S05.E21: That's My Girl

[thewhiteowl]

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As each presidential candidate gets ready to announce their running mate, Olivia finds herself in a potentially dire situation. Meanwhile, Cyrus is presented with damaging information that could alter the presidential race entirely.

[nilyank]

So Eli got exactly what he wanted: Liv going for it all and the White House and Jake getting it there as well.

I knew David wasn't going to be the nominee. Wasn't Fitz asking for his resignation last week after the secret deal he made with the Florida governor to endorse Susan was found out?

[swimmyfish]

God, that was so boring.

[Empress1]

Just now, swimmyfish said:

God, that was so boring.

Verbatim, what I thought after it ended. Snoozer.

[Guest]

I hate Mellie so much. All her talk about earning it. Whatever. She ran on the Grant name with no experience. And why was the name so powerful? Oh yeah, because she conspired to steal an election along with Liv, Cyrus, Verna, and Hollis. Go ahead and try to make us forget that plot, Shonda. Keep trying.

At least Cyrus owns his treachery and doesn't try to play all white hat.

Poor Jake. I don't think I've ever felt so bad for a brainwashed serial killer. Poor Vanessa.

A choice between a ticket with a power-hungry, inexperienced, deceptive, election stealing nominee with her damaged, easily manipulated, murderous running mate and a quality guy who is being manipulated by his power-hungry, deceptive, election-stealing, murderous running mate. Oh America...

[reggiejax]

7 minutes ago, swimmyfish said:

God, that was so boring.

Don't forget pointless. 

Boring and pointless. This was the episodic equivalent of one of Rowan's speeches. 

I know the end was supposed to be a portrayal of Liv coming to some sort of revelation about who she is, and how her father shaped, molded and guided her to that point, but was all of that really needed when she is at the exact same place she was 8 years prior, running a Grant Presidential campaign? 

I feel that could have been achieved without all the loss of life that has been a tragic byproduct of all this Machiavellian scheming.  

Edited May 13, 2016 by reggiejax

[vibeology]

Wasn't something shocking supposed to happen? I'm not complaining that no one died or anything but more for something shocking to happen doesn't something have to happen. That was so boring. 

[Dr Epi]

Oh Cyrus Beene.   I love you more than you deserve. I especially love and lust after your husband Michael, and would happily parent your child Ella.

For that reason, maybe I should not be worried that you just managed to break the heart of, and dump unceremoniously, a trained killer. And then turned your back on him.

I may be getting Michael and Ella quicker than I thought.

[whatsatool]

15 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Wasn't something shocking supposed to happen? I'm not complaining that no one died or anything but more for something shocking to happen doesn't something have to happen. That was so boring. 

Vanessa's father murdered

[ParadoxLost]

21 minutes ago, reggiejax said:

I know the end was supposed to be a portrayal of Liv coming to some sort of revelation about who she is, and how her father shaped, molded and guided her to that point, but was all of that really needed when she is at the exact same place she was 8 years prior, running a Grant Presidential campaign? 

Wait, it was?  That interpretation never occurred to me.  I thought it was OMG (not) shocking twist.  Olivia's Father manipulated Olivia into doing all of this for his own purposes. 

[WhosThatGirl]

Well. That was a snoozefest.  Nothing happened, no one died. Except for Jake's father in law but really show, I can't really invest my time in that when I just met him and then Jake's poisoning his scotch. Sorry, writers. Try better next time and kill someone I actually know.  Like Cyrus husband, if they had killed him, I would have felt some emotion there because I kind of like him.

So, okay.. the show ends and comes full circle that Liv is just like Rowen? We kind of already knew this, though. I feel like the show has made this parallel many times over. 

Nothing happened. Last year's finale was so much better than this years and I was not even a fan of last years. I remember staring when Liv and Fitz reunited under the green screen white house lawn and laughing. That was better than this. This was so boring. 

[LeeLeePanda]

I liked it for the most part. I'm glad that no one got violently killed or maimed, Vanessa's dad being the exception. I love that Fitz finally showed some growth. I used to be a huge Olitz stan, but then Fitz became the worst and I couldn't cape for them anymore. I liked that he acknowledged how he didn't listen, and that he respected Olivia's choice. 

