S05.E09: Baby, It's Cold Outside

[thewhiteowl]

Olivia is feeling more and more frustrated as she takes on “First Lady” type responsibilities at the White House. Meanwhile, Mellie proves just how powerful she can be and Jake and Huck continue the hunt for Rowan.

 

 

[whatsatool]

What was that scene on the hospital bed?

Edited November 20, 2015 by whatsatool

[Spartan Girl]

Mellie rules.

Revenge really is a dish best served frigid. Mellie made history, took a stand for women's rights, and got to spend a nice Christmas with her kids....and Fitz got dumped.

Only thing that could have made it better was Olivia dropping the bombshell about her having an abortion. Merry Christmas, asshole!

[Shermie]

Everyone on this show is a terrible person.

Except for the veep.

[Mifltn47]

Hospital bed scene, she was having a abortion.

[WhosThatGirl]

This was the best early Christmas gift ever! GOD, THIS EPISODE RULED! Seriously.

[ShellsandCheese]

Tony Goldwin does angry really well. I jumped when he yelled at Liv. Also, I knew she was going to have an abortion as soon as they showed her in what looked like a clinic dressing room right after Mellie's speech at the end of her filibuster.

[bmoore4026]

Wow.  Liv went into Super Bitch mode, didn't she?  I'd call her the "C" word, but I might get in trouble.  What did you expect, Olivia?  To live like a Disney Princess?  This is Shondaland, not Storybrooke.

 

Also, in Shondaland, the news is more concerned about a woman's pee pee than what she's saying.  Thank you, show, for the scatological shit.

 

Well, Lazarus One got wrapped up real quick, didn't it?  Who was Lazarus One, again?  Was it Harrison 2.0 or Olivia's Black Boyfriend?  Harrison 2.0 showed up at the end, so it couldn't be him.

 

Huck ripping into Rowan felt good and bad at the same time, but I don't  know why.  Huck still let him go at the end, so he's still the worse character.

 

Oh, Susan.  Poor, dear, sweet, naïve Susan.  Elizabeth is going to rip off David's face now.

 

I thought Scrooge Quinn would be spending Christmas with Comrade Vodka, so I don't know who the guy was that showed up at the end.  Who was he?

 

What else happened this episode?

Edited November 20, 2015 by bmoore4026

[nilyank]

I wished that Liv would have told Fitz that she aborted his baby. Maybe then, I could believe they were truly over forever.

 

I love Mellie and that she got the victory, but I really want Susan to become president.

[LeeLeePanda]

I'm still processing, but I think I loved this episode! Mellies stand for Planned Parenthood was a thing of beauty! The end (for now) of Olitz. The abortion scene. Has there been a protagonist on network tv to get an abortion other than Maude back in the 1970s? That was a bold choice, and I say kudos to Shonda for taking it. There will probably be think pieces about it tomorrow morning.

[buttersister]

Shonda! Well freakin' done, Shonda. I have been waiting for Liv to dump Fitz, so bless you for that. For now, at least---who knows what happens when she's back out on her own (fingers crossed, nothing). Every story line was a little holiday present. The only moment that had me worried was when Fitz was saying that all Olivia needed was more time and I flashed back to The Godfather when Kay's response to Michael telling her that was to tell him about her abortion. (Again, thank you, Shonda for not going there.)

 

#IstandwithMellie

#Browncouchesdon'tshowredwinespills

#Hopejakeandrowansurvivethenight

[Free]

This is Shondaland, not Storybrooke.

 

Even Storybrooke can get messed up, well not as much as Scandal...

[Guest]

I hated the episode. Was the goal to try to make Mellie more likable by having her take a stand on a real political hot button?  I thought it seemed like a cheap ploy for the show.  Same with Olivia's abortion.  Fitz didn't know about it. No one knew about it. I think it was mainly to get us talking.  Based on twitter, it seemed to work.  

 

Also, Lizzy's dress showed an awful lot of unscarred back.

[rlc]

Wait, did Papa Pope imply that Huck is a cannibal?

