S04.E16: It's Good To Be Kink

[KaveDweller]

On another front: I hate to sound/be sexist and shallow, but we're to believe that these 16 power players in D.C., where there's an army of young and hot women, slept with Sue because she was kinky and on a pro-kink website?

 

And...maybe I am naive, but are there really that many power players in DC just going out and meeting girls on pro-kink websites? Is it that easy for some random girl to meet all those powerful guys? Did it never occur to any of them that one of the random girls they meet on the Internet would talk? 

 

Also, how kinky was all this sex that it would ruin all their careers? I can see for men who are married.  But David was single and not working for the government at the time of his hook up with Sue. What does anyone care who he slept with?  Unless there was illegal activity happening during this kinky sex.  

 

And wouldn't "Author of prospective sexy memoir about sexy times with power players found murdered" still have the same effect of giving publicity and credence to her account?

 

Yeah, the cops would be looking all over for that manuscript.  Then they'd track everyone from the website and question everyone she met with.  That means Huck likely won't be caught, unless the dude who was at her apartment talks.  But still, the existence of the proposal would get into the press.

 

Am I the only person who thought that the "Alex" scenes were imagined?

 

I thought that at first too, but then I wasn't sure.  The scene back at her apartment implied it was real though, I'm not sure why Jake's spying wouldn't have picked up on it.  It'd be kind of funny to have Jake and Fitz to both being watching surveillance footage and see her with another guy.  I mean, it'd be creepy for them to be watching surveillance footage, but that's why they'd deserve to see something they don't like.

[Empress1]

 

On another front: I hate to sound/be sexist and shallow, but we're to believe that these 16 power players in D.C., where there's an army of young and hot women, slept with Sue because she was kinky and on a pro-kink website?

I didn't buy that either. Unless Sue was doing sexual stuff that they couldn't find anything else to do (and it didn't sound like it, given that they found her on a ​website devoted to kink that had lots of members), I'd think these powerful and wealthy men would seek comfort elsewhere. Lena Dunham is very average-looking (especially in that AWFUL WIG. Why would they give her a wig if they were only going to spend $5 on it?) and powerful wealthy men have choices. 

 

Is it that easy for some random girl to meet all those powerful guys?

That made no sense either. Powerful wealthy men who want to stray will stray, but they will do it discreetly. Remember the ep with the madam? That was more realistic. Sue's face was just up on that site for all to see, there's no screening process, they weren't paying her - there was literally nothing stopping her from publishing a tell-all or posting on Twitter that she'd fucked a Supreme Court Justice.

 

The only thing I enjoyed was Liv getting some (and dude was FINE. I've seen him in a bunch of other stuff). I don't worship at the altar of Lena Dunham (Girls is crap), so I wasn't interested in either the stunt casting or her storyline. I did sit bolt upright when Huck killed her - and can somebody PLEASE get him some therapy, some meds, something? He is just walking around looking like a loon at this point. Not cute.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Empress1

[Pallas]

WHAT is the Dustbuster?

 

There's also a political reference.  Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and 1992 presidential candidate Bill Clinton is said to have had a fixer, Betsey Wright, on call.  In Primary Colors, the character based on Wright claimed that her specialty was cleaning up after the candidate's "bimbo eruptions."  She called herself "The Dustbuster."  

 

I'm a little surprised that none of Olivia's team seemed to wonder, if only for a moment, if this Dustbuster might also be a woman: Olivia. 

[Vanderboom]

I was actually liking this episode until the throat-slice.We had an interesting COTW, Olivia was acting like an adult (or Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who totally trolls bars looking "mysterious " and takes hot strangers back to her apartment), minimum Fitz, no mention of Vermont OR walking in sunlight, and girl power. Then it all comes to a screeching halt with Huck going off the rails. In the first season, I was intrigued by Huck, but now he's just a source of irritation and boredom.

[tennisgurl]

So, I did like that they are actually going back to actual Scandals, and not just trying to be a lamer, Jack Bauer-less 24. But with Lena here, it just feels weirdly like a really bizarre episode of Girls. Lena was just playing Hannah, but without the things I actually like about Hannah. 

[33kaitykaity]

 

On another front: I hate to sound/be sexist and shallow, but we're to believe that these 16 power players in D.C., where there's an army of young and hot women, slept with Sue because she was kinky and on a pro-kink website?

