Last night saw another excellent showing of Scandal. Loved it so much, even though it was hard seeing Fitz in the state that he’s currently in. The Scandal cast are Delivering. Every. Single. Week.
I just wanted to highlight Liv’s epic monologue from the episode. Every time I watch Kerry Washington deliver these lines, it just makes me cry.
Basically, Olivia has figured out that Will Caldwell, a client who wants to be the next governor of North Carolina is having an affair. The affair is ten years old at this point. As we all know, Liv has personal experience of this herself with the president, and they are not in a good place right now. This discovery really speaks to the pain that she’s currently in, and her words to Will after catching him with the love of his life reflect this in a huge way:
“End it. Now…You have nothing. You have a pile of secrets and lies, and you’re calling it love. And in the meantime you’re letting your whole life pass you by while they raise children and celebrate anniversaries and grow old together. You’re frozen in time. You’re holding your breath, you’re a statue waiting for something that’s never going to happen. Living for stolen moments and hotel hallways and coat closets. You keep telling yourself they all add up to something real because in your mind they have to, but they don’t. They won’t. They never will because stolen moments aren’t a life. So you have nothing. You have no one. End it now.”
*sob*
PS, Can I just say though, how fucking great was it to see the Olivia that we know and love? She’s back, and I’m here for it, and loving it!
I see that there are a few people pissed off that the Scandal writers are bringing down hell and damnation on Fitz and Olivia’s relationship. Again.
I get it, I really do, but honestly, I think that our slight obsession with this couple, makes us a little crazy. I’m counting myself in there as well.
I’ve been watching couple-centred dramas for years, and it often takes a long time for the central couple to get together. You guys know this. We’re only on episode twelve of the second season, and people are demanding an end to the angst already? No wonder so many shows get cancelled, the audience of today have no patience at all.
In my opinion, there has been progression, it may not be progression in the way we would prefer, but there’s definitely been a shift between them, and that shift is the reason why so many of us are die-hard Fitz/Liv fans.
I loved Fitz and Olivia in Season One, but when she walked away from the White House in episode seven, I didn’t feel the ache in my gut like I did when Fitz let her go in episode four of this season. That’s called progression. I now feel emotionally attached to these two people, in a way that I didn’t in Season One.
The reason that we feel the way we do about Fitz ‘n’ Liv is because the Scandal writers have taken us on this marvelous journey with their relationship. They’ve made us feel invested in what happens to them, so much so, that some of us feel sick at the thought of a TV president, throwing over his mistress, and getting back together with his wife. That there is genius writing.
People talk about the Moonlighting curse being an urban myth, but I disagree. In my experience, once a TV couple that you’re pulling for make it, or are in a less stressed-out place, relationship-wise, there isn’t the urgency to tune in to see what they’re up to. You’re not as worried about them, because when you last left them, they were doing ok.
I along with many of you have been watching The Vampire Diaries since the beginning, and I’ve watched the fans crying out for a Damon and Elena union. I also watch True Blood, and have also seen the fans clamouring for Sookie and Eric to get together. The thing that these two shows have in common is that the two lead characters got together fairly early on, which meant that the fans who loved them in the beginning, ended up not being as invested in their relationship as the show progressed, and they start eyeing up potential new suitors for the heroine.
I have no doubt in my mind, that if Damon had gotten together with Elena first, there would have been a campaign to get Stefan and Elena together – no matter how beautiful looking Ian Somerhalder is. Here we are in season four, and the fans have gotten what they wanted. Julie Plec’s writing skills will be tested now, because she’s finally given the fans what they’ve been longing for, for four seasons. Will that translate to more fans tuning in every week to see how their favourite couple are doing? You’d think so wouldn’t you, but I bet in a few weeks, less people will feel the urge to watch TVD live.
I’m a huge Merlin fan, and for four seasons, I was desperate for Arthur and Gwen to get together. They finally got married in Season Four, and I was ecstatic. But then Season Five began, and I found myself no longer tuning in to watch it live. I started recording it and watching at my own leisure. I didn’t even notice how my Merlin-watching habit had changed until recently, but it had. I still loved the show, but there was no longer this burning need to tune in asap to see what my favourite couple were up to.
I was a huge fan of Nathan and Haley on One Tree Hill, (and on some level, I always will be) but it’s no accident that Season Three was my favourite of the nine that were aired. Season three was the season that Nathan and Hayley were most at odds with each other. They went through a lot that year, and I tuned in every week, desperate to see if this would be the week that they would kiss and make up. To the delight of fans everywhere, they eventually re-married at the end of the season, and all was well ( well apart from the crash at the end).
