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merylstr · 8 years

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Scandal 5x09 Review

First I want to state this clearly- my opinions are not meant to condemn others for how they feel. My blog is my form of understanding the episode. I encourage discussions and enjoy viewing others opinions on the matter. I truthfully was not planning on writing a review because I did not want my views to interfere with others understanding and thought process but I have been asked by several people an hopefully this can be of assistance.

I’ve said this several times that olitz was ticking and that it was only a matter of time before they had this colossal explosions that would have repercussions far beyond what they predicted.

There is no time-table for how long Olivia has been living in the White House but in that short period of time, Olivia became everything she never wanted to be.

Her white suits-her armor; hidden. She stares at the clothes almost numbly as though questioning why she is really here in the first place. Then Fitz walks in and we see why she is here but he doesn’t see Olivia’s turmoil. He walks in points to a dress he likes and walks away- there is nothing wrong with this. In relationships you tell your partner what looks good and what doesn’t at times- this isn’t wrong. It’s natural and I think if Olivia wasn’t moved into the White House she would be open to Fitz’s opinion on the dress but she already feels caged and voiceless and so without saying a word she wears the dress while consciously putting another strike against Fitz.

I understand why many are sad; I was disheartened watching this episode. The formidable Olivia Pope was gone and in her place was first girlfriend who was meek-mild-obedient. When they walked out of residence to head for the party Fitz was barking orders to Olivia and I noticed that though they were acting like an old couple they were not acting like a couple of teenagers we saw the first episode back in 501

Olivia was not fixing Fitz’s tie and Fitz was not reaching to hold Olivia’s hands. It’s sad to witness that in such short period of time-these two beautifully complex individuals forgot how to love one another, how to support one another while still remaining their truest self.

Olivia is talking to a senator wife while staring at Fitz with envy and yearning. Fitz is chatting with the big dogs while Olivia looks to Fitz hoping he will come and save her-but he doesn’t look at Olivia because he doesn’t see her-not anymore really. Fitz is resorting back to his old ways with Mellie, not on purpose but because this is what they did- they were always a team in this area; faking.

Later on in the episode Abby see’s Liv picking china and tells her she’s good at this and Olivia smiles at her and tells her ‘she knows’. That is frightening for Olivia for two reasons.

If she were to marry Fitz then she would have mastered the art of pretending- her and Fitz no longer seeing one another as equals.

Because she is good at this- that too can be frightening, how easy it is to fill this rule and be great at it.

The abortion/fight:

I can tell you truthfully that I was upset-that I yelled at my screen with disdain and then finally became numb. It was as if I was watching a train derails and I could do nothing but watch in horror at what was to come and what to expect.

That scene in the clinic haunted me, Olivia’s name is called and we see her legs on the stirrup and the machine turning on. I was completely shocked at what was occurring, and I asked myself ‘how did Olivia get pregnant?’ We have seen Olivia partake in sex often and many have asked how has this women never been pregnant and of course my thoughts went deeper- did Olivia decide to give it a try or was it just a mistake- the truth; my inquire into how it happened doesn’t really matter because Olivia had an abortion and made her decision. It is a woman’s right and a woman’s body to decide whether to carry or not- I have always been prochoice but this action has made me question my own commitment. As Olivia sat on the table, you can see that she has removed herself from this situation entirely almost as though a defense mechanism for self-preservation. There are no words really to describe this situation because it is sad for all parties. At first viewing, I was angry with Olivia because I felt she had an abortion because she didn’t want to be tied down to Fitz but I was wrong. Having a baby does not fix a relationship but exacerbates it. Truthfully we don’t know if Olivia wants children, I heard Olivia mention having children with Fitz one time 3x09(I believe) and I believe she wants to have a child with Fitz but under the right circumstances- at the right time. This does not excuse Olivia for her actions but it does bring up an interesting topic. Yes, Olivia is the woman and it is her body but does she have the right to have an abortion and if so should the father be made aware before the procedure? I think this was Olivia’s choice because it is her body but also her decision to make as a woman who was not ready and Olivia will have to deal with her actions- something she might regret or might not.

