Review: 'Scandal' - 'Nobody Likes Babies': Presidential assassination
The reinvented Shonda Rhimes drama wraps up its first major arc in fine fashion
Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn in "Scandal."
When "Scandal" debuted last spring, I wasn't sure what to make of it, beyond recognizing that Kerry Washington had the goods to carry a series and Shonda Rhimes had fashioned an excellent role for her.
This season, though, Rhimes has kicked the show up to another level by ditching the Crisis of the Week procedural format in favor of reinventing "Scandal" as a gonzo hybrid of conspiracy thriller and high-stakes soap opera, involving election rigging, a presidential assassination attempt, a failed internal White House coup, and all sorts of other crazy shenanigans. It's ludicrous on virtually every level; it's also an enormous amount of fun, thanks to the writing and the performances.(*)
(*) The series has also benefited from ditching the charming but redundant Henry Ian Cusick and beefing up Josh Malina's role as a good guy who's righteously focused on bringing down Olivia.
Rhimes treated the season's first 13 episodes as one big arc, which culminated tonight with a whole bunch of revelations, shifted allegiances, and dastardly conduct. "Nobody Likes Babies" was a particularly strong showcase for Jeff Perry and Bellamy Young, and it resolved almost everything from this arc while setting up some interesting new conflicts for whatever comes next.
I'm talking to Rhimes sometime next week about how she reinvented the show for the better, but I wanted to mark the end of this first arc, and see what those of you who've been watching all along felt about how things wrapped up. We'll see if Rhimes can find a way to top this, but for now, bravo.
What did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupAlanna
February 8, 2013 at 12:34AM EST Reply to CommentAre there any good guys still left on "Scandal"? Kudos to Rhimes for going there with Fitz. As I told a friend, the sequence with the funeral and Verna's death was like some deliciously campy (and very well-acted) Greek tragedy. This show is so ridiculous, and that's what makes it so darn much fun.
Li I think David Rosen is the only good guy left. So far, he's the only one out of the major players who hasn't lied, stolen, killed, anything like that. He wears the white hat. Everyone else is wearing gray.
February 8, 2013 at 1:03AM ESTKen from Chicago Li, Senator Edison Davis, former beau and almost fiance of Olivia Pope, is still a good guy.
February 8, 2013 at 7:12AM ESTJaxemer11 Its a VERY DARK shade of grey too.
February 9, 2013 at 1:36AM ESTPen Quinn has done no wrong, David has done no wrong, they are still the good guys.
February 9, 2013 at 10:43AM ESTKen from Chicago Pen, um, Quinn tried to have Huck kill Hollis for $5,000.
February 9, 2013 at 8:16PM ESTGlen
February 8, 2013 at 12:35AM EST Reply to CommentMaybe it's just me but I find all of the characters to be irredeemable. Maybe I'm on my high horse but I just feel like they have this character that's rigged an election and pretty much ruined a good mans career not once but twice, and tried to make her and others of equal standing as the good guys or the heroes or sympathetic figure. It's entertaining I guess but I really only watch hoping that in one of these episode her and her those like her get what's coming to them or at least someone calls her out on her bs...
Linda F I'm with you, Glen. Everything about this episode left a bad taste in my mouth, and usually I love this show. I can't root for Fitz and Olivia to get together anymore--he's a murderer in my head now. And yes, I know Verna tried to murder him, but he's at her level now. The "to the death a gladiator" thing is just over the top. Cyrus was basically a wild-eyed madman yesterday, and even my favorite characters, Abby and David, came off bad. Abby loves David, but after the way Olivia betrayed her she still stuck it to David, and poor David, the only good guy on the whole show, came off looking like a buffoon. I could go on for an hour, but I'll stop now. I'm going to stick with the show for the short term and see what happens, but I don't love it anymore. This is my first Shonda Rhimes show, and I'm no longer impressed.
