SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
This episode changed and reframed everything that has happened in the season so far. I think that the last time that I felt any kind of sympathy toward Papa Pope was when we met Liv’s mother. Someone actually managed to hurt Eli and put him on a leash. Eli Pope. Under the thumb of someone else. Controlled by someone else. That…is quite the feat.
We finally learned the circumstances leading up to and surrounding Frankie Vargas’ assassination and that it was Eli who had killed him. Not just laid out the scheme; he was the one who shot him. At the end of the last episode, I thought that Eli simply knew who had done it but wasn’t actively involved. Turns out that the people behind the assassination blackmailed Eli into killing Frankie by threatening his new girlfriend, Sandra.
Eli’s romance with Sandra was all well and good and he seemed to truly be happy and enjoying life. I forgot that he was the curator of the Smithsonian. His excitement over the dinosaur fossils and Sandra’s discoveries was infectious. It was a whole other side of Eli that I think we never really saw before. I applauded him for how smooth he was with the Marvin Gaye.
I thought that he’d gone for it as an excuse to search Liv’s apartment for bugs – which he did – and to cover whatever conversation he was going to have with Sandra. Then he presented her with wine and I thought it was just some innocent courting he was getting into…until he shoved a gun in her face. I didn’t expect for her to be aware of who those people were and complicit in trying to entrap Eli. I didn’t expect her to stick around and continue with their relationship either.
I was very impressed by her refusal to flee the country; to let these people rule her life and force her to live it in fear. That was admirable. I could see why Eli loved her; she was a very strong woman. Then he killed her. Which I knew he was going to do because she would continually be used as a tool to manipulate him, but I was still taken aback when he did it. There was no hesitation at all. As we knew, though, they still had Liv to use against him so killing Sandra was ultimately useless.
There is still the question of why these people want Mellie as president. That was one thing that this episode did not reveal.
I didn’t recognise “Nelson” when he first appeared and didn’t realise that it was him until he said the name on his fake documents. I knew that all of the evidence against him had been fabricated and he was being framed! It was just too perfect. I just thought that he was some poor sap that had been chosen because of the things he’d said online, not that he was an agent who was in on the whole thing.
What I’m confused about is whether he was supposed to go down with Cryus or if he was a false flag. If he was supposed to go down with Cyrus, then why did they pay Tom to come forward and lie about being the real shooter?
Liv made Eli’s job so much harder. If she hadn’t found out that he’d tampered with the voting machines in San Benito and thwarted that effort, Frankie would never have died. That was never the plan and was the last resort. In an indirect way, Liv is responsible for Frankie’s death and she doesn’t even know! Given that Frankie is dead and Cyrus is in prison, has she really earned the oval office like she wanted to? The people didn’t vote for Mellie.
Random thoughts:
- Papa Pope isn’t the most likeable character, but I love his love for Liv.
- I don’t think you can challenge these people Eli.
- Why can’t these people do this themselves and leave Eli out of it?
- “My wish is your ‘COMMAND’.”
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.
