz is in the bedroom with Mellie who has suddenly decided to come clean about swerving with Andrew again. She starts running her mouth about all their dirty secrets including the stolen election, and Fitz tells her to stop talking since he is being followed and recorded. Mellie always has bad timing.

Fitz demands proof that Olivia is still alive before taking any action, so her captor films her holding up a newspaper and reading a statement. Ole girl requests a glass of water and uses that glass to show her captor’s reflection on camera. I knew she wasn’t just thirsty!

Huck pays Mrs. Ellen a visit at her house after she tucks her daughter in and warns her that he will cut the girl up and make her watch him do it if she does not tell him where to find Olivia.

She seems legitimately shook, but hell, who did she think they were dealing with here? This chick is the child of assassins and rolls with psychopaths. Huck could kill Lizzie and her daughter and have that house so clean that no one would know that she ever lived there.

Lizzie Bear pays Andrew a visit and asks him what he has done and tells him about her late night visitor. Ole Randy Andy basically tells her to man up and get her mind right because he is trying to get into the Oval Office.

Huck pays Lizzie another visit because she did not deliver the info about Olivia. He is sitting next to her daughter’s bed in the dark and muses about snapping the kid’s neck which turns out to be a bluff because he exacts his vengeance solely on Lizzie and left her back looking like she’d received 2,000 lashes. She may as well have stood up and yelled “Give us free!” after he got done with her.

After telling Mellie about the kidnapping, Fitz decides to declare war on Angola but Olivia is not freed because Andrew plans to use her to manipulate the President for the remaining three years of his term. Ian, her captor, says that they will keep her alive until the three years are up and then they will kill her.

Three years? Do they not know whose child she is? Mama Pope will burrow her way from that hole and chew iron bars to get to Olivia. And although he is angry with her, there is no way Eli is going to allow these people to just snatch his daughter up and treat her like some scullery wench without making them pay for it. Liam Neeson has nothing on the deadly Popes when it comes to bringing back kidnapped offspring.

After Lois’ friend tells Quinn about Olivia having a key to the neighbor’s apartment, they go over there to investigate and find the ring that she left behind as a clue. Huck tells them that Olivia wears that ring for Fitz and never takes it off, so he is sure that she had been in that apartment. They also check the WiFi and are able to figure out the last person to have accessed it,  but they are not able to narrow down the location.

Mellie visits Andrew and tells him to give Olivia back to Fitz, but he goes off on some rant talking about how he’s doing all this devilment for them. Mellie takes one for the team and sleeps with him to steal his phones which she turns over to Lizzie who gives them to OPA so that Huck will leave her alone.

Andrew used one of the phones to contact Ian repeatedly, so the crew was able to locate where Olivia is being held and David Rosen uses the DEA to call in a drug raid on the location, but Olivia is already gone by the time they get there.

Realizing that she needs to save herself, Olivia brokers a deal with Ian to have him sell her to the highest bidder. She figures that it will be easier to take her chances on the open market rather than wait around to be killed.

Olivia reprises the hype man role that she played for Cyrus when he was about to quit in disgrace and asks Ian if he wants to remain a highly paid babysitter or try to gain some real power for himself. “Do you want to be a babysitter or do you want to be a boss?” she asks.

I can appreciate them trying to show Olivia saving herself, but I am not here for Black folks being auctioned off in 2015 – and during Black History month at that. Seriously? Is that the best that they could come up with for this storyline? I am side-eying this whole situation right now. Picture me glaring with my arms folded like that lady in the background of that infamous photo of Angelina Jolie and Amy Pascal.

What woman would come up with that plan? She had to know that her crew was coming for her, and even if they never found her dying in a cell has to be a better fate than being trafficked. I do not like this at all. I have given these writers a lot of leeway, but this is pushing it.

Olivia convinces Ian to get her cleaned up to fetch a better price, and she calls Fitz from a private jet to tell him about the plan. His excitement at hearing her voice on the phone is short-lived when Ian takes the phone and says that he is going to sell her to the highest bidder.

• While this episode was more interesting than last week’s, the ending really ruined it for me. I find nothing clever or cute about this situation and there really was no need to go that route.
• Are they going to have her sold off to some wealthy sheikh and added to a harem?
• What is Mellie getting out of all this? Fitz does not love her, and neither does Andrew.
• On the plus side, Mamma Pope is in the previews for the next episode, and you know that she is not going to allow any modern-day slavery to happen on her watch.

Scandal Episode 409: Where the Sun Don’t Shine

 

Olivia’s Face-Off & Cyrus’ Epic Downfall

The Scandal Winter finale played out like a Shakespearean tragedy with Olivia’s face-off with her dad and Cyrus’ public humiliation once the press learns about his affair with a male prostitute. My patience with Ms. Pope is at the breaking point because she is being too hard on the only man who has always had her back. I’m about sick of her and this White hat nonsense that has allowed her to put herself and her crew on a pedestal pretending that their motives are pure while everyone else is supposedly wrong. Olivia tries to kill her dad and convinces Cyrus to marry his gigolo and ole Randy Andy kidnaps Olivia to get back at Fitz and force him into attacking Angola.

The episode opens with Olivia pouting over Daddy Pope getting away while Fitz and Jake hash out what went wrong. They have snipers searching for him when they discover the Notorious MOM in the hole. She thanks Olivia for saving her and seems to think that her own daughter will be on her side but she is sadly mistaken and Olivia tells Fitz and them to charge her mother with murder and a host of other serious crimes. So much for the mother daughter reunion.

A Lobbyist Called Slickback

Mrs. Ellen comes to OPA and gets on Olivia for not telling her that Cyrus bugged her phone. She observes that Olivia is either bad at her job or just not willing to help and even has nerve to use that tired old quote about there being a special place in hell for women who do not support other women. Um Mrs. Ellen, you need not quote Madeline Albright while you are out here being a Lobbyist called Slickback and playing a wife against her husband. Call me petty, but I really want Cyrus and Mellie to jump her. Mother Albright was not blazing trails in fanciful brooches and sensible shoes for other women to be out here using her words to cover their dirt.

Lizzie leaks Cyrus’ photos with the gigolo to the press making him a laughingstock while the Grant Administration is struggling with its response to the crisis in Angola. The President does not want to be drug unnecessarily into a war, but the failure to retaliate is making them look weak.  Olivia suggests that Cyrus marry Michael to try to smooth things over but he refuses saying that it wold be cruel and unfair to James for him to marry “this person.” Oh so it was okay to put a hit on the man twice and pimp him out to Daniel Douglas, but marrying a professional mic-checker  is a bridge too far for Mr. Beene. It’s good to have standards.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Jake narrowly avoids being killed and learns that Rowan is planning to kill all former B613 agents to tie up loose ends. He even goes so far as to create playing cards with the agents’ photos known as Kill cards. Jake finds his card on the gunman that he takes out and warns Huck and Quinn. Quinn goes to warn Charlie and winds up sleeping with him and later discovers that he’s been sent to kill her. They get into a Mortal Kombat style brawl that ends with them sitting on the floor bloodied and bruised in a kind of truce. He even agrees to help Huck make amends with his family.

Jake gives Olivia a gun and tells her that she needs to defend herself because Rowan is cleaning house but he of course tries one last time to get her to run off with him into the sun. “The sun went down a long time ago, and it’s not coming back, ” she tells him while holding the gun.