February 8, 2013 at 8:59AM ESTJaxemer11 I was thinking the same thing. How can any of these people ever be sympathetic?
February 9, 2013 at 1:38AM ESTWith that said, I find Heisenberg completely unredeemable on Breaking Bad too and still love that show.
Molly's Mom Glen! Linda F!! Jaxemer11!!! Now just hold on a second...We're deep in the trenches with a whole slew of highly intelligent and passionate characters that are, in turn, challenged to make hard moral choices in service to loyalty, God, country and yes, ambition. Funny, to my way of thinking, that - at least one of you - would prefer Fitz remain in a loveless marriage with a manipulative wife driven by her own self interest rather than what's best for any of the poeple around her. As for Liv, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but what's between her and Fitz is truly love and hope and humanity. Few decisions made in this world are really irreversible (Thank God!)and what we're witness to each week is just how tortured it can be to navigate life as you either strive to do the right thing or, more simply, win. I'd much rather watch that show than the one where Olivia Pope (and Fitz, and Huck, Abby, Cyrus, James, Mellie, Verna et. al) go unsullied and fake when it comes to real life.
February 9, 2013 at 5:04AM ESTWhy don't you just sit back and get a wee bit more empathetic and a lot less self righteous so you can better appreciate what mere mortals face from time to time? And for the record, Heisenberg is an arrogant, selfish and narcissistic worm...but I agree, that show succeeds as well!
Jaxemer11 Well Molly ... I think murder is one of those mistakes that is pretty irreversible.
February 9, 2013 at 10:18AM ESTLinda F I'm plenty empathetic, thank you, Molly's Mom, in the things that matter (aka real life) and I certainly don't appreciate being called self-righteous.
February 10, 2013 at 3:04AM ESTI believe Olivia and Fitz truly love each other, and I want them to be together. But I agree with Jaxemer11--murder is about as irreversible as it gets, and if it bothers me to see a character I like sink to the level of murder, well, then, I guess that's my right, isn't it?
But of course, when all is said and done, this is just a TV show. So I'll get over it. Either I'll keep watching or I'll choose not to. At the moment, I'm willing to give the show a chance to see if Fitz can redeem himself somehow. If he doesn't, I'll take my self-righteous, non-empathetic butt off to another show.
pamelajaye you know what you do when you are deeply in love with a man who is married to someone else and has to remain where he lives due to his job?
February 11, 2013 at 4:12AM ESTYou move to another state. (or in this case a state).
I would have said the same to Derek when he was pretending to "save his marriage" to Addie in season 2 (move to another hospital across town - you are the only one in your triangle who can) and in real life... when temptation chases you without thought of who might get hurt. (Including you?) Yup - flee. Run. Go far away.
If POTUS can cheat on his wife with Olivia, I sure wouldn't want to spend my life with him - even if my heart was screaming PLEASE! Sometimes thinking with your head will save your heart. And maybe your reputation too.
cadfile
February 8, 2013 at 5:59AM EST Reply to CommentWho knew that stealing evidence and lying to the man you were sleeping with about it could lead to a group hug??? WOW!
My Mom caught me on to this show and it is different in that pretty much every one is a bad guy but they also have streaks of good with some comedy thrown in.
Totally different than Rhimes other shows which I don't care for. Good for her.
NIA Interesting!
