S04.E14: The Lawn Chair

[thewhiteowl]

 

A tragedy in D.C. gains national attention and the White House must deal with their problematic VP.

 

 

[janeta]

It's a good thing i know some actual farriers, what with all the anvils that landed on my head in this ep....

[bmoore4026]

Plot based on Ferguson, tackling racial tensions between blacks and the police?

Ooooooo, I'm staying the fuck away from this.  Too fucking complex, and I live in the St. Louis Bi-State area.  News about Ferguson has been reported about everyday since August, though it's slowed slightly after the last couple of months.  It's picked back up now that the Department of Justice's report came out.

So, I'm backing the hell away from this.  I talk to you all next week.  Hopefully, the story next week won't hit so close to home.

[Kendall]

Unfortunately, that episode turned into a true fairy tale and fiction, even more than the fiction that television dramas are.

 

But, I can see why they tried.

 

No justice.

 

That's it.

 

In situations like that, there is usually no justice.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Kendall

[JenE4]

Wow. Now THAT was the most powerful episode this show has ever had. My heart just broke for Clarence. I cried during nearly every scene of his.

[Brooklynista]

This After School Special was brought to you by Shonda Rhimes. The more you know...

Very subtle Shonda.

Only thing I appreciated this episode was Olivia getting read for filth about not having her hood card checked that day.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Brooklynista

[Whitley Trillbert]

Courtney B Vance has just reduced me to a sobbing mess right now. 

[LeeLeePanda]

My mother and I are both crying. That was way too real. I know most of you will hate this episode, but I can't agree. Thank you, Shonda. Thank you for not sugarcoating it, and for telling the truth.

[Artsda]

It was a good episode, better than what we've seen in a loooong time. 

 

I noticed halfway through there was no Jake, but Shonda couldn't resist. Even when he didn't fit anything in the show they had to have him pop in to school Quinn and Huck for letting Olivia go down there? Since when do Huck and Quinn have to let Olivia go anywhere? The writers should have just left him out of the episode all together instead of shoving him into it, in that one scene that just ruined things and knew they were just shoving him in there because they had to have Jake appear probably because of contract rules.

 

Oh please no to the new VP choice.

 

Fitz does know that if Mellie's President it's another 4 years married to her right? He can't leave her and run off to Vermont. 

[venusnv80]

That was the best episode of Scandal for a couple of reasons. It was very meta, but I don't care. Scandal went back to the case of the week, the love life of Liv was put on the back burner and there was actual work as crisis managers. 

 

Courtney B. Vance was phenomenal, Frankie from AMC should stay and join Pope and Associates and I am glad that someone basically got Olivia to think for a few moments. 

 

This was more than an after school special to me. 

[mecmimi05]

I like this show much better when Olivia is in gladiator mode, but I am not sure this was a good scenario to use. Too many open wounds still festering from this real life drama. Soap operas need to stick to lighter fare. Putting a sadly incompetent person in the Vice President position is also a ridiculous plot line....oh wait a minute.....Joe Biden. 

[venusnv80]

Scandal has covered murders, rapes, war and everything in between...police overstepping their bounds and killing someone shouldn't be off the table just because America is sensitive to it now. 

[Maude]

To everyone involved in the making of this episode: thank you. Sincerely.

Also, Courtney B. Vance deserves an Emmy.

[Whitley Trillbert]

Ok yall I'm like legit still crying. Scandal has NEVER done this to me. I give Shonda shit a lot of times, but I must say Brava to her for this episode.  I also loved that Liv wore black all episode nice touch. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by Whitley Trillbert

[Eolivet]

Courtney B. Vance definitely deserves an Emmy, but Michael Welch (as the murderous officer) has certainly grown up since he was Luke on Joan of Arcadia! Last time I saw him, he was some teenage delinquent on NCIS or something.

 

Shonda's shows have always been able to bring the raw emotion -- one of her greatest strengths as a producer, in my opinion. This was very well-done.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Eolivet

[venusnv80]

And Regina King directed the episode...good all around. 

[Happytobehere]

I like this show much better when Olivia is in gladiator mode, but I am not sure this was a good scenario to use. Too many open wounds still festering from this real life drama. Soap operas need to stick to lighter fare. Putting a sadly incompetent person in the Vice President position is also a ridiculous plot line....oh wait a minute.....Joe Biden.

Biden is actually a qualified leader with tons of experience. I think you mean Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin.

Not feeling this episode.

The one consistent is my growing contempt for the ever-so entitled Grants.

