Scandal Review: Stolen Moments

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Poor David! Poor Olivia! Poor Huck and everyone who had to smell him! All of these characters and their issues! Scandal is really playing on my sympathies lately. 

Olivia Pope is really very terrible at dating. Some would blame it on her star-crossed history with Fitz. Others probably blame it on the cell phone in her hand. She has no "off" switch.

Truth be told, the show is better for it, even if constantly being ripped away from half a second of happiness makes me sad for Olivia. As the last episode before Scandal takes a break, "Boom Goes the Dynamite" maintained the right balance between answering existing questions and leaving Gladiators yearning for more.

Boom Goes the Dynamite Scene

When Scandal moved away from the weekly clients, it lost a little bit of its dazzle. It was bogged down by Defiance and the election rigging cover up, offering no real room for character development or growth. There was too much talking... and the talking being done was too slow. 

Bringing back the weekly case speeds things up and gives the team something to do besides sit around the office waiting for the phone to ring. 

This week's case, a political family seeking office for the youngest son, gave Olivia a kick in the very beautiful dress so that she would perhaps consider being at least a little happy from time to time. I have no doubt that she's spent a great deal of the last 10 months pining over Fitz and missing him, but her sadness tonight felt almost self-imposed instead of related to her relationship woes. Like she doesn't think she deserves to be happy.

And maybe she didn't think she deserves happiness. Maybe she thought that she deserves to be lonely and sad. But, thankfully, Jake Ballard doesn't agree. And after that scene in the garden with the client, Olivia is starting to realize that she deserves more than just "stolen moments in hotel hallways." (That entire quote is a long but great one and can be found on the Scandal quotes page.)

If there is anyone out there who at this moment still wants to see Fitz and Olivia together, speak now or forever hold your peace. 

After tonight, I'm done with Fitz for the forseeable future. I want him and Olivia to have absolutely nothing to do with one another, maybe forever, since he can't even grant her the decency of explaining herself and instead called her a whore and had her life bugged with video surveillance. Wait, what's that? You didn't catch that?

Fitz is the reason Jake is watching Olivia on the Creepy Cam.

He says it's nothing personal. Olivia is just a bad person who needs to be watched. And she's a very bad person because...she lied to him?  Excuse me, but which of the two of them is an actual, cold-blooded murderer?

While I think it's creepy that Jake is so enamored with Olivia after watching the video feed, and while it was completely shudder-worthy when he stroked her face on the TV screen, there was something gentlemanly about him turning off the TV so she could get dressed in private. He could examine every aspect of her life, and her person, but that's a line he doesn't cross out of respect for her privacy when he wonders why he should be watching her at all.

(Side note: If Cyrus knows about the video surveillance and he isn't saying anything, curses to him. I've just had the thought that his naked argument with James may have occurred in the buff because he thinks perhaps his own house is being monitored.)

Watching Jake lie to Fitz about the new man in Olivia's life was also telling regarding his motivations where she's concerned. If he didn't care, he would've made something up, or said that he had gotten close to her in order to learn more. But by lying, he's making it clear that he intends to keep her to or for himself. 

I'm so conflicted by this character. Is he good? Is he bad? Is he both? He certainly makes Olivia smile.

Huck, on the other hand, had everyone grimacing tonight. At first I thought the smelly bit would be some strange spy quirk. Sometimes Huck gets caught up in work and doesn't shower, you know?

But when he was in the car outside David's school and the rain started falling, my heart sank. Of all the characters on Scandal, Huck is the one who most needs a hug. And he would probably snap my arms off for trying, but smelly or not, he needs some help. I'm glad he has Quinn. Their friendship is nice and interesting.

In the beginning, Olivia had Steven. Harrison and Abby had each other. That left Huck as the odd man out until Quinn came along. Now the two of them have each other. Harrison is the new Steven, which leaves Abby the odd woman out. So that means David needs to join the team post haste.

Plus, spending all that time at the office might be the only way he stays alive with the CIA Director/Mole after him so they might as well put his intelligence to good use. 

Finally, it was awesome to watch Cyrus figure out that Mellie has been throwing him under the bus to Fitz and then dish it right back to her. Completely awesome. I was almost giddy when Cyrus bested her. I understand why Fitz chose Mellie over Cyrus and Olivia when he found out about Defiance, but she was never the right choice as an adviser. 

What did you think of "Boom Goes The Dynamite?" Are your thoughts about Jake Ballard changing after this week?

Boom Goes the Dynamite Review

Editor Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.3 / 5.0 (150 Votes)

Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.

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Scandal Season 2 Episode 15 Quotes

Jake: Wow, you really suck at dating.
Olivia: I never said this was a date. You did.

Jake: It's a date.
Olivia: What?
Jake: It's a date. You said meeting. I'm not a client. I don't have a problem. I don't need fixing. I asked you out. You said yes. We dressed up. At the end of the evening if all goes well there will be kissing. This is not a meeting this is a date. And I don't want to insult you. You chose this restaurant. I'm sure the food is very good, but this is not a date restaurant. You can't have a date here. This is where dates go to die. You look extraordinary, by the way.