February 8, 2013 at 8:00AM ESTNia
February 8, 2013 at 7:38AM EST Reply to CommentThe path this series has taken is a betrayal to the lead character, Olivia. First, when we met the character Olivia, in the initial promos, and the first episode, she was introduced as someone who we could rely on, to rely on her instincts. We learned early she was someone who wore the "White hat" someone who always worked towards good, honesty, and integrity. This is no longer the case. And, it will take a miracle for her to be reunited with the qualities we were sold in the first few episodes. Characters grow as we have seen in other series on television but they always stay true to their core qualities. Olivia, is not as desirable as she was because she is no longer unique, or different from the others in her midst. She's just like them which kills her originality and courage. In the series Damages, for example, we saw that the lead character was not honest, she was bad from the start, whose going to trust her, but we were fascinated by her darkness, because the people she went up against practiced evil with a wider brush, and we wanted her to succeed because it took someone like her to think the way they did and bring them down. Not so in the case of Scandal, Olivia has been sullied, and we no longer see her in white, morally, and that has seriously injured her credibility with me because I no longer can root for her. I can understand the president doing what he did because he still isn't himself, and we were told he might suffer some personality changes, after all there are cases where people suffer head injuries and experience a more violent personality or other changes for the worst, but we had no such warning about Olivia to explain her past behavior, agreeing to tamper with an election.
It would have been better if she had been brought in to fix what they had done wrong, since she is a fixer, not have her agree to do wrong, she wears the "White hat" so how could you let her do that. I think until a serious effort is made to redeem her, viewers will drift from this show, personally I feel the lead character has been betrayed with this story line. It's disorienting and sad. I loved this show very, very, much. Now, I will stick with just reading the reviews. I can't stand watching what they (the writers) have done to her... betraying your lead character's integrity is like offering Clorox to clean up a stain but giving the person wet wipes. It sucks!
sepinwall The ratings are up this year, by the way. You may not like what's been done to Olivia (which is fair, as it's a big shift), but more people are watching this version of the show than the one where she was unsullied.
February 8, 2013 at 7:47AM ESTFan of Scandal It seems like a lot of you all as viewers wanted Olivia to not have any flaws. That is not the case, it shows that this character is not perfect. Although I wish she had not participated in the election rigging, I believed it showed how far she was willing to go for the one she loved, because if you remember from previous episodes during flashbacks, she DID NOT want it to happen. But the talk with Fitz after his father died allowed her to make a hard decision which she battled with internally. But she honestly did it because she wanted her man happy. She had not motives like Hollis, Mellie, Verna an Cyrus. She loves Fitz and that is why she agreed to the rigging of the election.
February 8, 2013 at 11:43AM ESTFan of Scandal *she did not have motives*
February 8, 2013 at 11:45AM ESTJaxemer11 That is what makes the show great, in my opinion. We were sold a bill of goods on Olivia, and no one sees it but us. We all know she is a scumbag, but it is fascinating to watch these people worship her. We used to worship her too, because we were told to. I have to imagine there will be a point where people figure out who the real Olivia Pope is, and it will be fun to watch them turn on her.
February 9, 2013 at 1:44AM ESTNia
February 8, 2013 at 8:24AM EST Reply to CommentOK, SEPINWAL:
You responded to my post and
I thought it was only fair that I posted the ratings here.
I found them on TV Series Finale, I was curious about your
statement so I looked it up. So, yes, you are correct the ratings
have gone up. Something about the change is drawing an audience.
I loved the show. Now, I am too disappointed to go beyond reading a review. I just wanted to support your statement about the ratings going up. It was truthful and I felt it should be noted here.
Episode 02-12: Thursday, 01/31/13
2.7 in the demo (+4% change) with 8.09 million (+2% change).
Season averages: 2.26 in the demo with 6.85 million.
Episode 02-11: Thursday, 01/17/13
2.6 in the demo (-7% change) with 7.93 million (-5% change).
Season averages: 2.22 in the demo with 6.74 million.
Episode 02-10: Thursday, 01/10/13
2.8 in the demo (+17% change) with 8.37 million (+17% change).
Season averages: 2.18 in the demo with 6.62 million.
Episode 02-09: Thursday, 12/13/12
2.4 in the demo (-4% change) with 7.14 million (-3% change).
Season averages: 2.11 in the demo with 6.43 million.
Episode 02-08: Thursday, 12/06/12
2.5 in the demo (+14% change) with 7.39 million (+11% change).
Season averages: 2.08 in the demo with 6.34 million.
