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Thursday 22 November 2012

Scandal 1.5 "Crash and Burn" Review

                                          
The episode where it all crashes and burns.  The gang arrive at Amanda's (Liza Weil) apartment to find she's gone.  Quinn (Katie Lowes) thinks she just left but Huck (Guillermo Diaz) tells her the trash is gone so she's been taken.  They are also being watched a government car.  Olivia (Kerry Washington) asks for help from ASA David Rosen (Joshua Malina) but he can't help her.  Their next case leads them to the field and a plane crash, it's a wonder Quinn managed to make it down with her heels.
Gideon (Brendan Hines) tells Quinn he no longer has a story cos Amanda's missing, her father filed a missing person's report.  Gideon comes and goes so freely now at Pope and Assocs.

The press guy has already allowed the airline to go first at the  press conference where the airline blames the pilot.  They have a meeting with the NTSB who tells them anything they hear they can't record, and any notes them make they can't take out with them and they hear the final conversations.  Everyone makes notes except for Harrison (Columbus Short) who listens with his eyes closed, thought he was recording on his phone.  When later he tells them he has a good ear as he hears the pilot trying to push the rudder down.

Huck examines some CCTV footage from near the apartment and freezes it on someone he knows, someone he used to work with at the Agency.  He later meets with him and he laughs at his name being Huck as in Huck Finn.  He's called Charlie (George Newbern) now and they talk about the past and he was seen on the road near the apartment.  He's Charlie as in Manson.  From this meeting, Huck concludes that Amanda is dead and lets the others know.  Olivia tells the agent in the car across the street she knows what the President (Tony Goldwyn) did and he relays this to him.

At the office, they try to determine if it is pilot error and if the female pilot could have frozen but are stopped by the arrival of her husband, Andrew (Darren Pettie) who corrects them, she couldn't have frozen.  She was sober for twenty years and also a war hero.  Which makes it into the news, about how the pilots had been drinking and the waitress at the bar Abby (Darby Stanchfield) interviews tells her the pilot had been drinking.  One of the stewardesses, Lisa (Leslie Grossman) didn't turn up for work and she tells Abby it was cos her birthday party and the pilot was only there cos of that, but she didn't drink.  Olivia talks at the press conference saying they have a witness to this effect and gives some personal background on her.

The President also gives a press conference on how one of the Vis on the plane, a senator who was sanctioning the bill for illegal immigrants to have an education was a great person.  Their main job now as Cyrus (Jeff Perry)tells him is to ensure the D.R.E.A.M Act passes.   So the President calls people, getting them on side, and it finally comes down to a tie.  He has to call upon the Vice President, Sally Langston (Kate Burton) the right wing, church-going female who has ambitions of becoming president herself one day.  She's against the Act but he talks her round after telling her every Vic President who ran for President had the backing of the President.  He claims he's back.

The Pres calls Olivia on the private line and informs her it wasn't him who killed Amanda, she knows him and it wasn't him.  She replies "murder is murde" and thinks it was Cyrus cos he let him off his leash.  He wants to see her face to face, "Livvie..." but she's not falling for that one.  Then again Mellie (Bellamy Young) is really shifty, calling the Secret Service Agents over and asking if they'd take a bullet for him.  She definitely knows more than she's letting on and I have a sneaky suspicion she is involved...Amanda's father hank (Grahan Beckel) shows up and Quinn promises they'll do what they can to find her.  Olivia riles her, they do not make promises, especially when Amanda is dead.  Only they can't tell her father as they don't have her body.  Oh and where exactly was Quinn when Huck told the others?  Sneaking off somewhere herself.  She's a bit of a dark horse, also why is she in the show anyway?

The President tells Cyrus about Amanda and he's quite thrilled at the news, he's sad at the deaths in the planecrash and at US troops being killed, but not at that news.  Olivia asks Huck to revisit his past and find Amanda's body.  Thus he engages he what the CIA taught him to do, torture Charlie until he gives up the info.   Huck was also tortured by the CIA when he lost the plot and he was homeless when Olivia found him, so he owes her.  They find her body in the river and it's being ruled a suicide.  Rosen wants to know what Olivia knows about the murder.

Stephen (Henry Ian Cusick) finds the mechanic's reports were forged as there's two reports from different destinations which have the same spelling mistake of the word "controll."  would you trust a mechanic who can't spell to carry out inspections on your plane?  Harrison finds the woman who was in charge of filing the reports though it more important to be at her daughter's piano recital and so she copied the same report twice.  Olivia uses this for the airline to accept responsibility.

Cyrus tells the President they have a blackmail letter and finally admits it wasn't Olivia behind it.  Showing him a video of Nixon's resignation.  The President makes a deal with his Secret Service security detail and leaves the Whitehouse to visit Olivia, who else! Who is on the phone with Stephen telling her Amanda wasn't having his baby.  Thus leaving the way clear for them to get down and dirty next ep?!

Abby still watching Stephen longingly, well she was and Stephen resorting to using his "tools" to get what he needs, throwing his engagement out the window!

Quinn shows up at Gideon's place in tears and he's made grill cheese, bless him cos that's all he can manage and it's comfort food.  Don't trust that Quinn.  Now we have the lowdown on most everyone except her.  She tends to disappear and appear quite a bit and not to mention also has this thing about her where she can play the 'innocent' but she doesn't quite appear to be so wholesome!  Again reminds me of the lying Harrison mentioned last ep.  Quinn was quick to jump to the conclusion that Amanda ran away, why was that?  She was so desperately trying to be her friend and not just cos Olivia asked her to keep an eye on her and here she comes up with and running off, without even telling her of all people.  It was like Quinn was trying to cover her tracks.

Speaking of Gideon, nothing on that photo he took a copy of last episode, what's happening with that, so really sorry but you were just eye candy this week Gideon!  Oh and that apron.

                                

This episode didn't quite live up to the excitement and fast pace of the one before but actually gave a chance for the President to show us what he does when he's not brooding over a lost Olivia.  She tells him she no longer has her gut when it comes to whether he had Amanda murdered or not.  She also told David Rosen "the white hat looks good on you," when he tries to delve for details from her.

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