The Fairy Tale
The episode opens up with former VP-turned TV demagogue Sally Langston using her bully pulpit to lambast the President over a lavish state dinner that he is throwing in honor of an American woman who married the prince of the fictional nation of Caledonia. Sally suspects that there is an ulterior motive to this dinner and that the intended target is not the American-born princess, but her mother-in-law Queen Isabel.
While Sally drones on about the amorality and dishonesty of the leader of the free world, the scene cuts to Olivia and Fitz having one hell of a pre-party in the presidential bed. (Good gawd almighty!) Sally’s voice overlays the scene, her words seeming to apply as much to the scandalous couple as it did to the prince and princess for whom they describe:
“And all the while, he holds our hands and tells us fairytales. A young woman. A commoner. An all-American girl who falls in love with the golden son who would be king. Really? It’s a story and not a very original one at that.” -- Sally Langston
Olivia and Fitz are then seen getting ready for the dinner, but are soon drawn into another hot session of the horizontal mambo. These two really were taking the whole “whatever we want” motto to stratospheric heights. I don’t blame them. It has, after all, been fifty-eleven years...
FINALLY these two make it out of the bedroom and are off to the dinner. A number of things transpire at this dinner that forecasts what we would see manifest later in the episode. The first of these commences with the appearance of press secretary (and bestie to Olivia Pope) Abby Whelan. Before arriving at the dinner, Abby preemptively addressed the inevitable questions that would arise about the absence of the First Lady at this function by telling the press that Mellie had the flu. When she joins Olivia at the table, Abby says that she doesn’t believe that the story is being bought, but that’s the best she could come up with on short notice. She then turns to Olivia to ask how long it took for the President to call her after he had kicked Mellie out. Olivia initially plays dumb but then says that Fitz hadn’t called her, which is indeed the truth. When Abby presses her again, Olivia chooses to blatantly lie by saying that she and Fitz have nothing to talk about and that they are over. Now who watching this moment didn’t know right then that this was going to come back and bite Olivia in the ass?
The conversation then shifts over to the American princess, of who Abby had this to say:
“She was a human rights lawyer and now she gets to wear diamonds on her head. … I wonder what that life is like. One day, you’re a regular person and then the next day you’re the most famous woman on the planet, and only because of who you’re in love with. Suddenly, that’s all you are.” -- Abby Whelan
You know who this could easily apply to, yes? At some point in the middle of this, Olivia chimes in to say that she would prefer to be herself. What’s unfortunate is that what Abby said there is present-day reality. While Abby speaks in a manner that suggests that this is the kind of life that she wouldn’t mind living, Olivia doesn’t seem to be so enamored. What woman, especially one who is powerful in her own right, wishes to have her identity stripped of her simply because she is in love with a powerful man? Why should our identities be erased at all?
This moment reminded me of another that occurred in season 4 (4.06 to be exact) where Mellie is engaged in a tete-a-tete with former First Lady Bitsy Cooper who talks about how it was she who was secretly running the country when her husband was incapable of doing it himself. She was the one in command, but history won’t remember her as such.
“I will be remembered as the wife of a man who did something with his life.” -- Bitsy Cooper
That idea sucks, doesn’t it? If Abby’s work life wasn’t as weird as it has become since Cyrus’s dismissal, I doubt that she would be as keen on trading her life with that of Princess Emily as she was in that moment.
The subject of Olivia and Abby’s discussion suddenly emerges from one of the restroom stalls and a moment of awkwardness ensues. Abby apologizes for her commentary and then quickly exits the ladies room. Olivia is set to leave with her, but is stopped by Emily who recalls that Liv had handled the press when her engagement to the prince was announced. Olivia tells Emily that Abby meant no harm by her words, but Emily waves it off and says that she’s used to it.
“For most of the world, I’m not a real person anymore. I stopped being a real person for people the moment the world found out I was marrying Richard. To them, I’m not human. I’m just a spectacle.”
You could see the wheels starting to turn in Olivia’s head right then. Coupled with Abby’s earlier statement, this could easily be her life with Fitz. Is this something that Olivia is really up for? (I peep your foreshadowing, Shonda. Peeped. It.)