I am loathe to take a less-than-critical stance on Sue's looks or lack thereof and why these power players would sleep with her, but here goes. 

 

One, I think this might be Shonda's attempt to cash albeit late on the 50 Shades mayhem.  I just wish that franchise wasn't such a steaming pile of Twilight-spawned twaddle.  If you're curious about BDSM, check out Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty books written under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure or the movie Secretary with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  

 

But secondly, in my own life, my parents divorced when they were in their mid fifties.  Once she got over the shock, my mom spent the next five or so years as an active participant in the "lifestyle," otherwise known as swinging.  My mom was a beautiful woman when she was young, but she was in her fifties, diabetic, maybe 190 pounds.  And she had men lining up around the block for her, younger men, tall men, fat men, short men, rich men, poor men, any and every kind of man.  She had the time of her life until she decided okay, I'm done, and she and I took off in her Ford F250/5th wheel trailer and traveled the country together.  When her former boy toys contact her now, she says oh, I'm still traveling.  

 

Connecting the two thoughts, what I'm trying to say is what is sexy in women is not portrayed at all in our media culture.  Men don't like to fuck skeletons.  The filter of the camera skews everything.  So I don't for one moment doubt that these powerful men could find what Sue was offering delicious and compelling.  

Edited March 21, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[Black Knight]

Connecting the two thoughts, what I'm trying to say is what is sexy in women is not portrayed at all in our media culture.  Men don't like to fuck skeletons.  The filter of the camera skews everything.  So I don't for one moment doubt that these powerful men could find what Sue was offering delicious and compelling.  

Agreed. After all, they weren't dating her, they didn't need her to be a trophy wife or girlfriend who would glitter appropriately in DC society and make them look good - it was just sex. And with just-sex, what you're willing to do matters more than what you look like.

 

I found the disconnect between Sue and Charlie hilarious. I also liked it because it showed, without hitting us over the head with it, the difference between BDSM and torture.

 

I've disliked Guillermo Diaz's "acting" since S1, and I've loathed Huck since the Quinn torture. I was so sick of him even before he cut Sue's throat in this episode. He needs to die by season's end. I'll give the show that long, but if that bug-eyed creepazoid is still here next season, I don't think I'm coming back. Not even for Mellie. Besides, he would probably carve her up at some point too.

 

And David. Dude. When he said that the immunity covered all his crimes relating to his testimony, I was soooooo hoping that once Huck signed the papers, David would add, "And guess what, that means your murder of Sue is not covered!" But David's so clueless.

 

It's such a shame because this episode really did well otherwise. It was an old-school case and fix up until the point Huck slit Sue's throat, there was no annoying Olitz, Mellie and Fitz are being supportive friends and their political story had nothing to do with B#whatever.

[33kaitykaity]

Agreed. After all, they weren't dating her, they didn't need her to be a trophy wife or girlfriend who would glitter appropriately in DC society and make them look good - it was just sex. And with just-sex, what you're willing to do matters more than what you look like.

 

I found the disconnect between Sue and Charlie hilarious. I also liked it because it showed, without hitting us over the head with it, the difference between BDSM and torture.

Nailed it.  

 

And I laughed, too, when Sue left and the way she left and why she left Charlie.  Charlie needs a special kind of sub, one willing to tolerate permanent disfigurement as a result of BDSM play.  For the right remuneration, I'm sure such are available. (This arrangement would fall outside of the more "traditional" -- I can't believe I'm using that word -- D/s arrangement of Doms don't give gifts, but subs bring tribute.)   It's extreme to be sure, but Shonda is nothing if not inventive.  

Edited March 21, 2015 by 33kaitykaity

[Happytobehere]

Two IMHO thoughts:

That was an awful episode of Scandal, and I say this as someone who has been teetering on abandoning ship all season. Hated the story, hated the guest star, hated the sight of Mellie, Fitz and Jake, hated Olivia, hated the Days of Abby's sex. Life asquite frankly Abby bores me to tears.

If they are planning to kill a character, I hope it is David. He has been pompous and insufferable his last few appearances, and with a show that boasts the above characters that says something. We lost James and kept this a**wipe?