Episode 02-07: Thursday, 11/29/12
2.2 in the demo (+10% change) with 6.64 million (+10% change).
Season averages: 2.01 in the demo with 6.19 million.
Episode 02-06: Thursday, 11/15/12
2.0 in the demo (+5% change) with 6.02 million (-1% change).
Season averages: 1.98 in the demo with 6.11 million.
Episode 02-05: Thursday, 11/08/12
1.9 in the demo (-5% change) with 6.06 million (-1% change).
Season averages: 1.98 in the demo with 6.13 million.
April This is just plain odd...you shouldn't need to justify your opinion or investigate Alan's in such detail to enjoy his message board...right Nia?
February 10, 2013 at 1:22AM ESTNia Hi April,
February 10, 2013 at 7:51AM ESTI also do not want to discourage anyone from watching the show. I just had an opinion and to be honest it is kind of exciting to read the comments of others about a show I loved.
But because I know the reality is these actors will be unemployed if no one watches the show. I was curious to see if the ratings did go up. It means they will stay employed a bit longer. Anyway, this is my final post.
Luke
February 8, 2013 at 10:25AM EST Reply to CommentJeff Perry gave an amazing performance last night, hope it gets recognised
NinjaDefenestrator I suspect Perry's performance in this episode might be remembered solely for his "get naked RIGHT NOW so we can have this conversation" scene, which segues into his "I was made to be President" speech. While still naked. Come to think of it, that was pretty much the best, most original scene in the episode.
February 9, 2013 at 5:40AM ESTtigger500
February 8, 2013 at 11:13AM EST Reply to CommentI just think the show is more plot driven than character-driven and so even if the show feels more exciting and juicy I can't trust anything that I see.
I don't mind that Olivia is flawed. I just wish she were flawed in a believable way that was rooted in something other than her own false sense of goodness.
I wish her staff were three-dimensional characters. I wish David Rosen weren't so naive and boring (as the only "good" guy.
Mellie and Huck are the only people who make any sense as human beings on this show. Everything else is utterly ridiculous but in a way that makes me want to throw my TV against the wall
Jaxemer11 Nothing in the show is meant to be realistic, which is why it is so great.
February 9, 2013 at 1:47AM ESTjustme
February 8, 2013 at 11:48AM EST Reply to CommentLast night was incredible. The plot twists and the story lines are almost giving this show a cable feel. That was one of the best hours of television my husband and I have seen, and that is saying a lot considering we are AMC/FX snobs.
tracene
February 8, 2013 at 12:29PM EST Reply to CommentI Loved....... the show last night!!! I just want Shonda to contnue to be true to her creativity and not give in to others like she did with GreyA!!! Now, I just want to say Fitz has always been aboutt Fitz!!! He asked O to marry him because he thought Millie tried to kill him! They are atually same peas in a pod. I love Oliva becuase she is flawed, but she trys to do the right thing.
CWynn OMG!
February 8, 2013 at 1:11PM ESTIt's Entertainment People. Get A Grip!
It's great tv that takes me into another world, so to speak. For an hour on Thursday nights my mind is not focused on bills, taxes, to do lists, supper for Friday, daycare, etc. Just relax & enjoy the show...or not. It doesn't need to be any more difficult!
dweller
February 8, 2013 at 3:06PM EST Reply to CommentI thought the show jumped the shark last night. In a season full of incredibles, in the sense of "can't be believed," last night was loaded with jaw-dropping, lunatic choices. I thought Jeff Perry's performance was over-the-top overacting, but he was given the most ludicrous scenes to play: sending an assassin to kill his husband, then juggling phone receivers while coming to a decision. Having us cheer for the theft of national security-related evidence. Any scene with Huck. I was tempted to laugh out loud at the writing, but I had been primed to expect something taut and gripping, so it just seemed sad, kinda like the ending to The Killing last season. Now, like that flawed series, the show has to find a way to continue without leaving us brain dead. I'll continue to watch, but this show has been tarnished big time for me.
