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Thursday 17 October 2013

Scandal 2.16 "Top of the Hour" Review

                                                
Olivia (Kerry Washington) hands over the docs recovered from Wendy's flashdrive to Jake (Scott Foley) who needs to know where they came from before he can give them to Fitz (Tony Goldwyn).  Olivia can't do that but they will help him out.  Elsewhere Mellie (Bellamy Young) wants to get back into Fitz's good books and the Oval office using their son to do so since Fitz feeds him, but he doesn't let her in.  Cyrus (Jeff Perry) also wants to see him and Fitz asks to see him causing Cyrus to believe he's definitely back into his good graces.  It would never be that easy.

Olivia has a case this time, the woman is Sarah (Lisa Edelstein) she had an affair with the candidate of the Supreme Court Randall (Tim Halligan) nominated by Fitz but she tells Cyrus that Randall isn't her client, Sarah is.  Sarah's affair was when she was in law school and Olivia thinks she should come clean to the press.  With her husband, Phil (Jay Karnes) standing by her.  That is of course until he learns the true extent of her betrayal.  Another case which is close to Olivia's heart or rather her personal life.  That is when she has a moment to herself cos Cyrus intends to fight her on this every step of the way and to use every dirty trick and tactic in the book, or out of the book to destroy Sarah's reputation.  To the point where now she's CEO of a corporation, they fire her cos she violated her morals clause and this is a breach of contract.

A bit of racial prejudice on Sarah's part as Sarah assumes Abby (Darby Stanchfield) is Olivia, why cos a black woman can't be a fixer and good at her job! As dirt is dug Fitz wants Cyrus to spin the story so Randall appears to be innocent of all sexual advances and that the affair was one-sided.  That she pursued him, which is apparent when there are no e-mails found from him, but only from her.  Until Abby finds a tape of their weekends in Mexico which Cyrus also has and makes it public.  Abby tells Olivia the date stamp doesn't match, thus Sarah lied and continued her after for longer.  Even when their daughter, Annie (Mandalynn Carlson) was born.  Phil thinking she may not be his demands a paternity test.

Jake comes to see Olivia at the house which was not only incredibly stupid of him and risky.  Look the guy works in military intelligence, why would he do that with press around?  SO Olivia tells him the Intel she gave him is legit though she can't revel her source.  Olivia is snapped by a paparazzi and Jake turns his head round and gets snapped too.  Again stupid, why would he turn his head around to get in the frame.  Olivia tells him to let it go but why would he, especially when he doesn't want Fitz to know what he's up to.  Speaking of -Mellie makes it her mission to find out who Fitz is having late night rendezvous with, asking Lauren (Sharmila Devar) to show Fitz's schedule.   Lauren telling her she doesn't know who he meets and that it's probably a phonecall meeting.  Which was adding fuel to the fire and sending Mellie the bloodhound on a chase.  Mellie automatically assumes it's Olivia and thinks he's seeing her again, which could lead to divorce.  Confronting Cyrus with it who has his own problems as he tells her there's a mission going on right now to rescue the hostages in Kashfar.

Thus they're both out in the cold again.  Jake you see provided Fitz with Olivia's Intel and he ordered the rescue to take place.  Though he didn't take it to the CIA as Olivia told him not to, which was wise.  Huck (Guillermo Diaz) and Quinn (Katie Lowes) follow Osbourne (Kurt Fuller) to find out where he's making the drops which lead them to a laundry.  Quinn walks in without any clothes to launder and so has to give them the shirt off her back.  Huck telling her that's what happens when you go in without a cover story and props. As what happens is she gets made, something he didn't warn her about as the second time round she picks up his clothes and finds a wad of money.  Money from Kash(!)far.  So Osborne gets her pic from the laundry man and will now be on her trail.  Something Quinn could have done without considering she's not really Quinn.

