VO: I wonder if Olivia regrets her decision at all or wonders if she did right.
And HEY MAMA POPE! I love how she’s got both Jake and Fitz under control, but at the same time I love how she turns to Olivia as if she’ll come and save her. And that’s not something that Olivia is really feeling like doing right now.
KC: She still has faith in her daughter, even though she’s a heartless assassin. This family is so fucked up.
VO: Oh Huck. You dumbass. And I can’t blame Kim at all for being pissed. Huck put their child in danger and for his own selfish reasons. I’d be calling the cops on his ass, instead of driving him off of the doorstep.
KC: And he’s like covered in blood. I kinda don’t get why she wouldn’t call the cops on him either, unless she kind of thinks he’s telling the truth. That’s my only thought.
VO: Awww Cy, he agrees on retaliation, but I think that I’m with him on the Angola thing. People are screaming for war now, but given the American impatience, two months later they would be pissed about losing soldiers. I feel like this might be one of the few accurate things about political life in Scandal.
KC: Still though, Cy doesn’t really strike me as particularly Republican in his politics. Am I the only one?
VO: You’re not. I feel like that this Republican party is more of the idealized party — the moderate party that they like to paint themselves as but can’t really do. I’m amazed that Liv had to charge her phone. That’s also a nice touch of realism.
KC: Yeah that cracked me up, but that really makes Windows Phone look bad. It’s got a shitty battery life and can’t even get her through the day.
VO: “Saw it with my own eyes and it was gross.” I love Snarky Quinn.
KC: Somehow, Quinn has become one of my favorite characters and I NEVER, EVER imagined that would ever happen. I think because she’s one of the few characters that seems to have some distance so she says what a lot of us are thinking. She wasn’t always that way but as soon as she started to evolve into that character I stopped wanting her dead.
VO: I feel like that was purposeful though you know? Like Season 1 and 2 Quinn was all about OPA and being a Gladiator. Season 2 and 3 was more the rebellious stage as the truth came out thanks to Defiance and her identity and now she’s made some sort of peace with her murder-loving ways and working it into her previous identity. It’s actually kind of interesting when you take in the whole arc of the show. Much like Abby and her growth.
“There’s a special place in hell….” If I ever hear that line again, it’ll be too soon. I’m with Liv on this one.
KC: I also thought that quote was like the official quote that symbolizes #solidarityisforwhitewomen, used by women who have NO PROBLEM stepping on other women who they deem as lesser, but then get mad when the tables are turned.
VO: Abby, Cyrus and Olivia working together, I love that. And Mellie better gut Nichols. I feel like Cyrus’ assistant deserves a huge raise for dealing with this bullshit. And those are some really well lit and nice sex photos. Most of what you see really online is washed out with terrible lighting.
KC: I woulda BEEN quit. And yeah, those pics look more like shots from a movie set. No sweat, or ugly grunt face or flailed limbs.
VO: Fitz saying he’s going to fight this is either him wanting to fight for a friend which is actually not a terrible thing for him to do, or he realizes he’s useless without Cyrus.
KC: I would say the latter.
VO: I’m not so sure about that, but you know I’m a pretty forgiving person. Hey look! It’s my favorite trope of forced marriage! Always fun in fanfics! I don’t blame Cyrus for having cold feet and his anger for being sold out in the first damn place. I think also he’s upset that he fell for that game, given that he’s orchestrated it so many times.
KC: I am sorry, I *gasped* when Cy said he had only had 2 male lovers. I expected way more prostitutes. And wasn’t he a professor in the past? Hello, students? DO I NEED TO SHOW YOU HOW THIS IS DONE, CY?
VO: I think you might. Admittedly when he was talking about being with women for 40 years, I kept wondering if he was really more bisexual than gay, but the following lines of not enjoying sex with women pretty much killed that. I really think that Cy is old school in that he just tried to live without that love and now he’s discovered it. There’s tons of a stories about people who were in the closet for decades and came out around Cy’s age or even older.
Kill card and shutting down B613, and with the tying up of loose ends makes me think that OPA is only going to be Olivia Pope now.
KC: This is all a big countdown to Liv becoming Command. We all know its coming.
VO: WINE BAR IN COMMAND! You know that’s gonna happen.
HEY LOOK CHARLIE! I’m glad Quinn warned him, and I like his snark. However, I could live without them fucking each other.
KC: They gross me out less than Quinn and Huck do. I like the way Charlie calls her Robin, her real name. What’s weird is he is super fucked up but Charlie does see Quinn as the person she really is. I like how the rules of love and friendship are so fucked up in Scandal but still recognizable.
