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Scandal - You Can't Take Command - Review: "Much Better Than Expected"

May 15, 2015

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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.
About the Author - Jimmy Ryan
Jimmy Ryan lives in New Zealand, and works in the IT industry. He is an avid follower of drama television and has a keen interest for television ratings and statistics. Some of his favorite shows right now are Person of Interest, Scandal, House of Cards, Orphan Black, The Blacklist, The 100, How To Get Away With Murder, Elementary and Castle. You can visit his television ratings website, www.seriesmonitor.com or follow him on Twitter, @SeriesMonitor.
Recent Articles by Jimmy (All Articles by Jimmy)

29 comments:

  1. The finale in my eyes ended up being the best episode of the season 4. I think Scandal's problem is they have very bad writers on their staff The quality of writing this episode compared to the previous 4 episode stands out the most to me. Shonda and Mark Wilding wrote the finale and they nailed it. This summer I think SR should clean house also and fire the bad writers and keep the few good ones like Mark Wilding, Jenna Bans, Heather Mitchell, and Mark Fish.
    I think the biggest star turn for me was Lizzie. She manipulated Mellie into telling her what she did for Papa and then she brilliantly realize Fitz had no clue and then she "innocently" told him in the middle of Mellie celebrating a Senator win! I'm happy Portia has been added to the cast. Lizzie putting her belongings in Cyrus office while he turned over his WH badge was perfect.
    Jake, I don't like the character and never will, but I will give Jake this. He always knew he was the odd man out when it came to Olivia's heart. Even when Olivia was running from her love for Fitz, Jake knew he would never win. Bottom line Olivia loves Fitz. No matter how many men she slept with to forget him, that love would never go away. The ending was perfect and Fitz decision proved he can be a great President and a flawed man at the same time.
    Yes, Fitz should have kicked both Cyrus and Mellie out. Mellie was so worried about losing the race, that she allowed Papa to play her like fiddle which caused the deaths of 16 people. The thing is, Mellie wasn't even sad about it. So in true Shonda Rhimes fashion, Mellie won her Senator seat, but with a price. Olivia and Fitz on the balcony kissing was the perfect end to the season. Season 5, my guess is the number one story will be a Presidential divorce storyline of Epic proportions that Mellie will probably fight with all her might.Really what can she do, Fitz is in his final term and divorce for POTUS is not illegal. I say Bring it on!

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  2. Great recap as always.
    Mellie and Cyrus will force to work together to bring down Lizzie bear who betrayed them.
    I am the only one who think that Lizzie is willing to seduce Fitz?
    Olivia and Lizzie don't love each other, it will be a big fight between them.
    Poor Mellie. I hope in season 5, both Mellie and Cyrus will be in good terms with Fitz.
    I don't trust Lizzie bear at all.

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  3. Good thoughts. Cleaning out the bad writers would be a great place to start but Rhimes has to shoulder a lot of the blame for persisting with storylines that were boring the crap out of viewers.


    Yeah a divorce arc could potentially be on the lines but I'm not immediately convinced because I would have thought Fitz would have mentioned divorce when he ordered Mellie out.


    And spot on about Jake. Jake was very diplomatic - almost too diplomatic which is why I mentioned him still working for someone.

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  4. Cheers, glad you enjoyed it. I'm not a fan of Lizzie at all. The character did nothing substantial until the last 5 or so episodes but hovered aimlessly all season until then. How Fitz or anyone can trust Lizzie after she screwed Cyrus over in particular is beyond me

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  5. Mellie
    got what she wanted a political career. Cyrus can be Mellie's chief of staff in
    the Senate. It is going to be Mellie/Cyrus versus Fitz/Olivia/Lizzie. Fireworks
    are coming with the Presidential divorce.



    Olivia has to rebuild OPA with new team members and focus on her career. Mama
    Pope is on the loose and Papa Pope will be plotting from jail. If Jake returns, he'll get a job and a new girlfriend - maybe Lizzie or Mellie's sister Harmony.



    But hopefully B613 is dead. YAY!!!

    I'm looking forward to some more interesting story lines in season 5 since there is a lot to deal with going forward - presidential divorce, single white republican president with a black girlfriend (is the nation ready?), Olivia dealing with potential stepchildren, mama pope will be back, OPA team issues (Huck and Quinn plus rebuilding), Mellie establishing herself as a senator, Mellie dealing with the divorce (who gets the kids? shared custody?), keeping an eye on sneaky Lizzie, Cyrus will want revenge on Lizzie, Olivia and Abby relationship now that Olitz are together and so much more.

