How can I succinctly summarize my feelings about this episode without dropping a series of f bombs that is bound to get me banned from making future reviews? I think this gif should suffice:
It was I who just last week was promising a lip lock on Scandal if it were a real person, but now I find myself pulling back and leveling a mean side eye in its direction. I should have anticipated that some foolery was on the horizon because this is, well, Scandal. And then this episode had to happen. It just had to happen.
Where do I even begin? Is it with the epic levels of frustration that Olivia induced in me? Or should it be with the Mellie monologues that made me want to claw my eyes out? Or maybe I should start with Fitzgerald and the fact that he had me wanting to pluck him bald?
This episode really should have been entitled “Insensible Acts by Olivia & the Grants” because that’s what this episode pretty much was. It was a string of one bad thing leading to another bad thing that led to an even worse thing. With a preface like this, I’ve probably just turned you away from reading further, but take heart, fellow Gladiators. All will be well. I hope. Now on to this review.
Sally Langston is back and the woman is gleeful over these impeachment proceedings. The very first witness in the hot seat is Senator Mellie Grant. She is sworn in and promises to tell the truth and only the truth. We see that there had been a time prior to this moment when she had been given the questions she will be asked in advance from Senator Moskowitz (aka Head Lady Senator). Mellie is present in Moskowitz's office with her lawyer and they are looking over the questions. Mellie checks with Moskowitz and that jerkface Senator Gibson that the questions they’ve provided to her are the only ones that will be asked of her at the hearing, and Moskowitz confirms that they are.
During this review of the questions, Mellie’s lawyer advises her that if there is anything that makes her uncomfortable, she can always respond with an “I don’t recall.” To that Mellie says she won’t be doing any such thing. Moskowitz and Gibson chime in to say that Mellie won’t need to do that and that the questions are very simple. Uh huh.
During this review of the questions, Mellie’s lawyer advises her that if there is anything that makes her uncomfortable, she can always respond with an “I don’t recall.” To that Mellie says she won’t be doing any such thing. Moskowitz and Gibson chime in to say that Mellie won’t need to do that and that the questions are very simple. Uh huh.
The first question that Mellie is asked is of her knowledge of the affair between her husband and Olivia and when she had learned of it. Mellie states that Olivia admitting to the affair on TV is the first time she knew of anything of it. Prior that moment, she knew nothing of it.
Tsk, tsk. Bad move, Mel.
Murmurs start in the room as Moskowitz and Gibson give each other a look. Gibson pulls out a file and hands it over to Moskowitz. Olivia, who is watching the proceedings with Huck and Quinn at her apartment, immediately knows what is about to go down. She calls Abby, who is watching it at the White House with the President, Cyrus and Patti Snell. Olivia tells Abby that Mellie is about to be ambushed. Abby shares this information with the others in the room and Cyrus is quick to realize what the Senators are about to use against Mellie: Jeannine Locke. Lord have mercy!
For those who don’t remember, poor Jeannine was set up to be the fall girl in episode 301 when it was first leaked to the public (by Fitz no less!) that Olivia was the President’s mistress. At the time, Olivia and Fitz had intended to fix the situation by finding a way through it than around it, but Mellie wasn’t having any of that. She conspired with Cyrus and Cyrus with Harrison to present an alternate girl. This served to not only derail Olivia and Fitz’s plan to come forth with the truth, but also allowed for Harrison to protect Olivia. Mellie worked out a deal with Jeannine to have her paid $2 million if she went forward and claimed to be the woman Fitz was sleeping with.
The affidavit from Jeannine was received by the Committee just that morning, and it was presented to Mellie so that she may read the text that was highlighted. Her attorney asks for a recess so that he may consult with his client, but his request is denied. Mellie is made to read the text that damns her as a perjurer. She knew about the affair as far back as two years ago. Moskowitz speculates that Mellie helped Olivia and Fitz cover up the affair because it as politically dangerous. That's not exactly how that went down, Head Lady Senator, but I suppose the fine details don’t really matter. Senator Grant has been proven a liar, and Olivia and her crew and the folks at the White House are staring at the TV stunned. This kind of questioning is what they all would be up against.
When asked for an answer to whether or not she helped cover up the affair, Mellie now decides she wants to use “I don’t recall.” Girl, how do you figure you could use this lack of recollection at this point in time? Covering up your husband’s affair isn’t exactly the kind of thing that you forget, ma’am. And every single person watching you on TV and in that room knows this. Welps.
Over at The Liberty Report, Sally is loving this! She says that the Grants are “bonded by sin to Olivia Pope and her criminal minions” and then she thanks the Committee for revealing the truth by getting up and giving them a salute. Heh.
The press is now having a field day with what was revealed during the first day of hearings. Mellie is not looking good at all. She knew about the affair and then helped cover it up. Who outside of the Washington bubble would understand this kind of behavior? Not a damn body.
Flash over to the White House and Patti wants to know why nobody warned her about this Jeannine Locke business. Neither Fitz nor Cyrus have a response to provide, and Patti says that they are changing strategy and that the President will no longer be testifying. They will be invoking Executive Privilege. Fitz remarks that this would save him from having to testify, but it won’t prevent Olivia from having to. I swear, this man always has Olivia on the brain.
The next scene occurs some time later and we see Olivia entering the Oval. Fitz and Cyrus are there waiting for her, and as soon as she shuts the door, Cyrus tells her that he thinks that they have figured out a way out. Olivia immediately reminds them that they cannot discuss the case and she continues her protestations for a bit before Cyrus is finally able to silence her. They didn’t call her there to talk about the investigation, he tells her. At this point, Fitz chimes in and says that she was called over to discuss a marriage between them. Olivia’s face was like:
Cyrus tells her that the two of them are getting married in order to prevent her from having to testify. Olivia doesn’t immediately have a response, she’s so in shock. Married?!