Liv being called out was the best moment because it spare of the Woah is me PTSD arc many suspect is coming.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Happytobehere

[Maude]

Courtney B. Vance definitely deserves an Emmy, but Michael Welch (as the murderous officer) has certainly grown up since he was Luke on Joan of Arcadia! Last time I saw him, he was some teenage delinquent on NCIS or something.

 

Shonda's shows have always been able to bring the raw emotion -- one of her greatest strengths as a producer, in my opinion. This was very well-done.

Oh, yes...the actor playing the officer was very good. His was quite a difficult character to pull off and I thought Welch was superb. The whole episode was expertly done...the usual cast was very muted which brought the story to the forefront and made the pain and anger so raw.

Ok, I'm off to cry again now.

[Username1]

While the episode was moving and thought provoking, it is beyond me that in making a point about senseless violence, they glorified vigilantism/threatened gun violence.

[mecmimi05]

 Biden is actually a qualified leader with tons of experience. I think you mean Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin.

Yes, come to think of it most VP's are pretty lame.

[venusnv80]

While the episode was moving and thought provoking, it is beyond me that in making a point about senseless violence, they glorified vigilantism/threatened gun violence.

You saw glorification? I saw despair, outrage and sadness. He wasn't Batman. He didn't go into the police station shooting it up OR strap a bomb to himself and walk into the White House with it. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by venusnv80

[bmoore4026]

 Biden is actually a qualified leader with tons of experience. I think you mean Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin.

Yes, come to think of it most VP's are pretty lame.

 

Selina Meyer is awesome.

[mecmimi05]

 

While the episode was moving and thought provoking, it is beyond me that in making a point about senseless violence, they glorified vigilantism/threatened gun violence.

 

Thank you Username1; This is what I was trying to say. This is a multifaceted issue and I don't think it should be exploited on a show like Scandal.....I found this episode very moving and Vance was terrific, but the ending was too easy.

[Blakeston]

Plot based on Ferguson, tackling racial tensions between blacks and the police?

Ooooooo, I'm staying the fuck away from this.  Too fucking complex, and I live in the St. Louis Bi-State area.

 

As it turned out, too much complexity certainly wasn't a problem in this episode.

 

There was some great acting, but the script had zero nuance whatsoever.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Blakeston

[JessePinkman]

I'm utterly disgusted. This episode was wrongheaded on so many levels.

If my black son was murdered why the fuck would I want to 1) go to the White House, 2) meet the white republican president, 3) cry on his goddamn shoulder? Is the father meant to be in SUCH amazement over meeting the president that none of this registers for him?

Fitz did NOTHING and would have continued to do NOTHING if not for that that fairy tale of a video completely exonerating that young man.

It was bad enough that The Good Wife did an episode like this with its beige cast but Scadal doing the same with its mess of a lead black character and the lip service they pay to the racial implications of her relationship with the president and the intracacies of her job truly takes the cake.

I could watch a full episode of people dragging Olivia for being the world's biggest hypocrite. Also that guy was VERY cute. Could this show handle Olivia was a non-white, non-controlling love interest? Probably not.

[bmoore4026]

As it turned out, oo much complexity certainly wasn't a problem in this episode.

 

There was some great acting, but the script had zero nuance whatsoever.

 

I meant the actual Ferguson situation was too complex.  This episode, while having good acting, was too cut and dry.

 

Only thing I really liked about it was Huck didn't go Tasmanian Devil on anyone.

[mbutterfly]

Courtney B. Vance definitely deserves an Emmy, but Michael Welch (as the murderous officer) has certainly grown up since he was Luke on Joan of Arcadia! Last time I saw him, he was some teenage delinquent on NCIS or something.

 

Shonda's shows have always been able to bring the raw emotion -- one of her greatest strengths as a producer, in my opinion. This was very well-done.

Oh, that's who he was. Yes, Courtney B. Vance also did a heck-of-a-job with that role, slowing metamorphisizing right before our eyes. 

[mjt626]

I don't think they were going for nuance.  They wanted to make a statement episode and that's what they did.

 

I think Mr. Parker was able to find solace, not in the President, but with a man who had also lost his son.  And yes, people are consoled by the President, which is why in times of national tragedy, he shows up.

 

Was the ending too neat?  Of course, but if I had a show and could write a better ending to tragedy and inequality I would.  (Heck, in my world Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper ended up together)

[roomtorome]

I don't think there is a way to depict this sorry state of reality for many in any way that will ever be acceptable to every viewer.  There is always going to be additional drama added since it is a drama and not a documentary.  There is just no way we will all be viewing it similarly or perceiving it the same as we come with our own viewpoints, experiences, etc.  

