It's funny how the best television comes as a result of quality writing and directing. For the first time in months, the creative team behind ABC's Scandal truly hit the nail on the head.
Creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes teamed up with Mark Wilding to produce the script for "You Can't Take Command", with Tom Verica occupying the directors chair for the fourteenth time. Verica has directed every season premiere and finale from season 2 onwards, and his work in this one was a standout.
Rhimes, Wilding and Verica were a formidable trio in this fourth season finale. For the first time since very early in the season I enjoyed the entire episode. That in itself is quite an achievement.
My anticipation for the finale in general was rather low - maybe that's why I was able to enjoy it so much. I was expecting a higher level of intensity, but fortunately that never came. This was the best decision of them all that the creative team made. Instead of producing an episode full of action, insanity and intensity, the hour honed in on the characters and their interactions. That being said, the finale was nothing flashy or spectacular either - instead it was an hour that simply got the job done without too much fuss and kept things nice and simple.
In last week's penultimate hour, Rowan Pope had just greeted an oblivious Mellie before the curtains came down. No time was wasted with a recap - the cold open took us straight into the room. Posing as one 'Damascus Bambridge', Rowan turned the tables rapidly, presenting a portfolio of covert images taken of semi-naked Mellie making out with former VP Andrew. Also in the portfolio were the documents from her husband Fitz's dealings in Operation Remington.
Thankfully, no harm came to Mellie at the end, but Mellie's inexperience in dealing with powerful, manipulative people proved to be her achilles heel as she complied with Rowan's request for a list, which happened to contain the names of the jurors who were to deliberate on the B613 trial. All 16 were executed on a bus in gruesome fashion by Huck of all people. That was a twist I never saw coming.
Despite that severe setback, Olivia and Jake pressed ahead with their mission to take down Command. Chief of Staff Cyrus still has me scratching my head with his behavior, however. Justifying his actions by saying protecting Fitz was his number one priority, he set out to shut down the trial from the top, blackmailing David Rosen into dropping the case, and having Olivia and Jake arrested at CIA headquarters and forced to sign statements confirming nothing ever happened.
I can't say this was the ending to the storyline that I was hoping for. The trial was the one thing I was looking forward to seeing as a way to conclude the B613 affair, but instead Rowan was locked up for embezzlement after Huck framed him stealing from his workplace, the Smithsonian Institute. Rowan isn't dead, but in the process of closing ranks and protecting himself, he effectively neutralized B613 on his own. This makes me uneasy largely because I don't want to see it resurrected
Strangely, however, the B613 was squashed like a cockroach under a farmer's boot by the actions of the President. In a shocking and game-changing move, having just spent time celebrating with Cyrus and Mellie regarding the latter's election victory, Fitz ordered his wife to leave the White House, and fired Cyrus on the spot.
For once in the series' life, this was the President acting like a President should. How Fitz gained knowledge of what had happened earlier is anyone's guess, but Fitz treated Mellie like any other politician under his orders, and admonished her for her actions which cost 16 people their lives. In firing Cyrus, Fitz proved that the shell of a man in love with a mistress and heavily reliant on alcohol is more than a hollow mess. He finally stood up to Cyrus, who has become more and more biased towards his own agendas as the season has progressed. Autonomously doing what he thought was right for his boss seemingly wasn't an excuse Fitz was going to tolerate any longer. It was an impressively satisfying scene to watch in its own twisted way, and Tony Goldwyn was outstanding.
In the end, after many episodes apart this season, the two lovers, around which the series is built, reunited on the balcony of the White House. Moments earlier, a feeling of loneliness had swept the President as he realized his wife, right hand man, and love of his life were absent. But Olivia was there on the balcony, waiting for him. In that moment, both characters were free of anyone else fighting for their affection. Maybe Vermont isn't so far away after all.
Minutes earlier, Jake had announced to Olivia on her doorstep that his mission was complete. In a frank admission, he confirmed he was in love with her, but that it was obvious to him that she was in love with "him". Though Jake may have departed for now, this scene proved Jake was still under someone's command.
While Fitz and Olivia concluded the season on the balcony at the White House, one must not forget the standoff between Huck and Quinn. Quinn was livid with her partner for his cold-blooded murdering of the jurors on Rowan's orders. We left the duo with Quinn holding a gun to Huck's head, but with Huck begging for her to shoot.
The finale leaves a few unanswered questions, but also leaves many doors open. Having recurred all season, Portia de Rossi has been locked in as a series regular for season 5 - something I was expecting - as her character replaces Cyrus as Chief of Staff. I don't care much for the character or the actor so I can't say I'm thrilled, but I'll keep an open mind for now.
It's a shame the standard of the series has dropped so significantly in such a short period of time, especially after an impressive run in late 2014. The viewers are aware of that fact too - ratings for last week's penultimate hour were 40% lower than the record-breaking season premiere, with the better part of 5 million viewers also tuning out. The lack of a sizable cliffhanger for this season finale is obviously a form of damage control and a reset button, with the 'Olitz' reincarnation obviously the key to rebuilding for the creative team. It just goes to show that even a fanbase as loyal and vocal as Scandal's can let their remotes do the talking. Hopefully, the only direction things can go from here is up.
As always, thanks so much for reading, and an especially big thanks to those who have read my other reviews this season and shared your thoughts in the comments! It's very much appreciated! Feel free to leave your thoughts on the finale as well as the rest of the season in the comments down below, and rememeber you can check out Scandal's ratings on my TV ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com/scandal.