I was oddly touched by Tom being in love with Cyrus, though it came out of nowhere. I'm here for Grant/Ballard vs Vargas/Beene. I would have loved to see Mellie and Susan Ross run together, but I understand why she had to go with a man. Not a fan of Rowan's manipulating Olivia again, but it wasn't the worst way to end a season. After the debacle with Sleepy Hollow, which was the only other show I watch regularly, I'll take slightly boring but promising. 

[bobbyjoe]

There are so many things this show could be doing to become more interesting, and it doesn't do any of them.  For example:

1) what if everybody got together and said "Rowan is dangerous for all of us; let's come up with a good plot to kill him."  Dear showrunners, this is what's called "suspense."  I imagine there are basic storytelling guidebooks that talk about that concept. 

2)  People remembered, and acted on, well... anything.  I had the briefest moments of hope tonight that since the show suddenly remembered that Cyrus remembered that Jake killed James, that something might come out of it.   Like we think at the end that Cyrus is sending Tom to kill Michael, but, instead, Tom assassinates Jake.  And we all go "ohmigod, Cyrus did get revenge and screwed up Rowan's plan."  Hey, show:  that is what you call a surprise or a shock.  You might want to look into it.

3)  Kill somebody big.  Anybody.  Preferably Rowan or Jake, but, really, at this point, I'd accept just about any of the main cast, since that would at least give us the feeling that there are actual risks here.  James being the one exception, but, otherwise, nobody genuinely big ever dies (and no the former VP we hadn't seen in forever brought back solely so Olivia could kill him with a chair doesn't count).  Shakespeare doesn't keep Romeo and Juliet alive because he was writing the play and started thinking "you know what, I kind of like those kooky kids and I just can't bear to kill them, so, poof, they survive."  Storytelling 101: don't become so attached to your characters (or your actors) that you can no longer tell a good story.

This episode was a season finale and the big "surprise" was literally "hey, guess who these candidates will pick for their VP."  Good God.  No wonder the ratings for this show have dropped.

Edited May 13, 2016 by bobbyjoe

[WhosThatGirl]

Anyone on this show getting killed would have been a surprise. Not.. "VP candidates!" That is so boring. I was waiting and waiting and thinking when Rowan was watching the announcement he was going to keel over and die. Like Jake has poisoned him, like a callback to the first scene.That would have been AMAZING! 

[reggiejax]

4 hours ago, deaja said:

I hate Mellie so much. All her talk about earning it. Whatever. She ran on the Grant name with no experience. And why was the name so powerful? Oh yeah, because she conspired to steal an election along with Liv, Cyrus, Verna, and Hollis. 

I second this wholeheartedly. My eyes nearly rolled completely around inside my head while listening to the entitled one speak. Yeah, maybe she wasn't born to a life of privilege, but she sure took to it very quickly, didn't she? And all this talk about doing it on her own? Who the fuck does that bitch think she's kidding? There is a bus full of dead grand jurors who would disagree about how Mellie did it all by her lonesome. And frankly speaking, while I usually like it when Fitz is on the receiving end of such a rant, the fact remains that the only reason Mellie was ever in a position to become the party's nominee is because her husband (you remember him, the President of the United States) appointed that imbecile Susan Ross as VP specifically to open up a Senate seat that the untested, no record Mellie could win. 

Did it on her own my ass.

Edited May 13, 2016 by reggiejax

[ForeverAlone]

The writing for this show has descended into epically craptastic preposterousness, and I am not sure if I should laugh or scream in frustration. It is probably just better to laugh at what a mess this show is, and stop expecting it to actually make sense. Just sit back and eat my popcorn and wonder what the hell is going to come next. I mean, where to start? Cyrus Beene, a man who has never held elected office, but served most of a Republican president's eight years as his chief of staff, being selected to be a Democratic VP? This weird notion of Papa Pope being this all powerful, all knowing god? This idea that Jake is somehow Papa Pope's "son", and the only way to "rescue" him is to put him on the Republican VP ticket? Have they conveniently forgotten Jake is married (even if he just did kill his father in law at the top of the episode so Vanessa and he can inherit nearly a half a billion dollars) when this whole rescue plan seemed like a romantic ploy to reunite those two? It is all just so utterly bizarre and completely off the rails. I dearly hope nobody takes this show seriously anymore, because the writers certainly stopped doing that, and now they are just making up crap as they go along. 

