ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 5 winter finale reaction: Tony Goldwyn on surprising Olivia story
There were a few separate surprises on the winter finale of “Scandal” that we would classify as fairly significant, but one still lies ahead and shoulders above the others: The decision by Olivia Pope to get an abortion in the midway part of the episode. It’s a decision that we do not know too much about, but it coincidentally came at a time in which Mellie was filibustering for the sake of Planned Parenthood. This story has generated plenty of discussion, and the aftereffects of Olivia’s decision may have led to her wanting to move away from the White House a return home. Whether or not this helps her to find peace remains to be seen.
So how will Fitz respond to her decision? The fact that he did not even know about the pregnancy is something that will almost certainly be addressed, and speaking on the subject to The Hollywood Reporter in a postmortem of the winter finale, Tony Goldwyn had the following to say;
“I think it would be, next to the death of his son, the most gutting news he could get and frankly I don’t know how he’d recover from that. I can only assume he would because of his irrational love for Olivia. But the combination of the fact that Fitz’s fondest dream in life would be to have a child with Olivia — as he put it in Vermont. But that dream shattered is part one, and part two is the colossal lie and betrayal and withholding of that terrible truth that Olivia didn’t tell him. At the end of the day, it’s her body and her right, but it’s his child. And we don’t in fact know where Fitz lives on this issue. He’s a Republican but we’ve never asked that question [on the show]. He’s very progressive in so many ways and my guess is that Fitz would have a fairly progressive view on the matter, if only to say that it should not be in the hands of the government. I think everything would lead us to believe that Fitz would be ethically pro-life, even if he has a progressive bend like George Bush Sr. … But the bigger thing is not a political question; the bigger thing here is the emotional [impact].”
We already think that Olivia and Fitz are going to have a near-impossible time getting back together in the midst of everything that they have already gone through, so to add some of this trauma and heartbreak to the mix may be the icing on the already-sad-and-depressing cake.
If you are interested in getting some other news related to “Scandal,” head over here to hear more of our take on the winter finale! Also, sign up over here to have some additional TV updates sent right over to you, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)