Next we see Rowan with a visitor in prison. And who may that visitor be? None other than the thought dead Mrs. “Jake Ballard.” She’s telling Rowan that she’s got his passport and bank accounts in order. Things are ready to go, but he needs an escape plan. We then see Rowan with a guard who is telling him that he can escape via the laundry. Rowan doesn’t seem particularly keen on that idea, but appears to be considering it when the guard attacks him! A scuffle ensues. Soon Rowan has the upper hand and before Rowan takes his life, he tells the guard that he knows that the laundry truck left two hours ago. That basically meant that this whole escape through the laundry was a set up! Rowan then used all the rage his body could muster to take that man out, complete with neck strains and teeth clenches. Damn.
Back at the White House, Cyrus is working to convince Olivia that marriage is the way to go. She can claim spousal privilege and not have to testify before the Committee. Olivia is looking at Cyrus like he’s grown an extra eye as she points out that Fitz isn’t even divorced! Hahahaha! Cyrus tells her that the papers have already been drawn and Fitz adds that Mellie is as eager to sign the papers as he is. The divorce shouldn’t be a problem, but Olivia isn’t down with this plan.
The optics of that would be horrible, Fitz admits, but he figures that they could fix that later. This plan was a matter of survival. Cyrus brings up the fact that Olivia used this same tactic to save him when he was in his prostitution jam with his now husband Michael, but it really didn’t matter what either he or Fitz had to say. Olivia was obviously uncomfortable with participating in this marriage of convenience.
Seeing that the idea discomfited Olivia, Fitz shuts down Cyrus and his badgering, and says to Olivia that they will find another way. Awww! Points for you, Fitzgerald.
Seeing that the idea discomfited Olivia, Fitz shuts down Cyrus and his badgering, and says to Olivia that they will find another way. Awww! Points for you, Fitzgerald.
That evening, we see that Jake has been called to the prison. Rowan is laying in a hospital bed behind bars and the nurse is explaining to Jake that he was called because Rowan had no emergency contacts listed and Jake was one of two people who have come to visit since Rowan’s imprisonment. He is told that he was actually the second call they made, and the nurse asks him if he knows an Elise Martin. Ut oh. Dear ole wifey.
Jake returns to his apartment to find Elise searching about for something. Apparently, it’s her gun and he has it in his hand. He points it at her and asks her why she’s been visiting Rowan in prison. She starts to lie and then admits that she is in DC because of Rowan. The people who are running Lazarus One hired her to take him out. Rowan is considered their enemy.
Who are the people (or person) behind Lazarus One and how do they know who Rowan is? Are they former B613?
Jake wants to know who Elise is working for and who is looking to replace Rowan, but Elise says that she doesn’t know. She apparently doesn’t give a damn either. By her way of thinking, the world would be a better place without Rowan in it. I’m inclined to agree, but without knowing who the hell is behind Lazarus One, I’m going to stick with the devil I know.
Sally is back for another episode of The Liberty Report. The folks on tap to testify today are Abby, Huck and Quinn aka the original Gladiators aka “Olivia Pope’s band of lawbreakers.” They are being called forth to explain their involvement in the Jeannine Locke coverup. Flash over to OPA and Olivia is prepping her people. They aren’t to lie under any circumstances. Tell the truth and there is no jail time. Just then Abby walks in to Olivia’s surprise and Abby says she got a subpoena. Her eyes then falls to Marcus as she asks, “Who is he?” Ha! Marcus is going to be getting a few more of these “who is he” questions, isn’t he?
Olivia instructs them all to listen to the questions very carefully before answering. Take the question literally. No thinking, guessing or speculating. Just answer the question. Olivia then tells them that after they try that, they’ll then ask questions about specific evidence. Abby asks what evidence the Committee has that links them to Jeannine and Quinn recalls the video where Jeannine is drunk and proclaiming the President to be a hottie.
This preparation of the Gladiators by Olivia is intertwined with them actually giving testimony in front of the Committee. The three are asked who came up with the plan to frame Jeannine and they all answer that they do not know, which is the truth. They didn’t know. They had nothing to do with carrying that out. The next question is if they had leaked the video of Jeannine, and they again all provide the same answer: they did not. When they are asked of who did leak the video, the gladiators squirm a little bit in their seats. Flash over to OPA and Abby recalls that it was Harrison who leaked the video. To this, Marcus says that’s great! The man is dead. Eek! Not quite the way he meant it, but he did get the eye from everyone in the room. LOL!
Back at the hearing, Abby, Huck and Quinn answer provide their answer in unison: Harrison Wright. This seems like a convenient answer, but it really was the truth. Harrison had reached out to Cyrus in an effort to help Olivia (without her knowledge) and was the one who did indeed leak the video to the press (ep. 301).
We next see Olivia and Marcus watching the Gladiators give their testimony. Marcus remarks that they did well and Olivia says that now it is up to her. She’s testifying in two days. Marcus asks her if she has figured out what her strategy is and she tells him that she’s still weighing her options.
Just then, the OPA phone rings and Marcus picks it up. It’s some nurse calling for Olivia. As soon as she gets on the line, the phone is handed over to Rowan. He speaks quickly, telling his daughter that he’s been attacked, his life is in danger and that he needs her help. He doesn’t get to say much else since Olivia hangs up on him. The phone call has left her shaken. When asked by Marcus who the caller was, she tells him that it was no one and continues towards her office.
Later that evening, Olivia is at the Residence with Abby. She’s trying to get her friend to sit down, but Abby is too busy marveling over the fact that she’s in the President’s bedroom. She’s weirded out by the whole thing and then does a run down of a few of the former First Ladies who have had sex in that very room. (Who thinks about this stuff, Abby?!) Then she says this:
“Can you imagine being First Lady? Sleeping in this room, living life here, part of history? No privacy. No sense of personal space...” -- Abby Whelan
Leave it up to Abby to drop you right into the middle of reality. I peeped what the writers were doing here because they did this very thing in previous episodes this season, where they use another character to verbalize concerns that Olivia may have or will contemplate. This happened with Princess Emily (501) and when Mellie was in the closet searching for her stash of hooch (503).