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, reggiejax said:

I second this wholeheartedly. My eyes nearly rolled completely around inside my head while listening to the entitled one speak. Yeah, maybe she wasn't born to a life of privilege, but she sure took to it very quickly, didn't she? And all this talk about doing it on her own? Who the fuck does that bitch think she's kidding? There is a bus full of dead grand jurors who would disagree about how Mellie did it all by her lonesome. And frankly speaking, while I usually like it when Fitz is on the receiving end of such a rant, the fact remains that the only reason Mellie was ever in a position to become the party's nominee is because her husband (you remember him, the President of the United States) appointed that imbecile Susan Ross as VP specifically to open up a Senate seat that the untested, no record Mellie could win. 

Did it on her own my ass.

YES. I was coming here to say specifically this. And her "I am not a white man" thing REALLY set this black woman right here's teeth on edge, because, look, being a wealthy white woman (marrying wealth is still wealth) in this country is still pretty damn privileged, so she can miss me with her bootstraps bullshit. And what has she actually accomplished in office? She's been a senator for 20 minutes, and aside from the filibuster, what has she DONE? Nothing. She has earned nothing, including that speech. That was ridiculous.

Re: Cyrus being Frankie's running mate, is somebody going to mention that he switched parties? He makes more sense as a Democrat, but he's been a Republican the whole time.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Empress1
Removed an extra word

[txhorns79]

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This weird notion of Papa Pope being this all powerful, all knowing god?

At this point, the only reason I can think that Papa Pope's role on this show keeps growing and becoming more absurd is that Shonda really likes the actor.  Plot wise, he should have been gone two or so seasons ago.  It's funny, I saw the actor on Grace and Frankie a few days ago, and he was cute and charming in his role.  Here, he makes me want to turn off the television.   

[Empress1]

Joe Morton has been in the game for something like 40 years. He's very accomplished, and I think he's an excellent actor. I'm sure Shonda likes him; he's a good "get" and I THINK he has the only acting Emmy that Scandal has won. And I enjoy some of his pontificating (the "twice as good for half as much" speech, the "you. Are. A. Boy" speech to Fitz). But narratively, Rowan should have been dead a long time ago. And how hard would it be to kill him? Like, Huck (who needs something to do; he's basically just sitting around OPA, which I am not sure is even a viable business - how is Liv paying these people? Is Mellie paying them to work on her campaign?) could kill him. Liv could kill him. Jake poisoned his FIL's drink; why couldn't he poison Rowan's wine?

[kirinan]

I'm an aspiring writer. I look at this show and wonder why I bother trying to come up with plots that make sense, when clearly it's more lucrative to just throw every possible plot twist at the wall, use what sticks, and don't bother to worry about tying them together in a coherent manner. And (in my case) I haven't even had the consolation of Danny Pino to watch in the last couple of episodes. I'm going to light a candle and pray Alex doesn't come back next season, so I don't feel I have to watch this. Not even Abby, my favorite character, is worth sitting through this ridiculous crap anymore.

Edited May 13, 2016 by kirinan

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

YES. I was coming here to say specifically this. And her "I am not a white man" thing REALLY set this black woman right here's teeth on edge, because, look, being a wealthy white woman (marrying wealth is still wealth) in this country is still pretty damn privileged, so she can miss me with her bootstraps bullshit. And what has she actually accomplished in office? She's been a senator for 20 minutes, and aside from the filibuster, what has she DONE? Nothing. She has earned nothing, including that speech. That was ridiculous.

And I think Mellie's family was pretty wealthy in her own right. $100,000,000 trust fund?  I guess not, but she came from money.  Big Jerry and her father arranged the marriage and you know that there had to be money on both sides for that type of thing to occur.