[dr pepper]

It just occurred to me: in this episode, Lena Dunham looked a lot like Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

[chick binewski]

Am I the only person who thought that the "Alex" scenes were imagined?  The way that they transitioned from Olivia reading Sue's book directly over to "Alex" at the bar, I thought for sure that this was Olivia fantasizing.  But then by the end of the "second meeting," I thought that maybe I was wrong.

The way the first bar scene was cut I totally thought it was a fantasy or a memory. Now that might be partly because I haven't watched The Shield in a long time so it's been a while since I've seen Brian White; he looked familiar and I kept thinking they brought back Columbus Short or another actor to play him for a flashback. I thought the writers were doing some retcon how he became a gladiator.

 

My problem with Lena Dunham is the same problem I have with her on Girls. I just don't find her engaging at all, I don't see her connect with any other actor she works with and she annunciates like a child in what appears to be an effort to sound cute. Her casting was just distracting.

 

And of all the speechifying, Abby's was the only one that rang true for me. I am starting to hate-watch this show. Bring back smart David Rosen (not the replicant that has evidently replaced him), scenery-chewing Cy, Mellie and some good COTWs. Please?

[mwell345]

I understood why Abby felt the need to resign. Once the book comes out, she becomes the story.

 

However, her speech went on too long (like every speech by every character in this show) and all the stuff about how whether she wears the same outfit more than once, whether her thighs are heavier, etc. - are we still in 1960?  Because that stuff doesn't get reported by serious media anymore and she's not the first female press secretary ever.  I didn't have a clue about DeeDee Myers personal life, weight, how many times she wore the same blouse, etc.

 

Like everything else with this show, the idea is a valid one, but they mess it up by throwing everything but the kitchen sink in there.

 

 

(And was I the only one hoping that one of the code names in the book would have been POTUS?)

Edited March 21, 2015 by mwell345

[marceline]

I understood why Abby felt the need to resign. Once the book comes out, she becomes the story.

 

However, her speech went on too long (like every speech by every character in this show) and all the stuff about how whether she wears the same outfit more than once, whether her thighs are heavier, etc. - are we still in 1960?  Because that stuff doesn't get reported by serious media anymore and she's not the first female press secretary ever.  I didn't have a clue about DeeDee Myers personal life, weight, how many times she wore the same blouse, etc.

 

Like everything else with this show, the idea is a valid one, but they mess it up by throwing everything but the kitchen sink in there.

 

Define serious media. I remember the so-called serious media going on and on about Hilary's pantsuits and telling one of Bill Cosby's rape victims that she should have bitten his penis. Abby was right. Especially when it comes to beltway reporting. The news concentrates on trivia because reminding people how government works is too hard, not just for the public but for many reporters because "reporter" doesn't equal "journalist" anymore. That's part of the reason they are so obsessed with the presidential elections. It's easy to distill down into a simplistic horserace narrative. I mean look at the news right now. They are already completely into the 2016 race even though no one has officially declared. Even local news outlets. My local news reports on how the 2016 race is shaping up every single day but when my Republican governor pulls my tax dollars away from Planned Parenthood only to give them to fake "crisis" pregnancy clinics which offer no medical care at all, not a peep.

 

The part of Abby's speech that did ring a little false for me was the part where she said they always mention that she's romantically linked to Leo. I can't recall seeing much discussion about who anybody in Washington is dating.

[DollEyes]

 

If they are planning to kill a character, I hope that it is David. He has been pompous and insufferable these last few appearances, and with a show that boasts [Olivia, Fitz, Mellie, Jake and Abby], that says something. We lost James and kept this a**wipe?

 

  I totally disagree. David's not the man he used to be, but he's still way better than Olivia, Fitz, Quinn and especially Huck, who, in this episode, has gone to a new low-and given his track record, that's saying something. Kinky Sue was no saint by a long shot, but she didn't deserve to die, especially at Huck's hands. Olivia and Quinn's covering it up makes them just as guilty as Huck, IMO. If I were Huck's ex, there's no way I would want him anywhere near me or our child ever again. 

 

  As for James, I don't consider him much of a loss. If anyone's an "asswipe," I believe it's Cyrus, not David. If Cyrus really loved James, he wouldn't have called him "stupid," pimped him out to Sally's husband to get dirt on Sally nor at one point, IIRC, even tried to have him killed. If Cyrus didn't care about James, then neither do I.