Olivia cuts off Abby’s rambling to tell her that if she marries Fitz, she wouldn’t have to testify. Abby is like whoa nelly! Married? Is that an option? Olivia tells her that it is indeed an option and Abby goes, that’s good, yeah? Olivia’s face conveys that this isn’t exactly good, but she doesn’t verbalize this. She doesn’t have to. Her body language and deep sigh in that moment is enough. She says to Abby that if she goes up to testify in front of the Committee that she will lie. She will actually perjure herself. Abby tells her that that is a horrible idea. Olivia may mean to do this, but lying to the Senate Judiciary Committee is serious business. To that, Olivia says that she’s going to lie because otherwise Fitz is going to be impeached and that she “love[s] him too much to let that happen.”
Olivia is looking for a way out of the situation and Abby helpfully points out to her that marrying Fitz would be a way out. Aside from the fact that it would keep Olivia from testifying, Abby says that Olivia loves the man so the marriage option should be a sinch. While Abby speaks, Olivia is shaking her head in rejection of this idea yet again. She tells her friend that she and Fitz aren’t ready to get married at this point and doing so now would be a “last minute get out of jail free card.” She doesn’t want this for them and pretending that she does would be her lying.
Olivia is looking for a way out of the situation and Abby helpfully points out to her that marrying Fitz would be a way out. Aside from the fact that it would keep Olivia from testifying, Abby says that Olivia loves the man so the marriage option should be a sinch. While Abby speaks, Olivia is shaking her head in rejection of this idea yet again. She tells her friend that she and Fitz aren’t ready to get married at this point and doing so now would be a “last minute get out of jail free card.” She doesn’t want this for them and pretending that she does would be her lying.
Abby listens but then she reiterates that Olivia would go to jail should she lie during the hearings. In response, Olivia says that getting married to Fitz would also land her in a different kind of jail. The crown jewel of the American prison system to be exact aka the White House life.
Now, girl, lookie here. I feel you on the whole grand gesture of love business, but uh, can we traffic in some logic here for a moment? You’re willing to lie to the Committee and risk jail for this man, but you’re unwilling to marry him to prevent testifying at all? What is wrong with you, woman?
I get it though. Neither option is actually a good one for her from where she is sitting. Marrying for the wrong reasons would in the long run not serve her or Fitz She is damned either way.
Over at OPA, Quinn and Huck are trying to figure out what they can do to throw off the Committee. While they are talking, Quinn’s cell phone goes off. Her reaction to the person on the other end of the call tells you that this isn't someone that she usually speaks to. When Huck asks her who it is, she says that it is Charlie, but it definitely isn’t Charlie. It's Rowan! Quinn goes to visit him in the prison infirmary. He thanks her for coming, but Quinn is quick to tell him that she has no intention of doing him any favors and then leaves.
Now here is an odd edit because next we see Olivia coming into the Residence. In the last scene with her, she was wearing a slouch sweater and lounging about with Abby. Here she’s wearing a brown suit and looks to have possibly just came back from work. Nevertheless, she enters to find rose pedals scattered all over the floor and many lit candles. Soft music is playing. The atmosphere is seriously romantic.
Olivia seems to be curious to this display as she makes her way towards the door that leads out to the Truman Balcony. There are even more pedals and candles outside. At the other end of the trail of rose pedals is Fitz dressed in a tux. Okay now! Is dinner and a box of chocolates included with all of this?
Upon seeing him, Olivia asks what all of this was about and Fitz says it’s his do over. Now Olivia is confused. His do over? Fitz says that he understands why she wasn’t so crazy about the whole idea of marriage when it was brought up in the Oval, what with Cyrus going on about subpoenas and privilege and optics. The conversation about them getting married was impersonal and was like a transaction, which felt wrong, so here he is trying to make it personal.
You mean well, sir, but you really have no clue as to what's going on in your girl's head.
You mean well, sir, but you really have no clue as to what's going on in your girl's head.
Meanwhile, Olivia is looking uncomfortable as Fitz pulls out a ring. When he gets down on one knee, she immediately instructs him to get up. She’s begging him to get up. Girlfriend sounds like she’s about to have an anxiety attack! When he doesn’t immediately get to his feet, she turns to leave.
Now it's Fitz's turn to be confused. He finally does get up and says to her that he thought that this was what she wanted. She tells him that it isn’t, that she doesn’t want some “fake storybook romance, some teenaged girl’s fantasy.” Oy.
Fitz asks her if she believes that this whole display was what he wanted to do and tells her that he could be in the Situation Room dealing with any number of pressing concerns instead of requesting that his secretary Charlotte search all the presidential libraries for a rare engagement ring and his valets scatter rose pedals all over the place. He reiterates that he didn’t want to do any of this, that “no man ever wants to do this.”
Fitzgerald, what? No man ever wants to do this?
Olivia is then like if you didn’t want to do this mess, then why did you do it? “Because I love you. Because you are what I want,” says Fitzgerald. Well, that threw Olivia for a loop. Did she think that he was doing all of this only to coax her into an agreement on the marriage plan?
When Fitz tells her his reason for doing this, Olivia’s struggle to offer a response leaves him to draw his own conclusions as to her hesitation. Olivia finally is able to say that she thinks they aren’t ready, but Fitz modifies her statement by saying, “You’re not ready. And you know what I think? You never will be.” Olivia then tells him that he isn’t being fair, but when he asks her to tell him what she wants, she is still unable to provide one. Instead, she’s standing there looking like a deer in the headlights and can’t fix her mouth to say anything.
This scene caused me some serious second-hand embarrassment. Firstly, Fitzgerald is proposing while he’s still technically married AND still has his ring on! Sir, what kind of behavior is this? It’s one thing to overlook you shagging your girl while you’re legally committed to another woman--I’ve tossed my moral values out of the window because of you two!--but to do this proposal that you admit isn’t even your style in order to get said girlfriend to agree to marry you in an effort to keep her from testifying in a hearing that could lead to your impeachment? Come on, bruh. You tried to personalize something that was less about you two and more about you retaining your position as president. You two love each other, but this arrangement is far from romantic. And you did say earlier in the episode that you two were going to find another way. What happened to that? Instead, you made presumptions as to why Olivia was hesitant and got burned.
