VO: Hoooo boy…another adult content thing, which is gonna make me wonder why I decided to eat before watching this.
KC: The last time they did this was Mellie’s rape, sooo.
VO: Jake — you really need to ask who is handling Randall? Who else do you think it would be? The wonder twins of murder of course! And he’s the hall — who the hell rented this apartment?
KC: Liv of course!
VO: And Quinn talking about core to Randall was both creepy and hilarious — like a really dark version of “OMG I hate that you can eat whatever you want and still look fabulous!” conversations.
KC: Quinn is SO turning into Charlie it’s hilarious. He has a way of being so… weirdly normal and mundane despite the fact that he’s a killer. HE KILLED HIS GRAMS! Quinn would too.
VO: Of course she would — it’d be a weird justification of putting her out of her misery. How did they get all that furniture and stuff out of her neighbor’s apartment? Why hadn’t it been rented out already?
KC: Thinking too hard!
VO: Weirdly the more I see of Susan Ross, the more I like her and think she’s an interesting character who can also give Mellie a run for her money. She’s smart as hell, savvy and brave. Also the fact that she gives Cyrus an aneurysm makes me laugh hard. She’s a different political animal than Sally Langston, which makes her harder for him to deal with.
KC: I just mentioned Susan to a work colleague today who doesn’t watch Scandal. I was mentioning that she is a bit like Elizabeth Warren, a public servant who had to grow into becoming a career politician.
VO: One of the things that made me laugh was a comment that went by saying that Susan Ross was the Leslie Knope of Scandal. I hope that she runs against Mellie for president. But Scandal would wreck the compelling election story.
KC: I won’t want to see that. They’d make it into a woman vs. woman thing.
VO: Interesting how Fitz and Cyrus are all “PUT HER BACK,” as if the Ensign was a toy Susan pulled off the shelf. But it’s a reminder that the guys don’t always have the same viewpoint and sensitivities as women do. Which is why she went to Olivia.
KC: I’ve said this before but I just don’t get how people can root for Fitz and Olivia when he is so awful to and about women that are not her.
VO:“Foxtail means assassinate David Rosen….” You know Josh Malina said that to Shonda one day.
KC: LOL he probably did.
VO: Yeah….it was a bad idea to eat before watching the torture hour.
KC: It wasn’t so bad.
VO: I really like how Lizzie’s hair looks now. I’m sympathetic to Mellie not wanting Springfield, because you can tell that while she’s trying to move on, mourning is still painful as hell. But it’s also election time, which is where you shove emotions away and get the job done.
KC: She wanted to be a politician, them’s the breaks.
VO: With Scandal and the rape in the military storyline, I have this terrible feeling it’s going to go similarly to what happened with The Lawn Chair. And I get wish fulfillment, but dude, not everyone has an Olivia Pope on their side. Then again, Scandal voters are often drunk, the timeline is fucked up and Papa Pope is like Darth Vader, so any expectations of realism in this show should be tempered.
KC: They try to do a lot in these episodes. I don’t really like their topical eps much because they are so heavy handed.
VO: Lunch with Abby and Olivia. Really taking Abby out of OPA was the best thing for their relationship. “You’re gonna ruin the White House’s day aren’t you?” and that smile? I can’t stop grinning at that.
KC: I like them as friends and yes, Abby leaving OPA was needed to establish their friendship.
VO:Mellie discussing rape is heartbreaking. Especially the way Fitz is handling it.
KC: See topic above. God forbid Olivia ever become something more than someone to put on a pedestal.
VO: Maybe this is why they aren’t ever going to be together — Olivia can’t do a normal relationship and Fitz would probably end up banging another woman because he couldn’t stand the reality of Olivia and her shitty popcorn and red wine jam.
“Don’t want to disturb the neighbors.” WHAT NEIGHBORS? IT LOOKS LIKE THERE’S TWO APARTMENTS ON THAT FLOOR AND ONE IS OLIVIA’S.
KC: Downstairs neighbors would hear too </apartment dweller>
VO: I’m finding the costuming choice of where Olivia comes in wearing white, but at home, she’s wearing black. It’s like the white hat is an illusion — or what she feels.
KC: Or a costume.
VO: Jake describing B613’s thing about seducing Olivia really squicked me out. It’s a trait of Rowan I feel like could be plausible, but at the same time it just makes Rowan and B613 a more ridiculous threat in my mind. But I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised because Olivia and her father have that weird relationship that has echoed into all of Olivia’s relationships.
In conclusion: Girl needs therapy
KC: Some serious Electra Complex for damn sure.
VO: Awww baby lawyer. You can see the “we’re fucked,” expression on Quinn and Olivia’s faces. I swear, this kid looks like Howdy Doody.
KC: All lawyers gotta start somewhere!
VO: Olivia saying wait a few weeks to the Ensign? That’s a privileged position that the Ensign doesn’t have.
KC: And you think she’d know.
VO: Ah talking shop between Jake and Randall. Dude, Rowan sounds like he treats everyone like how he parents Olivia. And all these people around him are people who are seeking a father figure. Also their imitation of him makes me laugh because i can imagine the table readings and Joe Morton laughing his ass off at the impersonations.
What I like about this is the weird respect between the two men. Also, Jake was smart enough to know that Randall was put there just for Olivia to discover. Good grief, Rowan is just getting ridiculously dangerous in a way that isn’t making him a real character, but a huge evil looming force.
KC: This scene was my favorite of the whole season. It was funny, dark, and shed some light on the characters. It was a scene that made me think I may actually like this episode. The first one I actually liked sense the show came back from winter break.
VO: I totally get Mellie and her anger at using her son’s death as a bullet point for the election. That’s just tawdry.
KC: I still don’t get how the “American voter psyche” works in Scandal-verse. What bloodthirsty people elect politicians because their kids died?
VO: AND WHY WOULD YOU MENTION WHAT’S GOING ON WITH NEXT DOOR TO PEOPLE WHO AREN’T INVOLVED? I’M JUST ASKING.
Fitz, what made you think that Olivia was calling you for a social call? And this is where the wish fulfillment comes in writing wise and while I get it, I still think about The Lawn Chair and how it’s not a realism that actually occurs.
With Fitz offering to be thrown under the bus, that’s a sign of a true respect and partnership for those two. Which I like. I wonder if they’re going to get to a place where they can be friends and partners. I kind of hope so. Weirdly, I think that Fitz found a way to help both Mellie and Olivia, which amuses me.
KC: He does love Mellie in his way. I like how this has played out.
VO: Also Mellie’s speech is fire — which is funny given the tonal change from the syrup and honey of “Oh I will have my husband’s influence,” from the previous episode.
KC: I read about this speech before i saw the ep and was a bit disappointed. I thought she was gonna come harder. She still seemed too… folksy? You can do better, Mellie.
VO: Mellie’s always going to be folksy — I don’t think she’s the type to go off like Julia Sugarbaker in public, even if she needed to. There’s something about her that still needs to come off as Southern Belle sweet in public.
HOLY SHIT VIRGIL IS B613. EVERYONE IS B613. AM I B613?
KC: LOL I literally thought this too. Man, baby Ella is B613.
VO: HOW DOES MELLIE NOT KNOW ROWAN POPE? LIKE HASN’T HE BEEN AROUND THE WHITE HOUSE BEFORE?
KC: Who says she doesn’t know him? hehe