These Daughters Aint Loyal

Huck tracks Rowan’s car to a B613 safehouse in Roanoke but he is actually at Olivia’s apartment opening a bottle of wine and chilling like he pays the bills up in that joint trying to reminisce about Songs in the Key of Life. Olivia tells him to leave, but he pulls out a gun and tells her to sit. She does and then proceeds to get real disrespectful after he says that she is not going to be happy until he’s dead.

“You can never leave me alone because you have no place to go. The only life you have is the sad twisted one that you built here the one where you lurk in the shadows, pull puppet springs and pretend that the world could not exist without your protection. You’re a sick lonely man who only knows how to lie and  call it love.”

Um Ms. Pope, this is no way to talk to your dad, and I am sure that you know better. Daddy Pope interrupts her little speech asking  “Could you be more ungrateful?! There would be no Olivia Pope if not for me. So what your stomach turns every time you look at me? Well let me be the one to Let me break it to you Olivia, you are looking in the mirror.”

Olivia jumps up and grabs the gun in the middle of his rant, and he warns her to watch herself but this little heffa pulls the trigger! The gun was not loaded, but Daddy Pope screams and says “Are you kidding me? You just shot your own father? Never, never in a million years did I think that you would be willing to pull the trigger.” He took the gun from her and then leaves after telling her that she will miss him when he’s gone.

I have tolerated a lot of bad behavior from Ms. Pope – the adultery, the borderline alcoholism and trading on sexual favors to get what she wants, but this betrayal of her own dad is about the last straw for me. He is not innocent, but he is family, and she has shown way more dedication to friends than she ever has to own father. That is not cool. Not by a longshot, and she is sure to reap what she sowed. If she can forgive Jake for choking her and Fitz for being a serial azzhole, then surely she can muster some small portion of compassion for her own dad.

Olivia goes back to visit her mother and demands answers about where he might have gone. Mamma Pope looks at her calmly and tells her to get over herself. “Girl, you need to let it go.” She tells Olivia that she is just like her father who kept her in the hole and visited her every day.

Are you a Bitch Baby?

Cyrus gives Fitz his letter of resignation and is packing up his house when Olivia shows up with a pep talk. “When did you decide to let them ruin you?” she demands before telling him to quit acting like a “Bitch Baby” and go be the Cyrus Beene that she has always known – the political monster who really runs the country.

Mrs. Ellen confronts Mellie about Fitz deciding not to go to war and makes the mistake of saying that she thought they were on the same page. Mellie informs her that she knows about her and Andrew and warns her that she will be out for revenge in the next election cycle.

After being set straight by her mother, Olivia goes home and attempts to be normal with Jake. I say attempts because she looked and sounded real crazy dancing around talking about how she is choosing herself and is happy to dance alone. Yeah, sure. So she and Jake are about to get busy when he leaves her alone in the living room while he goes to the bedroom for a blanket. By the time he returns to the living room, she’s gone leaving behind an overturned glass of wine on the couch. That is how you know she didn’t leave willingly because ole girl does not waste the grapes.

The Vice President, ole Randy Andy, met with Fitz griping about his failure to attack Angola after their government supposedly bombed his car. He told Fitz that while it was messed up that he would not act on his behalf, he had something that he would go anything to get back, and the implication is that the something is Olivia. And so it ended.

• I am feeling some kind of way about Olivia attempting to shoot her dad. He read her disloyal azz the riot act, and now she is probably going to need his help to get out of this current bind.
• Baby Ella deserves a better stepdad than the gigolo, and I am sure that James is turning over in his grave at the thought of this nonsense. What can Michael teach this child other than how to make it clap for dollars?
• Are they going to bring back Trill OG Bitsy to mentor Mellie in the second half of the season? Mells is getting some of her spark back, but I think she needs a few more lessons from her shade mentor.
• Will Daddy Pope come back to save his ungrateful  pitiful child? I’m pretty sure that he will, and I hope that she learns to appreciate him and his methods.

Scandal Episode 408: The Last Supper

Olivia has completely torn her drawers with Daddy Pope in Episode 408: The Last Supper, and he washed his hands of her after she tried to manipulate him in order to take him down. Formerly Smelly Mellie gets her groove back again with Vice President Andy who is having a secret affair with Mrs. Ellen, and Cyrus’ paid boo thang may not be totally in it for the money after all. Also, Huck is spending more time with his son which is not necessarily a good thing. This episode made me a lot more sympathetic to Daddy Pope because he is Olivia’s father and she seems to have no loyalty to him whatsoever. Yes he’s lied and killed, but he always had her best interests at heart – can she say that about either of her boyfriends?

Scandal Episode 408 opens with the love triangle in a bunker, and Jake is letting the President know that they are no longer friends which should have been obvious after he was beaten while cuffed and left to rot in prison. Olivia is caught between their bickering and Jake attempts to stake his claim calling her his girlfriend and talking about their plans to walk off into the sun while Fitz just sits there looking like the third wheel. He later corners Olivia in the hall and begs for a kiss for old times sake. It did not take much to convince Olivia, and that ole petty Fitz did it mainly to make his competition jealous. She needs to get a crucifix and back up when he starts closing in on her because ole girl has no backbone at all where this man is concerned. She was probably still thinking about that raunchy call from the last episode.

Cyrus gets busted hacking The Republican National Chairwoman’s phone and tells Olivia that he knew that Michael was a hoe, but he was a distraction from his real life. He even had nerve to say that Baby Ella cries when she sees him because she thinks he’s a stranger – yeah because he was spending all his free time, and her college fund, on a gigolo. Miss baby said don’t try to get all parental now that your feelings are hurt. #TheseDadsAintLoyal.

Speaking of Cyrus’ boo for hire, he may have some actual feelings for the old man because he only leaked minor info to the woman who hired him when he had access to plenty of damning information if he really wanted to be dirty.

Realizing that he is in big trouble, Cyrus begs Olivia for help and despite her having recently accepted Elizabeth as a client, she agrees to help him. Olivia has Huck check on the evidence their new client has on Cyrus and he discovers many videos of him and Michael getting busy, and I really could have lived without seeing any of it. And it might be my imagination, but Cyrus’ wig looked much better in this episode. It was less greying cockatoo and more Hair Club for Men. He was so upset over Michael that I really did think he was going to be on the next episode of Snapped. 

Vice President Andrew surfaced for the first time in weeks and nearly dies after a car bomb goes off in his vehicle. Mellie runs to him in his office and they rekindle their affair. He later calls her out for ignoring him up until she was ready to resume swerving, but she explained that he chose the vice presidency over her and says that after little Gerry died it was just easier to pretend that he did not exist. She begs him for another chance.

Little does Mellie know that ole randy Andy has another woman — Elizabeth, the one who has been asking for Mellie’s help bringing Fitz back in line with the Republican party’s message. Poor Mellie – even her sidepiece is cheating on her. This may well drive her back to fried chicken and hooch. Mrs. Ellen AKA a Lobbyist Called Slickback is making a lot of dangerous enemies to be a newbie because Cyrus and Mells are likely to join forces and slap that pomade out of her hair.

Daddy Pope calls Olivia after the explosion to make sure that she is alright. She seemed surprised that he called, but he told her that they may fight, but they will always be family and unlike those “boys” he will always be there for her. “I am still your father, and I will be here for you long after these boys have revealed themselves to be who they really are. To pick up the pieces, to put you back together and to remind you of who you really are.” After all that she has nerve to tell him that she has to go and hangs up. He warned her just last week about being disrespectful, but she still is still acting like she was raised on time outs and temper tantrums.

