'Scandal' Season 4 Premiere Recap: The Best And Worst Moments Of 'Randy, Red, Superfreak, And Julia'

 

There’s no doubt that Scandal is one of the most talked about shows on TV. It’s known for having more “shocker” moments per season than most shows have during their entire run. Part of the show’s appeal was also part of its downfall. The shortened season 3 had a significant drop in quality with its wishy washy characterization of the once rock solid Olivia Pope, misunderstanding of the audiences interest in the Quinn/Huck pairing, and the increasing heinousness of Grant. It seemed for a while that the show cared more about shocker moments than character development.
The season 4 premiere “Randy, Red, Superfreak, and Julia” illustrates that Scandal may be ready to get back to what made it so great. The episode seemed to promise a return to the basics, where the team of do-gooders try to make things right in Washington. If we have more of that and less of Terrorist Mommy and underground government conspiracies, season 4 could shape up to be the best yet. Here are the best and worst moments of the episode:
Best: Opening Scene
Happy, carefree Olivia is a rare sight. She and Jake have made a secluded beach their homes, where they just sunbathe, drink, and have sex all day. Olivia even has the contented look down perfectly, with her gorgeous curled hair and signature white bathing suit. Of course she and Jake were always going to return to Washington and to the angst of real world, but it was nice to see such a troubled character so happy, even for a few minutes.
Worst: Huck as Randy
On paper, Huck should be the show’s stand out character. He’s a killing machine with a dark past, a connection to government conspiracies, and a strong bond with the show’s lead. But in execution he’s a drag. He often sucks the energy from any given scene, conveying the repetitious Shonda-speak like he’s reading off a delivery menu. Of all the new identities that the Gladiators took on, Randy was the worst. Olivia took on the identity of Julia, a woman who doesn’t have a care in the world or an ex-boyfriend with the world’s toughest job. Abby became “Red” the press secretary. Even Quinn was using her super sleuth skills to do her damnedest to being the team back together.
Huck’s working in data repair and responds to Olivia’s return with a fair bit of denial and malice, refusing to acknowledge her unless she comes back for good. He has the maturity of a child, which is not a good look for a face-licking, torturous murderer. This character is in desperate need of a revamp.
Best: Mellie’s Mourning
It was bothersome to see Mellie’s grief treated like a rom-con break up moment at first, with her marching around the White House in her PJs, searching for alcohol, while making snappy quips about her hygiene (“It’s only day two for this shirt and these panties are fresh from the dryer.”) Her presence is played like a running joke for the first half of the episode. This is a woman who just lost a child and had to reveal that she was raped by her father-in-law to her cheating husband. There’s nothing funny about that.
Luckily, the show drops the humor as soon as Mellie lays on her son’s grave. Bellamy Young sells in perfectly, as she does with everything else. Mellie hasn’t only given up on looking like the perfect Stepford First Lady. She’s also given up fighting for everything she’s spent 3 seasons wanting, from political power to the affections of her husband. She informs Fitz that she knows he’ll see Olivia and she just wants to know when it happens. She’s sick of pretending that they don’t know exactly what’s going to happen, even if Fitz is going to live in denial. That scene just yet again proves why Mellie is the show’s MVP.
Worst: Jake vs. Fitz Jealousy Snoozefest
One of the worst parts of last season was the constant back and forth in the Jake/Olivia/Fitz love triangle. It made Olivia look like she lacks a backbone and any self-respect. Both men ended up looking pathetic, not like any sort of worthy romantic lead. As a character Fitz has become so disturbing as a love interest, with his complete lack of respect for Olivia and archaic views of how the women in his life should act. When Olivia and Jake took off together at the end of the season, it should have been the end of the triangle.
But here we are again, with Jake acting desperate and jealous, despite being in bed with his dream woman. He has a groan-worthy speech about how he makes her moan. And all because she dared to talk about what was on her mind while he was in the mood for some loving. Worse yet, the last scene indicates that things still aren’t over between Olivia and Fitz. What’s it going to take to get Olivia to dump these jamokes and find a feminist boyfriend who hasn’t murdered anyone?
Best: Throwing Rapists From the Balcony
The case of the week was the refreshing return to form that the show has desperately needed. There’s no connection to the dreadful B-613. Just a good old fashioned Washington scandal. Senator Sterling, who is crucial in the equal pay vote, is thrown off a balcony and left near death. Senator Vaughn claims he tried to rape her so she pushed him. Olivia instantly takes the case, as it tugs on those old justice strings she used to care about. In Scandal fashion, there’s a twist. It’s actually Vaughn’s aide that was nearly raped, offered up as bait by Vaughn when she wanted to pass the equal pay bill. Olivia promises to defend the aide and uses her press conference to sway the possibly get the bill passed. This strong willed, intelligent Olivia is the one we need to see more often.
src starpulse.com/