 

 

I consider James a loss because just like David he actually had some ethics and morals. This show needs a few people on it who aren't sociopaths. That's why I want them to kill off Huck and bring back Marcus the community organizer to OPA. That's why I want them to bring back Alyssa as David's assistant. This show needs some good guy. They don't have to be perfect but they ought to exist.

 

  I somewhat agree. James did have morals until he threw David under the bus when he refused to testify against Cyrus re his role in Defiance-gate, setting the stage for David's downfall, after which I lost what little use I had for him. However, ITA that the show definitely needs all the good guys it can get. Case in point: Marcus. Had he been working at OPA, I don't believe for a second that Marcus would have let Olivia nor Quinn even consider covering up Kinky Sue's murder, much less do it. Olivia needs to have at least one other one person in her life besides David who doesn't think that the world revolves around her and will call her on her shit every chance they get.

Edited March 21, 2015 by DollEyes

[marceline]

Yeah, David's not the innocent he was in season 1 but he's pretty much the only one on the show who still has any moral compass at all. Look at how he was when all the men were debating paying Sue. He's the one who said it was extortion. David's the only one who's capable of looking past his own selfish needs ever. 

 

 

As for James, I don't consider him much of a loss. If anyone's an "asswipe," I believe it's Cyrus, not David. If Cyrus really loved James, he wouldn't have called him "stupid," pimped him out to the VP's husband to get dirt on the VP nor at one point, IIRC, even tried to have him killed. If Cyrus didn't care about James, then neither do I.

 

I consider James a loss because just like David he actually had some ethics and morals. This show needs a few people on it who aren't sociopaths.That's why I want them to kill off Huck and bring on Marcus the community organizer to OPA. Then I want them to bring back Alyssa as David's assistant. This show needs some good guys. They don't have to be perfect but they ought to exist.

Edited March 23, 2015 by marceline

[mwell345]

 

Define serious media. I remember the so-called serious media going on and on about Hilary's pantsuits and telling one of Bill Cosby's rape victims that she should have bitten his penis. Abby was right. Especially when it comes to beltway reporting.

 

I remember some discussion of Hilary's pantsuits back in the day, but the other stuff, I never heard.  The coverage I have seen of the Bill Cosby story has been serious and rightfully so. 

[AbFabGab]

That made no sense either. Powerful wealthy men who want to stray will stray, but they will do it discreetly. Remember the ep with the madam? That was more realistic. Sue's face was just up on that site for all to see, there's no screening process, they weren't paying her - there was literally nothing stopping her from publishing a tell-all or posting on Twitter that she'd fucked a Supreme Court Justice.

Let's just say I'm writing this on behalf of a friend. Powerful wealthy men who want things they're too afraid of asking their wives for are rarely as good at covering their tracks as they think they are, and are usually so enamored of themselves that they aren't keeping aspects of their day jobs hidden away from play partners or mistresses. Particularly in DC where home can be another state or even country, even "smart" guys can be surprisingly open, maybe even to the point of stupidity or naivete.

 

As far as Dunham's appearance, the guys aren't exactly perfect 10s themselves, so flaunting power and/or wealth to get sex does happen - there's a reason DC is called Hollywood for unattractive people. Not to mention, a lot of men who have to maintain an appearance of control in their day to day lives love nothing more than to not be in control privately. Finding someone who likes indulging the weird stuff they could never discuss publicly would easily make a Sue just as desirable as your standard bombshell. This show is over the top and ridiculous in many ways, but the premise for this COTW is actually not that far off base.

Edited March 21, 2015 by AbFabGab

[DXD526]

My reaction? To yell, "SERIOUSLY?!" at the TV when she said it. Right, Shonda. Because a woman who fucks a married man and criminally rigs a national election to get her slam piece into higher office, is the heroine of us all.

 

But Sue didn't know about the election-rigging, or about Liv's banging of the POTUS. Sue just saw Olivia Pope, powerful, badass DC player, and admired her as such.

 

I was greatly enjoying this episode until Huck went off the rails on a crazy train, again. That kind of ruined it for me. And I hope I've seen someone else's blood all over Huck's face for the last time. Been there, done that, show. Like, a dozen times. Move on.

