You would think that I would have been watching Scandal from the very start. It’s a Shonda Rhimes soap that airs Thursday nights after my beloved Grey’s Anatomy. I DVR-ed the pilot when it aired last spring, but it sat unwatched for several weeks till I just deleted it. Whoops. Also, while I would see a handful of Twitter friends flailing over the show, I didn’t know anyone in real life who watched the show, which is often very important to me. I need someone to flail about with. Not that I can’t flail about things with my Twitter friends. Actually, that’s WHY Twitter Friends exist. For flailing. And understanding how feels for television shows and fictional characters can ruin your life.
I’m just trying to come up with an excuse for how badly I dropped the ball with this show. Cause I can fully admit that I did. Cause Scandal is freaking AWESOME.
One of the great benefits of dating someone who not only loves TV as much as I do but has an Apple TV and a Hulu Plus subscription is that I can easily remedy my viewing mistakes. After being appalled by the fact that I didn’t watch Scandal, we marathoned (including 6 episodes in one day. #winners) all of the past episodes and I am now all caught up and am able to watch in real-time. And the show blows my mind more and more every episode. Think Shonda goes apeshit crazy with the plot lines on Grey’s? Just watch Scandal. It’s Grey’s mixed with a dash of The West Wing and then hopped up on steroids. It is pure and utter ridiculousness. In other words, it is nothing short of addictive.
For those of you unfamiliar with Scandal, it follows Olivia Pope and her team of “fixers” in Washington D.C.. Basically, if you kill someone and need a body hidden and the scene wiped clean, Olivia is the one you call. Especially if you are a person in a position of power. Oh yeah, Olivia is also a political strategist who had an affair with/is love with Fitzgerald (Oh, Shonda, really? You and your names) Grant, the President of the United States. The Married President of the United States. Whose wife makes Lady MacBeth look like Tinkerbell. Seriously. Mellie Grant is the WORST. I thought I hated Breaking Bad‘s Skylar White…that loathing is nothing compared to what I feel for Mellie Grant.
While each individual episode tends to revolve around a “case of the week”, each season has had an overarching conspiracy/scandal. Last season dealt with a Monica Lewinsky-esque situation (fitting since Olivia is based on the woman who represented her back in the day) while this season…this season is a bit bananas. We have a new baddie in the form of shady tycoon Hollis Doyle, who seems to be running the country along with The First Lady, Chief of Staff Cyrus Beene (a delightfully smarmy Jeff Perry, so different from his days on Grey’s as Thatcher Grey), a supreme court justice, and yes, Olivia Pope. That revelation two episodes ago had me screaming all sorts of things at my TV. We have a massively huge conspiracy involving voting machines that is making it seemed that some how the Presidential Election was rigged, as Grant won the presidency by a little over 4500 votes in one county in Ohio. This investigation is being spearheaded by State Attorney David Rosen (super-Tweeter Josh Malina) and Cyrus’ journalist husband James. And in this most recent episode SOMEONE FREAKING SHOT THE PRESIDENT.
#WhoShotFitz? The promos for next week’s episode promise to reveal that…though I am sure that revelation will open up a whole new can of worms. Right now, my money is on Mellie Grant being involved some how, based on the way she started freaking out in the limo at the end of the episode. After pressuring him about it all episode, suddenly right as they were arriving at Fitz’s 50th Birthday party she didn’t want to go. Cold feet, me thinks. But…WHY? Aside from their fact that their marriage is a total sham and she knows her husband is in love with another woman, that is. But Mellie loves power, and she would lose what power she has as the First Lady were Fitz to die. Could it be Hollis, who has said many times that we have no idea what he is capable of? What exactly IS his agenda, as they have been very vague about how he even got into this position of power and conspiracy group with the other four. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, SHONDA RHIMES??
WHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!
I know I will be watching on Thursday to find out.
I’m so excited you’re finally watching!! I am obsessed with this show and have been since day 1, but as you said it’s hard to find other people who are as well for some reason.
This past episode was one of those ones where there’s so much hype about it (the previews were ridiculous) that I was underwhelmed throughout the episode waiting for something to happen. Followed, of course, in the last 5 seconds screaming OH MY GOD at the TV. I also loved that Quinn hasn’t actually stopped searching for answers about what happened to her.
I think Olivia and Fitz have some of the most electric chemistry that I’ve ever seen on TV. And while I LOVE Jeff Perry and think he is amazing in this role, his eyes freak me out – it’s like he is incapable of looking at someone.
Anyway, sorry for the ramble and incoherent comment, I’m just really excited you’re watching :)!
Oh and Kerry Washington always looks FLAWLESS.
THAT WHITE DRESS. I WANTS IT. Except I would spill something on it within 2 seconds.
Yes, I blame the promos for overhyping. I had guessed Fitz would get shot from the promos alone!
I would just like to look that polished and put together once in my life. The idea of being able to do it in the midst of incredible crisis just puts the show at a higher level of fiction.
I had guessed someone would get shot, but thought it would be more someone shooting at Fitz and someone else getting caught in the crossfire. Based on the promos I thought it would happen during the dinner, so when that passed without incident I thought him finding proof of the voting machines was the big thing. I hope Charlie is involved somehow – I always enjoy his scenes :).
The boyfriend predicted that the shooter will be Charlie. And then the mystery will be who hired him…
I also wouldn’t be upset if the shooter was Wink. Congrats on the boyfriend, he definitely sounds like a keeper!!
Anyone who not only understands my TV habits but encourages them most definitely is 🙂
I agree with you I avoided this show for months and then I caught the 4th episode of season 2. I was like what have I been missing, I caught up on all past episodes and I am now hooked
Right? It’s incredibly addictive!