[marceline]

Is it really over? Is the dysfunction known as Olitz finally over? They have to be. There's no way they come back from an abortion with "Silent Night" playing over the scene. (Damn Shonda! You wrong? LOL!) I mean, I loathe them as a couple now but I loved them once. That abortion broke my heart. But Shonda blew them up good. She put out there all the things lots of us have been saying for years.

 

I know some people might say that it was heavy handed to have Mellie filibustering on behalf of Planned Parenthood might be heavy handed but I think it drove home that you never know when you might need their services.

 

I loved how Mellie became the fixer and Liv became the ornament. Watching Liv dive for that hooch was fabulous.  

 

I didn't pay any attention to the B613 stuff.

 

I've got to call bullshit on two things: 1.) the idea that Liv doesn't have Secret Service detail. Didn't we actually hear Fitz say he was going to get it for her in the last episode because he wanted to keep her "safe?" She would've needed to ditch that detail in order to get to the clinic and 2.) Liz walking around in an evening gown with her back all out. You don't heal up from what Huck did to her with flawless skin. 

Edited November 20, 2015 by marceline

[little black cloud]

Was I mistaken? Near the end I thought Olivia got a call and told...whomever...to come on up. But then no one came on up. ...Was I imagining that, or did I miss something?

[Dr Epi]

My jaw dropped with the abortion scene.  Good for Shonda.

 

Loved

 

That Quinn got some loving from Charlie;

 

That Huck told off Rowan (what white boy do you prefer inside your daughter?);

 

That Mellie made a stand and got kudos for it;

 

That Fitz is alone, due to him trying to break down strong women;

 

That Abby looked great in that dress in her final scene; and 

 

That Olivia has a new sofa and is back to popcorn and wine.

 

Hope that this means that OPA will regroup in February, and we can get back to COTW.

 

Happy Holidays everyone!

[Jodie Landon]

Was I mistaken? Near the end I thought Olivia got a call and told...whomever...to come on up. But then no one came on up. ...Was I imagining that, or did I miss something?

It was the delivery guy bringing up her new couch.

[little black cloud]

It was the delivery guy bringing up her new couch.

OhhhHHHHHhhhh! Thanks.

[Chaos Theory]

If this is really the end of Olivia and Fitz then I really liked the "Didn't we almost have it all?" conversation.

I like Quinn and think she has gotten short changed this season. They have hinted at the fact that outside of OPA she has nothing. It's not like she can go home again or even really get a job with the specter of the Molitov Mistress surrounding her. The show needs to deal with that a bit. Although I do like the Charlie and Quinn pairing.

Mellie's filibuster was fun. I like how she didn't shake the woman who wouldn't support her hand.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Anela]

 

 

I thought Scrooge Quinn would be spending Christmas with Comrade Vodka, so I don't know who the guy was that showed up at the end.  Who was he?

 

Her psychopath ex-boyfriend. At least, I thought he was her ex.

 

I'm still processing, but I think I loved this episode! Mellies stand for Planned Parenthood was a thing of beauty! The end (for now) of Olitz. The abortion scene. Has there been a protagonist on network tv to get an abortion other than Maude back in the 1970s? That was a bold choice, and I say kudos to Shonda for taking it. There will probably be think pieces about it tomorrow morning.

A main character in Grey's Anatomy, several years ago. A married woman who didn't want to be a mother.

[Happytobehere]

This so needs to be the last season of Scandal. Fitz is left alone. Jake sees the truth about Liv. Huck accepts he can never be with his family and he appears to have recaged his monster. Quinn gets Charlie. David shows he is just as scummy as the rest of them. Mellie gets an existence based on a BS pro Planned Parenthood proper from her retconning creator Shonda. The Veep is coming to her own. She is truly the only worthwhile person on the show.

