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 401: Randy, Red, Julia and Superfreak

Olivia chilling on the Beach

Scandal is back!

Season 4 of Scandal opened up with Jake and Olivia relaxing on a beach with him being very attentive. Apparently he had been  listening to some 90’s R&B because he was all like “All I Got Is 15 Minutes,” and suddenly Marc Nelson is relevant again. Ole Jake is still sprung and is really feeling himself in this episode.

We knew this idyllic scene could not last. They ordered a shipment of wine that was delivered by boat, and the captain handed her an envelope containing an article about the death of Harrison Wright. So, it’s really a wrap for Columbus short and they didn’t even take long to settle it. Olivia, now known as Julia Baker, is surprised to get the mail since no one knows her location and the sender did not include a return address.

Olivia returns to DC to bury her friend and finds the OPA office empty and full of old mail and periodicals about the second Grant Administration. Quinn is waiting for her and gloats about how she tracked Olivia to the Island based on her fondness for rare wine. She updates Olivia on what happened with her two other former employees neither of whom is glad to see their old boss.

Huck is now a computer repair guy named Randy and wants no parts of Olivia unless she is back for good. White House Press Secretary Abby is still angry with Olivia for leaving and blames her for Harrison’s death which causes Olivia to tell her to back all the way up and check herself before she wrecks herself.

Back at the White House, Mellie is a disheveled mess walking around unwashed in a robe with Uggs while eating cereal from the box. At first I thought she was just drunk, but she is still mourning the death of her son and everyone is being very patient with her because of it. She doesn’t even bother to get dressed before going to visit Little Gerry’s grave where she lays down on the grass. Poor Mellie.

Mourning Mellie is fresh out of damns

 

Portia Di Rossi made an appearance wearing Hillary Clinton’s old hair and a fierce power suit. Werk Mrs. Ellen! She’s playing the new RNC chairman who is in town to get Fitz to play nice with the party because he has been alienating everyone by working with the Democrats. He is also thinking about nominating David Rosen for Attorney General which is a non-starter for the Republicans.

Portia De Rossi channeling Hillary Clinton

 

Daddy Pope is Back

Olivia meets Daddy Pope for dinner at their regular restaurant. He knew she was in town and ordered her a glass of wine in anticipation of her joining him and gets on her case for coming back. He even had the nerve to say that he was sorry for her loss when she told him that her friend had died. Deadly dad denied having anything to do with it, which we all know is a lie and claimed to have killed Mama Pope at the President’s request. The last time we saw the Notorious MOM she was chilling in the hole, so I am not falling for the okey doke. Nice try Pops.

He’s not really sorry

 

Jake comes back from a burger run to find Olivia moping on the couch about planning Harrison’s funeral.They are interrupted by a young Senate staffer whose female boss may have killed a colleague after a sexual assault at the male senator’s house. The victim says that she met up with her colleague late that night to discuss an Equal Pay bill, but he grabbed her and when she tried to get him off of her, she shoved him,  he fell down and is likely dead.

 

Jake Stakes his Claim

Jake and Olivia are in the sack and she is talking about her new case to the point where he has to tell her to hush up and enjoy the moment. Olivia is not trying to be silenced and starts ranting about how unfair the situation is to the victim because the rapist is getting all the sympathy. She then calls the lawyer representing the Senator and tells him to hold off on making a statement.

Jake knows where this is headed and says that as long as they are in DC she will be tempted by Fitz despite all the knocking of boots that’s been done by the two them – only he was way more graphic about it:  “I’m the one you like to ride. That i’m the one that makes you moan that I’m the one that reaches you in places that he can’t begin to touch.” Sir, it’s only 9:00 pm and this aint HBO. I never really much liked him before, but he is winning me over with this newfound machismo. After he said all that, he got up and strutted off like a peacock.

.

Olivia figured out that the Senator is lying about being attacked and learns that the real victim was her young staffer.  The female senator knew that the guy was a perv and she used her employee as bait to try to have some leverage over him! The staffer overheard the boss admitting what she’d done and accused the legislator of dangling her in front of the old man like a piece of meat.

Harrison’s funeral is a small gathering only attended by OPA staff and Jake because he had no family and was raised in a group home. Toward the end, we see Daddy Pope watching from his car as Jake consoles a weeping Olivia while Aretha Franklin sangs – not sings -“Bridge Over Troubled Water.” I don’t know what Mr. Pope is up to, but something tells me that he was not there out of purely paternal concern for his daughter.