While all of this is going on, Fitzgerald is busy schmoozing with the queen. There is a naval base for which he’d like to receive the queen’s approval to establish in Caledonia, but the queen tells him that she needs more time to figure out if this base will be of benefit to her country as it would be to the United States.
We later see Fitz in his bedroom explaining this to Olivia who tells him to give the queen the time that she needs. Olivia is saying this while emerging from the bathroom wearing nothing but one Fitz’s Navy tees. She’s pulling off her clip-on earrings and placing them on the bedside dresser as if she lives at the White House now. She is soon pulled into the bed by Fitz and they look ready to start on yet another session of the hot and heavy (this life sounds so appealing to me….) when duty calls for Olivia. It’s the queen. This surprises both Olivia and Fitz. Tragedy has struck. It’s time for Olivia to gladiate.
Reality’s intrusion
Princess Emily, the sweet American girl from Iowa, has been killed in a car accident. When Olivia arrives on the scene, the officers present are incapable of handling a swarm of paparazzi who are taking pictures of the mangled body of the dead princess. The scene is awfully reminiscent of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Upon meeting with the queen, Olivia is told that she was called on to serve as a representative of the royal family’s interests. The photos that were taken of the princess are to be retrieved from all the paparazzi that were present on the scene. Olivia heads off to OPA where the only gladiator to her disposal is Quinn. (Huck is currently going through a crisis that has him camping out on the sofa at Olivia’s apartment.) She is given the task of retrieving all of the photographs by morning. While Quinn does the footwork with $2.4 million in payoff money, Olivia is working the phone to convince people to give up the photos. There is one who refuses and so Olivia figures out another way to combat the situation: fill the pages of other papers with images of Prince Richard looking at the body of his wife on a slab at the morgue.
The next day, Olivia comes to the office to find that Quinn never went home. She’s had worked through the night on this case and refuses Olivia’s offer to have Huck come in to assist. Quinn tells Olivia that she wasn’t able to find the last pap who was on the scene, but she almost immediately realizes that the person she’s looking for isn’t a photographer at all. Olivia takes this discovery to Attorney General David Rosen with her theory that Princess Emily was murdered. David initially tells her that there isn’t much he can do, but changes his tune when Olivia reminds him that she’s already seen how he’s utilized his power in the past.
After leaving David, Olivia heads over to the White House and almost runs into Abby. She is quick to duck into a side room (is that the press corps office?!) to avoid being seen. Luckily, Abby was so focused on the sheet in her hand (and likely on the more pressing business of how she is going to spin the fact that the president wasn’t going to attend the First Lady’s swearing in ceremony) to notice that her friend was present at the White House. The very same friend who had previously told her that her business with President was over. Umm hmm.
Olivia finally makes it into the Oval Office and gently reprimands Fitz on summoning her in the middle of the day when the White House is open for business. Fitz silences her protestations with a kiss and then asks her what’s she’s been up to. When she says that she’s been working, Fitz follows up with what seems on the surface to be an innocuous question about the queen, but Olivia sees right through it. She moves on to ask him about Mellie’s swearing in ceremony and learns that Fitz doesn’t intend to go. He and Elizabeth apparently had decided that he’s not going.
Now see, why does Fitzgerald have to sometimes be a bonehead? On what level does not going to Mellie’s swearing in ceremony make sense? The press is already suspicious of the reason they were given as to Mellie’s absence from the state dinner the night before, and now Fitz intends to fan the flames further by not being by her side as she makes history in becoming the first sitting First Lady senator? Is he out of his mind? I’m certainly glad that Olivia called him out on his foolishness because he clearly wasn’t thinking with his head. Unfortunately, given the bad blood that exists between the Chief of Staff and the First Lady, Elizabeth isn’t thinking with her head either.