Another big problem I saw this season was Shonda seemed to want to make a lot of the events and characters mirror real life situations. From Hollis as Trump to Mellie as Hillary to Vargas possibly as Sanders - but it doesn't work when you are playing loose with party lines and have so much backstory on the characters that is opposite of what you're currently writing!

[mwell345]

Quote

Verbatim, what I thought after it ended. Snoozer.

Well, my DirectTV went out (storm) after 30 minutes and I went to bed - it was so boring I didn't care if the DirectTV came back or not, nor do I care to watch it on demand.  I'll read a recap.

Jake looked like he was bothered by letting the father in law die - yet how many people has he killed in the past?  Same for Olivia - all outraged over Cyrus and the hostage setup - yet Jake can kill, Fitz can kill, Daddy can kill, Huck and Quinn can kill and Olivia herself can kill but that's  all for a greater good, I guess.

Scandal has gone from being one of the best shows on TV to one of the worst.  I'm sure it will be renewed, but I am guessing next season will be the last.

[thewhiteowl]

That Liv can't understand she is exactly what her Daddy wants her to be, doing exactly what he wants her to do, is amazingly dense. Jake wanting "out" was such a set-up. He is not out, he is doing what he's told by Daddy. Eli doesn't want to White House, he wants Liv to have it. With her puppets in place. Jake acting all reluctant to go onstage was pure manipulation.  Mellie's life expectancy has been dramatically shortened by having Jake as VP. If they win (which they will) She'll be in bed with Jake or dead soon after the election. Or both. Spec not spoiler.

I loved the Fitz/Mellie stuff. Not so much what she said about herself although some of that was true IMO but what she said about Fitz? Pure gold. I was hoping someone was filming it.

[Ohwell]

I like to think of Scandal as a dramatic cartoon, if there is such a thing.  Really, a cartoon.  Because I actually find myself laughing through most of it.  For example, I laughed at the absurdity of Mellie's speech to Fitz and my mouth literally dropped when she said she talked about earning it and oooooh the trials and tribulations of being a rich, white woman.  

I mean, I'm not supposed to take this shit seriously, right?  This cannot be a drama.

[mwell345]

Quote

 

I loved the Fitz/Mellie stuff. Not so much what she said about herself although some of that was true IMO but what she said about Fitz? Pure gold. I was hoping someone was filming it.

I was hoping the mic was on.

[marcee]

If it's wrong to want Jake as bad as I do, I don't wanna be right.

[Primetimer]

But since political parties mean nothing on this show, both are drawing from the same pool.

View the full article

[TV Diva Queen]

So is Olivia running for President?  When she keeps saying she want the freaking Oval, I always throught she wanted to be the power of the oval. Last night's ridiculousness had me thinking she wants to be the face of the Oval too.  I didn't know that last night was the season finale, usually I never know when its a show's season finale....but USUALLY about 1/2 way through it, I realize that it is the season finale....NOT LAST NIGHT, and you know what, I didn't even care.  

[DavidJSnyder]

Someone please explain to me how you can be a drug dealer and have only one person in the world know you're a drug dealer.  Were you poisoning the drugs to leave no witnesses?  Who were you seeing in Bogota?

[TVHappy9463]

Joe Morton, how I love you. It takes a very gifted actor to sell this BS, and man I am buying. Nice Fitz and Olivia stuff.  Is Tony Goldwyn leaving the show when the new president is elected?  Now that Olitz is done, where else can he go on the show? Why did they kill Olitz?  TG and KW had incredible chemistry in the first few seasons, why end that?  Why kill the cash cow. SF and KW did not have the heat. so I get why that ended.  Did the actors not get along? 

Jeff Perry, keep being you! 

I liked this finale, it did an excellent job of setting up next season without major theatrics. When is the show coming back, January? 

[mwell345]

Quote

So is Olivia running for President?  When she keeps saying she want the freaking Oval, I always throught she wanted to be the power of the oval. Last night's ridiculousness had me thinking she wants to be the face of the Oval too. 