As for Olivia, I need her to learn how to express herself better when it comes to communicating those difficult emotions that she keeps bottled up inside to Fitz. You don’t want to get married? Tell him why! Explain to him what you did to Abby. Is not telling him a matter of not wanting to hurt his feelings because if so, you’re already doing that by not filling in the gaps for him. You’re leaving him to presume all kinds of things, one of which is likely that you don’t really want to share your life with him. Fitzgerald is clearly not a mindreader because if he was, he’d have known that this whole setup was not the way to go. You have to talk to him, damn it!
Olivia leaves the White House and is now back at her apartment. And what does she do while she's there? She calls Jake.
You know what? Give me that damn phone!
When Jake answers, he notices the tone of her voice and asks if she’s okay. Before say anything more, Olivia asks him if he believes that she can be a married person, if he thinks she’ll be okay being married, that she thinks that she may have to get married. Jake is then like, did this chick just call me to ask my opinion about her capacity for marriage, of whether or not she should marry the guy that she chose over me?!
Jake, you’re the real MVP because I would have done the exact thing that you did in that moment, which was to hang up on her behind. Talking about Jake is the person she talks to when she needs to know what to do.
Olivia, if you don’t want to be married now or ever, TELL FITZGERALD!!! You’re doing yourselves both a disservice. Instead you’re here calling your ex-side piece for advice. As if you’ve somehow forgotten that the man is in love with you. Girl, if you don’t get your life…
As the phone call ends, Olivia gets a knock at her door and it’s Quinn. Upon entry, Quinn tells Olivia that Moskowitz’s office just sent word that Olivia would be their first witness Friday morning. Olivia remarks that Quinn could have told her that over the phone, and Quinn says that she wanted to make sure that Olivia was okay. When asked if she was indeed okay, Olivia says that she’s fine, but we see that she isn’t. She imbibing the strong stuff. Have we ever seen Olivia knocking back whisky at her apartment?
Quinn then asks if Olivia is going to testify tomorrow (Friday) and Olivia says she doesn’t know. Quinn follows that up with a question about whether Olivia is going to get married and again Olivia says she doesn’t know. When Quinn asks if Olivia even wants to get married, Olivia gives her this look to tell her that she’s crossed the line with her questions and Quinn apologizes. Olivia tells Quinn that if she doesn’t have a solution, that she would like to be alone. With some hesitation, Quinn tells her boss that she might have a solution for her.
Next we see Olivia charging into the prison infirmary where they are keeping Rowan. She’s upset that he’s using her team to get to her. Rowan says that since Olivia has been avoiding his calls, he didn't have a choice but to use alternative means to get her attention. After taking a quick visual assessment of him, Olivia remarks that Rowan doesn't look ill. Rowan confirms that he is indeed fine and this prompts Olivia to ask why then he is still in the infirmary. Rowan says that his heart is behaving erratically and Olivia’s eyes glance over at the monitor. She tells him that everything looks fine to her, but then Rowan does something that causes his heart rate to suddenly drop. This causes Olivia immediate distress and then confusion when the beeping of the monitor stops. Rowan tells her that he’s been faking arrhythmias for the last twelve hours.
Faking arrhythmias? People can do that?! Is this one of those secret spy tricks?
Rowan has been faking these arrhythmias so that he doesn’t have to return to his cell and risk being killed. Olivia says she’s going to inform the doctors of his “little parlor trick”, but Rowan stresses to her that if he returns to his cell, he will indeed be killed. Olivia believes he’s keeping himself in the infirmary to protect himself from the wrath of the guards who may retaliate against him for killing one of their own, but Rowan tells her that the threat is greater than some guards. Whoever is coming after him will try again and again until he is dead.
Olivia considers her father for a moment and then bids him goodbye. Desperate, Rowan tells her that he’ll be offering her something in return for her help, something that is of equal value to her. He says that the B613 files may be destroyed, but that he has all the secrets that those files held stored his head. He has dirt on every single member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He can take care of them for her. He can make the hearings and the impeachment go POOF. Rowan says that if she gets him out of prison, he’ll get her out of the mess that she’s in.
Ah hell. Rowan has dangled a nice juicy apple in front of Olivia and he knows how desperate she is to grab on to it. Rowan knows his daughter better than she knows herself a lot of the time, and as such, he knows that this offer from him is the manna from heaven that she’s been waiting to receive. The core of the apple may be rotten, but it’ll at least get the job done.
This complicated, twisted father-daughter relationship is the gift that just won’t stop giving. Despite what she says or does, despite what this man has done to her life and to that of so many other people, there is a part of Olivia that really loves Eli “Rowan” Pope. The struggle to extricate oneself from a parent who simultaneously degrades you and elevates you above all others can be a difficult one.
We next see Olivia entering her car. She doesn’t immediately pull off, but instead sits in thought at Rowan’s proposal. She flashes back to a moment when Mellie said that she can sign Fitz’s signature in her sleep (ep. 210). If this ain’t a good sign, I don’t know what is.
At this point, we are at the halfway mark of the episode and this is where things take a turn for the darkside. I warn you in advance that a healthy dose of personal frustration lies ahead.
The following scene is of Olivia walking through the tunnels. She comes around the corner and to find Mellie waiting for her. Olivia thanks her for coming and says that she has a proposition for her that would serve as a way out. Mellie was like, what are you talking about? A way out of what? The mess that we’re in? If you haven’t noticed, I’m already out! Out of the hearings and probably even out of the Senate. Of course, this then become about how Mellie is also out of her house and her marriage thanks to Olivia. Zzzzzzzzz....
Olivia tells her that things could get worse if she goes on the stand and testifies. She tells Mellie that right now all the Committee has is a statement from Jeannine Locke and nothing more. She acknowledges the hell that Mellie went through at their hands the other day--which BTW was all Mellie’s fault since she made the decision on her own to LIE--but then says that if she goes on the stand, the Committee will ask her about everything and Olivia would have no choice but to answer them. Answering all of their questions truthfully will eventually take them all down.