“She’s the junior senator from Virginia and she’s a woman that everybody thinks of as nothing more than your wife. And she’s looking for respect. How many times do you think she’s done this for you whether she wanted to or not?” -- Olivia Pope
All it takes is for Olivia to reframe a situation in order to have that man see the error of his ways. Always. He takes her advice and attends the swearing in. His decision, however, was not relayed to Elizabeth or to Abby. This causes the latter to flounder in front of the press when one reporter (Carol) informs her that contrary to what she was saying regarding the President’s inability to attend the ceremony, he in actuality was there.
The next scene involves Fitz with Mellie following her swearing in. She’s elated that he’s there and believes that he’s come around from the seething rage that he had when he tossed her out over her role in the death of those grand jurors. She’s going on about how she had hoped to apologize prior to now, but thought it best to do it in person; how she regrets what she had done; how she knows that the two of them proceeding forward as a team is what is best for them, their children, the country; and how glad she is that he sees all these same things, too.
Boy, talk about projection! Fitz stood looking at her like she was suffering from a bad case of mental halitosis. This man reaches into his coat and serves her with some divorce papers. I can’t even adequately describe my reaction when that happened. It was somewhere between second-hand embarrassment for Mellie and a congratulatory fist pump for Fitzgerald while rolling about on the floor in hysterics. Then Fitzgerald had to go add insult to injury:
“You have so many qualities that I despise, but I do admire your brilliance. So do the math, Mel. Fighting this, fighting me will mean both of us deploy every weapon in our arsenals. Every lie. Every secret. Every grand juror on that bus. Mutually assured destruction. We’ll be ruined. Now me? Hey, I’m a war hero, governor, two-term president. My bucket list is done. You? Your biggest accomplishment so far is waving and smiling. It’s your first day pitching in the major leagues. You’ll sign.” -- Fitzgerald Grant
How long has Fitz been waiting to unload that onto Mellie? Jeeeeesus. Is it safe to say that the war that he talked about way back in season 3 (3.01) is now back on?
When Olivia learns of the divorce papers, she is taken aback by this unexpected development. She looks to be having an internal freak out session while her outside expresses dumbfoundedness. Fitz tells her that she’s been dragged through his marriage long enough and it was time for that to stop, but Olivia counters by saying that they had a plan that they had agreed to follow through on. To that Fitz says that the death of Princess Emily has made him realize how quickly things in life can change and so he’s done waiting for the chance to be with Olivia. Liv assents to his thinking, but you can see from the expression on her face that she has reservations to this change in their plan.
The Collision of Business and Pleasure
Back at her office, Olivia sits in contemplation (of probably Fitzgerald and his eagerness to make her his) when she gets a call from David. He gives her information that he has learned about the crash that killed the princess. She was definitely murdered. Olivia and Quinn brainstorm over who would want to have the princess killed and soon draw the conclusion that Emily must have been having an affair with her bodyguard who also happened to had died in that same crash. This makes Prince Richard an immediate suspect in the murder of his wife. With this theory in hand, Olivia heads over to the White House.
Now this is where the professional and private lives of Olivia Pope and Fitzgerald Grant come to a head. In so representing the royal family, Olivia’s job involved her having to find answers as to the why of the crash. Her investigation has led her to believe that Prince Richard is responsible for his wife’s death and should be held accountable. The problem there is that the royal family is covered by diplomatic immunity, so even if Richard did have Emily killed, the only way that he can be prosecuted is if his native country waved immunity. Given the fact that Richard’s mother was the queen and was unlikely to do any such thing, Olivia would not be deterred. She stressed that justice for Emily was worth attempting to get Richard’s immunity revoked. Fitz disagrees and sides with Elizabeth regarding the rules of diplomatic immunity. This sets off something in Olivia and she takes her impassioned advocacy too far when she suggests that Fitz cares more about the establishment of naval bases in Caledonia than in acquiring justice for an American who was killed on American soil. The silence that descended on that room was one for the ages. Even crickets were afraid to chirp. Who the hell talks to the President of the United States that way and gets away with it? David and Elizabeth were in the room like:
When the storm finally arrives, Olivia and Fitz are shouting back and forth at each other as if they are the only two people in the room. If you didn’t know that they were lovers before, you certainly knew then, especially since Fitz didn’t (1) reprimand her for her tone and (2) went on to attempt to justify his position.
