Hangin' Out

Kerry Washington’s memoir, Thicker Than Water, will be available to the masses on the 26th of September, and I have questions that need answers. Well, I would like to have answers.  I pre-ordered it in June when it was announced, and I’ll be receiving a second copy when I see her in Manchester in October (Kerry, you better not cancel this leg of the tour. I worry because we’re the only stop that still doesn’t have a confirmed special guest). Before a million reviewers start leaking and the full-court press is unleashed this week, I thought it would be fun to post some of my own questions about Ms. Washington that I hope are answered in Thicker.  To be clear, I read the same excerpt on Oprah.com as the rest of y’all. And I won’t be reading any advanced reviews until mine own eyes have completed all 320 pages of Kerry’s words. I am really looking forward to reading it, and hope to recommend it to my Black women-only reading group. 

As an actress, I have liked Kerry Washington since I watched Save the Last Dance in the early 2000s. And in each subsequent film I’ve watched that featured her, I’ve felt like Tony Goldwyn (but not as intense): Oh hey, it’s that really great actress and she’s always giving something different. But I never explicitly sought after articles or interviews, preferring to casually enjoy her work instead. 

That changed with Scandal. My dedication to the show hedged on its compelling narrative themes. But it was the compelling relationship between Kerry’s Olivia Pope and Tony Goldwyn’s Fitzgerald Grant that created magic. It cast a spell that elicited from me reams of writing about Scandal between 2012-2018. In fact, the series changed the whole trajectory of Kerry Washington’s career (and my life, too ). It also brought significantly more eyes upon her. The first vehicle built around Kerry, Scandal gave her acting space to breathe, develop and shine. I also continued to watch the smattering of films she made during that era (Django Unchained, Peeples, Confirmation), and began reading interviews with her--both before and during Scandal. I began to notice the way in which the availability of information shifted, receded (or removed), and sometimes became opaque under a claim of ‘privacy’ whilst also offering the veneer of accessibility from late 2013 onward. Granted, I do not run any obsequious fan accounts about Kerry, so I know there will be some who try to rattle off any number of things I “should know” because they have inhaled every morsel of information and made its consumption and regurgitation their entire online personality. But I am also not a hater who consumes the actor's every move for the purpose of group chat gossip. I like knowing things about people I admire because I like to find points of connection, perspective, recognition…and differences. I admire Kerry Washington…or what she’s allowed me to see. The problem is, when I think about her, I think about a person who seems good and cares fiercely for her country, family, and other people. She’s well-regarded. She’s funny. She’s stylish. She has a great capacity for information. But. 

She also seems secretive, and that’s different from being private. I feel like I know of her, about her. But who is she, really? That lack of clarity is partly by design, of course, due to her profession. Still, I hope Thicker Than Water answers the soul of that question: Who is Kerry Washington? 

It is with that central question in mind that I pose the following questions. These are MY questions. I am not here to represent anyone’s fandom. I know, too, that I don’t have a ‘right’ to have any of these questions answered. I’m not delulu (as the kids say). I’m being as honest as I can with my own curiosities about Kerry, as both an actress and a human. 

These are my questions. I am not here to represent a fandom. Let’s get into the QTNA of it all.

Let me start by saying that I have a well-known history of not seeing it for Rowan, since 301. I didn’t even wanna write this because it seems boringly obvious to me (and other folks who see through this man’s behaviour), and I just want it to be over. I’m tired, even more than Olivia seems to be. I never bought into the idea back then that this man was trying to help save his daughter from destruction and danger brought about by Fitz. That he was going to extraordinary lengths, and showing “tough love” like a strong, black father. 

The short version: Rowan is an abusive person. He has been an abusive person since we met him through Jake. Abusers always need the abused more than the abused need them. Without an object to play games with, the abuser doesn’t really exist. His “games” have gotten more and more intense over the seasons, switching tactics and acts like the shapeshifter he is. Rowan is trying to complete the process of eliminating Olivia’s chewy centre (her soul, her humanity) by eradicating ties to those for whom she has the greatest vulnerability. Except him. Fitz and Quinn have been used tactically this way. The ultimate point is for Olivia to have nothing and no one but Rowan (”You never choose one of them over me” (407); “If I have to choose between [my father] and you [Fitz]; you will lose” (611). Rowan sees Olivia as his only connection to humanity. Jake is just another “son” he created. Olivia is “[his], [his] child, the thing [he] made” (310). Everyone needs someone. Rowan’s soul is lost. He can’t have a genuine relationship with anyone. So he’s compelling Olivia, through control, manipulation and domination, to be that someone instead of working for it. 

The reasoned version:

Ok, since we are writing our good-byes, lol, this will be mine. It’s a long one…

I like words. I like them so much, sometimes I think it’s important for the discussion that we define key terminology we are using. I do not do it to be patronizing or facetious. It seems we have a miscommunication over the word “weakness”.

Here’s your direct quote from your last message to me:

“…It just seems sort of disempowering to me to make her weakness a white republican politician, as if “even Olivia pope falls on her knees for this perfect white man.” I’m sorry. But I guess that’s just because again, I just don’t see enough positive or mature traits in Fitz (to me, he’s just a whiny child a lot of the time, but I accept that you feel differently).”— flymetothelostmoon

According to my interpretation, you are saying that having a black woman be “weak” for a “perfect” (don’t know how you arrived at that deduction) white man is disempowering. The very thing for which she appears to be “weak” in your eyes IS her love for Fitz. You then go on in your current argument to state that others try to exploit Olivia via Fitz. The only way that  is possible is through love. Therefore, you are indeed accusing that Olivia’s love for Fitz is a “weakness”. Speaking of which…

Weakness (n):

the state or condition of lacking strength.

“the country’s weakness in international dealings”

synonyms:

frailty, feebleness, enfeeblement, fragility, delicacy; More

a quality or feature regarded as a disadvantage or fault.

“you must recognize your product’s strengths and weaknesses”

synonyms:

fault, flaw, defect, deficiency, weak point, failing, shortcoming, weak link,imperfection, Achilles heel, foible

a person or thing that one is unable to resist or likes excessively.