Huck’s son has been spending time at OPA, and when Olivia walks in on them he sends him home to his mother. Olivia asks if Huck’s ex-wife knew about their visits, and he basically tells her to mind her business and asked if she had any work-related questions for him. He should have listened to Olivia because he lets Javi tag along during a stakeout where the boy witnesses a murder, and he runs off in shock. Gee, who could have known that having a child at a stake out was a bad thing.

While the boys are squabbling over the best way to bring Daddy Pope in, Olivia calls him and tearfully tells him that he was right about the men in her life and their true motives. He seems to buy the act and agrees to meet her for dinner where Olivia and her crew are planning to arrest him but they have underestimated this man yet again.  Not only does he kill the snipers and get rid of the evidence, Rowan informs Olivia that she is now on her own.

Before dismissing Olivia, Daddy Pope gives her yet another epic read about the path she has chosen warning her that she may have been blinded by her desires, but she will never be one of them – the people she has chosen over him.

You would have thought she’d learned her lesson during that episode where her mother called her the help and Fitz yelled that he was talking to his wife, but she is still clinging to the idea of wearing the white hat. And while I knew those clowns were no match for Rowan, I never expected him to cut off his own daughter.

• Daddy Pope may be the Devil’s prized pupil, but I do not like how Olivia is determined to bring him down herself. Let someone else do it. Not that they have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting to this man. She is going to fool around and he’s going to let Mama Pope out of the hole again, and no one wants that.
• How is Olivia going to be more loyal to that old weasel Cyrus than to her own dad? After all his dirty dealing, she is still willing to do favors for him yet she is willing to hang her own father out to dry.
• What is Mrs. Ellen up to with Andrew and that dirty cop who was tailing Olivia? I am not buying that this is a simple affair because Andrew is still salty about lots of things including having to give up Mellie to remain on the Grant Presidential ticket.
• Is there a future for Michael and Cyrus? I cannot believe that they are going with that old cliche about the hooker with a heart of gold. And I really did think that Cyrus was going to kill him when he showed up at his house unexpectedly and he told him to bend over.

Scandal Episode 407: Baby Made a Mess

Scandal Episode 407: Baby Made a Mess kicked off a showdown between Olivia and her dad that promises to be explosive because Daddy Pope has warned her several times about crossing him, but she is determined to expose him as the mastermind behind the murder of the President’s son. Olivia arranges a meeting with Tom where he initially sticks to his story about Jake giving him the order to kill little Gerry, but he later admits that Olivia’s dad gave the order. Huck finally gets to see his son who tracks him down based on the IP address in the game that they have been playing online, and Olivia finds out that someone has been stalking her.

Abby’s Abusive Ex is Back

A Republican Senator from Virginia is caught on tape being gross with a hooker and is forced to resign in disgrace, and Fitz backs Abby’s abusive ex-husband Charles as his replacement.  Oh and Leo Bergen is back as Charles’ campaign manager, but there is still no sign of Mustang Sally or Hollis.

Abby holds it together when she meets her ex in the Oval office, but she later pukes all over herself and calls Olivia to bring her some fresh clothes. Seeing Abby cowering under the desk in her office, Olivia asks her what she wants, and Abby says that she can tolerate the situation for the greater good because the party needs Charles’ votes in the Senate.

Olivia can’t get with that and instead takes over the campaign of Susan Ross, a widowed professor who is also running for the vacated Senate seat. Ross’ campaign is pretty lame and despite a makeover, she still cannot get it together so Olivia uses Ross’ adorable 10-year old daughter Casey in the ads, and she is a natural. Cyrus lets Leo and Charles know that the ad is effective and that they better get it together if they hope to win and avoid embarrassing the President on election day.

Abby Gets Her Gun

Charles approaches Abby in a dark parking garage and advises her to call off Olivia, but Red pulls a gun on him and threatens to shoot him in the face. Part of me really wanted her to do it because he was being an azz. Leo still has the hots for Abby and keeps sniffing around to see if he has a chance. She eventually tells him the truth about his client, and he leaks stories to the media about Charles setting up the disgraced former senator which causes the wife-beater to  withdraw his candidacy.

Olivia had been calling David Rosen to try to get into the Super Max prison where Jake is being held, but he has been avoiding her calls. When she finally gets David on the phone, he tells her that he is not going to get her into the prison to see Jake because Super Max “is not jailhousemingle.com.” He may be a habitual loser, but David loves a good zinger.

Olivia Visits Tom

Olivia was trying to get into the prison to see Tom, not Jake and when she does see him he sits there staring at her before telling her how she beautiful she is before wondering aloud what was so special about her to have his President’s nose wide open. Tom told all Fitz’ business from how he went to her apartment in the middle of night after she left and was wailing like a wounded pig once he realized that she was gone, to his desperate failed suicide attempt. Ole Tom must have forgotten the bro code because he spilled all the beans. For a second there, I thought he was trying to push up on her himself.

Tom sticks to his story about Jake giving him the order to kill the President’s son despite Olivia warning him that her father does not like loose ends and will kill him before it’s all over. Tom must have attended the Eli Pope Academy of Wig Snatching because he gave her several earfuls and informs her that she does not have a father because Command does not have a family – he has soldiers.  She tells him to watch his back and walks off.

Fitz Channels R. Kelly

Fitz calls Olivia with an update on Jake after she shut down his earlier attempts at chit-chat because she wanted to know how her other man was being treated. So her lovesick Presidential boo thang calls back with a detailed update about Jake in hopes of arranging a late night visit. Olivia asks Fitz how he is doing and tells him that she knows about his suicide attempt. Rather than breaking down, Fitz skips over that unfortunate bit of news and tells her to come over and prove that she is serious about the possibility of them being together again. Ole dude went from being a sad little boy to R. Kelly in about 60 seconds flat. I think he must have been listening to 12 Play before calling her because he gave her quite a detailed explanation of what was in store for her if she took him up on his offer.

.

Now I generally try to keep my hoochie tendencies under wraps, so I am not trying to backslide in 2014 thank you very much. Shonda and them are going fool around and have a bunch of women out here making reckless decisions and bad choices.

As if it was not bad enough that Fitz is making mash calls, Cyrus is still laying up with his gigolo like he doesn’t have a toddler at home wondering her daddies went. Abby warned Cyrus about Michael’s intentions, so he tested him with a small detail about a US carrier being sent to intervene in Angola. Fitz ordered them to send out the USS Truman, but Cyrus told Michael that it was the Roosevelt and waited to see if that news would be leaked to Elizabeth AKA Mrs. Ellen the RNC chairman. Just when he thought that he’d found true love, Cyrus hears Mellie talk about the USS Roosevelt going to intervene, and Cyrus realizes that Michael really is playing him. He didn’t confront him about it — he just looked very sad as Michael says “I know all your weaknesses now Cy.”

Daddy Pope Gives a Final Warning

Olivia comes home to find her dad in her apartment, and he lets her know that he does not appreciate her going to see Tom and meddling in his business. She tries to put him out, and he tells her that she better watch how she speaks to him and launches into yet another epic read about how everything that he does has been to protect her and the Republic. “When I strike, it is precise, and it is for a reason. You do not interfere, you do not get in the way. You never, ever choose one of them over me again. I won’t have it. Is that clear?”