This moment recalled me to a similar instance that transpired in the “Beltway Unbuckled” episode (2.04) where co-ed Jenny Nystrom was killed by Alexander Lavitch. Olivia showed up at the White House (despite just having had a huge spat with Fitz) to ask the President to contact the prime minister of the fictional Kurkistan to have Lavitch’s immunity waved. Olivia’s request was denied then as it was it was now. Granting her request would have had serious political implications that were far-reaching and more serious than prosecuting one man for murder. Needless to say, that decision did not sit well with Olivia, but then again, nothing ever sits well with Olivia when she doesn’t get what she wants.
After this blow up in the Oval, we see Olivia return to her apartment where she finds Huck laying on her sofa with the missing cushion. (When is this woman going to do something about replacing the stinking cushion?) Huck asks her why she’s back and Olivia responds with “I live here.” Yeah, well, she can’t really blame Huck for asking. He may have had the impression that she lives at the White House now given all the nights that she’s spent there as opposed to being at her actual residence. This was probably the first night that Olivia has spent away from Fitz since their reunion on the balcony. Sadz.
Not All Fairytales Have Happy Endings
The next day, Olivia gets a visit from David who brings her Princess Emily’s autopsy report. Turns out that the princess was pregnant. Olivia takes this information to the queen only to realize that she had wrong in her earlier assessment. Prince Richard wasn’t responsible for the death of his wife. The queen was. Snaaaap. She didn’t want to risk the possibility of the princess giving birth to the child of her bodyguard, a child who would then ascend to the throne, a child who was not of her blood. The queen tells Olivia that there isn’t anything she can do. After all, this is a private matter that is protected by diplomatic immunity and by the nondisclosure agreement that Olivia had signed. I dare say that Queen Isabel doesn’t know Olivia Pope very well. You don’t throw down that type of gauntlet and expect Olivia not to pick it up.
Olivia figures out a way around her constraints. Since she can’t get justice for Emily through the U.S. court system, she shared all that she knew with Richard. This resulted in Queen Isabel’s forced abdication of the throne and banishment by her son to the winter palace alone. (Living alone in a winter palace sounds like hell…) Olivia wins.
Later that evening, Liv makes her way over to the Residence. Fitz tells her that he’s been informed of the immediate succession of the queen by her son, and that his ascension means that he’s definitely not going to get the naval base that he desired. Olivia apologizes for his bad day, but says that she had a good one. Fitz wonders why it is that she’s working so hard to pick a fight with him and she tells him that that’s not her intention, but that “work is a boundary.”
Really, Liv? Is it really a boundary? Because as I recall, you were the one who made it super personal when you went off about it in the Oval. Your boyfriend didn’t give you what you wanted and you lost your damn mind! I’m sure that she fails to see the irony here, but I digress.
Fitz brings up the fact that he handed Mellie divorce papers and that Olivia had reacted to that news then as if she had changed her mind about the two of them being together. His divorce would allow them the ability to step out into the light and eliminate the need for them to operate under the cover of darkness. It is clear that he doesn’t understand her hesitation on this, especially since the divorce was part of the plan.
Recall now the quote above that Princess Emily said to Olivia about how people view her. When Olivia explains her apprehension about going public, she echoes Emily’s words in conveying her fear that they will turn into a spectacle once everyone else is invited into their relationship and it will no longer be just the two of them. She says going public right then is just another complication that’ll be added to all the other ones that they already have. Olivia reassures him that she wants him, that she wants them, but she needs for them to slow down. What she wants is for them to have their problems fixed so that they will be ready when the time to go public comes.
I totally understand where Olivia is coming from, but can one ever truly be prepared to face the scrutiny of the public? To face their biggest fear? Olivia and Fitz have operated in the shadows for so long that there is a comfort there. It is a known, somewhat predictable space to be in. The comfort that comes with operating in the shadows gets stripped away when the lights come on, and so while emotionally it seems to makes sense to have all your ducks in a row before stepping out to do battle, life just doesn’t work that way. What was it that Liv said to Susan Ross in 4.15?