 

I thought this was an interesting/moving version of an all too real situation that happens far too often.  

 

The father - in a way - represented the grieving/angry community, in a way concentrating all that emotion/reaction (mostly) in one person which would, of course, be the most emotional and reactive (a parent(s)) and I found it very effective to present this story this way.  

 

I pretty much ignored the role of Olivia in this because I found it distracting in how unrealistic it is that such a person would be involved in that role in this situation.

 

I actually have no problem with the timing of it; the further reality gets away from us, the more other realities crowd it all into the back of our minds; I'm fine with doing this story right now.

[CaughtOnTape]

If my black son was murdered why the fuck would I want to 1) go to the White House, 2) meet the white republican president, 3) cry on his goddamn shoulder? Is the father meant to be in SUCH amazement over meeting the president that none of this registers for him?

 

Because I don't think he was there to meet the President.  He was there to meet a man who had also lost his son (and also in a very public and unfair way for which he had no control) and could understand his grief.  The man just happened to also be the President of the United States.

 

At least that's how I took it.

[DB in CMH]

I thought it was a really powerful episode, but they could have done it more justice had they spread it out over a couple of episodes. No justice would have been far more true to life, and there was plenty to mine here. 

[unlabyrinth]

And Regina King directed the episode...good all around. 

 

Actually, Tom Verica directed this episode. Regina King directed 4x17, which will air Mar. 26. She tweeted an awesome photo of herself directing, and said she just wrapped photography on that episode today. I enjoyed the Southland episode that she directed a while back, and I'm excited to see her work on Scandal. https://twitter.com/brotherimhotep/status/573575820221882368/photo/1

Edited March 6, 2015 by unlabyrinth

[Anela]

Because I don't think he was there to meet the President.  He was there to meet a man who had also lost his son (and also in a very public and unfair way for which he had no control) and could understand his grief.  The man just happened to also be the President of the United States.

 

At least that's how I took it.

This was the way I saw it, too.  

Both actors were very good. I want to watch Joan of Arcadia again, now. 

[VCRTracking]

It's pretty much unanimous on Twitter that even though a lot people don't know Michael Welch's name, they thought he did an amazing job as the cop.

[WalrusGirl]

Great job by the guest stars.

I also thought that taking him to the White House was more about a POTUS whose similarly-aged son just very publicly died less than a year ago showing empathy and that his dead son was noticed and mattered. Especially given that he was sure he'd end up in jail or dead, the reversal had some meaning. And I watched and noticed it wasn't a photo-op for Fitz, which would have changed my opinion 100%. But yeah, one hopes that Olivia answered him when he asked where they were going, so he had the opportunity to decline or postpone.

What struck me as far more out of place was Liv bringing him a freaking hoagie. To eat over his son's dead body. Pretty sure he wouldn't have had much of an appetite even if he was at home under more normal-death circumstances. I get the gesture, but bringing him some water would have been more useful. And a muffin or croissant, something to soak up nausea. Or even a 6" hoagie rather than a freaking foot-long would have been less insane.

Putting a sadly incompetent person in the Vice President position is also a ridiculous plot line....oh wait a minute.....Joe Biden.

Eh, it's better than leaving the position entirely unfilled for months and months, a la The West Wing. (Though I personally disagree about Biden, but he does have a bit in common about the show's VP pick in terms of saying what he thinks (real or ill-advised joke) more than is allowed in the highest political positions. That folksy, less-polished way tends to endear politicians to those who agree with their politics and be a source of ridicule from those who disagree (and I'm thinking of national-level politicians on both sides for whom this is true).)

I thought it was absurd that Fitz cited "loyalty" as a reason for his initial picks to Cyrus...like, didn't you handpick Andrew against his advice for the exact same reason? Maybe just give Cyrus your criteria and have him pick someone within those restrictions.

I kind of like the pick, in that (if I'm remembering correctly from their installing her as senator?) she's a perfectly bright, decent human being who's just not smooth enough to be otherwise electable. And at least she's smart enough to know that she doesn't want the presidency. Which might make her decent at it if ever reluctantly forced into the position. But mostly I just like Fitz actually being loyal to his wife, at least in the way that currently matters to her.

ETA: Question. Was the second officer arrested - on obstruction charges, I think? - the officer who was next on the scene, or someone who knew to withhold the surveillance video from the press even though, at face value, it exonerated the officer?

Edited March 6, 2015 by WalrusGirl

[Blakeston]

I don't think they were going for nuance.  They wanted to make a statement episode and that's what they did.