After the procedure Olivia runs into the closet of the WH and she searches for the hooch-Mellie’s gift. Olivia is elated when she finds it and drinks it heavily. Remember what Mellie said before, the hooch is there to make you feel alive and Olivia wants desperately to feel because a part of her just died. The decision to have an abortion was not an easy decision as evidenced by Olivia’s attitude and when Fitz asked her where she was, Olivia tells him

“I tried… tonight to make it to your dinner. I thought I would get back in time. I really… tried. But …” Olivia ‘tried’ to keep the fetus, she really did but she just couldn’t.

The fight ensues. It was brutal, ugly, honest, deceitful, but beautiful. Fitz wanted Olivia to admit that she was running because that’s what she does- when she gets scared, she runs. Olivia justifies running because who wouldn’t run from this. I loved that Fitz told Olivia that she wasn’t here, and he isn’t referring to just the party. Liv hasn’t been here the same way Fitz hasn’t been here for Liv.

Like I said before, olitz was ticking before, we all knew they were going to have a fight, I just don’t think we were prepared and aware of the extent. Olivia tells Fitz that he hasn’t really been there for her because instead of treating her like his equal, he has her talking to a senator’s wife when she should be talking to the senator because she is the ‘Big Dog’.

The next topic- the move. This is where their lack of communication truly shines. Olivia feels Fitz was punishing her and Fitz is in disbelief because he thought he was trying to ‘save them’. Olivia retorts this move was because of her father and she is being punished for trying to ‘save’ Fitz, but Fitz knows her father’s release was as much for him as it was for her. Olivia and Fitz’s problem is that they make decisions on behalf of the other in hopes of ‘saving’ the other.

The talk is heated but restrained until the proposal is brought up. Olivia tells Fitz he didn’t really ask her to marry him for love but was trying to manipulate her. Olivia isn’t entirely wrong but she isn’t right either. Fitz made it clear he didn’t want to do this, but that Olivia deserved it. Fitz wasn’t trying to manipulate Olivia but he certainly wasn’t trying to marry her either-at least not the way they both wanted (5x07). This is where the talk gets ugly. Fitz is not as blind as we all thought he is aware of Olivia calling the shots and “wielding her influence” and “power capes”. Fitz knows Olivia has always had his back and is his most trusted advisor but he is angry and hurt and so he attacks and Olivia gets ugly when she tells Fitz he is bitter because he is aware of how ‘ineffectual’ he is as the president-ouch. Their entire relationship Fitz always feared never being good enough and for the love of his life to tell him what he always thought of himself-ouch. Olivia was able to hurt Fitz in ways Mellie never could and so he tells Olivia, she is worse than Mellie because Olivia has been ‘pretending’ to believe in him whereas Mellie has always been Mellie, but to get back at Liv he references where Olivia came from.

The talk became less of a talk and more of a boxing match. Every blow one hit, the other retaliated. Fitz references where Olivia came from. Goodness! This is horrible- ugly. Fitz acted like the reporters with that line ‘where you came from.’ Olivia went to schools with royalty there is nothing average about her upbringing, but Olivia kicks back with the painful stab to Fitz’s heart “I came from a palace compared to the man that raised you- at least my father loved me.” Olivia sees her father’s abandonment and abuse as love- poor Liv. Olivia and Fitz don’t know how to love in a healthy way, but they will. Daddy issues are obvious and both don’t know how to love in the right way. Fitz loves and fears losing Olivia so he places her in a box- I would love to have more backstory on Fitz and his up bring. How was his mom? What was she like? Fitz’s abandonment issues are there but just not as apparent as Olivia’s.

Olivia’s problem is that she feels it’s easier to leave then be left.

Olivia loves Fitz desperately she wouldn’t have done this for anyone else but him. She loves him but the fear of losing herself inside him is evident, but I think Olivia’s greatest fear is that not only losing the woman she is proud of-OPA but also the fear that comes with loving someone so deeply that it shakes your foundation.