“It’s okay to be afraid. Sometimes fear keeps us safe. Sometimes fear holds us back.” -- Olivia Pope
I am of the opinion that fear is what’s holding her back. There is just no way to ease into revealing to the public that the President is divorcing his wife and is taking up with his top advisor, a woman who had nearly two years before been accused (and cleared!) of being his mistress. Will Olivia ever be voluntarily ready to face that kind of scrutiny?
Nevertheless, Fitz acquiesces to Olivia’s desire to wait, much to her immediate relief. You could just see the weight lift off of her shoulders as he comes over and embraces her. They proceed to tenderly kiss each other when they are interrupted by none other but Abby. Oh noes! Olivia and Fitz are quick to jerk apart, but it’s too late. The damage is done. Abby done seent ‘em and she knows that her friend had lied to her. Damn.
Abby had come to inform the President that there was something on TV that he ought to see. That something was Sally Langston blowing the lid on the Olitz affair. The woman had pictures and everything! Looks like Olivia’s desire to delay going public just met it’s untimely demise. (Dear God, let Fitzgerald not be responsible for this leak as he had been the first time.)
Backtracking a little...
While the episode was heavily focused on what was going on with Olivia and Fitzgerald, there were other side things that were happening that I’d like to briefly touch upon.
Huck: Huck has been crashing at Olivia’s apartment because his “guy”, the monster inside that just loves to hack up people, refuses to go back into the cage that he usually resides in. Jake had warned Huck about this (4.13) and told him then that he couldn’t rely on Olivia to hold his inner animal at bay, that Huck had to find some way to do it himself. Huck apparently hadn’t found a solution and so chose to go with the one that had worked for him in the past. He waits for Olivia until she returns home in the hope that she will do whatever it is that she does to fix him. His strong desire to kill will not abate and he didn’t want to return to his wife and son in such a condition. Huck’s desperation is palpable and you can see that Olivia truly wants to help him, but she informs him that she can’t. There are a lot things that she fixes, but people aren’t one of them. It’s a heartbreaking scene and a pivotal moment for Huck who has long considered Olivia to be his savior. It was time for him to learn to take care of himself and be serious about doing so. Olivia can’t be his crutch, and it’s not fair to ask that of her either.
Mellie Grant: This woman isn’t having a very good time right now, is she? First she gets kicked out of the Residence, then she gets disinvited from the state dinner, and then that's followed by her being served divorce papers right after her senate confirmation. I wouldn’t want to be her right now. In an effort to right the sinking ship that is her life, Mellie turns to her last known ally/co-conspirator: Cyrus Beene. Mellie tells Cyrus that he needs to head over to the White House, do whatever it is that he needs to do to get his job back and that he should talk some sense into Fitz because if her husband divorces her, all three of them are finished.
How Mellie figures this to be the case is beyond me, but she apparently believes it. It would seem that she’s in some serious denial about what is happening to her, and as usual, is trying to get someone else to do the heavy lifting in order to get her back to where she feels she belongs. Messing around with Mellie is the reason why Cyrus is out in the cold now, and so it came as no surprise that he tells her no. Mellie is flabbergasted by his refusal and then realizes that Cyrus is rejecting her because he doesn’t want to be associated with her in the event that Fitz decides to bring him back into the fold.
These poor people. They have dedicated their lives for so long to this man and his ascension that they don’t know what to do with themselves now that he’s kicked them out. Mellie really has no idea how much of a blessing it is that Fitz is cutting her loose. This is her opportunity to fly and flourish and show Fitz and everyone else that she is as brilliant as she constantly reminds people that she is. This is her time. She can build a legacy all her own that will not in the end be credited to Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III. I’ll allow her a few episodes to come to this realization.
The Secret is Out
How in the world did evidence of Olivia and Fitz’s affair make it into the hands of crazy Sally Langston? Who would leak this and why? Who stands to benefit from this going public and in such a manner? I guess we’ll find out in the next episode. Meanwhile, you can sound off in the comments section on who you believe is the culprit.
I hope you have enjoyed this review of Scandal episode 5.01. See you next week!