 

I think Mr. Parker was able to find solace, not in the President, but with a man who had also lost his son.  And yes, people are consoled by the President, which is why in times of national tragedy, he shows up.

 

Was the ending too neat?  Of course, but if I had a show and could write a better ending to tragedy and inequality I would.  (Heck, in my world Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper ended up together)

 

The thing is, it wasn't just the ending that was too neat. They took Ferguson, and warped it into the world's easiest morality play, in which the victim was a saint, and the police officer is the devil himself.

 

You know what would really make a statement? Showing that even if a kid is guilty of shoplifting, that doesn't mean he should be characterized as a thug. Or showing that even if a police officer is well-meaning, and is just trigger-happy in a moment of panic that just happens to involve an African-American, that doesn't mean he should be off the hook. 

 

But I guess that would get in the way of making the audience cry.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Blakeston

[mbutterfly]

The thing is, it wasn't just the ending that was too neat. They took Ferguson, and warped it into the world's easiest morality play, in which the victim was a saint, and the police officer is the devil himself.

 

You know what would really make a statement? Showing that even if a kid is guilty of shoplifting, that doesn't mean he should be characterized as a thug. Or showing that even if a police officer is well-meaning, and is just trigger-happy in a moment of panic that happens to involve an African-American, that doesn't mean he should be off the hook. 

 

But I guess that would get in the way of making the audience cry.

The thing is that it wasn't Ferguson. It was a highly dramatized (as Scandal always is) story of something that has happened. A watcher may or may not believe this happened in Ferguson. Still, it has happened. It's happened many times when people outside the immediate community didn't even know or notice. The person who does something bad and lies about it (in real life or a story) can be in any profession -- teacher, pilot, banker -- because there are people in all professions who can be villains. A good story points that out and runs with it. 

[mwell345]

I have mixed feelings on this one. Courtney Vance was amazing, and he made the episode.  And the ending sequence was very moving.

 

My issue is that it was too predictable. 

 

I did like that there was no Olivia/Fitz stuff, but I guess we get that next week.   Loved the look on Cyrus's face when Fitz told him he promised Mellie the presidency.  And Olivia is so powerful that even the DC police back off when she tells them too.  (sigh).

[JessePinkman]

Because I don't think he was there to meet the President.  He was there to meet a man who had also lost his son (and also in a very public and unfair way for which he had no control) and could understand his grief.  The man just happened to also be the President of the United States.

 

At least that's how I took it.

 

You're giving the show far more credit than I can or will. I might agree if I thought Fitz ever cared about his son...or daughter...or other son. The only person he has genuine affection for is Olivia.

 

This episode was so trite, there was no nuance or texture, it was just there for me. Scandal's become too otherworldy of a show for me to buy an episode like this for what it was trying to be.

[Guest]

More emotional than I've ever been over a Scandal episode. It really wasn't "Scandal" but it was powerful.  

[Darknight]

Don't know why some fans are complaining about the episode. Did it hit a cord? This is good to watch. Best episode yet. And I forgot what Mellie said. Anyone know?

[CaughtOnTape]

The thing is, it wasn't just the ending that was too neat. They took Ferguson, and warped it into the world's easiest morality play, in which the victim was a saint, and the police officer is the devil himself.

 

I guess therein lies the problem.  I don't think it was a supposed to be Ferguson in any way other than an unarmed black kid was shot by a white police officer.  The similarities in the story end after that.  

 

And isn't that what the media tried to do in Ferguson.  One side tried to portray Darren Wilson as an asshole cop hell bent on shooting a black kid who wasn't listening to him while Michael Brown was the innocent kid headed to his grandmother's house.  The other side tried to portray Darren Wilson as a model cop while Michael Brown was the thug kid.  This particular episode just took one of those sides and told that story.

[NextIteration]

I got emotional and cried.  I really liked this review of the show.  It's complex, I appreciated that this episode addressed intersectionality, at least it did for me.

 

The timing of this stand alone episode really was incredibly impeccable, with the DOJ Ferguson decisions released this week.

 

Evidently, it compelled me enough to come here to read what folks thought and post for the first time even though I've been watching since Day One.  I really appreciate all the opinions.

