ABC's Scandal has been pretty mediocre through the last 6 or so weeks. The fortnight's hiatus has done me good though, allowing me to put some of the crap (for a lack of a better word) I've sat through in the last wee while behind me.
Last night's episode was titled "I’m Just a Bill" and was written by Raamla Mohamed and directed by Debbie Allen. Compared to recent weeks, this episode was a marked improvement overall. The internet appeared divided down the middle in relation to the return of Rowan Pope and the resurgence of B613, but critics probably won't be any more pleased or disappointed after last night's outing.
Picking up right after the last episode left things a fortnight ago, Rowan did all the talking in the cold open, as he has done so right throughout his tenure with the series. Rowan made it crystal clear that the floodgates would open should Olivia not act to disable the impending legal war against him. While this occurred, a drugged and bound Franklin Russell was on the floor behind the couch.
Interestingly, despite Rowan's return being the main point of interest in this episode for me, he only occupied time in the opening and closing minutes of the hour and none in between. It was only in the closing moments back in Olivia's apartment that we, along with Rowan, received confirmation that Olivia was indeed siding with the law instead of her father.
She came to this conclusion, and based her reasoning on the procedural element of the episode, which Marcus Walker was the center of. A mayoral candidate, Marcus and the current mayor's wife were interrupted by a trio of thugs who killed the mayor's wife in a staged robbery, with Marcus hiding in the closet.
This was another see-through case right from the start. Long story short, the mayor himself set the whole thing up. Olivia called the mayor out on his wrongdoing and arranged a transfer of power. The only bump in the road, and the only part of the plot of reasonable interest was Marcus defying the hush hush plan and outing the now former mayor to the media for his part in the crime. Not lying was a cornerstone philosophy for Marcus, so this was rather predictable in its own right. On a side note, need I mention the most bizarre body disposal method we've seen yet?
The folks in the White House had a more active existence than we've seen in recent weeks. A Brandon Bill came out of nowhere, with the Senate neck and neck in votes on whether to pass it into law. The details of the bill were, quite frankly, lost on me in the haste of it all, but what was abundantly clear was Vice President Susan Ross becoming a thorn in everyone's side, delaying her deciding vote initially for a spelling bee, and further for time to read the bill in its entirety - something that took an all night effort by the look of it. In the end, President Grant strode into the room demanding a vote then and there, but Ross held firm, and convinced Fitz to scrap the bill and basically start again.
To sidetrack the media from the failed Brandon Bill fiasco, Mellie announced her run for the Senate seat in Virginia. I must say I thought this would have come later on in the season - it was rather sudden and very short, but in a way I'm also glad its out of the way, given Scandal's tendency of late to hang the obvious over our heads.
The best was indeed saved for last, however. Having earlier participated in a smoking hot sex session with Olivia, Franklin Russell switched roles and ambushed Jake in the OPA offices. Jake was on the back foot right from the beginning, and lost, sustaining a handful or so of stab wounds to the chest. Those viewers who were reasonably switched on would have understood the significance and the reasoning behind Jake earlier asking Olivia to accompany him to David Rosen's office to prepare for his testimony. Not only did it allow the creative team to reveal to Olivia for the first time Fitz's role in Operation Remington, but it gave her the opportunity to hear the testimony for herself should Jake, Rosen or both not survive long enough to make it to the trial.
If anything, I'm glad that Rowan delivered on a threat. He's been a lot of talk but no action in his time on the show this season. There will no doubt be legions of fans thrilled at Jake's potential demise too.
Next week's promo is a pretty good indicator of where things are heading. Three more episodes are still to come this season, and Jake's potential demise could very well be the tip of the iceberg in the pursuit for justice against B613.
Thanks for reading! Be sure to share your thoughts and theories on what you think will happen in the comments below. You can follow Scandal's ratings, including its recent slump, on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/scandal.