“you’re his one weakness—he should never have met you”

 So in every which way, “weakness” is not a word people use favourably. It is not a word by which people want to identify themselves. I’m going to quote what I said last night in a follow-up q&a:

“I have a problem in general with how some people view “weakness”. The root of the issue is that we see and value “strength” in really narrow, masculinist terms. Therefore anything that falls outside those narrow confines is seen as “weakness”. It becomes a kind of feminized trait to be eradicated, especially if you wanna get your grown woman on. It’s ridiculous. We are all made vulnerable by someone, or something…”

You could just as easily say that Mellie is made “weak” by the supposed love she has for Fitz. That Fitz is made “weak” by his love for Olivia. That Olivia is made “weak” by her familial love for her father. I think the better word to use when we are talking about Olivia and her love for Fitzgerald is “vulnerability”, which means open to attack, harm, or manipulation. All of that is true. But is the vulnerable party at fault, or is it the motherfuckers who try to take advantage of the vulnerability?

From where I am sitting, it’s the latter. Vaginas are open to attack, harm or manipulation by their very existence on a human woman. You wouldn’t call having a vagina a weakness, would you? Yet the possession of one was the basis on which Olivia’s father, Jake, Cyrus and god-knows-who-else manipulated Olivia in S2 B with that misogynistic ass seduction story line. You see, her father thought Olivia was just Fitz’s favourite concubine, and that if evidence could be shown to Fitz that Olivia slept with another man, then surely he would reject her. Literally, that was the premise and it did not work because Fitz is not that kind of asshole. So, again, loving someone isn’t a “weakness” so much as it is can make you vulnerable, ceding a sense of control.

So here we have the perfect storm of Ms. Pope being at the intersection of blackness and femaleness, wrapped in the inherent imperfection of humanity. Actually, I guess this discussion is about the impression that Olivia is made “weak” by the writer because she doesn’t love the right person.  Fitz’s good and bad qualities are not the point at all, so we can agree to disagree on him as a love interest.  This discussion is about Olivia’s choice in love interest. But you do say that a black woman loving a character “like [Fitz]” is a theme we see over and over again. What is that exactly? Black women who genuinely desire a white male love interest (as opposed to being in love with whiteness as means of salvation from black self-hatred—itself promulgated by racism)? A pulled-together black woman being in love with someone others regard as a fuck boy? Black women whose projection of perfection belies a more complicated being underneath? What is it that we see “repeated over and over again”? By the way, are you totes OK with the problematic relationship of Olivia and Jake?

The core issue of our discussion from tonight and today is an insistence that there is a type of man to whom our black anti heroine  would be most suited. A suitable boy, if you will. Or perhaps, you wish for our heroine not to be made vulnerable in any way by romantic love at all. Perhaps, then Olivia could exist as some feminist fantasy trope instead of a woman who wants and is going after everything. And I’m saying that as a feminist who rejects the paternalism of grown women telling other grown women how to behave in order to further the cause of equality. Similarly with my own folk—black folk—I reject the notion of embodying some Christian respectability (cultivated as a direct response to the de-humanization of racism) as the antidote to racism. Because then I don’t get to be fucked up and human in my own way.  Reading Olivia as “disempowered” by the love she chooses tells me that you don’t see Olivia’s full being as a character, but rather her archetype. You seem to judge Fitz in the same way: a representation of white perfection, which is a way of seeing that is absolutely dismissive to the point of caricature.

I want you to be aware that the lens through which you are regarding Olivia convinces you that she is “disempowered” (your word) through her choice in lover because that lover is white (you have emphasized his whiteness in every single response, so clearly that’s a problem for you), yet perplexedly simultaneously “perfect” and “selfish, immature and self-entitled” (again, your words). You are reading the narrative as Olivia being in-love with the idea of perfection of whiteness (“even Olivia Pope falls to her knees for this perfect white man”). I think you have to dismiss a great deal of the narrative in order to arrive at that conclusion, so I reject it. It’s too simplistic and doesn’t work.

You know what would be actually disempowering? If, in order to be considered “strong” or “great”, Olivia had to choose between the imperfect love that fulfills a great desire within her, and being a kick-ass business owner who restores order. If Olivia had to be judged in narrow masculinist terms of “strength” and “power” to be seen as powerful. If everything Olivia’s brilliance and slayage loses their shine for the audience because she wears the battles scares of familial and romantic love. Now that is disempowering.

I recall tearing up when Fitz was bold enough to say the above quote during his town hall-style presidential debate with Reston (211). It solidified for me exactly who the character of Fitzgerald Grant was. I said, now that? That’s a man right there. I made myself a Stan card that day and never looked back. A Criminal, A Whore, An Idiot and A Liar gave us our first character focus on Fitz, and his fight for the presidency. Day 101 gives us our second in depth study of his character, and it is the beginning of his fight for a life not defined by the power and perils of the presidency. I have some thoughts I want to express about what Fitz said nine years ago and it’s relevance to current character journeys right now. 

Here’s what I want to focus on real quick:

Rowan framing Fitz as Olivia’s weakness

Rowan’s lack of compassion and determination to breed the same out of Olivia

Olivia barely resembling a human right now

Back in S3 or S4, I had a series of back and forths with a poster #onhere about Fitz being weak, and about how Olivia was being dragged down by this supposed weakness. Much of what I said  is still relevant, and some prescient (Part I, II, III, IV.).  I just did a deep dive on how the very idea of qualities like love/vulnerability/compassion/grace are perceived as ‘weak’ because they are associated with the feminine. And because we live in a culture that sees strength and power in the kind of masculinist terms that depend on dominating or obscuring that which is feminine. Patriarchal binaries see man as the ‘not woman’. Therefore, in these terms, the worse thing a man can be is like a woman. And for a woman to be seen as truly strong, she must adopt the kind of strength defined narrowly by masculinity. Blah, blah, blah. This is all relevant to what I say below, but, anyway…

Rowan framing Fitz as Olivia’s weakness

I am completely fine if I end up being wrong about the motivation behind Rowan’s appeal to Fitz to save Olivia from herself. I do not trust him, nor has he done anything to warrant my trust. Mere months ago Rowan wanted Fitz to run B6-13 as a check on Olivia’s power. Besides the fact that we knew he intended to use Fitz as a way of running the organization himself, now I’m supposed to believe that he’s distraught over the emotional effects this will have on Liv? The organization that Liv said nearly destroyed her life and that of her father’s, Rowan didn’t give one fucking iota if it was gonna ruin Fitz’s life AND continue to be an obstacle to Olivia and Fitz’s relationship, ensuring Olivia as his “champion”. This requires Olivia’s dedication Rowan as the primary male influence in her life. Didn’t give a shit about that. But NOW he needs Fitz’s “weak” ass to keep Olivia from destroying herself through B6-13. 

