Television history is littered with the bodies of ill-advised spin-offs. Their corpses, copies of reviews and overnights crumpled in their clawed little hands, defile the memories of the successful shows that spawned them and serve as cautionary tales for every writer tempted to go to the same well twice. However, every once in a while, …
One of the best decisions Scandal is making this season is allowing the deaths of Harrison, Jerry, and James to hang heavy over the characters. Rather than quickly moving past everyone’s grief, as fast-paced shows have a tendency to do, season four is keeping the dead present in almost every scene. As a result, this season is much darker than past seasons, and Scandal is already better for it.
Apparently, all Olivia Pope (and Scandal) needed was a vacation to return to form. Gone is weak and defenseless Olivia, who was last seen running away from D.C., and her problems, at the end of season 3. In her place is the Olivia Pope the audience came to love during the show’s stellar first two seasons–she’s back fighting for injustice among women and turning down her own happiness (and island escape) to help a helpless intern.
(Note: I only considered nominees for the categories to which they were actually submitted. For example, I could not select Alan Cumming for The Good Wife, since he did not submit himself as a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.) Best Drama Series: The Killing After it controversially failed to resolve its storyline in its …
Though this season’s had some pretty wild ups (everything involving Rowan Pope) and downs (the Quinn, Huck, and Charlie love triangle), “The Price of Free and Fair Elections” closes season three on a relatively high note–literally, as Olivia Pope, who hasn’t been wholly herself in quite a while, finally takes up her father’s season opening offer and jets out of the city with Jake.
Remember when Pope and Associates used to handle actual cases that weren’t necessarily relevant to their personal lives? Each week a new crisis came to Olivia’s doorstep, and the team pulled together to handle it–sadly, that team spirit’s been missing for most of this season.
Let’s be honest here, Scandal’s never delivered a bad finale, midseason or otherwise. The show’s regular episodes generally pack the number of shocking storylines others save for their finales, so it’s always exciting to see what Scandal whips out for finale season.
On this week’s Scandal, Olivia picks up a new client, Mellie makes a startling request, Fitz faces off with Papa Pope, and Jake teams up with Huck to uncover secrets from Fitz’s past.
Scandal may be three years into its run, but viewers are finally starting to catch on and it’s easy to see why. After picking up speed in season two, the episodes this year have kicked into high gear, exploring Olivia in greater detail and depth thanks to the revelation of her complicated, to say the very least, relationship with her father. There’s plenty more going on, but it’s this arc in particular that has elevated the season so far and it’s no surprise that this holds true again in “Say Hello to My Little Friend”.
Scandal, Season 3, Episode 3, “Mrs. Smith Goes to Washington” Written by Matt Byrne Directed by Jeannot Szwarc Airs Thursdays at 10pm ET on ABC On this week’s Scandal, Olivia faces down the mother of a deceased terrorist, Fitz and Mellie fight, Huck seeks revenge, and Jake recuperates. At this rate, Scandal will burn through all of …
On this week’s Scandal premiere, Olivia’s father reveals himself to be the worst human monster (“I am the Hell AND the high water.”) on a show filled with moral ambiguity, Olivia pulls the proverbial fire alarm to plot with Fitz and Mellie, and Pope and Associates (minus the “Pope”) sacrifice one woman’s career to save their faltering leader.