Genius! Love the flashbacks, genius move on Shonda and the editor’s part to incorporate the flashbacks to the moments when we and Olivia and Fitz fell in love. Call me crazy but I felt this palpable chemistry between the two, I felt their love and desire for each other surging through my veins, how they invaded each other’s space and mind refusing to back down. I think that was their first breath in quite some time. No longer walking on eggshells they are telling each other the ugly truths.

“You want to know who wouldn’t run- someone capable of being in a relationship- someone capable of being normal.”

This scene flashbacks to the first time we see Olivia and Fitz in the oval – the second time them dancing. Those flashbacks reflect their fight. Olivia is capable of being in a relationship because she’s been in love with Fitz this since she met him. The ironic thing about this scene is that Olivia and Fitz feared the other never truly saw them but they are wrong. They see each other clearly and the thing about love is that it is the ones we love the most that we hurt the most because we know them.

“If you were someone capable of being alone-someone capable of not suffocating me.”

We flashback to the Constitution were Olivia declares her love for Fitz. When Olivia says ‘alone’ it flashes back to the time when Fitz was burying his father and he asked Olivia if he would be a good president and Olivia tells him she thinks he would be a great president. That moment is more symbolic now than before- at the time we were not aware of Olivia’s daddy issues and how she too was ‘alone’ but with Fitz she found her home- where she always belonged and she was no longer lonely.

Fitz attempts to defend his actions while Olivia talks over him telling him ‘you were trying to save me.’ Just earlier during the fight Olivia was telling Fitz the exact same thing- she was trying to save him. Why is it okay for one to save the other and not the other way around- why can’t they save each other? Fitz clarifies that he was trying to save ‘us’ and our last flashback is the house in Vermont and we see olitz making love in their home.

The fight was more about past insecurities that plague them individually and their relationship.

Olivia declares that there is no us, this, Vermont, and jam.

Olivia’s recent abortion is blatantly obvious to the audience when she tells Fitz, there is no future-not anymore. Notice how Olivia struggled to say that last word, as if it took her breath away because it did. What would have been their child-their legacy-their future; is no more. She turns away from Fitz because he can’t witness her breakdown. Olivia’s decision was not an easy one and it seems ostensive that she has issues with her decision to have an abortion.

Olivia’s foretelling (501) has come to fruition. Tired, they sit on the stool and share a final glass of hooch and pat each other on the back ‘for trying’. They didn’t try that much is obvious; they didn’t fight for their relationship. They didn’t fight for their love- they gave up because life got hard and loving each other got even harder so they wiped their hands clean and decided to move on. Interestingly enough neither one said ‘it’s over’ because it’s not over between Olivia and Fitz and I don’t think it ever will be. Olivia and Fitz will soon regret giving up on each other ; instead of leaning on each other they pushed each other away.

The ending scene.

Olivia orders her a new couch and it shows us that Olivia is on the right path, but all can’t be fixed with a new couch. She smiles at her tree as she nurses her wine but then her smile stops subtly and we see her drift to thoughts of him-and it.

Wishes:

I hope to see Fitz single for a while and learning how to depend on himself and becoming confident in his ability to lead as the President

I hope to see Fitz date and have fun. It will be interesting if they go that route- Fitz is the first eligible president. He’s hot commodity and everyone will be dying to date him and Liv will have to watch as another woman hold his hand- it will be nice to see the shoes reversed!

I hope to see Liv deal with her decision to have an abortion in a healthy way- and I wish to see Liv handle her daddy issues.

Lastly I strongly believe that Olivia will get to know Fitz ‘available’ since she never has before.

While I am upset with how things could get so terrible so quick. I do see the endless possibilities:

I know many see this as being the end of olitz but I don’t see that- the exact opposite. It is obvious that they love each other but their issues are the cause of their demise. Olivia and Fitz must work on themselves before they can work on each other. They will find their way back to one another.

Some people just don’t know what a good thing is until it’s gone.

Until next time…xoxo

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