Rowan has tried everything he possibly could to eliminate the love between Olitz: B6-13 prostitutes, shaming Olivia for not using Fitz in transactional ways to become what she now is: Chief of Staff (301); framing Olivia’s mother as the murderer of Fitz’s child (318); playing a hell and high water chess game to get Olivia to seclude herself on an island, away from Fitz (S3);  telling her that she must never choose any man over him (408); encouraging her to burn Fitz in the name of justice (419); insinuating himself into their relationship after it barely got started and compelling Olivia to “choose” him (506-507); directing her toward this White House path with the fucking ex-wife of the man she loves (5B); and let’s not forget the general chaos he has sewn in the girl’s life to keep her “fire” burning. And I won’t bother getting into my S4 theory about Rowan’s involvement in Liv’s kidnapping also being about destroying the idea of Fitz for Olivia.  Spare me this kind of supposed love. 

My point is this: after ALL of the above, Olivia and Fitz still love each other. Rowan knows this. He has the goddamn temerity to name Fitz as Olivia’s weakness. It seems to me that the love Rowan has worked nearly a decade to destroy has stubbornly endured. How is that weak? Sounds like true strength to me. Sounds like something that’s powerful to me. But…

Rowan’s lack of compassion and determination to breed the same out of Olivia

Not a review but a collection of scenes and my thoughts on them. The Scandal finale was boring- it was boring and predictable but I surprisingly enjoyed it for many reasons and it leads to a exciting and hopefully uplifting next season.

                                              Fitz

For starters Fitz; I have conversed with some people and it is amazing and complete irony how Fitz has escaped his ‘creators’ –Mellie, Cyrus, Olivia, Big Jerry. All of these people have said it once or every chance they get that they have ‘made’ Fitz and how they left because of him yet they all are clamoring to get back to him. This is one of the reasons why the Ex-Lady gang is united in blue and their Fitzless solidarity because for so long their life has revolved around Fitz (2x08- Mellie in the hospital asked Olivia: can she imagine life without him- what was she going to do- what were they going to do) and  now without him holding them back and being their excuse for their setbacks and failures they have no choice but to find their place outside of his circle.’Winning’ for Olivia is not about Mellie, winning is for Olivia like she told Jake in the finale “I have not gone through what I have gone through…” just to give up now, Olivia has lost too much to lose this presidency, she needs all of this to have a meaning; otherwise she lost everything for nothing.

Which brings to Mellie Grant

How dare Mellie come to Fitz who actually did her a sold by agreeing to come on stage and talk about her; Olivia was shocked when Abby told her that Fitz was agreeing to everything and yet for Mellie it was not enough because he is not giving enough credit to her…ugh Mellie got exactly what she wanted with Fitz’s presidency which is why I struggle with tolerating Mellie because her character arc at times is conflicting. Mellie condoned and supported the Olitz affair, she induced her labor to keep Fitz , she lied about defiance and Olivia and Cyrus when Fitz was broken, and then when the secret was out she still fought to keep Fitz making Olivia and Fitz’s life a living hell and now to add the cherry on top- Mellie has Fitz’s ex-girlfriend working for her and never once taking into consideration how Olivia is feeling because it’s all about Mellie.

Then Mellie talks about Fitz’s whiteness ugh boo boo a white woman still gets paid more than a black woman and secondly I thought Mellie came from old- money; I thought that was why Big Jerry picked Fitz to marry her and third Mellie went to Harvard and was top of her class so please Mellie, save me your violin. I honestly can’t with Mellie and her self-righteousness as if she is truly inferior with her porcelain skin and big blue eyes…Mellie is simply a ‘feminist’ now because it suits her needs.

Mellie than exclaimed she got here on her own unlike Fitz.

Uh Mellie, you had cuckoo OP literally doing your dirty work and destroyed a women’s career (Susan’s) thereby making you the Republican Candiate- you did not get there on your own and you most certainly didn’t earn it…it was handed to you by Olivia Pope so please have all the seats because you talk about Fitz’s entitlement yet you are the only one screaming from the mountain ‘I am owed and deserved’, and because Mellie knows the exact buttons to push and hurt someone Mellie had to bring up Olivia escaping Fitz.

Let me remind you that Fitz has already read Olivia’s medical file and saw the abortion so right now Fitz is hurting and taking a ‘L’ once again from Mellie…sigh, boy I can’t wait for karma to bite Mellie’s patsy ass because her white victimization is astonishing .

When Fitz preaches about serving his time in the White House he is speaking of truth and the irony of it all is that everyone is clamoring to get back into the White House prison- Olivia, Mellie, Cyrus.  But the true joke and laugh will be on Mellie when she realizes that she is stuck and all along Fitz was warning her about the inevitable.

But while I hate what Mellie said and don’t agree with her, it did lead to a more powerful moment of reflection and understanding on Fitz’s part.

                                                       Olitz.

The Olitz was scene was everything ! I’m not sure how the ‘blue’s clues’ gang deduced that Olitz is dead because if anything hope has never been more evident than in that scene. Fitz saw the file on Abby’s desk (why in the hell would Abby leave that highly classified information just on her desk but I’ll digress) Fitz saw the file and he was in disbelief, shocked at what he has just found and read; he knew it couldn’t be true, he knew it was a lie- that Olivia didn’t actually have a abortion but it’s real and she did.

Olivia’s abortion is her choice but I am happy that Fitz knows because it will lead to their reunion being a happy one, were all the cards are on the table.

*sidenote Olivia does not know that Fitz knows about the abortion but she feels that there is more to the story but what she can’t exactly put her finger on.

But I want to commend Fitz for everything he is and everything he has done; baby’s hat has never been brighter and I can only imagine what will happen when Olivia finds out that Fitz knew and he forgave her- that he understood her…..I’m not ready for that moment.

I have said this before and I will say it again- Fitz is truly Olivia’s light and he will slowly guide her home. Olitz has never been more promising and true; when Olivia walked into the White House and Abby tried desperately to stop her, afraid that Fitz will chew Olivia up and spit her out but at last he does nothing of the sort.

Sure Olivia you say you came to the White House for Mellie and Jake but the way you are looking at Fitz right now, tells me otherwise. Olivia is mixing business and pleasure- mostly pleasure, seeing Fitz is just a treat for all that hard gladiating she is doing right now. All interactions between Olivia and Fitz have been due to Olivia seeking Fitz and not the other way around which is why when the moment comes where Olivia is healthy and ready she will have to go to Fitz wherever he may be.