Olivia proves that she really is her father’s daughter by paying a prison guard to stab Tom making him think that Rowan was trying to kill him. Tom is shook and tells her what really happened. Olivia recorded Tom’s hospital confession and plays it for Fitz, and they go get Jake out of prison.

The winter finale is  next week, and Scandal’s writers are sure to leave us reeling in shock. The preview for next week shows Fitz saying “No hard feelings” to Jake who he has beaten bloody and thrown  into jail under false pretenses. Jake seems to agree, but how can he really be expected to just overlook what his former friend did to him?

• Do Olivia, Fitz and Jake really think they can take down Daddy Pope? She is only still alive because she’s his daughter, and he already warned her that she will not win against him.
• Is Marie Wallace going to be released from the hole? Because she is about the only person with a chance of going up against Command and living to talk about it. I say release the Kraken!
• Are David and Abby really done now that she is drinking bourbon and playing kissy face with Leo Bergen? I feel bad for David and hoped they would get back together.
• Get your chin straps for your wigs and prayer shawls ready for next week because it is sure to be a doozy.

Scandal Episode 405: The Key

Scandal Episode 405: The Key

Scandal Episode 405: The Key shows Olivia trying to find out what happened to Jake as she works to exonerate her friend Katherine who is likely being framed by a shady character who works for her husband. Huck has been stalking his family and is subjected to an intervention that ends badly, and David is having a crisis of conscience over having used the B613 files to advance his interests at the expense of others including the judge who committed suicide after being blackmailed.

Quinn and Olivia are on a stake out when they see the murder of a teenage girl, Faith, who is the friend of the young girl who was killed a couple of episodes ago. She is meeting with the man who was last seen tussling with the victim, Caitlyn, over a folder in an elevator. The man’s name is Kubiak, and he is a shady former DC police chief who has something to hide that he is willing to kill to keep under wraps. He’s looking for a key that Faith likely got from Caitlyn before she died. Quinn figures out that the key that they’re searching for is actually in the dead girl’s body, so she breaks in the morgue to retrieve it. Oh, so we’re just slicing up bodies now Quinn? She needs to spend less time with Huck.

I must have missed the memo because Olivia is suddenly calling Jake her boyfriend and becomes alarmed when he stops returning her calls. Daddy Pope stops by for a nightcap and feigns ignorance of Jake’s whereabouts knowing full well that he signed his death warrant. He claims that Jake reminds him of himself when he was younger and implies that Jake might just be out pursuing other interests. I changed my mind about wanting Daddy Pope to adopt me because that man is ruthless and lies too easily. I wouldn’t be able to rest worrying about what he was planning, so never mind. “What if I’m supposed to be saving him right now instead of drinking wine with you?” she asks. He replied: “Olivia, what could have possibly happened to a man like Jake?” That is not much of an answer, but what can you expect from the grand wizard of deception.

Back at the Oval Office, Fitz demands to know why Jake hasn’t confessed, and Cyrus reminds him that he is B613 and trained to withstand normal interrogation and hints that it may be time to move on to less Constitutional techniques to get him to talk. He also advises The President that the people who work for him need to get some rest which they cannot do so long as he remains in the office. Cyrus offers to walk Fitz over to the residence, but he does not want to run into Smelly Mellie. Cyrus assures him that his lovely wife is probably either drunk or in a food coma from too much fried chicken, but he still refuses to leave the office.

Huck’s Intervention

Huck has been stalking his family and his ex-wife Kim warns him to stop before she calls the police on him again. Huck says that he needs to see his son and promises to stop once he sees the boy. Kim agrees and tells him to come back later that night, but when he returns there is a psychiatrist waiting to see him instead of his son. Huck started choking the doctor while telling Kim that he had told her the truth about what happened to him. I have a bad feeling about this because we know that he does not handle disappointment well. Kim is liable to come up missing.

Olivia tells Huck to find Jake, and he tracks him to his last known location — the White House. Olivia calls The President to ask him if he knew what happened to Jake, and he cannot believe that she is calling him to ask about her boyfriend.  Fitz hangs up on her, so she calls Cyrus who refuses to take her call, and then she calls Abby who informs her that she does not take orders from her anymore. Red, you really need to get over this ugly jealously that you’ve been displaying all season. It’s petty.

Cyrus pays Olivia a courtesy call to let her know that Jake is being held at the Pentagon for killing Gerry and Harrison and James. Olivia says that her father is behind it all, but Cyrus said he watched Rowan get the confession from Tom and that the next time she sees him he will be dancing on Jake’s grave. Okay, but Cyrus you were the one who asked Jake to kill James in the first place! That wig must be on too tight because it is apparently causing memory loss.

 

Olivia confronts her dad with the information she got from Cyrus, and he tells her a bunch of lies about training Jake to watch her and break up her relationship with Fitz and claims that Jake went rogue.

“You wanted to win the election. Jake knew that. He asked you to save him, to be with you repeatedly. He was obsessed with you. He gave you exactly what you wanted. And then he blamed the death of Gerry Grant on your mother creating a barrier that was insurmountable. So that you could never be with the President again. How could you when your mother was responsible for killing his son? What love could survive that? Jake made it so that you had no choice but to leave, to go away forever.”

This man must have ice water in his veins to be this evil without a shred of remorse.

Fitz Interrogates Jake

Fitz goes to the Pentagon to interrogate Jake and reveals that he knows that Jake was on the island with Olivia. Jake urges him to set his ego aside and be logical and had nerve to say that Olivia loves both of them because they wear the proverbial white hat – probably not the smartest thing to say to an angry, jealous man who has the power to end your life. Fooling with Jake, Fitz missed his daily visit to Gerry’s grave causing Mellie to assume that he was with Olivia. After a heated exchange, he yells that he was not with Olivia but was instead working to get a confession from the man who killed their son. He did not want her to find out what really happened, but Mellie says that she is relieved because that means that his death was not random and that he was like a soldier dying for them. Now I was with her up until she went off the deep end and started talking about him dying for their sins to give them another 4 years in the White House. Madam, your son is not the Blood of the Lamb, and I think it’s time for you to put down the scotch.

Disgusted by ole Smelly Mellie’s crazy rant, Fitz tells her to take her booze and her snacks and get the hell out of his office. He also warns her not to mention his son again. His words must have worked because she finally removes the dirty robe and Uggs and takes a shower.

David is Ruined

David had been drunk dialing Abby trying to score some quality time. He was on some ole Freddy Jackson Rock me Tonight stuff, but Red was not having it. So he showed up at her office and tells her all about what happened with Judge Sparks and said that he killed him trying to be Olivia Pope because he was tired of losing.

Filled with righteous indignation, Abby goes to Olivia’s house and tells her that she is poison because she ruined David. Instead checking this annoying broad once and for all, Olivia starts crying and tells Abby what Daddy Pope said about Jake killing Gerry and Harrison. Abby comforts her, and it looks like they may be finally making up after feuding all season.

Fitz goes back to the Pentagon and tells the men guarding Jake to stand him up. “Did you kill my son?” He growls before punching the hell out of Jake who is still denying any involvement in the murder. They go on like this for a few minutes while Jake taunts Fitz and tells him about all the things that he did to Olivia during the two months that they were on the island because we all know that’s what The President is really mad about right now.  Fitz literally beat the blood out of that man, but he was still laughing and gloating over having done the deed – repeatedly – with the President’s former boo thing. Jake, it’s been nice knowing you, but I think this is the end for you. Tell James that we said hi.