[lion10]

This episode was a return to classic Scandal which was a really good change of pace from all of the B6-13 plot.  Hated that Huck killed Sue, that was uncalled for but I can understand why he did it.  He's seriously messed up and he just wants a family again and he's *this* close to getting it, at least in his mind.  So from his vantage point, if he needs to add one more person to the dozens he's already killed over the decade, why not?  Olivia looked fine in that leather dress.  LOL at Jake and Fitz both sitting and drinking while Olivia gets some.  

 

Strapping on my flame retardant suit, I didn't like Abby's speech to Leo and I'm starting to get a little annoyed at Shonda Rhimes' blatantly using her shows as a mouthpiece for her own views.  We get it, women have it harder than men in America.  The type of person who likes and watches Scandal is more than likely aware of that fact.  I wish she would stop delving into that issue and go for a more House of Cards vibe when it comes to politics.  That no matter whether you're black, white, man, woman, straight or gay, you're after power.  HoC acknowledges that its black and female characters face disadvantages that straight white guys don't face but unlike Scandal, it doesn't feel the need to constantly remind us of this fact.  

 

So Olivia's not back but she is "back".  I can't see what the future holds for Olivia.  On the one hand, she's already had an internal fantasy where she's thought about moving to Vermont and she's shot it down.  Olivia wouldn't be happy making jam when she used to be the biggest Washington fixer.  But then she does seem to have a disgust with Washington D.C. which manifested in the best quote for this episode:  "This town.  It's heart.".  So where does she go from here?  Especially since it seems she naturally gravitated to the fixer job since she spent most of her maturing years out from under Rowan's thumb.

 

I wonder what Shonda's thoughts are about the gender relations between black women and men?

[Turtle]

Weirdly, what bothered me most about this episode (and most of the recent ones) is all the speechifying. I don't remeber it happening it every single episode in the first season, I don't remember several characters doing it, and I don't remember the speeches going on for so long. Liv's speeches, to me, used to make sense and be things that needed to be said, mostly. Now they all just seem like sanctimonious rambling, like the writers feel like they have to shove them all the time, regardless of content or timing. Even more than whisper-screaming murderous Huck, that's what is driving me insane.

[WhineandCheez]

Don't say I didn't warn you that you'll never unsee it, but look up Atlanta Dustbuster. Might be more like that.

 

Yep, thats it.  Especially since LD is a somewhat "larger" woman.  Yuch.

Who is paying those 2 to sit around Livs office all day in work clothes with no cases?  Why do they even go in.  This has been for months now.  What this show needs to do, and do it quickly, is get 2 new interesting White Hats and start taking cases again.

 

I see Cyrus's side piece has shown up again.  Let the games begin..

[Haleth]

I was enjoying the episode up until Huck killed Sue.  It had that light, crazypants situation COTW that was typical in season 1.  Of course it would turn out that the men weren't the true victims and that the gladiators would end up helping Sue.  Wasn't that usually the case?  It was not what it appeared to be on the surface?  If only it had ended with Olivia turning the tables on the creepy boss.  The end.  Everyone is happy.  I agree that Huck has gotten way too dark (and Diaz's performance is so over the top now).  Having Sue die violently was just for shock value; it added nothing to the story.  In fact it appears that it pissed off a good portion of the audience.  Too far, Shonda.

 

Next week looks fun.  Unless Huck kills Michael before the wedding.  (Is that the right name?  Cyrus's "fiance?")

[mwell345]

 

I've disliked Guillermo Diaz's "acting" since S1, and I've loathed Huck since the Quinn torture. I was so sick of him even before he cut Sue's throat in this episode. He needs to die by season's end. I'll give the show that long, but if that bug-eyed creepazoid is still here next season, I don't think I'm coming back. Not even for Mellie. Besides, he would probably carve her up at some point too.

If he doesn't die by season's end, my only other hope is that once he testifies, he and his family are forced into witness protection and we never have to see him again.  Oh, and he can take his lap dog Quinn with him.  Would not miss either of them.

[TVHappy9463]

Columbus Short was back. That totally caught me off guard. It would be cool if he came back as this new character and not one single person mentioned how he looks like Harrison. The rest of the show was BS. Even Abby's speech was too much.