*side note can we laugh and chuckle at how Olivia and now Fitz have shut the doors on their sides faces.

I love how Olivia walks to the Presidential seal in order to keep distance from Fitz, expecting a fight or exchange of words.  For the sesame street crew come close so that I can draw some dots in order for you to follow the lines. Olivia could have called Fitz and told him on the phone that Mellie better yet herself was picking Jake as her VP, but Olivia is petty and wanted to make Fitz jealous and get a response out of him so she came to the WH and did him a ‘favor’ since she felt ‘she owed him this much’ but Fitz doesn’t give Olivia the response she wanted. What Olivia wanted was for Fitz to shout out at her, or to put it in layman terms Olivia wants Fitz to care. Which is why when Huck asked how it went with the President Olivia responded with ‘Good. Fine. It was fine.’ Olivia is desperate for Fitz’s attention because it was always the one thing in life she was sure of but Fitz being understanding and accepting is confusing and painful for Olivia. Fitz is growing and moving on with his life and he has left Olivia all alone again; I wonder if Olivia feels abandoned by Fitz (Yes, she left him but Olivia often speaks the opposite of what she feels, when she pushes Fitz away she typically expects him to pull her closer and the fact that Fitz has respected her wishes is frightening for her)

These ochokers are talking about how much Olivia loves Jake yet every interaction between them is forced upon by Jake himself. Olitz’s interactions have been due to Olivia seeking Fitz- not the other way around. Olivia came to the oval because she wanted an excuse to see him whereas joke has to assemble everyone to make Olivia go and see him. Olivia entering the White House was a choice, she was expecting and hoping that by telling Fitz that she was making Jake, Mellie’s VP he would be petty and make a few remarks about her still playing her games, but Fitz looks at Olivia and ask her to sit down with him which shocks her.

 I just want to appreciate this moment for what it is worth.

The look of ease on Fitz’s face as he smiles at Olivia with clarity and understanding. Fitz tells Olivia he misses her and everyone including Olivia’s lips begin to tremble because some were expecting Fitz to yell and shout but he does the opposite, he sits and stares at Olivia as if she is Christmas Morning. Olivia is clearly affected by what Fitz is saying and doing and it is everything she wants to hear and yet it’s not. But Fitz has to tell Olivia the truth, he misses her- not the sexual intimacy but he deeply misses his best friend. Fitz misses talking to Olivia and listening to her and so he ask Olivia does she feel that he listens to her enough and Olivia smiles and makes a joke saying ‘when’ and sadly this is the first time I recall Olivia making a real joke this entire 5b season.

Fitz smiles at Olivia sadly and he tells her in so many words that he understands why Olivia wanted to be free.

The true beauty of Olitz is that they are able to read each other so well that Olivia knows that there is more to this story just like Fitz knows when Olivia says ‘she’s fine’ she is never actually ‘fine’- for the ‘Blue’s Clues gang’ this is what it means to love, you don’t ignore your partners feelings and say ‘she’s fine’ after murdering a man, you don’t down play their call for help and then expect them to save you- that is not love, that is not even lust, what that is a parasitic relationship.

There is something organic in how Olivia and Fitz managed to find love in a world incapable such feeling;Olivia was never supposed to fall in love with Fitz but he slipped through cracks of her wall and found his home.

Fitz tells Olivia what Mellie said and asked her if she believes and feels this way too, that he is “Controlling, manipulative, and narcissistic.” Olivia doesn’t want to comment and get in between him and Mellie which cause Fitz’s eyebrow to arch and Olivia to laugh at her own words because she has always been in between Fitz and Mellie; she is actually between them right now, but Fitz apologizes anyways to Olivia for everything he has done to cause her to run from him.

Fitz has grown and developed into not just a great President but a man who Olivia can depend to be her strength when she is weak. Fitz is becoming the man everyone always knew he would become but he is more than what anyone imagined. Fitz’s self-assurance is powerful; everyone is struggling to find their place and purpose in life and for a man who only has 5 months left in his term, his future would be the bleakest yet it’s the contrary, Fitz’s future has never been brighter. Fitz is power, not the White House, not the people taking orders from him but Fitz is the true sign of power and the beauty of it all is that nobody sees it. Everyone is struggling and trying to find their place and who they are -Mellie, Cyrus, Abby, and Olivia. They all assume power is the key to freedom when in truth freedom is not obtained through physical conquering- freedom and purpose is not this elusive symbol that is only obtained through ‘conquering’. Freedom is when the heart and soul are no longer captive to those who put them captivity.

Once Fitz said he was sorry, Olivia is frozen, emotionally stunned by this beautiful man sitting across from her apologizing, for what she is not exactly sure.  Olivia actually felt something. It wasn’t Olivia being the campaign manager or Fitz being the President; for the first time in a long time they had ‘one minute’ where it is just them as they always desired it to be.

Unequivocal sadness fills the space as these two individuals so desperately in love with one another seem incapable of having the life they desperately deserve and earn.

There is this moment of reflection and understanding that fills the silence between. As their music cues Olivia is looking at Fitz and seeing him for all his worth- this is the man she fell in love with.  After everything they have said and done to one another, Fitz did not take her breath away he actually filled her lungs with air; she’s been suffocating- drowning and this moment with Fitz however short it may be gave Olivia not what she asked for but what she desperately needed.

Fitz is absorbing Olivia, taking her all in- seeing the beauty in her imperfections. Fitz is not commenting on her hair or her exterior appearance, you can see clearly that Fitz is looking directly into her soul and seeing her for all of her Worth and Olivia is looking at Fitz and seeing him for ALL of his Worth  There is this moment of appreciation silently exchanged between these two souls and your heart can’t help but become heavy as you think about ‘what if’

This scene is so similar to the day they first met- where these two broken souls found their kindred spirit in the other.

The thing about true love is that it is never orchestrated, it happens accidentally, in a instant these two atoms crashed together,in a moment that will forever change their trajectory on life and love because it wasn’t until they became one that they saw the future embedded into the iris of their eyes.