[Vallegal24]

I just don't know what to make of tonight's episode... an abortion, really? Don't get me wrong I'm pro choice, so it's not that but rather the cold, disconnected way she went about it disgusted me. For the last 4 years we've been told that this couple couldn't breathe without each other, and in a single episode the writers have managed to turn their relatinship on its side, with both irrevocable words and actions. For me the episode was sloppy and boring. Outside of Mellie and the Veep, I wasn't feeling it. The level of the blowout between Liv and Fitz felt rushed, and unwarranted - I mean how long had she been there, a week? Two weeks at max? We've been fed this epic love story shit for years now, all for it to unravel after the first fight. So predictable, and there I thought Scandal was on the something this season; Boy was I mistaken.

[Artsda]

Liv kind of disgusted me, she gets an abortion and acts for the rest of the episode like she's being held hostage? She's free to come and go, she was running policy and ordering Fitz to do things her way just an episode ago. Her sudden turn that occurred just because she moved in seemed ridiculous.

 

So Jake and Rowan are BFF's now? Jake went into the house with him?

 

Loved seeing Charlie at the door with a tree and reindeer ears. That was my favorite scene.

 

The fillerbuster was pretty good, but felt like Shonda was stealing from West Wing. 

Edited November 20, 2015 by Artsda

[DB in CMH]

Her psychopath ex-boyfriend. At least, I thought he was her ex.

A main character in Grey's Anatomy, several years ago. A married woman who didn't want to be a mother.

Also the Molly Price character on third Watch in 2000. Really powerful episode that was.

[Bama]

 

I've got to call bullshit on two things: 1.) the idea that Liv doesn't have Secret Service detail. Didn't we actually hear Fitz say he was going to get it for her in the last episode because he wanted to keep her "safe?" She would've needed to ditch that detail in order to get to the clinic

There were two Secret Service guys in the clinic waiting room.

 

 

I liked the episode but I have to agree that the abortion and the things Olivia and Fitz said to/about each other in that fight felt rushed and unearned.

 

And you know that is not the end of Olitz.  Shonda can't help herself.  They'll be doing it doggy style in a broom closet in the season finale.

Edited November 20, 2015 by Bama

[ThomasAAnderson]

 

The fillerbuster was pretty good, but felt like Shonda was stealing from West Wing.

I wish she would hire someone from WW to write the political stuff and maybe some of the B613 stuff. WW did a good job of creating tense scenes in the Sit Room.

 

I still don't know what I just watched. It's as though Shonda read the complaints here and had Liv spew them all. Mellie as "Ms. Smith in Washington"--that show, as well as the "wronged wife of a politician" show are on another network. I hate retcon Mellie. Bring back the smart, ruthless woman who got pregnant to save the presidency. Remember the gal that told Olivia she hadn't done her job as the mistress? I liked her and I want her back.

 

Liv and Fitz didn't really try to make it work. I didn't see any indication they were trying to build a life. 

 

Shonda did write the hell out this ep I'm just not sure I liked it.

Edited November 20, 2015 by ThomasAAnderson

[LekoBoy]

That Olivia has a new sofa and is back to popcorn and wine.

Proof positive that the writers read this board.  Hell, why don't they just let us write it? Happytobehere has already provided a pretty good handle on the end.

[bmoore4026]

marceline, on 19 Nov 2015 - 9:30 PM, said:

Is it really over? Is the dysfunction known as Olitz finally over? They have to be. There's no way they come back from an abortion with "Silent Night" playing over the scene. (Damn Shonda! You wrong? LOL!) I mean, I loathe them as a couple now but I loved them once. That abortion broke my heart. But Shonda blew them up good. She put out there all the things lots of us have been saying for years. 

 

Only way that scene would have even better is if Olivia sang the theme song to Cabaret.  For anyone who has seen Cabaret in either movie or theater form might get what I mean.

[SimoneS]

Eh, Olivia and Fitz are not close to being over. They are only broken up so they will make their way back to each other. That whole confrontation felt so manufactured and fake that I had to roll my eyes. I think that she took ever critique of Olivia and Fitz that the people don't like them as a couple go on about and threw them in. Half of it didn't even make any sense, but I guess she needed something to break them up. 

