Scandal was a series that always had twists and turns and kept viewers on the edge of their seats. I joined the Scandal bandwagon in season 3 and I eagerly binge-watched every episode to catch up because it was that good. Season 7 of Scandal and the series finale fell sort of flat though. I am disappointed with how rushed the finale felt to wrap up everything, and then was left wanting a little bit more in the possible glimpse into the future. Here are five reasons I feel the Scandal finale was disappointing.
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They All Got Away With It!
The whole point of Olivia revealing B613 is to fix the Republic. To get rid of the corruption in politics and to start with a clean slate. To gain the trust of the people again. However, even after everyone confesses, they all get to go free. Even Cyrus. The one person who is held accountable for everything is Jake. Sure, he should be behind bars, but so should the rest of the gang. They all committed crimes over the course of the seven seasons, why shouldn’t they pay for them too?
Am I happy everyone got their happy ending? Sure. Am I happy Olivia gets to whatever she wants? Sure. But, I think a more realistic ending would have been for everyone to get some sort of prison sentence. Or at least make them go to trial and have a jury of their peers decide. As I said, Olivia wants to give America back to the people, so why should she and her friends get to go free? Just because they confessed their crimes, doesn’t mean they are heroes.
Rowan Pope Doesn’t Save People
Papa Pope loves his daughter. But he doesn’t save people. He even killed his true love. He doesn’t have emotions. He’s told Olivia all along that in order to be Command or take the Oval, she can’t have people in her life who she loves. So what does Papa Pope do when he realizes his daughter and her friends are in trouble? Instead of running, like he wanted to do, he goes before the same committee and confirms what the committee members already learned, that B613 does, in fact, exist. And everything everyone else confessed is true.
Rowan has always been the villain, so why make him seem like a good guy in the end? And I’m not truly convinced that B613 is dissolved. I’m sure Rowan somehow convinced the committee to keep it running. After all, he gave them a face for the Republic to condemn, and everyone else went free. Why not keep it running? Why not still run the Oval from behind Command? I just can’t imagine it any other way, since he is not paying for his crimes either.
The Good Guy Dies
The one good guy on the show who actually had a soul, had a conscious, dies. David Rosen! The guy who actually stood up to Jake and Cyrus in the finale. And not only does he die, but he dies foolishly. He meets Cyrus in the middle of the night, believes that Cyrus has a confession and then accepts a drink from him. For a man who was the attorney general, he sure was pretty stupid at the end of his life. Cyrus fooled him already by hijacking his own plane and putting their lives in danger. To believe that David would actually accept a drink from him is foolish.
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I know that some feel David had to die, as good people don’t fare well on Scandal, but I think if they were saving everyone else, why not keep him alive so Abby could get her happy ending too?
Too Predictable and Too Happy
There were no twists and turns this season. Sure, we were left wondering if Rowan actually killed Quinn in the winter finale, but we all knew deep down he didn’t. That to me is where the series fell flat. Well, if I really had to think back, it was probably when Huck survived getting shot and then almost drowned, but I digress, since we’re talking about the finale. Season seven was predictable from beginning to end. This is disappointing because Scandal never used to be predictable. The finale was no exception to being predictable. I knew Papa Pope would somehow save the day. Though I did think he’d just kill key players to make it all go away.
Scandal was never really a show with a ‘happily ever after’ vibe. But the finale definitely gave off that vibe. Justice is served to Jake and Cyrus, though Cyrus won’t pay for his crimes, he’ll have to live with them. Mellie is running the country with Marcus by her side. Quinn gets reunited with Charlie/Bernard and will presumably live a happy life. Abby doesn’t get her happy ending, but she was happy until David was killed, so that’s good enough. And Olivia gets to do whatever she wants. Since she meets up with Fitz in the final moments, I’d like to assume she heads up to Vermont with him, and continues working with his foundation.
One Last Question
Any series finale that leaves you saying, ‘what the?’ isn’t really a great series finale to me. Even with all of the above, I would have accepted just a lackluster finale. But then, we get to see what two little girls are looking at in the National Portrait Gallery — a painting of Olivia Pope. The gallery is reserved for portraits of presidents and first ladies. So the question that is on every Scandal fans’ mind is — Does Olivia Pope become president? Or maybe the gallery allowed her portrait since she gave the country back to the people? Who knows? But I know that leaving me questioning things makes for a poor finale in my mind. Though I’m sure Shonda Rhimes fans might disagree.
Did you like the Scandal finale? Did you find it unrealistic? Or did you find it on par for the series? Do you think Olivia and her friends should have paid for their crimes? Are you happy everyone got their happy ending? Where do you think the finale fell short? Do you think Olivia goes on to become president?
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(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
