ABC’s ‘Scandal’ season 3, episode 4 review: Jake, Olivia, and Fitz heat up amidst so-so offering
Another week of “Scandal,” and we have another case-of-the-week storyline that reminds us of both the good and bad parts about the show. The best thing about it are the characters. You have some great ones in Olivia, Huck, Fitz, Mellie, Cyrus… well basically every one. Shonda Rhimes did a great job with these people, even if she does put them in larger-than-life situations.
Now, we turn to what we personally consider to be the bad part of “Scandal”: When all of these characters don’t have that much to do, or are stuck more in procedural storylines. Seeing Olivia Pope take on clients is integral to what she is doing in the sense that she desperately needs a victory, but did it really have to be an Anthony Weiner type this week? The major difference between the former Mayoral candidate and the man on the show was an accusation of murder, but more so than the show trying to rip from some sort of headline, the entire storyline just felt repetitive. We get it: There are a lot of bad people in Washington that cheat, and there has to be some different sort of scandals that we have not seen lately.
What was a little bit more interesting is seeing the story between Abby and David Rosen play out, and them seemingly getting themselves on the road to being a happy couple again courtesy of some cell-phone photos. Also, it was seeing Jake and Huck actually have a little bit of time together, which is very interesting when you think a about the shared past that they have together.
In the end, Olivia got a little bit of her mojo back, and she also got a promise from Jake that he really was not going “anywhere” no matter what happened … and then there was a kiss. For those of you shipping her and Fitz, you’re just going to have to wait. Were it not for the predictable phone call, more than a kiss would have happened here. The best move of the night has to go to Jake, who completely spoiled the phone call with a subtle question about “more wine.” If only the rest of the episode could be this interesting.
After an excellent start, “Scandal” is starting to slow down. Maybe we can blame it on the procedural element, or maybe we just want to see more of the bigger plotlines beyond just a few moments here and there. An average episode of this show is still better than most, but it’s made us greedy. Grade: C+.
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Photo: ABC