Edited March 23, 2015 by TVHappy9463

[DXD526]

I've warmed up to Quinn. The only thing I don't like about her right now is that she's enabling the clearly deranged Huck. I do hope he's gone by the end of the season, and if Quinn gets the honor of kicking him out/bumping him off, all the better. And hopefully she'll yank a couple of his teeth before she does so. 

[pennben]

 

Columbus Short was back.

 

Columbus Short wasn't in this episode.  If you are talking about the guy Olivia hooked up with from the bar, the credits say that it was Brian White.

[WatchrTina]

Huck is officially "Ole Yeller".  We love him but he needs to be put down.

[Sidney]

Huck is officially "Ole Yeller".  We love him but he needs to be put down.

 

LOL.

[tennisgurl]

Look at the flowers, Huck. Look at the flowers...

[slayer2]

Man, I was pissed that Sue's sex antics had to be related to a rape incident. Why can't she just enjoy freaky sex? Why did they have to go with this cliche? Dammit!

She enjoyed kinky sex long before that douchebag tried to rape her. I didn't mind the incident only because I thought it was relevant to what often happens to women who are sexually empowered. So many men seem to believe that a woman who enjoys sex is a signal of consent across the board. It's disgusting and fucked up and I'm glad for the character of Sue addressing all these things.

I do however think they erased all the goodwill they showed throughout the episode when they sliced her throat. I thought that they had made a pretty clear argument when Liv won her case that she was being wrongfully punished for her sexuality and the murder of her by a savge like Huck (or anyone really) at the end of the episode only served to treat her like an object which I was truly disappointed in. It also destroyed any goodwill towards Liv and her empowerment coming back into the real world on the right side of things.

I agree with everyone who says they have written Huck into a corner. After an incident like that he is dead to me and no animal such as he should be anywhere near a child, I don't give a damn what B613 did to him. If he had any emotions left instead of whining for immunity he should have demanded psychotherapy, and if he truly loved his kid that would have been the first thing on his mind.

Edited March 23, 2015 by slayer2

[jumper sage]

Lena Dunham, to me, has no range as an actress.  She could have played this different, but no, we get the Girls character.  With that being said, I liked the storyline and am a bit confused by some opinions that she is not good looking enough to pull it off.  Sex, popularity etc is not about looks it's about confidence.

 

I don't know where they are going with Huck either.  Is he to kill his own wife?  I do like the idea of witness protection.  I have already stopped watching all the other shows Shonda has and this may be next.

 

I am really enjoying Portia de Rossi.

[lion10]

Lena Dunham, to me, has no range as an actress.  She could have played this different, but no, we get the Girls character.  With that being said, I liked the storyline and am a bit confused by some opinions that she is not good looking enough to pull it off.  Sex, popularity etc is not about looks it's about confidence.

 

I don't know where they are going with Huck either.  Is he to kill his own wife?  I do like the idea of witness protection.  I have already stopped watching all the other shows Shonda has and this may be next.

 

Meh, as a guy I can't picture many men wanting to have sex to her when they could hire a really expensive hooker that's used to being discrete but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.  You should check out How to Get Away with Murder.  Everyone's a pretty despicable person but it's really well written and acted!

[swtrgrl]

Connecting the two thoughts, what I'm trying to say is what is sexy in women is not portrayed at all in our media culture. Men don't like to fuck skeletons. The filter of the camera skews everything. So I don't for one moment doubt that these powerful men could find what Sue was offering delicious and compelling.

Speaking from experience, yes. That. It takes all kinds.

Re: RBG

I think that (as someone else also mentioned) we're privy to all the opposite of awesome woman crap Olivia does but others aren't. So, I'll give her a pass on that comparison.

I love you, Abby. I love you times a million for your speech. It is so beyond true that because she's a woman (in a position of power, no less) that she would get the brunt of Leo's "scandal." He'd get past it and thrive. She'd be a laughing stock by association and likely not recover...all because of something someone else did, not anything she herself did. It's disgusting but it's true.

I am very excited to see Mellie in action. I am one of those who didn't actually need the rape back story as an excuse to make her relatable /likeable /justified in her actions. I've rooted for her from day 1. Day One.

[Eolivet]

All right, we have a Bachelor #3 (for now!!!)