 

The only thing more ridiculous than Fitz and Olivia's break up was all the scenes with Rowan. He and Jake will never die. They are the worse most useless characters. Shonda has to bend over backwards to find something for them do, but out of loyalty she continues to waste airtime on them when it should be given to Cornelius Smith (Marcus) who is a talented actor.

 

I didn't care about Olivia having an abortion because I felt that it was in character and I think no child deserves either of them as parents.

 

I was surprised to see the Grant children with Mellie. I thought Shonda had forgotten about them. Another reincarnation of Mellie as a devoted mother whatever.

 

The politics on this show is so ridiculous. I don't know why Shonda didn't just make Fitz a Democrat. He is the most unbelievable Republican president, same with Mellie. Watching her defend Planned Parenthood was so preposterous that I changed the channel.

Edited November 20, 2015 by SimoneS

[mwell345]

Fitz and Olivia deserve each other. "We tried" - Really?  For what 2 weeks, a month?

 

They're both morons.

 

Yay Mellie - Girl Power!!!!!

 

I zoned out whenever Huck and Daddy were on, and I don't even get where they were going with Lazarus and decided I didn't care.

 

I did love the Ave Maria at the end - it's one of my favorite pieces when done well, and it was done well - does anyone know who was singing it?

[Mama No Life]

I didn't watch it! I knew i was going to hate it and I didn't watch it!
 

FREE AT LAST!!!

[Empress1]

Also the Molly Price character on third Watch in 2000. Really powerful episode that was.

And Becky (a teenager) on Friday Night Lights, although they didn't show it. She did say she had one, and it was clear from the aftermath that she'd had one. And I don't watch Grey's, but didn't Sandra Oh's character have one?

I always wonder how Michelle Obama feels watching this, because it makes being FLOTUS look boring as hell. I read something where Obama said he'd love to see Michelle make a ton of money after he's out of office (and I think he'll step back and encourage her to do whatever she likes).

I am a staunch Planned Parenthood supporter. I've been uninsured and broke and the only way I could get care was through them. I ALWAYS stand with Planned Parenthood, so I was like "DO IT MELLIE" during those scenes.

David Rosen was tacky as hell for regifting that bracelet.

What was Marcus working on at OPA? They have no clients.

I think Huck's monologue to Eli was his best work. I like him less crazy.

[End Table]

What I don't get is that they just gave up so easily and didn't even think of what the public would think. Fitz divorces his wife, moves is GF in and then she leaves. I was super happy that Mellie's warning became true and that Liv did start searching for the Moonshine. 

 

I'm so team Mellie! Poppa Pope bores me now and how does Liv's business survive when she is playing White House? 

[TheOtherOne]

Yeah, Mellie being a good mother, despite not wanting kids in the first place, isn't new or a reincarnation. As far back as Season Two, she was depicted as being close with the kids, like when they didn't want to visit the White House because Fitz was being an asshole and Mellie delivered her epic "I'm still their mom" and "You're pouting because your precious Olivia doesn't have the secret of the world between her magical thighs" takedown of Fitz in the Oval Office.

[Guest]

Yeah, Mellie being a good mother, despite not wanting kids in the first place, isn't new or a reincarnation. As far back as Season Two, she was depicted as being close with the kids, like when they didn't want to visit the White House because Fitz was being an asshole and Mellie delivered her epic "I'm still their mom" and "You're pouting because your precious Olivia doesn't have the secret of the world between her magical thighs" takedown of Fitz in the Oval Office.

 

I wouldn't say it is new but I would say it is highly inconsistent.  She's the one who knows the kids well for one episode. Then a few episodes later she talks about how she was never close to Jerry.  Then the nanny takes more care of Teddy than she does and she doesn't like holding him. Then suddenly she wants full custody.  I think they use her relationship with the kids to be whatever suits the plot for that episode. And last night, it was to contrast her having the kids and Fitz being alone.

 

They were initially so worried about the public accepting Liv that now it's just going to be a highly public breakup. That's why they never should have gone public so soon. Morons. The whole lot of them.