While Olivia is saying this, Mellie is looking at her with disdain. Once Olivia is done giving her spiel, Mellie tells her that she despises her. No surprise there. Also of no surprise is that Olivia has no comeback to that. We instead get puppy dog face because Olivia is forever feeling guilty for being in love with this woman’s husband and for being the cause of much turmoil in Mellie’s life, some of which isn’t at all her fault, but that has never stopped Olivia from shouldering that burden.
Choosing to sidestep Mellie’s statement, Olivia goes on to tell her that there is a prisoner being held in Virginia that she needs released. Olivia says that she knows how Mellie can do this, and that once free, this prisoner can make all of these proceedings go away. No violence will be involved, no one will get hurt.
Is Olivia really talking about having Mellie forge Fitz’s signature in order to have Rowan released!?
Mellie shows some hesitation, but her interest is certainly piqued. She asks Olivia of who this prisoner is and Olivia tells her it doesn’t matter. Mellie gives her this look of ‘if you want me to go along with this, you’re going to have to give me more information.’ Olivia then pulls a folder from her purse and presents it to Mellie. She’s about to tell Mellie who the man’s name is when Mellie says she that she already knows. It’s Damascus Bainbridge! Olivia’s face is like who?? Ut oh.
Mellie demands to know what the hell is going on. She wants to know how Damascus got to Olivia. When Olivia says that Damascus is not his name, Mellie slaps closed the folder and passes it back to Olivia as if it was a radioactive bomb. She wants absolutely nothing to do with that man. Not after the grand jury fiasco.
Olivia finally is able to reveal to Mellie that the man she knows as Damascus Bainbridge is actually Eli Pope, her father. Mellie’s response is like say what?! Whatchu mean? Shocked by this new revelation, Mellie takes the folder back from Olivia and takes a look at its contents. She’s clearly at a loss. There is a massive hole of information that she is missing here.
Mellie tells Olivia about her connection to this Damascus, about how he posed as a donor but really wanted information on those jurors. It was he who had those jurors killed. Mellie asks if Olivia knew about any of this and also wants to know what it is that Rowan even does. Olivia reluctantly tells her that her father used to run a secret intelligence agency within the United States government, and when Mellie wonders aloud as to what kind of agency would kill grand jurors, Olivia says that it wasn’t a regular intelligence agency. Oh, my damn.
Allowing that information to sink in, Mellie questions whether Fitz had ever told Olivia that Damascus had came to her and Olivia says that he didn’t. Mellie then asks Olivia what she thought was the reason that Fitz had kicked her out of the White House. Olivia’s response again is the puppy dog face. She has no answer to that question. Is it that she never thought about the why of the action or was it that she didn’t care? Or did she think there was some other reason as to why Fitz had sent his wife packing?
Regardless of what she may or may not have thought, Olivia is emotional at this point and emphasizes again that she truly hadn't known the reason for Mellie's ousting. Mellie watches her for a moment before she closes the folder and hands it back to Olivia, saying that Eli is a murderer who slaughtered innocent people. She is in disbelief that this is the person that Olivia wants her to have released back into the world. Mellie says that without Olivia knowing the prior history that Mellie has with Eli, Olivia is making this request because it’ll allow her and Fitz to live happily together in the White House for another couple of years. Mellie refers to the request as sick and questions the sickness of Olivia in her even asking.
Mellie remarks that contrary to Olivia’s presentation, releasing Rowan wasn’t Mellie’s way out but Olivia’s door marked exit. She then goes on to say that Rowan has probably been mowing down people Olivia’s whole life just to clear the path for his “golden child”. She then asks of how many other people Rowan has done this to and if Olivia is even aware of them.
When Olivia doesn’t provide an immediate answer, Mellie is flabbergasted. Does Olivia not know or does she just not care? Mellie is set to dismiss Olivia as worthless and uncaring when Olivia decides to confess that it was her father who killed Jerry.
Lawd Jesus. Why would you do this, Olivia!? WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THIS CONFESSION!? Was it to prove that you really do know of the atrocious things that your father has done? Was it because the weight of that secret has been weighing on you? WHY, LIVVIE, WHY?!
Lawd Jesus. Why would you do this, Olivia!? WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THIS CONFESSION!? Was it to prove that you really do know of the atrocious things that your father has done? Was it because the weight of that secret has been weighing on you? WHY, LIVVIE, WHY?!
A devastated Mellie can hardly breathe at this new bombshell. It all makes sense now. Fitz kicking her out for working with Rowan wasn’t only about the dead grand jurors. It was more personal than that. And with Mellie not known a damn thing about who Rowan was, she worked with the man who killed her child and in effect got more innocent people killed. Yikes!
Figuring that this avenue of derailing the impeachment hearings is no longer a viable one, a troubled Olivia leaves Mellie to her grief and departs.
Again, I ask: why TF, Olivia!? Why?!
The next scene takes place the following morning and we see Fitz lying in bed and looking angry. Soon we see that he isn’t in bed alone, that Olivia is there with him. They are both facing away from each other and don’t appear to be touching. We all know who the wounded party is in this bed and that person’s name isn’t Olivia.
This moment tickles me to no end, especially that loud sigh Fitz lets out as if to let the only other person in the room know that things are weighing heavy on his mind. This makes Olivia glance over at him before she adjusts herself to lay on her back. She requests to see the engagement ring, and this causes Fitz to turn and look at her. Was that the first time they had looked at each other since that proposal fail?
Fitz reaches into the top drawer of the nightstand and retrieves the box housing the ring. He passes it to Olivia who then takes the ring out and examines it. That thing looks pretty old. Like graveyard old. She asks him to tell her again who the previous owner of the ring was and he tells her that it once belonged to Betsy Ross. (As in the Betsy Ross who created the first United States’ flag for General George Washington?)
Olivia sits up in the bed and slides the ring onto her fourth finger. She takes off “doux bebe” (the heirloom that Fitz gave her years back) and places it in the box. She hands the box over to Fitz and then says “Okay.” She’s on board with them getting married, but she has some conditions: no wedding dress, no flowers and no vows. Nothing at all, huh? Oh and she’s keeping her name. Duh.
