Scandal season 7 storyline was originally not going to happen
After all, this story was originally not going to happen. The original version of the Scandal ending was going to feature none other than the first lady, (or at least the former first lady) being sworn into office.
So why the change? Why give us a full season of Mellie in power? Much of that seems to be due to changes in politics, and also some of the inevitable progression that comes with a series over time. Often what you set out to do is not what you end up doing when the dust settles and you survey the field. Things change over time, and often some of the best shows are the ones that are open to said change. Shows evolve based on the reaction from the audience and changes in society. That’s especially true given that this is a show based mostly on politics.
Series star Bellamy Young recently opened up about the original plan for the ending of Scandal in an appearance on The Wendy Williams Show. Take a look at what she had to say, per TVLine, below:
“We asked her at the beginning of the year. We went out to dinner and asked, ‘Is it ending like you always thought it would, or has anything changed?’ And she said that, no, it was going to end at the inauguration, so we got an extra year. It feels like such a gift from heaven.”
With this in mind, you can look at Scandal season 7 as almost an add-on to what was originally meant to be a six-season story about Olivia Pope finding her voice and understanding more of what it meant to be in Washington politics. Her relationship with President Fitzgerald Grant was a big part of that story. Credit to Kerry Washington and Young for developing their own great character relationship over time, given that this bond is one of the reasons why the show was able to evolve and make this seventh season worthwhile.
Is it still controversial? Certainly, given that Olivia is not altogether likable at the moment. The good news is that there is still plenty of time left for this to change, provided of course that it’s meant to change. Maybe this is just meant to be the story for Olivia that we’re left with since, (to quote Lord Acton) “absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Olivia in power is inevitably a very different person than her without said power.
A new episode of Scandal airs on ABC on Thursday night. If you are interested in getting some more news about what could be coming, be sure to visit the link here.
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