I know people are disappointed that Olitz didn’t have this fight where they fight and argue and Olivia is able to blame Fitz again, but this is truly refreshing and key to not only Olitz’s progression but Olivia and Fitz’s separate journey. Fitz’s growth is commendable, and it is amazing how so many felt he was the weak one yet he is the definition of strength and power. Fitz is the only character that has looked at himself and wanted to change the outcome- how Fitz understands Olivia even when she doesn’t understand herself is the truest depiction of love. Love is when you love a person not when they are at their best but when they are at their lowest. While that moment was for Olivia it was also for him; that was Fitz’s closing his own red door- by not placing blame on Olivia but himself for what happened to them and their future.

Fitz tells Olivia he is changing his speech and Olivia quickly says ‘good’ but she wasn’t really listening, what Fitz has just said and the way he looked at her has her head spinning and so she can’t help but ask ‘why’ and Fitz says simply ‘because she asked me too’

Olivia makes an ‘hmpf’ sound not because she is angry but quite the opposite. All it took for Fitz to change his mind was to be asked, to have her come to him and actually talk. The sound you are hearing from Olivia is the sound of regret and remorse because something so simple as asking could have saved her and him a lifetime of heartbreak. We all know what Olivia is thinking at this very moment ‘What if I had asked him…’ can you imagine how different their life would have been had Olivia came to Fitz and asked and Fitz heard Olivia’s speak. This moment is all too real and all too painful and so Olivia quickly gathers her purse to take her leave before she breaks but before she could walk out Fitz tells her ‘he supports her choice- not that she needs it’ 

                                                                                                 Joke

I don’t talk about irrelevant people but Bastard deserves some recognition for being the WORLD’S BIGGEST TOOL…

I have a problem with scandal at times; everyone and their mama be trying to run and chase Fitz and talk about him being ‘privileged’ yet you have a serial killer running away slipping heart attack concoctions and this bitch ass can’t save his fricking self but has to get his sestra to save him who weighs 100lb wet…

Yall jokers stay talking about Fitz being a coward yet I haven’t seen Fitz coward from Rowan better yet he told Rowan that he is exactly where he left him- pulling strings so please have all the seats because Jake is the definition of worthless and hopeless.

When Olivia ‘saved’ joke from dad, joke somehow took it that they were back to ‘standing in the sun’ but funny the minute they walked out of the door their hands parted…hmmm…sounds more like Olivia was trying one up Rowan than actually save joke but in case you are still attempting to justify olake and Olivia ‘saving’ joke because she ‘loves’ him , then please explain to me what the hell that final scene between them was.

Jake thought Olivia saved him and they were going to run away and be normal people for instance Jake was going to get a job working at ‘Gettysburger’ and Olivia would be working at the local gas station; you know “Standing in The Sun” so while Olivia was working on Mellie’s campaign; Jake was on craigslist looking for shacks on sale because he’s going to be on tight budget after him and Vanessa get an annulment…

*sidenote-where the fuck is Jake’s wife? And why isn’t his irrelevant ass not ‘mourning’ with his wife- damn Jake is just terrible at everything he does- terrible side piece, terrible spy, terrible brother, terrible captain, and now a terrible husband.

You know when you look back at what Olivia said in the church to Jake it all still rings true- more so now than ever before.

OLIVIA: Do you honestly not know by now? I’m in love with Fitz. I don’t love you, Jake. I love him. When I’m with you, all I think about is him. Fitz is who I choose. He’s who I will always choose. You are just a lesser version of him. A sad reminder of the man I truly deserve. If I couldn’t make it work with him, why the hell would you think I could make it work with you?

Good luck becoming Vice President, Jake. You’ll need it.

Every moment between Olivia and Jake is a ‘sad’ reminder of ‘the man she truly deserves’ – the ‘be here moment’ and now Jake wants to make jam and live in a house he found off Craigslist with Olivia with their 3 average children…and then Vulva lips wants to be a ‘jv baseball coach’ when Fitz has already said he wants to be a soccer dad. My goodness Jake is trying to duplicate Fitz and Olivia’s relationship and Olivia is not having it at all.

This has nothing to do with Fitz but Olivia does not want to be married and have a boring life with Jake, if Olivia knew what she wanted out of life don’t you think she would have done it with the man she truly deserves…Olivia isn’t looking for love and marriage right now when girl doesn’t even know what it means to love and sadly Jake is so far up his own ass that he doesn’t even know Olivia, he truly thinks that Olivia wants to go run away with him and play house. This serves a purpose, Jake is not looking at Olivia nor is he listening to her….takes deep breath….boy Jake is really making Olivia appreciate Fitz’s more with his child-like antics.

I really appreciate Shonda recreating these fabricated moment between Olivia and Jake because all it does is remind Olivia of the real truth, that Jacob Ballard will always be a poor man’s Fitzgerald Grant, a painful reminder that he will never live up to Fitz’s incredibly high bar….I mean look at this.

 pic @katrinapavela

Fitz took their dream and made it a possibility- somewhere only they know (notice how Abby looked at Fitz questioningly when he said he might go to Vermont. Abby doesn’t know the significance behind Vermont but she is aware that it has special meaning for Fitz to smile at the idea) Olivia herself has dreamed of Vermont, Vermont was her dream but a life with joke would be a nightmare and worse “mediocrity is not an option” for Olivia.

And second of all Pete Harris, Olivia Pope is not about to redo your childhood- this isn’t the ‘Butterfly Effect’ you don’t get to recreate your childhood and pretend it never happened. I am so sick and tired of Jake being completely worthless, this man has been asking to be saved since season 3 and this pansy still can’t save himself; him and Olivia are two sides of the same coin both do the same shit and expect different results. Jake; Olivia is not your sister and your mother – and Olivia, Jake is not an extension of you.

 Before Jake could continue on not selling Olivia- she shuts him up done telling him ‘she is running a presidential race’ which means Jake, she isn’t trying to be some poor housewife in the suburbs; Olivia wants her own life and like she told Jake before – if she couldn’t make it work with the better man than how does he expect it to work between them,

But let us break down that scene because Jake was surprisingly speaking some truth, not a lot but enough to make a valid statement. Jake wants “to be normal” with Olivia and tells Olivia that being normal and living the life she want is the true sign of power, and Jake is completely right but Olivia ain’t having it and finally super spy was able to put two and two together and see that Olivia wasn’t saving him after all she was saving her presidency and that he has now gone from dad’s bitch to his sister’s bitch…well, you better start practicing show dog because that is all you will be ornamental and never functional.

And to add insult to injury Olivia then throws his tie at him and demands that he put it on and get out on stage and perform like he has been doing his whole life.