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  6. Yay olitz got together aww

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  7. I don't think Shonda has a choice about the Presidential divorce. It something that must come because of how season 4 ended. There is no returning Mellie to the WH after he kicked her out. I believe Tony Goldwyn stated that on the show Fitz is in his 2nd year of his final term. President divorce was something she wanted to write when the show started. This is not a happy ending, there will be plenty more bumps in the road for Olitz in season 5.
    I do like the thought of Mellie and Cyrus teaming up. Makes for interesting drama and I also think there will be a conflict of Olivia working at OPA and Fitz wanting her to be his first lady.

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  8. I understand why Fitz kicked Mellie out of the white house, but it's was for me heartbreaking. Olivia doesn't already know that Cyrus is fired and that Lizzie bear is the new chief of staff. Fitz made an error with Lizzie. That woman ? He made her the person who is the most close to him? Olivia will be mad. They don't like each other at all. If Fitz really want a divorce, he will have to be more gentle with Mellie. Like you, i can't trust Lizzie's character, not a little bit. See you soon.

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  9. To me, the best episodes this seasonm were the ones that featured a Pope and Associates case and that had less of the personal dramas and B613 drama. This was not one of them.

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  10. Fitz makes an error with Lizzie bear. He will regrets it and Olivia will be mad. Those two women don't love each other at all.

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  11. Who beside the president? Mama Pope?

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  12. You forget about Lizzie bear. Have such a person close to Fitz? Olivia will be mad when she will know it.

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  13. Olivia can handle Lizzie and I'm sure Fitz will find out all about her manipulations. I look forward to next season.

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  14. Fitz should have made Abby Chief of Staff. That would have given her something to do in this episode, instead of just being David's weakness. I hope her character will have more to do next season, she's been kind of useless this season. But Lizzie as Chief of Staff will prove quite interesting I think.

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  15. I can't believe Cyrus was in the same room as Rowan and didn't kill him. THAT would have been the best solution to protect the president. The lawsuit was gone, no one would have found out about Remington, and Rowan would have been out of the picture. But no, Cyrus had to scheme and manipulate, because this is what he is.

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  16. Liked this finale. It wasn't predictable.

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  17. How? I don't trust her. And Olivia and her detest each other.

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  18. Oh you said everything that needs to be said. I agree with the change in writers. Keep the ones you mentioned and fire the rest. Shonda Rhimes needs to clean house and stay on top of her show. She dropped the ball this season which impacted the show and its ratings. However she made up for it in the finale. Here's to a better Season 5!

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  19. Fitz found out because Lizzy told him all the dirty deets in a power grab to become the POTUS's right hand woman. Remember when she convinced Mellie to tell her "everything"?

    I don't like the reconciliation of Fitz & Liv at all. And I don't believe it can last, not for long, anyway. Not with Papa Pope, Cyrus, and Mellie all against them. And of of course, Mama Pope's on the loose now, too. Their reunion is more likely just a symptom of Liv's tenuous mental health state. Think red door, beach flash backs. She's clearly dealing with PTSD, love addiction and severe daddy/abandoment issues along with who knows what else.

    The divorce story line, if that's really going to happen, also seems ridiculous. He's only got two more years in office; any normal prez would wait it out and then get a divorce. It makes no sense to add that pressure on top of all the other pressures that come with being head of state.

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  20. I will be extremely upset if next season Papa Pope somehow manages to maintain some residual B613 front with many people working for him and killing people. Hopefully B613 is dead in the water (thanks to Papa Pope so foolishly shutting it down just to spite Olivia). What an abusive relationship Papa Pope has with her daughter.
    Would love to see Mellie be the person to kill Papa Pope to take revenge on her son, since politicians on Scandal keep killing people. Would also love to see a Mellie Grant vs Susan Ross campaign for president.

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  21. I thought the episode was contrived. It all changed in the last 5 min. I get why Olitz fans are happy but it felt like a series finale, after getting news the show would be cancelled. Mellie didnt do anything half as bad as Fitz. He killed a woman in cold blood to save his position. He was responsible for Remington, and he went to war and killed hundreds of people to save the woman he loves??? Mellie had no idea they were going to be killed. She doesnt know Papa Pope. Fitz makes a big speech about her being his best friend, and the best thing he has ever done by marrying her, and then for so much less than he has ever done, he throws Mellie out. Please this man is weak and arbitrary. Say what you will about Jake but he has stood by Liv thru everything, making sure she was safe. Fitz is ambivalent at best, putting his needs first most of the time. Every once in a while he will put Liv first, but in the end he is married. He married Mellie because he loved her. She was raped by his dad, and that is when things went bad. To me its like watching a sophisticated version of Misresses.