The thing is - she could have had the Oval or been pretty close to having it- when she moved in with Fitz- if she had given the relationship more than a month and not been so put out that she had to do some ceremonial duties.  What Olivia wants changes with every episode: Vermont and Jam, no...Jake and the sun, no..Vermont again, the Oval, and on and on and on till no one cares what Olivia wants.

[Happytobehere]

23 hours ago, deaja said:

I hate Mellie so much. All her talk about earning it. Whatever. 

A choice between a ticket with a power-hungry, inexperienced, deceptive, election stealing nominee with her damaged, easily manipulated, murderous running mate and a quality guy who is being manipulated by his power-hungry, deceptive, election-stealing, murderous running mate. Oh America...

I feel exactly the same.  Team Cyrus would get my vote because at least Vargas seems like a decent person.

[Happytobehere]

20 hours ago, reggiejax said:

I second this wholeheartedly. My eyes nearly rolled completely around inside my head while listening to the entitled one speak. Yeah, maybe she wasn't born to a life of privilege, but she sure took to it very quickly, didn't she? And all this talk about doing it on her own? Who the fuck does that bitch think she's kidding? There is a bus full of dead grand jurors who would disagree about how Mellie did it all by her lonesome. And frankly speaking, while I usually like it when Fitz is on the receiving end of such a rant, the fact remains that the only reason Mellie was ever in a position to become the party's nominee is because her husband (you remember him, the President of the United States) appointed that imbecile Susan Ross as VP specifically to open up a Senate seat that the untested, no record Mellie could win. 

Did it on her own my ass.

Actually, Mellie did come from money.  That's why Daddy Grant arranged the marriage.  Remember her white trash, hillbilly half-sister who Mellie hated because her trashy mother stole Mellie's daddy from their big house on the hill. But the total retconning of this despicable character wants to sell her as something other than who and what she really is.  Just reminds me of how I predicted several years ago that Olivia would be demonized and Mellie glorified because despite her claims of modern and diverse spins on things, Shonda's shows are always ultimately about the upliftment  of white characters.  I mean the very continued existence of the pointless and incompetent Lizzie character is just one example of this.

[Dowel Jones]

The unindicted conspirator in all this mess is the media (within the confines of the series).  Are we to believe that not one investigative reporter has managed to unearth anything of substance about any of these candidates and their players, unless it is spoon-fed to them by one functionary or another?  Sheesh.  I mean, Cyrus is, or was,  teamed up with a convicted murderer who seems to roam the halls of power at will with no comment from anyone.

Quote

Joe Morton has been in the game for something like 40 years.

Anyone remember Blues Brothers 2000?  Not only is he with the band, now he is the band.

[huahaha]

Are we really supposed to believe that Cyrus would be anyone's VP pick, given his recent scandals? A gay VP is fairly revolutionary on its own without a former prostitute who was paid to take compromising pictures as the second gentleman. (Is it still second if there's no first gentleman??)

The show has been full-on soap opera since, well, forever, so I'm not that surprised when they go over-the-top. "Everyone's running for president... and vice president" is a bit far-fetched even for a daytime soap, though. 

[Sheenieb]

I don't know why Jake keeps fooling himself into being 'normal' with Olivia. She doesn't want normal! She keeps showing him, and everyone else who she is, but no one believes her. She could've had normal with Edison, she didn't want that. She had her shot of normalcy plenty of times with Fitz, she took a dump on that too. The only time she's had semi normalcy was when she was on that island. That was as close to normal as she and Jake would ever get. All of this talk of normalcy and Vermont is Scandal's way of trying to make fetch happen. Stop it. I'm surprised Olivia didn't put herself on Mellie's ticket.

I'll never understand why Shonda made Fitz Republican when he clearly has Democrat ideals.

[Ohwell]

So Jake is truly Olivia's bitch now, and for some reason that makes me sad.  Of course, he was Rowan's bitch before that, so...I guess he's a trained, ruthless killer bitch.  

[Feline Queen]

There's no way Vanessa's father's estate would've been settled quickly enough for Rowan to seize control of the money and able to offer a $30 million donation to Vargas' campaign. 