When Season Four of One Tree Hill came back, of course I wanted to see how things panned out for them, but as per usual, once all the legitimate angst was over, I no longer felt the burning need to tune in live to watch them.
I watch a British drama serial called Emmerdale, and for months I was desperate for two of its stars, Gennie and Nikhil to get together. I tuned in every night, desperate to see them interact, and oh it was agony because they had so few scenes together, but the scenes they had were great, and I really looked forward to them. Their will they/won’t they story went on for ages, and then they finally got together. And guess what? That desperate need to see them interact died a little. Of course I’m still happy to see them on-screen, but that burning desire to tune in for the sole purpose of seeing them together died when they found their happy place.
The truth is, as much as we think we hate angst at the time, it’s what keeps us tuning in to certain shows. Angst is watchable. Watching happy couples being happy, not so much. Unless it’s a comedy of course:)
I write all of the above to say that there’s simply no point panicking, regardless of your thoughts about previous Grey’s Anatomy or Private Practice story lines. Shonda Rhimes is in control here. She’s an evil genius who somehow was able to make so many of us root for an adulterous couple, and feel ok about it. I for one am going to get on her Shondaland Rollercoaster, and stay on until the ride stops, no matter how often I puke on the person sat next to me.
Fitz and Olivia are the endgame, but getting them to their happy place wont be easy, nor should it be, if the show is to last beyond its third season…
What would you guys like to see happen over the back nine episodes?
Hey guys, following on from yesterday’s introduction to ABC’s Scandal, I’m going to start reviewing each episode after it airs (well not straight after, you guys know how much I love reviewing these days), so of course if you haven’t seen any of the episodes, but you plan on watching them, do not read this review, I repeat, do not read this review, as there will be spoilers galore.
The episode starts with Liv walking through her door to find Edison sat ever so casually In. Her. Lounge.
I’m pretty sure they broke up last week, when Olivia basically told him to fuck-off after he threatened to prosecute her for allegedly lying about the president’s real condition. Apparently though, Edison, the thick bastard didn’t get the message, because he asks Liv what’s going on with them. I can’t lie, I was desperate for Olivia to stab him in his eye and put him out of my misery. To my ever lasting sorrow, she didn’t do that. Dammit.
Anyway, because basically Edison’s a ratchet mother fucker, he accuses Olivia of being the President’s mistress. As you can imagine, this didn’t go down too well with Olivia, who read him her rather special five-point riot act. It was impressive, and if I could find the exact words, I’d post it. Anyway Olivia eventually throws Edison and his Bill Cosby looking ass out, but not before he tells her that Sally Langston is planning to shaft Fitz by throwing shade on the letter that Mellie forged asking for Fitz to be reinstated.
Once Edison is literally shown the door, Olivia calls Cyrus, warning him of Sally’s plans.
After this, we flashback to a presidential debate where Fitz is doing almost as well as Obama did in his first presidential debate last year. Remember how uncomfortable we all felt watching him fuck things up against the world’s most stupidest man, Mitt Romney? *shudder* Basically, Fitz is not doing well against his opponent Governor Reston (the geezer who murdered his wife’s lover and got away with it), either in the debates, or indeed in the polling. He’s way behind his rival, and it’ll take a miracle to get his numbers up at this rate.
We cut to Olivia, Cyrus and Hollis discussing campaign strategy, and out of the blue, Hollis very casually mentions the possibility of rigging the election. Apparently he has some people in low places who can orchestrate the whole thing. Cyrus is initially appalled, and both he and Olivia dismiss the idea. Mellie joins them with some bad news about the polling numbers, and suggests that they invite Fitz’s father Big Jerry to help with the campaign. It’s clear that this is something that Fitz has avoided doing up till now. With good cause as it turns out.
Fitz is not happy about the idea at all, and we cut to him and Mellie arguing about it in the corridors of their hotel. Olivia catches up with them and suggests that they keep their voices down. Mellie frustrated by Fitz’s refusal to bring his father in, tells Olivia to talk to him, as he clearly doesn’t give a shit about her opinion. Ya think?
After Mellie shuts the door on both of them, Fitz takes Olivia by the hand and drags her to her room so that he can work off some of his frustrations out by getting her horizontal. While he’s trying his best to have his wicked way with her, Olivia is trying to persuade him that now’s the time to bring in his father to help energise the base. Fitz eventually agrees as long as she doesn’t talk about the campaign for the next twenty minutes.