Fitz calls Olivia and asks her why she did this.  He doesn't mean the vote rigging (not that again) but why she didn't have any faith in him, in becoming president.  She has another moment of crisis as he still holds all the shots as far as she's concerned and tells him she made a mistake.  At the same time Sarah and Phil argue which is just a reflection of her own life and betrayal as far as Fitz is concerned.  Sarah asks her for a drink, an expensive bottle of wine and yes Olivia probably did down the entire bottle.  She tells her she has to learn to live with it and forgive herself.  It'll be hard but she has to do it.  Again another reflection of Olivia's own life.

Meanwhile Jake breaks into the paparazzi's place to retrieve his photo as we see the lengths he will go to and as he's beating up on him, Fitz and his advisers are watching footage of the hostages being rescued as Osborne looks mighty disappointed, okay right royally pissed!

Abby and Harrison (Columbus Short) talk of Harrison's betrayal of her when he put the spanner in the works as far as she and David were concerned and he says he's sorry and will be sorry everyday.  She forgives him cos she realizes as a gladiator he was putting work first and being human second, which she will also do now.  Giving her a brainwave to ensure Sarah keeps her job.  They bring an empty box to the meeting and call their bluff by telling the board members they have dirt on them.  Finally giving in when Abby's about to open the empty box.  A bit like watching Deal or no Deal! Ha.  Well they dealt!

Olivia gives him the paternity test results and tells him that after 13 years he will always be her father.  So he tears up the envelope, giving their family a new lease of life, eventually.  Never do understand these affairs of law students etc with 'older' men, I mean what's the big attraction anyway.  Not like most of them want to further their careers or anything.

Jake turns up at Olivia's telling her he was mugged.  Again how he could get so easily mugged is beyond me. So she fetches him ice and he sits in front of his own camera and has that sly grin!  Well it was sly as he's recording every bit of it.  Glad Scott Foley came aboard actually cos he really is adding another dimension to the show.  Fitz/Olivia was getting tiresome, especially since he'd always get his own way and Olivia would come running no matter what and drop her pants!  Or rather have them pulled off at every second.  Mind you he don't look so bad in a uniform either!  Hey he could have had a great part in JAG, once upon a time!!
                                                 
Fitz is still inebriating himself and wallowing in self pity but really when he will wake up and see that he would not have been President right now without their 'cheating' tactics and be relishing in the news of getting the hostages back and thus adding more weight to his Presidency.  They made him and whilst it's not right and underhand and all the rest of it, he should just get on and deal with it.  Move on it's been a year, oh, that's not really in his nature to do that.

Oh and Mellie happens to be there when Jake leaves Fitz and shows Cyrus his photo (ooh in his dress whites!!) Erm, er, lost my chain of thought there! She tells him Fitz is replacing him too.  SO what's Cyrus going to do now.  Sarah's boss, Samantha (Saidah Arrika Ekulona) tells Harrison: "You're pretty and you talk fast" is exactly what I thought when Olivia, Harrison and Abby were in the car waiting to make a dash for it as soon as the reporters when on air, aside from the pretty part.  I did think that's what they do and you wouldn't have a conversation firing quickfire words at each other in real life!

But somehow we know Olivia and Fitz will get past this and also he will find out about Jake and his 'betrayal' towards him which I must admit is what I'm waiting for and I don't think I've written this much about a Scandal ep before! Olivia: "you messed up and there was a price.  Betrayal always has a price," as we'll see later!  Oh and come on how did some of you not realize that was Jake in the hoodie/ski mask!!!!  Wouldn't be anyone else.

Some choice quotes this week, though let's face it Cyrus was even more annoying this ep and talk about sexist too.  It's okay when men cheat but when women do it, they're whores, stalkers and all the rest of it. Cyrus: "classic sexual harassment, or does it only matter when it's boy on girl?"
Same with Fitz: "I trusted you, you were all I had.  You ruined me. I'm ruined."
Olivia: "I'm ruined."  Somehow he doesn't seem to care what she's going through.   Oh Fitz!!

Lisa Edelstein was in an ep of Without A Trace and of course House, just reminded me of Tony Goldwyn guesting in Without A Trace too where he played murdering twins, well one was a killer and the other one used him!  Good eps to watch.

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