ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 4 premiere review: Harrison’s funeral is the tip of the iceberg

Did you imagine that the “Scandal” season 4 premiere was going to be emotional? Well, you probably realized it by around the time the 45 minute point rolled around.

The interesting part of the story to us was that we all knew that the funeral for Harrison was coming, and yet the show still found a way to get us choked up during it. This is what caused Olivia Pope to return to Washington after her beach retreat to Jake, and abandon her name of “Julia” to become the woman she tried to get away from for so long. Through most of the episode, she held on to that pretense that she was going to leave again … but did you really believe that was going to happen?

The importance of Harrison’s funeral stemmed so much further than just this particular service itself; it also brought characters together. Despite starting off the premiere at odds, Olivia and Abby, who was working at the White House, started to find common ground again.

One other thing that felt inevitably about this episode was Fitz eventually deciding to see Olivia, even for the time being he is insisting that he won’t because he wants to be this great “family man” with Mellie. Okay then. We’ll see how that works out for him. Fitz is in the middle of a great Presidency, and Olivia serves as some sort of distraction.

One other shout-out here goes to Portia de Rossi, who was a powerful Senator who was a key part in Fitz’s proposed equal pay bill. She had a strong start, but we wonder after this case was seemingly handled for now if she will be back.

One thins is for certain: “Scandal” is just beginning to unravel this season, and it’s going to get more intense from here on out. Brace yourselves. Grade: B.

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Photo: ABC