Eva
February 8, 2013 at 3:22PM EST Reply to CommentI've enjoyed the show from day one. I thought even in season one, the pacing,look and feel of the show felt sharp and fresh.
I also don't mind that the characters are a little grimy -- morally speaking. They work in the highest echelons of politics. You can not be a top dog in that field and NOT be a little compromised.
I am also happy that Liv gets be be somewhat of an anti hero. The goody-good person is usually the most boring person in any show. If Olivia had stayed so morally bright, then I think she would have been eclipsed by all the others who get to do all the fun stuff around her.
I think all the anti-heroes I root for who are men -- Walter White, Stringer Bell, Tony Soprano -- and it is gratifying to have a woman in the mix.
I've enjoyed the ride throughout this 13-episode arc, and hopes she can sustain the momentum. But I also wouldn't mind if she got back a bit to the client, case-of-the-week stuff again on and off. Maybe balance the procedural aspects a but better with the long-form arc stuff.
Tripp06 Thanks for making the point I was about to. We are all naive if we do not believe that national politicians have a ever shifting moral compass based on holding onto power. Everyone there operates in the gray. It is almost necessary to get something done. You don't get that far without being able to sidestep a few landmines...
February 13, 2013 at 2:24PM ESTMike
February 8, 2013 at 3:35PM EST Reply to CommentThe show has come a long way since the laughable "Baby in a Box" pilot, but there is still one glaring issue in my eye: Quinn.
It was clear in the early going that her primary purpose was as a surrogate to the audience, and for as much as the writers have worked to provide depth to the rest of the ensemble, Quinn is still a problem.
They tried to give her a compelling back story (which helps) but she still has this deer-in-the-headlights demeanor. She doesn't provide a skill or meaningful contribution to the team, making it hard to justify why Olivia would go to such lengths to keep her around (as opposed to sending her off on her own once she's in the clear).
What purpose does Quinn serve going forward and if she were to disappear entirely would anyone be bothered in the least?
Jaxemer11 She serves the purpose of being in debt to Olivia, so she can be trusted. It is sort of perverse how Olivia has taken all these people in and manipulated them into being her soldiers. It is like her own personal cult. Harrison's speech about blind devotion to Olivia was creepy. Quinn is in a position to become something like that because she is in debt to Olivia.
February 9, 2013 at 1:56AM ESTBesides, if Olivia doesn't keep Quinn close, Quinn will start digging and will cause problems for Olivia. Olivia isn't evil enough to want Quinn dead, but she does know that ifnshe doesn't keep close tabs on her she could cause problems.
NinjaDefenestrator One of the Shonda interviews posted about this episode states that ten months later (next episode) Huckleberry Quinn is now a thing- Huck's been training Quinn to do a lot of what he does. Which, come to think of it, is mildly disturbing at the least. Quinn did seem awfully useless throughout most of the first 22 episodes, but it was for a reason: she loses a tiny bit of innocence and learns just a little more every episode, which makes her start digging into her own situation, and from there it's a free fall into uncovering everything. The moment when she truly understands how much she's changed, what she's lost and what she has to do moving forward, is when she takes back that $5k from
February 9, 2013 at 5:29AM ESTHuck. Now I really want to see Assassin Quinn, please, because Katie Lowes needs something interesting to do other than stand there and look perpetually confused.
Jaxemer11
February 9, 2013 at 1:36AM EST Reply to CommentLove this show. I recognize its absurdity, but I probably look forward to this show more than anything else on TV right now. I have to say that I absolutely HATE the affair storyline. It is so ridiculously sappy and it drives me crazy. Everything else is great.
It will be interesting to see where they go from here. Can Shonda Rhimes make any of these characters sympathetic after everything they have done? Even Olivia has diggen herself quite a deep while. Can we just forget about this stuff and act like none of it ever happened?