We then flash forward to the present, and Fitz is in the hospital, with Mellie looking all wifely by his side. The doctor is in with them, and she’s telling them that Fitz should be able to get back to work in about three weeks, but in the mean time, may experience dizziness, fatigue and some frontal lobe issues. Because of Mellie’s fuckup however, Fitz can’t afford to be inactive for three weeks, as Sally is just about dancing on his grave, with his job description pinned to her forehead.
Speaking of Sally, we cut to the White House, where she’s having a briefing with the executive team (including Edison The Bell-End). She basically tells them that Fitz is fucked, and is not fit enough to return to work. While she’s spreading her venom, Fitz walks in and apologises for being late. AND THE CROWD WENT WILD!! HALLELUJAH!!! Oh the look on Sally’s face was priceless. Suck it bitch!
Anyway, the meeting has obviously gone well, because Cyrus and Mellie run into the exec team coming out of Fitz’s office, and Sally is looking massively pissed off. This pleases Cyrus no end, who takes delight in baiting Sally as she’s exiting the office. He’s gleeful because he has his president and job back. When they get into the office, Fitz is obviously struggling and demands a clean shirt. The man should not be out of the hospital, and he sarcastically thanks Mellie for screwing him over, so that he has to leave his sickbed three weeks earlier than he should in order to save her ass and his presidency. Yeah Mellie, thanks for that. Power grabbing bint.
We flashback to the campaign trail, where we finally meet Fitz’s father. And he’s a massive fucking bell-end. Sheesh. He proceeds to humiliate Fitz in front of the campaign team, and even Mellie turns into a giggling school girl in front of him. Now this is the guy she wishes she’d married. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he’d seduced her twenty years ago, then passed her along to Fitz. Jerry cuts an impressive figure, and he has the charm and swagger that one would expect in a seasoned politician, but it’s fairly clear at this point that Fitz was raised by a wolf. I felt as sick as Fitz looked, and I could tell that his father’s presence was negatively impacting him. Olivia noticed his discomfort, and at one point looked pityingly at him.
At dinner that evening, Fitz gets drunk, and manages to throw shade at his father every time he speaks. I particularly liked Fitz reminding his father that the reason he didn’t even run for president was because men who get caught shagging prostitutes usually aren’t suitable candidates for presidency. I confess, I laughed out loud. Jerry leaves the table prematurely, after Fitz continues to slag him off. I know Fitz is behaving like a recalcitrant child at this point, but personally I loved it. Jerry was a twat, and he needed a good beat down. Erm…not that I condone violence against old people. That’s just barbaric…right?
Erm, anyway, where was I? Oh that’s right, Mellie drags her behind after Jerry to apologise for Fitz’s behaviour, and perhaps to offer him a blow job or two. I jest. I think. (more…)
Hey Guys! How are you all doing? Happy New Year by the way.
I’m aware that I haven’t posted on here since the beginning of December, but honestly, I couldn’t be arsed. Sorry.
I’m grateful for those of you who still check in, and I’m definitely grateful to Michelle and Willa for keeping things going.
Anyway, my latest obsession, is a show called Scandal, and quite frankly, apart from the shady political crap that’s going on in the world, that’s pretty much all I ever want to talk about these days, and I’m not even sorry.
You’ll be pleased to know that watching Scandal has revived my love for romance books again. I’d been in a massive reading slump, but lately, things have gotten better. Honourable mentions go out to Shiloh Walker, for her amazing friends-to-lovers book Wrecked due out in April. LOVED that book so damned much. Go pre-order, I promise you wont be sorry.
This week, the latest episode of Scandal left me emotionally wrecked, but I’ll talk about that episode in a separate post. Today I want to introduce those of you who aren’t familiar with the series to Scandal, and all of its colourful characters.
The main protagonist of the show is a a woman called Olivia Pope, played by the divine Kerry Washington, (I have such a massive girl crush on her). Olivia is a crisis manager, and the overall premise of the show is based on an actual crisis manager, Judy Smith, who worked for the first George Bush. Judy currently runs her own crisis management firm, and dealt with the whole Monica Lewinski/Bill Clinton mess, and the Michael Vick scandal. I imagine as we speak, General Petraeus has her on speed dial. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that she was behind the Lance Armstrong/Oprah interview. (Isn’t Armstrong an unconscionable bell-end?)
Anyway, so Olivia’s firm is aptly named Olivia Pope and Associates, and her associates are as follows:
Harrison Wright – Good looking, fast-talking, charming man-meat, who’s also a lawyer. I looove Harrison because he always has Olivia’s back. And he’s hot y’all!