[jjj]

This episode had the characters of "Scandal", but used them -- mainly Olivia -- in a new way.  The father was heartbreaking and heartbroken, and I'll forgive the improbable scenario of the police obeying Olivia when she orders "DON'T. SHOOT. DON'T SHOOT."  But I thought it was an extraordinary moment when she stopped being "I'm Olivia Pope" and went behind the yellow tape to become one of the crowd chanting at the police and the world.  I saw that character and Shondra in a new way when I saw them willing to take such a big step forward by stepping out of the power elite. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by jjj

[Mozelle]

I don't post in these here parts, but last night's episode punched me so hard in the gut that I can't stay away. First things first, I really hope that Shonda brings back the actor who played Marcus. He'd be a great addition to Pope and Associates, provided we start going back to cases of the week. I'm a bit exhausted with the Jake-Olivia-Fitz-Mellie-(Andrew-Elizabeth) quadrangle come hexagon. 

 

Courtney B. Vance just blew me away. Kerry was great, and again the actor playing Marcus was pitch perfect. I had some minor quibbles with the episode, though: 

 

1. The chant completely erased Black women. Maybe I'm sensitive to it because I am a Black woman, but far too often, when we are victims our stories aren't told loudly and forcefully the way it is when Black men are victims (case in point: the officer in Oklahoma who sexually assaulted something like nine Black women, the youngest being 17). 

 

2. I really wished Olivia had challenged Officer Newton's monologue. There was just so much to unpack in his diatribe, but I guess with a limited amount of show time left, they couldn't fit it in. 

 

Beyond those two critiques, I am thoroughly thankful that Shonda made an attempt to address this particular current event. Yes, the end was very pat, but let's think about that--we are so unused to seeing police officers who commit crimes being held to the same standards as the average citizen that Shonda's ending seems a fairytale.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Mozelle

[Primetimer]

Olivia tries to help the police deal with a police-involved shooting of a black kid, but then wonders if she's on the side of justice.

Read the story

[cali1981]

Fitz is now the dumbest, most irresponsible and unfit TV President in recent TV history. He launches a pointless war to save his main squeeze, sacrificing US soldiers lives in the process.  He then wants his completely unqualified, basket case of a wife to somehow succeed him as President?  Apparently, the optics and feasibility of this grand plan are lost on this fool.  In order to accomplish this master political stroke, he now chooses a new, naive, thought disorganized, poiltically inexperienced senator with no common or street sense to be his new VP, one heartbeat forom the Oval Office.  All this so she won't outshine the magnificent Mellie and deny her the nomination that is so justly hers for the taking?  it's a miracle that Cyrus doesn't get Tom out of the prison he's buried in to apply another gentle needle tap to Fitz' neck.  Really Shonda, you've got to come up with far better writing that this insanely implausible crap, even if it is for fictional TV.

Edited March 6, 2015 by cali1981

[ThomasAAnderson]

The cop's monologue was representative of cop feelings that have been expressed on the web, television and radio since the murders of Brown, Garner and Rice.

I hope this is a reset for Scandal and we can get back to the case of the week and pull back on B613 stuff. TBH I'd like to see less Mellie also, her retcon has never sat well with me so I'd prefer not to have to listen to her whiney "I wants" and "you promised" every week until the season ends.

Edited March 6, 2015 by thewhiteowl
removed off topic

[tennisgurl]

I was worried about this one, but it turned out to be a pretty powerful episode of television. I mean, its no Selma, but considering the constant soapy silliness of the series lately, they handled this issue with a lot of power and intensity. 

 

Olivia getting pulled into it was a little forced at first, but I like how it ended. This is the Olivia I like, the one that is tough and competent, but does have a clear set of morals she will fight for. She does bad things apologetically, but she will admit it when she screws up, and work to correct it. Not the prize that a bunch of men fight over/for. 

 

They clearly weren't aiming for lots of nuances, they were making a statement, and it was an important one. 

 

Amazing performances by the guest stars this week. 

Edited March 6, 2015 by tennisgurl

[reggiejax]

I think Scandal did the best it could with this episode, which is saying something considering how deep in the hole, creatively speaking, the completely absurd Scandal starts out.

 

Whether it is because Shondra Rhimes and company are simply incapable of handling a serious topic such as this in anything more than a "case of the week" fashion, or because no one really wants Scandal to take a more serious turn (as absurd as it gets, it is the soapy elements that make this show work), this is all we were going to get. I think they did alright.

 

And Courtney B Vance's performance should be mandatory viewing for any actor on this show attempting to rise above the soapy quality of the show. That means you too Joe Morton.

 

Back on more Scandal-y ground, the plot with the VP turned out to be more entertaining than I imagined it could be. Propping up the Mellie myth tends to drag the show down, but I like that Mellie's choice, whom she deemed unelectable, turned out to be the only one using their brain. I liked that she realized she was not only unfit for the Executive Branch, but that she didn't want it either.

Edited March 9, 2015 by reggiejax