I think it’s refreshing to be honest to see Olivia actually owning up to this person she has now become, instead of being indecisive but of course while Olivia thinks she is really doing something this was Rowan’s plan all along.

I am so tired of Rowan and Jake. Olivia will never be free as long as this man is alive, but we are going to have a long break but I am excited about the next seasons endless possibility for numerous reasons .

Parts of this are hilarious. I’m sure you know which parts 😉. I agree that the Olitz scene was an opening, and not a closing of their future path. I’m not sure I agree with all of your assessment, but I share the overall tone of where it could go. I think for Fitz, it brought him some peace for himself, and I’m happy for him. I pray that Olivia’s path to the light will bring her much needed reflection, once she’s brave enough to go there. She’s been such a coward this back half.

I tweeted that though I hated to admit it, What Joke said about real power is true. However, he is too much of a coward to realize it. Cowards always posture to hide the insecurity inside:

•Mellie (didn’t I call this back in S2 that she was too afraid of a life w/o Fitz?);

•Joke (all that proclamation of sexual prowess, and tough guys swagger actually shows him to still be that boy in the porch);

•and now Olivia. It’s no wonder she’s been sticking to these people like glue this season.

Abby got caught up for a second, but pulled it back. She knows who she is. Olivia doesn’t.

The contrast between Olivia and Fitz is incredible. What irony that the person who left in order to be free is the one who is trapped in a prison of her own making and had become worse off inside when she thought leaving Fitz behind would make her more powerful. I pray she finds her own light soon because I can’t take much more of her going down this path to destruction.

Edison Davis, “Trump Card” (520)

A/N: I’m proud of this one. I won’t apologize for length. I said what I said. I hope you enjoy it. 

Boy, do I love it when writer Zahir McGhee is paired up with the talents of actor/director, Tony Goldwyn, especially for an intensely Olivia Pope-focused episode such as this one. “Thwack!” (517) did an excellent job of making me extremely tense, elevating my heart rate and causing me anxiety. An even better follow-up to the much loved “The Miseducation of Susan Ross” from last week, “Thwack!” disappointed me only in the sense that the horrible white man whose death I’ve been rooting for was not Andrews, but I praise Jesus for the elimination of all turds. He had it coming, so

spare me your hypocritically convenient sense of morality about the murder of a “disabled” man.

We don’t want no devils in the house. We want the Lord. Dassssit! Besides, as over-the-top as this show can be, it’s emotional resonance is spot on. Neither you nor I have any assurance that we can’t be driven to the point of murder, given the right (err…wrong?) circumstances.

Besides the twice thwacking of Andrew (failed handjob and sound of the chair bashing his head), throughout the episode there was a foreboding pulsation of imminent danger building from the start, something that would require confrontation, if for nothing else, it would relieve this viewer from the physiological onslaught of anxiety. It occurred to me that we were made to feel similar to what Olivia Pope was feeling as her descent into madness culminated in a do-or-die moment of sanity. @Spectaclesinscript, in her review, has already done a laudable job of summarizing the historical context, within the show, of how Olivia arrived at the point of murdering the man we know as her kidnapper, Andrew Nichols. @musesoftheminds has also done a good recap of important scenes and relationships. So as not to repeat most of that, what I will focus on are the following: specific moments wherein Olivia sees red, so to speak, and their connection to loss and powerlessness; various threats to Olivia’s crumbling sense of identity; conspiracy theory clues of Rowan’s involvement with Andrew’s resurgence and Olivia’s kidnapping; the level of white victimology that repeatedly ignores and obscures black pain in service of white privilege; and the contrasting manifestations of ‘home’ and ‘family’.

Seeing Red

I’ve discussed some of these ideas with a few people and thought I’d just write them down. Yes, I’m well aware that this is written with Olitz lenses. It’s just me thinking, and most of it is probably wrong (which I’m used to), but here goes…

I mentioned the other day that I have been enjoying season four, up until Where’s the Black Lady (411), and had, thereafter been increasingly unsure of where the narrative is going. I actually love 411, but it was the first episode that required me to suspend belief about how the kidnapping of Olivia Pope was orchestrated. It does not sit comfortably with me that Andrew Nichols was the architect of this cabal. No, ma’am. And though I could (and did) create an argument for Olivia’s vehement rejection of Fitz upon her return, in No More Blood (413). But, frankly, it never curled all the way over for me. Not genuinely so. Lastly, I have struggled with post-kidnapping pivot back to the trite B6-13 story line, and re-centering Rowan in Olivia’s life.

BUT

If Rowan is connected to the kidnapping, then all three categories of my dissatisfaction begin to make sense.

The Logistics:

How could Andrew, the VP, have the entire Secret Service replaced? How does he know ex-Special OPs guys like Ian? Sure, Andrew had motive to have Fitz trussed up by the proverbial balls for the tenure of his presidency, but why was he so adamant that Olivia remain unharmed (411)? Andrew has absolutely no investment in her physical well-being, nor do I think he was just being kind-hearted all of a sudden. How could Rowan, a man that has claimed to have done everything in his life for Olivia (407), refuse to lift a finger when Jake came to him for help(413)? He said he had no daughter. Six episodes later, he’s a papa who’s proud of his “girl” because she stopped “shining” Fitz’s shoes and is “standing on [her] own” (419)?

But then I remember that Rowan knows Special Ops and Black Ops guys. After all, he ordered Fitz to shoot down a commercial airplane in a Black Ops mission (307). Rowan had already infiltrated Secret Service with B6-13 agents (Tom) in order to keep abreast of White House goings-ons (312). So, replacing the entire team: easy.  And the only person who has ever proffered Olivia’s physical safety to the detriment of her psychological, and emotional well-being, is Rowan. But why? How could he do that to his daughter?

