SOME SPOILERS AHEAD.
There she is! The tyrannical, power mad, corrupt, very despicable Olivia Pope I’ve seen emerging all season (and in some of the last). She’s broken free of the spell that is Fitzgerald Grant III and has returned to being insufferable (not that she wasn’t even after having sex with him softened her). This episode really reaffirmed Olivia’s villain status this season and it looks like no one is capable of reeling her in.
From her talk with Eli in the opening scene (in which he seemed to cower from her), to the stank face she gave Mellie as she was being laid out for her actions (and gosh is there an overabundance of Olivia Pope condescending stank faces this season) and the “apology” she gave Chris later in the episode after they had sex (and pretty much admitted that she sleeps with him to use him and his show), Olivia was just all over this episode being the worst version of herself. She even said that not giving her what she wants is an act of war. Arrogant and bratty much? I love Chris for telling her off at the end of the episode.
The only “good” thing she did in this episode was come up with a way to end the coup in Bashran with minimal loss of life to American soldiers. Her motives were in no way altruistic, though. The only person Olivia Pope cares about and the only person she serves is Olivia Pope. The only person now who seems to believe that there is some kind of good left within Olivia is Quinn and she, perhaps, hero worships Olivia a little too much.
By the end of the episode the only person who had stood up to her, the only person who gave her orders, the only person who put her in her place, Mellie, was doing her bidding. I would like to know exactly what it was that Olivia told Mellie that made her do an about face like that. Even though it seems like she was just going along with what Olivia wanted her to do. She did apologise to Fitz, quietly, for tearing into him the way she did. So I don’t think that she wanted to do it. Perhaps Olivia blackmailed her or threatened her in some way? When Mellie yelled at Olivia she wasn’t sorry.
Mellie’s feelings for Rashad completely clouded her judgement. Her decision to continue to try and re-install him as president of Bashran, even though congress voted against going to war, was driven by them. To her credit, the treaty was still at the forefront of her mind and she still wanted to ensure it happened in order to secure national and global safety. She absolutely needs Rashad to be president in order to achieve that. However, her asking Olivia to use her resources as Command to ensure Rashad’s reinstatement was fueled by her attraction to him. And because of that I’m very disappointed in her, even though I understand.
All of Mellie’s efforts were for naught, though.
The ending of this episode was just too perfect. As Rashad and Yasmin got into the plane I just had this feeling that it would blow up. And it did. I don’t know if it was the rebels who did it – they had gotten to him in the White House, after all, so it’s possible that they did – but it may have been a mistake for him to get on American television and speak about how he wanted to change Bashran. He gave them more than enough motive, besides what they had already, to get rid of him and stop him being reinstated.
That being said, I wouldn’t put it past Olivia to have been the one behind the bombing of the plane. She was against the war to begin with and the only reason that she went along with it was because she was bewitched behind Fitz once again. Now that she’s shaken out of that, reaffirmed her power as Command and seemingly put Mellie under her thumb, it’s well within reason, to me, that she would now do what it is that she wants concerning Bashran. Although, killing Rashad would be completely unnecessary to her doing that. They were sending him home anyway, which was what she wanted to do in the first place.
Random thoughts:
- Why doesn’t Olivia just get rid of Fitz herself? Or is she trying to assert her power over Eli by making him do it.
- Is Chris the new Sally?
- Fitz is seriously taking Olivia on?
- Gosh darn it Yasmin!
- Jake is on board with Darth Pope?
- Kind of afraid for Chris’ life right now.
Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 PM on ABC.
