SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
Yawn. Olitz is back on. Their on and off again relationship got old three seasons ago and I wish the writers of this show would just give it a rest already. They’re just as bad as Carrie and Big. Although, the rekindling of their relationship may have little to do with actual romantic feelings (although I’m pretty sure that they’re there) and that makes this go around with the two a little more interesting. Especially since Olivia has now become privy to why Fitz has suddenly re-entered her life.
We didn’t get the confrontation between Fitz and Olivia over his finding her stumbling out of her elevator, all over Chris, that I thought that we would get. In fact, Fitz seemed rather un-bothered by it. Which was weird and made even more so by the fact that he told her that he was back in Washington for her. He should have been as upset as Olivia was. That too, I found strange; how strongly and negatively she [over]reacted to his presence, but I chalked it up to her being rattled by his unexpected visit. I still think she was overreacting, though. Although, she kind of wasn’t. In the end.
It wasn’t until a few scenes later that it occurred to me that Fitz had gone to Olivia because Eli sent him. The missing girls case was an obvious pretense for him to have a reason to see her and confess his still lingering feelings for her. But even that was a pretense. Genuine as I believe his feelings and his desire to be with her to be, he only went to Washington to reel her in and check her power as Command. To distract – and maybe even soften – her with their relationship. And it worked.
Right after she slept with him she didn’t impose her will on Mellie, like she had previously, when they disagreed on how to handle the coup in Bashran. She went along with what Mellie wanted to do. I did not expect that plan to work so effectively. It’s kind of pathetic that the second Fitz is back in her life and between her legs, Olivia turns to mush. Much as it seems that without him and with a decent amount of power she’s a borderline tyrant.
I thought that Olivia was suspicious of Fitz and had sent Jake to look into his activities prior to his turning up in Washington because she knew he was up to something, but wasn’t sure what. She was just scared to get involved with him again because she didn’t know if she could be Command and have a happy life with Fitz. That was why she overreacted to him coming back into her life. But of course, she knows now that Eli sent Fitz to her and it’s not looking too good for Daddy Dearest.
Mellie had her own relationship drama going on in this episode, aside from the drama of trying to mediate the summit. She finally admitted that she has feelings for Rashad.
I do think that said feelings are clouding her judgement a little, however, because of the lengths she wants to go to in order to reinstall him as president of Bashran. True as it may be that she needs him to be the leader of the country in order for them to make a deal concerning the nuclear weapons and to facilitate the summit. The rebels in Bashran certainly won’t agree to any deals with her, far less entertain even a discussion about it.
I am not mad at Cyrus and Fenton becoming a thing. I don’t ship it, but I don’t hate it. Fenton seems to be fairly sweet on Cyrus and it’s kind of adorable. Particularly since Fenton is likeable this time around and not being a completely arrogant jerk. I didn’t think of the painting as a grand gesture indicating his romantic – and sexual – interest in Cyrus until the assistant and Mellie said so. I assumed it was his apologising for his gross conduct the last time they had crossed paths.
Cyrus rejecting Fenton out of vanity was surprising, although he was right that there is no competition between Fenton and Michael in the looks department. But the man does adore him so that has to count for something.
Random thoughts:
- Curtis knows when to disappear.
- Look at Mellie and Rashad. All working together so perfectly.
- Olivia cock-blocking Mellie pretty hard there with Marcus.
- Pretty sure he only implied that Mellie slept with Rashad because she is a woman.
- Olivia went to Eli…for boy advice?
- Cyrus is going to teach him about more than politics!
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.