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  22. Goodbye Revenge, ∞x∞May 16, 2015 at 2:11 PM

    In my opinion the finale was sub par. I hope we never see Papa Pope again because I hated that story line. Didn't like when the president yelled at Mellie and sent her out of the house or when he fired Cyrus. I don't want Olivia and the president together at all so for me that last scene was REPULSIVE! I would give the episodes a C-

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  23. You know what I was thinking about is the plan olivia came up with in the finale of season 2, it's exactly what I think is going to happen in season 5... plus the presidential divorce.
    Remember the speach : Make no mistake... You are going to leave the White House. You'll want your own political career. And I will back you and campaign for you and never speak of my ex-wife Mellie Grant in anything but the most glowing of terms. And then, about a year into my second term, I will go one or two high-profile dates with well-educated, age-appropriate career women, which will be chronicled in immaculate detail by tabloids around the globe. And when word leaks six months later that I've been spending time with one of my oldest, dearest, most trusted advisors, who selflessly acted as the mouthpiece of my administration when I was lying half-dead on a hospital bed, who has always stood beside me as my friend and colleague... When it gets out that she and I have started, after all this time, to care for one another in a way that is no longer strictly professional, America will love her.

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  24. So true. I agree with everything you're saying except I don't know Mistresses. But re: Mellie's actions, even the actress who plays Mellie said that the character just thought the names of the grand jury would help someone influence the outcome of the hearing. Business as usual in Washington. Never in a million years would she have foreseen someone getting killed, let alone 16 someones!


    That contrived happy ending will not last long. Too many people out there to prevent that. And a large percentage of the audience will be relieved if it doesn't, so wouldn't it be funny if the audience ends up rooting for Papa & Mama Pope, Mellie & Cyrus, even possibly Liz, if it means breaking up Olitz? Now that would be a twist. lol.

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  25. Mistresses is a show on ABC about 4 woman who are mistresses. I never watched it, just saw the commercials. I realize it is just a show so adultery is part of the deal but Liv is a smart woman. And smart woman grow away from that kind of behavior. I also accept that Olitz might be endgame but it was so last 5 min. In the beginning of the show, Mellie was everything for him, and in one min of a less than serious mistake compared to the rest of the gang, she is out???How would Olivia feel if she heard that speech? Please that was so ridiculous. I do not think Fitz is a man of character or honor at all. I think he struggles but in the end, its all about him. The whole end of the show was plot driven and not character driven. And what satisfaction was there in b 316 taken down that way? Again, so much more could have intelligently been done.

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  26. Started to lose interest when the Pres decided to go to war for his girlfriend. I get it, it's just a show but isn't Olivia Pope based on a fixer in DC so they're was some expectation that they wouldn't jump the shark to that sort of level. I think the B613 storyline has also been done to death at this point. I'm sure I will continue to watch but it will stay on the DVR.

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  27. I just don't think b613 is over....but I'm do over it.

    Mellie is prob gonna throw Fitz under a bus. A woman scorned....

    Huck is getting old. Disappointing how messed up he has gotten.

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  28. derekmorgansfakegirlfriendMay 17, 2015 at 5:49 AM

    Great episode. That ending was perfect. It satisfied my Olake love and my Olitz hate. Command is not dead. It's still out there with another name. As Jake told Olivia, you can't take Command. Rowan is dead but his old doddering alter ego, Eli Pope is in jail. I too am looking forward to the fallout. Rowan was right, when she looks at him, she is looking in the mirror. I think Olivia was always evil, as both Rowan and Quinn told us. But I think her crazy was unleashed when she was kidnapped. But then again, it could be something Olivia hatched just like Gone Girl. I think Olivia has unleashed the trifecta of evil, Mama Pope, Papa Pope, and Cyrus. And Lizzie Bear taking down Cyrus - wrong move. But I do agree that Olivia and Lizzie Bear will bump heads hard. Lizzie Bear doesn't realize she does not have Fitz' ear. And Mellie. Just think about when Abby shows up in Olivia's Vermont dream to snap her back to earth. And will we learn why Rowan said he would have to kill Cyrus if he told him why Olivia and Fitz cannot be together. I think Fitz is Olivia's biological father.

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  29. Yes. But What is Lizzie agenda? What is Cyrus and Mellie going to do? Olivia is she now willing to take a risk to be happy and perhaps ruin her reputation?

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