Scandal: “The Key”

In last week’s Scandal review I said that, well into the fourth season, we haven’t yet found a story arc. Well, I think now we have it. There are two arcs, actually. The first arc is Kaitlin Winslow’s murder. The second is the fallout from last season. That is, how everybody is dealing with the implosion of OPA and Jerry’s murder.

The answer? Not well. No one is dealing with anything well. David is day-drinking, Jake’s locked up, “Smelly Mellie” isn’t out of her bathrobe, Abby has frozen everyone out, Olivia can’t get anyone to return her calls, and Huck is stalking people (well, I guess that one is normal for Huck, but it’s sure creeping out his [ex?] wife Kim).

Let’s go back to David because that is just all sorts of tragic. David is drunk and telling Abby that he killed Judge Sparks. He said he used the B613 files to do many things—to win, to get his job, and to get the country gun control. BUT, he was “trying to be Olivia Pope” and he killed the Judge and he just can’t handle all the guilt. “Why are we all trying to be Olivia Pope?” he moans to Abby.

That’s a good question David, because I don’t think even Olivia Pope wants to be Olivia Pope right now. I mean, the trifecta of messy men in her life has always caused problems, but this week Rowan, Jake, and Fitz took that ish to a whole new level. Fitz has Jake in custody at the Pentagon, because he’s convinced Jake killed Jerry. Now who gave him that silly idea? Papa Pope of course! (It’s always Papa Pope!) While Fitz goes on trying to beat a confession out of Jake (not the face!), Rowan goes on smooth-talking Olivia into debilitating confusion.

Most Popular

Ooh, that story Rowan told was GOOD! “Jake set it all up.” “Jake killed Harrison.” “He killed Jerry because of you—to win the election.” “He set up your mom so you could never be with Fitz again.” Oh he’s wickedly smooth. Seriously, Papa Pope could sell a drowning man a glass of water. I don’t blame Olivia for being broken and confused. I’m glad Abby finally warmed up to Olivia and gave her a hug. (By the way, I discovered that Darby Stanchfield’s Twitter is everything. Here’s what she had to say about that scene:

HI LIV. I BROUGHT OVER A BAG OF SHADE TO THROW ON YOU. ?#ButIFoundAHugInThereToo ????????#Scandal
— Darby Stanchfield (@darbysofficial) October 24, 2014

Speaking of broken women, let’s check in with Mellie. Or, as she said to Fitz after he discovered her drunk at 8AM, “What can I say baby? Today you get a two-fer: Drunk Mellie and Smelly Mellie.” Yes, she started the episode a mess but ended with a shower that I think was intended to cleanse her soul as well as her smell. Why the transition? Because Fitz finally shared intel on Jerry’s death, and she found closure with it.

Now Mellie knows that Jerry was poisoned in an act of terrorism, and his death won them the White House. And that makes Jerry a hero. A war hero. A soldier. OK, I was with Mellie through all that, but then she gets all, “He died for us, he died for our sins” and I had step aside. But Fitz jumped so far to the side he was out of bounds, shouting to Mellie, “Until you become the Mellie I recognize we are done talking. Eat, drink, be merry, and never mention my son to me ever again.” I think that was a little harsh, but it got Mellie in the shower. I believe she’ll come out smelling oh-so-fresh, and with a renewed sense of purpose as the First Lady.

Speaking of ladies who got their groove back, I’d like to give a shout-outs to Abby and Quinn. First, Abby was nice to David and Olivia, and it sounds like next week she goes in on Fitz, the “married man who had an affair with my friend.” Yay! I like this Abby!

Also, Quinn didn’t piss me off this week. In fact, she took care of business. Not only did she find out the location of a missing key, but she did some relatively clean and drama-free corpse-cutting to get it (more on that below). Plus, she kinda comforted Huck when he got the sads about his family. So, an overall good week for Quinn.

Now let’s review the other story arc—the Kaitlin Winslow murder. This episode we met Dan Kubiak, the head of security for Jeremy Winslow’s law firm and a dirty ex-cop with lots of cop friends. Why is that important? Because he killed Kaitlin’s best friend Faith then magically provided six alibis for the night. So, he’s deadly, powerful, and looks hella scary too. And it seems like he’s basically free to do anything he wants, including killing two teenagers, then offering as an excuse, “How many times have I told you not to ask me about my work, boss?”

Well, apparently Dan hasn’t met Olivia and I look forward to that happening. She made it clear the showdown will happen when she visited Jeremy in a restaurant and hissed, “I’m here to help you if you want my help, and I’m here to warn you if you don’t.” Well, clearly Jeremy doesn’t want her help because he looked sadly at his bowl of fruit while she said, “Your daughter is dead, your wife is rotting in a jail cell for a crime she didn’t commit, and if you have anything to do with it, you’ll pay.” Ooh Jeremy; between Dan squeezing on one side and Olivia hissing on the other, I think you’re going to get really uncomfortable really soon.

Oh, and about that key … the key that Kaitlin and Faith died protecting. Quinn figured out that Faith swallowed the key right before being shot. So naturally Quinn snuck into the morgue to – ahem – retrieve it. Like I said earlier, it was done relatively quickly and easily; Charlie and Huck would be proud. We think this key leads to the folder Kaitlin struggled to keep away from Dan. And whatever is in that folder is so bad that Jeremy can justify his daughter’s death. I can’t imagine what it is in there, but I can’t wait to find out.

Favorite Quotes: (There are three this week because the writers were killing it):

“Respectfully sir, she’s probably drunk and in a food coma after too much fried chicken.” (Cyrus to Fitz, who doesn’t want to go home and run into Smelly Mellie)
“In what context are we normal?” (Olivia to Papa Pope)
“These handcuffs are a suggestion for me. I’m being nice. Stop talking.” (Jake to poor ol’ interrogator Bill)

Favorite Moments: Realizing Darby Stanchfield’s live Scandal tweets are hilarious, and also realizing Kerry Washington will tell you what she’s wearing on the show if you ask her. I really had no idea.

What do you guys think? Is Mellie back? Is Jake’s face okay? WHAT’S IN THAT FOLDER? Sound off below!

Emily Worden is a Boston-based freelance writer and author of Make. Sell. Repeat. The Ultimate Business Guide for Artists, Crafters, and Makers. You can follow her on Twitter.

Scandal: “The Key”

(Episode 4.05)