Scandal

Cutebutpsycho wrote:I'm not thrilled with the whole use of rape as a plot device to be honest. It seems like one of those tropes that writers like to trot out when they don't know what they're doing with a character.

And really, I was a fan of Mellie to begin with -- I got and understood her crazy scheming and impulsiveness. I feel for her in how she's sacrificed everything -- even asking her husband's mistress to return because she makes him happy -- for Fitz.

This was just not needed, but I'm also not surprised it was done, given the crazy train that Scandal likes being at times.

They just packed so many plot twists in one hour. I keep thinking they'll just run out at some point.

I've also been on the Mellie train for most of the series. Thinking more about the episode, I'm hoping that the rape was not so much to make Mellie more sympathetic, but more to get us to understand how she became this very tough woman who sticks around despite the way Fitz treats her. She's made so many sacrifices and they've finally reached the top step; she cannot quit now. I guess we'll see how things unfold. At this point, the paternity question seems like one of those plot points where it's hard to think it can lead to an interesting storyline. It's not like Nashville where there were potentially interesting storylines from the paternity issue of one kid. And even that took a while to pay off, although that might have more to do with issues with Nashville but still.

I think this Vulture article has a good point. I didn't need this to make me like Mellie, I already liked her, but it does explain who she is in some ways. Also remember when she caught Fitz and Olivia in the elevator and then she apologized to Olivia with a very "boys will boys" type thing. It was kind of a strange response but makes more sense to me with this backstory.

And to me it just gives a different shade to the Grant marriage. She has to cling so strongly, because if she doesn't then it's all meaningless. And it can't help but poison their marriage, that big of a secret always does.

Mostly I want to know how things play out before I cast judgement. It could be a disaster.

Yeah. I also liked the Vulture article too. But I've been on Team Mellie for awhile now to be honest. She's just a compelling character for me (well, all of them are, except Quinn right now, which saddens me because she was such a good audience surrogate for awhile).

Can I say this right now? Is Cyrus gonna pimp out his husband? Because if so, OH GROSS.

Did I miss something that indicated why James got fired? Was it fallout from the way the interview with Lisa Kudrow went?

Fraoch wrote:Did I miss something that indicated why James got fired? Was it fallout from the way the interview with Lisa Kudrow went?

He didn't say, but it was probably from that, and then not getting the First Lady interview, which is why he was acting so frantically with Cyrus in an earlier scene.

Cyrus, you are a bad, bad man. Whoring out your unsuspecting husband! And him going through with it to get back at you! Good times.

Maybe Huck can kill Quinn for us, I would be OK with that.

punkysdilemma wrote:Cyrus, you are a bad, bad man.  Whoring out your unsuspecting husband!  And him going through with it to get back at you!  Good times.

When he was crying at the end, I had no pity for him.  Especially after Mellie warned him, and he was all smug, "My husband's not your husband."  He could have let James into his plan, and James might have agreed to help him.  Cyrus overestimates his ability to manipulate people.

Maybe Huck can kill Quinn for us, I would be OK with that.

Yeah, me too.

But this show makes me so mad sometimes in how it pulls at my heartstrings, and make me root for things that I would so hate in real life, but the show makes seem romantic.  Fitz is just manipulating Olivia in getting her to meet with him and making her feel guilty for not telling him about her dad. She should have, but then he's telling her he built a house for them.  Argh.  Granted, it's the most awesome house ever & Fitz didn't know her at the time he shot the plane that her mother was on it (nor did he know Olivia) & it's not really like he could refuse the order, but I hate that he's doing this to Olivia.  Kudos to Tony Goldwyn for somehow selling this, but I am now officially calling Fitz Mayor McCheese for his fantasy/delusion of being a small town mayor and just laying it on really thick.  I must admit that Jake's dig upon Olivia returning to the office had me laughing so much.  Snarky is a good use of Jake.

I'm glad we're already at the portion of the story where Mama Pope catches up with Olivia.  However, I could live with never ever ever having seen that wrist eating thing.  That was so unnecessary and just... no.

punkysdilemma wrote:Cyrus, you are a bad, bad man.  Whoring out your unsuspecting husband!  And him going through with it to get back at you!  Good times.

Maybe Huck can kill Quinn for us, I would be OK with that.

I KNEW THAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN. And I cheered James on for that, because really, what the hell Cyrus? You've considered murdering your husband, gave him a baby to shut him up about Defiance and as far as I can tell in the interactions, you two are just miserable and sniping at each other.

What the hell did you think was going to happen when you didn't tell the person you're supposed to trust the most your plan? Don't waste your tears on me man.

Quinn -- I'm just annoyed because DID SHE LEARN NOTHING FROM HUCK? It's like she got dumber this last season or something.

As for the house, I really don't think that Olivia is meant for that, no matter how much she wants it. You know her jam would taste like red wine and popcorn and it would be awful.

I don't get why Quinn doesn't come clean about what she's done. I mean, it's not like there aren't people in the room who've done way worse things than anything she's done. Sure, they'll be disappointed but they'll forgive her and protect her. Her character is so annoyingly stupid.

Quinn's ass is just dumb. Always has been. She got dickmatized by a thrill killing old ass DB Sweeney looking dude. I cannot with her.

Finally caught up with the most recent episode. JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, Olivia's Mother will win all the awards for, "I'll do the most fucked up disgusting things, to get out of here." I nearly barfed.

Watched the entire season over the weekend with my mum!

Poor Bellamy Young is so beautiful but Mellie dresses like a country & western singer cosplaying as Jackie O.  It fits that Mellie putting on a "costume" as first lady, and ties into why Jerry's assault on her is an important puzzle piece in the complexity and even wildness of her feelings toward Fitz.  Rape is really hard to watch, but this made total narrative sense to me, and I was surprised people thought it was plugged in to make the people who ship Olitz more sympathetic to Mellie.