• Is Fitz going to kill Jake himself? I knew that he would punish the man for being with Olivia, but I never expected him to get his hands dirty.
• Who is going to bring down Daddy Pope? As much as I have enjoyed his character, he is doing too much this season. All this lying and manipulating has got to catch up with him soon, and there is a long list of people who want revenge for him ruining their lives.
• Is Tom already dead, or is he just in the hole being tormented? If Tom is still alive, he just may be the one that finally reveals the truth about Rowan.
• Where was Cyrus’ gigolo this week? Did he finally use up all of James’ insurance money and have to wait until his next paycheck to get broke off again?
• Is Smelly Mellie finally getting herself together? There have been a couple of false starts, so I don’t want to get my hopes up only to see her back on the couch funky and drunk.
• When is Shonda going to hook up one of these COGIC milliners with a contract to provide white hats to the show? It’s a recurring theme, and that lid that they got for Olivia last time was pitiful. I’m envisioning something like this:
  

  I could totally see Olivia rocking this

 

And they could totally get a black cap to cover Cyrus’ dreadful toupee.

Scandal Episode 404: Like Father, Like Daughter

Scandal Episode 404: Like Father, Like Daughter shows the chickens coming home to roost for Daddy Pope and Jake, and the last 5 minutes nearly gave me a heart attack with a twist that I saw coming but was not ready to witness. This could be the beginning of the end for Jake so we may as well start planning his funeral now. I’ve got $10 on the casket spray. Oh and it’s also not looking good for that ole two-faced Tom.

The library must have been open late because everyone was getting read tonight!  Cyrus got Abby, Olivia got some evil blackmailers and Fitz hit Smelly Mellie with the read of life that left her needing a shovel to pick up her face. That man said he had been sitting around singing “I Won’t Complain” for long enough!

Karen Grant Wilding Out

The Grant family continues to deal with the emotional fallout following the murder of Gerry, and this time First daughter Karen is the one in trouble. She ditches her security detail to go a rave 500 miles away from her school and calls Olivia for help when she is too wasted to find her way out. Olivia and Quinn go rescue her while Huck kills the cell phone service to the building so that no one would be able to upload any pictures or video to the Internet, but they soon realize that they have bigger problems because Karen made a sex tape with two young men and does not know their identities! The girl was so high that she could not even walk out on her own, so Olivia and Quinn had to prop her up.

Cyrus is basking in the afterglow with Michael telling him about how sprung he is and being downright affectionate. I guess $2,500 must buy quality action for his nose to be so wide open. His post-coital bliss is interrupted when Olivia calls to tell him to get the President on the phone because his daughter is auditioning to be America’s Next Teen Porn Star. Those crazy kids did something known as the Eiffel Tower, and while I refuse to Google it myself, I hear that it’s really a thing — who knew?

Back at the White House, Fitz goes from being worried about Karen to nearly snatching her up after she gets sassy with him about her exploits. Upon hearing that she took drugs, her concerned dad asked if she was raped, but Karen tells him that he is lame and wonders why he assumes that the boys took advantage of her. Olivia saves her by sending her off for a barrage of STD tests. You’re welcome bratty First daughter.

Fitz asks Olivia to find the boys and kill that tape before it gets out which means that she and her team have to be back in the White House with Abby and Mellie neither of whom are real happy with OPA right now. Also, they are trying to keep this from Mellie who is back to being sad and unwashed on the couch. Abby spots Huck and Quinn in the hall and starts harassing them about being there until Cyrus tells her to mind her business. She accused Cyrus of making her feel small by constantly siding with Olivia but he told her that it was not him but her own jealousy that was doing that and advises her to get her life. “You are not Olivia, you will never be Olivia, and hating Olivia for your own shortcomings will not change that fact.”  Get Red together Mr. Beene!

Daddy Pope meets Tom on a park bench and asks why Jake Ballard is still alive. Rowan warns him that he best handle it or be next on the hit list. Poor Tom. See what happens when you dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight? Right after Rowan leaves, Jake shows up and tells Tom that even if he does kill him he will be the next to die since Command cannot afford to leave any loose ends that could tie him to the President’s son’s death.

Olivia meets Fitz in the White House to let him know that they have identified one of the boys in the tape when he starts asking her where she went when she left town. He assumed that she was alone, and she does not correct him claiming that she needed some time alone. He says that he is sorry about her mother and she tells him not to be sorry because her mother did a terrible thing and ruined them. Girl, you don’t even know the half of it.

David Rosen is basking in his positive press coverage when Jake shows up demanding that he release the B613 files if Command kills him, but David says no. Jake asks for the files back and David says nope again because those files would bring down the government. Jake grabs him and nearly snaps his neck like a chicken bone before David gives him the key to the files.

Smelly Mellie Gets Read

Mellie sees Olivia in the hall, grabs her and demands to know what she is doing in “her house”. Olivia fixed her with a withering gaze and tells her to go ask her husband. She almost went all Marie Wallace on the First Lady because you know Mamma Pope did not raise a punk. My girl backed her up with one look.

Mellie assumes that Olivia is there for a rendevouz and goes off on Fitz for bringing her there. He told her that Karen called Olivia because she got in trouble and that Mellie should be glad that she was on it. Mellie makes the mistake of saying that she is the mother, this her family and she is the one who holds everything together and Olivia needs to go. She says she will fix it, and he needs to stay out of the way. If she wants to fix something, she might want to start with a bath and then move on to that bird’s nest on top of her head.

Fitz has had enough and unleashed all the saltiness that he’s been storing up since their son died:

“I have dealt with drunk Mellie and smelly Mellie, and screw everything to hell Mellie and crybaby Mellie and eat everything that is not nailed down Mellie and I have not complained, but I will not put up with whatever righteous history-rewriting Mellie you have going on right here right now. You are not the mother – not since Gerry died. You have mothered no one. You hold nothing together. You pick up no pieces. You are sitting around in booties and a dirty robe eating chips and getting drunk at 11:00 a.m.”

She had nerve to reply that Karen really takes after him by making a sex tape. Is that is the best she could come up with after that magnificent wig snatchage? And she must have forgotten that Karen busted her on her knees with Andrew not long ago. You can climb down off your high horse madam because your dirty drawers are showing,

Fitz Makes a Move

Karen was able to identify one of the boys by a tattoo, and Quinn tracks him down at his fast food job and makes him talk. He tells her about the other guy, a rich kid from Bethesda whose parents, the Morgans, want to be paid $2.5 million for the videotape. Liv takes the deal to Fitz who is angry, but Olivia advised him to pay them off to spare Karen the embarrassment of having that tape released. He goes from outraged dad to lovesick puppy in less than two minutes. He closes in on Olivia and asks her if she missed him. “Don’t ever leave me like that again. I almost didn’t survive. I almost died without you. Didn’t you miss me?” He moves in for a kiss and she blurts out that she did not go away alone which totally ruined the mood. He backed up and tells her to just say that she went with Jake. She does, and he had nerve to be upset about it. He tells her pay the Morgans and storms off. So the married man is upset that his mistress has a sidepeiece of her own. Cute.