 

What an interesting episode, from a "looking at the whole series" perspective. It struck me that when the show was entirely focused on OPA and a case of the week, the writer was saying there was literally nothing for Fitz and Jake to do but sit around and talk. And when Liv took Bachelor #3 home, it made me wish more than anything that one of the two others would just be be cut off as a romantic prospect. Like...in a relationship ended, move on for good way. If the show has no idea what to do with its two male leads than have them sit and talk when women (and Huck, I guess) are getting stuff done, one of them has to go. If not off the show, then romantically. When Liv says (for a night) "I choose none of the above," and the response is nearly universal cheering, you are doing love triangles wrong.

 

I have no spoilers, but I'm hopefully sensing one of those great Shonda Rhimes "cleaning house" finales, like she had on Grey's Anatomy all those years. The show is way too crowded with OPA, B613 and the White House all taking up subplot space. If B613 is getting the (long overdue) boot, I hope we see at least see some reshuffling of character roles. Character exits may be too much to hope for, but I'll take "drastically different purpose" if I can't have character death.

 

The show did the right thing in moving Abby to the White House when her character got stagnant. More than a few of these people need a change of employment. Where's the (metaphorical) hospital gunman when you need him, Shonda? Time to trim the fat.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Eolivet

[DanaMB]

Huck has been annoying me for several episodes now, but after this latest, I'm done with him completely.  That was horrifying to me.

 

Lena Dunham? First time seeing her, not impressed with her acting.

 

 

If you're curious about BDSM, check out Anne Rice's Sleeping Beauty books written under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure or the movie Secretary with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

 

Or the Original Sinners series by Tiffany Reisz. Loved Secretary.

[Gracie615]

Huck kills Sue because she will talk eventually? Hey, Huck. What about 'Wifey'? She already went to David Rosen.

 

My predictions -- Jake will have to kill Huck and wifey. So that will be the big surprise ending of this season. Adios, Diego Munoz.

[Fat Elvis 007]

Preach.

I too hope for a cast reshuffling. The writers clearly have nowhere to take Huck and Quinn, giving that they've done nothing this season but repeat the same disturbing patterns of behavior. Get some new blood for OPA. Jump ahead a few years and have Mellie as president with Fitz as first husband. If they must continue Olitz, at least give Olivia a more viable second choice than another abusive murderer. Kill Jake and Papa Pope and never speak of them or B6-13 again.

When Liv says (for a night) "I choose none of the above," and the response is nearly universal cheering, you are doing love triangles wrong.

Preach.

I too hope for a cast reshuffling. The writers clearly have nowhere to take Huck and Quinn, giving that they've done nothing this season but repeat the same disturbing patterns of behavior. Get some new blood for OPA. Jump ahead a few years and have Amelie as president with Fitz as first husband. If they must continue Olitz, at least give Olivia a more viable second choice than another abusive murderer. Kill Jake and Papa Pope and never speak of them or B6-13 again.

Edited April 3, 2015 by Fat Elvis 007

[misstwpherecool]

On 3/19/2015 at 8:30 PM, Chicago Redshirt said:

 

He must have a clue. Rosen had the B613 files and tabbed them. So he must have come across files about Huck's handiwork. He's also well aware of what Jake did for B613 and just being around Huck as much as he had, he must have some inkling at a minimum that Huck has killed dozens, hundreds....

 

But then, what was up with the "I feel guilty about Kinky Sue. Do you, Huck who I know is a sociopath at best, ever have guilt?"

 

 

Huck now cannot be redeemed as a character. Most of the people he killed or wounded or tortured had it coming to some extent or another. To the best of my recollection, this is the first time he's killed someone who was innocent. 

I'm new to Scandal, skipped over while channel surfing on first runs. Started watching it lately on reruns. Political year I guess. Just saw this epi and confirms what I saw channel surfing out of context before, another show trying to rationalize a psychopathic killer by giving them a family. Also just caught an epi where another assassin lectured the guy on you shouldn't be liking killing, treat it as business. This was ends justify the means even before  Huck killed the girl.

Another show like The Shield where they salvage the character with a bizzaro world immunity deal?

Even though a tv show and appalling this was creepily close to some recent real life news where the DNC staffer was found murdered in Washington DC, not robbed including a shot in the back. One must wonder.