Because The A.V. Club knows that TV shows keep going even if we’re not writing at length about them, we’re experimenting with discussion posts. For certain shows, one of our TV writers will publish some brief thoughts about the latest episode, and open the comments for readers to share theirs.
- Well, that didn’t make any sense. Scandal has decided to firmly declare that Cyrus and Jake are the show’s real villains. For most of Scandal, Cyrus and Jake have had their morality bend to the show’s will. If the script needed them to be monsters, they were monsters. If the script needed us to support one of them, they were a loving partner or oppressed patriot. Now, the script and zeitgeist require Jake and Cyrus to be anti-feminist, toxic masculinity-filled monsters who want to steal the Oval Office.
- Mellie is another character who has suffered such a fate. Scandal has never really sold the loyalty it suggests between Mellie and Liv; too much of the series was spent pitting these two women against each other. Mellie has no reason to believe Cyrus and Jake over Olivia, Fitz, and Marcus. Like, Mellie seriously believes Fitz might end up in jail if he listens to Olivia? Jake and Mellie saying it was a stretch for Cyrus to highjack his own plane is ridiculous when they know what he’s capable of doing.
- The conflict between Quinn and Liv is what works best this episode. Their conversation felt like the closest thing we’ve seen to the show holding Olivia accountable.
- I thought it was weird that Quinn said “I’m in charge” when Olivia was shocked that Cyrus approached her directly. Quinn, she’s not questioning your leadership. She’s questioning Cyrus’ ability to cover his steps since he’s being so brazen.
- And Jake and Cyrus are being so brazen. They confessed to everything. Obviously it’s not going to be hard for Olivia and the gang to take them down, they have tons of dirt on them. Sure, Jake has B613, but…Charlie is out, Quinn is alive, Huck is…around….Seems like Olivia and Mellie have their own B613.
- Why is Huck being so weird? He’s reverted back to the quiet childlike Huck of earlier seasons and it’s mostly annoying. I never enjoy Huck when he’s speaking like he barely has an understanding of being human: “Is that Olivia? From before the bad stuff?” “You feel like I do?” We saw some growth for Huck these past few seasons and it’s just gone because he has no real role in the main plot.
- So, Jake has never had any issues following Olivia or working under a woman. Sure, you could say that Jake loved Olivia and they slept together, so he was down. But, it’s weird how the show tries to make it seem like Jake is joining Cyrus because Mellie rejected him and slept with Marcus. This just doesn’t seem fair to the character’s history. Cyrus’ “It’s us or it’s them” speech and taunting of the “future is female” felt like adding an extra twirly mustache-layer of evil on top of everything else.
- Didn’t Mellie say she supported gun control? I thought I remembered Mellie coming around on it, but who knows with Scandal. It definitely seems like Olivia could get a gun control bill passed, so I still don’t see why this guy would give up his morals like this.
- Wow, here we are again: Let’s kill Cyrus. What an exciting idea! No one has ever had that idea on Scandal before!
- Seriously, it took them the entire episode to get to “Oh, let’s threaten to kill Quinn and Charlie will sign the confession.” That was my actual first idea. Cyrus is really not on his A-game here.
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