I read fan fic (not in this fandom) and the amateur authors seem to do better research than the professionals. They'd be flamed alive if they ever produced drivel that wasn't feasibly possible or kept retconning their own work. 

So, Jake lied to Olivia about wanting to escape - and the Grand Plan all along was to get him on Mellie's ticket? When he was going to be Vargas' VP, I figured Rowan intended to have Vargas assassinated so Jake could become POTUS - which means Mellie's now the target.  

Cyrus should've explained to Tom why he was dumping him and reuniting with Michael because as others have noted, it probably wasn't a good idea to be that callous to someone who has no qualms about committing murder. However, that would've ruined the revelation of Cyrus being Vargas' running mate. I'm not surprised that Cyrus figured out a way to get one-step closer to the Oval as I think he's mentioned that he wanted to run for president himself, but at the time the country wasn't ready to accept a gay POTUS. I don't think he'll have Vargas assassinated to get there though as he seems geniunely in awe of him and it didn't come across as him just spouting rhetoric. 

I always enjoy it when Mellie let's Fitz have it, as he's treated her like dirt for most of their marriage, so I liked the scene at the convention center. I'm not sure if Tony Goldwyn didn't know how to play the scene or what, but his reaction was just off. Mellie's observation that Fitz has always treated the job as a hostage situation was on target. I'm sure a lot of presidents get weary towards the end of their term, but Fitz is way too obvious about it. And yes, I also thought someone else would've conveniently been there, captured it on their phone's camera and sent it to Sally Langston for The Liberty Report. 

Edited May 14, 2016 by Feline Goddess

[Almost 3000]

12 hours ago, Ohwell said:

So Jake is truly Olivia's bitch now, and for some reason that makes me sad.  Of course, he was Rowan's bitch before that, so...I guess he's a trained, ruthless killer bitch.  

I think its the other way around. Rowen set Jake up to use Olivia to get on Mellie's ticket. Rowen wants Olivia close to the oval office.

10 hours ago, Feline Goddess said:

There's no way Vanessa's father's estate would've been settled quickly enough for Rowan to seize control of the money and able to offer a $30 million donation to Vargas' campaign. 

I read fan fic (not in this fandom) and the amateur authors seem to do better research than the professionals. They'd be flamed alive if they ever produced drivel that wasn't feasibly possible or kept retconning their own work. 

So, Jake lied to Olivia about wanting to escape - and the Grand Plan all along was to get him on Mellie's ticket? When he was going to be Vargas' VP, I figured Rowan intended to have Vargas assassinated so Jake could become POTUS - which means Mellie's now the target.  

Cyrus should've explained to Tom why he was dumping him and reuniting with Michael because as others have noted, it probably wasn't a good idea to be that callous to someone who has no qualms about committing murder. However, that would've ruined the revelation of Cyrus being Vargas' running mate. I'm not surprised that Cyrus figured out a way to get one-step closer to the Oval as I think he's mentioned that he wanted to run for president himself, but at the time the country wasn't ready to accept a gay POTUS. I don't think he'll have Vargas assassinated to get there though as he seems geniunely in awe of him and it didn't come across as him just spouting rhetoric. 

I always enjoy it when Mellie let's Fitz have it, as he's treated her like dirt for most of their marriage, so I liked the scene at the convention center. I'm not sure if Tony Goldwyn didn't know how to play the scene or what, but his reaction was just off. Mellie's observation that Fitz has always treated the job as a hostage situation was on target. I'm sure a lot of presidents get weary towards the end of their term, but Fitz is way too obvious about it. And yes, I also thought someone else would've conveniently been there, captured it on their phone's camera and sent it to Sally Langston for The Liberty Report. 

Bolded: I figured that is what Rowan is up to, too.

[WhosThatGirl]

I don't know. I'm so disappointed. I kept sitting, waiting for something to happen and nothing really did. I'm going to keep watching though, because here I am. I'm also curious to see what they plan to do regarding KWs pregnancy next season. I remember the sometimes hilarious props she had to stand behind and the odd camera angles last time. That always made me laugh. 

