Courtesy of ABC
This episode brings us a not-so innocent man, a formidable former first lady, and more about that key.
Let’s bitch it out…
I have a request for Scandal‘s writers. If we’re going to have cold open that involve confusing, kinky swimming dreams with Jake (Scott Foley) and Fitz (Tony Goldwyn), let’s not add Papa Pope (Joe Morton) into the mix, okay? Thanks.
As far as the case of the week, I’m not going to lie: I was totally suckered by Leonard Carnahan. In the 80s, Leonard Carnahan was charged with the attempted assassination of President Cooper. Now that President Cooper died, Carnahan wants to prove his innocence and enlists the help of OPA. The way to accomplish this is to get him charged with murder so they can request an autopsy, remove the bullet from the former President’s head, and prove it didn’t come from Carnahan’s gun. This relies on Liv’s (Kerry Washington) greatest strength: manipulation of the press to force the administration’s hand. Turns out, Carnahan did it. He just wanted the glory of being tried and executed for murder. After a little bit of gloating (“this feels weird, winning against you”), Joshua Malina’s David agrees to Liv’s request for life in prison instead. And Mrs. Cooper (more on her) downplays his importance to the press. Nice.
Now let’s talk about Mrs. Cooper AKA my new favourite person in the world. Despite playing the Southern, “we’re just simple people” Former First Lady in public, behind closed doors she is a force. She was the one that pushed all of the policies through that have become her philandering, “not the brightest bulb” husband’s legacy. But sadly, “I will be remembered as the wife of a man who did something with his life.” Introducing Mrs. Cooper is the perfect way to get Mellie (Bellamy Young) motivated to re-engage with the administration, accepting her role but figuring out how she can work within it to get things done. By the end of the episode, we see Mellie making a statement to the press about a base closing rumour, forcing Fitz’s hand to keep them open. Happy to have you back, Mellie.
Meanwhile, Jake is still in his cell, looking a lot worse for wear. He’s also about to be turned over to Papa Pope, which everyone knows is code for “disappear forever.” Fitz allows Liv to see Jake (thanks to some harsh words by Darby Stanchfield’s Abby). Jake tells Liv, “I know you’re not going to choose me, and that’s okay” and proceeds to give her instructions on taking care of his family.
Liv pleads with Fitz to keep Jake in the official legal process, not some B613 warehouse where he’ll never be heard from again. Fitz forces her to tell him there’s still hope for them before he’ll agree (she was just manipulating the situation right? God, I hope so). When Jake finds out he’s staying in prison: “You’re not going to kill me?” Fitz: “Consider it my gift to the woman we love.”
So, remember the ol’ key pulled from a teenager’s intestines? Turns out, it was to a locker that held pictures of….Liv. Tons of pictures of Liv clearly under surveillance. More to follow…
Courtesy of ABC
Other Observations:
- What ever happened to the baby girl that James and Cyrus (Jeff Perry) adopted? We’re just not talking about her anymore?
- Reason #2351 that Fitz is the worst President ever: Mellie was already in the process of planning the state funeral before Fitz knew that President Cooper had died. Pull yourself together man.
- “Truth is like the sun, you can shut it out but it’s not going to go away.” Dear Scandal, I challenge you to avoid any “step into the light,” “sun,” or “white hat” references for the remainder of the season. Seriously…
- How long before “Gabby” gets the ax?
- How come no one called the cops on Quinn (Katie Lowes)? She was at a metro station lingering by all of the lockers for hours trying to open each one? “If you see something, say something.”
- When did Cyrus become so oblivious? He is so sharp when it comes to anything other than the hooker (Matthew Del Negro) in his bed.
Best Lines:
- Mellie: “Want me to have the chef send up some fried chicken?”
- David: “Hashtag you want to screw me”
- Mrs. Cooper: “You go crochet, or vaccinate fat kids. Whatever silly hobby makes you feel like you’re making a difference.”
What did you think? Do you also want to see more of Mrs. Cooper? Why is Liv being stalked? Is Cyrus acting like a moron these days? And were you surprised Leonard was actually guilty? Sound off below!
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9pm EST on ABC. Here’s a glimpse of next week’s episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cZ7S3GaIQ4