VO: “You have a finger?” Of course Quinn would have a finger! She’s learned a bunch of wacky things that are helpful and dangerous and downright scary.
KC: She has such a sick glee about this kind of stuff, she really is more like Charlie than Huck, Huck is damaged by what he does but Quinn truly loves her job, I respect that greatly.
VO: I never thought that I’d love Quinn, as you said before, but I’m kind of liking this snarky Quinn who is good at her murdering job.
I love Olivia thinking that she wouldn’t get killed by her father. I think we know the truth regarding her father. I’m not sure who could kill whom, but once wheels are set in motion, they can’t be stopped.
KC: I think that Rowan would never kill Olivia, but … he may allow her to be killed. There’s a difference.
VO: At least in their heads, as we’ll see later. Jake thinking that they can go back — doubtful at best. I love his optimism, but how would they get there? Daddy’s money? There’s a fight between Liv and her dad and it’s not going to end with hugs and kisses.
KC: I like Jake. He’s good looking and hunky. Even though he shoots people in the face, he’s naive as hell, though. I think he’s just as guilty as Ftiz as seeing Olivia as a door marked exit, even though he cares about her more.
VO: Love can be mixed in with different motivators. At least Jake also sees Olivia as herself and not this idealized thing Fitz has built up. If North and Nelson are trying to be private and stuff, why the hell are they boinking in his office? Or are they getting cocky?
KC: Man, I dunno. They bore me, actually.
VO: Honestly me too, but I think that it’s just setting stuff up for after the winter break. Oh Cyrus. He’s a gladiator and he’s willing to do whatever to shore up Fitz. I swear, this is probably one of the most human moments out of Fitz and Cy in years and it’s lovely — just the human emotion out of Cyrus and the loyalty to friends from Fitz.
KC: Cy… I get Cy in that he has ambition and knows that who he is as a gay man has kept him from being as powerful as he wants. I think it’s why he and Olivia are friends and probably why they bonded. When this scene happened I was yelling “No, Cy, don’t resign!” Like this isn’t a dude that has not tried to kill both Olivia and his own husband. In real life, I’d stay far away from a dude like him, but in the safe world of fiction, I can really relate to his ambition.
VO: But this is where I look at those two and I see a deep friendship and respect between Cy and Fitz. I mean, Fitz is the worst, don’t get me wrong, but they’re friends in addition to colleagues. It would be easy to say, “K! Bye!” when Cy presented the option, but for Fitz to continue fighting, especially given how sad Cy seemed? That’s deeper than work.
Poor David Rosen. He is literally the walking womp sound. David — is this really how you wanted to find out she was seeing someone else? And I’m currently laughing my ass off at the use of Endless Love in that scene. However using it for Charlie and Quinn makes me laugh hard because of course Charlie’s OTP is murder.
KC: I was rolling my eyes until the Charlie/Quinn fight, because it was brilliant. I actually do think Charlie and Quinn are an OTP of sort. It’s a threesome between Charlie/Quinn/Murder
VO: Nice shout out to Stevie Wonder. I have this feeling that Papa Pope really doesn’t want to kill Olivia nor does he want to hurt her, but it’s coming to a head and forces are pushing them to battle. Olivia’s speech is harsh because she’s done the read that he’s done on her at times. I swear if they had this fight when she was a teenager, maybe it wouldn’t have been so damn bloody and ended like this.
KC: It’s more than a shout out. This was another “yell aloud” moment because for many black people Of A Certain Age, this is the album passed down from parent to child, it has an emotional resonance, so for him to pull out that album it’s the height of emotional manipulation, you know? He knows what he is doing here, he’s a master.
VO: I did not know that. That makes sense then that he’d pull that out and use it on her. Pull out all the stops in this battle. Admittedly Papa Pope’s speech I get his frustration, but it’s also selfish. Whenever he talks about loving her, he’s frustrated about not getting his due and that’s not parental love. It’s selfish.
KC: But there’s also the other subtext of him really feeling like Olivia has turned her back own her own blackness, her roots. The fact that he feels like she’s built this successful life for herself without acknowledging what he sacrificed for her to do it. They he keeps referring to Jake and Fitz as “boys.” That’s not age he’s talking about. It’s selfish, yes, but it’s not entirely personal either.
VO: Truth on all those points. Like when we discussed the similarities Rowan has to some of the immigrant parents I know and the battles between generations. The “watch yourself” Rowan totally knew she would pull the trigger. There was just that gut instinct, but I think that’s also because he might be admittedly his failings as a parent.
KC: This scene killed me. Rowan is an evil murderer but his cry when she pulled the trigger broke my heart a little. He knew then that she is lost to him. Maybe always was.