[mwell345]

 

Liv kind of disgusted me, she gets an abortion and acts for the rest of the episode like she's being held hostage? She's free to come and go, she was running policy and ordering Fitz to do things her way just an episode ago. Her sudden turn that occurred just because she moved in seemed ridiculous.

 

The whole premise made no sense.  First of all, she's immediately accepted by the press and public and we have Saint Olivia with cookies on the cover of magazines, and being asked for recipes by dinner guests. 

 

So.....exactly why does she get an abortion?  She doesn't want to bring another Fitz into the world?  Or she doesn't want to be tied to the role of First Lady because she's bored?   We've been hearing for years about Jam in Vermont.   How exciting would that have been?

 

First Ladies can write their own roles.   It's not the 1950s anymore - and yes, while a First Lady has certain social obligations, it certainly is not all that is expected of her.  Hillary Clinton certainly didn't stand in the shadows, and neither does Michelle Obama.   Even in the 1960s, Jackie Kennedy came and went as she pleased. 

 

And in Scandal Land we just had Olivia parading around the Oval barking out orders and helping people defect.

 

Oh, and if I hear the word "gladiator" one more time I think I am going to scream. 

[Guest]

I felt like the abortion scene was written purely for shock value.  It hurt the storyline because you didn't see anything to lead you to believe that she was pregnant, deciding on abortion, weighing telling Fitz or anything.  You just see her getting an abortion.  

[reggiejax]

First Ladies can write their own roles.   It's not the 1950s anymore - and yes, while a First Lady has certain social obligations, it certainly is not all that is expected of her.  Hillary Clinton certainly didn't stand in the shadows, and neither does Michelle Obama.   Even in the 1960s, Jackie Kennedy came and went as she pleased.

 

 

The role of First Lady is what one makes of it. Indeed, it is not the 1950's anymore, Not that it stopped Eleanor Roosevelt. who redefined the role in the 30's and 40's. I dare say, if Liv was bored, then it was because she is boring. 

 

The only moment that had me worried was when Fitz was saying that all Olivia needed was more time and I flashed back to The Godfather when Kay's response to Michael telling her that was to tell him about her abortion. (Again, thank you, Shonda for not going there.)

 

 

I seriously kept waiting for Liv to say the following:

 

"Oh, Fitz, Fitz, you are blind. It wasn't a miscarriage. It was an abortion. An abortion, Fitz. Just like our relationship is an abortion. Something that's unholy and evil. I didn't want your son, Fitz! I wouldn't bring another one of your sons into this world! It was an abortion, Fitz! It was a son Fitz! A son! And I had it killed because this must all end!

 

I know now that it's over. I knew it then. There would be no way, Fitz... no way you could ever forgive me, not with this Grant family thing that's been going on for 2000 years."

 

Thankfully, the writers resisted that urge.

 

Watching her defend Planned Parenthood was so preposterous that I changed the channel.

 

I agree that it is preposterous, especially since I have been led to believe that Mellie is in fact the more conservative of the Grant's. At least that is how I saw it.

 

But I admit, I did not change the channel, I actually enjoyed Mellie's filibuster, and not just because I agree with her politically. It is about time they showed us Mellie actually flexing some of that power, ambition and all around greatness we have been told over and over again that she possesses. Usually "powerful Mellie" only appears when she is threatening to take down Denver Carrington, I mean the Grant administration. And she has been a spectacular failure at that, until now. So for once (and maybe for good) I am Team Mellie.

Edited November 20, 2015 by reggiejax

[ChuckWagon]

 

I think Huck's monologue to Eli was his best work. I like him less crazy.

 

I was really thinking there for a while that Huck was going back down the rabbit hole...then heard that moment of lucidity in his voice and knew we weren't going to see it and PapaPope was safe.

 

I like him less crazy also, but do enjoy me some WTHuckery sometimes!

Edited November 20, 2015 by ChuckWagon

[atiyah9369]

Fitz and Olivia deserve each other. "We tried" - Really?  For what 2 weeks, a month?

 

They're both morons.

 

Yay Mellie - Girl Power!!!!!

 

I zoned out whenever Huck and Daddy were on, and I don't even get where they were going with Lazarus and decided I didn't care.

