Scandal Season 7 Episode 2 Review: Pressing the Flesh
Paul Dailly
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When you think of a state dinner, you think of an elegant affair that has the best people in politics meeting up for some fine dining and chatting about what could be done better.
Then there's a Scandal state dinner, and an assassination attempt is just par for the course.
On Scandal Season 7 Episode 2 President Rashad of Bashran made his way to meet up with the POTUS who wanted to try and find a way to have some unity between the United States of America and the Middle East.
What I liked about Rashad was that he spoke his mind. Whenever he thought someone was trying to get one over on him, he would speak up and hold nothing back.
He had heard so much about Olivia Pope and her underhand tactics that he had already made an assumption about her before crossing paths with her.
Simply put, he knew she was going to try and find a way to manipulate him to sign the treaty and get him in an alliance with the U.S.
While that may have seemed like a bold move on paper, there was a silly moment during the hour that made me question whether the powers that be think the viewers of this show are stupid.
Huck realizing there was an assassin in the midst based on the placement of his badges was absurd. That was not an easy mistake to make on the assassin's part, and it was one that blew his cover.
They clearly don't make Scandal twists like they used to. I'm all for a good bit of action, but it ruined all of the excitement I had for the dinner.
It was the worst form of payback, and don't even get me started on Huck managing to get the cell phones inside the White House.
On top of that, he sat in plain sight using one of the cell phones. Undoubtedly, the security would have been straight onto him and found out what he was doing.
Then there was poor Mellie who wanted to have an orgasm and talked vividly about how bored she was without male attention.
The whole scene with her and Olivia talking about the sex toys was hilarious because it showed that Olivia really had it all. She had all the power inside the White House, and she was sleeping with the cute news reporter.
Let's hope Marcus makes his grand return soon and that he and Mellie get to have some fun because I feel bad for Mellie. She's doing everything Olivia tells her and is scolded as soon as she steps one foot out of line.
Speaking of Olivia. Did anyone else roll their eyes the moment she had Curtis in the elevator at her place? It was so obvious Fitz was going to be standing there waiting for her.
Maybe I've watched too much Scandal too know that episodes don't conclude with people getting hot and heavy in elevators. There's always a big hook to keep viewers watching the next episode.
And what better hook than to have the MIA former President of the United States return to find the love of his life emerging from an elevator with some dude from the news?
The good thing about this is that Olivia is not going to have to let Curtis down gently. Whatever happened over the last one hundred or so days, it will be brushed under the rug in a matter of episodes.
No matter how often this show tries to keep Olitz apart, they always end up back together, and there had better be a good reason for this latest parting of ways.
They've been through the mill over the last seven seasons, so it's time to prove to viewers that solid storylines can still be churned out while having the two characters at the heart of the show together.
Olivia's reaction to Quinn and her team at the dinner party was excellent. It's almost like Olivia thought giving Quinn the keys to the kingdom would allow her to cut off her former allies.
Maybe Olivia knew she was going to become a terrible person in her new position. I don't know, but she needs to remember these people took up a whole chapter of her life before she hit the big time by getting into the White House with Mellie.
What we've seen of QPA so far is not exactly good. They are struggling to get clients, and that's not good for the longevity of the firm.
I get that we're supposed to see them struggle to continue in the aftermath of Olivia's departure, but something tells me the series will end with Olivia returning to gladiate after a fall from grace.
We could have done without the Quinn and Charlie argument. That just came out of thin air, and its sole purpose was to show off how in love they were.
Geez, get a room, you guys. The only couple I found myself rooting for was Abby and David. Their drama is the least convoluted out of the couples, and there's something very genuine about the way they address each other.
Abby knew she went off the deep end on Scandal Season 6, so she's trying to maintain a sense of stability. As much as she would like to get back with David, she's probably worried they would fall out again, and she would lose him forever.
"Pressing the Flesh" was not a great showcase of what Scandal has to offer, and that's concerning when we're so early in the final season.
Final seasons of shows can be terrible, or fulfilling and Scandal is currently somewhere in the middle. Hopefully, Fitz taking center stage on Scandal Season 7 Episode 3 will help switch things up a bit.
Remember you can watch Scandal online right here via TV Fanatic.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