Social privilege is really difficult to dramatise on TV without potentially alienating large swathes of the audience.  Segments of TGP would be all "why does everything have to be about race" if Olivia or Harrison discussed it more than they do.  Using Rowan in this way, not because he's a villain, but because of the character's sacrifices for his impressive achievement and (horrific) career as well as Joe Morton's personal power, works very well.  His entire monologue decimating Fitz, culminating with reclaiming the use of the word "boy" thematically bookended episode one's "You have to be twice as good as them to get half of what they have".  Really good writing.

I hope Abby manages to stay with David in the long term - he's cute and good for her.

Quinn is the most laughable Black Ops agent in the history of everything.  I like Jake so hope he doesn't corrupt his soul by throwing her into the hole, but maybe he can place her somewhere where she doesn't have access to anything weapons or documents of value, like on the switchboard.

Aw sheeit, I wanted it to be David, because of my general meh feeling toward of Josh Malina. Though it was nice that they gave us all the backstory on James and Cyrus.

I am glad Mellie got herself some action.

I wasn't surprised it was James, but I think it's because I feel like David is more integral to the show. Also I think that James' death is another sacrifice to Cyrus' hubris and pride (he's been bitten in the ass a lot this season because of that).

And I'm thrilled Mellie got some. Girl's been needing some for awhile and she needs a man who's willing to look at her as the fabulous woman she is.

Oh, machinations. Even in a show that's admittedly totally out there, I felt like they might have taken it a bit beyond crazytown toward the end of this season. Olivia's dad is evil! No, her mom is evil! No, her dad is even eviller than evil!

I was half expecting the last shot of the episode to be the plane exploding.

So, we're all supposed to be icked out by Huck/Quinn, right? Because ugh?

So, we're all supposed to be icked out by Huck/Quinn, right? Because ugh?

I can't imagine we're supposed to be anything but grossed out because it they are SO DAMN GROSS. And I'm sorry, but Guillermo Diaz is terrible. Just terrible. I get that he's supposed to be traumatized with severe PTSD but with a gooey center deep down or whatever, but Diaz relies on 1 face and a trembly voice to convey that and it annoys me to no end. I so hope Squick (tm Fug Girls) is over because there's hot, sexy-wrong (see: Beecher/Keller, Oz, Spike/Buffy, S6 BtVS) and then there's ...them. Ugh.

This show has gotten so ridiculous that I truly do fear for the fictional Scandal Republic that have these morons in charge. I mean, I can appreciate the over-the-topness of a soap -- the Dallas season finale had, like, 10 different soap cliches crammed in and it was awesome -- but I get the feeling we're supposed to take these people and plots seriously. And that means I'm supposed to believe that people in their positions act and talk and think and emote like them and there is NO WAY IN HELL that these people would be in those positions. It's not the murdering and general disregard for personal space and appropriate physical responses, or at least it's not just that. It's the complete lack of emotional maturity. Liv acts like she's about to cry all the time--that is when she's not actually crying; poor Mellie is either crying or shrieking all the time; Cyrus is evil then not then is but feels bad but doesn't; Fitz can't lead the free world until he talks to his Liv-woobie. I want to watch the Paul Adelstein/Sally Langston show because at least they act like ADULT despicable characters.

And I swear, if I have to watch Fitz and Olivia play the "No, you hang up first! No, you! No, you!" game ONE MORE TIME! Seriously, who does that? Who even has time to do that? His SON was DEAD! HANG UP THE SHITTIN' ASS PHONE AND COMFORT YOUR FAMILY! [/rant]

So, we're all supposed to be icked out by Huck/Quinn, right? Because ugh?

Allow me to quote Abby: "Dear Lord, MY EYES!"

As much as I love the cracktastic overwroughtness that is Scandal, I'm wondering if it was too much, too soon. What could possibly happen next? At this point, I'm fully expecting that Daddy Monologue will show up with an eye patch and perhaps an evil twin next season.

I hope both Fitz and Olivia realize that Vermont is an actual (and quite lovely) place, and not the Romantic Dreamyland of Pseudo-Domesticity they keep building it up to be.

I made the terrible mistake of watching the all the episodes of The West Wing a few months ago.  A mistake only because watching that and watching Scandal at the same time just showed the light years between storytelling and characters and suspension of disbelief.

I know Scandal is the soapiest of soaps and if I'm looking for realism I'm looking in the wrong place, but I compare the first season to this one and the only similarities are the actors in the roles.  I am so sick and tired of Fitz and Olivia I can't even begin to explain and I share the ewwwwwwwwww! of Quinn and Huck.  Hurry up and scuttle B613 and get rid of that storyline ASAP.  I'll even sacrifice Joe Morton and I love him (although not his character).  Get this show back to the fast paced, crisis-of-the-week, gladiator fighting fun it was at the beginning and quit all the mind-numbing melodrama.

Back-to-back posts but this really comes as no shocker:

http://mobile.thegrio.com/all/2014-04-25-columbus-short-fired-from-scandal-after-battery-charges#1

I nearly quit Scandal last season, and was often forwarding through B613 and Papa Pope shenanigans. Somehow, the show is *gasp* back to being pretty good. They finally addressed how shitty Olivia and Fitz's behaviours have been, and how awful their relationship has been as far as impacting everyone else. It was redemption all over the place, even with Fitz and Cyrus. I did not expect such acknowledgement to ever happen on this show. Plus, Huck's psycho behaviour has been kept in check. Colour me pleasantly surprised.