Olivia meets with the Morgans again but this time they are asking for another $500,000 for expenses, and she goes off on them. She takes their pictures and promises to ruin them by leaking their pictures to the tabloids to assassinate their character by claiming that their son set up Karen to blackmail the President. Then she makes them sign papers and they scram with nothing other than a verbal smackdown.

Smelly Mellie goes to Karen and tells her that she understands her pain and that she is going to get one free pass because she is still grieving for her brother. But she warns her that she can’t have any more screw-ups because she is the daughter of a famous man.

The Jig is up for Tom

Fitz ordered an investigation of the Secret Service to find out what happened with Karen’s security detail, and the Inspector General finds a discrepancy in Tom’s schedule. The records indicate that he was in Maryland at a military base when he was supposed to be at the White House in November — the jig is up. Tom calls Jake in a panic, and he tells him to just tell the truth because he has evidence that will clear him. Ah Jake, have you learned nothing after all that time in the hole?

Jake shows up to the White House with his files but Fitz walks out and tells him he will be right back. He then heads over to watch Tom being questioned. Tom says he was acting on orders and was about to spill the beans when in walks Daddy Pope. Tom asks for a lawyer and then asks to speak to the President, but Rowan does not budge. He presents Tom with the evidence showing him at the facility where the bacterial strain of meningitis that killed Gerry was taken and demands to know who gave him the order.

Daddy Pope plays the hell out of Tom telling him that when he leaves the room no one is going to be on his side and that he needs his help. Tom lies and says that Jake gave him the orders. Rowan leans in and gives Tom a meaningful look just before he is cuffed and lead away. Meanwhile Jake, who was already at the White House, was lead off by a group of men.

• When will these characters learn that Daddy Pope always wins? That man is a wizard of deception and Jake sealed his fate last week during that dinner when he laid all his cards on the table. Hey, it was fun while it lasted.
• Did Fitz knowingly set Jake up for running off with his boo thing? Or does he really believe that he gave Tom the command to kill his son? While Fitz is petty enough to ice the guy just for being with Olivia, we all know that Daddy Pope is very persuasive. Fitz just might believe him.
• Will Smelly Mellie get it together for her children’s sake? Not only is Karen wilding out, but according to Fitz baby Teddy thinks that the nanny is his mother because Smelly spends no time with him.
• What’s next for David Rosen? Those B613 files were his ace in the hole, and he really did rely on them the last couple of times he was backed up against the wall. Will be go back to being a loser? Or will he find another way to step up?
• Although I do not want to see Fitz and Olivia together, those two do have undeniable chemistry. He is mad now because he found out that she was with Jake, but he’ll get over it just like he did before. But she may not forgive him for killing Jake.

Scandal Episode 402: The State of the Union

The State of the Union

One week into the new season of Scandal and clearly the State of the Union is not great. Mellie is crazed with grief, Abby is power tripping, Huck is still crazy, Quinn is not worth discussing and Olivia is still torn between two men. This week’s episode was slow, and Mellie and Cyrus were the ones who saved it from being a complete bore.

The episode opens with Jake and Olivia jogging in a park when he informs her that he got a hotel room so that they can have booty calls. He claims that he has things to do can’t be sitting around waiting until she’s ready to drop the drawers and says that she can just call him up when she’s ready. Olivia says that she doesn’t do booty calls and I think we can all agree to just let that slide for the sake of moving the plot along – we know better.

Calling in a Favor

Olivia spots Cyrus on a park bench where he pretends to care that she did not call him to say she was back in town. He had the nerve to tell her that she looks like crap meanwhile he looks like he has an old ferret pelt on his head. Check your mirror sir. Olivia knows his game and asks him if they are even still friends. Cyrus asks for a favor and  threatens to blackmail her when she tells him that she does not work for the White House anymore. He must have forgotten about his own numerous skeletons and the fact that her father will eliminate him on a whim.

 

He needs her to babysit a feuding couple, the Elliots, who are supposed to be the President’s guests at the State of the Union. Theirs is a celebrated love story, but the truth is that they hate each other, and Cyrus is counting on Olivia getting them to play nice just long enough to show up for the speech.

 

Mourning Mellie Makes the Tabloids

Photos of mourning Mellie siting on her son’s grave eating chips are published leading to wide speculation about her mental state. The President will be talking about gun control, and they do not need any distractions because the topic is controversial and his party is opposed to it. Abby did a poor job of defusing the drama during a press conference, yet when Olivia offers her some advice she goes off and tells her former employer that she does not know anything. This broad is really getting brand new this season.

The photos of Mellie sitting on the grave are all over, so Fitz and Cyrus explain that all this chatter is very bad for The White House during a crucial time, and they ask her to make herself presentable and come to the State of the Union address, but Mellie is like nope, I’m not going to be able to do it. Mellie was chilling on the balcony with a fresh platter of southern fried chicken and couldn’t manufacture a portion of a damn if you paid her. Fitz walks off leaving Cyrus to try to reason with the First Lady, but she is not having it. She even tells Cyrus that his grief not the same as hers because she lost her child.

Cyrus may be a shady weasel, but I am tired of the Grants trying to diminish his grief, and so is he. He lets Mellie know that he resents her acting like his loss is less than hers. “A broken heart is a broken heart. It’s cruelty to take measure,” he notes between bites of chicken.

Mrs. Ellen Plays Hardball

Lizzie, the RNC chair, digs up those fake photos of the woman who David supposedly beat back when Harrison made up the whole thing to keep Abby away from him. Although the pictures are fake, Lizzie tells Cyrus that if they do not withdraw David’s nomination for Attorney General those photos will be leaked to the press. David assumes that Olivia is behind it and says that she has no loyalty to anyone and says that is why Abby doesn’t work for her anymore. David bribes a Senator to endorse him so that he can still get the job, but this means that Lizzie is going to have to find another way to get some leverage to use against the White House.

Cyrus is having a drink at a bar when a handsome stranger starts flirting, but he was as nervous as a schoolgirl on her first date. That man had him all flustered and at a loss for words. Okay Miss Cyrus, you have to jump back in the pool at some point.

Sassy Abby gets Mellie together with a rant about how she needs to get on her job and show up to the President’s speech because she is not the only mother to have lost a child. After having initially waved Abby off, Mellie puts on a fierce red dress and shows up for the speech where the President praises her for her strength. She was strong in public breaks down once it’s over and falls out in the floor.

Cyrus Picks Up a Gigolo

Cyrus goes back to the bar to pick up the man who was sizing him up and later realizes that the man is a male prostitute. He tries to resist him but the gigolo wears him down.

Cyrus after finally getting broke off

I knew that man was too fine to be checking for Cyrus’ old butt without some ulterior motive, and we learn that the RNC chair set the whole thing up! Mrs. Ellen, you just got here and really need not start showing out this soon. We have rules and a hierarchy around this camp, and Cyrus is the one who sets folks up. You, madam, are out of order.

Jake really does have some business to attend to and is looking over the coroner’s files on Harrison Wright. He was reviewing the photos when Olivia shows up at his hotel room wearing only a trench coat and boots, and that was the end of that.

I was worried that they were going to send Olivia right back into Fitz’ arms – especially after he asked to be alone with her. I guess as long as Jake is around she can hold off for a few more weeks but those two will be eventually be together again. The fate of the other characters is not so clear.