Harrison’s burial with no ushers on duty

Mourning Mellie Lays Down the Law

Mellie is outside looking over the rail of the balcony when Fitz tells her to come in because it’s getting cold. She says that she is not going to jump because she’s not him, and we find out that Fitz attempted suicide after his son’s death. He says he had a bad night and warned her not to mention it again. He also tells her that Olivia is back in town. Mellie says that he must tell her when he sees Olivia to give her time to prepare for sloppy seconds once he comes back home all hot and bothered. Oh and she also mentioned that she stopped waxing, “and it’s 1976 down there.” Yikes. I did not need to know that.

The show concludes with Fitz passing Olivia in the hallway after she finished a press conference with the young senate staffer who had been attacked. She’s decided to represent the girl which means that she is staying in town and is back to wearing the figurative white hat. As she and Fitz pass, neither speaks or acknowledges the other outside of a very subtle hand gesture. Olivia does offer up a faint smirk because she knows as well as the rest of us that those two are never finished and are likely to be locked in a broom closet by the next episode.

Olivia Passing Fitz

 

The season premiere was good and lays the groundwork for a great fourth season, and I have just a few final thoughts.

• How are they going to have a funeral for Harrison but not James? As much work as some of us put into planning James’ imaginary funeral, surely someone could have given us a heads up or at least used some of our ideas.
• Where were the ushers during that graveside service? Olivia and them were about to hop down there on top of the casket and there was no one around to hold them back. That was just irresponsible.
• We never saw the body, so there is a chance that Harrison is not really dead. I’m not saying, I’m just saying. And I’m not the only one speculating.

  Real #Gladiators make sure they see a body. #Truth @ScandalABC #Blockhouse

  — Columbus Short (@ColumbusShort1) September 26, 2014

• What is the deal with Cyrus’ hair? I know that he is still in bereavement, but that hair is downright disrespectful. He’s never going to find another man looking like a greying cockatoo, and Ella will eventually need a new mommy.
• I loved the Julia Baker pseudonym  which has to be a reference to the legendary Julia Sugarbaker who is probably one of Mellie’s matriarchs. I wrote about this last week.
• Is Jake ever going to get tired of being Olivia’s fallback guy? Everyone knows that she thinks the President is her soulmate and will go back to him every time. I just hope that Jake doesn’t turn on her when he finally accepts the truth.

The Time Fitz was on Designing Women

Tony Goldwyn as Kendall Dobbs

Scandal’s Fitz on Designing Women

With just 5 days until the premiere of Scandal’s 4th season, imagine my delight when I found a clip of Fitz, er Tony Goldwyn, guest starring on Designing Women in 1987 as a young man dying of AIDS. Check him out in all his 80’s preppy glory with the highlights, flips & the navy blazer. He looks like quite the Young Republican here and had a real James Spader pre-Blacklist yuppie vibe happening. Revisiting past looks can be dicey business for many of us, but he does not look bad considering that this was the decade of acid wash denim and fluorescent colors. Well played sir.

James Spader in the 80’s

Julia Sugarbaker Vs Mellie

Discovering this episode makes me happy because it combines one of my current tv obsessions  – Scandal – with one of my favorite characters of all time Julia Sugarbaker. There are few things I love more than a devastating read and no one did it better than Julia and my other shero of life Claire Huxtable. If you don’t know about Julia Sugarbaker you’ve been missing out because this woman routinely broke fools down to their lowest common denominators effortlessly with a smile on her face. I have been known to curse people out when provoked – I ‘m not proud of that and it really is something that I have been trying to stop- but there is nothing like letting someone have it eloquently with nary a profane word defiling your lips. It is downright poetic.

In this episode, Julia lets a friend have it for her ignorant views about AIDS and tells her “If God was giving out sexually transmitted diseases to people as a punishment for sinning then you would be at the free clinic all the time!” 

Just imagine Julia getting into it with drunk Mellie. Julia could be the matriarch of Mellie’s hillbilly clan who is totally unimpressed by the shenanigans in the White House.  If Dixie Carter were still alive I would start a letter writing campaign to Shonda Rhimes to make this happen. Now that I think about it, Mellie’s side of the family has not been fleshed out at all, so giving her a female relative is not a bad idea. Surely she must have a feisty grandmother or a salty aunt somewhere waiting in the wings. Mellie could have her very own Daddy Pope.

Fitz was on Season 2, Episode 4 “Killing all the Right People,” which was pretty bold at the time because AIDS was still a taboo topic in many circles. His character was dying and asked the Sugarbakers design firm to plan his funeral. He doesn’t have much screen time, but here is the episode if you want to watch the whole thing.