Scandal Season 4 Episode 18 Review: A Traitor In The Midst
Miranda Wicker
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Damn those ABC promos, y'all!
Last week's teaser made it seem as if Jake was going Mad Dog, and most of Scandal Season 4 Episode 18 supported that theory as well. At least up until the last five minutes when Scandal did what Scandal does and flipped the tables on us all.
In last week's review for Scandal Season 4 Episode 17, I lamented the fact that the previews for tonight's episode made it seem as if Jake was turning against Olivia, David, and OPA. If I'm not mistaken, the previews showed him saying he would kill Olivia, a line which didn't occur in tonight's episode at all.
That will teach me not to trust the promos. Just in case I needed yet another reason not to trust them. (Seriously, why do I even watch?)
This entire episode was spent making me believe Jake was doing everything in his power to take down David's case against B-613, like he was harboring some latent loyalties to the group that basically stole his life. Like he doesn't want to stand in the sun with Olivia anymore and turn away from all the darkness of that group.
I should've known better. We all should.
The reveal that Holly, David's assistant, and Russell, Olivia's boy toy, are the real threats was one I should have seen coming but did not. Probably because I wasn't looking, but hey, I try not to look. I like the surprise.
Is Jake a good guy like he tells David he is at the end? Meh. Not exactly. But no one on this show is except David himself. He's the only one who has consistently been on the quest for justice. I like that guy a lot.
David's dogged determination to take down B-613 might seem silly, but he's seen what this group has cost those whom he calls friends and the White Hat in him can't sit by and let Rowan Pope and his cronies destroy any more lives. It doesn't matter if they've done what they've done and killed whomever they've killed in the sake of national and international security. One look at Huck and his brokenness is all David needs to see that B-613 is bad.
The White Hat Society's moment on the steps was one of my favorite David moments of the episode. I love that he sat there and said, "Hey guys? So, about telling Olivia..." and the man who started out this series as her frenemy is the one who knows her best. He's the one who trusts her most to know what she's capable of handling. It will be a long time before Huck and Quinn underestimate her again.
It's unclear whether she was looped in on the entire thing or if Jake was listening in while they were sitting on the steps and agreed that she needed to know what they were up to, but I'm inclined to think Jake had her up to speed the whole time. It just seems like something he would do, and it explains why he was across the hall in her apartment building. It was an easy way for him to keep her up to speed while she kept up appearances that nothing weird was happening.
I don't think he anticipated Russell working for Rowan though. And let's just point out that this is the SECOND man Rowan has sent to sleep with his daughter, if he is, in fact, working for Rowan and wasn't just standing there at the door terrified out of his gourd while Rowan held a gun on him or something and used him to gain entrance to Olivia's apartment.
There's always the possibility he's not one of Rowan's men, but the likelihood that he's a spy seems more Rowan's style. If he weren't, Rowan probably would've put a bullet in him and left a dead body bleeding out on Olivia's doorstep.
In terms of the romantic entanglements and the discussion last week about how one of Olivia's potential suitors has to be torn down in order for the other to seem viable, I like that what we have here, given Fitz and Olivia's last, non-speaking encounter at Cyrus' wedding where she put the ring back on, is two possibilities for her again.
While the triangle itself is tiresome across all shows and genres, I like that her romantic interests were de-emphasized this week, but the potential for either relationship is there again. If neither Jake nor Fitz are perfect men, and she's not actively fighting with either of them, then either of them are candidates for her affection.
It might be possible for Olivia to choose herself like she wanted to do before she was kidnapped. But first we have to deal with her father again. Her evil, terrible, horrible father.
Honorable Mentions:
- Any time Charlie hangs out with the group is a good time for me. I like that guy and loved his "stay alive" to Quinn.
- The case this week was a good one. Let's get back to having Olivia work cases that aren't tied up in the White House.
- Mellie's sister Harmony provided some great distraction from the heaviness of the B-613 story. She breezed in and ruffled Mellie's feathers completely; Fitz stepping in to smooth things over with a big dose of truth was a nice touch.
- Look for Cyrus to leak stories about Mellie's family history to the media and blame Harmony.
What did you think of "Honor Thy Father"? Were you shocked by the reveal that Holly was a B-613 assassin? Can we get three cheers for Charlie?
Until the series returns, remember you can watch Scandal online right here at TV Fanatic.
Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.