Actually, this is exactly the kind of thing he’s perpetrated against Olivia for ears. All done to toughen her up into some kind of steely, strong black woman archetype, that is only ever subservient one thing: his black patriarchal authority. This is the man who let his 12 year old believe her mother was dead, while he locked that mother away in isolation for her crime, and never let her see any evidence of her daughter’s development. Not even a fucking news clipping (not until she chewed through her own wrists (308)).  He never let that daughter come back home; he sent her away (301). Sure, she received the finest education and learned a bunch of languages that have come in handy, but she is not OK. Rowan is the guy who, when Olivia was set to see Fitz again after a painful 10 month breakup (post-defiance), had his double agent, Jake Ballard, conveniently intervene in his daughter’s life. Why? To occupy her mind before she was set to see Fitz as Ella’s christening. I guess he didn’t plan on them fucking in a server closet. Woops. He sent his guy in to sleep with Olivia (405 admission), then had that evidence presented to Fitz. The purpose? A misogynistic belief that Fitz sees Olivia as his property, and since the property has been “defiled” (310) by another man, Fitz would no longer care for that property. Russell is yet another toy for Olivia to play with, and another means for extracting information in order to stay ahead of her. Rowan is also the guy who allowed his daughter’s name to be leaked by his own B6-13 agent, Tom, (301), when he obviously had the power to quash it. Why? Because it would conveniently allow him to get Olivia away from that “disappointing” (310) Fitzgerald Grant. He insisted that she would get on that plane “come hell or high water” (301). Seventeen episodes later, Olivia was checkmated into doing so (318). Bonus points for allowing her to think it was of her own volition. Lastly, Rowan is the guy who killed Fitz’s son for a dual purpose. Doing so gave his daughter another achievement under her belt because Fitz won; and it drove–what he hoped would be–a permanent wedge between them. “What love could survive that” (405), he said, as he built a rationale for the framing of Jake Ballard for his (Rowan’s) own crime.

In light of all of that, kidnapping and war actually fit perfectly with Rowan’s MO.

The NOlitz MO:

If Rowan is involved in this kidnapping, it means he forced Fitz into a catch-22, lose-lose situation. 

Option 1) Not go to war, and Olivia would die. Fitz would forever be blamed & feel guilty for Olivia’s death (though Rowan would never have actually let Olivia die, just let Fitz think so). Fitz may have even taken his own life over it, and we know he is capable of such an attempt (401). If he attempted to do it after the simultaneous loss of his son and disappearance of Olivia, why would he not complete the job if he had to live in a world where he was made responsible for her death? If so, problem solved anyway, as Rowan sees Fitz’s unconditional love for Olivia, and her loyalty and dedication to him, as a threat to his paternal authority. If Fitz takes himself out, Rowan has his daughter back. Why do I feel like Rowan let that assassination attempt by Verna and Becky ride?  

Option 2: Fitz goes to war for Olivia, thereby sending thousands of innocent people to their deaths. For three years, Fitz continues to be exploited into actions that make him a wildly unpopular President. Andrew would get to distance himself from Fitz’s administration in some way, without suffering blowback. It would also put him in good standing to usurp Fitz’s position for the next re-election. Olivia stays away from Fitz. But Rowan underestimated his daughter, and her ability to get herself out of tough situations. And, of course, he underestimated the strength of the Olitz’ relationship, and their ability to work as a team—even when they have no way of communicating directly with one another (411). They understand how the other person works. All major progress made in 411 was because of Olivia and Fitz.

Knowing Olivia, she would hate that Fitz went to war, sending thousands in harm’s way just for her (413). And she did. Fitz would (and did) claim that he did it for Olivia (413), just as Rowan claims he does everything for her (407,408). Olivia thinks Rowan is a terrible person and has done all the wrong things in her name (407). Rowan, then, makes Fitz into nothing but a man who is just like him:  "All men are, in fact, just like your father" (419). The kidnapping and war story line paints Fitz as a terrible President, in her eyes.  He falls in her estimation, and is no better than her father, who kills innocent people in the name of one: her.

Simultaneously, Olivia would also think of Fitz as a man who thinks she needs him to rescue her (something she vehemently rejects (308, 413)), and a disappointment, someone undeserving of the many ways in which she’s laboured for him (her warped interpretation (413)). She sees him as weak, as the one who needs protecting (308). To protect him (and her, in many ways) after the kidnapping, she puts up a cold front to create distance. She is dangerous for him (a belief she evidences in her 410 dream), but also brings pain upon herself as well, due to her emotional attachment to him.

What I described above was meant to be the byproduct of kidnapping/war. The theories I painted above were meant to lead to an idealistic wedge between our two faves. In some ways the fight, and the subsequent ring toss, in 413 become somewhat of a performance.

I believed Olivia’s anger, and her right to be angry over what happened to her, but, frankly, Fitz wasn’t deserving of it. But who else was she going to take it out on? It’s because he loves her that she was exploited and traumatized in this way. I maintain that it is the exploiter’s (Rowan, hypothetically) fault, not the fault of the persons (Olivia and Fitz) who love. I don’t care how this narrative goes, I will never change my mind about that. Hard line.  A part of me watches that 413 scene, and I can almost see Olivia preparing herself to do something she did not want to do, but it was the only way to get Fitz to stay away from her. It was the only way to ensure there would be no more blood (the title of the episode). No more causing Olivia psychological and emotional distress in order to force her away from Fitz. Already reeling from ASD, Olivia inflicts trauma on herself via the argument she had with Fitz, including the tossing of the ring. And we later see that  in addition to the kidnapping suffering, she revisits that ring toss moment as a traumatic moment in her life (417). Think about it. Having tossed the ring at Fitz (which sent a powerful message of ‘over’ to him), she doesn’t leave it on the floor, or throw it out. She puts it somewhere safe. And in a panic, she runs to find it, as if her recovery is incomplete without it. They are never over (220).

Olivia’s Distance and Coldness: 

Olivia has been keeping her distance and acting cold because it’s the only way she can keep herself (and Fitz) safe, so long as her father is still alive and free. Until she can get justice. Remember that bringing Rowan to justice is what Olivia was trying to do before Rowan decided to leave (409). Shortly thereafter, the woman gets kidnapped (wouldn’t be surprised if the plan was in place the moment she returned to DC. Rowan told her he didn’t tell her she could leave (401)). This return to B6-13 and Rowan would make sense to me if Rowan is tied into the kidnapping. Otherwise, episodes 410-413 feel like a bizarre sweeps attempt.

Olivia has pushed everyone away. She wasn’t returning Abby’s calls (415), and the rebuilding of their friendship has been a pre-kidnapping, season 4 highlight. Instead of bringing Abby back into her personal confidences, she’s kept her work-adjacent (415, 416, 418). I mean, Abby is the woman who was instrumental in bringing Olivia home (413). 

Olivia’s pre-kidnapping dick-in-a-box , Jake, has been sidelined to strictly B6-13 related business (418). Even that relationship—the one filled with convenience—has become too complicated for her. She has rebuffed his attempts to comfort her (414, 419).  “Julia” was an identity of the past, so she invented an even more “uncomplicated” one, “Alex” (419).   Everyone is being kept at emotional arm’s length. That makes her recovery that much more difficult, but maybe in Olivia’s world she justifies it as necessary. She can only deal with work-related drama right now. 