 

I did love the Ave Maria at the end - it's one of my favorite pieces when done well, and it was done well - does anyone know who was singing it?

Steve Wonder

[thewhiteowl]

This show only faintly resembles real world politics so please leave those issues out in the real world. Thanks!

[mwell345]

 

Steve Wonder

 

Of course! Perfection!  Thank you!

[FlowerofCarnage]

I am glad Olivia never told Fitz of the pregnancy or that she wanted to terminate it. I don't want to see Fitz grovel, beg, plead and try to guilt Liv into keeping a child she doesn't want or go to some extreme measure to force her to keep the baby (this is Scandal and crazier things have happened.

It's obvious Olivia and Fitz aren't done are still love with each other; they're just not on the same page right now.

No way Jake didn't kill Eli once they were inside the house.

Edited November 20, 2015 by FlowerofCarnage

[St. Claire]

No way Jake didn't kill Eli once they we inside the house.

 

That might redeem the show (and Jake's character) for me.

[scruffy73]

Loved this episode.

Loved everything about Mellie and I usually hate Mellie. Loved her short convo with Liv in the ladies' room where Liv encouraged her to keep going. Loved her fight for Planned Parenthood. Loved how the VPcame I and saved Mellie and allowed her to go to the restroom.

I shouldn't say that I loved Liv having an abortion but I thought it was bold of Shonda to go there and it fit with Liv's character, especially in the situation she felt she was in. I'm glad she didn't tell Fitz. No need to make it that messy. Normally I would not agree with that decision but for show purposes I did.

Loved the breakup. Hope Fitz now understands what Mellie was trying to tell him now that Olivia has said it. He trusts her more than Mellie. Well, he did. Loved the whole honest argument they had. Didn't we almost have it all, indeed.

I could go on but I will just say that I'm very pleased with Scandal this season and last night really sealed the deal for me.

[Orwell1984]

I think the problem that Olivia had with the role of first lady was that Fitz wanted to keep in her in the 1950's version.  It was shown when Abby suggested the get Olivia's help with passing the budget and he mentioned that she was "busy".  Either for selfish reasons or as a punishment, Fitz didn't want her to have an expanded role. 

[KaveDweller]

They were initially so worried about the public accepting Liv that now it's just going to be a highly public breakup. That's why they never should have gone public so soon. Morons. The whole lot of them.

 

And it's all Olivia's fault, because she was the one who said yes to the press about being his mistress.  If she'd had just kept denying it Fitz and Mellie would still be married and she could still be sleeping with him on the side. And apparently that's all she really wanted?

 

I don't know how much time was supposed to have passed since the last episode. They seemed to be showing that Olivia hated doing the first lady thing despite being good at it, and she seemed to have been forced into it since moving into the white house.

[Primetimer]

Mellie and Liv stand up for a woman's right to choose, in ways both personal and political.

Read the story

[DollEyes]

My verdict: this is the first episode this season that I actually loved!  Mellie & Liv did role reversals: while Mellie got shit done & made history in the process, Liv was stuck in the Hell of her own making, smiling vapidly on magazine covers and extolling the virtues of Snickerdoodles. Especially annoying was Liv's wallowing in self-pity.  Plenty of First Ladies have achieved in their own right and now Mellie's one of them; Liv, otoh, will primarily be known as Fitz's sidepiece for the rest of her life.

 

  Olitz's breakup was the best gift of all. It was a long time coming and I loved every moment of it. Time was, Liv wouldn't have even kept her pregnancy from Fitz, let alone an abortion. What a difference a few seasons make. Fitz's admission that Liv only "loved" him when he was unavailable was the most honest thing about their relationship he's ever said. Olitz got what they thought they wanted and it backfired on them, as it should have.  

 

  David lost some big cool points with me by regifting Liz's bracelet to Susan. In that moment, David treated Susan like Liz treats him. If/when Susan learns the truth  about David's tackiness and puts him on blast for it, it would serve him right.

Edited November 23, 2015 by DollEyes