It’s been exactly a month since we last saw Olivia and the gang on our televisions — and it sure feels like it in “Top of the Hour.” There is a disconnect, like the show is off their game.
The Scandal episode spends way too much time on the case, a case I felt like we’ve seen before on the show: A high-powered Washington player, this time around a Supreme Court nominee, has been having an affair with a woman. What?! Shocking. And the woman’s child may or may not be his but the real dad has no idea. In the end, he rips up the paternity test because well, he’s still her dad.
Even Fitz is starting to sound like a whiny, broken record.
It may have to do with the show’s time line, which makes a jump yet again, as Fitz’s child is a toddler now. (Does it feel like he was born two weeks ago?) The fast forwards are forcing the viewers to believe that things are the way they are because time passes, but we’ve missed everything in between, which makes it hard to believe and sometimes follow.
Will the Real Jake Please Stand Up
Scott Foley as Captain Jake has been a refreshing addition to the show whose central characters are fast-talking and ruthless people. Previously, I liked the air of mystery surrounding Jake — why was he secretly watching Olivia from his home? Is he the mole? What’s his deal?
Then we found out he’s doing it all for the president. Understandable — how do you say no to your commander in chief? So I started liking him and thought even with his Peeping Tom ways, he could bring a sense of normalcy into Olivia’s life without being boring.
In this episode, he kills the photographer who snapped photos of him and Olivia together. I guess I can see and understand that he doesn’t want the photos going back to Fitz, but to commit murder seems a little hard to believe.
So it’s back to not knowing whether Jake’s a good or bad guy. Maybe he’s a good guy who did a very bad thing. What other bad things has he done?
Quinn is Huck’s Protege
I’m really enjoying the progression of Quinn into Huck Jr., mainly because her character would be pretty useless without it. She still has a lot to learn, like we see tonight as she goes undercover without props — a rookie mistake. We’ve seen her be cold-blooded in the past when she had to be, but at the core, she’s just seems scared all the time. That’s why I’m interested in where the storyline goes, with the CIA director catching on that the girl at the dry cleaners is up to no good.
I’m waiting for the CIA director to continue to do mole-ish things, however. And how does the dry cleaning guy come into play?
We’ve Heard This Before
The president really needs to snap out of it. It’s admirable (I guess) that he’s been able to separate his personal life from his presidential duties, but imagine any of the real former president’s in his situation. It doesn’t seem possible.
Tonight, Olivia and Fitz tell each other over the phone that they’re broken because of the other. Did anyone else’s eyes roll here? It was just so dramatic! Once again, I suppose can see where he’s coming from: He had found out no one in his circle believed he could be the president. Olivia tells, no pleads, with Fitz that she did believe in him, but he isn’t biting the bullet.
Where do these characters go from here? At this point, it really seems impossible for them to even have a brief moment together, like they did after breaking things off earlier this season. It would feel like the same old thing again.
But on the other hand, Olivia and Fitz seem like the end game … I mean, they are perfect for each other. But what happens in the mean time?
Scandal airs Thursdays at 10pm on ABC.
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(Image Courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