Mike
February 9, 2013 at 11:34PM EST Reply to CommentWhere are the presidents children? I know he has them, I know they are talked about and referenced and all that but seriously if we do not see them then we cannot get a full picture of what is at stake every time Olivia and the President decide to run off together.
You see the show just does not want to go too far in making Olivia a bad person and that is kind of condescending as is Olivia herself. The lectures she gives while also being a hypocrite do not help make her endearing. Also Quin has every right to question Olivia about how she was involved in destroying her life...but her team says do not question Olivia and that is all fine and Quinn just goes along and says she now does not care that she lost her fiancee and all that.
Also I know there is a no politics rule on Alans blog but how come most shows either have a democratic president who along with his or hers administration is perfect and everything is awesome or is a Republican who is incredibly deeply flawed.
This dates back to MASH where Frank Burns was dumb, religeous, money grubbing and just spouted off the most single minded brainwashed proganda possible...and Hawkeye was the smart, educated, well trained, well reasoned human being alive.
This show is the same...election rigging...hmmmm...where does that come from? A republican businessman who is rich and southern and awful and every other stereotype out there.
It has become so unoriginal that it is insulting to people who are either left or right. It is condescending and too much. The Newsroom was too much, MASH became too much, The West Wing became too much. It is just wrong for the Hollywood to be so oblivious.
I am English and live in England and have no vested interest in this but even I can see the problem, does anyone else?
BlackStar I'm glad the President's children aren't being shown. Ms. Rhimes is sparing us the nonsense that we see on The Good Wife when it forces the Florrick teens into the most absurd storylines.
February 11, 2013 at 2:57PM ESTpamelajaye
February 11, 2013 at 3:54AM EST Reply to CommentI have so many different feelings about Scandal.
I watch it because of Shonda - but I can't watch it in its timeslot because I can't follow rapid fire political/conspiracy/mystery dialog at 10pm. I could do it on ER, but medical is easier.
I have mixed feelings about Washington based shows. I loved TWW when there were characters I liked, being snarky and having real feelings and endured it when they just spent hours referring to people I couldn't recall and bills I didn't care about. If you need a cheat sheet, it's not worth it. I longed for them to being back Danny (and, for that ,matter, CJ - and she was still there)
The mystery was somewhat interesting (less dull than season 1) but last week I was treated to a monolog by the black guy gladiator which amounted to - we do what we are told and we don't ask questions (cause, of course, we all owe Olivia our lives).
So apparently Pope and Associates is now a cult.
I'll keep watching, cause of Shonda, but at the moment I'm annoyed that she tweets about it like 15 times more often than Grey's - apparently the ugly older sis to her cuddly new baby. I hope Harper is not suffering the same fate. (Probably not - that would be... slander? Libel? Probably untrue?)
But since I'm here, I really want to add that Grey's is having some interestingly story lines this season - like amputation after-effects and corporate invasion in health care. Sure, people are still having sex in on call rooms, but now with ex-spouses. And the story line with Dr. Mark Craig was great and gave me flashbacks, hmm?
Presidents killing terminal supreme court judges really doesn't do it for me. But then, I like shows like Parenthood. The only interesting story I saw while enduring Private Practice (aka Bed-hopping for Attendings) was Charlotte and Cooper. Otherwise, Mindless brain candy, stamped with Shondaland.
Annie
February 14, 2013 at 11:12AM EST Reply to CommentI started watching because of Josh Malina on Twitter and he (plus some masochism) was the only reason I stuck with it for a long time.
Since the beginning, Liv & Fitz have had terrible, unbelievable chemistry in my eyes, and I didn't/don't buy her attraction to him. And Mellie deals with some spillover from that, so I highly dislike her, too.
But that awful, cringeworthy triangle aside, I guiltily enjoy the show and it's crazy conspiracies. Though if Malina wasn't hyping it on Twitter, I wouldn't bother.