• Is Harrison coming back to the show? I miss his character, and I have to believe that Columbus Short learned his lesson and would be a model employee from here on out. He would probably organize the office potluck and everything.
• Just where are they going with Mellie’s grief? It’s an interesting angle, and it is making her a sympathetic character, but it’s going to get old after a couple of episodes. And where the heck is baby Teddy?
• When is Olivia going to check Abby once and for all? She’s getting too comfortable spouting off every week, and Red needs not to be so quick to read the woman who saved her.

• How is Cyrus going to react to getting played? Mrs. Ellen and that sex worker better get some new identities and passports because Cyrus is going to sic Charlie on them once he figures out what really happened.

 

Shonda Rhimes is Not an Angry Black Woman

Shonda Rhimes looking decidedly not angry

Shonda Rhimes Angry Black Woman?!

 

The New York times is still dealing with backlash from a recent article that reduced television creator and producer Shonda Rhimes to an angry Black woman. In a horribly inaccurate article written by tv critic Alessandra Stanley, Rhimes is accused of polluting the landscape of prime time television with her army of angry and intimidating Black female characters. Unfortunately for Stanley, the show that she spent the most time discussing, “How To Get Away With Murder” was created by a White male. The article was posted online on 9/18 and has since been corrected after Rhimes took to Twitter to address the nonsensical claims.

Confused why @nytimes critic doesn't know identity of CREATOR of show she's reviewing. @petenowa did u know u were "an angry black woman"?

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) September 19, 2014

Final thing: (then I am gonna do some yoga): how come I am not "an angry black woman" the many times Meredith (or Addison!) rants? @nytimes

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) September 19, 2014

Wait. I'm" angry" AND a ROMANCE WRITER?!! I'm going to need to put down the internet and go dance this one out. Because ish is getting real.

— shonda rhimes (@shondarhimes) September 19, 2014

 

A Persistent Stereotype

This article made lots of people angry because it trades on an old stereotype. Although Rhimes and the characters she creates are well-educated, powerful and complete human beings, Stanley could not help falling back on a tired old label. For the record, Mellie is the most angry woman on Scandal (a show that Rhimes actually created) yet  the writer focuses on Olivia and her supposed anger issues. Hmmm, sounds like someone has been sipping on haterade.

Shonda Rhimes is not one to suffer fools gladly, and the writer would have done well to read up on her before trying to come for her in a national publication. Folks are still reeling from her takedown of Twitter militants who were angry about her commencement address at Dartmouth earlier this year. Her speech warned the new grads that hashtag activism was no substitute for going out in the world and actually doing something.  Some Twitter activists got upset about and started reckless typing that built up to a fever pitch about the supposed slight in the days following the graduation speech. The vacationing Ms. Rhimes basically dismissed folks by saying she wasn’t even talking to them. This woman has an empire to run and is not here for the foolishness.

Even my shero of style Desiree Rogers, CEO of Johnson Publishing and former White House Social Secretary, weighed in on this nonsense in an interview on CBS This Morning.  Rocking a fierce haircut, Ms. Rogers noted that while Sheryl Sandberg might be encouraging women to “Lean In” Black women are being told to fall back.

 

 

#LessClassicallyBeautiful

New York Times Public Editor Margaret Sullivan launched an inquiry into how this hot mess of an article was allowed to be published  and she spoke to the author who is standing by her offensive words including this gem about actress Viola Davis  “Ms. Rhimes chose a performer who is older, darker-skinned and less classically beautiful than Ms. Washington, or for that matter Halle Berry….”

I’m just surprised that the author didn’t mention Ms. Davis’ hair while she was at it since Davis has been known to sport a natural style that is definitely outside of the mainstream of beauty standards – surely that has not escaped Stanley’s highly refined sensibilities.

Black Twitter lives for this kind of thing and #lessclassicallybeautiful has been trending for a few days now with Black women posting pictures of themselves and affirming their beauty despite other people’s misgivings about it.

I understand that tv criticism is subjective, but this article was clearly offensive and a backhanded way of trying to account for the success of a talented woman. Black women have the right to have a personality that is not docile and shouldn’t be pigeonholed because of it.  Furthermore, many of us have good reason to be angry even if that makes some people uncomfortable. The fact that this horrible article made it past the editors is disturbing because someone should have been able to predict that it was going to make people upset. The New York Times editorial staff is either oblivious or just does not care, and I’m not sure which is worse.

 

 

Scandal Finale Recap – The Price of Free and Fair Elections

The Scandal Finale Was Explosive!

I suppose it would be trite to say that Scandal ended this season with a bang, so I won’t, but it did. There was an explosion, a heart-breaking murder and a shocking resignation to wrap up the season. All those intercessory prayers must have worked, because Daddy Pope demonstrates that he really is the Hell and the High Water while Mama Pope, like the Wu Tang Clan, is nothing to eff with. And just as I suspected, those two have been in cahoots the whole time! I have been team Eli since we learned that he was Olivia’s father– remember that original scathing read?  But even I had no idea of the depths of his gangster. This man planned and schemed and set himself up for the perfect opportunity to get everything that he wanted. Man, he was playing fools like a Stradivarius with not a bit of remorse. Oh, and Huck found his family. Or rather Charlie, the jilted stalker boyfriend, finds his family and gives the the info to Quinn who passes it to Huck. Huck might get his family back y’all — no more Huckleberry Quinn. Hooray!!!

The episode picks up with Cyrus having second thoughts about not telling the President about the bomb at the church, and he is just about to tell Fitz when Jake bursts in and says that they need to evacuate the church immediately. They managed to get most of people out before the bomb explodes, no thanks to that ole shady Mr. Beene. Cyrus just keeps on making new enemies including David Rosen who goes to Jake and asks why Cyrus is not being prosecuted for letting the church blow up. He wants to take down Cyrus, B613 and the whole administration, but Jake tells him that he is not about that life anymore and he is going to sit on his couch and chill. David is no match for Cyrus let alone B613 AKA Murder Inc.

Sally escaped the blast and is on her way to the car when Leo tells her that this is her chance to close the gap between her and Fitz by demonstrating hands-on leadership during this emergency. He rips her suit and smears some soot on her face for effect and pushes her back into the fracas where she ministers to the wounded while demanding that the reporters not take pictures. “Be Jesus, you go in there and you be Jesus,” he tells her. Yeah, more like Judas.

Olivia was in a waiting room at the hospital when she sees the news about the bombing, and she rushes back to the White House to oversee their response. Fitz’ speech about the bombing is eclipsed by Sally’s heroism. Despite Olivia’s threats and best efforts, all the major broadcasts eventually cut from Fitz to show Sally tending to the wounded at the bomb site. The whole crew realizes that they have just lost the election. Drunk Mellie is not happy and demands a refund of whatever they paid Olivia since they paid her to win. Never mind that she is the one that begged Olivia to come back in the first place.

 

Daddy Pope Gets Paternal

Olivia returns to the hospital, and Daddy Pope is being strangely paternal when he speaks to her. The knife used to stab him just missed his heart by inches, and he is going to be okay but he is being uncharacteristically affectionate. Liv is sad about Fitz possibly losing the election, and Eli says that he loves her and he wishes he could do something to help. Say word? Not only is this coming from a man who hates the boy President with all of his being, but I do not think that we have ever heard him say that he loves his daughter. He spends most of his time being either angry with her or disappointed at her behavior. Even when she was begging him to be her dad for once he was still being salty about it. Daddy Pope is no Heathcliff Huxtable, so I was worried that he still might die since he was being all sentimental and stuff. Olivia even notes that this is not normal behavior because she later tells Fitz that she thinks he was in pain.