The Return to B6-13 Shenanigans:

I have been feeling like Olivia is steely, lacking any kind of warmth, and even more emotionally guarded that usual. She’s more aggressive and angry than she’s ever been. Of course all of that makes sense. Look what’s she’s been through–all alone. She killed a guy (410). She shot another, and then beat the shit out of him for the ways in which he tormented and hurt her (413). Olivia is still not quite herself, and why should she be. The ASD flashbacks attest to that. But it’s more than that.  The lack of painted, manicured nails is a small, but important, detail in this regard. As of 420, they remain unpainted. The missing warmth of which Olivia complained in 403–despite admitting to having Jake (lol, he’s her pet)–is very real post-kidnapping. (Olitz angst music plays as she and Rowan talk about this absent piece–the emotional lacuna.) Post-kidnapping Olivia still has Jake, yet chooses not to bring him in close.  

This is not a woman who reaches for personal help. For her career, sure. In some ways, Olivia can’t make a full emotional recovery while instituting a Cold War with Fitz. That coldness and anger are taxing on the body and mind because they take work to maintain. But it’s a sacrifice to freedom and justice. Olivia cannot be the woman she wants to be, or command control of her life while Rowan remains free to inflict all manner of violence and abuse in her name.  She cannot fully recover, or have anything with Fitz (the person who knows her best on an emotional level), while Rowan remains unpunished. He will destroy it.  If the kidnapping is any indication, he will truly stop at nothing to make Olivia into the woman he thinks she should be. Whoever that woman is supposed to be, she isn’t to be with someone Rowan finds threatening.

Because Olivia and Fitz have been a part for much of this season (and entirely so post-kidnapping), my instinct is to say that this Foxtail business will bring them together in the final hour to fight a mutual enemy: Rowan.  I just can’t see Olivia burning Fitz, when, in my eyes, she’s been protecting him all this time from her father.  (It saddens me that Olivia’s own father is actually her worst enemy, but he insists on running her life at all cost). B6-13, Rowan, and Foxtail need to come to a close. Olivia and this show cannot move forward so long as this narrative centers around those things. They loom too large and have too much authority. I don’t want to watch that. I want to watch Olivia navigate new things in her life, not the same trite shit against which she’s repeatedly been told she’ll lose.

Ok, so this is part II of what I have to say about the Helen of Troy reference in 407:

The second thing Tom’s ‘Helen of Troy’ (really Helen of Sparta) comment establishes is an analogous comparison of Helen and Olivia to the men in their lives. (I invite experts on Greek Mythology and this story in particular to jump in because this is not my strong suit):

Rowan=Zeus, ruler of the gods (“She didn’t have a father, either. Her father was a god.”)

Fitz= King Menelaus, Helen’s husband

Paris=Jake, the man with whom Helen absconds to Troy

Because I don’t know this story that well, I consulted Wikipedia for a run-down, including all the contradictions. There are so many accounts, it’s hard to distill it down. The marriage of Helen and Menelaus represents the end of the age of heroes. Zeus vows to end the race of men, but particularly the heroes.  The Trojan war, which is caused by Helen’s elopement with Paris, becomes the means to the end that Zeus wants.

Let’s talk about Paris and how he came into Helen’s life. Paris goes to Sparta under the guise of a diplomatic mission, but his aim is to claim Helen—the married woman. Paris, previously, had been appointed by Zeus to do a small job for him. Hollywood has often re-written Paris as the love of Helen life.  The classical writers who have told this story in various ways, do not make it clear whether Paris is Helen’s seducer or abductor. In some paintings, Helen is depicted as being removed by force to go to Troy with Paris. In others, she is seen as willingly leaving behind Menelaus to go with Paris to Troy.

In Homer’s version of this tale, Helen is a somewhat wistful, sorrowful figure who is sorry for what she has caused, and comes to regret her choice in Paris—a man she comes to see as having a compromised characters. Instead, she desires to be reunited with Menelaus. When Troy is on fire, Helen is depicted as helpless, lonely, and desperate to find sanctuary.  Helen’s choice ends up being made for her by fate because Paris dies in battle.  Her ultimate destiny reunites her with Menelaus.

The relevance of this story to the one being portrayed on Scandal, are thus for me (feel free to chime in):

Rowan as Zeus:

  “Thou shalt have no other gods before me”—First Commandment of God, Deuteronomy 5:7

This is a covenant between God and the Israelites after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt.  In exchange for that deliverance, the way that God had paved, the Israelites should not worship ‘false gods/idols’, but instead pay exclusive devotion to the God, Yahweh.  Very clearly not a request, but a demand, the disobeying of which removes God’s protection . There is no choice here. Does this sound familiar?

First we have this conversation from season 3:

Rowan: “How fascinating that you think that’s your mother’s legacy—being out-spoken and brave—when everything you’ve become, everything you are is clearly because of me.”

Olivia: “I think you mean in spite of you.”

Rowan: “Two sides of the same coin, my dear.”—More Cattle, Less Bull (305)

This is then followed by Rowan’s demand in Baby Made a Mess (407):

Rowan: “You never, ever choose one of them over me, again. I won’t have it. Is that clear?”

What else is Rowan asking for but to be looked upon as a God who has delivered Olivia into the life that she now leads. The life that Rowan believes he, exclusively, made possible.

Fitz as Menelaus:

Zeus wants to end the age of heroes, the last of which is Menelaus, who marries Helen. Obviously, Olivia and Fitz are not married, but there is a commitment and loyalty there that has never waned (“I never left your side” (101)). What’s interesting about Menelaus is that he is portrayed as someone who is trying to protect Helen, go to war for her, even after she leaves him for Paris. 

Jake as Paris:

The relationship between Helen and Paris is a contradictory one. It’s one that is fraught with uncertainty and coercion. While that coercion is depicted as sometimes brutal, it could be also just psychological. In any case, their relationship is short-lived and Helen comes to regret her choice in Paris because she comes to see his is not the man she thought he was. His life, of course, ends in death. Where Jake will end up, we shall see.

(source)

That’s exactly who Jake was: the l'homme fatal. 

Also, I love this:

“…Olivia Pope is in love with the President, who, as leader of the free world, is the one civilian qualified to woo a superhero.”