In an effort to lighten the mood, Fitz says that her retaining her name is great. After all, he is marrying her for her money. Ha! Fitz has got jokes. And he’s also gotten a chuckle out of his girl. Awww! Another point for you, Fitzy. With the ice between them thawed, Fitz pulls Olivia to lie back in the bed with him and they lay entwined in each other’s arms. All is well again in Olitz world. For now.
The next scene happens some time later and we see Olivia in her OPA office. What is she doing in her office? Calling Jake. Again. It’s probably not worth me even bothering it ask why at this point because doing so results in me getting no answer that make any gatdamn sense.
Olivia wants to let Jake know that she’s going to dive head first into this marriage thing. In a tone that says I-don’t-even-know-why-you’re-calling-me-with-this-bs, Jake tells her, “Good for you.” There is awkward silence and then Olivia remarks that she didn’t want him to have to hear it on the news. Girl, what?
She then says that she needs Jake for whatever, but we haven’t a clue what that is because Jake cuts her off. He’s frustrated and tells her trifling behind that she can no longer need him for anything, that she has Fitz now. He congratulates her on her pending nuptials and then hangs up on her.
She then says that she needs Jake for whatever, but we haven’t a clue what that is because Jake cuts her off. He’s frustrated and tells her trifling behind that she can no longer need him for anything, that she has Fitz now. He congratulates her on her pending nuptials and then hangs up on her.
Olivia is tripping. And she’s got me out here hi-fiving Jake. How the hell did we get here?
Right as Jake gets off the phone, we see that Elise is departing. She has her bag packed and is heading for the door when Jake announces his intention of going with her on her trip. Of course, he'll go with Elise on her trip. His crazy ex-friend with benefits won’t quit calling him with updates about the problems she’s experiencing with the man that she’s in love with. Who wants to hang around for that? Elise tells him to meet her at 3pm at Union Station the following day (Friday).
We switch back to the White House later that evening. Fitz and Mellie are going over their divorce papers. Fitz remarks that aside from their Santa Barbara home, their assets will be divided evenly. He asks to Mellie reconsider her stance on Teddy and asks that their youngest child split his time between them, but Mellie remains unbending. Teddy goes with her. Karen she’s flexible on. She’ll split her time between the parents.
What I’d like to know is why is Mellie insistent on having Teddy stay with her and her alone? She knows how much Fitz loves that boy. Why would she not grant him even some time with their son? Was she doing this to hurt him? This is the same kid that they conceived (thanks to a plan Mellie concocted with Olivia) to cover up the Amanda Tanner debacle, right? America’s Baby? The one that she hardly spent time with and who at one point believed the nanny was his mother? Okay.
When Mellie agrees to his outline of how Karen would split her time between them, Fitz asks her if she’s going to go back on all of this just because lawyers aren’t present. Mellie is like, fool we are both lawyers. We can handle these negotiations just fine. Then she asks about Jerry and says that she wants to be able to visit his grave on Saturdays and not worry about having to run into Fitz there. She tells him that he can visit their elder son’s grave on Sunday. Fitz agrees to this. THEN Mellie says that she wants control of the foundation that was established in Jerry’s honor. This request perplexes Fitz because Mellie has never had anything to do with the foundation, but she says that it’ll keep her occupied since her days as senator are about to be over. Mmph!
Mellie then asks if Fitz even gives a damn about any of this stuff. All she’s asking for is control of the foundation and having Saturday to visit her son, while Fitz gets to marry his mistress. In response, Fitz tells her to just sign the damn papers as he heads over to the sideboard to pour himself another drink. (Is he back to drinking like a fish?) Mellie signs the document and then sits and stares at Fitz’s back until he turns around to find her watching him. Fitz decides to be provoking by asking her if there is anything else that Mellie has thought of to add to the pile of things that she’s already requested of him. Mellie watches him for a long moment and looks like she is considering saying something, but decides that it’s best that she say nothing. She gets up from the table and heads for the door, but before she can make it out, Fitzgerald just had to add, “Because there’s nothing else left for you to take.”
Really, Fitz?! You really wanted to have Mellie go off on you one more time, huh? Well, you know what? Screw you royally, mister! The rest of us didn’t want to hear it! And you are an insensitive prick, you moron! Christ, she was already out the door!!!
Mellie certainly heard his remark and demanded that he repeat what he said. He initially doesn’t but when she insists, he repeats himself. Not only that, he adds that Mellie has taken everything from him. Now this really sets Mellie off and I can’t even blame her because Fitz was talking crazy.
What does he figure Mellie has taken from him exactly? Are we talking about the lack of love in their marriage and the sex he didn’t get for the 10 years prior to meeting Olivia? Or is he referring to his worldly possessions? The mental anguish she subjected him to, possibly? Color me confused as to what Fitz is talking about because I am of present mind to reach through the TV and shake some sense into him!
Since he succeeded in plucking Mellie’s ever tender nerve, we get to sit through another Mellie monologue. Yippee!
“How do you do that? How do you talk yourself into believing anything you want to believe? Convince yourself that you are completely blameless in every situation? What kind of messed up cognitive processes go on in that tiny little head of yours to make all of that happen?” -- Mellie Grant
Hmm. Is Mellie talking about Fitz here or is she talking about herself? Fitz can and does do a lot of foolish and illogical things, but the one thing that he generally does not do is shy away from taking responsibility for his actions. The disintegration of his marriage and his role in that is one of the few things where he does place the majority of the blame on someone else: Mellie.
Mellie demands that Fitz tell her what damage he believes that she has caused him, and he brings up the investigation that the Committee is conducting on him and the fact that he’s about to enter a fabricated marriage with the “only woman [he] has ever loved.” He blames that on her.
Yeah, I suppose you could very well blame that on Mellie, Fitz, but the truth of the matter is that Olivia is more to blame for the current situation than Mellie is. Sure, Mellie gave the okay for the investigation to go forward, but if you and Olivia had been a bit more careful with your cavorting and if Olivia hadn’t publicly confirmed your affair and if YOU hadn’t compounded all of that by going to her apartment and claiming her, these hearings would not be happening! But you’re insensible right now, so…
Fitz also points out that in addition to voting for the commencement of the investigation, she went up on the stand and lied, which in turn made matters worse. Mellie points out that it was he who kicked her out of the White House “like yesterday’s trash.” What did he expect? In response, Fitz brings up why he kicked her out: those dead jurors. Mellie tells him to not dare pin that on her again, that she was forced to do that.