Mamma Pope Uses Harry Potter’s Cloak

Olivia dips out for a while but when she returns her mother is there at Eli’s bedside asking her if she was talking to her boyfriend. This woman must have Harry Potter’s old invisibility cloak the way she just pops up undetected all the time. She tells Olivia that she was trying to help her and that she committed all of those dastardly deeds for her. She also added that if she wanted to kill Eli he would be dead which we all know is true. Then she tells Olivia that “he” has hurt her and used her and will throw her away when he is done. I initially thought she meant Eli,  but she actually meant Fitz. Olivia threatens to call security and then tells her that she is not going to let her get away, but Marie asked who was going to stop her– Caps, Caps, Caps? Who you finna try? I was scared for her when Marie brushed by on her way out of the room.

Fitz is in his office with Olivia preparing his concession speech and starts talking about moving to Vermont and starting over with her when she tells him about Big Gerry raping Mellie. She just blurt it out after the boy President was going on and on about how horrible Mellie is and how he has no allegiance to her. Fitz did not believe it at first, but he goes to Mellie who tells him that she fought Big Gerry and that she had a paternity test done on little Gerry to prove that he is Fitz’ son. Olivia knows that this eliminates any chance for them and she says that she wouldn’t even want him if he could leave his wife now that he knows what she’s been through all these years. I don’t think it was Olivia’s place to share that information, but he did need to know. That  relationship is beyond repair though.

Charlie finds out about Huck and Quinn, who we see bent over the conference table at OPA, and instead of going ballistic and killing them both, he just calmly hands Quinn an envelope and leaves her apartment. Man I was not expecting Charlie to just walk away after getting played like that, so he must be up to something. Sure enough, the envelope contains information about Huck’s family. Is he planning to kill them? Or does he know that seeing them will send Huck over the edge? He only says that he knows that this information will prevent those two from ever having a future and that he is a sore loser. Quinn takes Huck to his family’s house and he freaks out because he says they are better off without him and leaves. But he comes back later on and knocks on the door. His wife opens the door and seems shocked to see  him.

Tragedy Strikes the First Family

Having accepted that he will lose to Sally, Fitz takes the stage at his final campaign rally to make his last big speech with Mellie and the kids in tow. They are all on stage when little Gerry starts coughing up blood and then collapses! They rush him to the hospital but he dies of a weapons grade strain of bacterial meningitis that is kept at a military base. A vial was recently stolen, and that is what was used to kill the First Son. Not little Gerry – he was so young and innocent! Who could be so evil as to kill the President’s son just to get to him?

Just as Fitz is absorbing this news at the hospital, Daddy Pope comes over rolling his IV pole and offers to help him avenge his son’s death which Fitz assumed was engineered by the Notorious MOM. Eli crawled out of his bed of affliction for the opportunity to get revenge on Marie who has bested him at every turn – or so we think. “I may not be your friend Mr. President, but I am a father, and I know what I would do if someone hurt my child,” Eli intones. Fitz said that he was going to kill Marie – yeah right- but Eli offers to serve her head up on a platter. He probably saved  his life too because Marie was not going to be as easy to kill as Verna. This man smothered one old lady and now he thinks he’s Sonny Corleone.

As Olivia predicted, the sympathy for the President’s loss sways the election and he wins. She calls her dad and asks him if his offer of a new life still stands because she has had enough of it all. Abby is upset and says that they went over a cliff for her and now she is trusting her father after all the lies and murders. “Go, run to daddy!” Sassy Abby better watch how she talks about Daddy Pope now that he is back in charge of B613. Jake’s ole desperate azz shows up at Liv’s apartment and asks her to take him with her. Even after she says that she loves someone else, he says that she can leave that behind along with everything else. Whip Appeal has got to be that guy’s theme song because whatever Olivia wants is alright with him. Ole thirsty azz.

Eli uses Harrison to get details about Marie’s plans so that he can track her down. He shows him a picture of Adnan lying dead on the ground and says that Marie will kill him just like she did Adnan because Harrison is in over his head.  Harrison says that he knows where she is planning to pick up her money, and armed men show up just as she was leaving the bank. Eli calls the President to say that Marie has been killed and disposed of, but that happened too easily, and I did not believe it. I wanna see the receipts!

Harrison Figures it out — too late

After learning about Liv’s departure, Harrison confronts Daddy Pope about everything that happened. He knows that Marie is all about the money, so her killing the President’s son makes no sense. But Eli is back in charge of the newly re-constituted B613 and Olivia is out of the picture – he got everything that he wanted. Harrison figured out that the Head Goon in Charge is the real killer not Mama Pope!! Eli is unfazed and simply says “My daughter wanted him to be President, and he is. Daddy took care of it. I promised her that I would not hurt a hair on his head, I gave him four more years, but there is a price for free and fair elections. He took my child, so I took his.” Whew that man is cold-blooded. And then he brings in Tom after Harrison started looking like he wanted to get physical. We see also see a flashback of Tom infecting little Gerry with the bacteria that he applied to a ring. Tom also killed Adnan and took that picture that Eli used to trick Harrison. Tom is not just B613, but he is apparently Eli’s right hand man. He killed Little Gerry and he delivered the toxicology report to the boy’s daddy. Tom is going straight to Hell in a gasoline suit for all this devilment.

Olivia and Jake board the plane that will take them to their new life when her phone rings. It’s the White House, rather it’s Mellie calling for Fitz who is having a breakdown and was asking for Olivia. Olivia ignores the call and they continue to their happily ever after… for now.

Daddy Pope is back at B613 HQ with Charlie and his minions when he walks over to the hole and lo and behold, its occupant is none other than Marie Wallace. She gives him an evil smirk and he motions for one of his goons to replace the cover after giving her a brief, but telling, nod. I knew she wasn’t dead, but will she remain in prison for another 20 years? I hope they at least left her some hair products and a good flat iron.

See You in September

Whew, so much drama. So much death!! So many questions to obsess about until the season premiere.

• What is the deal with Eli and Marie? Is she like some kind of wild monster that he unleashes as needed to maintain law and order? I know she told Olivia that she did it all for her and that she would not understand until she has children of her own, but goodness. Is this the last of Mama Pope?
• When will Olivia return? Because you know she has to come back or there is no show.
• What is next for Daddy Pope? Now that he has his old job back and his army, I expect that he will be seeking revenge on folks.
• Poor Sally and Leo. Killing Daniel Douglas has been weighing on her, and now that she lost the election and Andrew is the new VP, what does this mean for her?
• Will Huck’s family accept him? And can he ever have a normal life? Well, maybe not normal, but something better than what he has now.
• Is Mellie going to Betty Ford during the break? I get a kick out of drunk Mellie, but I am starting to worry.
• Will Harrison be killed or inducted into B613? In light of ole dude’s messy personal life, he may just get offed. Y’all know Shonda doesn’t play around with troublemaking employees. Just ask Isaiah Washington…

So ends Season three which was disappointing overall, but I am hopeful that season 4 will mark a return to the show that won me over from the first episode. Enough of the Vermont Jam, enough of the whipped weak men and please enough sex scenes in and around the office. Put the scandals back in Scandal and let Olivia and the crew fix them.  And please keep the deadly Popes just a little while longer. Daddy Pope is the father I never wanted while Marie is the best female tv villain since Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan. And please send Ella a new mommy.