VO: I think that she always was, to be honest. He fashioned her in his image and you can’t be surprised when she takes on the same traits he has. I mean, the man put his wife in a hole! Why did Rowan bring all those records? Was he hoping for a reconciliation?
KC: It was guilt. A massive, masterful guilt trip.
VO:I need to learn that when my kid acts up.
OH SHIT. I DIDN’T THINK THAT CHARLIE’S OTP WAS QUINN. WAS MURDER THE SIDE PIECE? And their talking shop cracks me up.
KC: Everyone missed the part with “Granny Fran.” Poor Granny Fran was sick. But HE TOOK HER OUT. He KILLED Granny Fran! But was made it sad was that he (at least he said) he killed her to ease her suffering. I actually kind of believe him. Also again with the “Robin” He really does care for Quinn, the real Quinn.
VO: I GOT THAT TOO! YOU WEREN’T THE ONLY ONE! I think that he might be sad that he has to turn on colleagues, but he’s also trying to be merciful and quick about it, as opposed to letting it linger. There are ethics in the murder business you know.
Mama Pope has got to be pissed that the break-up plan they had is just falling apart. I’m laughing so hard at her “Girl you gotta move on.” And her saying that Olivia is just like her dad is totally on point. I mean, her mom is hardly parent of the year material, but I can also feel her disgust at what her daughter turned out to be, as well as her sadness.
KC: She made Liv cry and was not here for it, but her face softened as Olivia left. She’s nuts but she told the truth. I still would like to know the background with her and Rowan. They clearly have a connection but outside of Liv, what is it. And I know there’s more.
VO: I’d love that too. It would be interesting as hell. Also Mama Pope’s annoyance at Olivia’s speech reminds me of how sometimes I get annoyed with Olivia and Rowan screaming and shouting. Imagine hearing that day after day? The Emmy luster would wear off and you’d be all, “K., Let’s get this over with…..”
Cyrus’ speech from Olivia is probably the tough love that he needed. I swear, I have never heard so much “bitch baby” until today.
KC: You can only call a true friend a bitch baby. And you can only do the tough love thing on that level with a real friend.
VO: And of course the wedding trope gets played. Of course he’d marry Mandy McConceia as a power move.
KC: I don’t get it, really. Again, I can’t imagine a bunch of Republican voters seeing this as a Pretty Woman move and celebrating gay marriage, but I have accepted the fact that “Republican” means something different in the Scandal-verse.
VO: They’ll go for the marriage thing. More and more now the Republican party is recognizing that it has to allow diversity and be less hard on lines like gay marriage. The prostitute thing can be spun as a man saving his boo, which always gets the romantics.
I also love how Mellie tells off Elizabeth. “That doesn’t make us friends, it just makes at risk for the same STDs.” And Elizabeth, I’d watch your back against Mellie because she will bury people. I also like that there’s another antagonist for Mellie that isn’t Liv, because it’s not just about sex. It’s power.
KC: I like that Mellie bounced back. I kinda wonder if, since they are both always losing, that Mellie and Rosen would be a good match. She’d destroy him though. Maybe he needs that.
VO: Not Rosen. Definitely not Rosen. He’s a good man, but he can’t play the game to be honest. Really I just want Mellie to bury Fitz and run for office herself.
Is it really a good idea of have Kim read those files Huck? Now she’s pulled into B613.
KC: It’s a horrible idea. She’s gonna die.
VO: Also B613 is the worst kept secret ever for a secret government agency.
Jake — give Liv this moment. The girl needs to decompress a little and smile. And I love how on Shonda shows there’s always dancing. You know she’s having such a hard time right now and is totally like two seconds from falling apart.
KC: Olivia chose herself, Kelly Taylor style. I can totally see her being a 90210/Kelly fan in the 90’s. Rich, kinda bitchy, with a good heart deep down…
VO: I dunno. Given the whiplash in her decisions between Jake and Fitz, I figure her choosing herself may last about 43 seconds.
Jake. You didn’t notice the open door? What the fuck man? You’re like a terrible agent to not notice that….
KC: This turned out way better than I thought, I thought Jake was going out by a sniper shot, orchestrated by dad, so this was much better. But of course, as soon as she chooses herself, Olivia gets her fool self kidnapped.
VO: Any bets as to who did it? I don’t think it’s Nelson. I think he was waving that in front of Fitz as a “IF YOU DON’T BEHAVE, THEN I’LL DO–” thing. My gut says its either Rowan or Olivia just said, “FUCK THIS SHIT, I’M OUT!”
KC: It was a kidnapping for sure, Olivia would not spill her wine.