Abby Whelan – Abby is a sometimes annoying, sometimes sanctimonious, but usually amusing, bitchy redhead. Abby is the firm’s main investigator, and the moral compass for the team.
Huck – We don’t know his last name, he’s former black ops, and he’s particularly skilled in the art of torture. Huck is their tech guy, he can hack into anything, including uber secure government systems. I love Huck, he’s my favourite associate, mostly because I want to take him home, and hug him every five minutes. I think my love for him stems from his absolute loyalty and devotion to Olivia.
Quinn Perkins – The newest recruit to OPA, she’s the bambi of the group, has been described as a chickenhead by some, but she’s mostly naive and a little wide-eyed. She will probably be the associate who annoys you the most. Especially in the seventh episode of the first season. Seriously Quinn?
Stephen Finch – Stephen is Olivia’s long time lawyer friend, and in season one he’s the person she confides in the most, and the person who knows her the best. Stephen eventually leaves to go and find his normal with his fiancee, Georgia. Stephen has nice hair. He could be in one of those Just For Men adverts his hair is so nice.
They all have shady pasts and have had to be rescued by Olivia at one point or another in their lives, and they all have their own secrets, some more surprising and shocking than others.
Back to Olivia, she has a pretty massive scandalous secret of her own. She had an affair with the president of the United States, which started when she was brought on as his campaign fixer by Cyrus (now chief-of-staff). When the affair became too much for her, she left the White House and started her own firm. The irony is, Olivia is amazing at solving the problems of her clients, but her own life is just a mess. When I watched the first episode, I didn’t have a clue what the actual premise of the show was, I was just watching because I’m such a Kerry Washington fan girl, so I was shocked when we discovered that her and the president – played by the enormously charismatic Tony Goldwyn – had been in a relationship.
Anyway, let me introduce you to the White House Crew:
President Fitzgerald Grant III – Republican president, married to Mellie Grant, has two children (who we’ve yet to see), and had an affair with Olivia Pope, his former campaign fixer. We assume that Fitz is a total sleazebag, because after all, only a snake would cheat on his wife, surely? It’s amazing how one’s perspective changes after watching this show. Nobody is who you think they are. I love Fitz, he’s a wonderfully flawed character who constantly pulls at my loins heartstrings. He wants to be with the love of his life, but that can’t happen while he’s the leader of the free world.
Cyrus Beene – Cyrus is a self-confessed monster who you will love and hate in equal measure. He’s Fitz’s chief-of-staff, and he will literally do anything for his president. I go back and forth with Cyrus, but I mostly love him, and he’s done some heinous shit.
Mellie Grant – Married to the president, Mellie is an ambitious faux Stepford Wife who will do anything she has to in order to keep her husband in power, thus keeping her as the First Lady of The United States. I love Mellie’s character, she’s the most uncomplicated person on the show, she’s highly manipulative, and her motivations are clear as day. She loves power, and she has political ambitions beyond her husband.
Sally Langston – Sally is Fitz’s uber Right-wing Vice President. She’s the Sarah Palin of the show. Sally is cold, and I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.
Hollis Doyle – A major contributor to Fitz’s election campaign, who seems to have free reign of the White House. He shows up in season two. Hollis is a snake. I’ll leave it there.
I’ll be upfront and tell you that for me, the main attraction to this show is Olivia and Fitz. I’d ask you not to judge me, but actually I don’t care. I checked my real life morals at the door, and quite frankly, I was happy to do so. If you’re even a little bit puritanical, take the door marked exit, because this show is not for you.
“One minute”
They have the most deliciously complicated relationship. A relationship, that I initially questioned (due to the fact that he’s married and all) until about the third episode, then I was all in. Of course I’m going to hell, because there’s nothing admirable about infidelity, but it’s a TV show, so I’m happy to root for this particular couple. It’s not the worst thing that I’ve been ok about in the show either. There are some truly scandalous goings-ons, and it’s remarkable how you end up shrugging your shoulders at some of the questionable things perpetrated by the main protagonists.
Liv and Fitz can’t be together, because not only is he married, he’s also the president, so divorce isn’t really a viable option for him. He tries, but both Olivia and Mellie (his wife) aren’t having any of it. Olivia because she knows he can’t just be an ordinary person, and Mellie, because she covets the FLOTUS title too much.
I think that the reason that I’m able to be ok, with Fitz and Olivia’s relationship is down to the on-screen chemistry between Goldwyn and Washington. They literally sizzle together, sexually, emotionally, and intellectually. Fitz and Olivia are my Eve and Roarke of television, without the affair part of course:) (more…)