Were you really forced to do that, Mellie? You didn’t have to give Rowan those names. You could have chosen to bring the matter up to Fitz and you two could have worked that mess out together. After all, you were both working as partners then. Instead, you did what you always do: think of Mellie first. I’m Switzerland though.
“Oh, let’s talk about messed up cognitive processes and convincing yourself to be completely blame free, Mellie. Enlighten me.” -- Fitzgerald Grant
Haha! At least somebody called her out on it. Mellie is never ever to be blamed about anything.
Fitz tells her that she has blood on her hands, and Mellie says that she did it to protect him. (This is some serious revisionist history, Mel, but do carry on.) She says that every scenario that can be imagined always ends with him, that he is the root cause of everything.
I suppose I can agree somewhat with this, though I cannot agree with the manner by which Mellie is framing this. I can’t think of a single action of hers that has be altruistic. She does these things and then blames them on Fitz as she has always done. She blames him for the loss of her dignity, her career, the death of the jurors, the death of their son.
Damn, Mellie. You’re right that if it weren’t for Fitz, Jerry wouldn’t be dead, but you were the same person who equated his death to that of a soldier who died in the battlefield in defense of his country. You considered his death a sacrifice that kept you and Fitz in the White House. Have you finally shaken off that crazy because let me remind you of how bizarre that moment was. As for your loss of dignity and career? That mess is on you. And so are the deaths of those jurors. Let’s not pretend as if your senate run wasn’t the main thing that compelled you to handle this one on your own. If it was really about protecting Fitz, you should have told him about the blackmail!! ARGH!
Mellie goes on to say that if it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have had kids or married him or stomached him and his disgusting father (who raped her). She could have made something of herself instead of wasting 20 years of her life propping him up and making him feel good about his “pathetic mediocrity.” OUCH.
Mellie blames him for her life having no purpose because she invested all of her energies into him. I hate to point out the obvious, but Mellie doing all of this stuff on his behalf was a choice, right? In all of her rantings from the past and even in this episode, she never once states that Fitz had asked her to do any of this. She may have figured that these were things that were expected of her as the wife of the man that was being groomed to be the next leader of the free world, but her turning this around on him now plucks on my nerves.
That said, Fitzgerald has been an obtuse and ungrateful jerk towards her for some time, and he had routinely taken Mellie for granted. She did deserve more out of this marriage than she eventually got, but she is equally to blame for how things turned out for her, for them.
Mellie is spewing all of this at Fitz and he’s just standing there with the emo face. I swear, him and Olivia are meant for each other. They are so easily filleted by Mellie, it’s ridiculous.
When Mellie finally concludes her rant, she turns and walks out. “Goodbye, Fitz.”
YES!! Hallelujah! Goodbye, Mellie! And Fitz? Stop being a bonehead.
It is truly a wonder how these two were able to stay married to each other and one not be rotting underneath some prison for having killed the other. The Grant marriage has been nothing but a toxic wasteland of broken dreams and everlasting winters. Good riddance to this union because I honestly couldn't take it anymore.
It’s now Friday morning and Olivia is first up to testify at the hearing. Sally Langston is as excited as bees swarming honey at what potential bombshells are set to go off, and she’s even anticipating the end of the Grant presidency. Unfortunately for her, she won’t get to witness that because Olivia is about to get married!
Flash over to the Oval office where there are two camps of activity going on. Fitz is on one side with Cyrus, Abby and Patti in discussion while Olivia is on another side discussing the Secret Service detail that she’s about to be assigned once she becomes the wife of the President.
Now what I want to know is who is responsible for Olivia looking like she’s set to attend an NAACP meeting with the good Reverend Dr. King? They’ve got this woman out here looking like she stepped right out of a 1950s Sears catalogue. Meanwhile, Fitzgerald is dressed as he always is when he’s at work. What is this mess?
Mr. Head Secret Service Agent is reading off all these rules that Olivia will now have to adhere to including her having to inform them of any travel that she makes outside of the White House and her informing them of who her chief of staff will be. The agent tells her that her life will be different now, that she’ll never have to open her own car door again, that she’ll have to provide them with a list of family and friends so as to expedite their clearance through security when they visit.
He’s going on and on and Olivia is standing there looking dazed and overwhelmed. This was the life that she was about to enter; a life that Olivia already knew she didn’t want, but she was taking the leap because of him.
Lost in her own thoughts, Olivia doesn’t hear when the agent asks if she has a cell. He calls her attention back to him and asks her again. They need to take her regular phone and provide her with a secure one. Just as she is about to hand over her phone, it rings and she tells the agent that she has to take the call. Who’s on the other line? Senator Grant.
With that realization, Olivia turns to Abby and it seems as if she’s silently communicating something to her, but that’s just my guess. Next we see her walking down the tunnels. She’s changed out of her deaconess of the church outfit. Abby, meanwhile, was tasked with returning the engagement ring to Fitz. She walks into the Oval, quickly drops the ring atop of the Resolute Desk and then skiddadles. No explanation provided.
Come on, Olivia. You walk out on the wedding and then you have your bestie return the engagement ring on your behalf? Who does this?!
Flash over to Jake arriving at Union Station. He locates Elise where she is sitting, but soon realizes that she is dead. Snaaaaap! You were nice while you lasted, Elise. You dead for real now.
Over at the hearings, they are calling for Olivia as their next witness, but she’s a no show. Instead, there is a young woman who comes in with a number of manila envelopes. These envelopes given to the respective senators on the Committee and each person takes a peek at its contents. Each packet contains damning information on every last one of them. The Committee calls for an unscheduled recess that then leads to Moskowitz and Gibson dropping their investigation into the Grant Administration altogether. Welp.