And even though the show is a political drama, I don't care about watching these characters fight for the presidency. And I don't really care of the twist of Rowan-whose name I always spell differently,and I don't care at this point, it depends on how tired I am- getting his way with his son and daughter getting to the white house. I'm not all that excited to watch Cyrus/Vargas vs Jake and Mellie. I don't care anymore. 

Edited May 15, 2016 by WhosThatGirl

[tpplay]

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 I THINK he has the only acting Emmy that Scandal has won

No.

The guy who played James (Cyrus' husband) won an Emmy as "Best Guest Actor".

I love that actor (although I ca't remember his name).  He's going to have another series in the upcoming season.

[Ohwell]

12 hours ago, Almost 3000 said:

I think its the other way around. Rowen set Jake up to use Olivia to get on Mellie's ticket. Rowen wants Olivia close to the oval office.

 

Oh, ok, so then he's just Rowan's bitch then.  I get it.

[WhineandCheez]

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Jake looked like he was bothered by letting the father in law die - yet how many people has he killed in the past?

Jake is starting to look like the most moral person on this show, because he sits with the person he just murdered to keep them company, soothing them as they die.  Whatta guy!! he did that with Cyrus husband James (DAN BUKATINSKY, I believe)

[Oblique Angle]

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Jake is starting to look like the most moral person on this show, because he sits with the person he just murdered to keep them company, soothing them as they die.

As far as morality is concerned on this show, the bar has been set very low. Cats play with their prey before they eat them too.

[Empress1]

On May 15, 2016 at 1:55 PM, tpplay said:

No.

The guy who played James (Cyrus' husband) won an Emmy as "Best Guest Actor".

I love that actor (although I ca't remember his name).  He's going to have another series in the upcoming season.

I saw him on Ellen and apparently he and his partner and Jeff Perry, who plays Cyrus, and his wife have been friends for many years. Jeff Perry's wife is a casting director who often works with Shonda Rhimes, so she apparently called him all "Hey, wanna make out with my husband?" I thought that was a fun story.

[Aspsusa]

Just binge watched the latter part of the season. Got to the finale, was a bit miffed, and then came here and registered just to be able to post this:

I am getting so bored with Daddy Pope. 

There were some potentially interesting psychological moments in the last 12 episodes, but keeping Daddy Pope around to use as a lazy Deus ex Machina is getting old. Want to complicate something? Just drag out the nefarious Control.

I accept that this is sort of Grey's Anatomy set in politics, so the silly unbelievable stuff doesn't bother me that much - but this Eeevil Control behind every plot is just killing everything potentially interesting about all other characters. You can always drag him into anything from the shadows, and boom! everything makes (no) sense. It's getting to the point that you just wonder why everyone doesn't just pack up and go home, since everyone knows that Daddy Pope will eventually turn his evil eye on any plan and ruin everything. 

Much more interesting would be if they got rid of him, and we could get something about how the characters develop without this ever present threat hanging over them. 

Remove him and loads of interesting things open up. This season we've learned that Jake is deeply broken by Daddy Pope - I'd like to throw a jubilant and simultaneously grief stricken unstable Jake together with Mellie in some way (Olivia has no time for complicated emotions not her own and Mellie is twisted enough that I'd like to see what comes out of a drinking bout with a sobbing Jake). 
Olivia could get some great (and boringly pompous) scenes out of discovering how deep her inner darkness really goes. The gang at OPA would start challenging her over what White Hat really means, and it would actually be meaningful. 
Cyrus would be top Evil Schemer once again - or would he? We could have a nice on-going power triangle with him and Lizzie and Abby (one or both of the three would be Top Scheming Dog(s) at Congress).
Lizzie has never been meant to be likeable, and it would be interesting if we got a constellation where she was for once the more moral one.
Abby should become besties with Susan - we could get interesting conversations where Abby would articulate Power and Susan would counter with Policy and Idealism. 

Just get rid of Daddy Pope already!

[Anna Yolei]

Welcome to the board, BTW! you'll find you have plenty of company here that agrees with you about Daddy Pope. It's  beyond tiresome to see him with his hand in EVERYTHING.