ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 4, episode 19 review: Is Jake dead? Also, Mellie’s move

“Scandal” certainly had an intense episode Thursday night, but after going through a few arcs in past seasons that were far more serialized, we have to say that we have a hard time going back to the story-of-the-week format. A good chunk of the story was about the murder of the Mayor’s wife.

Now, let’s talk about the awesomeness that is Susan Ross. She is a woman who understands Washington far more than anyone ever gave her credit for. The major Fitz story this week revolved around him desperate to pass a major bill about police in the light of the events of “The Lawn Chair.” The twist? Susan had no interest in signing it, since it accomplished nothing and she realized further what the President wanted her role to be. However, she was not the veep to pursue an agenda or “play the game.” She wanted to initiate real change, which is why after arguing with person after person (the funny thing is that they could have explained everything to her in the time they spend harassing her), she and Fitz decided to rewrite it.

In the interim, they decided to create a major distraction, allowing Mellie to announce her run for Senate in Virginia.

Finally, we turn to Olivia Pope again, who decided that she wanted to take down B613 rather than actually side with Rowan. This is going to be a battle. Know that. This is a man who does not go down without a fight.

Speaking of fights, the episode ended tonight with a massive twist: Russell stabbing Jake. Of course Russell’s in on everything. Big shock there! Is Jake going to die? It certainly doesn’t look good right now for him, especially since he is proclaimed “dead” in the promo that followed the episode. This would be a huge loss for the show, given that we do love Scott Foley and he has brought a ton to the show since his arrival.

While we didn’t quite care for the story-of-the-week, it’s hard to dismiss the rest of the episode as anything other than thoroughly compelling. Grade: B.

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