Back over in the tunnels, Olivia meets up with Mellie and Mellie is smiling. This ain’t never a good sign. Olivia remarks that Mellie has changed her mind, but Mellie says that a realization is what made her act. That realization is that Olivia is her freedom. All these years she had looked at Olivia as someone who stole her husband and ruined her life, but she now realizes that that isn’t the case. Olivia is the person who has set her free. She is Mellie’s push to greatness. You see, Olivia is the reason why she and Fitz are divorced now, and as such, Mellie is free from the dead weight that was her husband. He’s Olivia’s responsibility now.
Ha! Ain’t that something? It’s amazing what perspective can do to your psyche. Mellie has (finally) realized that what she thought was a loss is actually her gain. She can do and be everything that she has lamented forever about not being able to do when she was tethered to Fitz. The caveat to this newfound perspective of hers? Olivia serving as her ticket to the presidency. As is typical of Mellie, there is always payment required whenever she does something on anyone’s behalf. Now she can finally say that she has done something for Olivia that she can exact payment for. This is so not good.
Can I just mention how creepy Mellie was in this moment? Was it just me? There was something about that smile of hers that weirded me out.
Right as Mellie says that Olivia owes her now, out comes a free Rowan and Tom! Tom?! This is bad, bad, bad! So very bad. Olivia went from believing that she was about to get caged into a marriage of convenience to knowing that she was being caged by the dark pact that she had made with Mellie, a pact that she thought was dead. Dubya Tee Eff!
Rowan has done what he promised he would do if he was granted his freedom, but one has to wonder if that is considered a debt paid to Olivia or one paid to Mellie. Will Rowan look to exact payment from Fitz? Why did he need Tom released as well? I suppose he is the only loyal soldier that Rowan has left.
Now let’s talk about Mellie. This woman for very good reason refused to grant Olivia her request to have Rowan released because of the man was a dangerous mass murderer. She declined this request even before Olivia had told her that Rowan was responsible for killing Jerry. Now here she is just hours after reaming into Fitz for a variety of ills--including the death of their son--working with the very man who robbed her of her child. And this is all because she figures that by releasing Rowan, she will have Olivia on the hook and can use her to clear her path to the White House. And Mellie wants to talk about Olivia being sick!? This is some diabolical mess that is beyond the pale.
With Rowan and Tom back out on the streets, what exactly does Olivia plan to tell Fitz? Does she plan to tell him at all? Knowing what she does about Fitz and how he reacts to things being done behind his back, I am left to wonder why she thought to go this route at all. I understand that it was the most effective and efficient way of making everything go away, but given the fact that Rowan via Tom killed Jerry, I’m not exactly sure how Olivia intends to twist this thing into a positive. Fitzgerald is going to be livid! She has done the exact thing that landed her in hot water with him three seasons back when he found out about Defiance. And this present act is too close to what Mellie did when Rowan approached her. Like Mellie, Olivia made a decision about herself and Fitz without consulting with him.
Ey yi yi. I pray to the TV gods that Olivia has the sense to confess to him what she has done because if he hears of this from someone else, it may not bode well for their future.
David Rosen and Susan Ross
These two had two scenes in the episode that was connected with the bigger story, but really didn’t contribute anything substantial besides a few moments of comic relief. I’m not sure as to why they were included….unless the writers are setting us up for a David and Susan pairing. And I just realized that now both the President and Vice President of the United States are single and ready to mingle. How about that...
So the first scene is of VP Susan Ross coming by to see David over at the Justice Department. It is an unexpected visit, but David makes accommodations for her. He escorts her into his office and asks her what he can do for her. In response, Susan lets out that unique shriek of a laugh of hers that is as sudden as it is loud. David looks somewhat bewildered by the outburst. LOL! Just as suddenly, the laugh ends, Susan apologizes and then she gets down to the business of why she’s there. She would like to know if there are any legal obstacles to her resigning her position as vice president. Definitely not the question David was expecting.
The next scene is of David coming back with an answer for her earlier question. He tells her that there are no legal obstacles to her resigning her position. All she has to do is write a resignation letter and present it to the President. Susan is grateful for the information, but when David asks her why she would even send the letter, she struggles to give him an answer. She then asks him if he has something to drink. He says that he has some water, but she requests a wine cooler. You know, that real hard liquor.
David requests to have wine coolers brought to them and we next see them drinking the darn things. Susan remarks that it’s disgusting and David says that it isn’t at all as he remembered it. Without preamble, Susan says that the President’s behavior is disgusting. She then says that she doesn’t want to sound judgemental, I mean, after all look at her drinking that hardcore wine cooler. She’s not perfect. No one is, but the President is held to a higher standard and should be.
David said that he too is appalled by the President’s behavior, but he believes that the real reason Susan wants to step down is because she’s come to realize that her becoming president is closer to reality than she could have realized. Susan dismisses this as ridiculous since in order for her to have the terrible job as president, Fitz would have to be prosecuted and impeached and that no one can impeach him for sleeping around. If that was the case, we would have no presidents. David then enlightens her by saying that this isn’t merely a case of a man having an affair. Unlike normal people where they say that there is usually two other people in bed with you when you cheat, the president has all of the American public and the entire Congress. The investigation is to determine if there was any favoritism shown, to be sure that every cent the White House paid Olivia was for her professional services and not for the personal ones she provides in bed. Eek!
So contrary to what Susan believes, the President is the one man who can be prosecuted for sleeping around. Susan then tells David that she doesn’t want to be president because she’d be horrible at it. David says to her that this very feeling that she has about herself is the very reason why she can’t quit her job. Those who think they’d be great as president are the ones who worry him. They are the ones who don’t realize that the job is a humbling one. He tells her that while he doesn’t know if she’ll be a great president, he knows that she’ll be better than who they have occupying the office now. Ha! Fitzgerald stay getting shaded.
That’s all I’ve got people. This has been an especially a long one. Thank you for hanging in there. There was a lot to explore and flesh out, and I encourage you to comment below as to what you thought of all the moving parts in this episode. What did you like, hate, hope to see happen?
Thank you for reading this review of Scandal episode 506. See you all next week!
